Chapter 52: Burning Jade into Dust
The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and several gray pigeons flew across the rising sun, leaving a blue-gray trail in the mist, and then disappeared into the woods in the southeast in a blink of an eye.
Guards in brown shorts had already left the city gate, leading the greyhounds. Eight greyhounds, noses low to the ground, darted back and forth across the countryside. The carrier pigeons' flight paths were clearly carefully planned, sometimes circling tall trees, sometimes flying low over streams. They circled within a ten-mile radius for nearly two hours. As the sun rose higher, the grass gave off a green, astringent scent, and the greyhounds' panting grew heavier.
The guards were forced to split into five groups, each with their own dogs, searching in different directions. One group headed west, passing through a steep locust tree forest. The sound of their dogs' paws crunching fallen leaves startled a few mountain tits. After noon, they found a clue in a remote valley: three thatched huts surrounding a simple stable. The wooden sign "Inn" hung slightly askew under the eaves. In a pigeon coop in the corner, a few blue-gray feathers fluttered in the breeze, the same color as the carrier pigeon they were tracking.
The leading guard untied the lacquered wooden whistle arrow from his waist, the bowstring vibrated, a stream of red light pierced the scorching sun, and the splashing cinnabar powder cast a blood-mist-like shadow under the blazing skylight.
Yun Yuan followed Feng Yanyuan on horseback. When they arrived at the remote guesthouse, the personal soldiers of King Changshan had already surrounded the guesthouse.
The late spring wind blew willow catkins across the yard.
The Prince of Changshan stood in the hallway, his dark brocade robe stained with dark red at the hem. He tapped his palm with an iron whip intermittently. Kneeling before him were several trembling shop assistants, and a shop owner, his face greasy and sweaty, kowtowed profusely.
"Your Highness, I am a serious businessman..."
The King of Changshan suddenly leaned over and grabbed the shopkeeper's collar. A hint of a smile still lingered at the corner of his lips, but he suddenly grasped the man's jaw, his knuckles twisting—
“Crack!”
Broken teeth mixed with blood and foam splattered on the ground, and a poison sac the size of a tiny bead stood out in the dust. The moment the shop owner was thrown to the ground, the five or six trembling shop assistants suddenly jumped up, and a cold light flashed from their sleeves!
The sound of an iron whip piercing the air suddenly rang out. As the King of Changshan whipped his whip, the corner of his robe swung out a bloody arc, and then the five or six figures fell to the ground, twitching only twice before falling silent.
Two guards had already stepped forward and grabbed the shop owner's shoulders tightly.
Feng Yanyuan stepped over the winding bloodstains on the ground and squatted in front of the nearest corpse. His lips were stained with a rusty gray, and spiderweb-like blue spots snaked between his nails, just like when the fake prince was poisoned. Feng Yanyuan stood up and said, "It's the same poison."
King Changshan turned slowly, his cold eyes fixed on the shop owner.
"Still not telling the truth?"
The iron whip pierced through the air, tearing a bloody mark on the man's back. However, he grinned with a sinister smile on his bloodstained lips, gritting his teeth and saying nothing.
Yun Yuan was surveying the small guesthouse when she caught sight of a crack in the blue bricks. She paused, her nostrils twitching slightly—a faint whiff of rotten eggs seeping from the cracks. This scent, mingled with the pungent aroma of aged pine resin, suddenly brought back a chorus of cries from her memory. She stumbled backward, bumping into a porch pillar, sending dust cascading from the beams into a flurry.
"Retreat quickly!"
Her voice was so sharp it nearly split the air, startling the sparrows beneath the eaves. She clutched her sleeves tightly, her nails digging deep into her palms through the fabric, as if trying to dig those searing memories out of her flesh.
King Changshan frowned, and after sweeping his sharp gaze over her, he looked at Feng Yanyuan angrily: "Your servant is so brave..." He stopped talking suddenly - he saw a flash of surprise in Feng Yanyuan's eyes, which then turned into unquestionable certainty, and that look clearly told him the same thing: Retreat quickly!
It was during this fleeting moment of eye contact that King Changshan suddenly raised his arm:
"withdraw!"
The moment everyone rushed out of the door, a series of fine "crackling" sounds suddenly came from behind them, like dry bamboo joints bursting in fire.
Yun Yuan, for some unknown reason, stopped and looked back, staring blankly at the gaps between the beams. A dark blue and green flame snaked out like a poisonous snake, instantly licking the red beams and turning them into a charred black.
"careful!"
Before Feng Yanyuan's shout had faded, a deafening crack erupted from the main beam, the entire hall seeming to have been shattered by a giant beast's bite. The moment he reached over to wrap his arms around Yun Yuan's waist, a burning rafter brushed past their sleeves and fell to the ground.
Three steps away, the shockwave of the explosion exploded, chasing their fleeing steps. The blast kicked up a visible ripple of debris in the air, and everyone was thrown into the air like leaves in the autumn wind.
In the state of weightlessness, Yun Yuan saw wood chips all over the sky reflecting the afterglow of the setting sun, as if the sky was burning as well.
As he landed heavily on the grass, Feng Yanyuan's wide sleeves were scorched with burn holes, revealing his arms, reddened by smoke. He supported the shaky Yun Yuan, only to find her trembling all over. Her always bright eyes were now eerily empty, reflecting the burning flames, as if she were witnessing some distant nightmare.
The smoke cleared slightly.
The King of Changshan stumbled to his feet, his robes stained with dust. He looked back and saw several guards struggling to rise from the smoke, while the people in the inn had already been reduced to bloody remains in the blazing flames.
“Asshole!!”
The King of Changshan's eyes were bloodshot, and he lashed the ground with his iron whip, sending up a string of sparks. Veins bulged on his forehead, and a suppressed growl rolled from his throat.
Feng Yanyuan stared at the raging fire and said in a deep voice, "There might be some clues in the store." Before he finished speaking, a burning beam came crashing down, sending up sparks all over the sky. "They want to burn it all down. We need to put it out as soon as possible."
A glimmer of clarity flashed across the scarlet eyes of King Changshan, and he turned and shouted, "Put out the fire!"
"There's a well over there!" The guards shouted and ran towards the ancient well in the corner of the courtyard.
Yun Yuan suddenly broke free from Feng Yanyuan's embrace and stumbled forward, "No water!" Her voice was hoarse from the thick smoke. Seeing that everyone was still fetching water, she screamed heartbreakingly, "No water!"
Before he finished speaking, the first well water he had poured out had already touched the flames—
"boom!"
But there was a loud bang, and the fire that was originally weakening suddenly erupted into a three-meter-high fire wave. The air wave blew away the nearest guard and he fell heavily on the dead tree.
Feng Yanyuan knelt on one knee and supported the limp Yun Yuan. The girl's body trembled slightly under his palm, and he couldn't help but soften his voice: "What did you say just now? Tell me slowly." His fingertips touched the fabric of her back, which was completely soaked with cold sweat.
"It's sulfur... mixed with saltpeter..." Yun Yuan suddenly grabbed his wrist tightly, her distracted eyes looking over his shoulder, as if looking at some horrible phantom, "Use... use wet soil... be sure to cover your mouth and nose..." The broken ending of the syllable was drowned out by the sound of chattering teeth, and the whole person was shaking.
Feng Yanyuan's Adam's apple rolled, and his grip on her waist unconsciously tightened. This woman, who had faced life and death with equanimity, was now as fragile as a piece of paper that would shatter at the slightest touch. He subconsciously pulled her closer to him, holding her tightly. He only looked up at the King of Changshan standing beside him.
King Changshan heard it clearly and quickly ordered everyone to use wet soil to put out the fire.
Yun Yuan curled up in Feng Yanyuan's arms, her face pale. The flickering flames in her pupils gradually overlapped with the nightmare deep in her memory—the same thing happened in the fire at Mo Yun Pavilion that year, the blaze that engulfed the entire clan...
"It's him..." Yun Yuan's lips opened and closed silently.
Fortunately, the guesthouse was a simple structure with rammed earth walls, so the fire, though fierce, did not spread. Following King Changshan's instructions, the guards hurriedly stripped off their robes, soaked them in well water, and then wrapped them in damp earth from the courtyard and threw them toward the blaze. The yellow earth, mixed with chopped grass, emitted a plume of smoke upon contact with the fire, and the sulfurous flames actually gradually subsided—the damp earth isolated the air, and the grass ash perfectly absorbed the toxic smoke. Within three cups of tea, only a few lingering wisps of white smoke remained in the inner chamber, writhing faintly among the charred beams.
When they re-entered the fire scene, the ground was littered with charred remains.
Yun Yuan sat alone in her courtyard. The evening breeze lifted her sleeves, carrying the scent of ashes to her brows. Embers crackled beneath her feet. The once towering beams were now crumbled into twisted, charred bones, their silhouettes gleaming in the twilight. Wisps of green smoke curled from the ashes, like the claws of countless dead souls, clawing relentlessly at the fading light.
She had never seen what the house looked like after the fire, but no matter how magnificent the attic or how warm the hall was, they would all look the same after being burned to ashes.
The guards pushed aside the wreckage and suddenly discovered a dark room that they had not noticed before - unfortunately, this place was burned most thoroughly, with the walls as black as charcoal. A curled up charred corpse almost merged with the ground, with only a few white bones sticking out from the charcoal shell, like a hideous statue reshaped by flames.
The King of Changshan lifted a piece of unburned leather with the tip of his sword. The faintly engraved patterns were visible on it. He frowned and said, "This inner chamber must be used to store confidential items. It seems they were aware of this and managed to hide someone inside."
Feng Yanyuan half-knelt in the charred ashes, his blue and white corset already stained. His fingertips pushed aside the layers of charcoal dust and suddenly touched a hard object—a black iron bottle cap. After wiping it clean, he discovered a small "flower" character engraved on the inner wall.
"Ghost knocking on the door..." He frowned. This was the secret signal of the Beggar Gang.
Not far away, a guard picked out half of a hidden weapon from another pile of ashes. It shone silver and looked like a thin feather.
"Your Highness! This looks like the Wuji Sect's 'Feather Light'!"
Prince Changshan took the hidden weapon, his fingertips brushing against the sharp blade. A cold light flashed in his deep eyes, "Could it be the Wuji Sect?"
Feng Yanyuan stood up and handed over the black iron bottle cap, "Your Highness, look, this is something from the Beggar Gang."
King Changshan was stunned. "The Beggar Gang and the Wuji Sect have always kept to themselves. How could they be intertwined?"
Feng Yanyuan's eyes darkened as he recalled what Feng Jiu had reported this morning. He frowned and said, "It's not a collusion between the two factions, but someone has set up a trap to lead the various factions in the martial arts world to kill each other."
Prince Changshan was about to ask more questions when a guard suddenly rushed in, clasped his fists and said, "Your Highness, a group of soldiers suddenly arrived outside and have surrounded the guesthouse."
Upon hearing this, the King of Changshan sneered: "Oh, this prefect is really diligent!" His eyes flashed coldly, and he shouted: "Go tell that blind man that the King of Changshan is here to handle a case, and tell him to get out of here immediately. If he dares to disturb you-"
Before he finished speaking, a clear and long laugh suddenly came from the yard.
"It's been years since we last met, but your hot temper hasn't changed at all." A young man in brocade clothes walked in with his hands behind his back. "Who are you telling to get out?"
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