The Legend of the Condor Heroes: I became one of the Five Great Masters by drawing cards

Chapter 16: The Palace is Fired
"Ah! Who's outside?"

Hearing another sound coming from outside the window, Bao Xiruo exclaimed again.

"It's Taoist Priest Qiu and the others who are here to help us escape." Yang Tiexin said, opening the door and letting everyone in.

The furnishings in the house are like those in an ordinary household. The tables, chairs and beds are mostly made of wood, without a trace of gold or silver. They can even be described as shabby.

Yang Tiexin was holding a rusty iron spear in his hand. Bao Xiruo stood behind him, looking at a loss.

The two people stood together. The man's face was weathered and looked like the early signs of autumn; but the woman was well maintained and still looked like she was in her thirties.

They are more like father and daughter than husband and wife.

"I'm going to pack my things."

Bao Xiruo had witnessed Qiu Chuji killing people without blinking an eye in the past and had always been afraid of him. When she heard him urging her, she hurriedly wanted to pack up her valuables.

Gu Ping'an noticed her fear and stopped her, saying softly, "Aunt Yang, time is running out. These are just some personal belongings. We can buy new ones later."

Yang Tiexin's heart moved, and he said, "As long as we can keep our lives, you and I can rebuild our home somewhere else."

These were the same words they had said when they fled Niujia Village eighteen years ago. Thinking of the pain of separation for so many years, Bao Xiruo felt a lump in her throat and started to cry again.

While they were talking, Zhu Cong untied the female corpse from behind and placed it on the bed.

"What is this?" Bao Xiruo was frightened again and asked tremblingly.

Yang Tiexin hugged him and explained softly, "Young Master Gu came up with a plan to escape. He used this corpse to pretend it was you and burned it. That way, Wanyan Honglie wouldn't guess you had escaped and wouldn't send out the Jin soldiers to hunt you down."

"Burned on fire?"

Bao Xiruo had been deceived for more than ten years and thought that Wanyan Honglie was a gentleman who was deeply in love with her.

"For many years, the prince has taken care of me, and Kang'er has also been raised and taught by him. Now that we've found you, we should tell him the truth. Why, why, why should we?"

"Confused!"

Qiu Chuji had been waiting impatiently for a long time, and when he heard her say such stupid things, he glared at her and was about to get angry.

Gu Ping'an quickly grabbed his sleeve, shook his head gently, turned to Bao Xiruo, and explained patiently.

"Aunt Yang, you don't know that the disaster that befell Niu Village was secretly orchestrated by Wanyan Honglie. He bribed the government to arrest Seniors Guo and Yang, in order to stage a 'hero saving the damsel' scene in front of you."

Bao Xiruo had no idea that there was such a hidden story. She was struck by lightning and looked at Yang Tiexin in a daze.

Yang Tiexin nodded slowly with tears in his eyes.

"Everything is ready, Brother Yang, Madam Yang, we can't stay here for long, we should leave."

Ma Yu poured all the tung oil on the flammable areas, urged, and nodded to Gu Pingan.
"Young Master Gu, be careful. We'll meet tomorrow at the ruined temple ten miles west of the city."

Bao Xiruo followed them out of the door in a daze. With their help, she crossed the high wall of the palace and gradually disappeared into the night.

Gu Ping'an waited patiently for a while, and when he estimated that the people had gone far away, he gently pushed over the oil lamp on the table.

Except for the four walls, these three huts were mostly made of wood. The tung oil ignited the fire and the dry weather caused the fire to spread quickly.

In just a moment, tables, chairs, cabinets, doors, windows and beams were all set on fire.

Seeing that the fire was out of control, Gu Ping'an returned to his room with peace of mind, waiting for the palace to fall into chaos.

Soon, a noisy sound was heard.

"Go to the water!"

"Someone come quickly! It's the Princess's Villa!"

Gu Ping'an leaped up, pushed the door open, and walked out. While tying his belt, he grabbed a palace attendant and asked, "What happened? Why is there such a commotion in the palace?"

The man also knew that he was a favorite of the prince, so he didn't dare to neglect him and hurriedly explained, "There's a fire in the Princess's Villa, and everyone is rushing over there!" "Princess's Villa?!"

Gu Ping'an was "horrified" and looked in that direction, only to see flames shooting up into the sky, almost dyeing half the sky red.

The closer we got, the thicker the smoke and dust became, mixed with a strong smell of burning.

It was spring and the wind was strong. The fire grew more and more intense with the wind, devouring the beams and pillars of the house, and the crackling sound was endless.

Although a water hose had been set up nearby and a dozen servants were rushing back and forth carrying buckets and wooden ladles, it was only a drop in the bucket.

"The prince is here!"

There were shouts from behind, and the servants made way for them.

"Cherish the weakness!"

"mother!"

Wanyan Honglie and his son stumbled forward, shouting at the top of their lungs and trying to rush into the sea of fire, only stopping when they were pulled back by the housekeeper.

Although these two people are not good people, they treat Bao Xiruo sincerely.

"Quick! Go find a few more water dragons!" Yang Kang shouted in panic, "What are you all standing there for? Go get those Taiping jars from elsewhere! Go!"

The servants knew that the fire was out of control, but they did not dare to neglect the young prince's orders. They dispersed in a blink of an eye, leaving only a group of masters.

"You guys are all very skilled in martial arts. If you can rescue the princess, I will reward you handsomely!" Wanyan Honglie was desperate and tried every possible means to help.

Several people also looked embarrassed.

"If the fire had just started, perhaps we could have tried, but now," Ouyang Ke stopped fiddling with his folding fan and explained apologetically, "In this situation, even if my uncle, 'West Poison' Ouyang Feng, came in person, I'm afraid there would be nothing we could do."

Before Ouyang Ke could finish his words, the mud house in the middle collapsed, perhaps because the beams and pillars were completely burned.

This scene was like a bolt from the blue to Wanyan Honglie and his son.

"Cherish the weak."

Wanyan Honglie's face was pale. He leaned on the housekeeper and muttered to himself, his eyes fixed on the fire scene that was almost burned to ruins. The blazing flames made his eyes bloodshot.

Yang Kang seemed to have lost all his strength. His knees softened and he fell to the ground, tears streaming down his cheeks.

The escape plan went more smoothly than expected and did not arouse any suspicion.

Wanyan Honglie fell seriously ill, and Yang Kang seemed to have lost his soul. He locked himself in the house and had no appetite.

The palace's housekeeper was busy taking care of the princess's "funeral affairs", while Gu Ping'an took the opportunity to leave the palace and rush back to the old house.

"I'm back safely!"

Zhao Erniang, who was invited to help, had just taken care of her grandmother's lunch. When she saw him come in, she greeted him happily.

When my grandmother heard his voice, she smiled a little.

Gu Ping'an took out two taels of silver and handed it over, saying gratefully, "Thanks to Second Mother these past few days. This is just a small token of my appreciation."

The original three taels, plus two taels, just for taking care of the old lady for three or two days, he was given a full five taels of silver, enough for her family to eat and drink for half a year.

Zhao Erniang was surprised by his generosity. She rubbed her hands on her apron awkwardly and took it carefully.

"I've long said Ping'an is a promising man. Look, Granny Gu, how right I was!"

She put the silver close to her body and smiled widely.

"If such a good thing happens again in the future, remember to come find Second Mother. I promise to take good care of your family!"

(End of this chapter)