Chapter 624: King Yan Nan

Chapter 624: Chapter 624: King Yan Nan

The moon was bright and the stars were few.

In the dim room, the faint candlelight revealed two figures, one standing and one sitting. The atmosphere was tense.

The standing man wore an official’s robes and appeared to be in his thirties. His brow was tightly furrowed, his expression conflicted.

The seated man was older, with a powerful build and a square, naturally imposing face.

His armor and weapons had been confiscated, leaving him completely unarmed. Even so, this could not conceal the fierce, bloodthirsty aura he exuded.

It was the killing intent that only a man who had fought bloody battles on the front lines could possess!

He kept his eyes closed, as if even a single glance at the other man would be sullying.

The man in official robes paced back and forth a few times before he could bear it no longer. He began to plead earnestly, "General! Why must you make things so difficult for yourself? In this situation, you have no way out. If you still refuse to agree, then... then even I won’t be able to help you!"

"Help me?" King Yan Nan opened his eyes and sneered. "I, Li Huaiqing, would rather die than commit treason! You ungrateful traitors! To save your own skins, you not only let the Nanhu people into the city, but you’re also helping them forge letters to lure in the generals of the neighboring border cities to be slaughtered. Despicable! Do you really think everyone in the world is as cowardly and afraid of death as you are?!"

The tirade left the other man red-faced and utterly humiliated. He finally lost his temper.

"If you won’t do this the easy way, you’ll do it the hard way! Li Huaiqing! You’re spitting on our goodwill! If we hadn’t been pleading on your behalf these past few days, do you think those Nanhu people would have let you off so easily?"

"Is that so?" King Yan Nan looked up and sneered. "Then I’ll just wait right here. I’ll wait for them to come and cut off my head, and hang it on the city gates just the same!"

"You!"

The man was furious, but also impotent.

How could they dare to actually do that?

Who was King Yan Nan?

He had guarded the Southwest for over a decade, with countless military honors to his name. He was famous throughout the land!

If they actually dared to kill him, it would immediately cause a massive uproar!

The court would surely dispatch troops for a direct confrontation with the Nanhu!

The Nanhu were not as powerful and would certainly pay a terrible price.

Their entire operation this time was conducted in secret, aiming to achieve the greatest results with the smallest cost.

If only King Yan Nan would cooperate, they could take several cities without lifting a finger.

But they never expected him to be so unyielding!

"Fine! I’ve said all I can. You’re on your own!"

BAM!

The man stormed out, slamming the door behind him in a fit of anger.

King Yan Nan glanced out through the crack in the door. He could vaguely make out a courtyard hung with white funeral cloths and hear sporadic sounds of weeping.

Thus, any small sound from within the room was easily concealed, going unnoticed.

King Yan Nan withdrew his gaze, his brow slowly knitting together.

He certainly wasn’t afraid to die, but if he remained imprisoned here, it would lead to a major disaster.

These Nanhu people were exceedingly cunning, and this time they were clearly well-prepared. If he couldn’t get a message out in time, the Southwest would be in grave danger!

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew through, rattling a window that wasn’t shut tightly.

King Yan Nan initially paid it no mind, but after a moment, he sensed something was wrong and glanced over again.

Outside the window, the once-pitch-black night sky was glowing with an eerie orange-red.

’This is...’

The courtyard outside abruptly erupted into chaos, a mix of hurried footsteps and frantic shouts.

Another squad of soldiers arrived outside the door, guarding it tightly.

King Yan Nan had a faint guess as to what was happening and walked to the window.

He didn’t open it; his keen hearing had already told him what was going on.

"Sir! It’s terrible! There’s... there’s a fire in the southern part of the city!"

King Yan Nan’s heart skipped a beat.

’The southern part of the city?’

’Isn’t that...’

Suddenly, the sound of urgent footsteps approached.

King Yan Nan tensed up, immediately returned to his original spot, and sat down again.

BAM—!

The door was violently thrown open. The man who entered this time was not the previous official, but a tall, middle-aged man wearing a semicircular felt hat.

He had a full beard, a high-bridged nose, and deep-set eyes. What was most striking, however, was his pair of blue eyes.

—He was a true Nanhu!

Most Nanhu women were beautiful, while the men were typically burly and strong. Blue eyes were their most unique characteristic.

King Yan Nan shot him a single, cold look of disgust before averting his gaze, his entire being radiating defiance and revulsion.

Anger flickered in the Nanhu man’s eyes, but he forced it down.

He pulled over a chair and sat down across from King Yan Nan.

"You’d better hope I don’t find out you had anything to do with tonight’s events." His Chinese was surprisingly good, his tone laced with undisguised threat. "Otherwise, your precious daughter, far away in the Capital City, will never see her father again."

King Yan Nan’s expression turned icy.

"And you’d better pray I die here. Otherwise, you, your soldiers, your friends, and your family... will all be joining you in the underworld!"

As his words fell, the tension in the room became thick enough to cut with a knife.

The man stared intently at King Yan Nan, desperately suppressing the urge to kill him. At the same time, some of his suspicion abated.

’King Yan Nan has been locked in this room for days, unable to communicate with the outside world. He couldn’t have done anything. Tonight’s events probably weren’t his doing.’

Nevertheless, he chose to remain and guard him personally.

...

Within Long City, flames shot into the sky, causing a massive disturbance.

Countless men were dispatched to fight the fire, but the winter air was dry, and a fierce northwest wind fanned the flames. The fire grew with the wind, spreading rapidly and proving incredibly difficult to contain.

By the time the last of the fire was extinguished, dawn had broken.

The thick, acrid smell of smoke and burning filled the air. The scene was devastating.

Many people had gathered on the streets, pointing and talking about the direction from which the black smoke was rising.

...

A soldier rushed into the Magistrate’s courtyard, his face filled with panic.

"Report!"

Hearing the commotion, King Yan Nan looked up, his eyes narrowing.

The man across from him had already risen and gone to the doorway. He looked down and asked,

"What’s the situation?"

The scene was utterly bizarre.

A soldier of the city guard was kneeling, yet he was reporting to a Nanhu man.

—To avoid attracting attention, these Nanhu people rarely went out. Most matters were still handled by the former officials, each performing their respective duties.

This included the commander of the Long City garrison.

The man lowered his head, guilt-ridden. He was so terrified he could barely speak coherently.

"Thir-thirty-seven casualties."

But that wasn’t the most important part. The real reason he was so frightened was...

The fire had burned the Long City garrison’s grain and provisions!

"The... the supplies in the warehouse are severely damaged, and the grain... the grain is almost... almost completely incinerated!"

The standing man said nothing, merely raising a hand.

But the soldier couldn’t bear the silent pressure and began kowtowing forcefully, his head hitting the ground with audible thumps!

"I have failed in my duty! Pl-please, sir, spare my life! Spare my life!"