Chapter 4: The Big Fire Burns the Caterpillar

  Boom!

  A flame, one zhang high, suddenly sprang up from that unlucky head, a fierce fire mixed with black smoke, accompanied by a mournful cry that was enough to shake the heavens, almost overturning the entire house. Master Ma instantly fell to the ground, rolling about everywhere, wherever he rolled over, sparks flew out immediately, and small flames burst forth, burning fiercely, wave after wave of the smell of scorched skin spread far and wide.

  Boiling oil in fierce flames is just like this.

  There were only five or six people in the room, and just now, including Li Ban's master, three or four more ran out, leaving only Master Ma and Master Zhang. Master Ma was rolling on the ground, while Master Zhang was frightened stiff, sitting motionless in his chair as the flames rushed towards him. He let out a loud cry, wanting to get up, but his legs were trembling and he couldn't move. Suddenly, his body was pushed by a great force, flying several feet away, landing on all fours right at the entrance of the room.

  At this time, his legs couldn't move, at least there were still hands, and he crawled out of the luxurious room. Just then, a loud crash was heard from behind, and when he turned around to look, the screen that separated the luxurious rooms had fallen to the ground, revealing the next luxurious room. Master Ma rolled around wildly with fire everywhere, without the screen, smoke and dust immediately rushed towards the entire second floor and even the theater, in an instant, besides Master Ma's sharp cries, there were even more sharp cries added, the scene was chaotic for a moment.

  Mr. Zhang turned his head back, only to see that the elegant room behind him was already filled with smoke and fire, and no one could be seen clearly. In the midst of the thick smoke and chaos, all he heard was a "crack" sound, as if something had broken, followed by a "thud" sound, similar to heavy objects falling to the ground. After that, there were only sounds of collapse and screams left.

  The second floor was filled with elegant seats, and the guests were all dignitaries. Where had they seen this before? They couldn't help but panic and rush downstairs in a flurry. Some were trampled, some rolled down the stairs, and some even jumped directly from the upper floors to the ground below. The cries of the nobles wavered between different decibels and frequencies, as people's shadows flitted about, and the scene was one of utter chaos.

  The second floor was in chaos, and the first floor soon followed. The people upstairs rushed down, pouring out in a flood, while those at the bottom had no idea what was happening. But panic is contagious, and fear spreads quickly. This was truly a case of "the upper floors influencing the lower ones." In an instant, the area under the stage erupted into chaos. With the tables packed tightly together, it was hard to get up. If only one person stood up, that would be okay, but when dozens of people suddenly rose to their feet, there was a loud crash as things fell over. Tables overturned, chairs collapsed, teapots and tea cups shattered, adults shouted, children cried, and the scene became complete pandemonium, almost lifting the roof off the house.

  Actually, the second floor only had one source of fire, which was Master Ma, and there was only that one pot of oil. Most of it was wasted on Master Ma's body. Other places didn't catch fire originally, but the smell of smoke and burnt skin was terrifying. However, because the scene was chaotic, the flames seemed to have increased tenfold, as if the entire theater had caught fire.

  Zhang Gongzi was the last to leave, and he reacted the slowest. He didn't even know how he managed to escape from the room. After coming out, he also made a big fuss, plopping down on the ground with his butt, unable to move at all. His eyes darted left and right, and suddenly he seemed to remember something, shouting loudly: "Ma Gongzi - go save Ma Gongzi!" As soon as he finished speaking, he fell to the ground with a thud and passed out.

  Fortunately, Master Ma and Master Zhang were respectable young masters. Although they were not lucky today, the people they brought with them were all useless, but there were also some useful talents around them. At this time, they reacted and rushed forward against the crowd. Especially by Master Ma's side, there were several strong guards who pushed their way through and saw Master Ma. Several of them quickly fetched water and poured it over him with a gurgling sound.

  Who would have thought that the fire was an oil fire ignited by a talisman, which could not be extinguished with water? Master Ma was scalded by the water and his cries became even more mournful. Someone brought a large shirt to smother the flames, while another person poured water on it, and finally the fire was brought under control. The other scattered sparks on the ground were also extinguished. Master Ma had long stopped crying out, lying motionless on the ground, half of his body charred black. But after the fire was put out, he surprisingly still lived, only his face looked like a ghost's, no longer human-like.

  Another person grabbed hold of Master Ma's servant and shouted: "What's going on? Who did this?"

  That little fellow had not yet recovered from the shock, and seeing Master Ma's face, he was even more frightened, his teeth chattering incessantly, saying "Pl...pl..." He couldn't say a single serious word.

  Only the sound of rapid and powerful footsteps was heard, a tall and strong man, like an iron tower, walked up the stairs, the guards beside him, except for the one supporting Marquis Ma, all stood up and said: "Tiger Ye."

  That Tiger Brother wore satin clothes, but was dressed in a short jacket, obviously a martial artist. His neck muscles were knotted, his shoulders were broad and his waist was round. His arms were as thick as an ordinary person's thighs, and he looked very majestic and powerful. He shouted: "What's going on? How did the young master end up like this? Which scoundrel dared to be so bold?"

  One sentence came out, and the voice was like a bell, which could be heard clearly in the noisy theater.

  That little fellow saw him coming and seemed to have found his backbone. He cried: "Master Tiger, if you had come a step later, things wouldn't be like this!"

  "Hurry up and send the young master to get medical treatment... You tell me, who hurt the young master? In this entire county of Dabing, who dares to touch a single hair on the young master's head, I'll pull out their brains." Although the words were spoken with great bravado, it was clear that the young master had been more than just touched by a single finger. As for how to respond and escalate the level of revenge accordingly, that was a very troublesome matter indeed.

  That little fellow shouted: "Right, it was an actor, a small actor who did it! The young master said to take him back to enjoy good fortune, but he refused and offended the young master. He splashed a pot of boiling oil on the young master's head. Tiger Ye, quickly go catch that little actor, don't let him run away."

  Hugong listened and had already understood the cause and effect, saying: "He can't escape - as soon as I came in, I ordered people to surround this place. Not to mention the actors, even those who listen to the opera, not one of them can escape. You listen, is there anyone outside who dares to make a disturbance?"

  Everyone was stunned, quieted down and listened, and indeed the inside and outside of the building became much quieter. The chaotic scene earlier miraculously subsided in a short period of time, presumably due to this Tiger Lord's tactics. Several people were secretly shocked, knowing that with the previous state, it would take how many hands and strength to stop such a large group of crazy people?

  "Hu Ye shouted: 'Bring all the people in this theater, including the owner, the actors, the drummers, and the string players, to identify who is the main culprit. If we can't identify them, then bring those guests one by one for identification. If we still can't identify them today, no one will be allowed to leave...' Suddenly, he walked three steps forward to the window behind the VIP seats, only to see that both windows were wide open, with cold wind blowing in. If it weren't for the commotion inside, someone should have noticed the chill earlier."

  Tiger Grandpa's face changed, he stretched his head out to take a look, and saw that outside was facing the street. There were not many pedestrians on the street, but since this street was one of the main ones, people came and went constantly, so the snow had already been trampled into disarray. He looked around and shouted: "Is there anyone down there? Come out, I can hear you breathing!"

  Under the opera house, there were many guards who followed Hu Ye. When they heard him shouting, one of them walked over and said, "Hu Ye, the third team is here."

  "Hunior asked: 'Did someone just jump down from here?'"

  The guard said: "I didn't see anything."

  Tiger's face turned iron-green, and he said, "I underestimated this little monkey. You guys guard the door, no one is allowed to enter or exit." As he spoke, he jumped out of the window. His body was huge, but his movements were light and agile, landing on the ground like a falling leaf, not making a sound, and only leaving a shallow footprint in the snow. The guard beside him shouted loudly, "Tiger's qinggong is amazing!"

  Hou Ye crouched down, checking all the way to the main road, nodding and saying: "Quickly, go to the stable and see if any horses have been stolen. Prepare a good horse for me too. You guys prepare your mounts as well." As he spoke, his foot kicked off the ground, soaring several zhang into the air like a giant eagle, landing on the windowsill, flipping over and entering through the window.

  "Hu Ye pulled over a young servant and asked: 'What does that little thief look like, what's his surname and name, what's he wearing and carrying, how old is he?'"

  That young fellow said in a continuous voice: "He looks like he's fourteen or fifteen years old, wearing all green, and is... incredibly handsome, just like a big girl, can be recognized at a glance. What's his surname, what's his name... this Zhang young master knows."

  Tiger Grandpa grasped Zhang Gongzi with one hand, and by rights, this young master's status was still above his own, usually he would show deference to him, but at this moment, he couldn't care less, and shouted: "What is his name?"

  Zhang Gongzi stared at a face that looked like Zhong Kui, stuttered, and then said quickly: "Cheng... his surname is Cheng, stage name Jiuxiao Hong, real name... Cheng..." Sweat dripped down, he remembered that the man had introduced himself before, but he was in a hurry and forgot, so he bluffed: "His name is Cheng Jin."

  "Hu Ye shouted: 'Let Zhang Gongzi and the theater troupe people carefully paint a hundred copies of Cheng Jin's portrait, I'll go get him, if not, hang up posters all over the city, offer a reward of one hundred taels of gold, must catch him. Hmph, our master is called 'Ba Li Hou', within this hundred-mile radius, Master is like Heaven, I see who can escape from his palm.'"

  After finishing speaking, Tiger Ye jumped out of the window and came to the street. On the street, a team of guards on horseback had been waiting for a long time, with one person leading a big red sorrel horse with a complete saddle. According to the rules, a small county town did not have its own garrison, let alone cavalry, and the county magistrate only had three classes of yamen runners at his disposal. These horsemen were all guards raised by Magistrate Ma himself, who did not eat official grain and only listened to Magistrate Ma's words. Tiger Ye was the leader of the guards, he mounted the horse and asked: "How is it, who lost a horse?"

  One of the guards replied: "After Ma Fu identified it, a black horse was missing from the stable. According to his recollection, it belonged to Wang Siye, a country squire who came to watch the play."

  Tiger's father was taken aback and said, "Damn it, isn't Wang Siye the one with a black horse at home? This kid is too lucky, let's go chase him quickly. That horse has good legs, if we don't catch up soon, I'll beat up Wang Laosi first, that good-for-nothing, watching plays and riding such a good horse?" With a flick of the reins, the horse galloped out, kicking up layers of snowflakes. The guards behind him started at the same time, following closely.

  On the road, Hu Ye had a majestic and heroic air about him. In his heart, he thought to himself: "At this hour, he must be leaving the city. Notifying the gate guards would definitely not make it in time. It's better to take action in the wilderness, killing someone won't be troublesome. However, this little guy isn't simple either. He can identify which horse is a good one from dozens of horses, this point doesn't seem like an ordinary actor."

  The cavalry was advancing, and the city gate was in sight. Suddenly, a horse appeared on the main road, spinning around in place, about to collide with them. Tiger Ye was shocked, his hands tightened, he pulled hard on the reins, and with a loud "whoa", he managed to stop the galloping horse just inches away from the other horse, bringing it to a precarious halt.

  Tiger Ye was furious, he is the number one in the county town, usually riding a horse on the road, people bumping into people, objects bumping into objects, who dares to provoke him? Just now if it wasn't for a horse but a person on the street, even if they bumped into each other, it would be over. But unfortunately, not only was it a big animal, but it also occupied the road horizontally, if he had bumped into it, he himself would have fallen off his horse. Now this beast actually blocked his important matter, how could he tolerate it? Because of having an urgent matter at hand, for the time being, he couldn't immediately find someone to vent his anger on, so he cursed as soon as he opened his mouth: "I'll wipe him out——"

  Suddenly, someone on the street cursed: "I'll wipe out this little rascal, dare to hit me, see how I deal with you." A person stumbled and got up from the side of the street, covering his face and walking towards him, cursing as he walked: "Stinky brat, unreasonable guy, Master won't let you off..." Suddenly, he looked up and saw Tiger Ye, saying: "Ma Hu?"

  Ma Hu's face stiffened, although he had been granted a surname by the old master, his full name didn't sound good when put together. So except for the young master of the house, others could only call him Tiger Master, who would dare to call out his full name? But looking carefully at the person in front of him, his face twitched and he said: "Wu... Wu Shao?"

  That man was a young man in brocade clothes, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, rough in appearance, holding a horse whip in one hand, shaking his head and saying: "Damn it, today I didn't check the almanac before going out, raised my head to see a small person, first encountered that stinky little boy, and then met you."

  Ma Hu grinned, in this county town, apart from the Ma family father and son, he didn't take anyone else seriously. Zhang Gongzi came from the prefectural city, but he also didn't think much of him. But precisely because of the young master in front of him, as well as his good-for-nothing old man, even Old Master Ma had to give way three parts, so he didn't dare be careless and said: "Young Master Wu, that stinky little brat you mentioned, isn't it a fourteen or fifteen year old, very handsome youth?"

  "Isn't that him? He saw me and didn't say a word, just kicked me under the horse with one foot. Damn it, if I don't get revenge, my name isn't Wu Xiao. Hmm? How do you know him? Are you in cahoots with him?"

  "No, no, no," Ma Hu hurriedly said. "To be honest, he's not good for our young master, and I'm leading people to chase him." Before he could finish speaking, a hand reached out and grabbed his collar, and then Wu Shao shouted: "What? So we're after the same person! Come on, let's go with Young Master to catch him!"