Unprepared, The Fire Begins To Rise

Night had fallen, and the surroundings outside the neighborhood were exceptionally quiet.

After the autumn equinox, a faint chill had begun to settle in the night air.

Lin Tianlu put away the scroll in his hand, stood up, and stretched his limbs slightly. He turned his head to look at the young woman beside him.

"How can this girl be sleeping so soundly?"

Hua Shuya's beautiful eyes remained tightly shut, lost in deep slumber.

"If no one wakes her, I bet she could sleep leaning against a pillar all night?" Lin Tianlu muttered to himself, then decided to step forward and carefully embrace her.

Her body felt incredibly light in his arms, and her arms and legs were soft and slender to the touch.

This action did not startle the young woman awake. Instead, she unconsciously let out a cute, soft smile, gently twisting her delicate body. She adjusted herself into a comfortable position in his embrace, curling up and leaning against him, like a well-behaved and clingy little fox.

"Hm?"

Lin Tianlu looked closely and only now noticed a small tear in the fabric of her clothing at the chest. Through the opening, he could faintly glimpse her tender, fair, jade-like skin.

His expression turned somewhat peculiar.

Who designed this outfit?

It was truly wicked and indecent, a clear violation of public morals, and deserved severe criticism!

—Once this girl wakes up, I must ask her where she bought this outfit.

The tailor of this garment was likely an extremely rare pervert from ancient times, deeply understanding the art of subtle allure.

Lin Tianlu gently placed the young woman in his arms onto the soft bed in her chamber and pulled the thin blanket over her. Seeing that she was still sleeping soundly and unaware, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Fortunately, the mansion walls were high, so he didn't have to worry about any passersby seeing. If her reputation were tarnished, he would feel deeply uneasy.

He turned back to the table and blew out the candle.

"Huh?"

To his surprise, the candle turned into a pile of ash with that single puff of air, scattering across the table.

"What kind of terrible quality is this candle?"

Lin Tianlu touched the debris on the table, utterly bewildered.

He simply turned and jogged back to his own home, taking out two new candles he had bought at the market that day to replace it.

After confirming the young woman was safe and sound, he tiptoed out of her chamber.

He returned to the covered walkway and was about to stretch lazily, intending to continue reading some poetry or travelogues, when the door beside him suddenly swung open on its own, slamming against the sides with a bang.

"?"

This strange phenomenon caused Lin Tianlu to freeze for a moment.

He glanced into the room before, with a speechless expression, closing the door again.

"The wind is quite strong tonight."

He looked to the side and saw that the door to another room had also opened on its own.

"Whoa—this is really not going to end."

Lin Tianlu clicked his tongue and stepped forward to close the door properly.

Looking at yet another guest room door that had opened by itself, Lin Tianlu fell silent for a moment.

Immediately, he ran to the flower bed in the courtyard, grabbed a few stones, and completely blocked the doors of these guest rooms from both the inside and outside. Satisfied, he clapped his hands: "All done!"

BOOM!

The sudden loud noise made Lin Tianlu, who was about to sit down and read, change his expression and spring to his feet.

A flicker of fire rose in the distance, faintly illuminating the dark night, as if something in the county had caught fire.

"Could it be that something happened in the kitchen of some restaurant?"

Lin Tianlu was extremely surprised.

But if it were a normal fire, the county yamen should be able to quickly take measures to extinguish it and rescue people. There was no need for him, an ordinary person, to get involved—

"Hm?"

Suddenly, a sinister and eerie cold aura brushed past his cheek, as if carried by the night wind.

This feeling was somewhat familiar.

Lin Tianlu's eyes flickered, and he understood.

This fire... was very likely not man-made, but the work of that ghostly fierce spirit?

This kind of Yin energy was more potent than the female ghost he encountered at the foot of Taiyi Mountain, and perhaps more dangerous.

Ordinary people encountering such an evil entity would likely have no power to resist. After all, even with Hua Shuya's martial arts skills at the time, she had lost all will to fight against the female ghost in the mountains, let alone ordinary people in the marketplace.

Should he intervene and help?

Lin Tianlu clenched his fists, hesitating for a moment.

He wasn't sure if his spiritual energy could still be effective. If the vengeful spirit was stronger than him, he might be in trouble.

But--

"Cultivation and Immortality are all about a clear and connected mind. If you shrink back at the first sign of danger, if you coldly ignore those who can be saved, and stand aloof, what kind of immortal are you cultivating? What kind of Dao are you following!"

Lin Tianlu's expression turned stern. He immediately flipped out the window and rushed out of the mansion.

But as soon as he pushed open the mansion gate, he saw a familiar figure standing not far away.

Mao Ruoyu stood alone outside the gate, wearing a thin gauze outer robe, her face filled with fear as she gazed at the distant flames.

"How can this fire..."

"Madam, hurry home and don't wander outside!"

Lin Tianlu shouted.

Mao Ruoyu flinched in fright, but upon seeing his figure, she quickly said, "Wait, wait! You rude scholar... Mr. Lin, what are you doing?"

"Going to help put out the fire."

"Don't be rash!"

But just as Lin Tianlu was about to move, Mao Ruoyu quickly stepped forward and grabbed his sleeve.

"The fire is huge and fierce. Approaching rashly is life-threatening!"

"It's alright, I'll just help sprinkle water from the outside."

"Don't, don't go!"

But Mao Ruoyu's face was full of anxiety, and she urgently pleaded, "That place... is very dangerous! It's truly extremely dangerous. If you approach rashly, your life will be in peril!"

Lin Tianlu smiled gently and cupped his hands. "Thank you for your concern, Madam. But as neighbors, we should help where we can. If it's truly dangerous, I will return immediately.

Also, Madam, please return to your room quickly. The night wind is strong, and it wouldn't be good if the fire disturbed your children."

"You--"

Before she could finish speaking, Lin Tianlu gently pushed her hand away and left.

Mao Ruoyu's eyes widened, then she gritted her teeth and stomped her foot, angrily scolding, "This stubborn, idiotic scholar! With his lack of strength, he wants to go help? Is he trying to rush to his death!"

Residents from the surrounding houses began to come out one after another, all looking at the distant flames with shocked expressions.

Various whispers could be heard, and some impatient people ran towards the fire.

Mao Ruoyu stood alone on the street, silent for a long while. Then, she tightened her thin clothes and melted into the shadows under the cover of night.

Along the way, she muttered incessantly.

"My half-pound of Heart-Enchanting Pastry wasn't for you to eat for free! If you die, I'll make you spit out all the Heart-Enchanting Pastry to me!"

It was unclear if she was complaining or trying to bolster her courage.

"H-how could this be?"

"The fire is so fierce, I'm afraid all the property in the cloth shop is lost!"

"Shopkeeper Zhang was usually so careful, how could he have been so careless here!"

As Lin Tianlu approached the vicinity of the fire, he saw a crowd gathered around the flames, whispering amongst themselves. At the same time, many strong young men had voluntarily gathered and were working together to douse the fire with water.

Looking closely at the direction of the fire, he saw that the cloth shop where he had bought clothes two days ago was ablaze. The fire was so fierce that it even threatened to spread.

"Something's not right!"

But at this moment, the young men in the distance cried out in alarm.

"What happened?!"

"This fire won't go out!" The bare-chested man, sweating profusely, shouted in terror, "We've already thrown dozens of buckets of well water, let alone stopping the fire, we can't even put out the outer embers!"

The elder leading the group looked at the sea of flames with a shocked expression, murmuring as if sensing something, "Could it be... a demonic entity?"

"Elder Li! It's true! The houses on both sides of the cloth shop are smoking but not burning, completely unaffected by the fire, which is extremely strange!"

"Everyone, quickly retreat! This fire might be unusual!"

The gloomy energy that enveloped the surroundings became increasingly dense. Although they were not far from the fire, the chill that swept over their bodies was even more distinct.

At the same time, another group of people rushed over, "We searched all around, there's no one at home. Shopkeeper Zhang and his shop assistants are still inside the cloth shop!"

The crowd erupted in commotion, the scene becoming chaotic. Looking at the strange fire that was impossible to extinguish, everyone present was helpless.

"As expected, it's the work of ghosts."

But in an unobserved corner, Lin Tianlu was stealthily approaching.

He glanced around a few times, quickly bypassed the crowd, and rushed directly into the cloth shop, which had turned into a sea of flames, from the back of the street.

"This fire is cold on the outside and hot on the inside. It doesn't scorch or burn the outside, yet the cloth shop is burnt black, which is very strange." Lin Tianlu casually swept away the rolling heatwaves that hit him, taking two deep breaths.

Although the spiritual energy filling his body was difficult to mobilize, it at least provided him with some protection. This strange fire did not cause him any discomfort.

It was just a little warm.

He was about to set off to rescue the person from the cloth shop, but his steps quickly halted.

Just then, a figure engulfed in flames, wrapped from head to toe in raging fire, slowly emerged from the scorched ruins.

His robes were as black as ink, exuding a chilling, eerie aura.

The green-faced man, with his disheveled hair, let out a breath of scorching flames like a ferocious demon. His deep, spectral eyes swept over the scene, and he immediately spotted within the sea of fire...

Lin Tianlu, who was fanning himself with his sleeve.

The green-faced man suddenly froze.

"...???"

How did this person get in here?!