Among the guards on duty outside the door, one suddenly turned back to look at the door. The door here had good sound insulation and was sealed quite tightly, but he still asked in confusion, “Did you hear that? There seems to be some unusual movement inside.”
The remaining few immediately listened intently. After a long while, they did not hear any movement.
Another guard said, “It should be the noise from the firefighting outside.”
Everyone listened carefully. They indeed heard some noise. With a little discernment, they could tell it was indeed the chaotic noise of firefighting outside.
Even the one who seemed to have heard movement inside thought about it and felt it was indeed so. If there had really been something abnormal inside, it would not have made a sound once and then stopped.
Thus, the group of guards outside the door did not pay too much attention.
However, at the end of the smoke-filled room, the red glow in that fire starter nailed to the chair back became increasingly conspicuous. The sparks flickered between dim and bright. After struggling to the end, it finally whooshed and burst into an open flame. The flames that emerged happened to burn at the curved part of the chair back.
But the chair wood seemed difficult to ignite. However, the flames kept burning, and eventually set the wood alight.
Once this fire caught, it exceeded the burning power of that small flame from the fire starter. The fire immediately grew fierce, and soon ignited the entire chair back. It gradually spread to the tea table beside it. The flames also ignited the wooden window sill, and the fire spread to the window sill.
The fire starter nailed to the chair back was burned into a ruined state by the fire. The small metal sleeve used to bind it clanged as it fell to the ground.
The fire quickly spread to the adjacent tea table, and gradually spread to the chair next to it.
The burning wood that had fallen to the ground also ignited the carpet. This immediately made the fire become fierce. Then there was the floor beneath the carpet. The fire grew larger and larger.
“Quick, look. That room over there seems to be on fire.”
Suddenly someone in the garden outside pointed at the window of Wang Xueting’s room and shouted.
Those who heard the sound turned to look, and immediately there was another commotion. Especially the people of Langhuan Ju, they immediately fell into a flurry of panic.
There were also people from Zheluo Mountain. Zheluo Mountain had also left a few scattered guards on duty in the garden to keep watch, guarding against anyone climbing walls or prying open windows to disturb the sect leader and so on.
At first, even those who had noticed firelight in Wang Xueting’s room did not pay attention, thinking he was doing something inside. Later, they realised the brightness of the firelight in the room was unusual. Finally, even the windows caught fire. By then, anyone could see it was a fire.
In a certain pavilion in the garden, there were a few people watching the excitement.
One person with folded arms let out a laugh. “There have actually been two fires. I thought the woodshed had caught fire by accident.”
One person with hands behind his back said, “The woodshed caught fire, and then the guest room burned too. These two fires that followed one after another seem to have been set with some purpose.”
Another person said, “Who knows what they are trying to burn out. It seems Langhuan Ju will not be peaceful tonight.”
“Could it be that some competitor wants to smash Langhuan Ju’s signboard?”
“Competitors would not use such low-level means to smash a signboard. If you can burn mine today, I can burn yours tomorrow. Burning back and forth like that is rather childish, is it not?”
When Yu Qing and the others heard the commotion, they pushed open the window. When they saw the blazing firelight from the window of Wang Xueting’s room from afar, they were all stunned. How did it catch fire?
The three fellow disciples understood at a glance. The window that was on fire was exactly where the fire starter had been placed.
Nan Zhu could not help but ask in a low voice, “Old Fifteen, are you trying to burn away the traces of your handiwork?”
Yu Qing was already startled and suspicious. Hearing this, he rolled his eyes. “Like hell I would. What use is burning away traces? Once the target falls, a look back will reveal what trick was used. Whether there are traces or not, those who should be suspected cannot escape. There is no need. As long as it cannot be proven that we did it, that is fine. Of course, having no traces is better.”
Nan Zhu: “Then what is going on?”
Yu Qing: “I do not know either. Logically speaking, the air in that room was not circulating enough. The fire starter should not have turned into an open flame so easily.”
He himself had not wanted to create too large an open flame either. Firelight easily attracted outsiders’ attention. He also worried about failing at the last moment. He worried that outsiders would be alerted and call Wang Xueting out in time.
Mu Aotie: “Then did it succeed or not?”
Yu Qing hesitated. “So much time has passed. The smoke should have been enough to seep into the inner room, right?”
Now, whatever was said was useless. They could not stay put. They all quickly ran out of the room to check the scene.
They had hidden back earlier to avoid suspicion. Now that there was a fire over there, running to take a look was also reasonable. If they discovered a fire at Wang Xueting’s place but remained indifferent, that would instead seem somewhat abnormal.
On the terrace in the garden, there were still the leftovers from the meal Yu Qing’s trio had eaten. At this moment, no one had the time to clean up here. Several figures landed on the terrace. The one leading them was precisely the innkeeper of Langhuan Ju, Lu Wudang.
He looked at the window with flames licking outward with a grave expression, and said in a deep voice, “Find everyone who entered or left Langhuan Ju today. Immediately seal off Langhuan Ju. No one is allowed to leave. For those who force their way out, show no mercy. Kill!”
Anyone with a bit of brains could see there was something wrong with these two fires, one after another. It was absolutely impossible for them to have accidentally caught fire by coincidence on the same night. Even if it was truly a coincidence, it had to be strictly controlled and investigated.
“Yes.” Two attendants accepted the order and swiftly flew away.
Bang! Wang Xueting’s room door was kicked open by someone.
There was no response to knocking. Thinking of the fire inside, who could still care about etiquette or whether they would disturb him? They directly broke down the door.
The moment the door burst open, billowing smoke immediately surged out. Everyone quickly held their breath. A group of Langhuan Ju personnel rushed in first to fight the fire. Tu Xiukui and the others who followed them in went straight to the inner room.
No lighting was needed at the scene. The blazing firelight was enough. The Zheluo Mountain crowd immediately discovered Wang Xueting collapsed at the door of the inner room.
“Sect Leader!”
The Zheluo Mountain crowd cried out in alarm. They all realised something was wrong. Leaving aside Wang Xueting’s cultivation, even a martial-level cultivator could not be felled by this kind of smoke and fire.
Tu Xiukui quickly picked up Wang Xueting to leave this place first. In fact, the moment the person was in his arms, the feel of him already made his heart turn cold by more than half.
Other Zheluo Mountain personnel quickly entered to gather Wang Xueting’s personal belongings.
The thick smoke had already rushed into the corridor. Tu Xiukui carried the person and ran outside the building. Under the guard of a group of people, he laid Wang Xueting flat on the ground, intending to perform emergency rescue.
Someone quickly brought a fluorescent stone. Someone else quickly fetched a lantern. Another person blew a fire starter alight.
However, once they clearly saw Wang Xueting’s appearance, everyone was shocked. His face was swollen and purple. His thick neck was similarly swollen and purple. His eyes were bulging.
Tu Xiukui, kneeling before him, briefly checked his pulse. He was completely dumbfounded. The hand that moved away was somewhat trembling. His lips also quivered slightly.
The Zheluo Mountain crowd at the side. No one dared to ask what the result was. In fact, they could all see it.
The feet standing nearby moved aside one after another. Then another pair of feet walked up to him. Tu Xiukui slowly raised his head and saw Lu Wudang standing before him.
Lu Wudang also slowly squatted down. He personally checked as well. Then his face was so gloomy it seemed about to drip water. He slowly stood up again. Words popped out from his gritted teeth. “It has nothing to do with the fire. He died of poisoning!”
Tu Xiukui’s eyes flickered. After some weighing, he quickly stood up. He said to those beside him, “You watch over the sect leader’s remains.” With that, he strode away.
Lu Wudang turned his head and asked, “Where are you going?”
Tu Xiukui stopped and turned back. “Our sect leader met with misfortune here. How can Zheluo Mountain let this go? Naturally, I must report this matter to our sect.”
Lu Wudang: “Sect Leader Wang was resting inside the room. There were also your sect’s guards keeping watch outside. Who could get close enough to poison him? It seems you were the most convenient person to have contact with Sect Leader Wang, were you not?”
Once these words came out, many surrounding eyes immediately fixed on Tu Xiukui. They all showed expressions of shock.
Also watching from the side were Yu Qing and his two fellow disciples. The three secretly exchanged a glance.
Tu Xiukui abruptly turned around and said angrily, “Are you suspecting that I was the one who poisoned him?”
Lu Wudang: “I did not say it was you. But I hope you can understand. This is Langhuan Ju. It is the inn in Sea City that claims to be the safest place to stay. Now someone has been poisoned to death in Langhuan Ju. The one who died is still the sect leader of a major sect. Langhuan Ju must give an explanation to the dead, and also give an explanation to our own signboard.
This matter, for Langhuan Ju, has already smashed our signboard. It has already created a scandal of massive proportions. It is impossible to settle peacefully. Not just you, but anyone with suspicion cannot leave. I advise you to stay. If you insist on forcing your way out, then we can only treat you as a guilty thief. Do not blame Langhuan Ju for not knowing restraint. Stay. If there is any message you need to send back to Zheluo Mountain, Langhuan Ju will do it for free.”
Tu Xiukui’s face was full of anger. He clenched both fists tightly. His chest rose and fell rapidly. Yet he could only be like this. In Sea City, to force his way through Langhuan Ju, he did not have that much courage. He naturally knew the background of Langhuan Ju.
No more nonsense. Lu Wudang went straight to the fire scene to inspect. At the same time, he ordered the attendant beside him, “Immediately notify the Chief Guard of the Town Sea Office. Have him bring enough men to arrest people. Verify the list of people who left Langhuan Ju as soon as possible. Not a single one is allowed to be missed. Arrest them!”
His earlier order to seal off Langhuan Ju was to investigate the causes of the two fires. Now someone had died. The one who died was a guest of no ordinary status. A major sect leader had been murdered in Langhuan Ju. The nature of the matter had completely changed. As he said, Langhuan Ju’s signboard had already been smashed. This matter was already impossible to settle peacefully. He would rather offend other guests first and apologise later. He absolutely could not let the murderer go.
“Yes.” The attendant accepted the order and swiftly left.
The fire had already been extinguished. This bit of fire could not withstand a group of cultivators suppressing it with their hands.
Yu Qing and his two fellow disciples walked around the remains that had been carried away. After confirming Wang Xueting was dead, they all put on an act of sighing with emotion. After that, they naturally wandered back to their own room.
Once the door closed, the three looked at each other in silence. Even though they knew they had succeeded, they instead could not quite believe it. Just relying on them, they had actually killed the Zheluo Mountain sect leader?
Nan Zhu softly broke the silence. “Drink some tea?”
Yu Qing and Mu Aotie both nodded.
Until Datou had boiled the tea water, the three did not speak. They drank tea in silence.
They could only stay put obediently. They all knew that now they could not go out, and could not leave Langhuan Ju either. They had also not expected that an open flame would appear at Wang Xueting’s side, causing the situation to be exposed prematurely.
All three were pondering the same thing in their hearts. It was time to discuss how to deal with the possible consequences that might arise.