The Martial Lord of the Troubled World

Chapter 49 Entering the Urn
"On the way to deliver the oil, rats from half the street came running out because of the smell, and the truck was almost overturned."

A lean man in a short-sleeved shirt with squinting eyes chimed in.

Fu Juemin noticed that his hands were large and rough, with large patches of grease embedded between his fingers.

"Are you an employee at Yongfeng Oil Mill?"

Fu Juemin thought for a moment and said, "Take this jar of oil and take a car to the east side of the city for a couple of laps..."

Then he turned to Fu Guoping and said, "Second Uncle, send a few people to follow him."

Fu Guoping naturally understood Fu Juemin's intention in making this arrangement. He nodded and immediately selected a few people to lead the oil mill workers downstairs.

Fu Juemin watched as the group boarded a carriage and swayed towards the east of the city. The century-old oil from Yongfeng Oil Mill had truly surprised him.

If Fu Juemin was originally only 50-60% confident that the rat demon who would lead out the Cizun Sect, now he is 80%.

He had absorbed the memories of the Black Scale Snake Demon of Peach Blossom Village, so he had gained some understanding of these demons and monsters who had somehow become sentient.

These monstrous and evil spirits, once they become sentient, will not diminish their inherent nature; on the contrary, it will be amplified to the extreme.

Since the century-old ointment from Yongfeng Oil Mill could attract rats from half the street to chase after a car at all costs, the Cizun Rat Demon hiding in the shadows would definitely find it hard to resist such temptation.

The people Fu Guoping sent out have left, and the rest of the people continue their work.

The men from the Civil Affairs Bureau carried large barrels of oil from the oil carts that had driven from the city. It was all top-quality sesame oil, golden and lustrous like flowing amber, which they poured into the newly cleared abandoned brick kiln.

One bucket, two buckets... I don't know how many buckets were poured out. When most of the kiln was filled with sesame oil, the people who had been instructed by Fu Juemin to take the old ointment for a walk around the city also returned.

The crucial century-old lard was also poured in, and Fu Juemin then ordered two barrels of lard and one barrel of syrup to be added, which were then stirred together with a long bamboo pole.
The aroma inside the brick kiln suddenly reached its peak.

It was an indescribable, almost violently sweet and rich aroma.

Even ten steps away from the kiln, the smoke still made people dizzy.

When the wind blows, stray cats and dogs from miles around come running after smelling the fragrance. Even the men from the Civil Affairs Bureau can't chase them away with sticks; they just keep circling around the kiln entrance.

Fu Juemin ordered people to put several thick hemp ropes soaked in tung oil into the brick kiln, then cover the kiln opening with several layers of tarpaulin, and pile up cotton, dry pine needles, saltpeter and other ignition materials. All that was left was to wait patiently.

The men from the Civil Affairs Bureau had set up several ambush points around the brick kiln. Fu Juemin and Fu Guoping hid behind one of the points facing east of the city and spoke in hushed tones.

"Lingjun, should we administer another few dozen kilograms of sleeping potion?"

Fu Guoping, with a pistol tucked into his pocket, squinted at the kiln entrance and spoke.

Fu Juemin shook his head, "If you use medicine and it ruins the taste, don't make things worse."

Besides, once the fire starts burning, it will wake up any amount of sleeping potion...

Fu Juemin glanced at the gun in Fu Guoping's hand and added, "If my method works, Second Uncle might not even need a gun."

Fu Guoping thought it made sense and nodded in agreement, then relaxed.

"You and your father are becoming more and more alike."

Fu Guoping surveyed the surrounding scene and remarked, "Your second uncle has been in charge of the Civil Affairs Department for so long, and I've always only known how to deal with these things through direct, hard-fought battles. I never imagined there were such ingenious methods."

"It's just a little bit of cleverness; whether it will work or not is still uncertain."

Fu Juemin shook his head, but Fu Guoping waved his hand dismissively, "It's alright if it doesn't work, at most it'll just waste some fuel."

Fu Juemin thought for a moment, then suddenly changed the subject and asked, "Second Uncle, did the county government send anyone over earlier?"

When they got off the oil, Fu Juemin saw uniformed police officers arrive, said a few words to Fu Guoping, and then hurriedly left.

"Correct."

Fu Guoping nodded. "Zhou He tried to pressure me by using County Chief Hu as leverage, telling me to quickly bring men over to help. I chased his men away."

Fu Juemin's expression shifted slightly: "What are County Chief Hu's plans for handling this matter?" "What can he possibly do?"

Fu Guoping said calmly, "Arrest those who can be arrested, kill those who should be killed, and send the rest out of the city."

Don't let Hu's current flustered and anxious appearance fool you; he's probably secretly delighted.

"County Chief Hu is actually pleased?"

Fu Juemin was puzzled.

"He was naturally happy."

Fu Guoping sneered, "With this incident, he will have a good reason to get the wealthy families in the city to donate money for disaster relief."

What are a few refugees? We can just set up a few soup kitchens and send them away. As long as they don't starve to death... it doesn't matter if a few die of starvation.

But after all this maneuvering, how much profit can our County Chief Hu actually make on both sides?
The man surnamed Hu will be laughing in his sleep tonight.

"Isn't he afraid of inciting a popular uprising?"

Fu Juemin couldn't help but frown.

Fu Guoping shook his head: "Our Luanhe County hasn't reached that point yet. And even if that day comes, he can just pack up and leave, he doesn't care about anything else, he was just a county magistrate who bought his position."

Fu Juemin frowned slightly and remained silent. Fu Guoping glanced at him and said in a low voice, "I heard that the provincial government has already sent a special envoy down to handle the disaster situation. He should arrive at Luanhe in a few days."

Fu Guoping also mentioned the snake-skin gloves that Fu Juemin wanted, saying that it would take a few more days to make them, and then he would send someone to deliver them to him.

Before we knew it, dusk had fallen and a bright moon had risen into the night sky.

Fu Juemin and Fu Guoping had long since stopped talking. The huge kiln was completely silent. Everyone held their breath and could only hear the occasional sound of wild dogs digging in the soil.

He didn't know how long he waited, until Fu Juemin's heart almost began to waver—

Perhaps the rat demon behind the Cizun Sect had already escaped after the man in colorful clothes fled?

Perhaps the evil spirit behind the Cizun Sect is not a rat demon at all, or perhaps the rat demon doesn't actually like to eat oil?
As various distracting thoughts arose, the mosquitoes in the abandoned kiln became unusually numerous after nightfall.

Fu Juemin casually swatted a mosquito that had been stuck on his arm for a while, then took out a pocket watch from his waistcoat pocket and checked the time.

It was 8:32 PM.

By now, most of the ordinary people in the city should be asleep.

Suddenly, Fu Juemin's heart skipped a beat, and an inexplicable tremor arose from the bottom of his heart.

coming!

He naturally knew the source of this feeling, his expression hardened, and he quickly bent down to look intently in the direction of the kiln entrance.

Since adding points to his life force, Fu Juemin's eyesight has improved significantly, and with the bright moonlight tonight, he can see clearly even without a lamp.

A dark shadow was rapidly approaching the gate of the abandoned brick kiln.

Wherever the dark figure passed, the overgrown weeds in the kiln rose and fell violently like waves, and the stray cats and dogs that had been wandering here before had all disappeared.

Instead, rats took their place!

Swarms of rats surged in from all directions, looking like a vast, rapidly crawling black tide.

Everyone, including Fu Juemin, was stunned by what they saw.

It seems like almost half of the rats in Luanhe County have come. With so many rats, they could easily devour everyone on the field, leaving not even a bone fragment.

Fu Juemin stared at the approaching dark figures and swarm of rats, his brows furrowed. Suddenly, he spoke in a cold voice: "Second Uncle, quickly have someone stop the rats, lest they cause the kiln to collapse!"

(End of this chapter)