Chapter 6: The Wind Helps the Fire's Might

  It was dark, and Hu Fei came out of his hiding place, climbing down the stairs he had already looked at to exit the well. Climbing down along the stairs didn't take much effort, and the entire well didn't seem too high either. Hu Fei naturally thought that climbing up from here wouldn't be too strenuous either. But when he actually started climbing up, it left him quite exhausted.

  He collapsed onto the edge of the well, panting heavily for a few breaths. Hu Fei lifted his head to look around and saw that everything was shrouded in darkness. The silvery moonlight only allowed him to vaguely see some blurry shadows, barely enough to distinguish which were houses and which were trees. The entire courtyard was eerily quiet, so still that not even a single person's shadow could be seen.

  A gentle breeze blew by, bringing a refreshing coolness. Taking a deep breath, the energy that had just been exhausted seemed to return instantly, and my whole body was once again filled with strength. However, in this cool air, there was an unpleasant smell, a faint scent of blood lingering quietly in the courtyard.

  He walked in the direction of the front yard from the well. This was his own home, and even on a pitch-black night, he could tell the direction clearly. He was now walking towards the wooden gate where the fight for daylight was most intense, and to go to the front yard, he had to pass through this gate.

  After walking for a few steps, his foot suddenly kicked something that wasn't a stone or wood, and it didn't feel that hard. He bent down to touch it with his hand, and it was a person! The man's body had already stiffened, clearly having been dead for some time. It was too dark, and even when he leaned in close, he couldn't see the man's face clearly. No matter how brave Hu Fei was, this was his first time being in close proximity to a dead person, and his heart still skipped a beat.

  Leaving the corpse in the underground, he became even more cautious as he walked forward. He didn't want to trip over another corpse if he wasn't careful. Hu Fei's caution was not unnecessary. From the well to his bedroom door, a distance of less than 100 steps, he kicked three corpses. It seemed like the whole yard was filled with corpses. Where were his parents?

  He rushed into the bedroom, found the oil lamp and lit it. The light illuminated the entire room, and as he looked at the familiar surroundings, Hu Fei felt a warm and solid feeling in his heart. However, he knew that from now on, his life would be completely different from before.

  Holding an oil lamp, Hu Fei emerged from the bedroom and began to examine the corpses in the courtyard one by one. From the front yard to the back yard, all twenty-three corpses were relatives and friends who had attended the wedding today, as well as long- and short-term workers at home. In the backyard, his parents lay hand in hand on the ground not far from the wellhead, but the family heirloom dagger was nowhere to be seen.

  "Father! Mother!" Hu Fei cried out in pain, and rushed to the body, stroking his parents' remains, tears gushing out like a spring, heartache like a knife twisting.

  I don't know if the devils have gone far or not, but Hu Fei didn't dare to cry out loud. He cried softly in front of his parents for more than half an hour and gradually stopped his sorrowful voice. Remembering that he hadn't seen his sister yet, he hurriedly went to the west wing room to look for her. In a dozen steps away from the west wing room, he saw his new brother-in-law lying on the ground with a frightening wound on his neck, already dead. Entering the room, he saw his sister naked and dead on the bed.

  Helped sister put on clothes, carried her to parents' bedroom and settled her in, then one by one carried his parents back to their room and put them on the bed. Hu Fei's forehead was already sweating. Today all day, except for eating a breakfast, it had been a whole day and he hadn't eaten a single bite of food yet.

  I went to the kitchen and found a cold steamed bun, eating it with big gulps of cool water. In my mind, I was thinking about what to do next. This house can't be stayed in anymore, before going to Wanghai Mountain to seek refuge with Old North Wind, I need to clean up this mess at home first. Although Father, Mother and sister are no longer here, their bodies still need to be properly handled. Hu Fei is alone, it's impossible for him to dig a grave that can bury three people in just one night.

  After careful consideration, he finally made up his mind. With no one left at home, what else did he have to worry about? Hu Fei's young face gradually filled with determination. After finishing the steamed buns, he packed the dry rations he could find in the kitchen and tied them around his body. He then carefully checked every room in the house again and found a silver dollar under his parents' bed sheet. The house had already been looted by the devils, so finding this leftover silver dollar was an unexpected gain.

  Gathered all the kerosene in the house, poured it on the bed, table and windows of his parents' bedroom, lit a fire. Finally, he took one last look at the remains of his three loved ones, gritted his teeth and threw the torch forward, "Whoosh!" The flames shot up high!

  It was time to leave, but Hu Fei couldn't bear to part with the home where he grew up. The night wind gradually picked up, and the fire borrowed its momentum, rapidly growing in intensity. The fire Hu Fei had set not only engulfed his entire house but also seemed to be spreading outward.

  The streets were filled with the sound of continuous gongs, terrified shouts, and chaotic footsteps, mixed with sharp whistling sounds. Probably the village night watchmen found that the Hu family's house had lost its fire and rushed over to put out the fire?

  Hu Fei stood leaning against the wall root in the yard on fire, silently watching the flames getting bigger and bigger. He chose a windy spot, and the flames couldn't reach him from this side. However, even so, the two-meter-high flames still made his face red and swollen ten meters away.

  The bench has been placed well, and he can climb over the wall at any time by stepping on the bench. Hu Fei doesn't worry about his own safety at all, he just wants to take a look at his home again. Besides, he found that someone had already rushed into the yard, and Hu Fei wanted to see who came to rescue his house from the fire.

  A dozen or so people wearing Japanese military uniforms, carrying water buckets and iron shovels, rushed into the yard to put out the fire. It was those traitors again! Hu Fei spat on the ground in hatred. The fire was too big, and the two or three water buckets carried by the traitors were simply a drop in the bucket.

  The scene of the fire was in chaos, with traitors shouting loudly, going in and out to pour water on the fire and hitting the flames with iron shovels. Probably seeing that these few traitors were not saving the fire efficiently, another group of people wearing casual clothes rushed into the courtyard to join in the rescue efforts. Borrowing the light from the fire, Hu Fei carefully distinguished them, but he didn't recognize any of these people, guessing they were another group of traitors who had mistaken their enemies for their fathers.

  More and more people came to put out the fire, it seemed like someone had already looked over this way, Hu Fei hastily sat down against the wall. The flames were so big, his side of the wall was no longer pitch black either. Although compared to the bright fire scene, this side was still a dark corner, but it couldn't be guaranteed that no one would see him.

  The yard was littered with corpses, and Hu Fei leaned against the wall root and sat there, which was the best hiding place. As long as he didn't get too close, even if someone saw him, they would think it was just another corpse.

  More people joined the firefighting efforts, and more buckets were used. The fire was gradually brought under control. Among the crowd of firefighters, several Japanese devils appeared. Probably this fire had nothing to do with them, but they still came to the scene of the fire without bringing any weapons. A few Japanese devils just directed from behind the crowd, "Pour water here, and beat down the flames there." The Japanese devils were directing the Han traitors to put out the fire like firefighting experts.