The Crimson Flame Kirin had occupied Mysterious Fantasy City for over three years. Ever since he had replaced the former city lord with iron-blooded methods, the entire city had plunged into darkness.
He spent his days in the rebuilt City Lord's Manor, drowning in wine and women while allowing his vicious servants to gnaw at the common folk like starving wolves.
If street vendors failed to pay double "protection fees," their stalls would be overturned and they would receive a savage beating.
If grain merchants dared to hoard even a single grain of rice, they would be charged with "collaborating with the enemy," their property confiscated and their families exiled.
The city's merchants suffered beyond endurance. Every month, the Crimson Flame Kirin's lackeys pillaged and extorted in the name of "the city lord's expenses." At the slightest resistance, they were accused of "disrespecting the city lord." At best, their hands and feet were broken; at worst, their entire families were executed.
That morning, before the thin mist over Mysterious Fantasy City had dispersed, Zhao San, the steward of the City Lord's Manor, led over fifty servants and twenty armored soldiers in a grand procession toward the Chen Family in the eastern part of the city.
Zhao San was fat and round-eared, with a Mystic Iron Token bestowed by the Crimson Flame Kirin hanging at his waist. His face was brimming with smug delight.
The day before, he had told the Crimson Flame Kirin that Chen Hongyu, the Chen Family's eldest daughter, possessed beauty worthy of a celestial maiden, while Lan Xiaodie, the Lan Family's eldest daughter, was gentle and captivating.
The Crimson Flame Kirin had been overjoyed upon hearing this and immediately ordered Zhao San to bring both women back to the manor that day. Whoever dared obstruct them was