Nightfall draped Gaojia Village in a shroud of gloom. A line of oil lamps along the ramparts flickered dimly, their feeble light illuminating only a few paces beyond the fortress walls.
Two sentries patrolled atop the wall, moving with a slow, lazy gait.
With the fortress walls stretching over thirty zhang on each side, two men were a laughably thin line of defense.
Zheng Yanfu chuckled under his breath. "Those two might as well not be there."
Zhong Guangdao snickered in agreement. "I could scale this wall right under their noses without breaking a sweat."
Zheng Yanfu clapped him on the shoulder. "Then we're counting on you."
"Wait for the good news," Zhong Guangdao replied.
Hunching low, he slipped from the treeline and began inching silently toward the wall…
Once he reached the outermost edge of the lamplight, he dropped flat, motionless. He carefully tracked the patrol pattern of the two sentries, searching for his moment to climb.
What he didn't know was that the fortress held far more than two guards.
Hidden within the enclosed wall-walks connecting the four corner towers were eight more sentries. They watched the outside world—especially the northern hillside—through narrow firing slits carved into the walkway walls.
Zhong Guangdao's attention was fixed solely on the men atop the wall. He had no idea several pairs of eyes behind those slits had already locked onto him. His furtive approach had been spotted halfway.
The sentry who saw him didn't raise the alarm. Instead, he crouched low, hurried along the wall-walk, descended, and slipped into the ancestral hall. Inside, Bai Yuan and Thirty-Two were resting, fully clothed.
The sentry gently roused them. "Master Bai, Steward Thirty-Two. The rats are here."
Bai Yuan sat bolt upright, a grin splitting his face. "Notify everyone, quietly. Have them rise in silence and prepare."
The sentry nodded and vanished.
Soon, several others joined the effort. Crouching, they darted through the walled compound, rousing the villagers household by household.
In no time, the entire village was awake.
Yet not a sound broke the silence. That afternoon, Bai Yuan had practically grabbed each villager by the ear and roared his instructions: absolute quiet during the operation. He had extensive experience drilling militia and knew their discipline was paper-thin. Many simply "didn't listen to reason." For a simple order to stick, you had to yank their ears and bellow it multiple times.
Gao Chuwu emerged from his home now clad in padded armor and ran straight into Zheng Daniu. The two mightiest—and most simple-minded—souls in the village grinned at each other. Hefting their great axes, they loped toward their assigned defensive posts.
The blacksmiths, Li Da and Gao Yiyi, also appeared. They shrugged on their two-piece armor, gripped their heavy hammers, and settled in behind the massive "Immortal's Great Fire Cannon," their eyes fixed intently on its firing mechanism.
The elderly, the young, and the women, who couldn't fight directly, followed their squad leaders onto the rooftops surrounding the central courtyard. Stones were already piled there. They had forgone boiling oil this time—fighting inside their own walls meant haphazardly tossing the stuff risked burning their homes down.
Everything was ready.
Bai Yuan also climbed onto a rooftop. From a distance, he signaled to the two sentries on the wall.
Catching his meaning, the two sentries immediately slowed their pace. Originally patrolling far apart, they now drifted together, striking up a loud, staged conversation.
"Brother Laba, I'm dead on my feet."
"Tell me about it.Exhausted."
"Why do we even patrol every night?"
"Bandit trouble,remember?"
"But our walls are so high!Last time that 'Supreme Bright King' came, we sent him packing with his tail between his legs. Surely no bandit is that stupid?"
"Yeah,I doubt any would dare now."
"Then what's the point?I'm beat. Let's find a spot to catch some shut-eye."
"Sounds like a plan.A quick nap."
Engaged in this awkward performance, the two walked to the corner tower near the watchtower, lay down, and began to snore theatrically.
Zhong Guangdao's heart leapt. Hah! These Gaojia Village idiots! I was just worrying about finding a chance to climb in, and they hand me a golden opportunity.
He immediately hunched over and scurried to the base of the wall.
At that moment, dozens of eyes watched him through the firing slits. Even Li Daoxuan's enormous face gazed down from the heavens. But he remained blissfully unaware…
"Shhh!" Bai Yuan breathed. "Not a sound. Don't scare him off."
Under the collective, silent gaze of the entire village, Zhong Guangdao untied a coil of straw rope from his waist, fashioned a lasso, and eyed the row of high and low crenellations atop the wall. With a heave, he threw…
The lasso sailed upward!
Bai Yuan and the others cheered for him in their hearts: "Yes!"
It wasn't to be. The lasso fell back outside the wall.
Bai Yuan & Co.: "Huh?"
Undaunted, Zhong Guangdao retrieved it, took aim once more, and threw again…
Bai Yuan's crew willed it on: "Make it!"
This time, he did!
The lasso caught on a high merlon and tightened.
Bai Yuan's side celebrated silently: "He got it!"
Back in the distant treeline, Zheng Yanfu and his band of thugs also rejoiced: "He got it!"
Even Li Daoxuan couldn't help but offer a mental thumbs-up: "Nice shot! Impressive skills, kid. A nine-meter wall, lassoed on the second try. You should try out for the Olympics."
In that moment, everyone was happy. Truly, no one was sad!
Zhong Guangdao wiped his hands on his clothes, spat twice into his palms for grip, rubbed them together, grabbed the rope, braced his feet against the wall, and began to climb.
The guy actually had some skill. A nine-meter wall, and shua shua shua—he was up in no time.
He nimbly flipped over the parapet, first glancing at the two sentries "snoring" in the distant corner. Best not to disturb them. Hunched over, he descended the stairs behind the wall and crept to the back of the main fortress gate.
The two massive, heavy iron doors made him suck in a sharp breath. How much iron went into these alone? What are they worth? One good haul from this village, and I'm set for life.
He pushed. The doors didn't budge. He quickly found the windlass behind the gate and began turning it, gently and carefully, terrified of making any creaking or groaning that might wake the village.
Fortunately, this Hakka fortified village was still new, custom-built not long ago. New mechanisms were smooth. The door opened almost silently, with only the faintest whisper of metal.
Once the gate was open, Zhong Guangdao stepped into the doorway, puffed up with pride, and waved energetically toward the northern hillside.
Seeing this, Zheng Yanfu and his crew immediately burst from the treeline, crouching low as they scurried toward the open gate.
"They're coming! They're coming!" Bai Yuan was delighted. "My strategy was divinely inspired! Hahaha! As they say, strategy is calculation. And 'calculation' is part of the 'Mathematics' in the Six Arts of a Gentleman. Surely this feat adds a point to my mastery of that Art, don't you think? Hahaha!"
Thirty-Two muttered under his breath, "You're really reaching with that one, aren't you?"
Bai Yuan: "Hmm?"
Thirty-Two:"Ahem! I said nothing."