Chapter 105: A Fire in Autumn

The morning sun cast a golden glow over Taiping City.

"You base, mangy cur!"
"Who the hell stole my underwear?"
"Damn you! Don't you know my crotch is festering? Just wait for your own bird to rot off, you son of a bitch!"
"Husband, that man yesterday said we could get rich by partnering in business, and that we'd get a two-copper interest payment today. Where is he?"
"You spendthrift woman, he was obviously a swindler!"
"Someone’s been robbed!"
"Old Five Zhao was robbed and stabbed—it’s bleeding everywhere!"

A new day began in the City of Sin.

When Yang Xuan entered the city, he was greeted by this scene of chaotic disarray.
"Greetings, Magistrate," the people saluted.
Yang Xuan suddenly felt a sense of home. This city relied on his protection, and these people relied on his shelter. At this moment, the head of the household had returned to his Taiping City.

"Greetings, Young Master," Cao Ying and the others said, looking surprised at the bedraggled Old Thief and Wang Lao'er.
"Ambushed on the road."
Yi Niang hurried over upon hearing the news, and seeing their state, she was furious. "Mobilize the troops for a sweep."
With the five hundred convicts finally starting to look like soldiers, Yi Niang felt more confident.
"It was the Washe Tribe," Yang Xuan said as he sat down.
"The Washe Tribe..." Yi Niang fell silent. The power of the Washe Tribe was enough to leave everyone present speechless.
"But this grudge cannot go unavenged," Cao Ying said, his scholarly appearance masking the venomous schemes he was turning over in his mind.

Yi Niang stood up, her heart aching. "Look at Lao'er, his face is black. It’s time to slaughter one of those sheep."
"That’s because he’s lazy and hasn't washed his face in two days!" Yang Xuan said with a dark expression. "Yi Niang, they can't eat mutton."
"I can eat it," Wang Lao'er said, staring longingly at Yang Xuan.
"No!" Yi Niang realized her mistake. "That’s 'trigger food'—it will aggravate their wounds. Alright, alright, I’ll go get a chicken and stew it to help Old Thief and Lao'er recover."
"I want a chicken leg!" Wang Lao'er shouted.
"Go wash your face first, or I’ll break your legs!"

Once Yi Niang had left, Cao Ying said with a dark look, "Young Master, this debt must be settled sooner or later."
"Sooner or later?" Yang Xuan said coldly. "I want it settled today!"
"That... you mean we should send troops?" Cao Ying did not think that was a wise idea. With the current strength of Yang Xuan’s forces, taking the initiative to attack the Washe Tribe would be nothing more than a suicide mission.
Yang Xuan tapped his desk lightly and said calmly, "It hasn't rained much lately."
"That is true," Cao Ying nodded.
"The weather is dry and the tinder is parched," Yang Xuan’s eyes glinted with a murderous intent. "Be careful with fire!"
Cao Ying’s body jolted. "Arson?"
"Correction: this is asymmetric warfare," Yang Xuan said flatly. "And we’ll send a bit of fire to Huazhuo as well."

A song played in his earpiece. "You are like a fire in the autumn..."
That was a good song. Then, Zhuque’s voice turned low: "A fire on the mountain, and the chief falls for me."

Nan He entered Taiping City at that very moment.
"Where are you from?" a soldier demanded.
Nan He swept his gaze over the city gate and shook his head slightly. The force at the gate was too thin; if someone were to launch a surprise attack, it would be easily breached. He slowly reached for his travel permit, but suddenly noticed the sound of armor rubbing together behind the gate. It was a trap—the two soldiers were merely bait. If anyone attacked, the armored soldiers behind the gate would be there in an instant. Whose handiwork was this? Did the Young Master have other generals?

"Coming to Chenzhou to enlist?" the soldier asked him. "Do you have any acquaintances?"
"I do," Nan He nodded.
"Who?"
"The Young Master—Magistrate Yang."
The soldier stepped back. "Someone is here to see the Magistrate."
From behind the gate, an armored soldier stepped out, hand on his hilt, staring intensely at Nan He. "Remove your sword."
Nan He surrendered his blade, and the two armored men escorted him inside.

The streets were lined with people, all looking at Nan He with curiosity. Aside from supply deliveries from the province and the occasional messenger, no outsiders ever came here. These gazes made Nan He feel uneasy. An old man walked slowly toward him, his eyes cloudy and nearly vacant.
What was going on? Nan He prepared to speak.
The old man bumped into him slightly.
*Thump!*
The old man collapsed straight to the ground.
"He killed someone!" a boy shrieked, throwing himself over the body. "Grandpa! Grandpa!"
Nan He: "..."
He raised his hands in confusion. "I didn't touch him."
"You bumped into him and killed him."
"Hey! I saw it clearly; that hit was brutal!" the onlookers said, full of feigned sympathy.
"I didn't hit him!" Nan He raised his hands, looking innocent.
"If not, then why..."
A soldier turned around and barked, "He is the Magistrate's guest, all of you, clear off."
*Whoosh!*
The old man stood up in the blink of an eye, looking as if nothing had happened. The boy’s tears stopped magically, and he sniffled his nose.
Nan He: "..." Where on earth have I come to?

Yang Xuan was listening to Cao Ying’s report on the city's situation. "Grain is a bit tight, but if we tighten our belts, we can scrape by..."
"Magistrate," Hu Zhang entered. "Someone has arrived, claiming they’ve come to join the Young Master."
Who? Bao Dong? Yang Xuan chuckled, thinking he was overthinking it. "Send him in."

Later, Nan He arrived. Cao Ying, standing to the side, stiffened and slowly bowed, his eyes filled with immense emotion. Nan He stared directly at Yang Xuan and walked in.
*Thump!*
Nan He knelt, tears streaming down his face. "Young Master!"
Cao Ying’s eyes turned red, and Hu Zhang discreetly withdrew.
Cao Ying leaned over. "Young Master, it is a guard—one of Yang Lüe’s men."
"Get up." Yang Xuan stood and helped Nan He to his feet. These were his core supporters, the legacy of the Emperor. "The journey was arduous; you’ve suffered."
Nan He wiped away his tears. "The brothers have dreamed of seeing the Young Master every night. I am overjoyed at this moment."
Yi Niang also came out upon hearing the news. "Nan He?"
"Yi Niang!"
The two greeted each other with sighs and reflections. Nan He spoke of the situation in Southern Zhou. "Over twenty guards, fifty orphans."
Yang Xuan nodded. "Rest for now; we will talk when I return."

Nan He’s arrival eased the embarrassment of Yang Xuan having no generals, but he still had to leave alone for now.
"Where is the Young Master going?"
"To set a fire."
The Young Master had to handle arson himself? Nan He was furious. "Is there no one left to serve the Young Master?"
Cao Ying pointed to the side. Old Thief and Wang Lao'er were watching the commotion, one looking sickly and the other looking foolish.
How could there be so few people? Nan He: "..."
Cao Ying said with satisfaction, "Our... what did the Young Master say? Our team has expanded again."

...

After entering autumn, the grasslands had grown quiet. As the saying goes, "Autumn is high and horses are fat," making it the perfect time for a campaign. But Huazhuo had no such plans.
"The Great Tang remains powerful, and Northern Liao is restless, but they only dare to harass us, not launch a full-scale attack. Let us wait and see." Huazhuo suppressed the restlessness among his subordinates.
More than a dozen minor chieftains felt disappointed. One asked, "Khan, when will we be able to ride across the Central Plains?"
"Ride across Chenzhou, you mean!" another said disdainfully. "Even Northern Liao doesn't dare to act; does our tribe alone have the guts?"
"Well said!" Huazhuo glanced at the man, his right fist tightening.

The tent flap moved, and Wahai entered, wearing a straw hat and barefoot. His clothes were tattered, and bloodstains were visible on his body.
Huazhuo stood up, a fierce light flashing in his eyes. "Who hurt you? Go, gather the men, quickly!"
The chieftains bowed and agreed.
"No," Wahai shook his head. "You all leave."
Huazhuo stomped his feet. "A physician! Get a physician!" He helped Wahai sit down, his eyes brimming with murderous intent. "Who did this?"
Wahai said softly, "I went to intercept Yang Xuan and his party. He had a fool with him, a fool with decent cultivation, and all three of them fought with no fear of death. I sustained some injuries. Brother, that young magistrate refused to retreat even in death—he is a man."
Huazhuo gritted his teeth. "A man? When I conquer Taiping, I will tear him limb from limb!"
Wahai smiled. "I was just careless. If the Tang scouts hadn't arrived, I would have killed all three of them on the spot. You don't need to be in such a hurry..."
Huazhuo shouted angrily, "You’ve been like this since childhood! Always calm and composed, taking the blame for my mistakes, never making a sound when you were beaten. You... are you trying to drive me to my grave?"
Wahai’s gaze softened. "Life was hard when we were children. You would go hungry yourself but coax me into eating the food you saved. Later, I secretly saw you starving, searching for grass roots to eat..."
Huazhuo paused, then said with embarrassment, "It’s been so many years, why bring that up?"
Just then, the physician entered, and after an examination, said, "The wounds have scarred over; there is nothing to worry about."

Huazhuo looked gloomily at the map. "Taiping City is full of convicts and only fifty soldiers; if we attack, we can take it in one blow."
Wahai shook his head. "I don't understand these things, but I know that if you mobilize a large army, the Tang people will surely roar."
"Autumn is high and horses are fat," Huazhuo’s eyes filled with ambition.
For the next few days, he reviewed his troops. "Start drilling!"
Huazhuo, wearing a thick cloak, waved his hand gently. The gemstone-encrusted rings on his fingers sparkled in the sun.

Just three miles away, two stealthy men dismounted.
"This area is good, and the wind is blowing from the north right now." Yang Xuan tested the wind direction and was quite satisfied.
Nan He, accompanying him for the first time, cautiously observed their surroundings. "Young Master, these grasses won't catch fire, will they?" Nan He squeezed the dry, yellow grass and shook his head.
"That’s because you haven't seen a prairie fire."
"The Young Master has?"
"Of course."
Zhuque’s voice came through the earpiece: "Grassland fires are divided into fast-moving surface fires and steady surface fires. Steady surface fires cause the most damage..."
Yang Xuan took out a canister of fire oil, aimed at the settlement, and poured it according to the wind direction...
The two took a wide detour, and it was half an hour later before they finished.
"Ignite it quickly."
Yang Xuan and Nan He lit their fire-starters and ran in opposite directions, setting fires one after another. The flames rose and began to spread. Gradually, the fire line formed a crescent shape, advancing toward the distant Royal Court.
Nan He watched, dumbstruck, as the unremarkable flame grew and slowly spread forward, propelled by the northern wind. The fire moved slowly, but with terrifying stability.
"Go!" Yang Xuan knew that if they didn't leave now, the enraged Huazhuo would hunt them to the ends of the earth.
"Fire! Fire!" someone shouted.
The Royal Court was in an uproar.

The fire burned for two days before being extinguished by a rare autumn rain.
"The Royal Court has been burned to the ground; those people are now worried about how to survive the winter."
Yang Xuan, having already returned safely to Taiping, received the latest news.
Nan He glanced at him, thinking that although Yang Lüe had worried the Young Master was too green, this method of arson clearly showed... even a veteran thief wouldn't have been more experienced.
But how did the Young Master learn such experience? Most likely in his childhood...
Thinking of how the Young Master had been mistreated since he was small, Nan He regretted not advising they kill the Yang Ding family back then.

Cao Ying entered, nodded at him, and reported: "Young Master, the Washe Tribe learned of your trip to Lin'an, but it wasn't Jiang Zhen who leaked it."
"Then we won't act against him for now," Yang Xuan narrowed his eyes. "Interesting. Who could it be?"