Burning Flowers, Swaying Moon, Asking About the Past: Fragrance drifted, shadows stirred, washing the heart clean as snow

On the morning after Golden Bowl, the Pure World Sect's master in this commandery, deployed his forces, Xing Yan took Qiong Rong and Xueyi out to wander around Yangshan County's town.

The streets of Yangshan County were much like those of Qinglin Town, rich with Miao and Yao flavor. The market stalls displayed a dazzling array of carvings and ornaments made by the local Yao people, and colorful garments with distinctive patterns were everywhere. At each stall, little Qiong Rong would occasionally pick up a silver trinket and excitedly ask her sister Xueyi to admire it. Watching the carefree little girl, Xing Yan often found a smile rising to his face.

Yet beneath those smiles, whenever he remembered last night's conversation with Zou Yanzhao, the Zhurong Gate shaman, and Shi Yuying, leader of the Red Sash Society, his spirits sank. After the fire at the mountain god's temple the night before last, and everything he had seen and heard over the past two days, Xing Yan had grown deeply suspicious of the Pure World Sect and decided to inquire discreetly. To avoid misunderstandings born of preconceived notions, or false accusations from Zou Yanzhao and the others arising from sectarian grievances, he chose his words carefully and asked as indirectly as possible.

Those roundabout inquiries finally convinced the young Highest Clarity hall master that both the burning of the mountain god's temple the night before last and the fire at Zhenyang's Dragon King Temple over half a month earlier had been the work of Luo Ziming, the Pure World Sect's worthy master in Yangshan.

Since the Pure World Sect's rise, local sects such as the Zhurong Gate had been isolated and weak, utterly unable to withstand its aggressive drive to swallow them up. After discussing the matter, Zou Yanzhao and the