Luo Qingzhou led his subordinates, dashing swiftly toward the Four Extremes Ward.
A ribbon of cold light wrapped around his body like a flash of lightning, sword light shimmering with a faint ringing, tearing through the air, propelling him forward at an incredible speed.
As an Eight-Star General of the Palace Guard, Luo Qingzhou’s strength was worthy of his rank.
With a single leap, he could soar over ten zhang [about 33 meters] in the air.
From a distance, he looked like a streak of cold light flashing above one rooftop after another, darting far ahead, leaving most of his men far behind.
Among all the Palace Guard units stationed along Youlouzzi Street, only Lu Shan could easily keep up with Luo Qingzhou.
Holding a steel-tipped spear, Lu Shan closely followed just six feet behind Luo Qingzhou.
Around him, there was no howling fierce wind, no eerie light flickering.
He simply stepped calmly, one step at a time, onto the ridges of the houses below, each step covering over ten zhang.
Gradually, Luo Qingzhou and Lu Shan left the rest of the Palace Guard units far behind, a large distance separating them.
Looking back, only two Seven-Star Generals clad in red robes were barely visible.
“Good agility. No wonder you dared to tell Lu Tianxing earlier that you ran fast,” Luo Qingzhou praised with a nod after a furious sprint.
“I was a kid with no parents since childhood, so naturally, some brats in the tribe wanted to bully me. Their parents would intervene if they were beaten or cursed. I had no choice but to figure out how to run faster and faster.”
Lu Shan smiled at Luo Qingzhou. “Fortunately, I seem to be gifted in running. Since I was nine, no older kids in the tribe blocked me in alleyways to demand money anymore.”
Luo Qingzhou leaped into the air again, a cold light flashing as he instantly crossed several courtyards.
He winked at Lu Shan. “So it seems the Marquis of Lai governs his household well?”
The phrase ‘govern his household well’ carried a trace of mockery when spoken by Luo Qingzhou.
As for the Marquis household now—hmm, better not say.
Lu Shan gave a dry laugh, “Haha, wealthy families are bound to have troubles. Besides, I’m not a direct descendant, just a side branch. Tsk, it’s quite a hot mess.”
Racing all the way, the distance from Youlouzzi Street to Four Extremes Ward was only a few li [around a mile or two].
Lu Shan and Luo Qingzhou had already reached the southwest side of Four Extremes Ward, landing atop a tall building beside the street.
Crossing a street about twelve zhang wide, the opposite side was Four Extremes Ward’s territory.
To separate it from the surrounding common alleys and streets, the west, south, and north sides of Four Extremes Ward were all bordered by open canals several zhang wide.
Every hundred zhang or so along the canals stood stone bridges linking Four Extremes Ward to nearby neighborhoods.
At this moment, several gardens near Qifang Garden within Four Extremes Ward were burning fiercely, the sky glowing as red as a brick kiln.
But on the stone bridges over the canals, large groups of bodyguards for the young masters and young ladies of Four Extremes Ward blocked the roads, squabbling loudly with squads of martial marshals, city guards, and firefighters who kept arriving.
Just diagonally across from Lu Shan and Luo Qingzhou, on a stone bridge, a middle-aged man in a pale purple official robe was furiously arguing with two men dressed in splendid attire.
In the Dayin Dynasty, purple robes marked high rank; only formal officials of third rank or above had the privilege of wearing them.
Fengdiao Ward was a First Rank Ward, its ward magistrate was an official ranked at the third grade.
Judging by the style of his robe, this middle-aged man was clearly the esteemed magistrate of Fengdiao Ward, personally rushing to the scene.
The fire had only just begun, yet the high-ranking Fengdiao magistrate had already arrived—showing his diligence in governance.
However, the richly dressed men blocking his path were jabbed so close to his nose, it looked as if their fingers would pierce through.
Luo Qingzhou’s tightly stretched face relaxed slightly.
He lowered his voice and chuckled, “Well, it’s lucky someone’s taking the heat. It’s to be expected—if anything serious happens in Four Extremes Ward, it’s either the Honglu Temple or Fengdiao Ward that’s responsible. That’s only natural.”
“Honglu Temple is nothing but a bunch of salted fish from top to bottom. Punishments, reprimands, demotions, salary cuts—they just don’t care anymore.”
“This fire is basically burning Water Lord’s backside directly!”
The Fengdiao ward magistrate’s surname was Shui.
He was a scholarly disciple who often clashed with Palace Guard forces, and his relationship with Luo Qingzhou was especially strained.
Seeing him being harassed, Luo Qingzhou fought back laughter, holding it in.
Lu Shan cleared his throat and looked grimly at the distant fire, saying in a low voice, “The scary part is if this fire has anything to do with the people we’re chasing.”
The corner of Luo Qingzhou’s mouth twitched violently.
He glanced at the large group of bodyguards blocking the rescue crews, his expression immediately turning dark.
Four Extremes Ward was on fire—this matter was escalating.
If it was just an ordinary fire accident, Honglu Temple would be responsible.
If some criminal case was mixed in with this fire, the Fengdiao Ward magistrate would take the blame.
But if this fire was truly related to those two coffin shops, the Ghost Mother Cult, and the ghostly women the Palace Guard was pursuing—then unquestionably, the consequences and most of the blame would fall on the Palace Guard.
Luo Qingzhou was, after all, the commanding general of the Palace Guard stationed in Fengdiao Ward and several surrounding wards.
“Move!” Luo Qingzhou’s expression grew ugly.
He gave a sharp order, then leapt over the street and canal, dashing straight into Four Extremes Ward’s interior.
Lu Shan slung his spear and stepped on a nearby rooftop ridge, springing forward.
In fact, he flew a little faster than Luo Qingzhou, swiftly entering Four Extremes Ward.
Behind them, two Seven-Star Generals and over a dozen capable captains had caught up.
Seeing Lu Shan and Luo Qingzhou like this, they bit their teeth and used their own skills to cross the street.
Lu Shan was still in midair when a whistle sounded below.
With a loud rushing sound, seven or eight oddly shaped ox horn axes spun rapidly, slicing down at Lu Shan.
In the street below, from the shadows, a dozen or so men with long flowing hair, faces covered in dark blue-black tattoos, wearing only beast-skin vests despite the cold winter, their chests exposed and bare, leapt out, baring teeth and growling low threats at Lu Shan.
A cold and proud voice rang out from the darkness: “The affairs of Four Extremes Ward should be handled by Four Extremes Ward itself. There’s no need for officials like you to meddle!”
Lu Shan pointed his spear, a series of clear ‘clang clang’ sounds rang out as the ox horn axes shattered under his blows, tumbling to the ground.
However, the force behind the axes shook him violently, sending him flying upward over ten zhang.
His hands trembled slightly as the spear hummed an ominous sound.
He rolled backwards midair and landed somewhat awkwardly atop a small building at Four Extremes Ward’s outer edge.
In the air, wisps of pale blue smoke floated around.
Those ox horn axes were coated with deadly poison.
With the axes shattered, the poison scattered, filling the area within more than ten zhang with visible toxic smoke.
The tattooed men stood calmly in the poisonous smoke, breathing it deeply without any visible effects.
Judging by their strange attire and mastery of poison, these fellows were likely barbarians from the southern jungles.
Luo Qingzhou alighted beside Lu Shan, gritting his teeth and scolding, “How dare you attack Palace Guard officers?”
The arrogant voice continued: “Oh? Palace Guard eunuch? Not the first time, either. What, you wanna pick a fight with me, Young Master? Tell me your name, and I’ll have my father kill your whole family!”
Luo Qingzhou tightened his lips, refusing to respond.
Lu Shan glanced at him, wanting to ask if Luo Qingzhou was afraid to provoke the so-called ‘Young Master,’ but judging from the situation, there was no need.
Clearly, Luo Qingzhou did not dare to offend him.
Lu Shan looked toward the source of the voice and said gravely, “This Young Master may very well be mixed up with... demon beings inside Four Extremes Ward. We are here also considering everyone's safety.”
In his mind, he ran the word ‘villain’ over several times.
But upon reflection, those red-robed ghost women were far beyond mere villains; the word ‘demon beings’ more aptly described their level of threat.
A little way off, from a courtyard, a window on the third floor of a small building suddenly flew open.
A bare-chested, burly man appeared, his waist wrapped in a beast-skin skirt, his skin covered with purple-red tattoos.
He bared his teeth and snarled, pointing at Lu Shan.
“Get lost, or I’ll break your legs!”
“No matter if you’re demon beings or ghost beings, you damned lackeys aren’t allowed into Four Extremes Ward!”
Lu Shan said coldly, “Then bear all the consequences yourself. Your actions today...”
The burly man broke into wild laughter.
Pointing at Lu Shan, he shouted, “Bullsh*t! What a wonderful joke!”
“No worries, I want you all gone!”
“If there’s a problem, you wear it!”
“Get out of my way! Don’t disturb this Young Master’s refined mood of exploring life’s mysteries.”
The man glanced repeatedly toward the rising flames in the distance, then suddenly roared aloud:
“What a bunch of useless fools! That’s the direction of Qifang Garden? Qi Chen’s burning down? Such a joyous occasion—why didn’t you call me earlier?”
“Someone, get over here! Armor up, prepare horses, bring my Dragonblood Vine iron club staff and many men! Let’s cheer for Qi Chen and celebrate!”
“Ah, this fire—it’s burning splendidly. Qi Chen and I usually see each other all the time—we’re friends!”
“We’ve got to help him put out the fire!”
“Quick, quick, bring all the firewood in the shed, and three thousand jin of oil. Let’s help Qi Chen fight the fire!”
Lu Shan’s face darkened.
He’d heard from Old He that the hostages of the feudal lords in Four Extremes Ward were no good.
But he never imagined this bunch of bastards could behave to such an extent.
Taking firewood and oil to put out a fire?
Are you trying to barbecue people alive?
What kind of creatures are these?
In the garden up ahead, amid the noise, groups of bare-chested men covered in tattoos joyfully ran out.
They quickly donned armor, grabbed swords, bows, and crossbows.
Within moments, dozens of armored men clustered around the man on the small building, flooding out of the garden.
Following behind were two or three hundred men carrying huge bundles of firewood and barrels of oil.
They marched in a mighty procession along the street toward the burning area.
Chaos spread throughout Four Extremes Ward.
Everywhere, people rushed toward the fire.
More gardens had tall buildings where many young masters and young ladies set up small tables with food and wine.
They cheerfully drank and feasted while watching the scene of the fire.
All around, the sound of copper gongs echoed.
“Brothers and sisters, attention! The game has begun, it has begun...”
“If Qi Chen dies in the fire, I pay five times.”
“If Qi Chen is crippled in the fire, I pay double.”
“If Qi Chen escapes alive, I pay one and a bit times.”
“Hey, you folks living on the outskirts, make sure your men keep a close eye out. Don’t let those lackeys come in and spoil the fun.”
“Hey, hey, the bets are open! Place your bets!”
“A fire to welcome the new year, blazing and prosperous... Small bets for health, big bets for pleasure. Place your bets!”
(End of chapter)