Chapter 14: Willing to Give Up
Henan Road, Yanzhou.

As one of the ancient nine states, Yanzhou has long been known as a "military stronghold and the throat of Qi and Lu". After Zhu Wen became emperor, he established the Taining Military Governor to govern Xiaqiu and Yanzhou.

This day, the first day of December, is a big market day.

The sunlight, which had not been seen for a long time, broke through the clouds, making the vendors and people walking around in the market feel warm. It was still morning, but the air was already filled with a leisurely atmosphere.

As this is the first big market in the last month, and the continuous snow has made people bored for a long time, the market today is obviously much more lively. There are all kinds of stalls and the noise is endless.

In the crowd, a little girl with pigtails was pulling an elderly man in his fifties, and they were fascinated by the items on the stalls.

Finally, the little girl grabbed the old man's hand and begged, "Grandpa, please buy me a rice cake..."

The old man was carrying a basket on his back, which contained a pot of newly brewed wine, as well as salt, vinegar and other items.

Others could judge from the number of items purchased that the grandfather and grandson must be from a wealthy family.

The old man touched the girl's head and laughed, then took out money to buy it for her.

Then, the grandfather and grandson followed the crowd again. When they arrived at the entrance of the City God Temple, the old man said, "Little girl, would you like to go and burn some incense with me?"

"Why do I have to go every time I go to the market..."

"Of course, burn more incense sticks and pray that my daughter will grow up quickly."

The old man smiled and walked in, holding the child's hand.

There were quite a few pilgrims in the temple. The old man took three incense sticks and lined up behind the crowd. He raised his head and glanced at the stone wall behind the statue.

On the wall, there was a tiny pattern that had not been seen for decades.

The old man was stunned for a moment, then retracted his gaze. Finally, he squinted his eyes and respectfully inserted the incense into the burner in front of the statue.

After doing all this, he took the girl's hand again and walked out happily.

After a long time, a beggar who had been in this market for who knows how many years came in limping, holding a wooden stick.

Because it was a big market day, there was a constant stream of people coming to burn incense.

……

When they got home, the old man let the girl go and watched her with a smile as she went to find her mother to play.

After a long time, he withdrew his gaze and walked into his bedroom with a calm expression.

His son, who had just returned from outside, heard the noise and came over.

"Dad, what are you busy with?"

The old man didn't answer, but dragged out a long and wide bamboo box from under the bed.

He brushed off the dust and looked at the box quietly for a long time.

The son's face turned pale and he stood there in a daze.

The old man opened the box, revealing a long oblique Tang sword inside. Next to the sword was a set of dark blue armor and a rain hat that looked like it was made of iron.

"Dad, our family is in such a difficult situation right now..."

The son walked over quickly, knelt down beside the old man, and said, "Can you bear to live like this?"

The old man didn't answer, but his expression was calm. He put the bamboo box on his back, walked out, and said, "Take good care of my granddaughter. If she can come back, I will teach her martial arts."

The son was in tears and when he turned around, the old man was gone.

……

In Rencheng, Yanzhou, there is a mountain village surrounded by dense forests.

In the main hall, a sturdy young man held three bamboo incense sticks and bowed respectfully to the spirit tablet on the offering table, muttering something at the same time.

"Father, you have waited for thirty years since I came here from my hometown in Jingzhou, and you have been lonely for thirty years. This time, I finally waited for you."

He raised his head, and his energetic face was now filled with solemnity.

After inserting the incense into the incense burner, he raised his hand and picked up the Tang sword placed behind the tablet.

His thumb pushed out the handle of the knife, and a cold light flashed in his eyes.

"My son Liu Cheng, I will definitely bring honor to your family when I go there!"

----

At night, in the far suburbs of Yanzhou.

Suddenly, footsteps were heard in a dilapidated building. The beggar who was lame during the day had returned to normal, but his messy hair remained the same. Only the wooden stick that served as a walking stick was replaced by a Tang sword.

As he stepped inside, he smiled in surprise and said, "Wow, I thought I came early, but I didn't expect you guys to be faster than me."

Beside the wooden pillar, the half-lying old man took off the rain hat covering his face and said, "Young man, I have never seen you before."

As his voice fell, several figures of varying heights appeared on the beams, in the shadows of the corners, and behind the half-collapsed seat.

The beggar glanced at them, took out a small copper plate from his pocket, and said with a smile: "Thirty years have passed, and naturally things and people have changed."

Then he showed the token and his voice instantly turned serious.

"Fu An, the ninth generation of the bad guys in Yanzhou, greets you all!"

Outside, a sturdy figure hurried over. Seeing this, he also took out the same token from his pocket and said solemnly: "Liu Cheng, the ninth generation of bad people in Yanzhou, inherited from my father Liu..."

"That young man, I know you."

Inside, the old man had stood up and squinted his eyes and asked, "Is your father from Shannan Road?"

Liu Cheng was stunned for a moment, then he scratched the back of his head with a silly smile and replied, "That's right, my father brought me from Shannan Jingzhou to Yanzhou in the third year of Guangqi."

"I met your father many years ago. You were a child then..."

The old man's words carry a sense of vicissitudes. Times have changed, and many of his former colleagues have long passed away...

Everyone was sighing. This time they gathered together after several decades. Most of the faces were young people in their twenties or thirties, and there were not many people like the old man.

Soon, when most people had gathered and briefly exchanged their names, they began to discuss the mission that had been issued after many years.

The old man has the most extensive resume, so he naturally becomes the temporary leader.

He stood beside the half-collapsed helmsman's seat in the hall and glanced at the crowd below.

Although there were no lights on in the hall, a cursory glance showed that there should be nearly two hundred people.

Clearing his throat, he pulled out a piece of paper from his sleeve and said, "I'm sure the liaison offices in each county will have found this letter, right?"

"Exactly."

"Well, the captain has sent a message that he is now in Caozhou." The old man paused, and at the same time raised his hands to the west, saying: "You should all know that the emperor of the Tang Dynasty is also in Caozhou. But the captain has recently obtained a secret report that the traitor Zhu Wen wants to move the emperor to Songzhou, and he will do so secretly in the next two days. The captain has summoned us to eliminate the traitor Zhu Wen and rescue the emperor!"

Many people below had rushed here as soon as they saw the Bad Man pattern, and only a few knew about this order. When the old man said this, everyone was excited.

"Is the Marshal going to make a comeback?"

"I, the Bad Man, have been dormant for thirty years. Finally, I can revive the prestige of the Tang Dynasty, eliminate the traitors, and restore the story of Emperor Xuanzong!"

There was a noise in the hall, and Fu An, who looked like a beggar, said loudly: "Does the headmaster know about this?"

Everyone was stunned.

The old man waved his hand and said, "The situation is urgent. I am afraid that the captain will not be able to report it to the headquarters in time."

Fu An frowned and asked, "But who can prove that this is what the captain meant?"

"When the time comes, we will know the truth from the false when we see the bad flag."

The old man pondered for a moment and said, "This method of communication has always been confidential, and even if others know it, they don't know that our Yanzhou gathering point is here. If you are afraid of being tricked, I can go ahead and verify the bad flag."

Liu Cheng, who was standing by, said anxiously, "How can we let the old senior go alone?"

Fu An frowned, then nodded and agreed, "The Bad Banner has always been under the control of the Captain. Even if he dies, it will be entrusted to others, so there shouldn't be any mistakes."

The old man nodded and looked at everyone.

"We, the Bad People, have always had only one principle. The commander is above the commander's orders, and the commander's orders are above the Bad Flags. Right now, the headquarters is far away, and the commander has no idea where it is, so we must obey the Bad Flags first. Do you have any objections?"

"no!"

The old man was very satisfied, and then he gave orders on behalf of the captain, dividing all the people into four groups, breaking up the whole into small groups, and sneaking into the jurisdiction of Caozhou.

Finally, his wrinkled face was extremely excited.

He gripped the hilt tightly and said solemnly:
"One day is a bad person——"

Below, everyone lowered their voices and responded in unison.

"For the rest of my life!"

(End of this chapter)