Hiss!
Upon hearing the words "this humble servant," Liu Chun felt his scalp tingle, his worldview facing a massive shock.
This humble servant?
Isn't that a humble way for a woman to refer to herself?
But this Lord Su... is clearly a man!?
Liu Chun widened his eyes, looking at Lord Su in his azure blue scholar's robe, and then at Xie An...
Then, Liu Chun's mind began to conjure up some extremely shocking images that challenged his values.
He was already in his fifties and naturally knew that some lords in this world had special preferences, particularly for male concubines... To create the atmosphere, those male concubines would act as female characters, habitually using female forms of address.
If Xie An had such a preference, Liu Chun could understand, after all, everyone has their own privacy. But the problem is this Lord Su... is a big shot from the Nanyang Demon Suppression Office.
How could such a big shot... be like this?
He felt more and more that Xie An was extraordinary, and it seemed that he needed to build a better relationship with him in the future.
By the time Liu Chun recovered, he saw that Xie An and Lord Su had already gone out. Looking at Xie An walking side by side with Lord Su, Liu Chun felt that Xie An's back was so tall and mighty.
This Brother Xie is incredible!
"Brother Xie, let me lead the way for you."
Liu Chun hurriedly picked up his saber and followed, eagerly walking ahead to lead the way.
Therefore, when Su Yuqing offered to fund the establishment of a school, Xie An was sincerely grateful. He also took out two hundred taels to help, and even had Wang Xiang, the incense master, personally supervise the establishment of the school.
He just wanted to do something good for the villagers from the bottom of his heart.
He himself was born into a lowly household and had suffered all the way. He deeply knew that reading and writing could really change the fate of people at the bottom in this world.
Unexpectedly, such good intentions were met with arson...
Leaving the central courtyard, he saw the disciples outside carrying tools and going out to put out the fire, people挤人, extremely busy.
It should be known that although the White Feather Hall's cavalry battalion had been slaughtered for hundreds of people. But the hall still had more than two hundred disciples. All of them were good at martial arts, and they were all mobilized to put out the fire.
How big must this fire be?
Thinking of this, Xie An couldn't help but quicken his pace.
As soon as he left the hall, he felt a rolling heat wave sweeping over him, and the opposite side of the road was ablaze with flames. The entire unfinished school was engulfed in a raging fire. Even the five or six houses next to the school were also affected.
If it weren't for an alleyway at the end, the entire row of houses opposite would have caught fire.
Even so, the滔天 fire spread with the wind, threatening to cross the alley and burn through the entire street.
Countless disciples and villagers were pouring water into it with buckets, but the fire was too big to make a difference. Even so, everyone was still pouring water into it under Wang Xiang's command, tirelessly.
Some disciples and villagers picked up axes and machetes to cut down the surrounding trees to prevent the fire from spreading. But the wind was strong tonight, and the effect was not great.
The most tragic were the villagers trapped in the sea of fire.
The migrant workers who were repairing the school, the women who went to deliver late-night snacks, none of them could come out. They were all struggling in the sea of fire,发出凄厉的惨叫.
"Oh heavens, my man and child are here helping out! Who will save me!"
"Mom, hurry up and leave!"
"..."
The houses next to the school were also affected, and there were also children and infants who were crying for help in the sea of fire, but the fire was too big and no one dared to rush in.
Some villagers were crying loudly outside the sea of fire, watching their wives and children being burned alive.
This scene was like a living hell, too tragic.
Xie An, whose mind was still stuck with the values of his previous life, felt like his heart was being cut when he saw this, and turned to look at Su Yuqing, "Is there any way to put out the fire?"
Su Yuqing shook her head solemnly, "The fire is too big, and this place is too far from the Huai River. This humble servant cannot borrow water and is unable to do anything. But this humble servant is not afraid of this fire and can go in and save a few more people."
After saying that, Su Yuqing didn't care about the image of the eldest princess and plunged into the sea of fire.
Xie An didn't hesitate either, grabbed a disciple's bucket, rushed to a house next to the school.
In the firelight inside the house, a couple was holding a child tightly in their arms. The couple's bodies were already on fire, and the child was crying helplessly.
哗啦.
Xie An lifted the bucket over his head and poured the cold well water over his body, wetting his clothes, and then rushed into the fire in full view of everyone.
The fire was too big, causing the temperature inside the house to be very high, and the heat wave was滔天.
Even Xie An, a master of the Great Perfection of the Rushing Blood Realm, found it very difficult to bear.
Even an Inner Strength martial artist would be burned alive if they stayed in such a fierce fire for a long time. Unless they were top-level Inner Strength martial artists who could release their Inner Strength, cultivate a body of invulnerability, or skills like the Golden Bell Cover and Iron Shirt, they could isolate themselves from the fierce fire. But the time couldn't be too long either.
Xie An was forced back two steps by the滔天 heat wave, and instinctively had the intention to retreat.
This wasn't the high-temperature flame that ordinary combustibles could produce!
But at this moment, the couple, whose bodies were on fire but still protecting the child, saw Xie An and pleaded sadly: "Lord Xie, save my child."
"Please, save my child, he's only six years old!"
Damn!
Xie An felt as if something had touched his heart heavily, and immediately stopped his retreat and walked forward again.
Damn it...
Why did I have to see this scene...
踏踏踏.
Xie An mobilized the Bright Jade Skill, pushing it to the limit. Then, he quickly moved forward against the heat wave.
So hot!
His skin was burning, it hurt!
Damn kindness!
Xie An cursed in his heart, but his footsteps didn't stop.
Finally, Xie An rushed to the family of three, hugged the child in his arms, and roughly looked at him and found that the child had multiple areas of skin that were ulcerated from being burned.
Xie An took off his wet clothes and wrapped them around the child. Just as he was about to pull the couple, he found that the couple's feet were pinned down by a fallen beam, and the couple had been burned beyond recognition.
Looking again, the roof next to them was already crumbling and about to collapse and砸下来.
"Lord Xie, thank you!"
"Lord Xie, go!"
The couple also knew that the roof was about to collapse, so they shouted嘶声力竭. The child in Xie An's arms was struggling desperately, wanting to go back to his parents, calling out to his parents like crazy.
Xie An knew that he could save the couple as well. But the couple's legs had been broken, and seventy to eighty percent of their bodies had been burned. They obviously wouldn't live long.
Save them, and then what?
How would this child take care of his parents? What would happen in the future?
In his previous life, many elderly people would choose to voluntarily give up life support systems, not wanting to have tubes inserted all over their bodies, unable to even take care of their own excretion... They chose to leave with dignity.
Xie An weighed it heavily in his heart and finally gave up on the couple.
He couldn't stay, go!
Xie An felt that his skin was burned, and without thinking too much, he quickly rushed out of the sea of fire with the child in his arms.
After leaving the sea of fire, Xie An put down the child. He had multiple burns on his body, and it was锥心's pain. But the child扑在地上 and rushed towards the fire like crazy.
"Dad, Mom, don't leave me!"
Xie An grabbed the child and threw him to a villager next to him, "Hold him.
Water, give me the water bucket!!
And clothes, give me clothes!"
Xie An's roar brought the surrounding villagers back to their senses. Some villagers took off their coats and handed them to Xie An, and some villagers sent buckets filled with water.
Xie An wet his clothes and went to the next house, rushing into it against the raging fire.
He tried his best to rescue the villagers who were still alive. As for those who were too severely burned and obviously couldn't live with dignity, Xie An chose to give up voluntarily. He saved the time and energy for the next person who had hope.
The surrounding villagers and the disciples of the hall... were busy putting out the fire, but the fire was too big.
It was of no avail, and they were desperate.
People only saw a man with a bare upper body rushing into the sea of fire again and again, and then rescuing one or two villagers.
Many people watched with tears in their eyes.
After Xie An rescued the last child, Xie An handed the child to the villagers, and then watched the fire冲天, watched the houses collapse, and heard the凄厉's screams in the sea of fire.
Even though he had multiple burns on his body, with flesh turned out,脓疱凸起, and fresh blood flowing... he seemed unable to feel the pain.
Only Xie An himself knew what it felt like to see innocent people struggling to death and still being burned alive after rushing into the sea of fire. Only he himself knew how uncomfortable he felt every time he gave up those severely burned villagers.
These were all鲜活 lives. They were all helping to build the school for free, and they were looking forward to sending their children to school after it was built, expecting their children to be successful...
Gone, all gone.
He looked up at the墨色 sky, expecting a rain... but there wasn't one.
The round moon hung high, and the moonlight was姣姣.
"Hall Master Xie, thank you!"
A villager rushed over, holding his burned child,跪伏 on the ground,叩首ing thanks.
Only then did Xie An recover and look back.
He saw hundreds of villagers standing in front of him, all standing挺拔, looking at him with炽热 eyes.
Xie An could see gratitude in their eyes. And, they regarded him as a reliance.
But... Xie An felt guilty in his heart.
He voluntarily gave up on those who could still live for a while.
Burning objects with extremely high temperatures, a fire sea reaching the sky… This was arson!
Either Li Changchun or that Young Master Li!
Suddenly, Xie An felt that the world was like a dense net, pressing down on the fate of all the people at the bottom, making people feel suffocated.
Everyone just wanted to live.
To live with all their might.
They offered free labor and food, wanting to repair the ancestral hall so that their children would have a path to success.
They just wanted to live a little better.
However, some people… just wouldn't give others a way to live.
Some people just don't treat others as human beings.
"Quick, the doctor is here, quickly check Hall Master Xie's injuries." An old man with white hair, using a crutch, led the doctor forward to check Xie An's injuries.
Xie An knew this old man, named Zheng Bingxiang, was a respected elder in Shuideng Town, with a status like Li Hongming in Wuqiao Town. When preparing for the school previously, Zheng Bingxiang had specifically come to the hall to thank Xie An and even contributed dozens of taels of silver.
Even the matter of converting this residence into a school was coordinated by Zheng Bingxiang.
"Thank you for your kindness, Elder Zheng. I am a rough man who cultivates martial arts, not that delicate. These minor burns are nothing, let the doctor see to the burned children first," Xie An politely declined.
Zheng Bingxiang couldn't help but feel admiration, feeling that Xie An, standing tall and upright, was as strong and majestic as a vajra.
Sensing Xie An's momentum and determination, Zheng Bingxiang said to the doctor, "Listen to Hall Master Xie, hurry up."
The doctor then retracted his gaze and went to treat the children.
Xie An ignored Elder Zheng and turned to stare at the滔天 fire sea in front of him.
In ancient times, there was no way to put out fires.
Moreover, this was arson, with extremely high flame temperatures and raging heat waves. Even the angle of the fire was calculated, leaving no way for people to survive.
The surrounding villagers watched from outside, crying and shouting. Some people had relatives in the residence and were about to rush in due to emotional breakdown, but were stopped by the disciples of White Feather Hall.
The disciples of White Feather Hall, all wearing broadswords, surrounded the burning residence in a large circle to prevent villagers from rushing in due to emotional breakdown.
The fire burned for a whole night.
It wasn't until dawn, when everything that could be burned was burned, that the fire slowly died down.
Wang Xiang then ordered the disciples to go in and clear the scene.
"Boss, a total of seventy-six people were burned to death. The most serious was the school. The villagers wanted to build the school as soon as possible, so they worked overnight, forty-five people… died tragically!
In addition, six civilian houses were burned. Apart from the hall master rescuing twelve people and that teacher rescuing forty-odd people, everyone else… was burned to death."
Xie An moved his lips, "Understood. Withdraw a sum of silver from the hall to properly bury the dead. Also, take good care of those children who have lost their parents. If it doesn't work, take them in at the hall."
"Yes."
Wang Xiang immediately told the surrounding villagers the news.
The villagers were naturally grateful.
"If it weren't for Hall Master Xie, I don't know how many more people would have died this time. Once the fire spreads, the entire street will be burned through."
"Those poor children finally have a safe place, so they won't… starve to death in this world."
"Hall Master Xie is truly righteous."
"A great and just official."
Xie An didn't feel good hearing this, especially seeing the relatives of the deceased wailing beside the seventy-six corpses. Every cry made Xie An feel particularly uncomfortable.
Looking up, the ground was covered with corpses, rows of charred ruins, collapsed residences, dilapidated schools. And pairs of desperate and helpless eyes.
Why is it so uncomfortable…
The dead are not my friends and family…
Xie An tried to convince himself like this… but it was useless!
Some concepts are really engraved in the bones.
Even if you're old, even if you transmigrate… perhaps it fades. But some things that are deeply ingrained in the marrow will often emerge suddenly at a certain moment, uncontrollably.
For example, Xie An's kindness engraved in his bones, and his empathy that penetrates the soul!
"Hall Master Xie, you have already done very well, there is no need to blame yourself," Zheng Bingxiang came up to express his gratitude, using a crutch.
Xie An cupped his fist and said, "Elder Zheng, please appease the emotions of the villagers, those who are homeless…"
Zheng Bingxiang said, "Hall Master Xie, rest assured, I have discussed it with several village elders, and we will gather some money to distribute to the affected villagers. However, these are ultimately meager efforts, hundreds of families have been broken up like this… Alas!
That's right, I asked the villagers to report to the officials last night. They should be back soon. The villagers who survived by chance all said that the fire came abruptly, is it really arson?"
Zheng Bingxiang opened his mouth, and the villagers who had escaped by chance all spoke up.
"When I was carrying wood last night, a few strange old men came. At that time, I saw them pouring some charcoal-like things into the yard, but I didn't think much about it. Later… those charcoals caught fire first."
"It must be arson!"
"Damn thieves, how dare you be so cruel to our unarmed people."
"Poor my seven-year-old child, burned to death, ah ah ah…"
"…"
Zheng Bingxiang comforted everyone, "Everyone, please calm down first, I have already asked people to report to the officials. I believe that the magistrate will give everyone justice. The evildoers who dare to do such heinous things will definitely not have a good end."
Thanks to Zheng Bingxiang's prestige, everyone nodded, seeing hope.
Xie An didn't hold out hope, wanting to say something… but he couldn't bear to hit everyone's hopes, so he had to give up.
At this time, a young man walked out of the crowd and stuffed a letter into Xie An's hand, then said timidly, "Someone just gave me a piece of silver and asked me to send a letter to you."
After saying that, the young man ran away in a panic.
Xie An opened the envelope, with a line of striking characters on it.
— This is just a greeting gift. If you don't want such things to continue to happen, meet at Cuiwei Residence tomorrow night. If not… you should know the consequences.
As expected, it was that Young Master Li from Cuiwei Residence!
This Young Master Li is the son of the Prince of Huainan.
The Li family, the Prince of Huainan, is half the king of the entire Nanzhou. The people of Nanzhou are all subjects of the Prince of Huainan.
This is… not treating people as human beings!
Xie An only thought that they were coming for him. As long as he didn't come out, they wouldn't have a chance to attack him.
Unexpectedly, these people… are beasts!
Xie An clenched the envelope, crossed the crowd alone, and walked towards the direction of White Feather Hall.
The crowd automatically made way, giving Xie An extremely high respect.
Xie An didn't bother to greet them, returned to the central courtyard as soon as possible, fetched a bucket of well water, and rinsed the wounds on his body.
At noon, the county magistrate of the county government came with yamen runners.
After a brief inspection, he said that it was an accidental fire, made a final conclusion, and then said a series of high-sounding words before leaving in a hurry.
Some family members of the deceased wrote blood letters, blocked the county magistrate, knelt on the ground to appeal and plead for justice.
As a result, they were brutally beaten by the yamen runners.
The entire street was bloody.
Xie An stood under the eaves of the hall, quietly watching all this.
Xie An knew it would be like this…
That Young Master Li had connections to the sky. He could reverse black and white and turn right and wrong with a simple greeting to the county government.
Wen Zaiqing knelt down to beg for mercy, Chen Qinglang cut off his arm to survive…
Let alone these bottom-level people with no background?
Xie An returned to the room and tried to sleep and rest, but he couldn't fall asleep no matter how much he tossed and turned.
Slowly, Xie An clenched his fingers.
Ka Ka Ka.
The knuckles were cracking.
Justice…
Is it important?
At this moment, Xie An felt: Yes!
He opened the scroll given by Su Yuqing, and then held it tightly in his hand.
"If it were ordinary Jianghu people or ordinary small officials, I would have assassinated them directly… But this Young Master Li won't do!
Assassinating a county magistrate is okay. At most, I offend the prefect, and that's it.
Assassinate the son of the Grand Qian Heterogeneous King!?
That's crazy.
The son of the Heterogeneous King represents the entire royal rule of Nanzhou, and even represents the imperial power of Grand Qian and all the bureaucratic system.
Unless there are really no clues left, otherwise… it will be the enemy of the entire Grand Qian.
Xie An hasn't swelled to this point yet.
What's more, the maid of that Young Master Li is an Inner Strength Martial Master, let alone Young Master Li himself. God knows if such a big man like Young Master Li has the means to save his life and send messages?
Once something goes wrong, Xie An will die miserably.
What's more, assassinating Young Master Li… doesn't make much sense!
Xie An thought… to seek justice for these villagers, for the world he is in, and to seek a glimmer of hope for this dark and chaotic world.
The only thing that can fight against kingship is kingship itself.
Xie An can't do it, but the eldest princess… can!
I just don't know if she is willing…
But Xie An felt that he should try.
Hu!
Xie An took a deep breath, then picked up the scroll and walked step by step towards the backyard where Su Yuqing lived.
