"Fire spirits? Assassinate me? Didn't I just repair the Temple of the Fire God at Shichahai two months ago...!"
Emperor Wanli was confused about the current situation.
He had repaired the Temple of the Fire God.
The Fire God came to kill him.
"?"
Emperor Wanli was bewildered, but he knew that avoiding disaster was paramount. Thus, he began to retreat with his questions. However, the three fire spirits who had just burned the Palace of Heavenly Purity would not let Emperor Wanli go so easily!
The divine fire of the Fire God was restricted by the national prestige, making it impossible to directly affect the Emperor and his entourage. Therefore, the Fire Gods set fire to the palace, and the arsonists could not be themselves.
The divine fire they released could be walked through directly by the Emperor and others who possessed national prestige, without being affected.
However, if mortals started the fire, it would be a normal conflagration that could burn any living being. Thus, mortal fire had its advantages.
The arts of the divine spirits could not be inflicted upon the Emperor, but the Emperor himself was merely a mortal. Although he possessed national prestige and his word was law within the Forbidden City, suppressing all gods, ghosts, spirits, and even celestial and earthly beings, his physical body was frail, and this fact could not be changed.
"The Emperor has fled. I just heard them. They seem to be heading for the Hall of Longevity."
"That's good. Inside the Hall of Longevity, Lord Song should have already killed that Taoist priest and taken his body, and is now waiting for the Emperor."
"It's a pity that the Emperor's sleeping quarters have never been accurately determined. I thought a great fire tonight would kill him, but I didn't expect him to escape."
The rear of the Palace of Heavenly Purity housed the Warm Pavilion, consisting of nine rooms, each divided into two floors with connecting staircases. Each room was furnished with three beds, either on the upper or lower level, providing a total of twenty-seven sleeping spots. The Emperor could freely choose which room and which bed to sleep in. Even those familiar with the Warm Pavilion found it difficult to pinpoint his exact location.
This was a precautionary measure.
"Chizhi, have the eunuchs and palace maids in the palace been taken care of?"
Among the three fire spirits, the white-bearded elder inquired of the brocade-clad youth.
The brocade-clad youth responded crisply:
"They have all been taken care of. The 'Alian' have taken over the bodies of those palace maids and eunuchs. Wherever the national prestige cannot reach, in the places where the royal family does not reside, the 'Alian' have completed their tasks."
"The 'Alian' are very happy now. They have only recently become gods, and they can already play games in the palace!"
"And those two children have been living in the Western Six Palaces for over two months, and have been interacting with those women day and night for a long time. They should have two more mothers now."
After the brocade-clad youth's crisp response, the elder nodded:
"Lord of Fire is coming. The 'Alian' cannot just play around, or Lord of Fire will be displeased."
"Let's follow them. Last year, we failed and made Emperor Wanli vigilant. This time, we cannot make any more mistakes."
"Chizhi, Lord Song is no longer here. You go to the Eldest Prince's side and guide him. Make sure he sees Emperor Wanli's 'last moment.' Then our mission will be accomplished."
...
The three fire spirits watched Emperor Wanli and his entourage depart. As the Palace of Heavenly Purity erupted into a blazing inferno, at the same moment, in the far south, a shocking light also rose.
The Hall of Imperial Splendor was ablaze!
The Hall of Supreme Harmony was ablaze!
The Hall of Establishing Harmony was ablaze!
The three front halls suddenly caught fire, and countless palace staff perished in the flames. Amidst the cries of "Fire!", the great generals, palace maids, and eunuchs on duty elsewhere began to fight the fire.
Of course, the raging inferno also alerted the Grand Secretariat. As the Grand Secretariat's office was located in the Hall of Literary Profundity, the Grand Secretaries soon arrived in front of the Hall of Imperial Splendor!
Grand Secretary Zhao Zhigao, Grand Secretary Shen Yiguan, and Grand Secretary Zhang Wei.
"Quickly inform the Imperial Stable!"
The outer palace was in chaos. Flames engulfed the three front halls, and the roaring inferno seemed to want to burn away all the impurities of the world.
The charred corpses of those who died in the fire stood upright in a bizarre posture, with a path cleared between them, as if welcoming someone's arrival.
"Grand Secretaries, look...!"
A eunuch's voice was sharp with fear. The Grand Secretaries followed the eunuch's pointing finger towards the Hall of Imperial Splendor and saw that the charred corpses standing in the middle were slowly raising their arms, as if celebrating the fire!
Strange sounds emanated from the fire scene:
"Come and play, come and play..."
The palace maids and eunuchs were all ashen-faced. Most of them were seeing such a strange phenomenon for the first time.
Grand Secretary Zhao Zhigao's eyes widened, and the eye of a crane on his scarlet official robe seemed to come alive.
With a single thought, his national prestige surged. The old Grand Secretary let out a loud roar:
"Live diligently, die in peace! To die and not rest, what is the reason!"
As his voice boomed, accompanied by the cry of a crane, the black shadows of the charred corpses in the fire fell with a bang, and shouts of "It hurts, it hurts, Alian hurts!" echoed from the fire scene, with dozens of shadows leaping about.
Grand Secretary Shen Yiguan exclaimed in surprise: "Are there demons? But this is the Forbidden City!"
Zhao Zhigao stared at the dozen or so shadows in the fire scene. They looked like a dozen children playing in the fire. What surprised him was that the crane on his person merely chirped a few times and then remained still!
"When ghosts and demons encounter our court officials, they are usually pounced upon and killed by the divine beasts manifested from national prestige. Why is it that now, the crane on my person has no reaction?"
"A single roar only caused these demons to feel pain?!"
Now, many officials spent their lives in the Imperial City and were unaware that the animal insignia on their robes possessed the ability to subdue demons and ghosts, especially those newly promoted officials.
But it was understandable. After all, in Shuntian Prefecture, there were numerous deities of the underworld and celestial courts, and the vast national prestige provided protection. How could any evil spirits or monsters appear?
Perhaps officials had heard of demonic events in various regions and often discussed them with others, but without practical experience, how could they witness the function of the animal insignia?
After all, several decades had passed since the era of flourishing Taoism during Emperor Jiajing's reign.
The black shadows in the fire scene began to retreat, disappearing from the fire scene!
"This is bad, these things have escaped and are heading towards the inner palace!"
The great generals, flag guards, and palace guards were only stationed in the outer palace. The inner palace was the Emperor's private domain, and no one was allowed to enter without permission.
"We're still talking about this now! His Majesty might be in mortal danger!"
The Grand Secretaries were filled with anxiety. A eunuch informed the Grand Secretaries that the Emperor had previously dispatched the Southern Guard Command to the inner palace, and later, someone seemed to have seen the Imperial Guards heading towards the corridor in the northwest corner.
"Northwest of the palace?"
The northwest corner of the Forbidden City was a special area. Although located in the north, it did not belong to the inner palace.
There were three halls in this area: the Hall of English Brilliance, which was only used for Buddhist rituals and sacrifices and was usually empty; the Hall of Peaceful Prosperity, which was an abandoned palace that Emperor Jiajing had used as an alchemy site, later demolished and rebuilt during Emperor Longqing's reign, and was now deserted; and the Hall of Longevity, which was originally used for sacrificing to Emperor Zhenwu and Emperor Mingruizong.
Inside the Hall of Longevity, there was a Wudang Taoist priest sweeping the courtyard.
The Grand Secretaries requested the palace guards and the Imperial Stable to enter the inner palace. However, the palace guards and the Imperial Stable were afraid of being held responsible. Grand Secretary Zhao Zhigao immediately became furious:
"If anything happens to His Majesty, you will all be punished!"
"I am seventy-three years old this year! Seventy-three, eighty-four, Yama will not invite me, I will go on my own! There is nothing to fear, I will bear all responsibility, it is just a decaying head!"
Grand Secretary Zhao Zhigao's guarantee finally convinced the palace guards and the Imperial Stable to agree, but even so, they looked as if they had lost their parents, repeatedly murmuring that they deserved death.