Chapter 132

Chapter 132

Chapter 132: The Great Fire

Flames rolled over the wood, occasionally producing a soft “pop.”

The warm orange light fell on the faces of the caravan members, casting alternating shadows and highlights.

Bai Zhengliu, Mei Yinghan: “…?”

No, Brother Hao, the twist in your story comes way too suddenly!

The two wandering martial artists were slightly speechless. After letting the emotion settle, reflecting on Hao Quan’s words, they couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret.

Did everyone really perish? All because of a fire…

Thinking carefully, the months leading up to it were the height of summer. And “fragrance” as a material inevitably comes into contact with “fire,” so such an accident isn’t entirely surprising.

Yet it was still a heartbreaking tragedy.

The two remained silent for a while. Finally, Bai Zhengliu spoke: “To think such a thing could happen…” He paused, then added, “It seems that for those of us traveling, we must always be careful with fire.”

Hao Quan’s eyes widened: “Careful with fire? No, no, no—that fire wasn’t some accidental mishap. It was human-made!”

Bai Zhengliu, Mei Yinghan: “Human-made?”

Another extremely sudden twist.

Fortunately, with the prior experience, Bai and Mei were able to calmly process Hao Quan’s words.

They looked steadily at Hao Quan. Mei Yinghan spoke first: “Brother Hao, what exactly happened?”

Hao Quan lowered his voice, speaking mysteriously: “This matter goes back even further.

“Those scholars have the imperial exams every three years. At Yuxiang Workshop, they also have a ‘Grand Fragrance Contest,’ held every three years as well.

“Winning this contest brings countless benefits. If you were merely a disciple, you could leap directly to the position of Fragrance Master. If you were already a master, well, there’s a ‘Twelve Chief Masters’ ranking inside Yuxiang Workshop. Everyone watches those spots closely. Outsiders like us wouldn’t understand, but insiders revere those who succeed. Furthermore, the higher your ranking, the more sought-after your fragrance formula becomes. Money, status… it all comes pouring in.

“And the most important part: if you take first place, your fragrance becomes the tribute of the year! That’s a tremendous honor—so much so that even the emperor uses the fragrance you made! Winning once secures your future for life.”

Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan listened with steady expressions, entirely calm.

Hao Quan took in their reactions, chuckled softly, and thought even more highly of the two young people before him.

Even after hearing “selected as the imperial tribute,” they remained so composed and unshaken… Clearly, these are people destined for great things! My efforts to befriend them today were well worth it!What Hao Quan didn’t know was that Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan were actually thinking: “All that earlier stuff is fine. Having fame in one’s own field and receiving respect from outsiders is a good thing. But the word ‘tribute’—frankly—just means the Heavenly Court cast a little attention on the fragrance master’s work.”

Some might find that thrilling, but Bai and Mei considered it rather dull.

Of course, dullness is one thing; how to respond is another. They both spoke in turn, asking Hao Quan: “And then?” “What does that have to do with the fire?”

Ah, so it wasn’t that they were unshaken—it was that they were still concerned about the earlier-mentioned casualties.

So sympathetic—Hao Quan defined it as such in his mind, and said aloud: “Two heroes, don’t worry, I’m getting to that.

“We all know how much scholars care about the imperial exams. Similarly, fragrance masters care deeply about this ‘Grand Fragrance Contest.’

“Everyone wants first place. Everyone wants their fragrances to carry the name of the Heavenly Court. That’s a tremendous honor! But no matter how much they desire it, only one person can win. So, do you think the losers wouldn’t feel envy?”

Bai Zhengliu thought carefully. “Before I ask, Brother Hao, where exactly does this title of ‘first place’ come from?”

He put himself in their shoes. If he were competing in martial arts and the opponent completely outclassed him, leaving him with no chance, he would feel admiration and respect. Or in another scenario, if the opponent was evenly matched, they struggled for a long time, and he narrowly lost…

Regret would be natural. But envy? That didn’t quite seem warranted.

The swordsman was still young.

He knew he had a long road ahead. On that path, he would remain steadfast and unwavering. In ten or twenty years, he would surely make new leaps.

Moreover, talent emerges in every generation. Even then, if someone younger outperformed him, it would be entirely normal.

He felt calm. The only issue was that fragrance-making wasn’t like martial arts, which has clear winners and losers. In this case? Bai Zhengliu couldn’t articulate what difference there was between the fragrances Hao Quan had brought and those given to them by the Cheng family. But he understood that the “inability to articulate” came from his own ignorance—experts would certainly see a huge difference.

There had to be a convincing way to judge. Otherwise, emotional reactions were inevitable.

Bai Zhengliu asked seriously, catching Hao Quan off guard. Hao had prepared a full explanation of love, hatred, and grudges within Yuxiang Workshop, but now hesitated. After a moment, he reluctantly answered: “Naturally, there are judges.”

Bai Zhengliu pressed on: “Who judges?”

Mei Yinghan beside him also looked very interested.

Hao Quan scratched his head, rummaging through his memory. After a while, he actually found a partial answer:

“Seems like the local villagers judge it. Hmm… but also perhaps not just villagers—also the masters who had previously made tribute fragrances.” He hesitated a moment. “Maybe it’s both?”

Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan tilted their heads at him.Hao Quan threw up his hands, half-exasperated, half-resigned: “Two heroes, I really don’t know this! I had planned, one day, to go check out Luocheng—that’s where Yuxiang Workshop was. Didn’t expect that before I could go, the place was gone!”

He looked utterly helpless, leaving Bai and Mei at a loss. Bai Zhengliu said, “Alright. Then, Brother Hao, what happened afterward? How did the fire actually start?”

Hao Quan’s spirit lifted—it was finally his moment to shine!

“It all started with human nature,” he waved his hand, adopting a tone of worldly detachment. “Those who lost weren’t satisfied and tried, before the tribute fragrance was delivered, to set fire in the house of the winner. But one person lost control—the fire grew too big, and even he couldn’t escape!”

Bai and Mei softly hissed in unison. Hao Quan continued to explain: “As for why it was before the tribute was delivered, you two heroes might not know. Normally, the fragrance formulas are the most treasured secrets of the masters. Only near death would they hand them to junior disciples. While alive, they guard them closely.

“Last year’s first-place winner was different. Everyone knew his formula. But the exact proportions? Everyone wanted to try, yet no one could replicate it—so in practice, it wasn’t much different from a tightly guarded secret. Once he died, no one could make the tribute fragrance. So, would Yuxiang Workshop dare deliver it to the court? No way! Naturally, they had to let the second-place go first.

“His plan was good, but fire and water are ruthless. One fire not only killed others, but killed him as well, and destroyed the entire workshop.

“I’m not just making this up. As I said before, seven or eight of the masters and disciples died—so some did survive. But their appearances were ruined, their bodies half-damaged, and no one knew what would happen to the rest of their lives! These truths were passed on by those survivors. They recalled that on the night of the fire, they smelled alcohol.

“At the time, they thought it was the loser drowning his sorrow, or maybe someone preparing alcohol for the fragrance. But really, what they smelled was a death curse several hours later!”

At this point, the “Yuxiang Workshop past—Hao Quan’s oral version” was considered complete.

The merchant let out a long sigh, both lamenting that he never got to make that trip to Luocheng and longing for the Yuxiang Workshop powders Bai and Mei had produced.

He glanced at them repeatedly, casually adding: “After that, local residents claimed they heard crying from the old site of Yuxiang Workshop. Especially at night, everyone said it was the souls of the workshop crying out.

“I think it’s probably just the wind. At most, some people went at night to pay respects. After all, around Yuxiang Workshop, Luocheng, and its surroundings, everyone learns about fragrance from a young age. Perhaps some of their family members were those lost in the workshop. Going to cry and burn paper offerings isn’t unusual.

“As for the stories of people passing by Yuxiang Workshop and immediately disappearing, used as human shields by the spirits? I don’t believe a word of it. That’s insulting! People are already gone—let them rest in peace!”

By the end, Hao Quan’s voice rose in pitch, and his tone became impassioned.

Bai and Mei could see that he truly believed what he said. But their focus wasn’t on Hao Quan’s judgment.

Their previously calm expressions cracked after half an evening. Eyebrows knitted, their faces shifted to contemplation and seriousness. Then, one after the other, they asked Hao Quan: “Brother Hao, did people really disappear?” “Brother Hao, what do you mean by disappeared?”

Hao Quan was momentarily stunned.

In his heart, he thought: “What did I say? Feeling sympathy for the world! And yet, these two heroes notice these details.”

“The way the story spread,” the merchant analyzed to Bai and Mei, “most likely, some people really did. But saying vengeful spirits are behind it is too exaggerated. I think either someone used the Yuxiang Workshop incident as cover for crimes—whether murder or other monstrous acts—or people were just trying to hide or escape.”Good morning.