Chapter 47 – All Because of Her

“My official robe… ah, it’s on fire!”

Captain Liu looked down in horror to see a small violet flame blooming beneath his robes, slowly devouring the fabric piece by piece.

Panicking, he ripped off his official robe and tossed it to the ground along with his jade belt. But the terrifying thing was that this violet flame didn’t stop at burning his robes; even the fine white jade embedded in his belt was reduced to ashes. Worse still, the fire spread to the carpet, hissing as it consumed more and more.

Kan Chaoyan quickly grabbed the teapot and splashed its contents over the flames. But instead of dying out, the violet fire flared higher and spread even faster.

“What kind of fire is this? Why won’t water put it out?”

Captain Liu darted into the courtyard, scooped up a pile of dirt, and flung it over the flames; yet it still refused to die.

“Go find the National Preceptor, quickly!”

The moment Kan Chaoyan finished speaking, there was a faint whoosh, and the violet flames vanished into thin air, leaving not a single trace behind.

Both men stared blankly at the spot for a long moment.

Only after they had searched every corner of the records room and confirmed the fire was truly gone did they finally exhale in relief.

Kan Chaoyan frowned deeply. “What on earth was that violet fire? Why did it appear on your robes of all things?”

Captain Liu looked just as bewildered. “I’ve no idea how it ended up on me.”

“Did you come into contact with anything unusual?”

He thought for a moment, then shook his head. “No. After court, I went straight back to the Command Headquarters. I was handling paperwork in the records room. After lunch, I went to the prison gates to wait for Mu Nanjin. Ah, now that I think of it, Mu Nanjin wiped her hands on my robe.”

Kan Chaoyan raised a brow. “Why would she wipe her hands on your robe?”

Captain Liu recounted what had just happened.

“You’re saying someone in the dungeon licked the back of Mu Nanjin’s hand?”

Kan Chaoyan’s brows furrowed even tighter.

“Yes.”

Captain Liu nodded.

Kan Chaoyan narrowed his eyes in thought. “Then the strange substance that clung to the back of Mu Nanjin’s hand must have been the cause.”

“Then why is Mu Nanjin unharmed? And why would she tell me to come find you?”

“She’s unharmed because she’s not an ordinary person,” Kan Chaoyan said, half-amused. “As for why she sent you to me…” He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Most likely, she wanted to get back at me, for assigning such a dangerous task to a young woman. I suppose she wanted me to see for myself what happens to those who deliver food to the dungeon.”

Captain Liu ground his teeth. “That girl is vicious! What if that violet fire had burned me alive?”

“She probably knew it wouldn’t actually harm you; otherwise, she wouldn’t have done it.”

Captain Liu asked, puzzled, “Lord Kan, who exactly was the one who licked Mu Nanjin’s hand? To create such a terrifying fire, the person must possess immense power. If that’s the case, there’s no way we could keep him locked up in the dungeon.”

Kan Chaoyan shook his head. “All I know is that there are six strange prisoners down there. They’re extremely dangerous. Several jailers have already died delivering food to them. I didn’t want any more casualties, so I thought of letting Mu Nanjin try. Since she managed to handle someone even the National Preceptor couldn’t deal with, I figured she could handle those six monsters too. She also knows many things we don’t, so she was the best choice for the job. And it seems I was right.”

He sighed helplessly. “It’s just a pity she only delivered food once before being lent to the Right Division. I’m not at ease letting her go with Deng Xingchao. Tomorrow, follow Deng Xingchao and keep an eye on her for me.”

Captain Liu scowled. “I swear, spending a single day around that girl shortens my life by half a year. She’s going to be the death of me.”

Kan Chaoyan couldn’t help but laugh.

Mu Nanjin’s words did have a remarkable way of getting under one’s skin.