The train had barely come to a stop at Yan'an Station when Li Dingguo saw his relatives waiting on the platform.
His parents had long since passed away, but his second uncle, fifth uncle, third aunt, and several others were still alive. They stood together in a nervous cluster, faces tight with anxiety, eyes fixed on the arriving train as though it carried a verdict.
The moment the carriages rolled in, they craned their necks toward each door.
Li Dingguo stepped down from the train.
Not a single one of them dared approach him.
From the age of ten to seventeen, a boy changes beyond recognition. Limbs lengthen, voice deepens, features sharpen. The thin, stubborn child who once followed Zhang Xianzhong into rebellion had become a tall, hardened youth.
Li Dingguo recognized them immediately.
They did not recognize him.
"Second Uncle, Fifth Uncle, Third Aunt…"
He called out.
The group erupted at once and rushed forward.
"Dingguo? You've grown so tall."
"When you followed the Eight Great Kings back then, we told you not to go, told you again and again…"
Their voices overlapped in a jumble of relief and complaint.
Li Dingguo felt a knot tighten in his chest.
"Who is in charge here now? The man who summoned you, he won't harm you, will he? Don't let my rebellion bring disaster upon you."
Second Uncle laughed.
"This is the liberated zone of Dao Xuan Tianzun. Dao Xuan Tianzun is in charge. He treats us better than our own kin. Why would he harm us? Look at what I'm wearing."
Li Dingguo looked carefully.
His second uncle was dressed in a full set of cotton cloth garments. Proper cotton cloth, thick and clean. That was not cheap. Second Uncle's family had always been poor, poorer even than Li Dingguo's parents had been.
And now he dressed like this.
Li Dingguo turned to look at Third Aunt.
In her hair was a silver hairpin.
That single ornament would cost at least five taels of silver to craft. It was a luxury item beyond imagination for a peasant household.
Yet she wore it casually.
"You've… all improved your lives?" Li Dingguo asked slowly.
Fifth Uncle snorted.
"Open your eyes and look around. Is there anyone here dressed worse than us?"
Li Dingguo swept his gaze across the station.
It was true.
Nearly everyone wore cotton cloth. Several women wore small pieces of jewelry. The atmosphere was not one of famine and desperation, but of ordinary, stable life.
"Yan'an… really has changed."
He swallowed.
"How did Dao Xuan Tianzun make everyone prosper like this?"
Second Uncle waved a hand.
"That is a long story. Dao Xuan Tianzun governs with benevolence. Even if we talked for a whole day and night, we could not explain it all. You must watch Gao Family News every evening. Watch it for a while, and you will naturally understand."
"Gao Family News?" Li Dingguo blinked. "What is that?"
"All right. The family reunion ends here."
The soldier escorting him stepped forward.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun has decreed that, considering Li Dingguo has committed relatively few crimes, he may receive a lighter punishment. But punishment there must be. He will be sent immediately to Yan'an Labor Reform Camp."
Li Dingguo stared blankly.
Second Uncle and the others immediately surrounded him again. Some patted his shoulder. Others ruffled his hair.
"Dingguo, when you get to the labor camp, behave well."
"Reform actively."
"Work hard. Don't slack off. Strive for early release."
"Dao Xuan Tianzun is merciful. As long as you reform sincerely and put in real effort, your sentence will be reduced."
Third Aunt added warmly, "I'll come visit you from time to time and bring you something good to eat."
Li Dingguo could only stand there, utterly confused.
He did not understand the rules of this place at all. Why were they speaking of prison as though it were a school? Why did they look relieved instead of devastated?
A whole group of relatives followed the escort soldiers, accompanying him all the way to the Yan'an Labor Reform Camp.
The camp was not far from the city center. It sat upon Pagoda Mountain.
It was a small camp, nothing like the vast complex at Huanglong Mountain. The number of inmates here was limited. Most of them had relatives in Yan'an, making it convenient for family members to visit and bring small comforts.
People like this reformed faster than those whose families were long dead.
After all, who did not long to be released and live again with their loved ones?
…
After being ambushed by Flat Rabbit, the Eight Great Kings fled north in disgrace. The bandits following him grew fewer with each passing mile.
When they crawled out of the ambush valley, only sixty thousand men remained.
The Shanxi merchant Zhai Tang and his group deliberately chose a different road and separated from him. As they marched, small leaders began peeling away with their own followers, each seeking his own fortune.
Bandits were never an army of justice. They were a rabble brought together by desperation and greed. Loyalty was a thin thread.
After marching through the forests for some time, scouts returned.
"Once we exit this stretch of mountains, Shangcheng County lies ahead."
The Eight Great Kings began, "Let us hope there is no—"
He stopped.
A massive hot air balloon was rising above Shangcheng County.
He exploded in anger.
"That trick again? They think I am a fool? There are no troops directly beneath that balloon. It's just to scare me into changing direction. Forward. Advance toward the balloon."
This time he was determined not to be deceived.
He led the main force charging toward Shangcheng. But before they could even exit the Dabie Mountains, as they reached the mountain pass, they saw an army blocking the road.
A great banner fluttered at the front.
"Pu City Garrison, Commander Nan."
"Imperial troops?" the Eight Great Kings muttered.
Before he could determine whose forces these were, the familiar sound rang out.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Old Nan Feng was cold and efficient. He disliked unnecessary speech. He opened with artillery. Shells first. Then muskets. Swift and clean. No wasted words.
The Eight Great Kings' forces had no time to react. They broke instantly, scattering in panic.
He could not exit the mountains. He was forced to retreat back into the Dabie range.
After counting heads, he discovered that in the blink of an eye, more than ten thousand had been captured by Old Nan Feng. Others had fled entirely. Fewer than thirty thousand now remained with him.
Lost in the mountains, unsure of direction, he picked a random ravine and pushed forward in disarray. By the next morning, judging by the rising sun, he realized he was heading east.
"Fine. Then east it is."
They crossed ridges and valleys in exhaustion until they saw a county town in the distance beyond the mountains.
The Eight Great Kings recognized it immediately.
"That is Jinzhai County. It has no walls. I tore them down a year ago. We'll rest there."
Just as he finished speaking, another force appeared ahead on the mountain road.
A banner read, "Hedong Military Defense, Xing."
The Eight Great Kings felt his scalp prickle.
A woman's voice rang out.
"Eight Great Kings, you are surrounded. Lay down your weapons and surrender."
Xing Honglang stepped forward. Unlike Old Nan Feng, she had grown up in the jianghu. She preferred at least a few formalities.
"Though even if you surrender," she added coolly, "I cannot promise your life."
"Imperial troops again?" the Eight Great Kings snarled.
A subordinate hurriedly said, "No. Not imperial troops. Xing Honglang had firearms many years ago—"
Boom. Boom. Boom.
The cannons answered before he could finish.
The Eight Great Kings swore violently.
"Damn it. Run."