A wave of alarmed cries rose from the crowd.

Surely that man isn’t going to be burned alive?

Fan Sheng pressed one hand to the ground and turned to inspect the giant bear’s wound.

He Lingchuan’s slash had cut terrifyingly deep, nearly severing the bear’s foreleg outright. If not for the armor protecting it, and if not for the fact that it was so fat, no, so sturdy, with forelimbs as thick as stone pillars, it would probably already be a three-legged bear by now.

In the next instant, three or four burning chunks of timber flew out from the inn, hurtling straight at the man and the bear.

Fan Sheng lifted a hand and knocked them aside. Then he saw the young man stepping out through the flames, advancing toward him one step at a time. The raging fire did not harm He Lingchuan in the slightest; instead, it seemed only to leap eagerly along the changdao in his hand.

The second time now.

The look Fan Sheng gave He Lingchuan could no longer be described as mere anger.

He Lingchuan tightened his grip on the blade and shot Jiao Yu a look. The next exchange would likely be thunderous and all-out.

That strike that had wounded the giant bear had happened to trigger Fleeting Life’s Army-Breaker effect. Otherwise, with the bear’s armor being so astonishingly thick and hard, and with origin energy protecting it as well, He Lingchuan should not have been able to cut through it so easily.

Whether he would have that kind of luck again was hard to say.

Come to think of it, though, the chances of Army-Breaker activating seemed to have increased...

Just then, shouts broke out all around them:

“Stop right there! Baishajue Patrol Guards are here!”

“Drop your weapons and put your hands in the air!”

“Fighting is forbidden! Offenders lose an arm!”

“Why are you all just standing there staring? Go get water and put out the fire!”

At last, the Baishajue authorities had arrived.

In truth, the moment the inn caught fire, the nearby residents had all come pouring out to watch. The inn servants were running back and forth with buckets, trying to douse the flames. The guests had also rushed out. Some of them helped out, while others simply sat back and enjoyed the spectacle.

So by now the onlookers were already packed in several layers deep, inside and out. Watching two men and two monsters locked in savage combat, they had been doing their part quite enthusiastically, gasping and shouting at every turn.

By Baishajue standards, the constables had actually arrived rather late.

At that moment, a slightly plump figure squeezed through the crowd and shouted at the top of his voice, “Seize anyone who dares attack the Crown Prince’s special envoy!”

The constables all shouted, “Yes!” but none of them moved.

One of them edged up to his superior and whispered, “Lord, which one is the special envoy?”

County Magistrate Tian glared at him. “The young man and the tiger monster!”

“Oh. Right, charge!”

More than a dozen constables rushed forward with weapons in hand.

He Lingchuan chose that moment to jump back, using the constables as a human shield.

Fan Sheng let out a roar that boomed in everyone’s chest like thunder, “I am the deputy commander of the Tongxin Guard! Who dares lay a hand on me?!”

The crowd’s steps faltered. Seizing the moment, Fan Sheng pressed one axe against the giant bear’s body and scraped it along the direction of the fur two or three times.

Wherever the axe passed, the stubborn violet flames that refused to die were forcibly snuffed out.

Smoke still curled from the giant bear’s body. Sixty or seventy percent of its handsome fur had been scorched away, but at least the flames had finally gone out, and it let out a relieved breath.

That flame was truly vile. Even with origin energy protecting its body, it had still been burned agonizingly.

Fortunately, not much of the flame had actually penetrated its flesh. For now, it mostly just looked like a mess on the outside.

What exactly is the Tongxin Guard? He Lingchuan scratched his head.

But clearly the magistrate of Baishajue County knew, for he immediately shouted, “Hold!” He then turned to Fan Sheng and asked suspiciously, “Tongxin Guard?”

Fan Sheng reached into his robe, pulled out a dark-gold token, and gave it a shake in front of him. “Open your dog eyes and look carefully!”

The token was shaped like a shield, with shallow indentations on either side. Its emblem was the roaring head of a beast, one that vaguely resembled a bear.

In Fan Sheng’s hand, it emitted a deep red glow.

County Magistrate Tian jumped in fright. Taking a closer look, he hurriedly waved his men back. “Back, all of you, back! Put your weapons away!”

The constables withdrew. County Magistrate Tian bowed to Fan Sheng and said, “How should I address you, lord? And how did you come into conflict with the Crown Prince’s special envoy?”

“Fan.” Fan Sheng was seething and took it out on him at once. “What kind of local official are you? You charge in to arrest people without even knowing who’s right and who’s wrong!”

This idiot of an official had appeared from nowhere and publicly called out He Lingchuan’s status as a special envoy. Once that happened, Fan Sheng could no longer simply kill the man and claim afterward that he had slain some villain.

He Lingchuan lowered his saber. “Someone secretly placed a death curse on me. I tracked it here, and this bastard nearly ambushed me!”

Behind his back, he gave his arm a little shake. It hurt so badly that it felt on the verge of splitting apart. Not having origin energy really did put him at a terrible disadvantage.

Fan Sheng pointed his finger at him and barked, “Nonsense! I was sleeping perfectly well, and then you came and threw a stink bomb into my room. If I don’t hack at you, who am I supposed to hack at?”

County Magistrate Tian, without caring who was right or wrong, immediately waved both hands. “Understood, understood! A misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding. The flood surges against the Temple of the Dragon King—conflicts sometimes mistakenly arise between people on the same side. Both of you, please calm down! The inn is still burning!”

Whoever was right, whoever was wrong, neither of these two was someone he could afford to offend. Hence, it was better to simply play the peacemaker.

At that moment, the innkeeper also shoved his way out from the crowd and began pouring out his grievances to County Magistrate Tian in tears, “My inn’s been burned to ruin! Lord, you have to uphold justice for me!”