26: Chapter 26 Burning Down the Beast Taming Arena

When the Life-Skill Player caught the medicine bottle, the red liquid inside hit the inner wall of the wax seal, emitting a viscous, soft sound.

In the front yard, the roars of beasts drowned out the night wind, while the sound of dragging iron chains, the shouting of guards, and the hurried footsteps of torchbearers all churned into a chaotic mess.

Sect Master Di Kun stood in the shadows behind the iron house, his palm still bearing the white marks pressed by the keys, but his eyes were already fixed on three locations: the medicine shed, the feeding trough, and the grass storage room.

"Burn the front yard?" the Sect Protection Elder asked in a hushed voice.

"We won't burn the brightest spot." Sect Master Di Kun shifted his gaze to the stack of hay behind the medicine shed. "We will burn the places they won't have time to save."

The Life-Skill Player understood half of it immediately.

He crouched down, placed the medicine bottle into the mud, and opened the cloth bundle. Inside were small pouches of incendiary oil, grass ash, Demon Mastiff bone powder, and the simple fire-starting map the Tower Defense Player had drawn for him a few days ago.

The map was crumpled, its corners stained with medicine, and marked with a few crooked dots drawn in charcoal.

"The Tower Defense Player said that you can't light a fire in just one spot," the Life-Skill Player said, scraping off the wax seal with his fingernails. "You have to make them think they should put out this side first, while the other side has already burned to the beams."

The Dark Souls Youth leaned over to take a look. "This map looks like a primary schooler's treasure map. Is it reliable?"

The Life-Skill Player didn't look up. "More reliable than you scouting with your face."

The Speedrun Youth had already headed toward the front yard, clutching the keys.

Keeping his body pressed against the shadows of the fence, he stepped on wet mud and then on grass roots, making almost no sound.

Sect Master Di Kun watched him approach the first row of beast cages and went over the route in his mind: release the beasts first, then start the hidden fires, get the living people out first, and finally let the fire consume the yard.

The order could not be wrong.

If it got messed up, the innocent Mountain Dweller and the witnesses would be burned inside along with it.

Gu Heng stood nearby, leaning against the wall, watching the Life-Skill Player pour the highly concentrated beast-taming medicinal liquid into the grass ash and mix it with incendiary oil.

The red liquid seeped into the bundles of dry grass, its color darkening little by little, and a fishy, sweet smell wafted out from the grass.

Gu Heng's expression changed, and he took half a step back.

"Are you trying to drive the beasts into a frenzy?" he asked.

Sect Master Di Kun glanced at him. "Have you seen it before?"

Gu Heng pressed the tip of his tongue against his cracked lips. "The Red Snake Sect uses it when training beasts. A small amount acts as a lure, while a large amount causes the cage to explode. If you mix it with incendiary oil, the medicinal smoke is so strong that ordinary people can't even stand after inhaling two breaths of it."

The Life-Skill Player paused, then immediately moved the soaked grass bundles further away. "Then don't stand downwind."

The Sect Protection Elder's brow was furrowed. "Sect Master, there are still Mountain Dwellers in the front yard who were captured to work."

"Drive the living people to the back first." Sect Master Di Kun raised his hand and pointed at the Dark Souls Youth. "Go to the back of the grass storage room. If you see anyone not wearing Red Snake Sect clothing, drive them toward the water ditch. If they dare to scream, cover their mouths; if they refuse to leave, knock them out and drag them away."

The Dark Souls Youth hoisted his broken wooden sword onto his shoulder. "I usually don't hit NPCs, but I'll make an exception today."

"Don't be cheeky," Sect Master Di Kun said. "Release the vicious beasts last, and start the fire last. If the order is messed up, you'll have to fix the mess yourself."

The playfulness on the Dark Souls Youth's face vanished, and he turned and disappeared into the shadows of the grass.

Sect Master Di Kun looked toward the direction of the Speedrun Youth.

There were seven or eight beast cages in the front yard; they couldn't release them all.

Releasing them all would only block the path and might even cause them to charge back toward the mountain behind them.

The Speedrun Youth crouched before the third cage, tried it twice with Beast Master Luo's key, failed to open it, and then switched to another one.

Inside the cage, the black-skinned beast snorted white steam from its nose, its shoulder bones bulged, and its claws scratched at the wooden floor of the cage, sending splinters flying.

The key entered the lock.

A turn.

The latch loosened, but the cage door didn't open immediately.

The Speedrun Youth jammed the door gap with a wooden wedge, leaving it just loose enough to open with a single touch.

He then crept to the two cages next to it, selecting only the beasts with bloodshot eyes and bristling fur.

Sect Master Di Kun withdrew his gaze and crouched beside the main medicine cauldron.

Behind the medicine shed were three large cauldrons, their bottoms cold, with black and red medicinal residue remaining inside.

The Demon Mastiff bone powder had originally been wrapped in a paper corner. When Sect Master Di Kun took it out from his robes, the bone powder rubbed against the paper, as fine as sand.

He pinched a bit, put it into the main medicine cauldron, and poured the remaining majority into the medicinal residue at the bottom of the cauldron.

The Life-Skill Player saw this, and his expression tightened. "This stuff is of the same origin as the demon-fanged dogs; it will have a very pungent smell when burned."

"The more pungent, the better," Sect Master Di Kun said, shoving the paper corner into the cauldron ash as well. "Let those who come to investigate smell it, see it, and dig it out."

The Life-Skill Player didn't ask again.

He stuffed the grass bundles soaked in medicinal liquid and incendiary oil into the cracks of the medicine shed's back wall, then covered the fuse with grass ash.

The fuse was a torn hemp rope, soaked in incendiary oil, running along the ground, bypassing the feeding trough, and disappearing into the bottom of the grass storage room.

The fire wouldn't flare up all at once; it would first low-key bite into the grass roots, and by the time anyone discovered it, half of the shed's beams would be burned through.

Gu Heng looked at the fire line hidden by mud and ash, his fingers slowly clenching inside his sleeves.

"Gu Heng," Sect Master Di Kun suddenly spoke.

Gu Heng looked up.

"How do you get to the water ditch behind the mountain?"

Gu Heng pointed to the back of the iron house. "Pass the abandoned feeding pit, go down thirty steps, and there is a half-collapsed stone canal. Follow the stone canal to the left to avoid the first guard post; after you hear the sound of water, don't follow the main ditch, but crawl into the narrow hole on the right to avoid the second one."

"Are there any hidden sentries there?"

Gu Heng paused for two breaths. "There might be beast patrollers, but it's not fixed. They change shifts at the end of the Chou hour, and they will check the front yard first."

Sect Master Di Kun looked at him and didn't ask again.

The Dark Souls Youth flashed back from the direction of the grass storage room, his sleeves covered in grass clippings, and lowered his voice. "I drove away the three workers in the back. One of them had weak legs and wouldn't move, so I knocked him out and dragged him outside the wall. He shouldn't be dead."

The Sect Protection Elder glanced at him. "Was your hand heavy?"

"Much lighter than when you gouge out human flesh," the Dark Souls Youth said. After finishing, he saw Sect Master Di Kun's gaze sweep over him and immediately shut his mouth.

A short, sharp whistle suddenly sounded from the front yard.

A guard noticed something wrong with the third row of beast cages and walked over there carrying a torch.

The Speedrun Youth was pressed into the shadows on the side of the cage, his toe hooked onto the wooden wedge. When the guard approached within three steps, he pulled it sharply.

The cage door sprang open.

The black-skinned beast rushed out.

It didn't pounce on the Speedrun Youth first, but was instead drawn by the torchlight and the scent of blood on the guard, lowering its head and charging.

The guard flew backward, torch and all, his back slamming into the fence. The wooden crossbar of the fence snapped with a crack, the torch fell into the mud, and sparks splattered in a semi-circle.

"The beast has escaped!"

Shouts exploded in the front yard.

Taking advantage of the chaos, the Speedrun Youth kicked open the second cage door and turned to pull the wooden wedge from the third cage door.

Two beasts rushed out one after another. One knocked over the feeding trough, spilling black and red medicinal liquid all over the ground; the other dragged half a broken chain as it charged toward the crowd, the iron chain sweeping across a wooden pillar and gouging a deep groove into it.

Sect Master Di Kun raised his hand.

The Life-Skill Player lit the fire.

The instant the flint touched the hemp rope, the flame didn't flare up but instead made a small, crackling sound beneath the mud and ash.

The dark red line of fire, like a worm crawling along the ground, slipped into the cracks of the medicine shed's wall and disappeared deep into the haystacks.

"Go."

Sect Master Di Kun didn't look at the fire and turned to lead the group as they retreated toward the water ditch behind the mountain.

Gu Heng and the rescued Mountain Dweller followed in the middle.

The Mountain Dweller had thick medicinal bandages wrapped around the back of his neck, and blood was still seeping out, but he gritted his teeth and made no sound.

The Sect Protection Elder brought up the rear, his blade pressed against his leg, ready to be drawn at any moment.

The Dark Souls Youth swung his broken wooden sword beside Gu Heng, the tip of the sword occasionally brushing against Gu Heng's feet, forcing him to walk in a position where Sect Master Di Kun could see him.

The path in the back yard was narrow, with rotting grass up to their ankles, and the stench from the feeding pit was carried by the wind, overpowering the scent of blood on them.

When they reached the stone canal, the front yard had already turned into a chaotic mess.

Some were shouting to catch the beasts, others were cursing the pharmacists, and some were running toward the iron house.

The Life-Skill Player looked back, his face flickering in the light of the torches in the distance. "The hidden fires haven't grown big yet."

"By the time they are supposed to discover them, it will be too late." Sect Master Di Kun stepped into the stone canal, the icy sewage submerging his boots, and the gravel at the bottom pressing against his soles.

He reached out to steady himself against the slippery canal wall, his fingertips feeling the moss and old cracks.

Gu Heng pointed the way ahead. "Left. Don't step in the middle; there's a hole there."

The Speedrun Youth stepped across first, then turned back to pull the Mountain Dweller over.

The Dark Souls Youth was just about to step when his foot slipped, and half his leg sank into the mud pit, splashing sewage all over Gu Heng.

Gu Heng looked down.

The Dark Souls Youth pulled his leg out, his face calm and unruffled. "What are you looking at? It's a tactical pit test."

The Life-Skill Player couldn't help but mutter. "You tested it quite thoroughly."

Sect Master Di Kun did not stop their low-voiced banter.

He listened to the sounds from the front yard, calculating the time for the fire line to spread.

After running over a hundred steps, the first explosion finally erupted behind them.

Boom!

The back wall of the medicine shed was blown open from the inside by the fire, and wooden planks flew out with sparks, smashing into pieces beside the feeding trough.

Immediately afterward, a dark red glow ignited at the bottom of the grass storage room. Tongues of fire licked upward along the soaked grass bundles, burning the grass first, then the beams, and black smoke carrying a fishy, pungent medicinal smell shot straight into the night sky.

The shouts of the Red Snake Sect guards changed in tone.

"The medicine shed is on fire!"

"Put out the medicine shed first! The beasts have run to the south!"

"The iron house in the back! Go check the iron house!"

The sounds of chaos rushed toward them, carried by the night wind.

Sect Master Di Kun led the group into the narrow hole on the right. The entrance was so low that they had to bend over, and the stone walls were cold and damp, rustling against their clothes as they brushed past.

The Mountain Dweller's footsteps became increasingly heavy. The Life-Skill Player supported him with one hand while protecting the medicine bottle with the other.

When they crawled out of the narrow hole, the fire behind them flared up violently.

Several medicine sheds exploded one after another.

It wasn't just simple flames, but medicine cauldrons, incendiary oil, Demon Mastiff bone powder, and beast feed all exploding together after being burned to the extreme.

Pillars of black and red smoke shot up, carrying the stench of charred flesh, medicinal residue, and bone powder, illuminating half of the mountain hollow.

The firelight illuminated the guards fleeing in the front yard, as well as the dark silhouettes of the rampaging beasts crashing through the fences.

The Speedrun Youth looked back and saw a section of the enclosure netting still attached, so he immediately drew his blade and rushed over. "This thing blocks the way, and it blocks the beasts too."

He cut the ropes with two slashes, and the Sect Protection Elder added another, causing the entire section of netting to collapse with a crash.

A beast behind them, driven into a frenzy by the fire, happened to charge into the gap, rushing toward the outside of the mountain hollow while dragging sparks behind it.

The guards chased halfway before being choked by the medicinal smoke, bending over to cough as their torches fell to the ground.

Gu Heng stood by the water ditch, watching the sea of fire, blood seeping again from the split wound at the corner of his mouth.

His gaze toward Sect Master Di Kun changed slightly, as if he were truly seeing this young Sect Master for the first time—realizing that he wasn't just stealing evidence or saving a few people, but meant to turn the entire den inside out and expose it in the fire.

Sect Master Di Kun didn't explain.

He just looked back once.

In the night, the Beast Taming Ground looked like an overturned dirty pot.

The firelight from the exploding medicine sheds illuminated the iron houses, stone houses, beast cages, and the traces that they hadn't had time to bury. The things the Red Snake Sect had hidden in the mountain hollow were being torn open layer by layer by the fire, and the pillars of smoke would cross the treetops, to be seen by people further away.

The Sect Protection Elder walked to his side, his voice low. "Once this fire burns, the Red Snake Sect won't hold back anymore."

Sect Master Di Kun pressed the two pages of account records inside his inner lapel tightly, the corners of the paper pressing against his chest through his clothes.

"I didn't intend to hold back on them either."

A shrill whistle suddenly came from above the mountain gully.

It wasn't the chaotic shouting from the Beast Taming Ground, but a short whistle used for tracking—sharp, urgent, and three consecutive sounds pressing down from the other side of the stone slope.

Gu Heng's expression changed slightly, and he immediately pointed toward the narrower waterway ahead.

"Hurry, they have local Cultivators who know the shortcut."

Sect Master Di Kun withdrew his gaze and stepped into the icy water ditch.

The firelight chased him from behind, stretching his shadow long, and the shadow swayed forward against the slippery stone wall.