Chapter 109: The Great Fire

Old Master Lin, Lin Jiren, Lin Zhishu, and Lin Zhili were dragged and hauled before him by the household guards.

The Guard Commander's gaze was like a blade, scraping across each of them.

The four cut a miserable figure—Old Master Lin was listless and spiritless, as if he might breathe his last at any moment.

Lin Jiren's face was streaked with tears, his eyes hollow and vacant.

Lin Zhishu trembled like a sieve, several fresh scratch marks across his face.

One of Lin Zhili's cheeks was swollen high, with flecks of blood on his face and clothes.

"Kill them, kill them all... hehehehe... kill them all..."

The naked madwoman in the distance kept up her incessant raving.

The Guard Commander spoke coldly: "Do you know who the bandits were?"

The four remained silent.

Zhao Ba barked: "Answer!"

All four flinched.

Lin Jiren shook his head. "We do not know."

Lin Zhishu's eyes went wide as he hurriedly said: "Xie Er! Xie Er knew, but unfortunately he's dead..."

Zhao Ba was about to berate him again when the Guard Commander stopped him: "Xie Er? Tell me in detail."

Lin Zhishu recounted how Xie Er had run ships for the Lin family. Though it was a private vessel, in the southeastern coastal regions where smuggling was rampant, it was hardly a major offense—and besides, the Lin estate was already destroyed, so there was little else to worry about.

The Guard Commander frowned deeply, thinking to himself that this ship steward of the Lin family must have had his vessel seized at sea in the southeastern waters, been coerced, and revealed information about the Lin family, which in turn had brought the bandits down upon them.

He stared fixedly at the great fire consuming the Lin estate, pondering silently. The Lin family was, after all, a house of some standing, with connections to many coastal guard stations in the south—ordinary sea bandits would not dare touch Lin family ships.

Could it be... Li Kuiqi?

The Guard Commander thought with alarm that Li Kuiqi was elusive as a ghost—if this was his doing, once he fled into the open sea, catching him again would be no easy task.

Lin Zhili spoke up, adding in a slurred voice: "The bandits called their leader 'the shipmaster.'"

The term "shipmaster" was like "helmsman" or "boatman"—just another name for the captain of a vessel, carrying no particular connotation of piracy.

But for a great sea bandit like Li Kuiqi, his men generally called him "chieftain"—that was a different matter.

Of course, it was also possible that Li Kuiqi had his men use a different title during raids to throw people off the scent.

"What did the bandits look like—their build and features?" the Guard Commander pressed.

Lin Jiren: "The leader was on the taller side, of medium build, with piercing eyes and a fierce bearing."

Lin Zhili added: "And one of his underlings, a sub-chief—broad-backed and thick-waisted, tall and powerfully built, with immense strength. Oh, and I think there was a woman with them too."

Hearing this, the Guard Commander grew even more puzzled. He knew Li Kuiqi's appearance well enough—that tall, burly one must be him. But then who was the leader? Surely Li Dan of Kyushu hadn't come in person to raid the Lin estate?

"What accent did the bandits speak with?" the Guard Commander asked again.

"The tall one had a Shandong accent. Most of the other bandits spoke with Fujian or Guangdong accents. The leader, though he spoke in official Mandarin, had a faint Jiangzhe accent—it seemed... it seemed he might be a local..."

A local from Jiangzhe? Of medium build? Called "shipmaster"?

The Guard Commander's mind stirred—he had already guessed who the bandit was. He rose abruptly and ordered his subordinates: "Let's go, back to the guard station!"

He shook the reins and rode off ahead, dozens of household guards behind him mounting their horses and following close, hooves thundering like rolling drums, kicking up a trail of dust.

"Hahahaha... hehehehehe... I'll kill you all! Kill you all!"

The madwoman's laughter mingled with the crackling of the raging fire.

The Constable and the Patrol Inspector each led their men away. Seeing that the Lin family was already ruined, neither could even be bothered with the face-saving courtesy of bidding farewell.

The militia captain walked up to Lin Jiren and said with difficulty: "Master, the fire is too fierce—there's no way to save it."

Lin Jiren said dejectedly: "I know. Dismiss them, send them all home."

The captain acknowledged the order and disbanded the militia.

The roaring blaze drew quite a crowd of local folk, who stopped to watch.

One onlooker remarked: "Look at this estate—the timber is fine stuff, just see how brightly it burns."

"Smell that—there's a fragrance in the smoke. I'd say it's rosewood."

"The fire is burning only within the estate walls, not spreading outside. Do you know why? Because the gable walls and fire lanes were built well!"

The speaker seemed to have once served as a servant in a great household, intimately familiar with the construction of such estates. He explained to the surrounding crowd the function of gable walls and fire lanes, drawing waves of admiration from those around him.

"The Lin family truly was a house of virtue—when building their residence, they actually considered that a fire in their own home should not endanger the neighboring folk. A rare thing indeed."

"Hahaha... old sir, you don't understand. The gable walls and fire lanes were originally built to guard against the common folk—so that if the neighbors caught fire, the Lin estate would not be affected."

As the crowd chattered and commented, a naked woman came charging over, her face twisted in a manic grin, looking utterly deranged.

"Hehehehe... kill you all, kill! Kill you all!"

Seeing the madwoman's ghastly face and hearing her mutter such inauspicious things, the crowd grew fearful and scattered out of her way.

"Father, what should we do with Concubine Li?" Lin Zhili helped his father up, glancing toward the raving woman in the distance.

Lin Jiren shot her a vicious glare and said through gritted teeth: "Seize her first. Once things settle down, find an isolated spot and put her in a pig cage!"

Lin Zhili acknowledged the order, a flash of vengeful satisfaction passing through his eyes.

Boom!

Out of a clear blue sky, a dull thunderclap suddenly rang out.

The Lin father and son were badly startled. Lin Jiren collapsed to the ground, looking up at the sky, lost in thought.

Lin Zhili hurriedly helped his father up.

Boom!

Another peal of thunder, and the sky that had been clear moments before suddenly began to rain.

The rain came down hard, quickly turning into a torrential downpour as dark clouds swiftly swallowed the sky.

The folk who had gathered to watch the fire hurried home to take shelter from the rain.

The Lin mansion fire, too, gradually died out in the rain.

Lin Zhili gave a few instructions to the servants, and four sturdy servants strode quickly toward Concubine Li.

"Hahaha... kill them all... what are you doing, I'll kill you! Kill them all... wuwuwu..."

Mimicking the bandits, a servant scooped up a handful of mud from the ground and stuffed it into Concubine Li's mouth, then used the rope the bandits had left behind to bind her mouth shut.

Concubine Li could finally make no more sound. Her hands were pinned behind her back by the servants, and she bent over in agony, tears streaming down her face as she struggled ceaselessly.

Lin Jiren helped Old Master Lin up and led the clan members back to the mansion.

The compound was filled with crumbling walls and broken beams; the pavilions and towers of former days had all been reduced to charred rubble.

The group made their way toward the rear courtyard. Fortunately, most of the buildings in the back were still intact, so the masters of each branch would not be left without a place to stay.

It must have been the mansion's fire lanes and partition corridors that had held back the flames—this was the true depth of a great clan's foundations!

The moment they stepped into the inner compound, the Lin family members, who had been scurrying about like stray dogs, regained their confidence.

Lin Zhili arranged for servants to attend to the masters of each branch—helping them rest and change clothes—and also ordered others to clean up the mess outside the main gate.

"Second Young Master, what should we do with Concubine Li?" a servant asked.

A venomous look surfaced on Lin Zhili's face: "Find a place to lock her up for now. We'll deal with her another day."

(End of chapter)

Pink Round

Pen