Chapter 87: Chapter 86: Ba
"Uncle Tong."
Fu Juemin called out, slowing his horse to a leisurely pace on the street.
Li Tong caught up. He appeared to be walking normally, yet his speed effortlessly kept pace with Fu Juemin on his horse.
Fu Juemin noticed that Li Tong had changed his tunic and couldn’t help but ask, "Uncle Tong, what about that Tongxuan expert named Bai?"
"Are you looking for him, Young Master?"
Li Tong’s tone was flat. "By now, most of him has probably been washed into the canal."
Fu Juemin’s expression froze for a moment, and he chose not to press the matter.
Just then, Li Tong glanced at him and said, "You fought well today, Young Master."
"You saw, Uncle Tong?"
Fu Juemin wasn’t too surprised. His fight with the scarred, burly man had been remarkably composed, not only because he was thoroughly prepared in every aspect, but also because he knew Li Tong would be there to back him up no matter the outcome.
Li Tong watching from the shadows was well within his expectations.
"Yes."
Li Tong nodded, his gaze toward Fu Juemin holding a certain ineffable depth.
Fu Juemin’s expression was open and unconcerned.
He was well aware that just as he had discovered the secrets hidden beneath Li Tong’s identity, Li Tong had likely sensed certain peculiarities about him as well.
In this world, everyone had secrets. The more outstanding and brilliant a person was, the more secrets they held. He and Li Tong maintained a tacit understanding.
They were both intelligent men who deliberately avoided exposing anything. Their current relationship was just right.
"My boxes! Oh, my boxes!"
A shrill wail came from up ahead, and Fu Juemin looked up.
He saw that the door to a shop with a "Rice Merchant" sign had been kicked in. A man dressed like a ruffian, his eyes filled with malice, was scrambling out of the shop clutching several bags. A disheveled woman clung desperately to his pant leg from behind, and the faint sound of a child crying could be heard.
Seeing this, Fu Juemin frowned, raised his revolver, and fired a shot.
BANG!
The bullet hit the looting thug’s foot. He let out a pained scream and rolled on the ground, clutching his bleeding right foot.
The woman who had been robbed hastily grabbed her scattered belongings from the ground, rushed back inside to get a child, then knelt from a distance and kowtowed to Fu Juemin before hurrying away.
By now, the vanguard of the Fire Cloud Army had more or less broken through from the east side of the city, and commotion and chaos were spreading everywhere.
Scenes of theft, robbery, and murder were becoming commonplace on every street and alley.
Fu Juemin’s eyes darkened. It would be no exaggeration to say that he had prematurely ignited this chaos, but he felt no regret or guilt.
’In a chaotic world, compassion is a luxury. It’s difficult enough just to protect one’s own.’
Fu Juemin tugged on the reins, about to speed up and head for the boarding point he had arranged with Fu Guosheng.
Just then, a muffled boom echoed from afar. A tremor ran through Fu Juemin’s heart, and he abruptly looked up.
In the eastern sky, dyed crimson by the light of fires, a massive, blurry bestial silhouette seemed to flash and disappear.
Almost simultaneously, a chilling, familiar aura rose from the direction of the docks, but it quickly subsided and vanished again.
’Marshal Huo... the Water Demon...’
Fu Juemin stared blankly.
At that moment, the two Demon Soul Seeds within him—the Black-Scaled Snake Demon and the Merciful Rat Demon—began to stir with intense unease and agitation. It was an instinctual warning, as if they had sensed a fellow Demon Species whose power far surpassed their own.
"What is it?"
Li Tong noticed the strange look on his face and asked softly, his eyes narrowing.
Fu Juemin shook his head, quickly regaining his composure. He kicked his horse’s belly hard, galloping toward the end of the long street, away from the direction of the two auras.
...
「The Docks.」
The spirit tablet of Lady Han Yi had been kicked over by someone, and the offerings on the altar were scattered all over the ground.
Dozens of Fire Cloud Army rebels led by Zhao Xinhua were brawling with the bodyguards and protectors brought by the local gentry and wealthy families. Gunshots, cries, and curses mingled with the clamor of beggars and refugees fighting over clothes and food. The entire scene was a chaotic mess.
Near the riverbank, seven or eight refugees dragged over two well-dressed, wealthy merchants.
These high and mighty figures, who wouldn’t have deigned to give the refugees a second glance on a normal day, were now being pummeled by a dozen pairs of fists and feet. After a few rounds, they were beaten to a pulp.
A burly refugee squeezed out of the crowd. He was grinning from ear to ear as he pulled on a beautiful, thick coat he had just snatched, which was still stained with blood and brains.
He didn’t care if it fit. After putting it on, he smugly admired himself and was about to call his companions over to look when, just at that moment—
SPLASH—
A huge splash erupted from the nearby water. A foul stench, as if from decades of rotting sludge at the bottom of the river, instantly spread across the riverbank on the wind.
Through the hazy mist, a black shadow shot out from under the water, grabbed the refugee who was dressed in stolen finery, and violently dragged him back under.
A whirlpool churned on the turbulent water’s surface, followed by gushes of dark red blood bubbling up from below.
It all happened so fast that no one could react, but many had still seen it clearly.
The chaos on the riverbank even paused for a brief moment. It wasn’t until the dripping black shadow, reeking of a foul stench, emerged from the water once more that a desperate, terrified shriek finally shattered the silence.
"The Water... the Water Demon is eating people!!"
Instantly, an even greater chaos erupted as the crowd surged madly toward the embankment.
Xu Leyi, like a soulless puppet, was shoved along by the crowd. No one paid her any mind as she stumbled and swayed among the people.
It wasn’t until the words "Water Demon" reached her ears that she was jolted from her stupor back to reality.
She snapped awake, her survival instincts driving her to look for protection.
Her eyes fell on Xu Xinyi, who was being escorted through the crowd by a man in gray. On the shore not far away, it seemed someone was waiting to receive them.
"Xinyi!"
Xu Leyi lunged forward, grabbing Xu Xinyi’s arm in a death grip.
The gray-clothed man protecting Xu Xinyi turned his head and gave her a cold look.
Xu Leyi recognized his face. She had seen him two or three times at the Fu Family estate... he was one of Fu Juemin’s men!
Realization dawned on her in an instant.
"Fu Lingjun wants to take you away?! Is this what he talked to you about before?"
Xu Leyi’s emotions suddenly flared up.
"Take me with you, Xinyi! Don’t leave me behind, I’m your sister..."
At this point, Xu Leyi couldn’t care about anything else. The Xu Family was finished, and so was she.
The moment the Fire Cloud Army entered the city, everything she had hoped for and plotted would turn to dust. Not only that, but in the coming chaos, she couldn’t imagine what fate awaited her without the protection of her family.
Xu Leyi looked at her own sister with eyes full of hope. In that moment, she was willing to cast aside all her dignity, just for a chance to survive.
Under her gaze, Xu Xinyi hesitated and turned to look at the gray-clothed man beside her.
The man’s face was calm. "The Young Master said that you, Miss Xu, can bring one more person at most."
Hearing this, hope flared in Xu Leyi’s eyes. She looked at Xu Xinyi with delight, waiting for her to say the words that would include her.
But unexpectedly, Xu Xinyi immediately turned her head aside and called out softly, "Xiaocui, Xiaocui."
Before long, a voice responded from the crowd.
A young girl dressed as a maid, with a timid look about her, ran up quickly and called out softly, "Miss."
The smile on Xu Leyi’s face froze as she felt her sister prying her fingers off, one by one.
"Why?"
Xu Leyi asked, stunned.
"Sister, do you remember when we were little, there was a time I accidentally broke Father’s favorite antique vase..."
Xu Xinyi looked into her eyes and said calmly, "I was terrified back then. I begged you to tell Father that you broke it, because he always doted on you the most and would never have the heart to get angry with you.
But you said no. You said... a person should be responsible for their own mistakes.
Sister."
Xu Xinyi paused, then said softly, "Now... our entire Xu Family is the vase that you shattered with your own hands."
As if struck by lightning, Xu Leyi staggered back two steps.
She then saw Xu Xinyi looking at her seriously as she continued, "Besides, with how smart Brother Lingjun is, if I were to choose to bring you...
...then he definitely wouldn’t take me either."
With that, Xu Xinyi took the hand of the maid who had grown up with her and left without looking back. In a flash, she boarded the waiting rickshaw on the shore and disappeared into the chaotic crowd.
Xu Leyi stood alone, the clamor and chaos around her seeming to recede rapidly.
Suddenly, she looked in the direction her sister had gone and gave a tragic smile. Then, stumbling against the flow of the crowd, she staggered toward the river’s edge, where murky waves churned....
...
"Whoa—"
On a reed-choked riverbank, Fu Juemin pulled on his horse’s reins. Fu Guosheng, who had been pacing and waiting on the bank for a long time, was overjoyed to see him and Li Tong return.
"Lingjun!"
