Left and Right at Odds

Fire Stone: This was a Fire Stone from the abyss, capable of storing Fire Seeds.

Current Storage: Abyssal Fire, the most ordinary fire of the abyss.

Qin He took one look and was overjoyed. A Fire Stone that could store Fire Seeds—what a treasure.

What did corpse burning rely on?

Fire!

Coal flames were already considered fierce, yet burning a single corpse still took nearly half a day.

If this Abyssal Fire could speed up corpse burning, that would be perfect.

Qin He had great confidence in it. Nothing from the abyss had ever disappointed him. Though this Abyssal Fire was the most ordinary fire in the abyss, it was surely stronger than the flames he had used for corpse burning these past days.

With a thought, the Fire Stone appeared in Qin He's hand.

It was a round black stone the size of a goose egg, with a pale red flame-shaped pattern on its surface.

The moment the Fire Stone entered his hand, its method of use became clear to him.

With a slight flick of his inner force, the flame-shaped pattern turned into a spark and fell into the corpse burning furnace.

"Boom!"

An explosive roar rang out. Pale red flames rapidly spread, swallowing and replacing the original yellow fire.

The temperature of the entire corpse burning furnace instantly rose to a new level, heat waves rushing at him.

The speed at which Zheng Laosan's not-yet-burned bones turned to ash visibly increased.

"Good!"

Qin He beamed.

The temperature of this fire was even higher than when the bellows were worked at full force. It could increase the corpse-burning speed by at least thirty percent, and if air was blown in, the speed could rise further.

To Qin He, this was nothing short of divine aid.

A higher furnace temperature meant faster corpse burning, but it also reduced coal consumption. The coal saved could be used to burn more corpses without anyone noticing anything amiss.

The benefits were simply too numerous.

The only drawback was that once this fire was used, it had to be collected again. Otherwise, if it went out, the Fire Seed would be gone.

Once Zheng Laosan's bones had completely turned to ash, Qin He brought the Fire Stone close to the flames and retrieved a wisp of Fire Seed.

While it was still hot, he shoveled out the ashes and found that they had burned thoroughly. There were practically no large bones left behind. Unlike before, when larger bones had to be smashed apart with a shovel before they could be loaded into buckets, and were difficult to burn clean.

Qin He was naturally satisfied with such a reward a hundred times over.

His luck had truly exploded.

The sudden appearance of the Punishment Slave set winds and clouds surging.

Open investigation was not frightening; the undercurrents in the dark were what truly posed danger.

The next day, under a moonless, windy night, the Capital City lay beneath a blanket of darkness. Only a few faint lights swayed in the distance—the lamps of soldiers on night patrol.

The night wind swept past treetops and wall corners, making a "woo woo" sound like the howling of ghosts.

All manner of lurking demons and monsters waited for their chance to move, prowling beyond the reach of the night patrol's lights.

"Clang!"

A figure swept over a rooftop, knocking down a shower of broken tiles.

"Who goes there?"

The soldiers on night patrol were startled and shouted.

With a ringing clash, over a dozen treasured blades were drawn, and they hurriedly surrounded the area.

The leader wore iron armor beneath a green Flying Fish Guard robe. A scar crossed his face. He was a Flying Fish Guard Battalion Commander.

"Meow~"

When the lantern light shone over, they saw only a black cat crouching in the corner, its green eyes staring straight at them.

"Battalion Commander, it's a cat."

"Hmph. These beasts always like making noises. Damned thing!"

The scar-faced Battalion Commander's gaze turned cold. He swung his blade in a vicious slash, and the Xiuchun Saber flew from his hand like lightning, cutting the black cat in two. The blade's momentum did not stop, and it embedded itself viciously in the stone wall behind it. Its force made the soldiers' expressions change in alarm.

"Continue the patrol."

"Yes!"

In a dilapidated courtyard several miles away.

A black shadow dropped into the yard with a faint sound.

"Password!"

A low shout came from the darkness.

"Beneath Whitehead Mountain."

The shadow spoke in a deep voice, slowly removing the black cloth from his face to reveal a somewhat sallow complexion.

If any court official had been present, they would surely have cried out in shock: Left Vice Minister of War, Liu Changan.

"Lord Zuoma and Lord Youma have been waiting for you for some time," a voice came again from the darkness.

Liu Changan nodded and walked to the door, gently pushing it open.

Inside, eight or nine pairs of eyes instantly focused on him. Seated in the middle was a burly man with a bristling beard, eyes like bronze bells, a straight nose, and a square mouth. A heavy saber hung at his waist, and his face carried layers upon layers of killing intent. Most eye-catching was his head: the front had been shaved smooth and gleaming, while seven or eight thin braids like rat tails were left at the back, the remaining hair shaped like copper coins.

It was unmistakably the Di Barbarians' coin-shaped rat tail hairstyle.

"Vice Minister, you came late today," the rat-tailed man said in a deep voice, clearly somewhat dissatisfied.

"Flying Fish lackeys blocked my way, making you all wait," Liu Changan said with cupped hands. He slowly walked to a chair beside the burly man and sat down.

The people in the room were divided into two factions by hairstyle. One wore coin-shaped rat tails, each with sinister eyes and unfriendly expressions. The other wore Han-style hair crowns, their faces much more normal, though there were not many of them—only two or three.

The two factions stood apart, as distinct as the waters of the Jing and Wei.

"Now that everyone is here, let us begin."

The rat-tailed burly man stood. His iron-tower-like body carried immense pressure as he said in a muffled voice, "Liu Cang died under unclear circumstances some days ago, and now the Punishment Slave has disappeared as well. Lord Aquina is very dissatisfied. We must take action."

"What action?" Liu Changan raised his brows slightly and looked at the rat-tailed burly man.

The rat-tailed burly man smiled faintly. "Raid the Imperial Prison."

"What?"

Liu Changan's expression changed as he exclaimed, "No. The situation is unclear right now. Stillness is better than action."

"Stillness?"

The rat-tailed burly man showed a hint of disdain. "Liu Cang has been dead for so long. Vice Minister, you have remained still long enough. Now that the Punishment Slave has disappeared, you still want to remain still?"

"Investigation takes time."

Liu Changan gritted his teeth in defense, while a surge of fury rose within him.

These savages from the deep mountains and old forests could do nothing but create chaos and slaughter innocents.

Chaos?

The eight armies had yet to enter the pass. Such chaos was utterly meaningless.

It would only constantly remind the Li Court to strengthen its defenses, making it harder for him to obtain intelligence.

A single piece of intelligence could decide the outcome of a war beyond the pass. It was far more useful than killing a few insignificant people in the Capital City.

The battlefield was where these arrogant, battle-hardened generals belonged—not lurking in the heart of the empire.

"Then Vice Minister, continue your investigation properly. We warriors of Great Jin have our own way of doing things." The rat-tailed man narrowed his eyes, and the killing intent in them instantly seemed to take tangible form.

"But I have already tracked down the vicious corpse that killed Liu Cang. There will be results within three days." Liu Changan was unwilling to let them act blindly. His instincts told him that the Punishment Slave's soundless disappearance was anything but ordinary.

"What could you uncover by capturing a dead thing like that? The name Punishment Slave was personally bestowed by the Great King. If anything goes wrong, and it is due to you and me, you should know the consequences."

Liu Changan still wanted to persuade him, but the rat-tailed burly man cut him off directly. "I have already made up my mind about this operation, and this is also Lord Aquina's intent. Vice Minister, there is no need to say more."

Liu Changan's face shifted between green and red as he said furiously, "An Baogu, this is unauthorized action. You will pay the price for your recklessness."

"There is no need for the Vice Minister to worry. No matter the outcome, I, An Baogu, will bear it alone. The gathering is over. Vice Minister, take care on your way out. I will not see you off." The rat-tailed burly man wore a mocking expression.

"You... you will regret this!"

Liu Changan's chest rose and fell with rage, but there was nothing he could do. He could only lead those from his faction out, slamming the door behind them.

"Hmph. Southern barbarians, petty rats!"

The rat-tailed burly man snorted coldly, then slowly turned to face the remaining coin-tailed men in the room. Bloodlust gradually appeared in his eyes. "Sons of the Di Barbarians, tonight, let us kill to our hearts' content."

The coin-tailed men revealed looks of bloodthirsty longing and excitement.

Three full months had passed since their last operation, all because Liu Changan had suppressed them.

Today, they could finally act again.

Killing, killing!

Let the entire Capital City tremble and crawl beneath their feet. Let fear drown every southern barbarian.

The blood of battle surged and burned.