"My lord, no, absolutely not. He is someone the Cult Master specifically wants! We cannot let him die!" The subordinate whose torch was snatched was still somewhat lucid, grabbing Cao Shao's arm.
Cao Shao trembled with anger, staring fixedly at Lu Wuxie. "Good, good, a fine young master indeed. I won't hide it from you. The Cult Master already knew you were in Yuxian and anticipated you coming for the Tianhua powder. We've been waiting for you like a hunter waiting for prey for three days. Now, Qi Lei's antidote has run out, and you've finally arrived!
Since you're here, I won't mind telling you that the Cult Master didn't order me to kill you, but that doesn't mean I can't torment you!"
With that, he extinguished the torch in his hand, ripped open Lu Wuxie's clothes, revealing his firm and fair chest. "I will leave you with pain you can never erase."
"Heh heh!" Lu Wuxie chuckled lightly as he looked at the hot, glowing torch.
"What are you laughing at?" Cao Shao was taken aback, the torch that was about to touch Lu Wuxie's body paused.
Lu Wuxie said, "Is this all you've got when it comes to tormenting people?"
Cao Shao was somewhat confused.
"Let me tell you, this young master has endured all sorts of hardships and tortures! Are you afraid of this little bit? Come on, come on!" Lu Wuxie’s smile widened as he spoke, his eyes wide open, staring at Cao Shao.
Cao Shao felt a tremor in his heart from Lu Wuxie's gaze. He suddenly had a feeling that the man opposite him was not simple, especially at the moment he looked at him, it was as if... as if he were a ghost crawling out of hell.
"You... you..." Cao Shao reached out, pointing at Lu Wuxie's nose, stammering for a long time before gathering his courage. "You think I don't dare? Today, I will make you..."
"My lord, my lord!" Before Cao Shao could finish, a subordinate rushed in from outside, his face smeared with black, clearly from being rubbed by charcoal.
"What is it?" Cao Shao's tone was laced with displeasure.
"It's bad! The courtyard is on fire! Several courtyards are ablaze! All our Tianhua powder has burned up!"
"What?" Cao Shao's eyes widened in disbelief. "Quick, take me to see!"
He had no time to bother with Lu Wuxie now, and under the subordinate's guidance, he hurried outside.
In the dilapidated room, only Lu Wuxie and three to four of Cao Shao's subordinates remained.
Lu Wuxie slid a finger-length spike from his sleeve and fiddled with the lock. With a click, the lock slid into his palm. He glanced at the four opposite him, saw they were dozing off, and then slowly crouched down to untie his bound feet.
"Mmm..."
"Ah..."
After the time it takes to steep a cup of tea, a few muffled groans echoed in the dilapidated room again, and Lu Wuxie had already hurried out.
"Young Master!" A'Wu appeared from another direction and ran to his side. Seeing that he was injured, he quickly helped him up. "This Magistrate Cao is truly insidious, to treat the Young Master like this. Let your subordinate..."
"A'Wu!" Lu Wuxie quickly grabbed A'Wu, who was about to rush out for revenge, and said, "Now is not the time. We can't linger. Have you found the Tianhua powder I threw out?"
A'Wu nodded and showed Lu Wuxie the bundle he was carrying. "Don't worry, Young Master, I found it."
"Good! Let's go!" Lu Wuxie nodded and urged A'Wu.
A'Wu did not delay, picking up Lu Wuxie and running towards the outside of the ruined house along the path they had come.
"Someone come, help put out the fire, quickly!"
"The fire is too big, we don't have enough people!"
"Use sand, use sand!"
...
Behind Lu Wuxie, flames soared, and shouts and yells filled the usually peaceful night, making it quite lively.
He looked back. Cao Shao, who had been so arrogant moments ago, was now like an ant on a hot pan, cursing and carrying water to put out the fire.
Lu Wuxie smiled. Just as he was about to turn, his eyes caught sight of a figure.
He froze and quickly looked back in Cao Shao's direction. He saw a man in white clothes appear beside Cao Shao.
At first, Cao Shao didn't react, his actions of carrying water to extinguish the fire continued. After he had carried two basins of water, he finally came to his senses, dropped the basin in his hand, looked at the man opposite him, and with a 'plop', knelt on the ground, stammering something he couldn't make out.
The man seemed to be in a very bad mood. He kicked Cao Shao, and as Cao Shao stumbled backward, a silver light flashed, and Cao Shao's head rolled to a pile of melon vines nearby. A drop of blood dripped from the white-clothed man's sword.
At the same time, all those who were fighting the fire reacted and, disregarding the surrounding inferno, knelt on the ground and begged for mercy.
The white-clothed man raised his sword and walked towards those people step by step.
"A'Wu!" Lu Wuxie's heart tightened, and he lowered his head, urging, "Quick! Hurry!"
A'Wu was stunned, somewhat confused. He wanted to turn to see what his master had seen, but Lu Wuxie said, "Don't look back, run!"
With that, he took out the small bottle he had taken from Zhong Li and threw it towards another fork in the road.
-------------------------------------
Jincheng.
Hua Yao sat in the carriage, looking at the man with a grim expression opposite her.
She wanted to say something to comfort him, but she was afraid of saying something that would displease him and make him angry.
Hua Yao lifted the curtain and cautiously looked at the street scene outside. Suddenly, she saw something and said to the young constable driving, "Stop!"
The young constable responded by pulling back the reins.
Hua Yao picked up her skirt and jumped out of the carriage. When she got back into the carriage, an object was already being presented to Lan Heng.
"Here, my lord!"
Lan Heng was stunned. He looked at the sugar figurine Hua Yao handed him. "This... I'm sorry, I don't like it..."
"I know you don't like sweets," Hua Yao interrupted Lan Heng, pouting her lips. "But my late mother used to say that eating a piece of candy when you're in a bad mood will make you feel better. If you're unhappy, Yao'er feels sad too. I think if you eat some candy, you might feel a bit better."
Upon hearing this, Lan Heng's eyes were filled with suppressed emotion. He looked at the sugar figurine in Hua Yao's hand, shaped like Sun Wukong, and shook his head. "Which one do I want you to have."
"Ah?" Hua Yao hadn't expected Lan Heng to want hers. She lowered her eyes to the little white rabbit in her hand, reluctant to part with it. After a long deliberation, she exchanged the little rabbit with Lan Heng.
Lan Heng bit the little rabbit's ear, and as a faint sweetness permeated his lips, he glanced sideways at the little girl beside him, who looked so pitiful and wronged. His mood suddenly improved considerably.
Seeing him smile, Hua Yao's heart leaped with joy. After some thought, she boldly said, "My lord, I actually have an idea."
Lan Heng licked the little rabbit, signaling Hua Yao to continue.
"You mentioned in the water prison before that Xuan Qingzi is of the Yan Kingdom's royal family, right?" Hua Yao said.
Lan Heng nodded.
"Then, as royalty, shouldn't he consider leaving a legacy when doing certain things?"
Lan Heng frowned.
Hua Yao bit her lip and explained, "What I mean is, he knows that what he is doing carries the risk of beheading. If he were to perish, the royal bloodline of the Yan Kingdom would be severed. So, before that, does he have any descendants or relatives?"
Hearing Hua Yao's words, Lan Heng seemed to have a sudden realization. "That's right, we can investigate from that angle."
"Yes!" Hua Yao nodded emphatically.
Lan Heng chuckled and looked at her. "It seems Yao'er is also an expert investigator."
"Not at all!" Hua Yao's cheeks flushed as she said coyly, "It was Li'er who told me. She said if you hit a dead end, try looking from a different direction."
"It was Li'er!" Lan Heng's smile deepened as he looked at her.