Chapter 97

Chapter 97: A Fire to Dispel the Darkness

This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation.

Song Yu woke abruptly, choking on thick smoke.

“Chief! Chief! Something terrible has happened!”

The door burst open with a powerful kick, and Song Yu’s eyes snapped wide open. Smoke billowed from all directions, so dense it made him cough violently.

“Cough… What’s going on?” Song Yu had been mentally and physically drained for days and had finally managed a night’s rest.

“Have the government troops set the mountain ablaze?” He quickly threw on his clothes and stepped outside.

Fires had been set on the mountain before, but Fufeng Mountain’s alliance with Fufeng Village had always been their shield. The bandits would threaten the lives of the villagers, forcing the troops to retreat. The court prided itself on justice and would not sacrifice innocent lives.

With this strategy in mind, Song Yu prepared to act again but froze at the fearful expressions of his men. There was even a trace of lingering terror in their eyes.

“Chief, Fufeng Village… it’s gone. It’s burning.”

“The fire started in the village itself!” The speaker’s voice trembled.

Fufeng Village, home to hundreds—the elderly, women, and children among them—was engulfed in flames.

Song Yu was stunned.

[This couldn’t have been the court.]

He bolted outside, lifting his gaze. Thick smoke blotted out the sun, and visibility was near zero. Harsh coughing filled the air, and dread weighed heavier on his heart.

The fire was far too intense.

“Is there any way to bring water to extinguish it?” He knew the mountain had a few water sources.

The Second Boss, coughing and red-eyed, held a damp cloth to his face. “The water… it’s gone. All of it dried up overnight.”

“And the fire surrounds us on all sides. There’s no way out.”

Suddenly, the Third Boss came running, frantic and wild, his bandaged hand shaking.

“The storeroom! It’s empty!”

His words sent shockwaves through everyone.

“What?! How? No one climbed the mountain last night! Do we have a traitor in our midst? How else could there be fires on all sides and an emptied storeroom?” The Second Boss’s fury left him dizzy.

[Everything… all the treasures plundered from Fufeng Mountain are gone!]

For reasons he couldn’t explain, Song Yu thought of a young girl with a sweet, innocent smile.

“Lu Chao Chao… was she sent down the mountain?”

“Yes. I escorted her to the city gates myself and left immediately,” the Second Boss confirmed.

Song Yu had no time to delve deeper. “Fufeng Mountain is lost. Quickly, gather the brothers and evacuate!”

The mountain was ablaze. There was no shelter left.

Meanwhile, Fufeng Village was a hellish scene of flames and despair. Screams and wails pierced the air like a nightmare.

…

On the far side of the mountain, Xuan Yin, dressed in light armor, cradled Lu Chao Chao in her arms. Behind her, seven or eight young women followed, some holding onto frail daughters with visible ribs. Their expressions were lifeless, like stagnant pools of water.

“Do you… do you need to rest? Your feet are bleeding from the rocks,” Xuan Yin asked softly.

When she was abducted to the mountain, she discovered the village’s ignorance and depravity. The entire village lived off scams and abductions. Most women in the village had been kidnapped, their attempts to escape met with broken legs or worse. Those who persisted were chained at the village gate, reduced to communal property for the men.

Daughters were sold or used as bargaining tools for bride prices, disposable commodities. Sons, however, were treasures, raised to perpetuate the cycle of crimes.

Even more horrifying was that many of the abductors had once been victims themselves. They adapted to the village’s ways, turning from prey into predators.

A malnourished girl clung to her mother, her wide eyes scanning their surroundings with fear.

“They won’t come after us, right?” someone asked quietly.

“No. Even if they try, wolves are waiting outside.” Escape often meant becoming prey for beasts.

Low sobbing broke out among the group.

“I only wanted to escort a pregnant woman home. Why did she knock me out and sell me?” A woman sat on the ground, pounding the earth in despair.

“I was just returning a lost child… Why did this happen to me?”

“I was walking down the road and was suddenly attacked…”

Sobs rose like waves, accompanied by curses against fate, Fufeng Village’s inhumanity, and the cruel consequences of their kindness.

“Why? Why must I endure such suffering? What did I do to deserve this hell? Why?!”

“What’s the point of living? My virtue was stolen the moment I was taken to Fufeng Village. If I return, I’ll only face death by a white silk noose.”

The women wore expressions of utter hopelessness. Their scars would follow them, weapons to inflict more pain even after they escaped.

“No.”

“People will know.” Lu Chao Chao, nestled in Xuan Yin’s arms, spoke up. Her words were halting, but clear enough for everyone to understand.

“They’re all gone. That’s good.” For the first time, she spoke in complete sentences, her soft voice brimming with resolve.

“I won’t let… even one go!” Her gaze burned fiercely.

The only fragments of goodness in Fufeng Village were now with them. Even children there had become complicit in evil.

“If you’re afraid of returning home, come with me. I can’t promise wealth, but I can guarantee safety and security,” Xuan Yin said, holding Lu Chao Chao close. Were it not for the girl, she would have suffered the same fate.

Xuan Yin had originally come as a princess to marry into Northern Zhao. Unfavored at home, she took her sister’s place and ventured north. Curious about the Northern Zhao’s cities, she traded clothes with a maid and snuck out, only to be kidnapped soon after.

Lu Chao Chao extended a small hand to the woman sitting on the ground.

“Welcome… back to the human world.” Her tender words were soft yet unwavering.

The simple phrase pulled the broken women back from the edge of despair. They knelt and kowtowed before her. Lu Chao Chao didn’t refuse, knowing it might ease their hearts.

“Let’s go. There are people waiting at the foot of the mountain,” Xuan Yin said, leading the group.

Fufeng Mountain blazed behind them, its flames lighting up the night sky. Cries for help and wails of anguish rose from the inferno, but Lu Chao Chao’s face remained calm.

The cacophony didn’t stir even a shred of mercy in her. She might have been young, but she wasn’t naïve. She wasn’t a saint but would do her utmost to banish the darkness before her.

…

At the mountain’s base, Madam Xu stood in the bitter wind, her eyes swollen and red. When she saw Lu Chao Chao, her tears burst forth like a flood.

“Chao Chao! Chao Chao…” She ran forward, her ice-cold body enveloping her daughter as she wept uncontrollably.

“My Chao Chao, my poor baby. It’s all my fault! I should have protected you better…”

“Blame me! I let them take you. My poor Chao Chao… You’ve lost so much weight…” Madam Xu hugged her tightly, vowing never to let go again.

Lu Chao Chao pinched the fabric at her waist, embarrassed yet smiling. After all, she had also emptied Fufeng Mountain’s treasury.

“Quickly! Seize Song Yu!”

At the mountain’s base, Song Yu stared fixedly at Lu Chao Chao. Behind her innocent, smiling face, the mountain burned brightly.

Fufeng Mountain had fallen.

[Oh no, scummy father. I’m going home rich.]

[It’s your turn to tremble!]