The Whole City in Uproar

Lin Qi stood atop a tall building, leaning sideways against a chimney as he watched the burning tavern with great relish, his face positively glowing.

Yu Lian was an old hand at arson; he possessed a unique talent in that regard. Just as he had described himself, he was skilled at setting fire to every kind of thing in this world. Of course, as he himself had also said, what he was best at was kindling a blazing fire in the hearts of beautiful women!

"Mm, I don't know how good he is at setting fires in beauties' hearts, but this fire before us is quite spectacular!" Enzo, too, recalled Yu Lian's shameless boasting. Squatting atop a bronze beast-head drainpipe at the corner of the roof, he chewed tobacco and betel nut by the mouthful as he happily passed judgment on Yu Lian.

With a cigar clamped between his teeth, Lin Qi took a deep drag and slowly exhaled the smoke through his nostrils.

The fire in the stables spread wider. More than thirty startled horses let out piercing whinnies and galloped about in terror across the small square of the Sword and Beauty Tavern. No one knew which horse had kicked through the back door in the corner of the yard, but all thirty-odd horses dashed out through the gaping doorway in a single stream.

Based on Lin Qi's understanding of the commercial district, those horses racing out into the night would be difficult to recover. The fellows haunting the darkness would surely capture them alive at the first opportunity, then swiftly transport them far out of Berely. In a few weeks, the horses would appear in certain customers' stables—or simply become a large rib in someone's soup pot.

"Greatsword Joe can afford this loss. Just thirty-odd horses!" Lin Qi blew out a thick cloud of smoke and snickered. "Enzo, you all should head back to the dormitories. Tonight will be lively. Very lively!"

Enzo gave a strange laugh and nimbly leaped down from the roof. The building they stood on was six stories tall, but Enzo lightly used the windowsills on each floor to slow his descent, landing safely without much effort. He waved to Lin Qi, then disappeared into the darkness with the Blood-Clad Seven Swordsmen, who were also grinning from ear to ear.

Lin Qi spread his arms, gazed at the shadowy figures in the distant streets, and burst into silent laughter.

At least three companies of night-patrolling Dragon Cavalry had arrived. Nearly a hundred Dragon Cavalry rode frantically around the tavern, driving off idlers who had heard the commotion and come to watch. Dozens of Berreley Garrison secret police, wearing Copper Hats and heavy overcoats, blew their whistles wildly and gesticulated hysterically as they summoned the teams responsible for extinguishing fires in the commercial district's private residences.

The shrill whistles tore at the heart. In the distance, more than a dozen crimson oil lamps rapidly drew closer. Nearly a hundred disheveled men, shivering violently from the cold, pushed over a dozen large water carts as they rushed over in a sorry state. They were the professional firefighting teams under Berely City Hall, and their very livelihoods depended on this blaze.

If they put out the fire without major damage, they would receive generous rewards.

If they failed to put it out and the fire caused grievous losses, some of them might even be sentenced to prison.

Fortunately, to guard against the frigid winds from the northern ice fields, all the better buildings in Berely were built of stone. The Sword and Beauty Tavern, in particular, had been constructed from blue-gray stone blocks; it was not only sturdy, but highly fireproof. Thanks to the firefighters' efforts, the blaze in the stables was extinguished after a quarter of an hour. Other than the flour shop next door, whose woodshed roof had suffered collateral damage and burned down, no nearby buildings had the misfortune of being affected.

The moment the fire was extinguished, the Dragon Cavalry dismounted and charged into the tavern alongside the Copper Hats.

Screams from men and women rang out inside. The second floor of the Sword and Beauty Tavern served as an inn, and there were likely thirty to fifty guests resting in their rooms at the moment. Some of the haughty Dragon Cavalry and fearless Copper Hats rushed into the tavern, while others violently broke into the rooms and began searching the inn for suspicious individuals.

After all, only thirty years had passed since the Hundred-Year Land-Island War ended. People across the continent still bore the horrific memories of that war. Back then, Berely had suffered dozens of fires every month, deliberately started by enemy sabotage. For thirty years, Berely had not seen a nighttime fire. Today's blaze had once again touched certain people's raw nerves.

The inn's doors were smashed open, and the guests were roughly dragged outside. The cold wind howled. Those guests, disheveled and even clad only in sleepwear, shivered uncontrollably in the freezing air. Several delicate young women were so frightened and cold that they fainted on the spot.

Just as the inn was in complete chaos, an even greater uproar erupted from within the tavern. More piercing whistles shot into the sky. One Dragon Cavalryman even stepped outside, snapped a small scroll in half, and hurled it into the air. A head-sized white fireball streaked skyward with a shrill howl, soaring more than three hundred meters before exploding with a thunderous boom, bursting into a mass of white light over ten meters across.

The whole of Berely was stirred into turmoil. This was an emergency warning signal that the night-patrolling Dragon Cavalry could use only when they discovered an urgent situation. Either the matter was so pressing that reinforcements were needed at once, or it involved secrets too weighty for the Dragon Cavalry on the scene to handle and required their superiors to rush over immediately.

Lin Qi grinned so widely his mouth could scarcely close. Black Horse House and his lot were finished this time.

More than a hundred students from every grade of the Imperial Army Academy had violated the Military Academy's discipline and regulations, stayed out overnight to drink themselves senseless in a tavern, and carelessly started a fire. Not only would the Round Table Knights suffer a bloody misfortune, but the Sword and Beauty Tavern would also have to bear collective responsibility.

This matter would not only alarm the Imperial Army Academy's upper ranks; it would also disturb the military's great figures. Black Horse House, in particular, came from a family of aristocratic commanders. His background was deep—but the deeper it was, the more trouble he would be in. Louis XIII, whose treasured blade had not yet dulled, would never permit such scum to appear in the Military Academy he had created with his own hands. There was plenty more turmoil to come from this affair.

Reviewing the entire process of leading his men into the tavern, Lin Qi was certain he had not left behind the slightest trace.

Letting out a relaxed breath, Lin Qi saw the Dragon Cavalry beginning to widen their mounted search of the surrounding area. He darted down from the building like a nimble cat, hunched low, and raced down the main street toward Fifth University.

Enzo and the others should have returned to the Imperial Army Academy dormitories by now. Without evidence, no one could do anything to them.

As for Lin Qi, he had the finest witness—tonight, he had been serving the great gods. At the time of the incident, he had been copying scriptures in his dormitory, with Father Balin as his witness. Even the Berreley Garrison would not dare utter a single word of nonsense.

Divine authority stood supreme, and royal authority lay beneath it. With the radiance of the gods shielding him, who would dare question Lin Qi?

"Great gods, I will help you sell those thousand Atonement Talismans as soon as possible!"

As he raced onward, Lin Qi began to pray devoutly.