"Boom!" Someone smashed a fist into the canal, temporarily cutting off the flow of water.
But this wasn't a long-term solution.
Flames still burned sporadically along the canal, fueled by the flammable oil floating on the water's surface.
Seeing this, the man Li Ban had rescued turned pale. "The steward is inside the Elegant Pavilion," he said, trembling. "He didn't make it out."
"What about the vice pavilion masters?"
"Someone went to call them—" The man finally broke down sobbing, his despair and terror reaching a breaking point. "But no one came back."
Li Ban immediately realized that beyond pouring oil into the pools and setting fire to the busiest areas of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, someone had also targeted the vice pavilion masters!
He turned to the Cat Girl. "Miaomiao!"
The Cat Girl stood up, a smudge of soot blackening her nose. "I'll go find Lady Kui."
Her figure darted through the dark night like a gust of wind, weaving through the panicked crowd until she vanished from sight.
Li Ban hauled the limp servant to his feet.
"The fire is too big here, and without water, we won't be able to put it out. We have to abandon this area. Go tell the others to retreat from the fire and stay away from the water. Smother the smaller flames with dirt and sand, and cut down the trees and flowers around the perimeter to stop the fire from spreading."
"We can't, we can't do that," the servant stammered, shivering. "The plants here are rare breeds. Ruining just one means paying hundreds of taels of silver in compensation."
Li Ban grabbed the servant by the collar. "The guests here come from wealthy backgrounds! If even one dies, it'll cost tens of thousands of taels of silver in compensation! Go!"
Stunned by the mention of "tens of thousands of taels of silver," the servant stumbled back. He grabbed a companion and relayed Li Ban's instructions.
"Why bother fighting the fire? Let's grab the silver!"
Suddenly, Li Ban heard a trembling voice speak up not far away.
The man's voice wasn't loud; only those nearby could hear him.
Li Ban immediately looked over. The instigator was dressed like an ordinary scholar. Despite his bold words about stealing silver, his face was drenched in sweat and his legs shook uncontrollably.
Noticing someone looking at him, the man licked his dry lips and opened his mouth, preparing to shout the same words again.
Li Ban narrowed his eyes and unleashed a Mental Piercing.
The scholar instantly froze in place.
A second later, a massive fist slammed into his temple.
He crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
The one who threw the punch was a burly man. Offering no explanation, he merely glared viciously at the bystanders. "What are you looking at? Put out the fire!"
A few people who had started entertaining dark thoughts after hearing the scholar's provocation immediately shrank back, no longer daring to try anything reckless.
Li Ban recognized the burly man as the one who had smashed the canal earlier.
The man looked toward Li Ban as well.
He bore several burns on his body, and one side of his face was bathed red by the firelight.
He gave Li Ban a brief nod before running off to other areas to save people and chop down trees.
Li Ban followed suit, helping to clear combustible materials from the fire's perimeter.
At the same time, he kept a watchful eye out for anyone else trying to take advantage of the chaos.
In this kind of disorder, the greatest danger was someone sparking a vicious mob mentality.
Abandoning the rescue efforts in favor of looting.
Fortunately, the majority of people had stepped up to help fight the blaze.
Many staff members from the inner courtyard of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion also rushed over to help coordinate.
With people leading and organizing, more and more individuals joined the orderly firefighting efforts.
Li Ban continued clearing the area around the fire.
He encountered other Spirit Practitioners, many of whom had also noticed the abnormality with the water.
Working together, they quickly spread the information.
Finally, the fires at the Elegant Pavilion and several nearby locations were contained and stopped from spreading.
However, these beautiful pavilions were destined to be reduced to ash in the inferno.
The soaring flames illuminated the night sky.
Some people whose friends and family failed to escape collapsed on the ground, wailing in grief now that the frantic rescue efforts were over.
Many others were injured, lying on the ground and groaning in pain.
The water in the pool next to the Elegant Pavilion continued to burn. A small fraction of the flames was carried out through the canal, but most were blocked before they could flow out.
The staff from the inner courtyard of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion activated a partition, stopping the pool water from flowing in or out.
Those who still had energy rushed to other areas to help save people and fight fires, warning everyone about the tainted water.
Standing on the edge of the crowd, his face blackened by smoke and ash, Li Ban looked at the tragic scene before him and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Perhaps when he reached the 7th or 8th Tier, he would be capable of directly extinguishing such a massive fire.
But right now, he was just a low-tier Spirit Practitioner who had unlocked the path of a 4th Tier Spirit Awakening Priest, yet hadn't even fully mastered 3rd Tier elements.
Standing behind the crowd, he used his inner sleeve to wipe the soot from his right eye, then scanned his surroundings.
The fire was under control now, but the arsonists certainly hadn't set it just to burn down a few buildings in the Hundred Flowers Pavilion.
The Cat Girl had already gone to Lady Kui's side, so Li Ban wasn't too worried about them.
He observed his surroundings because he suspected this fire was very likely connected to the Assassin Hall.
The silver-badge assassin Qiu She had disguised himself to enter the Hundred Flowers Pavilion yesterday. He was likely scouting the location.
Li Ban hadn't expected that the Assassin Hall, currently wanted fugitives, would neither go into hiding nor continue pursuing him and the Cat Girl, but would instead cause such a massive disturbance at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion.
Were they not afraid of drawing the pursuit of the Myriad Ancient Pagoda and the Imperial Court?
Since Li Ban and the Assassin Hall were now mortal enemies, he didn't mind throwing a wrench into their plans.
It would be best if he could attract the people from the Myriad Ancient Pagoda and have them permanently solve the problem of his kill order.
He felt that the scholar who had incited the looting earlier was highly suspicious and might have been a mole for the Assassin Hall. Aside from the instigator, there were likely others acting as lookouts and messengers.
Now that the fire was contained—a situation clearly not in line with the Assassin Hall's expectations—the lookouts should be making their move.
Li Ban stepped back again, blending into the shadows of the woods behind him as he observed the crowd moving back and forth.
The hiding spot he chose was near the path leading to the inner courtyard.
The servant had mentioned earlier that those who went to the inner courtyard to report the situation had never returned.
They might have been intercepted and killed along the way.
Li Ban assumed the lookouts would also head toward the inner courtyard to report to their accomplices.
However, after scanning the area, he didn't spot anyone acting suspiciously nearby.
Most people were rushing around frantically, while others were collapsed from exhaustion.
Li Ban shifted between several shadows, yet he still couldn't find anyone who clearly looked like a lookout.
He wasn't sure if the lookouts had already left, or if he had simply missed their tracks.
'As expected, finding a suspect returning to the scene of the crime among so many people is simply too hard. Either I'm not professional enough, or the enemy is too professional.'
Just as Li Ban, having found nothing, was looking for an opportunity to exit the shadows, he noticed the silhouette of a tree cast on the ground by the firelight suddenly twist in the distant woods.
Unlike a shadow shifting due to flickering flames, this was the actual shape of the shadow changing.
A long branch of the black shadow suddenly stretched out, much like a standing person taking a stretch.
Li Ban shifted his gaze to the large tree casting the shadow.
The tree was thick—wider than a grown man's waist.
Li Ban watched as it slowly pulled its roots out of the soil.
Thanks to the cover of the other trees, no one else noticed the movement in the woods behind them.
It continued to pull in its branches and leaves, transforming into a towering treant within the shadows.
The treant opened its slit-like eyes, cast a disgusted look at the distant fire, and turned to leave.
Li Ban waited for it to gain some distance before trailing far behind it.
'Aren't the treants cultivated by the Hundred Flowers Pavilion? It seems their loyalties aren't so firm after all.'
Li Ban followed the treant all the way to a spot far away from the Elegant Pavilion.
To avoid others, the treant mostly chose to travel through the woods, which indirectly made it easier for Li Ban to shadow it.
When the treant finally arrived outside the wall of the inner courtyard, it stopped.
Li Ban hurried to close the distance while it wasn't looking.
Since Silver Kingfisher wasn't here, he had to rely on his own ears to eavesdrop.
With no one around, the treant knocked on the wall. Soon, a figure leaped up from the inner courtyard and crouched on the wall.
"The fire has been contained," the treant buzzed.
The man on the wall frowned. "That fast?"
His voice was very faint; Li Ban guessed what he was saying by reading his lips.
"Several Spirit Practitioners took the lead in fighting the fire, and some quickly noticed the abnormality in the pool water."
The man scoffed dismissively. "In this day and age, there are actually people willing to bust their asses to save someone else's property? Didn't our men incite them to steal the silver?"
"One didn't make it out and burned to death; another was knocked out the moment he opened his mouth."
"What trash! Slaves bought at the last minute are completely useless," the man cursed. "Is everything ready on the treants' end?"
The treant replied, "Because of the fire, most of the treants were relocated near the Thousand Trees Hall in the inner courtyard."
The man immediately smiled. "Good. Head over there too, and strike when you see the orange Signal Flare. Remember to tell them: whether or not they can turn the tables and become the masters of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion all depends on tonight."
The treant was also excited, the branches on its body trembling slightly.
The two parted ways.
The treant headed in the direction of the Festooned Gate.
Meanwhile, the man jumped down and walked outward.
As he walked, he pulled a few fire starters from his robes, evidently preparing to commit arson again.
Li Ban stared at his face, finding it familiar. The man had originally worn a face mask, but it had slipped off.
Likely believing there was no one around, he was in no rush to put it back on.
'He looks a bit like one of the copper-badge assassins who was with Qiu She.'
A copper-badge assassin. A 3rd Tier Spirit Practitioner.
Li Ban narrowed his eyes.
He could kill him.
He immediately darted through the shadows of the woods, tailing the man.
The copper-badge assassin failed to notice the shifting shadows in the adjacent woods.
Right now, the people of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion were either fighting the fire or on guard against sneak attacks in the chaos. No one had the energy to spare for this remote, deserted area.
"The fire needs to be bigger," the assassin muttered.
Their plan was to burn down half the gardens, but right now only a few pavilions had been destroyed. That wasn't enough.
"For this operation, the Hall brought out all the colorless oil we had. We won't get a second chance."
The assassin stopped beside a small stream, glancing at the distant flames. "It's too dark. Let me add a little more light for you all."
He pulled out a fire starter, blew it alight, and tossed it toward the stream.
Suddenly, a figure burst from the shadows not far away. The person snatched the fire starter out of midair with one hand and hurled it back at the assassin with a backhand throw.
The assassin was deeply startled. He tried to dodge, but a sudden, sharp pain lanced through his brain, paralyzing him for a split second.
By the time he finally regained control of his body, a palm wreathed in cyan flames had materialized right in front of his face.
"You like setting fires so much?"
The palm slammed against the assassin's face, and the flames instantly washed over his entire body like flowing water.
"Mmph!!!"
The assassin tried to howl in agony, but Li Ban's palm clamped tightly over his nose and mouth, violently slamming him into the ground.
His screams were stifled simultaneously by the hand and the flames.
The assassin's burning hands clawed desperately at Li Ban's hand, but he couldn't budge it an inch.
Li Ban pushed down even harder, pinning the man motionless into the dirt.
"Then taste what it's like to burn."