Midnight Fire Order

Gu Qinghe put away the Internal Affairs notice and released her flying sword.

"Get on!"

Li Sanshun stepped onto the blade, and the two of them headed straight for North Mountain.

The moment the flying sword left Law Enforcement Peak, Gu Qinghe fired off three Message Talismans. Two flew toward the Law Enforcement Hall, and one was sent to Medicine Peak to notify the Incineration Team to cease using the fire array.

North Mountain was not far from the main peak; the flying sword would take less than half a quarter-hour to reach it. Yet, as they crossed the mountainside, a vast expanse of firelight already reflected in the sky ahead.

The herb garden was burning!

"There is still half an hour until midnight."

Gu Qinghe urged the flying sword forward, soaring over the stone wall that enclosed the herb garden.

Below, piles of Corpse-Bone Vine lay in heaps. Dozens of Medicine Peak laborers surrounded the perimeter, continuously dumping discarded herb residue into the fire trench. Four fire pillars stood at the corners of the herb garden, and the array patterns on the ground were already lit.

The fire borrowed the power of the array, advancing along the trenches toward the depths of the herb garden.

The Medicine Peak Deacon in charge shouted at the top of his lungs: "Move faster! It must be burned clean tonight; we have to turn the soil tomorrow morning!"

Gu Qinghe leaped from the flying sword and flashed her Law Enforcement Token.

"Cease fire! Everyone, evacuate the herb garden!"

The Medicine Peak Deacon froze for a moment, then hurried over, clutching a fire order.

"Senior Sister Gu, the time Medicine Peak received was the sixth quarter of the Hai hour. The fire array has already been activated; if we stop now, the toxic gases trapped in the soil will easily backflow."

"The original order from the Internal Affairs Hall stated midnight."

"That is not what we received."

The Medicine Peak Deacon spread out the fire order. The Medicine Peak Seal and Internal Affairs Seal were complete, and next to the altered time was a Law Enforcement Hall Approval Seal.

Gu Qinghe took the fire order, her fingertips resting on the approval seal.

The mark belonged to Gu Changyue.

It was her foster father's authority again.

"Who delivered this?"

"A disciple from the Internal Affairs Hall. He wore a waist tag, and I verified his identity."

"Where is he now?"

"He left right after delivering the fire order."

Gu Qinghe tucked the fire order into an evidence bag and raised her Law Enforcement Token.

"This location is involved in a major case for the Law Enforcement Hall. Shut down the four array pillars and seal off North Mountain. No one present is allowed to leave!"

The Medicine Peak Deacon blocked the path to the array disk.

"The array fire has already spread; forcing a stop will damage the earth veins. Who will take the blame if something goes wrong?"

"I will."

"You are currently only a Law Enforcement disciple; you cannot bear the responsibility for the entire herb garden!"

Gu Qinghe drew her short sword and severed the fire fuse beside the array disk with a single strike.

The eastern fire pillar extinguished instantly.

"Anyone who blocks me again will be dealt with for obstructing an investigation."

The Medicine Peak Deacon dared not stop her further and led his men to shut down the remaining three fire pillars. Without the array to fuel it, the fire on the ground did not stop. The Corpse-Bone Vine had accumulated for years, and with herb residue buried beneath, it ignited at the slightest touch.

The laborers brought sand and soil, pressing down the fire along the perimeter.

Li Sanshun covered his nose and mouth with a cloth and walked to the edge of the herb garden. The smoke was thick with the stench of rotting herbs; after just one breath, his throat felt bitter and acrid.

[You have ingested a mouthful of low-grade toxic smoke.]

[Air quality: Poor.]

[Life energy increased by 0.01 points.]

[Detected scent components: Corpse-Bone Vine, discarded herb residue, Red Saltpeter Powder.]

No Breath-Closing Powder.

He walked twenty paces east along the fire trench and took a deep breath in a different spot.

[Detected scent components: Corpse-Bone Vine, Sulfur Stone Powder, Corpse-Bone Water.]

Still nothing.

Gu Qinghe arrived with four Law Enforcement disciples and handed him a smoke-avoiding scarf.

"Are you still relying on your nose to find it?"

"The corpse cart has been here; the scent doesn't wash away easily. When Breath-Closing Powder meets fire, it leaves a bitter almond scent."

"There are hundreds of types of waste herbs burning in the garden; can you even distinguish it?"

"Trying is better than waiting for the fire to finish."

Li Sanshun took the smoke-avoiding scarf but only covered half of his nose and mouth. The system required him to inhale directly; if he covered up too tightly, he wouldn't be able to detect the components.

The herb garden covered a large area, and the fire was shrinking toward the center. If it continued to burn like this, the entrance hidden underground wouldn't last long.

He walked along the perimeter, changing positions five times in a row.

The components provided by the system were all different, but there was still no sign of Breath-Closing Powder.

Could it be that the corpse cart only passed by the herb garden and didn't leave Zhao Chong here?

Li Sanshun looked back at the fire.

The south and west sides were burning fiercely, but there were only a few small fires on the north side. Medicine Peak laborers were moving waste soil there, preparing to burn it again.

In the same herb garden, there was significantly less Corpse-Bone Vine on the north side.

"Stop the people on the north side first!"

Gu Qinghe didn't ask why; she turned and led her men to detain several laborers.

Li Sanshun crossed the fire trench and walked to the north side of the herb garden. The ground was covered with thick White Sand Soil, and there were fresh marks of disturbance on the surface.

A laborer holding a shovel explained: "The poison is deepest here; we only turned the soil yesterday afternoon. The manager was afraid it wouldn't burn through, so he told us to add a few more cartloads of herb residue."

"Who turned it?"

"Sun Erhe led the work. He used to be a laborer at Medicine Peak and is familiar with North Mountain."

The missing cart driver had indeed been here.

Li Sanshun squatted down and scraped away the top layer of White Sand Soil. Beneath it lay several burnt, broken black hemp ropes, with hardened, dark red herb clumps stuck to them.

Gu Qinghe scraped off a bit with a wooden chip.

"Corpse-Bone Water, the same as in the ventilation duct of the morgue."

Li Sanshun continued to clear the surrounding soil, and a circular stone slab soon appeared on the ground. Crushed herb roots were pressed around the edge of the slab, and there were several fresh scrape marks on the outer ring.

The fire had already reached within three yards.

A Law Enforcement disciple brought two buckets of water; as soon as he poured them into the fire trench, gray smoke billowed from underground. Several laborers inhaled it and fell to their knees, vomiting on the spot.

The Medicine Peak Deacon hurriedly took out detox pills.

"There is corrosive poison stored underground; we cannot pour more water, we must use sand and soil to suppress it!"

The group switched to using White Sand Soil to seal the fire trench.

Li Sanshun lay down beside the stone slab and inhaled through the gap.

A bitter taste drilled into his nasal cavity.

[You have ingested a mouthful of mixed medicinal vapor.]

[Life energy increased by 0.01 points.]

[Detected scent components: Breath-Closing Powder, Corpse-Bone Water, Hemostatic Medicine, residual scent of a living person.]

Found it!

"Someone has been beneath this stone slab."

Gu Qinghe took out the North Mountain Old Map. The map marked an abandoned well, located right on the north side of the herb garden.

"The well shaft was sealed twelve years ago; it connects to the old Medicine Peak drainage channel below, which leads to the west slope."

The four Law Enforcement disciples pried at the stone slab together.

The slab had only been lifted half a foot when a red-hot ignition fuse sprang out from the gap. The fuse was connected to the underground and had already burned halfway through.

"Back away!"

Gu Qinghe pinned the fuse with her sword and slashed off the burning section. Li Sanshun grabbed wet mud from the side and smothered the remaining sparks.

A few dozen seconds later, the fire would have followed the fuse into the abandoned well.

The group pushed the stone slab completely aside.

A rope ladder hung against the well wall, with wet mud left on the top few rungs. An old water channel lay at the bottom of the well, and black cartwheel tracks extended all the way along it, winding toward the west slope.

Reinforcements from the Law Enforcement Hall arrived at the herb garden. The lead disciple inspected the well shaft for a moment and quickly returned with news.

"Senior Sister Gu, there are wheel tracks in the old water channel. The cart left through the west slope exit, and the tracks lead all the way to the cliff!"

Gu Qinghe was about to descend into the well, but Li Sanshun picked up a grayish-white soil clod from the mud seam at the wellhead.

There wasn't a single broken herb root inside.

The mud in the corpse cart's wheel axles had been clearly mixed with the black root fragments unique to the North Mountain herb garden. Yet, the wellhead and the water channel were excessively clean, leaving only two clear sets of wheel tracks.

Someone had been waiting specifically for them to chase toward the west slope.

Li Sanshun dropped the soil clod and blocked the Law Enforcement disciple who was preparing to descend.

"Don't chase yet."

The lead disciple pointed to the bottom of the well: "The wheel tracks lead to the cliff; if we delay any longer, they will escape!"

Li Sanshun stepped onto the well rim and pointed at the wheel tracks in the water channel.

"Who told you these wheel tracks were real?"