Chapter 235 – The Cave is Burnt Down
Ms. Zhong and her sisters had inhaled quite a bit of narcotic smoke in the cave and would not wake up for a while.
After settling the three, Yan Xiaosi went to check their pulses one by one, making sure that the three were just unconscious and had no other major issues. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief. Leaning against the wall, she staggered downstairs to the medicine shelf on the first floor.
She had also inhaled a small amount of narcotic smoke earlier. That narcotic smoke was quite potent. At the moment, she felt very dizzy. Fortunately, the medicine shelf on the first floor was well-stocked with medicines.
Staggering all the way, not knowing how many times she had bumped into the stair railing, bumping her lower legs black and blue, she finally made it to the first floor.
She had possessed this Portable Space for long enough that she was very familiar with where each medicine was placed. Leaning against the medicine shelf, she went straight for an antidote.
After taking two medicinal pills and sitting cross-legged in front of the medicine shelf for a while, her head finally felt less heavy, and her five senses were clear again.
“Eldest Young Master, this fire is getting bigger and bigger. Will it spread to the rest of the mountain? The imperial army of 50,000 is stationed at the foot of Big Sister Peak. Yan Xiaosi also has some connection with that General Zhan. If General Zhan is alerted…”
“What’s there to be afraid of? This place is so far from Tongluo Plain and faces away from it. How can it be easily discovered?”
“Eldest Young Master, but I’m still worried…”
“What are you worried about? The weeds around this cave have all been cleared. The fire won’t spread to other places.”
Yan Xiaosi opened her eyes and heard Yan Wenfeng talking with a Yan family servant.
She clenched both fists, and a few blue veins popped out on her forehead.
Yan Bozhang had previously applied fluorescent powder on books to kill her father. Now Yan Wenfeng wanted to burn them to death. Indeed, like father, like son. Good, very good.
After a while, Yan Wenfeng’s voice came again.
“Hmph!”
He stared at the flames that had already spread into the cave and gently hooked the corners of his mouth.
“The fire has already spread into the cave. If those four wenches don’t burn to death, they’ll still suffocate inside.”
Yan Xiaosi’s mouth twisted into a bloodthirsty smile.
Burn to death, suffocate, hehe, I’m afraid Yan Wenfeng will be disappointed.
Seeing that the fire had already burned into the cave, Yan Wenfeng was certain that not even an insect could escape. Only then did he put away the smile on his lips. Waving his hand, he led the Yan family servant away.
After taking the medicine, Yan Xiaosi went to the training room on the third floor to meditate. When the sky was about to brighten, she heard a fit of coughing.
Ms. Zhong and the others had stayed in the Portable Space for a while. Nourished by the spiritual energy in the Space, they should be waking up.
She hurriedly calmed her mind, got up, and walked into the adjacent bedroom. Grabbing the three’s clothes, she focused her mind and silently concentrated. In an instant, they were out of the Portable Space, falling on the grass outside the cave, damp with morning dew.
“Cough cough cough!”
As soon as the three were placed on the grassy ground outside the cave, Yan Shuqin coughed violently three times and slowly opened her eyes.
Ms. Zhong and Yan Shuxue woke up one after another.
The sky was starting to show a faint glow, and visibility was limited. Ms. Zhong opened her eyes and saw the cave burned black, full of gray ash and debris. She was greatly shocked. She hurriedly turned her head to look for her three children. Seeing that they were all safe and sound beside her, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Having never experienced such a thing, Yan Shuqin and Yan Shuxue cried out.
Partly out of fear, and partly because the cave was burned down, leaving them with nowhere to live.
Yan Shuqin wiped away her tears fiercely, looking at the messy cave full of debris. She said with heartache, “How could there be a fire? I remember I put out the fire in the stove before going to bed last night.”
Yan Shuxue sobbed, “The cave burned down, and the house at the foot of the mountain is not built yet…”
Ms. Zhong looked at the three children with soot-covered faces and held back the tears that were about to fall.
“It’s just an accidental fire. As long as no one is hurt, it’s fine. Don’t cry. Just like Xiaosi said before, where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
Yan Xiaosi walked to the cave entrance and stood there. Smelling the burnt smell wafting out from the cave, she clenched her fists.
“This fire was no accident.”
“Not an accident!?”
Those words shocked Ms. Zhong and the Yan sisters.
The shocked expressions on their faces could not be concealed even by the soot.
Ms. Zhong’s body trembled slightly. Even her voice trembled as she spoke.
“Not an accident? Could it be that someone deliberately set the fire to kill us?”
Yan Xiaosi turned around, her back facing them, and nodded.
“It was Yan Wenfeng. Yan Wenfeng set the fire. Last night, I heard him talking with a Yan family servant with my own ears. Fortunately, there was water stored in the cave. Luckily, they left in a hurry after setting the fire. Otherwise…”
Ms. Zhong’s heart shuddered with lingering fear.
Fortunately, they had stored some water in the cave to put out the fire. Otherwise…
She bit her teeth in resentment.
How could the Yan family be so cruel?
Yan Shuxue’s head felt heavy. She struggled to get up from the ground and turned to walk down the mountain.
Yan Shuqin grabbed her, pulling and tugging. The two of them staggered and fell together.
Yan Shuxue struggled angrily, “Big Sister, don’t stop me. Yan Wenfeng dared to set a fire to kill us. I’m going to the county court to file a complaint.”
Seeing her eyes red with rage, completely losing her reason, Yan Shuqin slapped her painfully.
“Second Sister, wake up. We have no evidence. Even if we go to the county court to file a complaint, we can’t do anything to Yan Wenfeng.”
Yan Shuxue wailed hysterically, “Then should we suffer in silence and let him get away with it? His father Yan Bozhang killed our father. I can’t accept it. I can’t accept it!”
“Who said we’re going to let Yan Wenfeng and Yan Bozhang off?”
Yan Xiaosi suddenly turned around. The faint dawn light fell on her dirty face. At this moment, her expression was so cold that it seemed about to freeze.
“Going to the county court to file a complaint is meaningless. According to the laws of the Great Chu, attempted murder by arson is just a few dozen beatings with a heavy plank and imprisonment for a year or two. With the Yan family’s support, he’ll come out in a year or two and be able to regain his status. Moreover, we have no evidence now.”
She paused for a moment, the anger in her eyes flickering.
“Yan Wenfeng has always wanted to become an official, right? Then I’ll make sure he can never be one.”
For such a villain, one must destroy what he cares about most. He would live a life worse than death, just like how she dealt with Yan Bozhang before, making him lose his position as a steward in the county court, so he could never be an official.
Yan Xiaosi’s current expression scared her mom and sisters. Although the three were frightened, they unanimously supported her.
Ms. Zhong said, “Xiaosi, last night, was it you who got me, your big sister, and second sister out of the cave?”
Yan Xiaosi said, “Last night, Mom, Big Sister, Second Sister, you were all choked unconscious by the thick smoke that poured into the cave. After Yan Wenfeng left, I used water to extinguish the fire a bit and carried you out one by one.”
