Big Wine Jar was one of the capital's most popular haunts among the common folk at the bottom of society.
As its name suggested, the eatery's central furnishings were large earthenware jars, each half buried in the ground.
Thick wooden boards covered the mouths of the jars to serve as tabletops. Diners sat cross-legged on cushions around them, drinking the cheap wine drawn from the jars and eating smoked eggs and pork skin jelly that cost a few copper coins per plate.
The people who came here were all hawkers, peddlers, laborers, and porters, drawn by the low prices.
Chen Ye hadn't expected Wu Xiaorui to choose a place like this.
But on second thought, he understood what the girl had in mind. She was probably worried that he was short of money and wanted to save him some.
He didn't point it out. He simply found an empty wine jar and sat down.
"Waiter, two jin of Shaodaozi, a plate of sliced pig's head, and a dish of peanuts!" Wu Xiaorui called out in a clear voice, with the easygoing forthrightness of a child of the jianghu.
The food and wine arrived quickly.
Though Wu Xiaorui was slender, she could hold her liquor. She downed cup after cup of fiery Shaodaozi without a change in her expression.
Chen Ye had important business that night, so he took only two small sips before putting down his cup.
A handsome young man and a pretty young woman were already somewhat out of place in an establishment filled with the stench of sweat and wine.
The diners around them cast curious, speculative glances their way from time to time, but Wu Xiaorui paid them no mind. She ate to her heart's content, in high spirits.
She had traveled north and south with an opera troupe since childhood. What hadn't she seen? Children of the jianghu weren't so particular to begin with.
The two chatted about everything under the sun, mostly strange tales and curious happenings from the jianghu.
Before long, the conversation inevitably turned to the capital's most talked-about figure.
"Hey, Chen Ye, do you think the Moon-Treading Great Hero will really go tonight?" Wu Xiaorui lowered her voice, her bright eyes shining with admiration and longing.
"The Duke Anguo's Residence is a dragnet right now, with every constable and soldier in the city watching it. If he goes, that would be... so daring of him!"
Chen Ye picked up a slice of pig's head, put it in his mouth, and mumbled, "Who knows?"
Seeing him like that, Wu Xiaorui couldn't help pursing her lips. "You're no fun at all. You're not even a little excited."
Chen Ye smiled and went back to his food.
By the time they finished eating, darkness had fallen completely.
Lanterns along the streets lit up one by one, outlining the capital's night in a hazy warmth.
"I'll walk you back," Chen Ye said.
"No need." Wu Xiaorui waved a hand, her face showing a slight tipsiness and a girl's playful charm.
"I've lived in the capital for so many years, I couldn't get lost with my eyes closed. Besides, I'm with the Cai Character Gate. I'll be fine."
Seeing that she insisted, Chen Ye didn't press her. They parted at the street corner, and Wu Xiaorui waved with a smile before turning and merging into the crowd.
Children of the jianghu grew old in the jianghu; coming together and parting were simply the way of things. Chen Ye watched Wu Xiaorui leave, then turned into a deserted alley nearby.
With a few leaps, he climbed onto the eaves and, keeping out of sight of every passerby, sped across the closely packed rooftops toward the safe house he had rented.
By a twist of fate, Wu Xiaorui's visit had given him the perfect excuse to slip out of the courtyard compound without drawing anyone's attention.
After reaching the small courtyard, Chen Ye packed everything he would need that night, then silently raced toward the Duke Anguo's Residence.
At this moment, the duke's residence was less a mansion than a massive military fortress.
There was a guard every three steps and a sentry every five. Inside, everything that could be lit had been set alight, with torches and lanterns hanging in every corner.
The soldiers of the Military Patrol Office had completely sealed off the area in front of the gates, strictly forbidding anyone without business there from approaching.
Chen Ye stood in the shadow of a small building some distance away, quietly observing.
He found that the Duke Anguo's Residence's defenses were watertight. The sentries in the open and those in hiding covered one another, and the patrol routes and timing had been carefully calculated, leaving almost no opening to exploit.
It seemed an expert was advising them from behind the scenes.
But that was only to be expected, and Chen Ye was in no hurry.
He was waiting.
Waiting for an opportunity.
It was late autumn and the end of the lunar month, so there was neither moon nor stars in the night sky, only an impenetrable, inky darkness.
A moment later, an autumn breeze brushed past, stirring the hem of Chen Ye's clothes.
Now!
On autumn nights in the capital, the wind mostly blew from the northwest.
And Chen Ye was standing upwind of the Duke Anguo's Residence.
From the bag he carried, he carefully took out several earthenware jars the size of fists, tightly sealed with oilcloth and sealing wax.
Then he took out two lengths of coarse hemp rope and a leather pouch and quickly fashioned a simple sling.
The capital was tightly controlled, and bows, crossbows, armor, and helmets were contraband strictly forbidden to private citizens. Being caught with them was a serious crime. By comparison, a sling made from two cords and a pouch was undoubtedly much simpler and easier to conceal.
He had also spent considerable effort practicing with it lately. Though he couldn't yet hit wherever he aimed, he was capable enough to throw a jar into the enormous residence a hundred paces away.
Chen Ye placed a sealed jar securely in the pouch and took a deep breath. He swung his arm, and the sling whistled through the air above his head.
One turn, two turns, three turns...
The instant it reached its greatest speed, he released it!
The jar became a black meteor, cutting through the night sky and smashing squarely into the grand gatehouse of the Duke Anguo's Residence.
"Bang!"
The jar shattered, and in the next instant, a burst of orange-red flame erupted, swallowing the gatehouse with its carved beams and painted rafters.
The jar contained the incendiary powder Chen Ye had made himself from saltpeter, white phosphorus, and other materials!
The sudden turn of events threw the guards and soldiers waiting in readiness below into an uproar.
"Fire! Put it out, quickly!"
"We're under attack! Where's the attack coming from?"
But before they could react, Chen Ye moved as fast as lightning, sending several more incendiary bottles whistling in one after another!
The fire rode the wind, and the wind fed the flames!
Buildings in those days were made of wood and stone. Dry timber touched by the powder caught at the slightest spark.
Even though the Duke of An and the others had prepared buckets of water and sand beforehand, it was to no avail.
In the blink of an eye, the area in front of the Duke Anguo's Residence had become a sea of fire.
The people's cries and the shouts to fight the fire blended into a chaotic din.
Chen Ye didn't stop. Carrying the remaining jars, he darted through the darkness, quickly changing position.
Soon, flames shot into the sky one after another from the eastern courtyard wall, the western corner tower... all around the Duke Anguo's Residence.
The firelight dyed half the night sky red, and the billowing smoke stung people's eyes until they couldn't open them.
No matter how thoroughly Li Jun and Cheng Zhiwei had planned or how tightly they had arranged their defenses, they had never expected their opponent to break the deadlock in such a brutally overbearing way.
The fire was about to spread to the entire street. Once the flames swept from one residence to the next, every court dignitary living there would be caught up in it; not one would escape.
"Put out the fire! Get out there and put it out, damn you!" Li Jun ordered in a furious rage.
All the household servants and guards, even the experts originally assigned to protect Li Chunfeng, now had no choice but to carry buckets to the fires in every direction.
The previously tight defenses crumbled in an instant before the raging blaze.
Amid the chaotic crowd, Cheng Zhiwei's heart burned with anxiety.
She knew full well that this was the Moon-Treading Great Thief's scheme to lure the tiger away from the mountain.
While everyone was run off their feet, he would surely slip into the residence amid the chaos.
But the question was... where would he enter?
Deafening clamor and people rushing about surrounded her. Cheng Zhiwei forced herself to remain calm, her mind racing as she tried to find a clue in the chaos.
And at that very moment, a household servant whose clothes had been burned to tatters, whose face was blackened with soot, and whose hair hung loose was rushing into the residence with a bucket.
Everyone was fighting the fire, so no one noticed him at all.
Soon, the servant disappeared into the Duke Anguo's Residence.