Chapter 447: Chapter 84: Turning against each other? Chapter 447: Chapter 84: Turning against each other? “`
The soldiers from the Nanying Camp of Suzhou and the Canal Transport Office, more than a thousand in number, had been summoned into the city and were mostly assigned to assist with the firefighting efforts at Bao Xiangtai.
Shouts and the sound of cartwheels rged into one cacophony, as the fire suppression team readied tools like grappling hooks, saws, axes, and ropes. The soldiers donned their official tunics and caps and carried water bags and dragons, pushing fire-extinguishing pumps to the scene.
“First team, move out!”
With a wave of the military-equipped leader’s hand, a pump cart operated by three soldiers sprayed out a column of cool water as thick as a fist.
As the streams of water poured onto the fire, sothing horrifying happened. The black flas actually ignited the water, burning back along its path. Had several soldiers not quickly cast their tools aside on sensing danger, lives would have been lost, and as it was, several of the firefighting pump carts were reduced to ash.
In the face of the fire, there was not a wisp of black smoke, only thickly colored, unnatural, black flas. Soldiers murmuring to each other with fear in their eyes.
“This is a demonic fire, it’s demonic fire!”
“Make way, make way!”
Several Dragon Tiger Servants perford hand gestures and incantations, tearing several water-blue-lined talisman papers and tossing them into the fire. These were protective talismans ant to suppress evil, capable of calming even demonic flas.
But when the talismans were thrown into the fire, they imdiately triggered a violent explosion. Countersparks of black fire leapt back, latching onto the hem of a Judicial Assistant’s robe.
Frightened out of his wits, the Judicial Assistant wore the complicated robes of the Heavenly Master Tao, making it too late to disrobe in an attempt to escape. The black fire reached his feet when a ball of white mist smashed onto the black flas, finally extinguishing them.
“I’ll take over.”
Li Yan arrived belatedly, riding on the Flying Thunder Horse.
The entire structure of Bao Xiangtai was being consud by fire, which threatened to spread even further.
Drawing the “Hanjiang” from the Desheng Hook, he delivered a chop forward, and blades of white vapor sliced through the air, entangling with the black flas and then silently extinguishing both.
“Quite the capable fellow.”
Li Yan pulled back on the horse’s reins, retreating a couple of steps.
“Continuing like this is not sustainable.”
The black fire consud all and grew with the wind, but for Li Yan, deploying the Dragon Mist was extrely taxing on the spirit.
Without hesitation, Li Yan stabbed the Hanjiang Trident into the ground. White vapor spread outward, and it took a whole stick of incense’s ti to enclose the periter of the fire, cutting off the black flas’ path.
“Demolish the surrounding buildings! Remove everything around the fire scene!”
There were plenty of soldiers present who worked swiftly; with over a thousand being busy, the area around the fire was soon cleared, to the extent that not even a fallen leaf remained.
The military-equipped officer who had t Li Yan during a previous flood rescue approached and asked, “Governor Li, what should we do next?”
“For now, just let it burn.”
Li Yan said.
Nodding in understanding, a few governnt officials, who had overheard, hurried over and saluted Li Yan: “Lord Governor, we were ordered to arrest soone at the Chen Mansion, but everyone there says the masters of the house went to Bao Xiangtai today. With the fire this fierce, we don’t know how to complete our task. Please instruct us, Lord Governor.”
Li Yan gazed thoughtfully at the rolling black flas before him, and only after the governnt officials repeated themselves did he co to and respond, “Go back and report exactly what you saw; those above will know what to do.”
“Disaster! Disaster!”
A crier on horseback, trailing a gong, charged down the street, covered in blood on his waist and thighs, shouting with veins bulging on his forehead: “The Prefect is dead! The Prefect has been murdered!”
“`
Upon hearing this, Li Yan’s first instinct was to initiate a conversation with Cha Xiaodao, but he paused and abandoned the idea. With a tug on the reins, his Flying Thunder horse understood and charged forward!
The ssenger was already panicked, for reporting an assassination of a county’s chief official was tantamount to a rebellion. He didn’t bother to clear the way for pedestrians, and in less than a breath’s ti, the horses nearly collided. Flying Thunder snorted out two white blasts from its nostrils, and the horse opposite let out a wail before collapsing onto its knees, throwing the ssenger a good three ters away.
Only then did Li Yan circle his horse around and berated the ssenger, “What nonsense are you spouting?”
The ssenger sat up, and seeing a general clad in armor, didn’t dare argue, but instead shouted hoarsely, “It’s true, my lord! That villain knocked over the gong and barged into the governnt office, cut off Mr. Zheng’s head, and fled just like that.”
“Where did the villain run off to?”
Li Yan inquired.
The ssenger blinked, thought for a mont, and then said, “Tianfei Pavilion! Lord Wu Keyang and Lord Li are staying there!”
Without paying him any more attention, Li Yan’s mount, Flying Thunder, neighed and galloped down the desolate street toward Tianfei Pavilion.
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Cha Xiaodao’s feet were surrounded by so twenty soldiers he had subdued, with the Centurion at the lead having his arm broken and lying unconscious in a corner.
Cha Xiaodao, holding a black cloth wrapped in his left hand, paused for a mont at the entrance of Tianfei Pavilion, then headed straight in.
Once inside the hall, Cha Xiaodao’s gaze swept past the sea of lanterns and embroidered velvet carpets to find a man in luxurious attire and reeking of alcohol standing at the foot of the stairs.
“It’s you.”
The man was taken aback to see Cha Xiaodao.
Having t before, Cha Xiaodao recognized Li Fukai, and Li Fukai recognized him as the military household mber who had killed Chen Er.
“You dare to escape from prison?”
Li Fukai pointed at Cha Xiaodao and yelled loudly.
“Huai’an Marquis.” Cha Xiaodao nodded and proceeded toward the stairs. With an aura of killing intent and blood still dripping from the package in his hand, Li Fukai sobered up instantly from the horrifying sight.
Nevertheless, being from a military background and a noble lineage, Li Fukai stared defiantly at Cha Xiaodao and accused, “Scoundrel, are you planning a revolt?”
In the ti it took to speak, Li Fukai horrifiedly realized that Cha Xiaodao had already reached the top of the stairs, effortlessly covering dozens of steps as if they were rely two or three.
In a bout of wild thoughts, he wondered if a vengeful ghost had co to claim his life, though it shouldn’t have been coming for him.
As he was pondering, a slap from Cha Xiaodao struck over, and Li Fukai tried to block with his arm. However, he did not see a black fla flickering on Cha Xiaodao’s index finger, slapping right onto his own arm.
The black fla grew with the wind and instantly engulfed Li Fukai’s entire arm.
Just as Cha Xiaodao was about to go after Wu Keyang, Li Fukai scread in agony, and the black fla extinguished as quickly as it had appeared.
Li Fukai’s right arm was scorched bare, the skin next to it turned a boiled red hue. Enduring the pain, he seized the mont when Cha Xiaodao was distracted to rush into his room, grabbing sothing from under his pillow. Just as he turned around with a fierce expression, Cha Xiaodao’s Owl Kiss Dagger flew straight towards him, piercing his throat neatly, killing Li Fukai instantly.
Cha Xiaodao felt a throbbing at his temples, his keen senses alerting him to danger. After dispatching Li Fukai with a single strike and taking two steps back to increase the distance, no attack ca.
After a while, Cha Xiaodao approached.
Li Fukai was undoubtedly dead, his hand still clutching a golden pouch, exquisitely decorated with dragon and phoenix designs, woven with gold threads, and sealed tight with a deep red string. It was indeed a remarkable sight.
Cha Xiaodao struggled a bit before snatching the pouch away and opened a small slit to discover two vibrant pills inside, one gold and one purple.
[Taiyin Talisman]
[Sun Talisman]
Cha Xiaodao put away the skin pouch, and staring into the unblinking eyes of the deceased Li Fukai, he tossed all the account books scavenged from the Chen Mansion onto Li Fukai’s face. After a mont’s thought, he decided to simply throw the package wrapped around Zheng Yuanning’s head there as well.
Taking a deep breath, he suddenly felt sowhat weak and exhausted. What brought him so relief was that the indescribably grueso death of the Hao Couple seed to have blurred quite a bit in his mind. Even so unresolved issues that would cause a sharp pain in his heart whenever he thought about them now seed easier to face.
For him, that was enough; he never dwelt on more than that. He had learned from a very young age not to obsess over trifles, an essential philosophy for navigating society.
It’s just that he had let Dayan down.
Cha Xiaodao surveyed the room’s furnishings and seeing that the water in the basin was still warm, washed his face. He then picked up two pieces of Suzhou-style pastries from the table and began eating. Suddenly, he rembered that there was soone he had not yet seen.
He stepped out of the room in two strides, just in ti to see Wu Keyang scrambling to escape through the window. By the ti Cha Xiaodao reached the window, outside there was the booming, furious voice of soone giving orders.
“Release the arrows!”
A locust-like shower of arrows forced Cha Xiaodao back inside.
“Tch.”
Cha Xiaodao watched as the bedraggled Wu Keyang was led away by a troop. The entire Tianfei Pavilion was surrounded by soldiers clad in strong armor and wielding powerful crossbows, prompting him to curse inwardly.
Li Yan had just arrived, making his way through the periter into the scene.
Xue Shengzao and Zhu Changyun, one with a hand on his forehead and the other with angry, bulging eyes, turned their fury upon Li Yan as soon as they saw him.
“Governor Li, what did you promise ? Do you not know that Zheng Yuanning is dead? Su Jianyuan from the Riverway Office is dead too? Jia Jindeng was one of my Dragon Tiger Mountain n; by what right did your n kill him? They even tried to kill the young lord Hou, and the Prefect!”
Li Yan glanced upstairs and said aloud, “I had no idea this man would be so deranged as to commit such shocking acts! I, Li Yan, will take responsibility for my own duties, but what’s urgent now is to first rescue Prefect Wu and young Lord Hou before we make any further plans.”
“The young Lord Hou is already dead!”
Wu Keyang, his hair disheveled and limping, suddenly spoke up, surrounded by a throng of armored soldiers.
He had only learned in the afternoon that the Pig Dragon King had been executed. At that mont, he had been staring blankly at a letter sent to him by Chen Tianfang, feeling slightly ashad of the deeds he had perford for the Chen family over the years. After all, in the world of officialdom, propriety and blending in were key. Without Chen Tianfang’s support, he, hailing from a Juren background, would have never achieved the position of Ningbo Prefect. Besides, with half of Zhejiang currying favor with and elevating the Chens, it certainly didn’t matter if he was included or not.
If only he had been transferred out of Zhejiang and the Pig Dragon King had died then, that would have been perfect.
That had been his thought when he heard the roar of Li Fukai outside. Initially, he didn’t pay much attention, assuming it was just young Lord Hou being temperantal. It was only when screams of anguish began that he realized sothing was amiss.
“I watched with my own eyes as that surnad Cha killed Li Fukai. If it hadn’t been for my quick thinking, I fear I would’ve suffered at that scoundrel’s hand as well.”
“Then let’s not stand on ceremony, burn the building down.”
Zhu Changyun had also learned from his subordinates that the officer accompanying Governor Li to Zhejiang was no ordinary man; a hundred or so good n couldn’t contain him, which is why he hadn’t sent soldiers into the pavilion to capture him, opting instead to burn down Tianfei Pavilion.
However, there was soone inside the pavilion who had no intention of sitting quietly and waiting for his fate.
With a loud bang, Cha Xiaodao leaped down from the second-floor window. Without the need for any command, hundreds of sharp arrows were fired at him.
Cha Xiaodao had at least four or five ways to evade the shower of arrows, but he stubbornly faced them head-on, landing amid the encircling crowd.
Amidst chants and red petals, the arrows striking Cha Xiaodao all broke apart on impact. Among them were specially crafted talisman arrows with formidable power, which Cha Xiaodao deftly picked out and blocked with his dagger, relying on the “Hell’s Vanguard” sharp vision and reflexes, none hitting him.
As for the spear and shield formations, they didn’t hinder Cha Xiaodao in the slightest. It seed he was intent on cutting a violent path through the soldiers to kill Wu Keyang.
“Get out of here, fast.”
Wu Keyang tugged at the sleeve of the soldier beside him.
“`
Zhu Changyun and Xue Shengzao were also being protected by soldiers, retreating repeatedly. Li Yan, on the other hand, remained motionless.
Xue Shengzao’s eyes shifted, and he said in a gentle voice, “Governor Li, why don’t you persuade your brother? If it really causes more harm to human life, then there will truly be no room for diation.”
Li Yan seed to hear him, slightly nodding his head, but also appeared as if he’d heard nothing, unmoved.
As the military formation collapsed under Cha Xiaodao’s assault, Li Yan was revealed, and they finally locked eyes.
Li Yan touched his mouth corner, and Cha Xiaodao raised his eyebrows, realizing that he hadn’t wiped off the cake crumbs properly.
Their movents were subtle, barely noticeable to the onlookers.
Only after Cha Xiaodao wiped his mouth with his sleeve did Li Yan raise his voice, “You brazenly kill officials, it’s equal to rebellion. If you’re sensible, surrender now, or face execution without negotiation.”
Cha Xiaodao didn’t respond but aid the tip of his blade at Li Yan and leaned forward, while Li Yan drew out the Jumu Great Sword, and they clashed.
“I’ve caused you trouble.”
Cha Xiaodao whispered.
“As long as you’ve vented, that’s good. Once this killing spree begins, you might be able to help greatly within a few days. Take a few flags and go, so the blind Heavenly Master Tao doesn’t seek you out and bestow misfortune upon you.”
“I also have sothing for you.”
The dual blades and the great sword stirred up gales, and the winds alone were enough to slice open flesh.
Though the area was under martial law, for so reason, two shadows, one large and one small, were intently watching from the darkness.
“What’s happening? Why is my uncle fighting with General Li?”
Cao Yongchang was a bit anxious.
After watching for a short ti, Mo Houguang understood most of the situation and shook his head repeatedly, “Your uncle is too impulsive. First, he escaped from prison, and now he’s killed an official—there’s no way out now. I’ve heard you say they were like brothers, but now one is an official and the other a bandit. They can only et as enemies on the battlefield. Ah, the bond of brothers, the valor of heroes, the laws of the land, the rules of the family—it’s truly a lantable story.”
Cao Yongchang’s brow furrowed deeply, shaking his head as if it were a rattle drum. Others might not know, but he knew that General Li was usually lawless. The laws of the land and family rules? On his journey here, how many demons and n had he slain? His speech and deanor never showed any regard for the law, and the distinction between officials and bandits likely ant nothing to them both.
However, he couldn’t share these thoughts with Mo Houguang.
The battle between the two grew fiercer. Two of the three-story wooden buildings were dismantled, and seven or eight walls were destroyed before Li Yan finally fell back amidst a sky filled with blade light.
Sohow the sword box on his back had sprung open, and Cha Xiaodao, with his quick eyes and hands, grabbed three golden flags.
After defeating Li Yan, Cha Xiaodao charged into the shrinking military formation, cutting a swath through with his blade dancing amidst the flas. Seeing Wu Keyang about to escape, Cha Xiaodao’s expression hardened; he stuffed the cake he had snatched earlier into his mouth, lit a black fla in his hand, and aid it at Wu Keyang’s retreating figure.
Strike!
Xue Shengzao threw a red talisman that struck Cha Xiaodao squarely in the chest. Despite being hit by the talisman, Cha Xiaodao appeared unaffected.
He launched the black Gluttonous Flas from his hand. Wu Keyang and the two soldiers escorting him were engulfed, and with the eruption of great fire, the three of them were reduced to ashes.
Seeing the job neatly done, and knowing that the ledger on Li Fukai’s corpse was enough to upend the entire Zhejiang officialdom, Cha Xiaodao stopped pursuing and turned to leave.
“Pursue him!”
The soldiers and Judicial Assistants hurriedly obeyed the order to chase after him, but Xue Shengzao, still shaken, did not follow and instead rushed to where Li Yan had fallen, “Governor Li, even though you’ve just executed Pig Dragon for the state and earned rit, this ti I must impeach you.”
Li Yan’s face paled as he coughed without stopping and said nothing, secretly slipping a fancy pouch into an inner pocket.
“`
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