Chapter 82: Chapter 81: Meritorious Service in Supporting the Army
On the riverbank, performers from a specially invited city opera troupe were in the middle of a ritual opera, their high-pitched, wailing songs echoing through the air.
They were performing the scene "Lady Han Yi Delivers Clothes on a Winter Night."
In the honored seats beside the altar, near the spirit tablet carved with Lady Han Yi’s name, a group of local gentry and wealthy merchants watched with smiles, occasionally clapping in approval while chatting and laughing.
Not far away, however, the refugees who had received their thin porridge paid the performance no mind. A single bowl of watery gruel only sharpened the hunger in their bellies. They were all still licking the bottoms of their bowls, staring hopefully at the dozens of large cauldrons in front of them, praying for another ladleful.
’They’d heard the clothes would only be handed out after the opera finished. If they had the strength, they’d storm the stage and kill those damn performers right now...’
BOOM!
Just as the opera reached its climax, a huge, muffled roar like distant thunder erupted from the east.
The gongs and drums abruptly stopped. Onstage and off, everyone simultaneously turned to look east.
For no apparent reason, Xu Leyi’s heart leaped into her throat, and she shot up from her seat instinctively.
Somehow, the unease she had suppressed earlier came rushing back with that muffled sound, surging up stronger and more intense than before.
She instinctively turned to look for Zhao Xinhua, but when she did, she saw his seat was empty. He was gone.
Xu Leyi’s brow furrowed slightly. She was just about to call someone over to ask.
Just then, from the deck of a nearby pier, a porter carrying a shoulder pole came scrambling and tumbling toward them. Before he even arrived, his heart-rending cries drifted over on the river wind.
"N-No... It’s terrible! The Southwest Rebel Army has broken into the city! The Southwest Rebel Army... the rebels are inside..."
The porter was out of breath. After just a few shouts, he staggered and fell, gasping so hard he couldn’t make another sound.
The crowd on the riverbank exchanged bewildered glances. After a few seconds of silence, a sharp shout was heard.
"What nonsense is this!"
Hu Fulai’s face was cold as he barked, "Seize this lunatic who’s spouting nonsense! Take him back to the County Yamen..."
At his side, Zhou He, the deputy police chief, signaled for the arrest.
A few uniformed Patrol Police, rifles in hand, cursed under their breath as they sprinted along the riverbank toward the porter on the pier deck.
Everyone else assumed it was just some madman who’d appeared out of nowhere to cause trouble, but Xu Leyi’s heart was inexplicably tight with tension. She bit her lip, and suddenly making up her mind, she rose from her seat, intending to catch the man and question him properly.
But she hadn’t taken two steps when...
BOOM!
A second explosion followed immediately, this one closer and louder than the first!
The shockwave seemed to make the entire riverbank tremble. Cries of alarm erupted from the crowd, and many people dropped to the ground, covering their heads.
Xu Leyi swayed on her feet. Before she could regain her balance, a series of explosions followed one after another.
"BOOM!" "KABOOM!" "BOOOOM—"
A third, a fourth... The continuous explosions were like a frantic drumbeat, hammering against everyone’s chests.
Everyone was frozen in place, stunned by the sudden, thunderous cacophony.
On the altar, Hu Fulai’s mouth was still open, but not a sound came out.
The smiles on the faces of the gentry beside him had frozen, replaced by profound shock and bewilderment.
The next second, countless gazes instinctively followed the sound, snapping in unison toward the nearby pier.
And then, they saw a sight they would never forget for the rest of their lives.
The dozens of cargo ships moored on the riverbank had been transformed into dozens of giant torches!
Flames and thick smoke shot into the sky. Billowing black columns of smoke rose like soaring pillars, and orange tongues of fire licked wantonly at the hulls, mercilessly devouring the cargo within...
"BOOOOM—!"
Another ship’s hold was detonated. A massive fireball, carrying with it splinters of wood and fragments of cargo, blossomed violently in mid-air like a cruel firework, painting half the sky blood-red.
Xu Leyi stared blankly at the sea of fire, lost in a daze.
"AARGH—"
On the altar, a portly, wealthy merchant suddenly slapped his thigh and let out a wail of despair toward the explosions, beating his chest and stomping his feet. "My ships!..."
My ships...
Those words yanked Xu Leyi back to reality.
Ships!
That’s right, the ships!
’Who had more ships moored at that pier than her Xu Family?!’
’The dozens of ships and their cargoes, the ones the Xu Family had exhausted all their resources and pulled every string to buy from the Fu Family—they were all now burning brightly.’
"Weren’t they inspected twice? Wasn’t it supposed to be foolproof?"
Xu Leyi’s face was ashen as she muttered to herself.
She lifted her gaze to the stage and saw Xu Shirong slumped in his chair, staring blankly at the inferno, seemingly having lost even the strength to stand.
Xu Leyi instinctively searched for any sign of Zhao Xinhua, but at that moment, a string of gunshots, like popping firecrackers, erupted!
"BANG BANG BANG! BANG BANG!"
On the ceremonial stage, Zhou He, the deputy police chief, was sprayed with blood as a volley of gunfire riddled his body with holes.
In the crowd, Patrol Police in dark blue uniforms fell one after another.
Amidst a chorus of panicked, piercing screams, a figure holding a gun leaped onto the high stage, kicked the terrified Hu Fulai to the ground, and pinned him under his boot.
"A lone cloud in the eternal sky, a karmic fire to burn the heavens high!"
The man pressed the gun barrel to Hu Fulai’s head. He wore glasses and a Western suit—a perfectly respectable getup—but all traces of scholarly elegance had vanished, leaving only a savage, crazed look on his face.
Who else could it be but Zhao Xinhua, the very man Xu Leyi had been searching for?
"Today, my Southwest Fire Cloud Army enters the city to kill the corrupt officials and the wealthy tyrants! From this day forward, everyone will have food to eat and clothes to wear!"
"BANG!"
Zhao Xinhua pulled the trigger, killing Hu Fulai under his foot with a single shot. He then roared at the stunned refugees in the distance, "What are you still waiting for? Come join us now!"
"Fire Cloud! Fire Cloud!"
Below the stage, dozens of men—who had at some point tied red scarves around their heads—raised their guns and clubs, roaring along with fanatical expressions.
A few breaths later, with a sound like a swarm of bees, the crowd on the riverbank exploded into motion.
As if jolted from a dream, the refugees, who had long been past their breaking point, surged toward the altar with crazed looks on their faces.
In an instant, the entire riverbank and pier descended into utter chaos.
Amid the curses, cries, and screams, Zhao Xinhua roared with laughter. His gaze drifted, eventually landing on Xu Leyi.
He gave Xu Leyi a smile from a distance, but it was filled with cruel amusement.
"Leyi, your Xu Family has rendered meritorious service to our army. When Marshal Ming enters the city, I will be sure to put in a good word for you..."
Before he could finish, with a soft SPUTTER, Xu Shirong, who was sitting on the stage, spewed a mouthful of blood and collapsed, overcome with rage.
At that moment, Xu Leyi felt the world spin. Everything before her eyes seemed to turn illusory and unreal.
In her mind, only two images remained, flashing back and forth: the dozens of cargo ships engulfed in flames, and Zhao Xinhua’s savage, grinning face.
The chaos and commotion on the riverbank grew ever more intense. But beneath the bank, in the cold, murky depths of the water...
A coiled black shadow, as if disturbed by the clamor from above, suddenly opened a pair of eyes that glowed like ghostly flames.
.......
"SCREEECH—!!!"
A black sedan executed a perfect fishtail on the street and screeched to a halt.
The door opened, and Fu Juemin got out, rolling his neck.
’He had to admit, these cars from the Republic era were a real pain to drive. It was a good thing today was the Han Yi festival, with hardly anyone on the streets. He didn’t have to follow any traffic laws and could just plow his way straight to the County Yamen.’
Leaving the car parked sideways across the street, Fu Juemin went to the rear, took a pre-prepared Han-made Rifle from the trunk, along with a full box of ammunition, and began loading the bullets one by one into the magazine.
Li Tong exited the car as lightly as a feather. Without a word to Fu Juemin, he walked with a calm expression straight toward the main gate of the Hu Mansion nearby.
Fu Juemin leaped onto the roof of the car with his rifle and took up a shooting stance.
His Talent, [Yao Ling], quietly activated.
In an instant, he "heard" the city gates behind him swing wide open.
Chaos was like a great gray tide, building and rising, spreading through the streets and alleys, slowly rolling toward him.
And directly in front of him, within the Hu Mansion, another disturbance was brewing, moving quickly toward the gate.
"Uncle Tong!"
Just as Li Tong was about to step through the main gate of the Hu Mansion, Fu Juemin suddenly called out to him.
Li Tong stopped silently, turning his head just slightly.
"Never mind..."
Fu Juemin shook his head, swallowing the words he had been about to say, and resumed his focused, still posture.
With a flicker of movement, Li Tong was inside the gate.
A moment later, a series of thunderous crashes echoed from behind the gate, the sound of things being utterly demolished—smashed, torn apart, and sent flying...
