Chapter 36: Chapter 36

Five days had passed since the two gang chiefs were killed at Hongyun Restaurant. During those five days, Liangzhou had remained perfectly calm. Not even the faintest whisper of the incident had leaked out. Snowflakes drifted through the depths of winter, and few pedestrians could be seen on the roads. The world was blanketed in white, while a grim, murderous chill hung in the air.

The Little Tavern had continued operating as usual over the past few days, but it had barely received any customers. Zhao Jiu did not care whether business was good or bad. He had opened the tavern simply to have a place that sheltered him from the wind and rain. How much money it earned was secondary.

Huang Qi and Zhong Ling, his two generous customers, had earned Zhao Jiu a total of two thousand seven hundred taels in a single transaction. He had already exceeded his target for the month. It was more than enough for him to enjoy a comfortable New Year.

Zhao Jiu was a firm believer in balancing work and leisure. After earning nearly three thousand taels in pure profit, he naturally had to reward himself. Otherwise, would he not have earned all that money for nothing?

When he had no money, he had worked like an ox or a horse because circumstances had left him no choice. If he continued working like an ox or a horse after becoming wealthy, would that not mean there was something wrong with his head?

Two days earlier, while returning from a walk after dinner, he had spotted a yellow-brown mutt lying outside his door. With Zhao Jiu’s patient coaxing, the dog had willingly followed him back to The Little Tavern.

He had given the mutt a highly cultured name: Zhaocai.

Once a cat came to lie outside his door, he planned to coax it inside just as willingly and name it Laifu.

Zhaocai and Laifu—Bring Wealth and Bring Fortune. Even the top scholar in the Imperial Examination could not have devised names so cultured.

When a man had leisure and few concerns, he ought to savor tea and warm wine.

Several days ago, Zhao Jiu had specifically asked Six Fingers to acquire some Golden Autumn Ear-Tip Tea, a famous tea from Jiangnan. It had finally arrived today, so he naturally had to sample it.

Golden Autumn Ear-Tip Tea was an autumn harvest and could not compare with Jade Bud Tea in quality. Its bitterness and astringency were pronounced, while its sweet aftertaste emerged slowly. It was among the cheapest teas in Jiangnan, and its only merit was that it endured repeated steeping. Even after five infusions, its bitterness did not diminish.

Zhao Jiu reclined in his chair and leisurely drank his tea. The mutt lay beside his feet, wagging its tail as it slept soundly.

During his excursions over the past few days, he had heard almost nothing about Huang Qi or Zhong Ling. Their deaths seemed like grains of sand dropped into the sea. They had produced only one or two faint ripples before the surface became calm again.

Yet the small city of Liangzhou resembled a whirlpool hidden beneath the water. The surface appeared tranquil, but the depths had already been churned into chaos.

Inside Liangzhou City, many businesses had inexplicably closed their doors. This gave Zhao Jiu quite a headache. Since he had never enjoyed cooking, he had no choice but to patronize Hengtong Restaurant every day. His unwavering attendance, regardless of wind or snow, nearly made the shopkeeper kneel and call him godfather.

The atmosphere in Liangzhou City felt wrong. Zhao Jiu had the persistent feeling that something momentous was about to happen.

However, he had no intention of fleeing again.

The sky was not going to collapse.

Yuantou Mountain stood southwest of Liangzhou, facing Fangtou Mountain from afar. Its summit was flat, and from a distance, it resembled a round jade disk. That was how it had received its name.

Halfway up the mountain, several men sat astride their horses and gazed into the distance.

Under the winter sunlight, Liangzhou City resembled a gleaming gold ingot. Endless greed shone in the men’s eyes.

“Several years ago, we had too few men and horses, and we broke our spears against this insignificant Liangzhou City. Over the past two years, we have finally gathered sufficient troops and mounts.”

A rider behind them was wrapped in a heavy robe. His voice was low and deep. His gaze pierced through the drifting snow and settled on distant Liangzhou, his expression filled with anticipation.

“Big Brother, the time has come to ride down Liangzhou!”

The man addressed as Big Brother held a riding crop in one hand. A smile appeared on his face as he raised his head and gazed into the distance.

His eyes seemed to pass beyond Liangzhou and look toward the far north.

He then closed his eyes, and his smile deepened.

Beside him sat an elderly man with graying hair. The old man stroked the long beard beneath his chin, while the hand holding his reins trembled slightly.

“General, it has been nearly fifteen years since we left Hexi. Our defeat in Hexi ruined us when success had been almost within reach. We have wandered as homeless ghosts for far too long.”

“It is time.”

“Only by seizing Liangzhou’s provisions and military funds will we possess the foundation to continue expanding. Otherwise… we will spend the rest of our lives as rats hiding beneath the ground!”

When the men behind them heard this, they all turned toward the man at the front.

“General!”

Their expressions were solemn, and their voices were filled with urgent conviction.

“You do not need to remind me. Liangzhou City must be taken.”

The man opened his eyes, and murderous intent seemed to spill from them. He raised his riding crop and pointed toward Liangzhou.

“I have already sent spies into the city. The chief of the Huangyun Gang and the chief of the Qingsha Gang were assassinated several days ago. Liangzhou will inevitably descend into chaos within the next few days. That will be our opportunity.”

“The city has fewer than three thousand soldiers. Even if we count them as a full three thousand, a single concentrated assault will be enough. At most, it will take us two days to capture Liangzhou!”

The man swept his gaze across the others, pulled on his reins, and cracked his whip. Boundless heroic confidence radiated from him.

“Gentlemen, return and assemble every available soldier. Prepare sufficient provisions. Five days from now, we storm Liangzhou!”

“Yes!”

Night fell.

The sky grew dark, the frigid wind strengthened, and snowflakes drifted steadily downward. It was impossible to tell whether the atmosphere was merely oppressive or filled with killing intent. An unseen sense of foreboding seemed to proclaim that something was certain to happen tonight.

Inside The Little Tavern, Zhao Jiu herded Zhaocai indoors. He then carried a cup of tea into the courtyard and slowly paced back and forth.

His senses as a Third Rank martial artist, combined with an assassin’s intuition, told him that something was wrong tonight.

Something was going to happen, and it would not be a minor incident.

Regardless of what occurred, the situation had become unstable. He had to remain cautious at all times. Preparing in advance could never be a mistake.

After pacing for more than a quarter of an hour, his body had grown slightly warm. He raised his head and looked at the sky, estimating that it was already around the Xu Hour.

He circulated his True Qi, and the candle inside his room silently went out.

He then activated Complete Transformation, changing his appearance into that of a fair-skinned boy. After putting on a padded robe, he leaped onto the roof. He carefully avoided the faint glow of the lanterns and moved through the shadows.

A distant restaurant had initially appeared as peaceful as usual.

Suddenly, several sharp crashes of breaking wine cups rang out. They were immediately followed by the sound of sabers and swords being drawn.

The commotion gradually intensified. Amid shouts of fighting and killing, the lantern flames swayed violently.

Several roof tiles fell to the ground, scattering the accumulated snow. The clash of metal against metal grew increasingly loud.

Before long, a tiny flame appeared.

It gradually grew larger.

Fed by the wind, the fire rapidly spread. In little time, the entire restaurant was engulfed in roaring flames. The glow could be dimly seen from several li away.

Zhao Jiu stood on a distant rooftop and watched the flames surge toward the sky. The unease in his heart gradually intensified.

This was definitely not as simple as a conflict between gangs.

No matter how violent their clashes became, they would not normally resort to arson. The authorities still stood above them. Even men seeking death would not seek it in such a manner.

Before Zhao Jiu could collect his thoughts, another tall building elsewhere in the city suffered almost exactly the same fate. Flames soared into the sky.

Countless cries to extinguish the fires echoed throughout the city, accompanied by the continuous splashing of water. More and more people emerged onto the previously deserted streets.

Outside several restaurants, groups of men hurried away. Some had blood staining their sabers, while others had blood on their clothes. It was impossible to tell whether the blood belonged to them or someone else.

Zhao Jiu followed them without making a sound.

Even from a distance, he could hear a jumble of voices.

“What happened? Why did everyone suddenly start fighting?”

“How did the fire start? It was not one of our men who set it, was it?”

“Those bastards from the Qingsha Gang are ruthless! They drew their sabers without saying a word!”

“The Fourth Chief was struck by a saber!”

“This has gotten out of hand!”

Fragmented voices reached Zhao Jiu’s ears, merging into an incomprehensible clamor.

The situation was much the same elsewhere.

Before long, government troops arrived. Water carts came one after another. By the time they finally extinguished the fires, many people’s faces had already been blackened by soot.

The foul stench of charred wood spread far into the distance.

Covering his nose, Zhao Jiu watched the crowd disperse from afar. With several swift leaps, he entered the restaurant’s rear courtyard.

Everything before him was pitch-black.

He took a Fire Striker out of his Storage Space and used its faint light to slowly examine the courtyard.

The walls were completely blackened. Some of the tables, chairs, and stools had been half burned away. Many curtains hung in scorched tatters. A damp, suffocating odor of smoke and water permeated the air.

Zhao Jiu frowned and endured the stench as he walked forward.

The farther he went, the less severe the damage became. To avoid being discovered, he advanced only a short distance before turning back toward the rear courtyard.

As he looked at the wreckage scattered across the ground, he circulated his True Qi and blasted the debris aside.

As expected, one particular spot was far more deeply charred than the rest.

Someone had deliberately set the fire.

Now that he had learned the truth, Zhao Jiu did not linger. He left the rear courtyard and investigated another location.

Just like the first restaurant, that fire had also been deliberately started.

Having confirmed this, Zhao Jiu remained no longer and returned to The Little Tavern.

The fires at several locations throughout the city had most likely all been deliberately set. Their purpose remained unknown, but Zhao Jiu suspected that they had not merely been intended to create chaos.

After all, in a struggle between gangs, setting fires before a victor had emerged carried far too much risk.

Moreover, some of the clashes had occurred between members of the same gang.

Would they really burn down their own businesses?

It seemed unlikely.

Zhao Jiu furrowed his brow. Unable to discern the connection or scheme behind the incidents, he silently brewed himself a cup of tea, his expression grim.

“It seems I should stockpile more grain.”