Chapter 12: Unguarded, Flames Rise
Late night descended, and a peaceful silence settled over the neighborhood.
The autumn equinox had passed, and a slight chill lingered in the night air.
Lin Tianlu closed his book, stretched, and glanced at the girl beside him.
“She’s sleeping so soundly.”
Hua Shuya’s eyes remained closed, her sleep undisturbed.
“If no one wakes her up, she might sleep against that pillar all night?” Lin Tianlu murmured to himself, then carefully scooped her up in his arms.
Her body was surprisingly light, her limbs soft and slender.
His actions didn’t wake her up. Instead, she smiled unconsciously in her sleep, shifting slightly in his arms to find a more comfortable position, snuggling closer like a cuddly fox.
“Hmm?”
Lin Tianlu took a closer look and noticed a small tear in the girl’s robe, revealing a glimpse of her delicate, fair skin.
His expression turned strange.
Who designed this outfit?
It was so revealing and suggestive, truly scandalous!
—He would have to ask her where she bought it when she woke up.
The tailor must have been a rare pervert in ancient times, a master of subtle seduction.
…
Lin Tianlu gently carried the girl into her room and laid her down on the soft bed, covering her with a thin blanket. Seeing her still sleeping soundly, he wiped the sweat from his brow.
Thankfully, the courtyard walls were high, so there was no need to worry about passersby seeing them. He wouldn’t want to ruin the girl’s reputation.
He returned to the main hall and blew out the candle.
“Eh?”
To his surprise, the candle instantly turned to ash, scattering across the table.
“What kind of quality is this candle?”
Lin Tianlu touched the ashes, dumbfounded.
He went back to his own room and took out two new candles he had bought from the market earlier that day, replacing the extinguished one in Hua Shuya’s room.
After making sure she was safe and sound, he quietly left her room.
Back in the corridor, he stretched, preparing to continue reading. But suddenly, a door beside him swung open, slamming against the wall with a bang.
“?”
Lin Tianlu was startled.
He looked inside the room, then closed the door with a sigh.
“The wind is quite strong tonight.”
Bang!
He turned his head and saw another door swinging open.
“Wow, this is getting ridiculous.”
Lin Tianlu clicked his tongue, walking over to close the door.
Bang!
Looking at another open door, Lin Tianlu paused.
Then, he went to the flowerbed in the courtyard, grabbed a few stones, and wedged them against all the doors, both inside and out. Satisfied, he clapped his hands together. “There!”
Boom!
A sudden, loud crash startled Lin Tianlu, who was about to sit down and read. He jumped to his feet.
A fire blazed in the distance, casting an orange glow against the dark night sky. It seemed something was burning in the county.
“Did something happen in a restaurant’s kitchen?”
Lin Tianlu was surprised.
But if it was just an ordinary fire, the local authorities should be able to handle it quickly. There was no need for him to get involved…
“Hmm?”
Suddenly, a chilling, eerie aura brushed past his face, carried by the night wind.
This feeling… was familiar.
Lin Tianlu’s eyes flickered, realization dawning upon him.
This fire… was most likely not caused by humans, but by a ghost or demon?
This Yin energy was far stronger than that of the female ghost he had encountered at the foot of Mount Taiyi. This was potentially more dangerous.
If ordinary people encountered such a sinister being, they would be completely helpless. Even Hua Shuya, with her martial arts skills, had lost her fighting spirit in the face of that ghost. What chance did ordinary townsfolk have?
Should he intervene?
Lin Tianlu clenched his fists, hesitating.
He wasn’t sure if his spiritual energy would be effective. If this ghost was stronger than him, he might be in trouble.
But…
“Cultivation is about following one’s heart. If I cower in fear at the first sign of danger, if I turn a blind eye to innocent people in need, then what’s the point of cultivating immortality? What’s the point of seeking the Dao?!”
Lin Tianlu’s expression hardened, and he leaped out the window, rushing out of the mansion.
But as he pushed open the courtyard gate, he saw a familiar figure standing not far away.
Mao Ruoyu stood alone outside her house, wrapped in a thin shawl, her face filled with fear as she looked at the fire in the distance.
“How could this fire…”
“Madam, go back inside, don’t wander around outside!”
Lin Tianlu shouted.
Mao Ruoyu flinched, but seeing him, she quickly said, “W-wait! You damn scho— Mr. Lin, what are you doing?”
“Going to help put out the fire.”
“Don’t be reckless!”
But as Lin Tianlu was about to leave, Mao Ruoyu rushed forward and grabbed his sleeve.
“That fire is too big and fierce. It’s too dangerous!”
“It’s alright. I’ll just help from the outside.”
“N-no, don’t go!”
Mao Ruoyu’s face was filled with anxiety as she pleaded with him to stay. “That place… is very dangerous! Truly dangerous! If you go there, you’ll be in grave danger, Sir!”
Lin Tianlu smiled gently and bowed. “Thank you for your concern, Madam. But as a neighbor, I should help if I can. If it’s truly dangerous, I’ll come back immediately.
And you should go back inside, Madam. The night wind is strong, and it wouldn’t be good if the fire frightened your child.”
“You—”
Before she could finish speaking, Lin Tianlu gently pushed her hand away and left.
Mao Ruoyu’s eyes widened, and she stomped her foot, her voice filled with frustration. “That stubborn scholar! He thinks he can save people with his weak body? He’s going to get himself killed!”
More and more people emerged from their houses, staring at the fire in the distance with shock.
Whispers and rumors spread, and some people, unable to contain their curiosity, ran towards the fire.
Mao Ruoyu stood alone on the street, silent for a moment, then clutched her thin shawl and followed the shadows, her voice filled with a mixture of complaint and self-encouragement.
“My Bewitching Pastries weren’t meant to be eaten in vain! If you die, I’ll make you spit them all out!”
…
“How… how could this be?”
“The fire is so fierce. I’m afraid all the goods in the fabric shop are gone!”
“Shopkeeper Zhang is usually so careful, how could he be so careless today?”
As Lin Tianlu approached the fire, he saw a crowd gathered around the perimeter, whispering among themselves. Several strong young men had already gathered, working together to extinguish the flames with buckets of water.
He saw that the fire had originated from the fabric shop where he had bought his clothes two days ago. The flames were so intense that they threatened to spread to the surrounding buildings.
“Something’s wrong!”
But at that moment, the young men shouted in alarm.
“What happened?!”
“The fire won’t go out!” A shirtless man, drenched in sweat, cried out in fear. “We’ve poured dozens of buckets of well water on it, but the fire isn’t dying down. We can’t even extinguish the embers at the edge!”
An elderly man at the front stared at the fire with shock, his voice trembling. “Could it be… something supernatural?”
“You’re right, Old Li! The houses on either side of the fabric shop are untouched by the flames. It’s very strange!”
“Everyone, step back! There’s something wrong with this fire!”
The chilling Yin energy in the air intensified. Even though they were standing a distance away from the fire, the coldness was palpable.
More people rushed over. “We’ve searched the surrounding area, but there’s no one in those houses. Shopkeeper Zhang and his assistants are still inside the fabric shop!”
The crowd erupted in commotion, panic spreading. They were helpless against the strange, inextinguishable fire.
“As I suspected, it’s a ghost.”
But in a secluded corner, Lin Tianlu was stealthily approaching the fire.
He glanced around, quickly circled the crowd, and entered the burning fabric shop from the back.
“The fire is cold on the outside, hot on the inside. The surrounding buildings are untouched, yet the fabric shop is completely engulfed in flames. This is strange.” Lin Tianlu waved away the heat, taking a few deep breaths.
Although he couldn’t fully control the spiritual energy within him, it offered him some protection. The strange fire didn’t burn him.
It was just a bit warm.
He was about to enter the shop to rescue the people trapped inside, but his footsteps suddenly stopped.
At that moment, a figure engulfed in flames emerged from the burning wreckage.
Its robes were as black as ink, its aura sinister and eerie.
The blue-faced man, his hair wild and unkempt, exhaled a blast of fiery breath, his eyes scanning the inferno…
And then he saw Lin Tianlu, standing calmly in the midst of the flames, fanning himself.
The man froze, his expression dumbfounded.
“…???”
How did this guy get in here?!