When the fire started, it was evening.
Almost at the same time when Junior Leopard opened the window, the fire started.
First, there was a sharp cry that tore people's eardrums. The Wu's branch in Zhonghe Prefecture was in chaos.
The study room was on fire. Wu Yuntian lit the study room. A thick smoke came out from the study room. After a few breaths, the entire study room became a sea of fire.
Junior Leopard heard the exclamation outside, "It's on fire …!" He sighed softly. From his position, it was not only the Wu's that was on fire. Many places in the entire Zhonghe Prefecture were emitting thick smoke.
He walked to the bedside and dressed neatly. Two silver hammers were hung on both sides of his waist. Then, he looked at the big bronze mirror in the room and tidied himself up before walking out of the door.
At this time, the Wu's branch in Zhonghe Prefecture was in a complete mess. The servants and blacksmiths were running back and forth shouting. A group of people dressed as servants were carrying buckets and basins, as well as all kinds of containers that could hold water.
There was already a circle of people surrounding the well in the courtyard. Some people had already run to the backyard where there was a pond. Junior Leopard walked through the chaotic crowd. Not long later, he arrived at the door of the study room. At this time, there was already a big circle of people standing at the door of the study room.
"Junior Zhou, you're here!" Seeing Junior Leopard appear, Jin Nanqing's eyes flashed. He smiled and walked up to him.
"Senior, what happened?" Junior Leopard asked.
"I'm not too sure. It seems like Wu … Seneschal Wu set the study room on fire himself. I don't know what kind of things he put inside to ignite the fire. In a blink of an eye, it burned to this extent. It's too late to save it!"
"I see!" Junior Leopard nodded his head. He realized that although Jin Nanqing was talking to him, he was always absent-minded. His attention seemed to be in another direction.
The surroundings were very noisy. With a fire, naturally there would be people coming and going. There were people putting out the fire and people saving people. Hence, once he arrived at the door of the study room, Junior Leopard's ears were filled with sounds. The only thing he could do was to turn a deaf ear.
However, when he discovered that Jin Nanqing's condition wasn't right and his attention seemed to be elsewhere, his gaze wandered around. He discovered that there were a few women lying on the ground in front of the door of the study room, crying out heartbreakingly. He recognized these few women. They were Wu Yuntian's family.
This world was like the ancient times of China. It was very normal for a man to have three wives and four concubines. For someone like Wu Yuntian, other than his main wife, he also had several concubines. They were the few that were lying on the ground.
Jin Nanqing's target was naturally not them but a 15 or 16 year old girl. To talk about 15 or 16 year old girls, there were many in this group of females. Wu Yuntian's youngest concubine was married into the family half a year ago and had just turned 15.
"Black Yuzhu?!" Junior Leopard's eyes flashed and he understood. Black Yuzhu was Wu Yuntian's only daughter. She looked delicate and was properly educated since young. She was a typical lady from a big family. Of course, the most important thing was that her surname was Wu.
From this period of contact, Junior Leopard could see that Jin Nanqing was an ambitious person. However, his position in the Wu Family wasn't very high. Even though he was a core disciple of the inner core, that was only relative to the normal inner core disciples of the Wu Family.
With his aptitude and cultivation, in this lifetime in the Wu Family, he would at most be an Elder's position. Just like Xu Yong, he would have some privileges but would definitely not control the real power of the Wu Family.
The real power of the Wu Family had always been in the hands of the Wu Family's own people. The Wu Family was now a big family. However, the resources that were really related to the Wu Family's lifeline, the branch, and the Seneschal were all direct descendants or collateral descendants of the Wu Family.
For example, Wu Yuntian in Zhonghe City was an example.
In the Wu Family, unless you were like Lyu Yiyue, whose cultivation had reached Tendon-Changing Realm, Level Seven, then you could have the power that was close to the Wu Family Head. Even the Wu Family Head would be very respectful to you.
However, this kind of power was only possessed by you alone. Maybe when you were alive, your descendants would have some privileges that normal inner core disciples and even Wu Family descendants didn't have. However, these privileges would disappear after you died.
Unless, among your descendants, there would be another expert of the Tendon-Changing Realm. This was almost impossible. No one could guarantee that within one line, there would be an expert of the Tendon-Changing Realm continuously.
What Lyu Yiyue couldn't do, Jin Nanqing's teacher couldn't do even more. Furthermore, Jin Nanqing was a person who had big ambitions and was unwilling to be lonely. Naturally, he wouldn't be willing to stay in the Wu Family's headquarters to be a high-level fighter or be sent to an unimportant place to be a supervisor after he finished his apprenticeship. These positions, to normal Wu Family disciples, might be yearning for but Jin Nanqing might not be able to.
Hence, he needed an opportunity to change this situation. He needed a ladder that could rightfully control the Wu Family's power in the future. To do this wasn't easy, but it wasn't impossible.
It didn't matter that he couldn't be a son of the Wu Family and his cultivation couldn't reach Level Seven. There was another way, which was to become a son-in-law of the Wu Family.
Even if it was a collateral descendant of the Wu Family, as long as the surname was Wu, then, you would have more opportunities than normal Wu Family descendants.
However, this was easier said than done.
This was a very difficult thing. Most of the Wu Family's girls were just born, or even before they were born, they were already engaged. They didn't allow others to have a chance to meddle in.
However, now, there was an opportunity in front of Jin Nanqing.
Wu Yuzhu.
He didn't know if Wu Yuzhu had an engagement with other people. However, he knew that even if there was an engagement, with Wu Yuntian's matter, the engagement was over.
In the Jianghu, what was the most important? Reputation, reputation was a very important thing.
Wu Yuntian owed a huge debt outside and was forced to death by the debt collectors. This reputation was over. No one would be willing to marry such a person. Furthermore, other than owing debts, the loss of the Wu Family's goods this time was also faintly related to him. The news of him colluding with the bandits, betraying them and plotting to steal their own goods had already spread like wildfire.
When these two reasons were added together, there was simply no need to think carefully. Junior Leopard believed that very soon, the family that had an engagement with Wu Yuzhu would definitely come to cancel the engagement. In this world, people were always more realistic than ideal.
For such a political marriage, it was originally born for benefits. Without benefits, who would be willing to marry for no reason?
This was Wu Yuzhu's misfortune, but Jin Nanqing's great fortune.
If he could make use of this opportunity to get Wu Yuzhu, then, his position in the Wu Family would not be ordinary.
Wu Yuntian did make a mistake and the rumors in the Jianghu also spread everywhere. However, Junior Leopard believed that the Wu Family with real brains would not believe those rumors. They would also definitely not believe that the batch of goods was robbed by Wu Yuntian colluding with the bandits. Such a brainless thing, who would do it?
If it was really done by him, then why would he be forced to death by the debt collectors?
To the Wu Family, Wu Yuntian was at most an unfilial child who owed a lot of debts outside. No matter how unfilial he was, he was still a member of the Wu Family. In this era where the bloodline was extremely important, no matter what kind of mistake he made, he was already dead. Then, as the clan, they would take up the responsibility of taking care of his descendants.
Hence, even if Wu Yuntian died, Wu Yuzhu would still be taken care of by the Wu Family. No one would deny that the blood of the Wu Family flowed in her body. Even though her position might not be as good as before, even though she might fall from a rich young lady to an adopted daughter of a branch of the Wu Family, but one thing would not change. That was that her surname was still Wu.
This was Jin Nanqing's opportunity!
Looking at the fire that was burning more and more fiercely, and then looking at the Wu's who had fainted from crying on the ground, Junior Leopard sighed softly and said with a serious expression, "Senior Brother Zhou, I think something is wrong!"
"Ah, uh, what, something is wrong, what is wrong?!"
Very obviously, Jin Nanqing's heart was not in the right place. He seemed to have realized that he had lost his composure. Jin Nanqing said awkwardly.
Junior Leopard sighed softly in his heart and said, "I noticed that it was not only the Wu Family that was on fire!"
"Not only the Wu Family?!" Jin Nanqing did not understand for a moment.
"I noticed that other than our Wu Family branch, there were many other places in the city that were on fire. There were fires in the east, west, west, and all four directions. When I came over, I could faintly hear the sound of killing. Do you think something happened in this city?!"
Jin Nanqing's expression finally changed. He did not speak anymore and listened attentively. His expression gradually sank, "It seems like something happened …!"
Before he finished speaking, he heard a series of hurried footsteps coming from outside the courtyard.
"Not good, not good. The Worship of Flame bandits, the Worship of Flame bandits have attacked the city!"
The shouts could not hide the extreme panic. One after another, from outside, a few more servants of the Wu Family ran in. Their mouths were shouting, but they all had the same meaning.
The Worship of Flame bandits had attacked the city, set fires and killed people everywhere. Now, they were heading towards the Wu Residence.
"What did you say? They are heading towards us? Who are they? What are they doing?!" Jin Nanqing's expression changed. He suddenly grabbed one of the servants by the collar and asked.
"I, I don't know. I only, only saw a group of people heading towards our Wu Family. So, I hurried back to report. Other than that, I don't know anything!"
"Useless thing!" A trace of sternness flashed across Jin Nanqing's face. He threw the servant to the ground and said to Junior Leopard, "Junior Brother, it seems like something is really wrong. Let's go out and have a look!"
Junior Leopard nodded but did not say anything. He followed behind Jin Nanqing.
But in his eyes, there was a faint sense of excitement.
The Worship of Flame bandits, also known as the Sect of Flame, was the biggest rebel force hidden among the people of Great Jin. Just like the White Lotus City in the history of Junior Leopard's previous life, when they had nothing to do, they always liked to instigate others to rebel. In the mouth of the government, they were the Worship of Flame bandits. But in some of the people at the bottom, they were the Holy Sect of Flame.
However, the Sect of Flame was not a fool. Even if they wanted to rebel, they had to choose a good year. Regardless of whether it was a great famine or a disaster, or whether it was continuous war or not, only in such a good year could they have a chance to succeed!
This year was a typical peaceful year with good wind and rain. Why did they rebel? They even attacked Zhonghe City. Zhonghe City was a remote county in Qianzhou, but in the entire Great Jin, it was the hinterland. Why did they attack here?
Junior Leopard was now confused. But obviously, now was not the time to think about this problem. When they walked to the gate of the Wu Residence, they already saw a group of people and horses running from afar, rolling up billowing smoke and dust.
"That is, damn it, it is Beard Ma!" Looking at the group of people and horses running from afar, Junior Leopard and Jin Nanqing saw a bearded man riding on a tall horse in the front. Their hearts sank.
"No, he is not Beard Ma. He, he is, he is Black Three Lady!"
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