Chapter 102: Ancient Thing Turns Into A Spirit
“Even if the fire seed is very meaningful, it shouldn’t require City Lord Pang Bei to sacrifice his entire family, right?”
“I suspect that the fire seed here might have even deeper significance.”
“So, did you detect any special energy fluctuations?”
“No, or perhaps we are too far from the so-called fire seed.”
“Then let’s go find Han De. I believe that finding Han De will lead us to that fire seed.”
Yun Ce couldn’t afford to rest and sneaked toward Han De’s Prefectural Office.
The City Lord’s Mansion was in the south of the city, but the Prefectural Office was in the north.
As night fell, Yun Ce’s movements became much easier, though he kept encountering people who wanted to kill him. He focused on evasion rather than killing, as there were already too many dead people here.
Just as Yun Ce vaulted over a high wall and prepared to leap to the other side, he suddenly heard Old Cao’s voice.
“Han De is almost at his limit. Everyone, hold on a bit longer. We must get the Shehuo.”
1 “I still don’t understand even now. Logically, if the Great Han abandoned us, the Shehuo would automatically extinguish. Why is Chuyun Prefecture Shehuo still burning? Old Cao, if you don’t explain the reason today, I’ll leave Chuyun City right now, go to the Royal Hunting Ground to find my family, live incognito back in the Great Han, and being a wealthy man isn’t a bad life either.”
1 “No one can figure out the reason. The Ancestral Fire is enshrined in the Chang’an Shehuo temple. If the Great Han Emperor abandons Chuyun Prefecture, he could casually sever the link between the Ancestral Fire and Chuyun Prefecture Shehuo, and our Shehuo would inevitably extinguish.
1 Since the Great Han Emperor has already decreed to abandon Chuyun Prefecture, he must have cut the link between the Ancestral Fire and Chuyun Prefecture Shehuo. Not only did the Chuyun Prefecture Shehuo that should have extinguished not go out, but it’s said to be burning even more vigorously.
1 Some say this foreshadows that Chuyun Prefecture can establish its own kingdom, and Shehuo can also be split from Chuyun Prefecture Shehuo.”
1 “Old Cao, plotting for the world is not something people like us can do. Now, with Old Cui, Old Dai, Old Wang, and Old Ge dead, if we continue, I feel we won’t live much longer either.”
1 “Sigh, we’ve come this far. If we don’t fight for the Shehuo now, I really can’t accept it. Remember, if we hand Chuyun Prefecture Shehuo to the Great Han Emperor, in the Great Han we’ll have everything we want. Even becoming a new clan isn’t impossible.”
1 “Fine, let’s hold on for two more days. If we still can’t find an opportunity to take the Shehuo, we’ll leave Chuyun City and head straight to the Royal Hunting Ground. Who knows if that Liu Chang’an can really be relied upon.”
1 “The worst outcome is just losing a few women. That’s no big deal.”
1 Yun Ce slowly retreated his body from the high wall, tiptoed away from where Old Cao and the others were gathered, and planned to reach Han De first to see what that so-called Shehuo really was, something these people were willing to risk life and death for.
1 By the time Yun Ce found the Prefectural Office, an hour had passed. It had just gone through a fierce battle, and a group of warriors wearing masks were clearing the enemies’ corpses.
2 Yun Ce landed on a big tree like a large bird, coldly watching those busy armored soldiers.
2 There were many people inside the Prefectural Office, mostly warriors in heavy armor. They were sprawled out here and there, seemingly resting. Some armored soldiers lay directly in the flower beds, messing up the flowers and trees. Others simply took off their boots and stepped their salty, greasy feet into the hot spring pool, causing the precious ornamental fish inside to float belly-up.
2 Yun Ce watched for over half an hour but didn’t see Inspector Han De. He figured Han De couldn’t be at the Prefectural Office; if he were, those armored soldiers wouldn’t dare be so reckless.
2 “Doggy, any discoveries?”
2 Doggy’s tentacle swayed with the wind, diligently analyzing the scents in the air.
2 Before Doggy could give any indication, the Dragon Pearl became somewhat agitated. Yun Ce extended his arm and tested two directions. When it pointed left, the Dragon Pearl calmed down, so Yun Ce jumped down from the big tree and searched to the left.
2 To the left was a large residential area. The guesthouse where Yun Ce had stayed in Chuyun City was nearby, as was the academy. The pavilion he had burned down was clearly almost half rebuilt, but now it was burned again.
2 Upon returning to the small courtyard where he had once lived, the Dragon Pearl calmed down.
2 The courtyard was still there, but the house he had lived in was burned down. With the Dragon Pearl losing its target, Yun Ce wasn’t in a hurry. He found a clean spot and sat down.
2 Doggy continued to extend long silver threads swaying in the wind.
3 Just as Yun Ce was about to fall asleep, the sky suddenly darkened. Looking up, the blood moon that had barely provided light was obscured by a layer of dark clouds.
3 Before Yun Ce could find shelter from the rain, the chilly spring rain poured down.
3 The heavy rain fell with a roar. Yun Ce huddled under a half-broken eave, trying not to expose his figure to view.
3 “The first rain of Flower Festival Month has finally fallen. It’s time for us to go.”
3 This sentence suddenly entered his ears, and at the same time, Doggy’s silver thread pointed underground not far to the left.
3 The guesthouse connected to the academy. At the academy grounds, a patch of scorched black ground was suddenly lifted, and a tall, thin figure slowly emerged from the earth bit by bit. Soon, eight more people crawled out of the hole. Having been underground for a long time, even with the heavy rain pouring down, they didn’t mind at all. Standing in the downpour, they still felt exhilarated despite the rain drenching their heads.
3 The eight people stood motionless in the rainwater for five or six minutes. Yun Ce then saw another gaunt figure emerge from the pitch-black tunnel, but this one was holding a box about a foot square in his arms.
3 From the moment the box rose from underground, Yun Ce’s bracer became scorching hot, and Doggy detached from the bracer, falling into the muddy water.
3 In the darkness, Yun Ce curled his body into a ball. He could feel the Dragon Pearl’s extreme longing for whatever was in that box.
3 The last time the Dragon Pearl absorbed another Dragon Pearl, it was with some disdain and reluctance, nothing like this time’s eager craving.
4 The person holding the box, like the eight who emerged before him, also enjoyed the spring rain for a moment, then said to his burly partner: “We can’t move the Shehuo until Flower Festival. Now that the spring rain has come, the time of Flower Festival has arrived. It’s time for us to leave here.”
4 The strong man said: “What a pity for Chuyun City, what a pity for Chuyun Prefecture.”
4 “Let’s go. Nothing to pity. We have the Shehuo. We’ll plot slowly, build our foundation over generations, and eventually there will come the moment when we spread our Shehuo across the world.”
4 Seeing them laughing triumphantly in the rain, Yun Ce kicked off fiercely from the half-wall with both feet. As the wall toppled, his body shot toward the last person like a cannonball.
4 The leading strong man sneered, as if he had anticipated the sneak attack. His massive fist whistled through the air toward Yun Ce’s oncoming body.
4 Yun Ce punched back as well. The two fists collided in midair with a bang. The strong man’s expression changed drastically. He immediately turned his fist into a grab, reaching down toward Yun Ce’s body rolling leftward.
4 Yun Ce’s body spun in the muddy water, brushing past the strong man’s arm and reaching toward the person in the middle.
4 In the flash of movement, the other guards snapped to attention. Ignoring Yun Ce, they immediately formed a back-to-back circle protecting the one holding the box in the center. At the same time, they drew their long sabers, instantly separating Yun Ce and the box-holder into two worlds.
4 Facing the slashing long sabers, Yun Ce retreated rapidly. After taking a heavy punch, he returned to the low wall where he started.
4 “Team up and kill him. We can’t let him live.” The strong man shouted, but received no response from his companions. Turning his head, he saw a strand of silver thread silently drilling into the top of his head.
5 The feeling of his strength draining horrified the strong man as he said: “Who are you?”
5 Yun Ce didn’t answer. Urged impatiently by the Dragon Pearl, he pushed aside the guards around the middle-aged man and directly took the wooden box.
5 Opening the box, a surging blaze erupted from it. Yun Ce had no time to dodge and was completely enveloped by the flames.
5 There was no burning sensation, just like countless needles piercing into his body. Yun Ce desperately wanted to scream but couldn’t control his body at all.
5 In an instant, the great fire engulfed his whole body. Yun Ce was in unbearable pain. Several times he tried to call Doggy for help, but he couldn’t sense Doggy’s presence at all.
5 The heavy rain continued falling from the sky onto the flames, making them burn even fiercer. When Yun Ce could no longer endure the pain and collapsed headfirst into the muddy water, the golden flames surged like a tide entirely into the Dragon Pearl.
5 Yun Ce lay in the muddy water, panting heavily. Once he recovered from his panic, he immediately checked his whole body. The sensation of being burned by the flames had been real, but after the great fire, his clothes and hair were undamaged.
5 No time to think, Yun Ce kicked a long saber flying. The knife spun through the air in midair, severing three people’s necks before landing. Yun Ce kept kicking knives until all eight heads hit the ground. Without dealing with the scene, he plunged into the pitch-black fire site and fled without looking back.
5 He had no choice; his mind was filled with Doggy’s deafening roar urging him to flee, nearly splitting his head open.
5 Actually, even without Doggy’s warning, the wind pressure from high altitude already filled him with dread. It was unmistakable—a giant bird was descending from above.
6 Taking advantage of the pitch-black darkness, guided by Doggy, Yun Ce crossed the ruined academy, passed through the once bustling but now deserted market, dove into the now utterly foul-smelling river water, swam freely for seven or eight hundred meters, snapped the arm-thick metal bars under the city wall, and finally, with the rainwater and sewage, was expelled from Chuyun City.
6 Even after leaving Chuyun City, Doggy’s roaring voice to flee kept exploding in his head. Ignoring his filthy body, he followed a group of equally panicked doggies, braving the rain and madly dashing across the wasteland.
