Chapter 10: Murder and Arson 2

Rui Chen picked up a basin of cold water from the wooden shelf in the corner of the room and, without a second thought, splashed the whole thing over Lv Mei's head.

Lv Mei jolted awake. Seeing Rui Chen holding a teapot and staring blankly at her, she was so frightened that she immediately fell to her knees. Just as she was about to beg for forgiveness, Rui Chen covered her mouth and made a gesture for her to be silent.

Before long, a rustling sound came from outside the house. Although Rui Chen and Lv Mei could not see, an unknown liquid flowed into the room. Immediately following this, firelight lit up outside, and smoke drifted into the room through the cracks in the windows and doors.

Seeing this, Lv Mei grew anxious and tried to flee immediately, but Rui Chen hurriedly pulled her back, signaling her to wait a moment longer. Rui Chen then took a handkerchief, dipped it in tea, covered her own nose and mouth, and gave another to Lv Mei. Mimicking Rui Chen, Lv Mei also covered her face with a wet handkerchief; she felt a slight improvement, and the two of them stood in the corner of the room where there was less smoke.

It is said that the ears of the young are keen, and this is not a lie at all. Rui Chen stood in the corner listening for a while, and only after confirming that the arsonists had all left did she let Lv Mei open the door. By then, however, she discovered that the fire had grown large, and the doors and windows were blocked by the flames.

Though Lv Mei was clever and had been by the Old Madam's side since childhood, making her proficient in the affairs of the inner household, she was still only a girl of sixteen or seventeen. Faced with the crisis of the fire, she was so panicked that she did not know what to do.

Rui Chen had been raised with a modern education. In school, they had emphasized time and again, and practiced through endless drills, how to save oneself during fires and earthquakes. Although she was afraid, she knew what she had to do. Grabbing Lv Mei's sleeve, she said solemnly, "Lv Mei, don't be afraid. Trust me. The fire has just started; we can still escape. Grab the quilt and wrap it around yourself, then hold onto me. We'll wrap both of us in the quilt and charge out."

Seeing that Rui Chen, despite her young age, was neither startled nor panicked, Lv Mei felt half-relieved. As Rui Chen spoke, Lv Mei followed her instructions. Wrapped in the quilt, they could not see the path clearly. After crossing the threshold, they stepped on something unknown, tripped, and tumbled out, rolling away. Fortunately, Lv Mei had gripped the quilt tightly and desperately protected Rui Chen; Rui Chen was not injured, though she was somewhat covered in soot and dust. Lv Mei, however, fell in a way that left her clutching her arm and groaning.

Rui Chen stood up and hurriedly helped Lv Mei up. By this time, the fire was growing more intense with the wind, surging toward the roof, looking as if it were about to swallow all the houses. Rui Chen was extremely anxious; there was no one in the courtyard, which meant Lian Qiao and the others were still in the house. If they lost their lives because of this, Rui Chen feared she would feel guilty for the rest of her life—*I did not kill Bo Ren, yet Bo Ren died because of me.*

At that moment, Abbess Hui Yin arrived upon hearing the news. Behind her, Taoist nuns carried wooden buckets. Some were organizing the rescue, some were fetching water, and some were fighting the fire; everything was orderly.

Seeing Rui Chen standing safely in the courtyard, the weight on Abbess Hui Yin's heart was lifted. Seeing the raging flames, she said to Rui Chen, "Miss, please go to this poor Taoist's room to rest first. I will certainly do my utmost."

Rui Chen also knew that staying here would not only fail to help but would also cause more trouble, so she nodded in agreement and followed two young Taoist nuns to the back courtyard of the temple.

In less than the time it takes to drink two cups of tea, someone returned with Lian Qiao and the others. Aside from the two Taoist nuns in Rui Chen's courtyard who had burns on their arms, the others had only suffered from smoke inhalation and fright. Although Abbess Hui Yin was skilled in medicine, the temple lacked medicinal herbs, so she had already sent someone down the mountain to fetch a doctor and buy medicine.

As soon as Lian Qiao saw Rui Chen, she rushed over uncontrollably, looking her up and down over and over again. After confirming she was unharmed, she burst into tears, "Miss, I thought..." *that I would never see you again.*

Before Lian Qiao could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by Lv Mei: "Everything is fine now, stop crying."

Lian Qiao wiped away her tears, laughing and crying at the same time, "Miss, look at me."

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