Fire broke out at 2:00

  Auntie had been ill and had a persistent cough. Lu Auntie would get up from time to time to take care of her, pouring water and feeding her medicine. Although the stone room was small, it was very well-equipped with everything they needed, including water, medicine, and Qi Gu Dan (a type of Chinese medicinal pill), so they could hide out for several months without any problems.

  Qiu Qiu leaned against the stone wall and fell asleep, and Lu Auntie took her clothes and covered her with them.

  Auntie coughed twice and said in a low voice: "You shouldn't be busy either, take a rest for a while."

  "Lu's aunt glanced outside and said, 'I'm feeling uneasy in my heart, I just can't sit still.'"

  "Auntie shook her head: 'Don't worry too much, I've thought about it and it's not as serious as you think.'"

  Lu's aunt's eyes lit up and she sat down next to Yu's aunt: "Quickly tell me, what are you thinking?"

  "Wait, don't be impatient, listen to me slowly. We both know the abilities of a true person, we've been through many storms and waves, how could they have capsized in a small river? And Jingxin is such a careful and cautious person, even if she encountered a strong enemy, she couldn't defeat them but she should be able to escape, right? You didn't see any corpses, did you?"

  Lu's aunt had also comforted herself in her heart, but she had never seen such a terrifying and strange scene in her life. The once bustling town had become desolate, without even the sounds of chickens, dogs, insects or birds. Standing on the street and looking around, it was as if she were in a ghostly realm.

  Those who disappeared for unknown reasons, those occasional bloodstains, are all hinting at unpredictable dangers.

  "Did you see the bloodstains? Are those bloodstains fresh or..."

  "Doesn't look fresh... it's already congealed, must have been a day or two."

  "Yes, the True Person's descent from the mountain didn't take long. The changes in the town probably occurred while the True Person was still on the mountain. He must have gone to investigate and didn't have time to send us a message."

  "Land aunt couldn't help but nod: "You're right, maybe it's really like that."

  "Yes." Yu Gu Gu coughed a few more times, and Lu Gu Gu massaged her back and chest while giving her water. After drinking two mouthfuls of water, Yu Gu Gu continued to say: "I don't know what kind of thing is causing trouble in the town, but if you ask me, it's unlikely that something that dares to cause trouble in the town would dare to come up the mountain. The mountain isn't just ours, there are also the monks from Yuan Guang Temple, and their abbot isn't someone to be trifled with either."

  Qiuqiu didn't sleep very soundly and vaguely heard her aunt's voice, she also felt that what she said was quite reasonable.

  As expected, there is an old saying that goes "having an elderly person at home is like having a treasure", and indeed, Auntie's rich life experience and broad vision make her analysis spot on.

  "Do you still remember what happened that year? Zhenren had been away for half a year and hadn't returned, and at the time there were rumors that Zhenren had met with disaster? What about afterwards? Didn't Zhenren come back just fine? I think this time's affair is probably the same as last time, let's wait patiently again, Zhenren and Jingxin girl will probably be back soon."

  Aunt Lu also chimed in: "You're right. At that time, we were all worried, those people kept changing their story, one was scarier than the other, and we didn't know which one was true... I remember at that time you were particularly calm, and you held everything together inside and out, it's been over ten years now?"

  "Right, so you don't have to worry too much either. Why don't we go to Yuanguang Temple at dawn and ask them to help us investigate what's going on down the mountain? With more people, there's more power, and they can handle things more easily than us."

  "Right, right, how come I didn't think of that. The abbot of Yuanguang Temple was succeeded and Zhenren went to congratulate him at the time, usually living close by, now that something has happened, it's only natural for each other to take care of each other."

  It sounds easy for them to say, but Autumn still can't be as optimistic as her aunt. The best outcome would be that the master and sisters are safe and sound, but the reality now is that they wouldn't just disappear without a reason, something must have happened.

  If it's like what Auntie said, Master must have encountered something after coming down the mountain and left in a hurry without leaving any news for them. The thing that made Master lose his composure was probably that the two sisters encountered some danger, or maybe Master went to investigate the strange changes in the town, perhaps this is the reason why Master left in a hurry.

  Suddenly, Lu's aunt exclaimed: "A fire has broken out!"

  Qiu Qiu jumped up, even Yu's aunt could no longer maintain her composure. The three of them crowded at the small window and looked out. Through the dense rain curtain, the flames that rose in front of them in the dark night shot straight into the sky, casting a reddish glow over half of the mountain.

  With such rain, how can there be fire outside?

  Aunt Lu held Autumn in one arm and supported Aunt Yu with the other: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, we're safe here, the fire can't reach us."

  Although she was speaking words of comfort, her voice trembled slightly. These words were more to calm her own heart than to comfort others.

  The fire started so quickly and spread so fiercely on a rainy day like this, it's absolutely impossible that it was an accidental fire.

  Three people huddled together, supporting and relying on each other.

  The fire won't reach here, but they aren't necessarily one hundred percent safe either.

  Such a fire would easily burn down their houses.

  Qiu Qiu felt like there was something stuck in her chest, making it hard for her to breathe.

  That was where she lived, a home shared with her master, senior sisters, and Lu Jiejie and Yu Jiejie.

  But just like this, everything was burned down by the counter-fire.

  Dàbái and èrbái, they just rushed away without taking care of them. Can they escape this big fire? Even if they escape the fire, there are still arsonists...

  Like Lu's aunt, Qiu felt fearful, but beyond the fear, she had more resentment and anger in her heart.

  They lived a good life, didn't harm anyone, and did no evil deeds. On the contrary, the master was kind and benevolent, people from the foot of the mountain came to seek help, the master never refused, and even cured the widespread epidemic disease, saving many lives. Some people even set up a longevity tablet for the master.

  But why did they encounter such an unexpected disaster?

  The three of them were no longer sleepy, the big fire didn't last very long and went out after about an hour or so, but the heavy rain was still coming down, and outside it had turned into a complete darkness.

  The long night is endless, and it seems like the sky will never brighten up again.

  After autumn had passed for a long time, she thought back and this long night was still vivid and profound in her memory, every moment was endless torture.

  ——————————

  TAT, went to see the dentist today. The previous treatment didn't work and needs to be redone, what a hassle! Came back home with a mouth full of medicine taste, going for a follow-up check next week.