Chapter 352: Conflict Begins

Chapter 352: The Conflict Begins

The man who abruptly appeared within the night raven’s reconnaissance view made no unusual movements, his body standing rigidly on the roof of a classroom in Fuzi Miao.

Yet in the night demon’s eyes, this man exuded an aura utterly alien to Fuzi Miao.

His features were unremarkable, his face flat and distinctly marked by the traits of the Japanese quarter.

At first glance, he was a commonplace middle-aged convict.

However, Fuzi Miao’s rules stipulated that only scholars under the age of fifteen from the Dog Mountain City were admitted; those exceeding this threshold were barred from entering.

Moreover, the Xiangyi Si’s records of the instructors had long been provided to the Xijiao Office, and the night demon had memorized every detail, recognizing at a glance that none matched this man’s appearance.

Neither a scholar nor an instructor—how then had this man come to be within Fuzi Miao?

Beyond this anomaly, the man’s attire was equally jarring.

It was a distinctly traditional light white robe of the Japanese quarter.

It was known that Fuzi Miao’s scholars, during their studies, were required to wear the issued blue Confucian robes, no other garments permitted.

“Boss, come take a look—there’s something off.” The night demon called out.

Fan Wujiu, upon hearing, immediately linked his gaze to the night raven’s eyes, while assuming control, maneuvering it to descend in altitude for a closer inspection.

“What the hell—this guy looks familiar.”

As Fan Wujiu muttered in confusion, the solitary figure suddenly lifted his head.

Sharp eyes locked onto the night raven’s mechanical gaze, meeting Fan Wujiu’s own stare!

“It’s him! Song Mountain!”

Though his features were clearly different, those eyes were seared into Fan Wujiu’s memory.

The owner of those eyes had preemptively slain his informant in the northern district and left him a mocking face!

“Damn it, these hawks are bold indeed, daring to stir up trouble right under the emperor’s nose. Everyone, grab your weapons!”

Fan Wujiu’s furious shout abruptly froze, as though an invisible hand had clasped his throat.

Not only that, but the rooftop suddenly fell into a deathly silence.

The scene transmitted through the night raven’s mechanical eye left every member of the Dog Mountain City Jinyiwei pale-faced.

“In the beginning, human nature is good, similar in nature but differing in habits.”

The recitation echoing through Fuzi Miao remained orderly and melodious, yet upon closer listening, a chilling realization emerged—the source of the voice seemed to be moving!

A dense crowd, like a tide of blue, surged forth from classroom after classroom, gathering in the academy’s courtyard, encircling Song Mountain.

Their hands, which ought to have held books for reading, now clutched peculiar firearms, their bodies entirely crimson, adorned with winged patterns on either side.

“The world is corrupt, hearts are in chaos. Trusting the hawks, they overturn the heavens.”

The synchronized, eerie chant grew clearer, the hum of energy accumulation from the weapons intensifying.

Whirrr!

Over a thousand crimson lights erupted skyward, tearing the fleeing night raven to shreds.

The residual flood of red light surged directly toward the nearby Xijiao Office!

“Take cover!”

Fan Wujiu bellowed, grabbing the night demon’s collar and shoving the still-dazed man to the ground.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Xijiao Office building shuddered violently under the heatwave’s onslaught, the green bricks embedded in the wall facing Fuzi Miao splintering and crumbling. In moments, the entire office lay in ruins, revealing the scorched red iron plates beneath.

“Damn it, boss—this isn’t the ‘Vermilion Bird’ series typically issued to the imperial private armies on the mainland, is it? How’d they end up in the Japanese quarter?!”

Amid the thunderous explosions, the night demon pressed his cheek to the ground, shouting at Fan Wujiu beside him.

“I don’t know!”

Fan Wujiu roared back, “I’d ask you—how did you surveil this? How did the hawks manage to ensnare all the scholars of Fuzi Miao?!”

“I don’t know either! There’s been nothing unusual these past few days!”

The night demon, now overwhelmed with frustration, bore responsibility for monitoring Fuzi Miao.

Yet neither the informants he’d planted among the scholars nor the surveillance and listening devices he’d installed had detected any suspicious figures entering or leaving the academy.

He had no idea how, in a sudden turn, all the scholars of Fuzi Miao had become puppets of the hawks!

“Boss! What do we do now?!”

The night demon wiped the dust from his face, the suffocating heatwave boiling the air, his lips cracking dry.

“Should we retreat first?”

“Bullshit! This is the Dog Mountain City Jinyiwei’s office—where the hell would we retreat to?”

“But these are all scholars of Fuzi Miao.”

“The moment they fired their guns, they became enemies!”

Fan Wujiu let out a fierce growl, seizing a ‘Duo Yan Wei’ and leaping up, one foot on the rooftop’s edge, gun aimed at the blue tide surging toward the office, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Thunderous gunfire erupted, bullets tearing through the air, striking flesh with dull thuds, blood and bone fragments spraying, drenching the companions behind in a crimson mist.

Fan Wujiu’s action was like a spark thrown into a haystack, igniting a blaze of rebellion.

In the Xijiao Office, which had seemed silent after the attack, as if awakened in an instant, its sharp claws now revealed.

A torrent of bullets surged forward against the advancing blue wave; these physically frail scholars could not withstand the barrage, falling in heaps.

But what chilled the hearts of the Dog Mountain City Jinyiwei was the frenzy and reckless abandon they displayed.

No tactical maneuvers, no dispersal or retreat—just standing rigid in clusters, clutching their groups, roaring the corrupted Confucian classics, using their own flesh and blood as shields to push forward.

They paid no heed to the deadly gunfire before them or the wails of their classmates beneath their feet.

Worse still, even those blown apart by bullets, their bodies mangled, still writhed in futile attempts to rise.

“Kill them, kill as many as possible.”

Standing atop the rooftop, Song Mountain smiled, “Without these sparks, how would you kindle a prairie fire?”

“Boss, what do we do?”

The night demon shouted, raising his empty magazine, but before he could replace it, a crimson light struck his face, searing half his cheek black.

“If we kill all these people, we’re in deep trouble!”

The night demon stood motionless on the rooftop, letting the cracked, carbonized skin flake away.

This scene mirrored the slum district incident—nay, it was even more vile.

Most of the slum’s residents were widows and orphans; one death meant total annihilation.

But these Fuzi Miao scholars were different—many had families and kin. Once news of the conflict spread, angry civilians would surely gather.

At that moment, the entire Xijiao government office would likely be engulfed by the furious masses.

It was as though the swan were deliberately reenacting that ancient snare, luring the Jin Yi Wei of Quan Shan Cheng to stumble anew in the same cursed spot!

"Wait!"

Fan Wujiu’s face was carved from ice, his features grim as a battlefield, the bullet stream from the Duoyan Wei in his grip showing no sign of faltering.

"Wait for what?"

"Wait for these craven mongrels to fully reveal themselves!"