Yaozhou City: the whole city was sealed.
At the south gate, caravans, merchants, and pedestrians all crowded at the bridge over the moat, chattering and arguing in a dozen voices.
On the gate tower, a garrison commander raised his spiritual power and shouted warnings, telling the caravans and people gathered outside the city to find nearby villages to shelter in.
He shouted even louder, warning that danger might break out at any time here.
If they didn’t disperse immediately and were swept up, their lives and souls would be gone — and they shouldn’t blame the local authorities for not warning them.
Reluctantly, the people and carts at the bridge dispersed, each seeking a place to stay.
Only Lu Qian stood rooted in place — tall, gaunt, his body as thin as a bamboo-segmented insect, bald head glaring like a beacon — utterly conspicuous.
On the city wall, a group of garrison soldiers shouted in unison: “It’s that thief! It’s that thief! Issue the warning! Issue the warning!”
With a whoosh through the air, several black shafts of light shot up, straight into the sky for thousands of zhang, then with a crash they burst into a spreading plane of black flame.
The black fire seemed to burn a hole through the heavens.
The flames spread and coalesced into several huge black swallows in the air.