Chapter 54: Guardian of Fire Closing the city gate in advance at this moment is equivalent to deliberately blocking the Linjiangsi's carriage outside the city. The sky was already dark, and if we couldn't enter the city, we would be dead. Even if he wanted to turn around and look for a clean place, it would definitely be too late. "What a coincidence." Deputy Commander Gu frowned slightly. Under normal circumstances, it is not uncommon to close the city gates early according to weather changes. But at this moment, the sun was setting in the west, and although the sky was dark, it was not necessary to close the city gates early. "Someone from the Liu family." Deputy Commander Zhou whispered, “The six major families in the inner city all have direct bloodlines, and they hold high positions in the city defense office.”
He glanced at the deputy commander and said, "The flag bearer Wu Chang has left the city. This news should have been passed on to the Liu family immediately." The news reached the inner city, and then the order to close the city gates early was issued and passed to the outer south gate. Back and forth, the timing was perfect. The three people present understood immediately. Among the soldiers guarding the city today, there are spies from the Liu family. "How to say?" Deputy Commander Gu asked, "Either listen to the Liu family and offend this Fifth Master to death! Or, delay for a while and give this Fifth Master some convenience?" Deputy Commander Zhou did not speak. He felt that he had no relationship with Linjiangsi. More importantly, there was still grudge because of the Zhao Jing incident. To be honest, there are still some contradictions between the two sides. Moreover, in his eyes, although this Fifth Master had shown amazing talent today, he was still far from being comparable to the Liu family, one of the six major families in the inner city. A genius just has the potential to become a strong person! And among the Liu family, there are truly strong people! "Orders from the inner city cannot be disobeyed." Just then, an old voice was heard. Everyone turned around and saw the commander-in-chief Zhaozhou. The commander-in-chief at this moment, with gray hair and a rather listless complexion, said slowly: "However, I still feel a little sorry for misunderstanding this Fifth Master before." "Tell the messenger to obey the orders from the inner city and close the city gates immediately." Zhaozhou looked at Menglu and said, "Go and close the door."
Meeting the gaze of the Zhaozhou commander-in-chief, Meng Lu suddenly understood, bowed, and went to the city gate. - Walk along the city gate and look out. You can see a shadow appearing in front of you. Upon closer inspection, it was a horse-drawn carriage, coming at a very fast speed. "Tonight, outside the city, experience the horror of darkness and pay for my son's life." The Liu family member who delivered the message sneered, his face full of sarcasm. He had to watch the other side rushing towards him, but the city gate was gradually closing. The despair in the other party's heart must be no less than what it is today. The young master is pointed at by a knife and can only wait for death! The city gate was gradually closing, but halfway through, it suddenly stopped. "What are you doing? Why don't you close the city gate?" This member of the Liu family suddenly shouted loudly, extremely angry. "The city gate has been in disrepair for a long time. It was attacked by evil spirits the night before, so it is stuck." Meng Lu came forward and explained seriously: "It's because the Outer South Yamen always wants to save money and is unwilling to allocate funds to repair the city gate." He looked solemn and said, "I hope you can report this when you return to the inner city, and ask the city guards to allocate some money to us." At this point, he stretched out his feet and sighed, "Look, I have been guarding the city for several days, and my boots are worn out. I don't even have a replacement. Our city defense is really too poor." "You..." The Liu family member's face changed drastically, and he shouted angrily: "This is an order issued by the City Guard Office. How dare you disobey it?" "What's the word?" Meng Lu waved his hands and said, "We are following the orders of the City Guard Office and trying our best to close the gate. How dare we disobey them? It's just that the city gate is broken and we didn't have the money to repair it. This is not the fault of our city defense army..." "Is the fault of the City Guard Mansion?" This member of the Liu family couldn't help but shout angrily. "I see." Meng Lu suddenly realized and said, "Thank you, brother, for your righteous words. Tomorrow I will ask the commander-in-chief to write a letter and report it to the inner city without going through the outer south government office! Even the Liu family said that the fault lies with the city guard office. This time there will definitely be money allocated!" He looked serious, bowed immediately, then moved closer and said, "You have helped me so much, I can't bear to see you get killed, so I have to remind you..." He pointed outside the city gate and said, "The carriage of Linjiang Division is coming. If the Fifth Master knew that you came here to close the city gate, he would probably cut your head off with a single blow. I think your young master hasn't gone far on the road to the underworld, so he's just the right person to keep him company." Seeing the carriage gradually approaching. The Liu family member's face turned extremely ugly. He finally turned his horse around, rode away, and went straight to the inner city. "Slow down, don't let go of your horse, or Master Wu will come back to the city and chop off your head."
Meng Lu waved his hand and reminded loudly. Then I heard a voice behind me. "Captain Meng, why is the city gate half closed early?" The young man's voice is clear and melodious. - at the same time. Above the city. The commander-in-chief Zhaozhou was leaning against the city wall, looking down. The two deputy commanders were behind him, silent for a moment. After a moment, Deputy Commander Zhou was heard to speak in a deep voice: "The Commander's move will definitely offend the Liu family." The great commander Zhaozhou suddenly laughed and pointed at himself: "When I was in my prime, I was at the peak of my internal strength. Unfortunately, my energy and blood gradually weakened, and I will never be able to achieve the realm of refining essence in this lifetime." "And this Fifth Master is like the rising sun. Although he is still young, he has already reached the peak of his strength and has a bright future ahead of him." "If he dies in the darkness, harmed by evil spirits, then that is his fate." "But I cannot afford to harm the life of such a human genius just because of some private grudges." He sighed and said faintly, "If it was when Gaoliu City was first established, outstanding young people like this would be hailed as 'sparks'!" "Back then, many strong people would use their lives to protect the young generation, allowing them to survive, grow up, and become the guardians of the next generation!" "I am the 'Spark' of the past, and the Guardian of today!" "It's just that many of the 'fire seeds' of the past have forgotten their original intentions, so in today's era, they have become those in power instead of guardians." Zhaozhou said this, and then slowly said: "They only care about the current power, but are unwilling to consider the future... Without a guardian, the outstanding "spark" is often extinguished in the bud, and there is no hope for the future." “But for a flame, the commander-in-chief offended the Liu family today. It was a raging flame.” Deputy Commander Zhou said this in a heavy tone. Zhaozhou shook his head and said, "The young flame has the potential to set the whole prairie on fire, but the raging flame has signs of burning out." He looked towards the inner city and said in a low voice, "The only surviving ancestor of the Liu family is much older than me." "A raging fire will eventually burn out, and the flame will be extinguished in its infancy." "In the future, Gao Liu City will lose the light of fire, and darkness will erode everything." “Maybe I am too old to see the rise and fall of that day, but I also hope to do something for the future today.” After he finished speaking, Zhaozhou looked at the two deputy commanders and said, "But you are younger than me and you can see that day. So today, you should have thought longer-term than me and acted more decisively." "Thank you for your guidance, Commander-in-Chief!"
Upon hearing this, the two men instantly understood that the commander-in-chief was not satisfied with their performance, and they immediately bowed in greeting. However, it is unknown to what extent the two of them agree with the commander-in-chief's words. (End of this chapter)
