Chapter 134: Chapter 126: Siege by the River, a Cold Arrow Pierces the Enemy

Amid the tremendous uproar, Wu Liangchen couldn’t be bothered with anything else. He vaulted over the crowd and landed before the First-Class Restaurant.

The First-Class Restaurant was already engulfed in a sea of flames.

The air was thick with the potent smell of kerosene, so acrid it stung the nose.

Yet even in these hellish conditions, several older women were frantically fighting the fire.

They were barefoot, their hair a mess. Some were even burned, their bodies covered in mottled patches of black and white. Even so, they desperately hauled water from the shops lining the street to throw on the flames.

Just then, the facade of the First-Class Restaurant suddenly burned through and collapsed. It came down with a tremendous CRASH, sending a shower of sparks into the air.

Seeing this, the women all burst into tears. The buckets in some of their hands fell to the ground with a CLANG.

"What happened?!" Wu Liangchen demanded, heaving up a water cistern. Without bothering to splash the water, he threw the entire thing directly into the inferno.

An older woman recognized Wu Liangchen and said through her tears, "It’s Sister Lan. She was the one who first spotted the fire and woke us up. After we got out, she said she had to go back in to save the ledgers and the money. But no one expected that just moments after she went in, the flames would rage out of control."

Though Wu Liangchen didn’t know who this Sister Lan was, his heart still sank.

Judging by the state of the fire, this Sister Lan’s chances were slim.

Just then, neighboring shopkeepers and residents began to join the firefighting effort. After all, if they allowed the blaze to spread, their own shops would be impossible to save.

But the fire was too intense. Worse, it had been started with kerosene, making it impossible to extinguish in a short amount of time.

Left with no other choice, the people began demolishing the buildings.

The plan was to demolish the ring of buildings surrounding the inferno to create a firebreak. It was the only way to stop the blaze from spreading.

The problem was that the surrounding buildings were packed tightly together. Tearing them down in time was easier said than done.

Just as everyone was growing frantic, Wu Liangchen made his move.

He took a deep breath and charged into a shop right next to the First-Class Restaurant.

After a deafening series of CRACKS and SHATTERS, Wu Liangchen burst out from the back of the shop.

The instant he was clear, the shop came crashing down behind him, reduced to a pile of rubble.

Like a human cannonball, Wu Liangchen continued his charge, plowing through one shop and residence after another. In his wake, buildings toppled and collapsed. Nothing could stand in his way.

The crowd stared, dumbfounded, and began whispering amongst themselves.

"Which family’s young master is that? His Martial Arts are incredible!"

"I don’t know. I’ve never seen him before."

"I think he’s a friend of Third Brother!"

Amidst the crowd’s murmurs, Wu Liangchen finished demolishing all the surrounding buildings.

As dust and smoke billowed everywhere, the spread of the fire was finally contained.

The First-Class Restaurant was certainly a lost cause, but at least the adjacent commercial street and the Flower Square across from it had been saved.

The surrounding shopkeepers and residents flocked over to thank him. Wu Liangchen waved his hand, indicating there was no need for thanks, then turned to stare with a grim expression at the completely collapsed and burned-out shell of the First-Class Restaurant.

At the same time, the staff and master chefs from the First-Class Restaurant who lived nearby all heard the news and came rushing to the scene.

Upon seeing the tragic scene, they were all horrified. Some of them even began to cry aloud.

To them, the First-Class Restaurant wasn’t just a restaurant; it was their home.

Now that their home was gone, their grief was unimaginable.

Wu Liangchen said nothing, just stared coldly at the ravaging flames, his thoughts unreadable.

Just then, the head chef arrived as well.

"Wh-what happened?" he asked, his face pale.

"It was arson. Someone set this fire deliberately," Wu Liangchen said.

The head chef understood instantly. With bloodshot eyes, he ground his teeth. "The Beheading Gang... Those bastards dare to openly commit arson in a crowded district! Aren’t they afraid of everyone turning against them?!"

’There’s no need to even ask. The Beheading Gang had to be behind this.’

’And that meant they’d broken one of Huangpu Guard’s greatest taboos.’

’After all, Huangpu Guard was a densely populated city with tightly packed buildings. If gangs started resorting to arson during their conflicts, everything would descend into utter chaos.’

’That was why the gangs of Huangpu Guard had an unwritten rule: you could kill each other with blades and fists all day long, but you could not, under any circumstances, set fires.’

’But now the Beheading Gang had been the first to break that rule. It was infuriating.’

"The problem is..." Wu Liangchen murmured to himself, "since the Beheading Gang dared to do this, it means they don’t care about the rules anymore."

"You mean..." the head chef asked, confused.

"Haven’t you noticed?" Wu Liangchen said. "Something this big happens here, yet there hasn’t been a single peep from Third Brother’s side?"

The color drained from the head chef’s face, and sweat instantly beaded on his forehead.

’The destruction of the First-Class Restaurant, even the death of Sister Lan in the flames, was a terrible loss. But it wasn’t a crippling blow to their foundation.’

’But if something happened to Third Brother, it would all be over.’

For a moment, the head chef’s mind was in turmoil, and he stood frozen, completely at a loss.

"Don’t panic. You stay here and calm everyone down. After the fire dies down, search for Sister Lan’s remains."

"And you?"

"I’m going to find Third Brother!"

With that, Wu Liangchen left, instructing Yang Lian’Er to stay at the scene with Wu Mengchan and not to wander off.

The Beheading Gang was vicious and arrogant, but with so many people now gathered around the scene of the fire, they wouldn’t dare risk universal condemnation by striking again. So, for the time being, this place was safe.