Huh?
Yan Qing shifted his perspective and found that the two servants were missing. Noticing that he was looking for the servants, An Cuihua whispered, "Master, I just saw that person say a few words to the servants, and then they left."
That middle-aged man?
Yan Qing blinked, and for so reason, he suddenly felt like laughing. He casually picked up a nearby persimmon cake and took a bite.
It was pretty good.
Bang!
A violent explosion sounded not far away, shaking the screen!
Yan Qing raised his view and saw a fireman running on the rooftop.
It was really a fireman, engulfed in flas and burning fiercely, with an incredibly high temperature that distorted the air from afar!
But soon Yan Qing realized he was wrong because there weren’t just one but six firen! They charged from six directions like six bulldozers, aiming at the middle-aged man who had just talked to Yan Qing!
The middle-aged man showed no panic, instead imdiately running in the opposite direction, attempting to escape their encirclent.
Thud!
The ground suddenly collapsed over a large area, and in the dust, Yan Qing saw people ambushed below. This place had already been dug into a trap, waiting for the target to step in and fall into the pit!
At the sa ti, bystanders who seed stunned, quickly took out various jars and tossed them into the pit. The clinking sound and the advancing firen made Yan Qing instantly realize that the jars probably contained kerosene.
Pit, kerosene, firen!
Successive and flawless!
Even though Yan Qing had planned the burning of An Guo Temple, compared to this flawless sequence of moves, his plan seed too naive. Considering these firen weren’t just character pawns, what kind of huge interest, what kind of hatred could drive so many people to endure the agony of being engulfed in flas to perishing together with the middle-aged man?
He didn’t know who the parties involved were, the grudges between them, or if there were benefits, so should he get involved?
Whish!
The fireman near ’Mouse Monk’ was suddenly kicked in the head. Though unhurt, the impact made him stagger. Even with dicine enhancing him, the flas still burned painfully, clouding his consciousness. Finding a monk blocking his way, he pounced, hoping the opponent would share his pain!
As soon as the fight started, Yan Qing noticed the opponent had strong Qi Blood. ’Mouse Monk’ couldn’t send him flying with a strike; even if he wasn’t a ssenger, he must be a seasoned warrior. But Yan Qing wasn’t trying to win, only to delay the opponent long enough to stop the ’Six Firen Formation’ from encircling completely.
Pop! Boom!
The sound of jars smashing, flas igniting, and rubble collapsing erupted simultaneously, and the ground shook violently like a dragon turning over, indicating the terrifying explosion in the pit.
However, because the encirclent failed, the middle-aged man managed to escape from the billowing smoke, revealing a thin barrier over him — the Heart-Protecting Mirror barrier, which Yan Qing was most familiar with. Six of its seven-layered mirror surfaces were already shattered, nearly causing him to die in the flas due to the defense artifact exploding!
Seeing ’Mouse Monk’ intercepting a fireman, the middle-aged man said nothing, kicked the fireman away, and signaled ’Mouse Monk’ to follow him. The two ran madly along the main street, surrounded by the panicked screams of the crowd.
"Is it over?"
"I guess not."
As soon as the middle-aged man finished speaking, the ground beneath them suddenly collapsed. When Yan Qing thought it was another firen ambush, he found a slide ramp in the pit instead. ’Mouse Monk’ and the middle-aged man slid down along the slope, the middle-aged man trying to steady himself, but the slope was all sand, making it impossible to stabilize!
After sliding for almost ten seconds, they reached the bottom of the tunnel, and upon landing, many jars shattered, obviously broken from their descent.
The bottom of the tunnel was pitch-black, seemingly only one person high, making it impossible for Yan Qing to jump up.
"It’s kerosene." The middle-aged man said, "The entire place is filled with kerosene, and we’re covered in it too. The previous was just a test; this is their deadly trap."
An inescapable slide ramp, kerosene accumulated at the bottom; this was indeed a death trap, leaving Yan Qing unsure how to escape.
Dood.
"Will the firen co down?" Yan Qing asked.
"Firen can’t live that long, and they have simpler options."
Rumbling, they looked up and saw sothing sliding down the slope, bright — a torch!
As the torch neared, there was the sound of a sword being drawn from the middle-aged man’s side, pinning the torch into the sand, which quickly extinguished from lack of oxygen.
"Why did you co to rescue ?" the middle-aged man asked.
"I saw you dismiss those two servants and thought you were a good person," Yan Qing sighed, "Don’t ntion it, I already regret it, I never thought I’d die."
"This is a lesson, Great Monk. The Heavenly Path has its rules, and interfering with others’ karma will result in unimaginable backlash."
"Is this how you treat a lifesaver?"
"I could have escaped without you; I couldn’t survive with you. Your goodwill is aningless."
"Then why did you dismiss those two servants?"
"rely curiosity, just as I’m curious why you’d save An Cuihua. I’ve been observing; you didn’t plan on intervening until An Cuihua grabbed your foot — did your heart move?"
"I just hoped soone else could save her," Yan Qing replied, "Soone with power and influence in Jiangnan City who could arrange a job for An Cuihua, the only kind of person who could save her life. But until she approached , there was no such person."
"Then it can only be , only ."
After a brief silence, another torch fell down. The middle-aged man pierced it into the sand again, saying, "If we survive, I’ll grant you one request."
"Make it two."
"One is to settle An Cuihua; what’s the other?"
"Burn incense for , not in those copper-reeking temples, but in a temple welcoming the poor, and pray to Bodhisattva for the safe delivery of an old man’s daughter-in-law who sells persimmon cakes."
In the darkness, the middle-aged man seed quite surprised by Yan Qing’s request, pausing for a while before answering:
"Alright."
In the dark, the middle-aged man tossed over a sword, and nurous lights now appeared on the sloped passage, as people above had thrown many torches down.
"Though not an artifact, it’s a fine sword. Whether we survive depends on your effort."
As the torches neared, Yan Qing swiftly struck with the sword. By the torchlight, he noticed the sword ’Mouse Monk’ held was indeed exquisite. The blade was sharp, the embossnts intricate, and it seed... sowhat familiar.
Unable to resist, he asked, "A fine sword, what’s its na?"
The middle-aged man replied, "Heaven-Relying."
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