"Are there barbecue stalls in the Forest Goods Market too?"
Fatty Xin, who had just tossed aside a chicken bone, had been idly staring out the window when he suddenly sniffed the air. With great interest, he asked his companions, "Could it be grilled game from the forest? How come we didn't see it just now... Are you full? Want to go take a look?"
Zheng Qing expressionlessly eyed the small, spotless pile of chicken bones in front of the fatty and restrained the urge to mock him.
Still, he followed Fatty Xin's gaze and looked out the window.
Above the previously tranquil and peaceful Forest Goods Market, a plume of curling smoke had risen at some unknown point. Gray mingled with green in the smoke, forming a solid column like a towering bamboo stalk thrust straight into the grayish-white sky above the market.
Zheng Qing frowned.
Although the fatty said it was smoke from a barbecue stall, Zheng Qing felt that something was off.
"No, that isn't smoke from a barbecue stall." Compared with Zheng Qing, Xiao Xiao's answer was much more certain. He too looked out the window, his tone extremely calm. "That is a column of smoke that accompanies a fire."
As if to provide a footnote to the Doctor's answer, several violent explosions suddenly erupted from the once-quiet Forest Goods Market, making the restaurant's glass windows hum and tremble.
When they looked toward the market again, distant sparks had already begun to overwhelm the sunlight, staining the sky.
Faintly, there even seemed to be several beastly roars.
Zheng Qing sucked in a sharp breath, planted both hands on the table, and shot to his feet.
On any ordinary day, such an action would certainly have drawn everyone's attention. But now, compared with the other diners in