"Quick, put out the fire-!"
Chapter 78: Assassination at the Hanging Temple
As the autumn wind swept past, the plume of black smoke that had risen unnoticed from the mountain terrace seemed to be stirred, abruptly growing thicker.
A gray-black column of smoke shot skyward, flecked with scarlet sparks that danced wildly in the wind. Scattered tongues of flame blazed into a solid sheet in an instant, letting out a piercing roar.
Outside the temple gates below, Fan Xian had been chatting leisurely with Wang Qinian just a second earlier. At the shouts from nearby, his expression changed drastically, and he sprang up from the carriage.
"Fire-! The Hanging Temple is on fire-!"
The fire had started on one of the Hanging Temple's lower floors.
The Hanging Temple was built entirely of wood. Its beams, pillars, and upturned eaves were all made from fine timber, dry and flammable, and the fire spread rapidly.
Once the flames spread to the upper floors, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Few of the young officials attending the chrysanthemum gathering on that floor had ever faced anything like this. They lost their heads, crying out and scrambling for cover, plunging the place into utter chaos.
Fan Xian used his lightness arts all the way, moving like lightning.
When he reached the fire, a wave of heat struck his face.
Many guards and eunuchs were already desperately fighting the blaze, passing buckets as water splashed everywhere.
Gong Dian, who had been on an upper floor, was also alerted by the commotion and rushed downstairs with a number of guards.
The stairs were narrow, leaving little room for people to fight the fire side by side. Fortunately, it had been discovered early, and their combined efforts soon brought it under control.
Clad in black armor, Gong Dian