Arrival — Queen of the Blazing Plains (Part 1)

…

It all happened suddenly. None of them had seen it coming — not Zhao Manyan, not Zhang Xiaohou, not Lingling, not Xinxia.

Back in Magic City, the group found themselves effectively under house arrest in one of the Zhao Clan's estates in the southern district. To put it plainly: until Zhao Yulin could confirm that the Flame Enchantress had truly given up on her revenge, none of them were going anywhere.

They were completely powerless. All they could do was wait.

The Fire Calamity Fruit apparently still needed a few days to fully ripen. Zhao Yulin and Jiang Feng were like demons who had made off with Tang Monk's immortal flesh — terrified that the Great Sage Equal to Heaven would come to collect the debt. The trouble was, the flesh had to be cooked before it could be eaten, and only once they'd swallowed it all down could they finally breathe easy.

…

Two days passed. The restless group finally received word of Mo Fan. As it turned out, once Mo Fan had confirmed through the Swift Star Wolf that the others were safe, he had made his own way back to Dunhuang City.

Upon arriving there, he learned that everyone had been half-escorted, half-kidnapped back to Magic City by Zhao Yulin. So he bought himself a seat on a military transport plane that happened to be heading to Magic City for resupply, and flew back with it.

Flying alongside him was the female military officer, Nan Jue. She wasn't ready to let the matter rest — she still wanted to find out exactly who had taken the Fire Calamity Fruit — and so she made the trip with him.

As for the journey from Flat-Topped Mountain back to Dunhuang — that had been grueling. Fortunately, Nan Jue possessed her own special abilities and was able to cross the Shamang River. Without her, they would have been stranded to die in the North Corner of the Blazing Plains.

The flight back to Magic City didn't take long. Upon landing at Magic City Airport, Mo Fan headed straight for the southwestern suburbs. He was mildly surprised to discover that Zhao Yulin's grand manor was located not far from where his own refugee housing unit had once been — in a place called Happy Living Town.

Between Happy Living Town and Magic City proper lay an industrial belt. The roads on either side were lined with processing plants, warehouses, and company offices of every description. Wherever you looked, the buildings were the kind that didn't quite fit any category — half-factory, half-tenement, half-residence, assembled without much planning or pride.

The workers from all these factories made up Happy Living Town's entire population. It was a small, self-contained world: the kind of place that became a ghost town the moment the workday began — a cramped little ecosystem that ran on routine.

A place like this might technically carry the Magic City name, but what set it apart from an ordinary country town wasn't prestige. It was the total absence of ease. What it had instead was the mechanical, grinding sameness of crowds shuffling between work, meals, and sleep, day after day, without variation.

Every last square meter of this land belonged to Zhao Yulin's business empire. He lived atop a private hill that had been sculpted into a stunning European-style manor. Winding asphalt roads spiraled upward through groves of lush pines and maples; grand fountains stood at the center of manicured squares; gardeners tended the flower beds on a strict daily schedule.

Mo Fan's old refugee housing unit had been right here in Happy Living Town — and that building had apparently been one of Zhao Yulin's properties as well. Only today did he realize that towering above this ordinary little town was a manor this extravagant, this opulent — more imposing, even, than the mountain villa the Mu Clan had once kept in Bo City. If you thought of Happy Living Town as a tiny nation, Zhao Yulin was its undisputed king.

…

Mo Fan made his way up the hill, and had barely stepped onto the estate's approach road when a patrol of Mages cut him off.

He stated his identity. After nearly a full hour of relayed communications up the chain of command, he was finally granted permission to proceed.

Mo Fan's expression had curdled completely. *What kind of ridiculous old-world nonsense is this?* You have mobile phones and you're not using them — something that could've been resolved in five minutes had been dragged out to a whole hour. By the time clearance came through, it was pitch dark outside.

Private vehicles were barred from entering, so Mo Fan and Nan Jue boarded a cable car of the type usually seen at scenic tourist spots. They rode for nearly half an hour before the manor gates finally came into view.

Patrol Mages at the foot of the hill. Walls as high as battlements at the top. The security at this private estate was nearly on par with a military base. This was the southwestern outskirts of Magic City — did it really need to be this extreme?

"I'm so tired… Has the old master lost his mind? Making us stand guard around the clock — what kind of trouble did he get himself into?" one guard grumbled, stifling a yawn.

"Who knows. But I heard from the captain inside that they've apparently brought in people from the Mu Clan as well. Something about it being safer to have Ice Element Noble Clan members on hand," another guard replied, his eyes darting narrowly.

"Don't tell me they've made enemies of the Dongfang Clan? The Mu Clan and the Dongfang have been sworn enemies for a thousand years!"

The guards' chatter drifted straight to Mo Fan's ears, and the picture clicked into place.

So Zhao Yulin and his wife were frightened of the Flame Enchantress. They had gone so far as to fortify the entire estate and bring in Ice Element specialists from the Mu Clan. Even after fleeing thousands of li, they still couldn't bring themselves to feel safe.

"I'll take you to see your companions. However, the old master has instructed that you are to remain here for a few days as well." The estate's head guard, Haiyan, spoke with practiced formality. "You are free to move around anywhere within the estate — all the recreational facilities are available to you, and there are Meditation chambers, training grounds, and practice arenas. The young master will see to your needs."

"How many Mages are guarding the estate?" Mo Fan asked.

"One hundred and twenty-three, all transferred here from the clan over the past few days. We've also invited a number of capable individuals from allied families." Haiyan's expression turned serious. "Should anything happen, please refrain from spreading word of it. We will handle all information lockdowns ourselves. Once things have settled, the old master will offer a handsome reward."

"Forget the reward," Mo Fan said.

…

Magic City Airport. A taxi was tearing through the dense traffic at a hundred kilometers an hour, leaving a trail of furious curses in its wake.

The cab drove all the way out to a desolate stretch of road on the city's outskirts, where the passenger in the back seat abruptly issued a sharp demand to be let out immediately — leaving the bewildered, good-natured driver sputtering in disbelief.

Under the cover of night, the long highway died. Hundreds of vehicles — thousands — stretching back for kilometers all ground to a halt in the same instant, engines dead, impossible to restart. Their red taillights flickered across the darkness in a vast, unbroken river of crimson.

**Honk! Honk! Honk!**

A deafening chorus of horns filled the air. Up and down the highway, drivers stepped out of their cars in confusion, staring around them, unable to make sense of what had just happened.