"Why is it so noisy outside? What happened?"
When the fire first broke out, the grain inspector and his men were in a distant tent and naturally didn't notice it immediately. By the time they became aware of it, they saw an unusual light shining through the tent, and the air inside was scorching hot. They had been drinking heavily that night, letting the alcohol take its toll and slowing their reactions. Only when the terrifying thought, "It's so bright, there's a fire," crossed their minds did they shudder.
At that moment, hurried, chaotic footsteps could be heard outside the tent.
Along with this came the panicked cries of the soldiers.
"Oh no! There's a fire!"
This shout startled the other drunken companions in the tent, who sat up abruptly. The supply officer, in particular, felt his legs go weak and he nearly fell forward. Had he not reacted quickly and braced himself against the table, he would have landed face-first on the ground.
"Wh-what?"
His voice was full of disbelief.
He immediately lost control and yelled, "How could there be a fire?"
Although the weather is dry at this time of year, this place, as a crucial link in the strategic layout of the northern desert, has certainly made thorough preparations for fire prevention. Not only are patrols rigorous, but they have also spared no effort in constructing large above-ground warehouses, each with multiple layers of fire prevention measures inside and out. Water tanks are placed every thirty to fifty steps to facilitate extinguishing fires with water if they are discovered.
Water channels and wells were dug outside the camp where the granary was located.
They were even more harsh on the soldiers.
Whoever caused the fire to spread to the granary or warehouse, not only would the person responsible be hanged, but all members of their unit would be punished, and the officer in charge would be put in cangue for several months and flogged eighty times. If the fire was more serious, all those implicated would also be hanged!
Thus, since the granary was built, everything has been calm and peaceful.
Why did the ship sail today? Why not earlier or later, especially during this sensitive period when the Northern Desert and Kang Kingdom are at war?
The grain inspectors and others did not direct their suspicions at Lin Feng.
It was simply because Lin Feng's performance was too perfect that they had received too many benefits from the big money god over the years.
This fire not only damaged the grain depot, but also ruined a sure-fire business deal, causing significant losses for the Chen family merchant. We're all in this together, bound by a common destiny! One suffers, all suffer; one prospers, all prosper!
Why would our own people harm each other?
The grain inspector never suspected that Lin Feng had any problems.
The more critical the moment, the faster the grain inspector's mind works.
He hurriedly asked, "Where did the fire originate?"
The fire was quite large. If the authorities investigated and held him accountable, being dismissed from his post would be a minor matter; his real fear was that his entire family would be killed. His first instinct was to find a scapegoat and pin all the blame on them!
From the main tent to the gate, a short distance, countless thoughts raced through his mind. But when he grimly lifted the heavy tent flap, a wave of heat rushed towards him. Everywhere he looked, there was a crimson glow of fire, and his heart sank to the bottom!
He swallowed the rest of his words!
Fires are breaking out in all directions!
Such a large-scale fire and its rapid spread could not possibly have been caused by "careless soldiers forgetting to put out the fire"!
Someone deliberately set the fire!
This was definitely a premeditated action!
A chilling thought surfaced in the mind of the grain inspector.
Could it be that an enemy spy infiltrated and started the fire?
If that's the case, the number of enemies who infiltrated must be quite large, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to expand the fire to this extent in such a short time!
Flames suddenly burst forth, accompanied by a fierce wind.
People couldn't even walk, and their eyes couldn't keep up.
One warehouse after another was engulfed in flames.
The speed of the spread made the grain inspector question his sanity—were all the previous fire prevention measures done by the enemy? Or were the warehouses coated with burning oil? How could it have spread so quickly?
The soldier who delivered the message naturally had no idea where it came from.
The fire spread too quickly; by the time they realized it was on fire, dozens of warehouses were reduced to ashes! But he knew that besides the fire, there was also the enemy! The soldiers also knew what the fate would be if the granaries were lost, and their voices were hoarse and shrill as they cried out, "It's an enemy attack—"
The grain inspector's suspicions were confirmed. He grabbed the messenger's shoulder with such force that he nearly crushed the soldier's bones: "Enemy attack? Enemy? Where did the enemy come from?"
Where did these enemies come from?
The grain inspector gritted his teeth in anger: "How many enemies are there?"
His eyes were bloodshot, and his gaze was almost bursting.
They wished they could tear all the invading enemies to shreds.
The soldiers were naturally unaware of these issues.
The grain inspector was frantic. He flung the messenger aside, drew his weapon, and charged towards the heart of the fire. His strength was considerable; a layer of martial energy around him temporarily shielded him from the intense heat. Along his path, the flames were parted by the force of the rushing wind, creating a wide passage.
The flames were stubborn and tenacious.
They swayed in the wind for a few moments, then returned with renewed force. The wide flames quickly closed again, and the fire raged even more fiercely than before.
The fire got out of control, and the soldiers guarding the granary were all trapped inside.
The grain inspector, like a headless fly, grabbed the survivors in the fire and asked them the same questions repeatedly. The first few had no idea; they had woken from a deep sleep to find themselves there, unsure which way to escape the fire. Seeing the grain inspector, they were as if they had seen a god, kneeling and begging him to save their lives. With the granary on the verge of collapse, the grain inspector had no time to care about them.
He abandoned the first few in the fire.
Only the last one knew the answer.
The man, his shoulder severed by a sharp blade, lay in a pool of blood. Upon seeing the grain inspector, a flicker of life flashed in his eyes, a fierce will to live, and he stammered, "It's...it's those cooks...they...they're spies..."
What cook?
The grain inspector was momentarily stunned.
The next second, it felt like my brain had been hit on the head with a hammer.
A single hammer blow sent him flying from the fire into an ice cellar.
Since the decision to go to war was made, the Northern Desert forces had dispatched a large number of cooks to transport grain in batches from granaries across the country. Because the first shipments consisted of grain from several years ago, the grain inspectors were not afraid of being discovered by their superiors even if they handed over the switched grain. Ten days had passed since the last batch of cooks left, and the granary camps only had guards, no cooks. So, who were these cooks?
It could only be those deaf-mute cooks raised by the Chen family.
These deaf and mute cooks—
Is he an inside man? An enemy? A spy?
The grain inspector was so shocked by the truth that his mind went blank, as if his soul had been ripped from his body in that instant.
"How...how...how is this possible?"
The severely wounded soldier struggled to extend his blood-stained, single arm.
His fingers curled up, trying to reach the corner of the grain inspector's robe.
Her lips moved with difficulty, her eyes filled with pleading.
"Help! Help!"
Unexpectedly, a flash of white light appeared before their eyes.
*Thud*—The head, covered in sand and blood, was propelled away by the jet of blood and rolled into a nearby fire. The eyes, which had not yet closed, remained frozen in astonishment as the flames relentlessly climbed up and engulfed the head in a fireball.
The grain inspector's eyes were sinister.
With a slight, skillful twist of his wrist, he pulled the sword, which had sunk two inches into the ground, out.
The seriously wounded soldier was beyond saving and couldn't escape the inferno. He decided to give him a quick death, sparing him some pain in his final moments. Having done this, the grain inspector headed straight for the site of the most intense clash of martial arts without looking back. The veins on his right hand, holding the knife, bulged.
He plunged headlong into the sea of fire, breaking through layers of flames.
Upon seeing Su Shiyilu, a roar escaped his throat.
"Give me your life!"
The grain warehouse fire will expose all his past embezzlement. Either way, his whole family will die, but before he dies, he'll make them pay with their lives! Su Shiyilu had just recovered from his retreat when he felt a sense of crisis in his back. He raised his eyebrows and sneered, then swung his hand back and struck with all his might, cursing as he did so: "What kind of rotten fish dares to take your grandfather's life? Trash, get out!"
He was already embarrassed by Lin Feng, but who told him to be a relative with connections and powerful backers? How could he be embarrassed in front of these people? These people should take a good look in the mirror. What gives them the right to act so high and mighty with the number one general of Wuzhou? Su Shiyilu was really angry.
Simply put, he got carried away. The feeling of overflowing and boiling martial energy is exhilarating, but it's also very uncomfortable to keep it bottled up. Why would he refuse someone who's offering themselves up to die?
In a single exchange, the grain inspector lost control of his body and was sent hurtling out like a cannonball, leaving a trail several feet long on the ground before crashing headfirst into the fire. His vision was a blood-red blur, and when he looked up, half his face was covered in blood. The grain inspector slammed his fist on the ground and leaped to his feet.
Then, a strange snowflake appeared in my field of vision.
It is strange because it is entirely grayish-white.
The fire had turned the ground a bright white; with such terrifying heat, how could there possibly be snow? Even the power of incantations couldn't withstand such temperatures. These thoughts flashed through the grain inspector's mind. Though strange, he had no time to consider anything else at the moment.
If he could look up, he would know the source of the snowflakes.
A gray-white dragon shadow, hundreds of feet long, hovered high in the sky.
Accompanied by a low, mournful roar, the dragon's shadow began to disintegrate from its whiskers, transforming into swirling snowflakes that rode the raging winds above the granary, drifting down upon the world. The snow fell heavier and heavier.
The ground was ablaze with crimson flames.
The sky was covered with grayish-white snowflakes.
One hot, one cold; one red, one gray—these two things, which should be incompatible like fire and water, have achieved a strange harmony at this moment, coexisting in the world.
The fire was contained by the barrier.
Separated by only a wall, they are two different worlds.
The soldiers guarding the granary outside the barrier were not relieved, because no one knew how long the barrier could hold out. While fighting the fire, under command, they quickly abandoned the outer ring of granaries as a buffer zone to rescue and evacuate the majority of the supplies.
They didn't even have the extra energy to care about the gray snowflakes.
Until the seemingly harmless snowflakes landed on their shoulders, hair, and exposed skin... they clearly felt the chill carried by the snowflakes, and goosebumps rose on the parts of their skin as they touched them. They had only taken a few steps when countless negative emotions surged uncontrollably, and the most unbearable memories and experiences of their lives flashed before their eyes, accompanied by endless pain.
Die, and you'll be free.
Yes, if you die, you can transcend to bliss.
In a daze, a voice rang in my mind.
The voice is neither male nor female.
Look, doesn't this person look like your enemy?
Listen carefully, and the voice sounds like that of their deceased relatives.
Listen to me, raise your knife and strike—
"If you cut me down, you'll avenge me..."
Some people, as if possessed, suddenly drew their weapons and slashed.
This slash seemed to be some kind of signal.
Caught off guard, soldiers were brutally decapitated or severed in half; some had their hearts pierced. Terrified screams spread like wildfire beyond the barrier. Those ambushed died without ever understanding why their comrades had betrayed them!
The other soldiers reacted quickly to control the situation.
The result of crowds converging in one place is even greater chaos.
The number of people injured or killed by out-of-control slashing has increased dramatically.
The soldiers were terrified, like headless flies.
Although not many people died, this unknown loss of control and madness was the most terrifying thing—they didn't know if they would be the next to be ambushed, and they didn't know if their comrades who were fighting alongside them one moment would stab them the next.
Suspicion and fear were amplified to an extreme.
Su Shiyi Lu took a moment to perceive.
His lips twitched violently as he recalled certain nightmare scenes.
The battle of Yonggu Pass left an indelible impression on the soldiers who participated in the battle. Even years later, those generals would still be afraid when they saw Chu Yao's gentle and harmless face.
Lin Lingde is even more ruthless than Chu Wuhui.
At least, Chu Wuhui's "Submerged in Water and Fire" doesn't have any additives.
The Northern Desert Scholar was the first to notice the problem with the snowflakes.
A middle-aged scholar violently plucked out several strands of his beard.
He shouted, "Form the array and summon the wind!"
Just blow these snowflakes away and keep them away from you.
Many years ago, there seemed to be a young man with similar skills, but that person was far less skilled and experienced than the one now.
At this moment, Lin Feng opened his arms.
Feel the emptiness of the Dan Palace, and let the wind and snow embrace you.
She seemed to be enjoying this subtle moment of harmony with heaven and earth.
"Awaken, my child."
This soft sigh was like the warmest whisper in the world.
"Aaaaaahh ...
The soldiers guarding the granary, by forming a defensive formation and summoning wind, were indeed able to insulate themselves from the gray snowflakes, and their comrades no longer suddenly went mad, committing suicide or killing. But no one expected the sudden change—dense vines tore through the corpses, carrying a strong stench of blood and entrails, heading straight for the nearest person. When all the vines had emerged, the former corpses had become skeletons covered with thin human skin!
But that wasn't the most nerve-wracking thing. What tormented them most was that the fire inexplicably appeared outside the barrier!
White smoke inexplicably billowed from the warehouses, and something seemed to be growing wildly inside, causing the outer walls to swell and deform until they collapsed and were exposed. The white smoke turned into flames almost instantly upon contact with the grain, spreading at an alarming rate!
Soldiers who were urgently transferring food also noticed that the temperature was not right.
As I looked down, flames shot towards me, blinding me.
Many people were engulfed by the flames at close range.
These provisions—
There's a problem!
Upon realizing this, the Northern Desert scholar felt his vision go black!
When exactly did this happen?
Lin Feng felt completely relaxed, while Su Shiyilu felt extremely uncomfortable.
An enemy warrior circled around to Su Shiyilu's rear in an arc, then burst through the ground, instantly increasing his speed to maximum. His spear, with its red tassel fluttering, aimed straight for Lin Feng's heart. Even faster than him arrived was a giant axe, as tall as a man, which struck the ground just a few feet away from Lin Feng, its deadly tip splitting in two.
Su Shiyilu lost control and shouted, "Lin Lingde!"
Couldn't she have hidden herself at all?
Why must I wait until I'm in the middle of my busy schedule to save people?
Saving Lin Feng is worse than making him eat several plates of shit!
|ω`)
My cousin is going to get three gold medals tomorrow, and I'll have Xianggu go with her to take a look. I'm leaving now.
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