Chapter 286: 295 Burning with Fire

"It will be chaotic tonight."

In the Reception Hall, most of the lamps had already been extinguished; only one room by the lake still had a candle lit, and someone was taking advantage of the night to gaze out at the lake water.

"Sister Mu? Still not asleep?"

A knock sounded at the door, and after receiving permission, a youth of seventeen or eighteen pushed the door open and asked.

"Mm, I always feel that danger is hidden within the marsh. It makes one feel uneasy." The young girl gazing out the window turned her head back; having let down her hair bun, her black hair hung loose, the tips fluttering slightly, almost merging with the night, making her skin appear even whiter than fresh snow.

The youth lowered his head slightly, avoiding that striking color, and tried hard to shift his gaze toward the window.

Outside the window, apart from the thick night, there was only a pool of deep, dark marsh water; without the moonlight to shine upon it, the water was pure black. Everything in the outside world was unknowable.

"It doesn't seem like there is any chaos, does it?"

The young girl stared at the black water and said, "Perhaps there is, right there in those reed beds, but it is covered by the night."

Suddenly, she smiled slightly and said, "It could also be that I am overly suspicious. I always felt that in Jichun City, it was already like that—full of panic and suspicion—and upon arriving here in Zhuoyu Villa, it shouldn't be this peaceful. Although there have been people going missing in the Reception Hall these past few days, and I've heard that there are people by the lake specifically blocking those trying to leave the valley, it is all small-scale trouble after all; I haven't heard of any major riots. I feel there might be a big move hidden behind this, perhaps tonight, perhaps tomorrow. In any case, it is unlikely to remain smooth until the end—this is me being a harbinger of doom, but the Host must not hear it. Perhaps they have defensive measures in place and will crush those disasters in their infancy?"

The youth nodded and said, "Actually, I have always felt the atmosphere here is very strange. Although the scenery is moving and the hospitality is thorough, and there are all sorts of strange and curious gadgets over there that dazzle the eyes, I have always felt awkward—the kind of awkwardness that cannot be put into words. It is as if I feel a sense of dissonance just standing here."

The young girl mused, "Actually, I have this feeling too. It feels as if this place is..." She chose her words carefully, "Very cold."

The youth nodded.

The word 'cold' is very strange. If one speaks of temperature, the climate here is suitable, neither cold nor hot. If one speaks of human sentiment, the Disciples who entertain here are very enthusiastic, smiling at everyone, and fulfilling any requests as much as possible. The White Jade Brilliance nearby is even more boisterous with gongs and drums, colorful flags fluttering, as lively as the Lantern Festival; although the auction was postponed, the various large and small special sales these past few days have never stopped, with all kinds of magical and dazzling Art Tools being moved directly onto the stage for competitive bidding. If this isn't called enthusiastic, what is?

However, people like them who have seen much can still taste a trace of difference. That is, although it is lively here, it is not lively to the bone; the liveliness is a layer of skin draped on the outside, while inside it is cold and even indifferent. They, as guests, have never seen what the bones of Zhuoyu Villa are truly like.

The young girl sighed softly, "It doesn't matter. If there is chaos, fine; if there is no chaos, that is also fine. Tomorrow will reveal the truth. If he can succeed by then, we will seal him as a proper Sword Smith in the name of the Profound Water Inspectorate, and that will count as completing the mission. If it is destroyed, we will not show our faces and will act as if we never came."

The youth nodded; the Profound Water Inspectorate always does things this way, only adding flowers to the brocade. Then he asked, "If he succeeds in Sword Casting and then chaos breaks out, and at that time additional enemies come to attack and they cannot resist, should we help?"

The young girl pondered slightly and said, "If that happens, it means he is already a Sword Smith. We should also manage the affairs of a Sword Smith. If we settle the matter for him, Zhuoyu Villa will logically become a member under my Profound Water Inspectorate. Expanding the territory of my Profound Water Inspectorate further north is a good thing."

The youth nodded and looked again at the thick night outside the window: "So, it all depends on whether we can pass through tonight safely."

"Is everyone here?" The young voice drifted through the reed marsh, sounding ghostly in the night wind.

The crowd was silent. The young man silently counted the number of people; he did not call roll, but instead gently unfolded a map.

In the darkness, the lines on the map emitted a faint glow, not striking, maintained at a level that was just barely visible.

"Who else hasn't memorized the map? I brought this most accurate version. I will give you ten more breaths of time to memorize it. Once you enter the water, no one will remind you of the direction."

After ten breaths, the map was rolled up, a spark of fire lit up, and that map, which looked expensive at a glance, was burned to ashes.

"I will say this one last time. Our goal is to provide support for the team of High Minister Shi Chunqing. They are the main force, and we are the support. Only if they succeed do we succeed. If they fail, even if we succeed, it counts as a failure."

No one spoke, no one raised an objection; this was something already agreed upon. At most, someone's breathing rhythm changed slightly, revealing a trace of emotional fluctuation.

The young leader keenly sensed this fluctuation and continued, "There is no need to feel unfair. The higher-ups know we are working hard and know we are in danger, so although this is only support, the credit is the same. According to the plan, we will sneak over and ambush near the exit. After receiving the accurate signal from Shi Chunqing, we will start the fire, then release the Phantoms and Fierce Beasts, and let them create chaos. You must build up the momentum to create an opportunity for their surprise attack. As long as you stir up chaos, any means can be used."

At this moment, someone suddenly said in a low voice, "I feel that this time it might not necessarily lead to chaos. In the past few days, the various factions in the Reception Hall have been quite active, and some were idlers who feared the world wouldn't be in chaos. However, those who dared to act these past few days have been cleaned up one after another. Zhuoyu Villa seems to have many experts, and they also know how to fish; they probably set up several fake locations suspected to be the Sword Furnace, lured people over, and cleared them out one by one. The seeds of chaos are being caught one by one. The Reception Hall has quieted down these past two days."

Speaking to the end, he couldn't help but say, "If we had stopped those few people from acting recklessly these past two days and left some seeds, perhaps it would be easier to stir up trouble today."

The Military Protector remained silent, then immediately said, "Are you blaming me?"

That person visibly shrank back and shook his head repeatedly, though it was unknown if anyone in the darkness saw it. The Military Protector continued, "We went through all kinds of hardships and paid a high price to come up the mountain; what was it for? Was it to protect those people? The enemy of an enemy is not necessarily a friend; they can also be fools. If we had revealed our tracks while trying to persuade them and were caught by following the vine to the melon, who would take responsibility? Will you?"

That person went completely silent, and the Military Protector continued, "If we cannot cause chaos, we will incite it ourselves. I have already buried Thunderbolt Pills in the Reception Hall; I will detonate them as soon as the Fierce Beasts charge about, and add another fire to Zhuoyu Villa. As the saying goes, when everyone gathers firewood, the flames rise high; tonight, we must make Zhuoyu Villa burn completely!"

Upon hearing this, everyone felt a shiver, then became excited, involuntarily baring their teeth, revealing rows of white, bone-like teeth.

The leader finally gave a command: "Do not act until you hear my order. Even if Shi Chunqing arrives, do not act rashly without my order. Check your equipment one more time."

The crowd lowered their heads one after another, checking the cages, boxes, and fire-starting materials on their bodies, and then wrapped them up in secret layers. Their current appearances included men, women, old, and young, some even appearing at death's door, but their movements were uniform and consistent, clearly well-trained. Of course, there was also a certain sense of dissonance.

Finally, the leader said, "Into the water."

This group of people actually did not take boats; one by one, they entered the water to swim, not even exposing their heads, turning into lines of water as they swam toward the east side of the marsh.

They made almost no sound; in the darkness, one could only observe a trace of ripples. Even the Vice Inspector of the Profound Water Inspectorate, who was gazing into the night, could not have guessed that these deadly dangers were already hidden in the marsh.

Almost there, Hua Qian said to himself while silently calculating the time.

It was now late at night, and a group of ten or so people, led by Shi Chunqing, were sneaking upstream along the waterway.

Hua Qian could not have imagined that there was such an underground river deep in Jiugao Mountain that could lead directly to the depths of the Zhuoyu Villa marsh.

Following the waterway upstream, it actually only took a very short time to reach the villa directly. According to Shi Chunqing, when he first escaped from Zhuoyu Villa, he dived into the water and went downstream, returning a thousand miles of mountains in a single day, completely avoiding all pursuers.

Although it seemed there were no pursuers at all.

In any case, this waterway was the most secret passage, like a sharp knife inserted into the heart of Zhuoyu Villa.

It was just that the road was very difficult to travel. At first, when the waterway was wide, they could take a boat upstream, but when they reached the second half, the cave was narrow and small boats could no longer pass. At a command from Shi Chunqing, everyone abandoned their boats, changed into Water Suits, and dived into the water to swim up.

Hua Qian truly had a toothache. His swimming ability was only average; he could barely do a dog paddle, and diving in such a dark waterway was truly difficult. However, he could not hesitate at this moment; it wasn't about the mission or not, but that he was surrounded by enemies ready to strike, and there was no room for him to withdraw.

Fortunately, he was not completely unable to swim. Relying on his profound Inner energy, he did not need to change his breath often, and he gritted his teeth and dived in the water. With companions in front and behind, he was not afraid of getting lost.

Finally, the water flow in front slowed down; it seemed they had entered a wide surface of water from the river channel.

Just as he was about to go up to catch his breath, he heard Shi Chunqing calmly transmitting his voice to his ears: "Do not surface. Hold your breath and keep moving forward at the bottom of the water. Follow me and dive directly to land near Gongyu Hall."

In other words, they were already inside Zhuoyu Villa, right? After all the hardships, they had finally reached the destination.

Hua Qian let out a sigh of relief; this was the relief after completing the mission, and then he pressed an Art Tool mechanism in his sleeve.

In a place no one noticed, a Micro Light flashed.

The message had been sent.

"Attention, the time has come." Hidden under the water surface, the Military Protector, who looked like duckweed, suddenly straightened up and shouted: "Act."

A fire ignited from the surface of the water, ignoring the law that water and fire are incompatible, and burned brighter and brighter, dyeing the sky red!

Those waiting in the water all stood up, opened the equipment on their bodies within the specified time, and released various sources of disaster.

In an instant, fire, smoke, Fierce Beasts, and Phantoms attacked together.

Great chaos was about to begin!