Chapter 59

Le Xaan sighed inwardly. For now, the people he felt inclined to protect only included Le Finn, Louir Cayv, and Qiki.

He did not have much emotional ties with the rest of the family members. They did not seem to care about Le Cinci's miseries at all. Le Yinin, as her younger sister, even said such harsh words. Apparently, she was indifferent to Le Cinci's tragedy.

Although Le Xaan and Le Cinci could not be considered intimate siblings, he was now deeply depressed when he thought of his Second Mother. And Youny Geey's words completely shattered his expectations.

But his sullen moods were dispelled soon.

Although he was an ordinary person, he still had the cheat tool. Despite being unable to train in spirit exorcists' cultivation methods, he did not think he himself would fall short of them.

He could still exert his own strength to eradicate spirits!

"Alright, we shall now stop discussing Cinci. We have enough time to find doctors to cure her in the future.

There's another more imminent matter.

I learned from Reverend Youny that there are still many spirits hidden in the city. We have to take proper precautions."

Le Xaan said in a deep voice.

"What?" Le Finn was stunned. And the other people also looked alarmed.

In front of the ghostly entity they had seen before, number advantage was nothing. But now Le Xaan told them there were still many similar ones in the city?

"What the hell!"

Fifth Mother jumped to her feet and screamed.

"Shut up!"

Le Finn thumped his palm on the arm of his chair.

Fifth Mother was intimidated, her body quivering a little before she sat back down.

Le Xaan swept his eyes over his family. At the moment, they all appeared outright dispirited, their eyes betraying the panic and bewilderment.

"Therefore, I propose that we move away from Gourian City straight away."

Le Finn shook his head.

"We can't. A command from on high just arrived that nobody is allowed to escape from the city. Earlier on, I did not get my head around it, but now..."

Le Xaan's heart sank.

Did the royal court give such an order intentionally? Or was it just a coincidence?

"How about leaving separately?" Fourth Mother said in a low voice, "Eldest Brother may help us..."

"If only what you say is true." Le Finn shook his head, "I have paid a visit to Eldest Brother at the city gate, but he declined to meet with me. He only dispatched a soldier to tell me that even the City Head couldn't leave the city now. "

All of them sank into silence before turning to look at Le Xaan.

It's Le Xaan who helped the family get through the trouble of the weeping female ghost.

Le pondered for a while and then raised his head, saying, "Well, for now, we should stockpile food in our Mansion and prepare ourselves for an extended period of confinement."

"You're right." Le Finn now cast off his depressed moods and nodded with agreement.

"Boom!"

Just then, the earth trembled violently for seconds.

An explosive noise resounded from the west of the city.

Le Xaan jumped to his feet and scurried through the doorway, gazing into the sky to the west.

In that direction, a crimson blaze surged up into the sky. Obviously, something had exploded there, giving rise to the inferno.

The towering flame dyed half the sky above the city with its hue.

Cries and shouts echoed out from that west.

"I have to go there and take a look!"

Le Xaan couldn't determine what exactly happened in that place, so he told his father his decision before rushing toward the Mansion's gate.

Halfway to the gate, he ordered a servant to give him a horse to ride.

On the street before the gate, Le Xaan saw many people, who were equipped with swords or blades, dash in the direction of the blaze.

They looked very agile, hinting at their martial arts proficiency. Their gazes at the inferno, unexpectedly, were not of shock and fright but instead tainted with greed and longing.

In no more than half a minute, Le Xaan saw three packs of martial arts experts pass through the street before the Mansion's entrance.

Some of them were racing on horseback, and some were sprinting on foot. Among them were the male and female, the young and the old.

But most of them did not seem to be the locals of Gourian City.

Their dressing style was in more sophisticated and refined terms, accompanied by a variety of accessories. One could tell with great ease that they were from the Central Land.

A while later, the servant led a horse to Le Xaan.

Softly patting the startled horse, Le Xaan was about to mount it, but he suddenly spotted two familiar persons among the rushing people on the street.

It's Deumu Wann and her personal guard. Each of them was racing on a horse in the direction of the blaze.

Deumu Wann was wearing a bamboo conical hat on her head, attired in a black gauze dress, through which one could catch a glimpse of her well-proportioned figure.

As she went past the Manson's gate, she also saw Le Xaan before wondering in surprise,

"How could you be still alive?"

She slowed down her horse and stared transfixed at Le Xaan as if she had laid eyes on an exotic animal.

"Miss Deumu, what do you mean by that?"

Furrowing his brows, Le Xaan couldn't get his head around her words.

"Interesting." Deumu Wann said with a giggle. "It's really a matter of fate to meet you once again. I will come and visit you later on."

Le Xaan was still of a mind to ask her, yet Deumu Wann had already sped past him toward the west alongside her guard.

In that fleeting moment, the bodyguard also cast a weird glance at Le Xaan, as if he had seen a person who had already died but now came back to life.

Le Xaan climbed on the horse and decided to catch up with them.

By then, Youny Geey's voice suddenly rang out.

"Young Master Xaan, I advise that you stay away from that place. This incident had no business to do with you."

At the moment, seeing that Le Xaan was about to head toward the inferno, Youny Geey tried to persuade him out of kindness.

"Oh? Reverend Youny, why?"

"The massive blaze was caused by the Major Ghost Spirit to serve its purpose. Currently, that place is permeated with ghostly Qi. Anyone who recklessly approaches would lose his mind and possibly risk his life." Youny said seriously and then added, "Even if you possess extraordinary martial arts, you wouldn't be an exception."

"But I saw many people rushing toward that place..."

"They are just seeking their own deaths. Don't mind them. Furthermore, it seems that someone is luring them to the place."

Youny Geey said nonchalantly.

Le Xaan fell silent.

From the looks of it, he could only stand by and watch as such an incident took place near his home while having no idea what exactly happened.

"This feeling really sucks!" he muttered inwardly.

But he could tell that Youny Geey was reminding him out of kindness, so Le Xaan cupped his hands and bowed to Youny Geey as a sign of respect.

"Thank you for your reminder, Reverend Youny."

Youny Geey nodded at him and then headed for that fire-raging place along with Dquan Ronri and Quane Feiy.

By then, it dawned on Le Xaan that perhaps the two girls were no ordinary people, either.

Or, maybe the three of them traveled to Gourian City, a small city neighboring the Northern Ice Ocean, with a certain purpose.

Realizing this, Le Xaan dismounted the horse and said to Youny Geey,

"Reverend Youny, let me arrange some horses for you. They will carry you there faster!"

Youny Geey was dazed for a moment before he realized that Le Xaan was currying favor with him.

At the thought of the situation, which might well take place after they arrived in the fiery place, Youny Geey nodded with agreement. The three of them had to conserve energy, after all.

"Thank you for your trouble, Young Master Xaan!"

Le Xaan immediately ordered a servant to lead more horses over but then jolted back to awareness of something.

"No, don't bother. The horse stall is right next to the gate! You, take Reverend Youny, Miss Dquan, Miss Quane to pick out the horses! They can have any one they like!"

Le Xaan ordered the servant in a loud voice.

Youny Geey bowed to Le Xaan with clasped hands and then rushed to the horse stall alongside the two girls.

...

Le Xaan stood stock-still in front of the gate, his gaze riveted on the towering blaze to the west.

The whole scene around him sank into silence.

After an unknown amount of time, the fire began to lose vigor as it grew ever weaker.

During the entire process, Le Xaan stood rooted to his spot.

"Crack!"

A streak of bluish-white lightning tore through the sky.

Dark clouds had built up in the sky, mingling with the smoke from the inferno.

Soon afterward, the heavens opened up with torrential rain.

By then, Le Finn also came to the gate and stood beside his eldest son under a rain canopy put up by some servants.

To the soundtrack of pitter-patter, the raindrops hit and blanketed the ground with a mist of vapor.

The dawn broke through as the sky was faintly lit up. Le Xaan seemed unaware of the night slipping away.

As he stood there, he pondered over something.

He knew every well that the explosion yesterday signified something significant.

The place where the incident took place was close to his home.

What a shame that his strength was too weak to allow him to go over and check what happened.

He could tell that Youny Geey did not lie to him. The incident was not something a regular person could get involved in.

"The fire extinguishes itself now. I have received a message that the fireworks piled up in the warehouse of a firework shop have been accidentally ignited. And the fire causes a substantial number of fatalities. "

Le Finn said with a sigh.

"A firework shop..." Le Xaan repeated the term, staring into the western sky.

The sky was now illuminated, with the horizon taking on a mix of blue and white.

Le Xaan put his hand on the blade at his hip and strode toward the west of the city.

"Dad, I will go and have a look."

"Be careful and stay safe." Le Finn instructed. He had no idea of the root cause of the inferno.

"Well."

Le Xaan picked up his pace as he made his way to the western part of the city.

As he drew near, the houses along the streets grew more blackened. Many homeless people were wandering on the streets with their luggage and quilts.

All sorts of mournful noises, mainly weepings and wailing, could be heard everywhere.

Le Xaan pressed on further.

Gradually, the houses became completely charred along the street. Some of these buildings were completely burnt down, with large holes in the roofs.

From time to time, Le Xaan discovered some charred bodies in the dwellings.

The nearer he drew, the more alarmed he felt.

The area was strewn with many corpses. It was unknown how many people had died here last night in the wake of the explosion and the blaze.

Before long, Le Xaan caught sight of the center of the blast.

It was not the firework shop as told by his father, but one of the residences of Soan Danqy, the CIty Head --- the Pearl Prefecture.

The Prefecture was now completely laid to ruins. Piles of debris here looked like small hills.

Le Xaan soon found out that he was not the only person there. Many martial arts experts equipped with swords or blades were wandering around, seemingly in search of something.

These people kept a distance from each other. As they approached one another, their gazes had a hint of wariness and alertness. And Le Xaan could determine that these men were definitely not locals of Gourian City.

Le Xaan also saw some of them rummage through the ruins and fish out various items before putting them into their bosoms.