Chapter 220: The Main Act Begins
Clearly, without a baptism of blood and fire, it would be difficult for him to gain a firm foothold here.
Ye Mengyan suggested that since the location of the enemy’s main altar had been confirmed and his squad was fully in place, they could launch a “black tiger grabs the heart” style surprise attack during the opponent’s incense hall ceremony. They would infiltrate, use explosives to blow open the gates, seize the high ground, and then conduct an indiscriminate slaughter within the village with sniper rifles, grenades, and automatic weapons, destroying its core in one fell swoop.
Once the core was destroyed, the situation in the entire Yizhou region would stabilize, making it much easier for Zhang Yingchen to do whatever he wanted.
The firepower of the thirty-two members of the Special Forces Command’s First Squad was the most terrifying killing force this era had ever seen.
Ye Mengyan felt that even without infiltration, if they just went directly to the main gate, blew it open, and charged in, the outcome of the battle would be the same. However, that would inevitably increase casualties and might allow some key figures to escape in the chaos.
Although Zhang Yingchen had no psychological barriers to using violence, this was, after all, enemy territory. If he were to openly create a “Ma Family Village Massacre,” the government would probably have to intervene, and the surrounding gentry would become highly vigilant. It would be tantamount to making enemies on all sides.
After careful consideration, he decided to stick with a surprise attack to carry out a decapitation strike against the enemy.
Just as Zhang Yingchen and Ye Mengyan were actively planning a “surgical strike” on the Ma Family Village, Mingqing suddenly ran in, his face pale with panic.
“Mas… Mas… ter…”
“What is it?” He glanced at his “first disciple” with dissatisfaction. Mingqing, being clever and quick-witted, had already surpassed the disciples he had taken in Lin’gao in his mind.
“Just now, someone claiming to be from the Namo Amitabha Sect came to the door and delivered a post.” Mingqing had recently heard many rumors: that people were plotting against his master, that they wanted to burn down the Yunsheng Temple, and so on. Having grown up in the south, he had never witnessed so many dangerous situations and was terrified.
As he was about to take the post and open it, Ye Mengyan stopped him.
“Could there be poison on it?” He had read many martial arts novels where paper was poisoned, and opening it would poison you.
“We’d only need to worry about that if they had the ability to create anthrax.” Zhang Yingchen was unconcerned. Poison on paper that could be absorbed through the skin? The martial artists of the 17th century couldn’t possibly have such advanced chemical extraction capabilities.
He opened it. Inside was a very simple, large red invitation, the paper not of particularly fine quality. It invited Zhang Yingchen to attend the incense hall ceremony at the Ma Family Village in three days.
“This is a Hongmen Banquet,” Ye Mengyan sneered. “This is a gift delivered to our door. I’ll send some men to act as your entourage and infiltrate first. When they start the ceremony, I’ll lead the rest of the men to coordinate from the inside and outside, and we’ll kill them all, leaving no one alive!”
“Why do that?” Zhang Yingchen disagreed. He wanted the people’s hearts, not a field of corpses. Wiping out the Ma Family Village was nothing, but it wouldn’t necessarily win over the followers.
To win over these lower-class people, deeply mired in superstition, he had to display a faith more powerful than theirs. The Chinese were extremely pragmatic when it came to religion. When a faith could bring them more benefits, they would switch allegiances without a second thought.
This incense hall ceremony was a great opportunity for him to display his “magical powers.” Although he was operating in enemy territory, with Ye Mengyan’s squad as backup, the risk was minimized, Zhang Yingchen thought.
“Go and reply to him,” Zhang Yingchen handed the post back. “Return the original post. Tell them I will definitely attend.”
“What? You’re going?”
“Of course I have to go. Otherwise, they’ll think I’m afraid of them,” Zhang Yingchen said. “If I don’t go, the followers who just joined us will waver. If I’m not mistaken, those Incense Masters have probably received invitations too.”
Ma Weisan was busy every day. The incense hall ceremony was a grand event, held only once or twice a year. This time, with the arrival of emissaries from the main altar, including the Law Master of the Inner Law Hall and the Saintess, he felt the scale of the ceremony had to be grander than ever before.
Moreover, Xuan De wanted to use this occasion to show off the sect’s power, so a frugal approach was clearly not what he had in mind. Although it was all his own money being spent, and every time the accountant brought him the bills, he would suck in a cold breath in pain, he kept reminding himself: This is not the time to be stingy with money. If I can keep my life and power, will I be afraid of having no money?
The pageantry was immense. Because it was a year of floods and the government was keeping a close eye on folk sects, it was inconvenient to be ostentatious outside the village. So, he focused on putting on a grand show inside. Not only was the incense hall lavishly decorated, but fifty tables were set for the banquet alone. He also had the village’s opera stage refurbished and hired a famous local troupe.
For the dozens of incense halls in the Yizhou sub-altar, even if every single leader of the rebellious halls came, the number of guests would only fill about thirty tables. The rest of the seats would have to be filled by people from the Ma Family Village to make up the numbers.
From the feedback of the dispatched messengers, the situation after the decrees were issued was better than expected. Not only did all the loyal incense halls confirm their attendance, but the wavering ones who had previously ignored his orders also replied, saying they would send people.
Even some of the recently rebellious incense halls sent representatives, claiming they had “no choice” at the time, and presented him with many gifts, asking him to “pull some strings” for them.
Only the completely rebellious incense halls, like the one in Dadian Village and those in the prefectural city, probably knew they wouldn’t get a good reception if they came and simply refused to see the messengers. On the other hand, that Daoist Zhang had readily agreed to come.
His straightforwardness made Ma Weisan uneasy. He was already wary of Zhang Yingchen’s magical powers, and now that he was acting so fearlessly, if the two of them were to really have a magical duel in the Ma Family Village, would his foundation even survive?
At this thought, his heart was in turmoil. But he showed no sign of it on his face, instead preparing for the ceremony with even more diligence. As the day approached, Ma Weisan knew that he was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t. His tightly wound nerves paradoxically relaxed. He woke up before the rooster crowed, checked the main hall, and then went to the newly erected reed-mat sheds to watch the hired chefs slaughtering fish, killing chickens, boiling meat, and frying meatballs… In the famine-stricken land of Yizhou, this meal was no less than a feast of mountain and sea delicacies. The chefs for the main altar’s representatives were even hired from Jining. He also specially purchased twenty jars of the finest Lanling wine from Jining for the high-ranking officials, while the ordinary guests were served wine bought from Jimo.
He came out of the steamy kitchen shed and stood in the courtyard, sniffing the rich aroma of meat. But he had no appetite. He kept staring at the courtyard wall—next door was the courtyard for the incense hall ceremony, where fifty tables were set, including the side yard. It looked quiet now, but in a little while, a big fight might break out. He knew that Xuan De and the Saintess Luo had been setting things up in the courtyard with a few trusted followers since yesterday. Not only were others forbidden to be present, but they were also strictly warned not to peek.
“Making a mystery out of it!” Ma Weisan thought to himself. Such secrecy probably meant they were secretly preparing some tricks for their magic performance. This was no secret among the higher-ups of the sect, above the rank of Incense Master. But he didn’t know if the Law Master and the Saintess had any real abilities to deal with that demonic Daoist.
While he was lost in thought, a servant came to report that the first batch of guests had arrived.
Ye Mengyan woke up very early that day—he always did on mission days. The morning air cleared his head and invigorated his spirits.
The Daoist was going to a banquet to “perform magic,” and Ye Mengyan was the prop and assistant for the “performance.” Just like with a magician, the magician might be in the spotlight, but the props and assistants were the key to a successful performance.
Ye Mengyan’s First Squad had finished their morning routine. They were divided into two teams. The first team, the main force of twenty men, was stationed at the Yunsheng Temple. The second team’s main task was to protect Dadian Village and the Zhuang family’s safety, as well as to guard the various combat supplies they had brought. They were stationed in a mule and horse inn in Dadian Village, rented by the Daoist. Neither Zhang Yingchen nor Ye Mengyan wanted this small squad to be under public scrutiny; they were just too special.
Today, he had gathered both teams at the Yunsheng Temple. The twenty-one special forces members had shed their daily disguises: the headscarves, fake topknots, and ragged clothes. They were now in their civilian-version BDU combat gear. The young men, who had looked so out of place before, had regained their spirit and vigor.
Since Rando’s “welcoming gift” and the weapons turned over by the North American branch, the entire Special Forces Command had been upgraded. The inconvenient SKS series rifles were now second-line equipment. The main equipment of the special forces was now the MGV-176, FAL automatic rifles, and shotguns. Each member was also equipped with four grenades. They even had a machine gun modified from a Serbian M77B1 automatic rifle.
Ye Mengyan carefully inspected each person’s weapons and equipment. This assault was not particularly difficult, but they had to coordinate well with the Daoist’s actions. Every step had to be flawless.
“The young lads are looking sharp,” Zhang Yingchen said appreciatively as he came out of the main room. He had also woken up early to make final preparations for the show. Although he had the strong protection of the special reconnaissance team, he had still taken the highest level of personal protection: under his Daoist robe was a special stab-proof vest, gloves, and a throat guard. He also had a Glock 19 pistol and a gas mask—in case of fire. All of this was hidden under his robe.
Most importantly, he had a miniature wireless earpiece behind his ear. Through this walkie-talkie, he could communicate with Ye Mengyan in real-time.