Chapter 248: Shehuo Can Devour Each Other Now?
Staying in an inn and becoming the shopkeeper was a first for Yun Ce.
This was mainly thanks to the previous shopkeeper being a swindler with a conscience.
When Yun Ce said he wanted to stay at the inn, the man asked for fifty taels of gold, expecting to be beaten for such a price.
To his surprise, Yun Ce’s thinking was different from most people; he believed he could get the fifty taels of gold back from Han Qi, the Inspector of Taizhou Prefecture, so he didn’t mind.
Then, the shopkeeper left with his assistants, leaving the guesthouse to him.
Even Yun Ce, after inexplicably gaining a property, was bewildered for a while before smiling and accepting the reality.
After looking around the front and back courtyards, Yun Ce noticed that the inn seemed to have had no guests for a long time.
He opened the gate again and stood outside the inn, observing the surroundings. Although not on the main street of Taizhou City, it was only about a hundred meters away, making it a major street among the auxiliary ones. From here, he could see the imposing city walls of the City Lord’s Mansion, and in the other direction, it was only about three hundred meters to Taizhou’s largest Jia Street.
The Inspector’s Yamen was opposite Jia Street. It was a good choice for residents, whether they were coming for official business or for caravans doing business, so why had there been no guests for so long, forcing the shopkeeper to frame him?
Although he hadn’t figured out the reason, Yun Ce returned to the inn, closed the gate, and prepared to make himself some food.
The Red Date Horse also curiously explored the inn. After meeting Yun Ce in the front courtyard, it naturally claimed the entire front courtyard, mainly because it was more spacious and free of obstacles, unlike the back courtyard, which was divided into many small courtyards unsuitable for its activities.
The inn had ready-made fodder for horses, and Yun Ce also boiled a pot of beans for the Red Date Horse, thus solving its dinner.
He then cooked a pot of noodles for himself, added the stir-fried vegetables he had prepared earlier, and ate it all, soup and all.
After dinner, Yun Ce took the Red Date Horse for a stroll in the front courtyard, then found a relatively clean room, laid out his own bedding, and fell asleep.
Yun Ce felt that killing an Inspector wasn’t too difficult; he had already killed two Inspectors. One had crossed his path on a stormy night looking for death, and the other had tried to flee with the Chuyun Prefecture Shehuo on a rainy night. Both deserved their deaths. Now, Inspector Han Qi of Taizhou Prefecture should be added to that list.
Yun Ce’s resolve to kill Han Qi was made when Han Qi abandoned the Northern Defense Line and set his sights westward.
It had nothing to do with whether Han Qi was good or bad. Yun Ce only knew that he had easily abandoned the Northern Defense Line, which was clearly an act of inviting wolves into the house. Therefore, he deserved to die.
The moonlight tonight was poor; the crescent moon offered little light to the ground. Only after the crescent moon had completely set did Yun Ce bid farewell to the Red Date Horse and quietly slip out.
Inspector Han Qi of Taizhou Prefecture lived in the City Lord’s Mansion. Previously, he was only an Inspector, not the City Lord of Taizhou. Later, after killing the City Lord of Taizhou, he moved into the City Lord’s Mansion.
The City Lord’s Mansions in the Great Han were all built to the same specifications and had similar layouts. The Academy was typically on the left, the Shehuo Hall on the right, and the City Lord’s residence in the center.
Today, the Shehuo gave Yun Ce a strong hint to visit the Taizhou Shehuo Hall.
Until the Spring Festival, the Shehuo could not be moved. Furthermore, Shehuo could not be extinguished by water or covered by earth. Aside from the Spring Festival, there were only a few Taoist priests guarding the Shehuo in the Shehuo Hall, with no other guards.
After climbing over the wall of the City Lord’s Mansion, Yun Ce looked at the mansion, which was only lit by faint candlelight, and then flickered towards the Shehuo Hall on the left.
Before he even approached the Shehuo Hall, Yun Ce felt his bracer begin to heat up. He looked down and saw that the Shehuo was struggling to break free from the Dragon Pearl’s restraint, preparing to leap out.
When Yun Ce took out the Shehuo from the Dragon Pearl, it landed on his shoulder. Perhaps knowing that Yun Ce was engaged in stealth, it deliberately turned its candle flame into a single bean of starlight, and its color was very dim.
Landing on the sandy ground in front of the Shehuo Hall, he looked up and saw the Shehuo burning fiercely inside the hall.
Before Yun Ce could make a move, the single bean of starlight on his shoulder shot out with a “swish” and plunged directly into the fiercely burning Shehuo.
Yun Ce watched as the Taizhou Shehuo first dodged as if it had been bitten by a dog, then erupted in fury, transforming into a mass of bright yellow flame that tightly enveloped Yun Ce’s candle flame, making a “whooshing” sound.
The “whooshing” sound initially occurred only within the Shehuo Hall, but moments later, it echoed from above the hall. With the scattered specks of light from the Shehuo Hall, Yun Ce saw a whirlwind appear above it.
The “whooshing” sound startled the Taoist priests in the Shehuo Hall, and they rushed over from all directions. Faced with the sudden change in weather, they also appeared bewildered. Every Taoist priest could clearly sense the anger of the Shehuo in the hall, and even Yun Ce, hidden in the trees, could feel the fury of the Taizhou Shehuo.
The bright yellow flame exploded with a “bang,” scattering countless sparks within the Shehuo Hall. Yun Ce clearly saw one spark devouring others, while the Taizhou Shehuo in the fire pit swayed angrily but remained rooted, allowing the small spark to consume all the scattered embers.
As the scattered sparks vanished one by one, the single bean of starlight returned to the embrace of the Taizhou Shehuo.
Although Yun Ce could not see the sky, he could feel dark clouds gathering. The chill in the trees had been slight at first, but now, an overwhelming coldness pressed down from the sky.
“Mid-Autumn Snow!”
A Taoist priest reached out and caught a remarkably large snowflake, then exclaimed with a tremor.
As the words fell, the snow in the sky became more and more abundant and dense. Snowflakes the size of green money continuously fell from the sky. At first, they drifted horizontally, but soon, the snowflakes grew heavier and began to fall vertically from the sky like knives.
The Taoist priests began chanting scriptures around the Shehuo. Their chanting carried far into the cold night, inexplicably bringing a sense of peace. However, for Yun Ce, whose senses were sharp, this peace felt like a fishing net descending from the sky, possessing the ability to bring all beings and things to tranquility.
The Taizhou Shehuo grew larger again, its flames filling the fire pit, and the towering fire pillar even reached the ceiling of the Main Hall, spreading outwards.
The Shehuo flames passed through the bodies of the Taoist priests without obstruction, coiling around the pillar like fire pythons before returning to the fire pit.
The chanting of the Taoist priests became even grander and more devout, while the Shehuo in the fire pit seemed less spirited than before. Yun Ce clearly saw that the tail of the fire dragon that had just passed by was still on the ceiling, being devoured by the single bean of starlight.
Logically, it should not thunder when it snows, but as snowflakes struck the Shehuo Hall along with peals of thunder, the beast heads and iron tiles made of metal emitted a deafening roar when hit by lightning, which snaked along the rooftops.
The weather had become abnormal, indicating a problem with the Shehuo. First, the Mid-Autumn Snow, then the thunder striking the hall – both celestial phenomena were considered ill omens.
Yun Ce hid in the tree, and before long, he had become a snowman. Watching the Taizhou Shehuo’s temper grow increasingly fiery, he had yet to see Inspector Han Qi of Taizhou arrive for an inspection.
Just as he was beginning to lose patience and was about to make his way to the City Lord’s Mansion, his bracer warmed up. Yun Ce saw a single bean of starlight slowly merge into his bracer.
At this moment, the celestial phenomena changed again. A gale swept up, swirling the newly fallen giant snowflakes into the sky before angrily dropping them. Yun Ce, using the wind, sprang from the tree, was pushed by the wind, flew over the high walls, and then slid down along the city wall, avoiding the soldiers patrolling at night, and safely returned to his inn.
“We’ll go to the Shehuo Hall again tomorrow night.”
As soon as he returned to his room, Doggy said hurriedly.
Yun Ce closed the door and quickly asked, “Was it devouring?”
Doggy replied, “I don’t know. It was like it was dead asleep when it came back, with no reaction.”
“Then how do you know it wants to go to the Shehuo Hall tomorrow night?”
“I could tell from the changes in its flame’s shape.”
“Actually, I saw the Shehuo devouring the Taizhou Shehuo. Twice. It devoured it twice. Doggy, do you think it’s possible that our Shehuo is more advanced, and it can devour lower-level Shehuo, just like the Ancestral Fire has absolute control over other Shehuo?”
Doggy pondered for a long time before slowly saying, “We need more data to support this theory. Let’s see how it goes tomorrow night. If it still wants to go to the Shehuo Hall, then we’ll basically know.”
Seeing that Doggy couldn’t give a definitive answer, Yun Ce took off his clothes and got back into bed.
In the morning, he opened the window and saw a vast expanse of white outside. The Red Date Horse was playing in the snow in the courtyard, its mouth and face covered in snowflakes.
Yun Ce had it stick its large head out the window so he could wipe its mouth and face. The sky remained overcast, and Yun Ce felt that the Taizhou Shehuo must be in a very bad mood.
Early in the morning, as Yun Ce was busy boiling beans for the Red Date Horse, he heard the guesthouse door being pounded on. Yun Ce frowned, put down his spoon, told the Red Date Horse to watch the pot of beans, and went to the front courtyard to open the door.
As soon as he unlatched it, the two large doors were violently kicked open. The person who kicked the door paused slightly upon seeing Yun Ce open it, then held out his hand and said, “Thirty taels of gold, hand it over.”
Yun Ce asked confusedly, “When did I ever owe you any gold?”
The burly man who kicked the door moved aside, and Yun Ce saw a group of soldiers clad in armor standing outside.
The military officer in charge glanced at Yun Ce’s attire and said in a gentle voice, “His Majesty is getting married. Merchants of middle or higher standing in Taizhou are to offer thirty taels of gold.”
Yun Ce spread his hands and said, “His Majesty is taking a bride, what does that have to do with us?”
Not tonight, will try harder tomorrow.
