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It wasn't until they reached the Wangqi Tower in the eastern part of the city that Fei Qian and his group were finally spotted by the soldiers stationed there.
Huang Cheng, along with a few skilled fighters, saw that their presence had been discovered. Without hesitation, they drew their blades and charged into the tower, storming up the stairs in a fierce assault.
Outside the Wangqi Tower was the mountainside. Though steep, descending wouldn't be too difficult—they could simply reuse their old trick of lowering ropes to climb down and escape Hangu Pass smoothly.
The sounds of fighting above soon died down. Huang Cheng's head popped into view as he signaled to the others, clearly indicating that the few soldiers at the top had been dealt with.
One by one, the group filed into the tower and began ascending.
Fei Qian felt his way along the wall, relying on the faint light from the windows on either side as he climbed the tower's stairs. Suddenly, he noticed several objects resembling wine jars placed in a side chamber. The air carried a peculiar scent…
Approaching the jars, Fei Qian lifted the lid of one, dipped his finger in, and sniffed. His heart nearly stopped—it was fire oil!
Holy shit!
Seeing Huang Xu about to approach with a torch still in hand, Fei Qian immediately hissed in a low voice, "Stay back! It's fire oil!"
The warning sent a chill through everyone. Their movements froze as their eyes locked onto the side chamber, a creeping dread settling over them.
If even a single spark had accidentally landed here…
No wonder no torches were lit on the Wangqi Tower, allowing Fei Qian and his men to sneak up so easily. The amount of fire oil stored here far exceeded what a typical fortress would normally keep.
In the Han Dynasty, there was no refined petroleum—fire oil was typically extracted from plant or animal fats, making it costly to produce. Accumulating this much fire oil was no small feat.
"Everyone, be careful!" Though Fei Qian's warning was unnecessary—they were already treading with extreme caution—Huang Xu, still holding the torch, hastily retreated and tossed it far away before climbing onto the tower.
The Wangqi Tower wasn't large, but its parapets were built high, extending beyond the eastern wall. In the center stood a small watchtower, with five or six corpses sprawled on the ground. Huang Cheng stood at one corner, peering over the parapet toward the outside of Hangu Pass.
Like the Jiming Tower, the Wangqi Tower was an independent structure protruding from the eastern wall, designed to expand the defensive coverage against attacks. From this vantage point, they could clearly see the dark entrance of the eastern gate.
The Wangqi Tower was the innermost watchtower, while the Jiming Tower was slightly lower. Though scaling either from outside Hangu Pass would be nearly impossible, descending the mountainside—though steep—was manageable with the right angle and the aid of ropes to slow their descent.
The ropes weren't long enough to reach the bottom, but they were sufficient. The remaining drop was only slightly taller than a person—even jumping from the rope's end wouldn't be too dangerous if done carefully.
Fei Qian turned to look at the chaos inside Hangu Pass. The fire at the inner city's treasury had drawn the attention of many soldiers, while those who had been searching the streets earlier had now gathered in the city before shifting their search to the southern valley…
Magistrate Zheng, you once sent me a fire. Now, it's my turn to return the favor—with a much bigger one.
Burning food supplies would have weighed on Fei Qian's conscience, but setting the gate tower ablaze? Well, he still felt a twinge of guilt—but also a destructive thrill.
Humans all harbor a latent urge for destruction, and Fei Qian was no exception. In his past life, strict societal norms meant even lighting a match to burn scrap paper would draw scrutiny, let alone large-scale arson.
But now…
Though most of the eastern wall was built of stone and brick, certain parts—like the battering logs and the gate tower—were wooden.
After walking the line between life and death tonight, a surge of brutality had been unleashed within Fei Qian.
Burn! Burn! Burn!
A voice in his mind roared incessantly. Assessing the situation, he noted that the earlier sounds of combat had alerted the soldiers. Some were already running back into the city—likely to report to Zheng Jian—while a couple of squad leaders were organizing men to rush toward the tower.
There's still time.
Fei Qian ordered Huang Xu to retrieve a few of the discarded torches outside the tower and toss them beyond the pass. Meanwhile, he had most of the group—especially those suffering from night blindness—descend the ropes to escape Hangu Pass first.
While those outside gathered the torches and tore strips of cloth to make fire arrows, those still inside the tower pried open the jars of fire oil and rolled them along the wall, leaving long trails of oil in their wake.
With so many jars at their disposal, Fei Qian directed the spreading of oil like an abstract painter, splashing it freely.
"And the gate!" Fei Qian shouted, pointing at the eastern gate of Hangu Pass. Now that they were exposed, there was no need to hold back!
Huang Cheng hefted a jar, tilted it, and poured about half its contents along the inner side of the eastern wall, swishing it back and forth before hurling the remaining half into the gate passage. The jar shattered with a crash, splattering oil everywhere.
Fei Qian quickly grabbed another jar and dumped its contents along the inner wall—after all, this side was where Zheng Jian's government office stood. Burning it down wouldn't trouble his conscience in the slightest.
Huang Cheng and Huang Xu took turns hurling jars into the gate passage. Though each only contained about half a jar's worth, after seven or eight jars, the entire passage was drenched in oil.
Seeing the soldiers inside the pass gradually regrouping under Zheng Jian's command and advancing toward them, Fei Qian grinned. After kicking over two more jars, he gave the signal and grabbed the hanging rope to descend. However, misjudging his swing, he swung too high and ended up smacking into the wall a couple of times before finally making it down, wincing in pain.
The remaining men on the tower followed one by one. Huang Cheng was the last to descend. Watching the swarm of soldiers rushing along the eastern wall—the closest nearly upon the tower—he let out a hearty laugh before flipping over the edge. Gripping the rope with one hand, he used his feet to brake against the mountainside, slowing his descent before landing gracefully—a stark contrast to Fei Qian's clumsy dismount.
The moment his feet touched the ground, Huang Cheng snatched a fire-lit arrow handed to him by one of the men…
The flaming arrow traced a near-mystical arc through the air before landing on the Wangqi Tower. In an instant, flames erupted violently, racing along the oil trails and spreading rapidly!
From the Wangqi Tower to the eastern gate, nearly the entire eastern wall was engulfed in roaring flames! Now, even if Zheng Jian wanted to pursue them beyond the pass, he'd have to wait for the fire at the gate to die down first. For now, he could do nothing but glare helplessly.
Fei Qian shouted at the top of his voice, "It is impolite not to return a favor! Thank you, Magistrate Zheng, for seeing us off!"
Huang Cheng and the others echoed loudly, "It is impolite not to return a favor! Thank you, Magistrate Zheng, for seeing us off! Hahahaha!"
The raging inferno cast flickering light on Zheng Jian's face, twisting his expression into something almost inhuman…