Chapter 188 - Fire (2)

Her face changed. "LIU YING!"

Shi Lu Wen was about to call out too when she saw a man approached near them with his sword ready. She screamed out loudly, "HELP!"

Clang!

A sword pierced the man behind them. Gao Ling pulled out an arrow and thrusted to the man as she pulled back the sword. Sweat filled her face as she looked at the sword and the direction of the house.

When it came to close combat, she was quite poor and her father never allowed her to be at the frontline for a reason. Just now was close and that sword…

Thud!

The broken woods were pushed to the side as a small figure walked out limpidly. Wei Liuying's clothes were partially burnt along with her hands. However, she still walked out with a smile on her face.

"Why do you call? Pay more attention to your surroundings."

All words that Gao Ling wanted to say seemed to stuck in her throat. She wanted to cry, she wanted to scream, yet nothing came out from her mouth. There was nothing she could say at this very moment. 

"Watch out!" Wei Liuying readied herself to fight.

Gao Ling turned her head around. they could see another row of men coming close. Before they could come close, a shadow came from behind the burning house and rushed forward. With a strike, several men fell on the ground.

Slash!

"Lu Wen!" Shan Yi called out in fear. When she screamed, he didn't care for his previous position and rushed here. What would the arrangement mattered if he couldn't protect the one person he wished to protect the most?

His eyes were filled with fear as he glanced in the three girl's direction. When his eyes landed on Shi Lu Wen, his pupil contracted. He scanned her from head to toe in order to determine whether she was hurt or not.

Seeing that she was fine without any harm whatsoever, he heaved a sigh of relief.

"I'm fine thanks to Liu Ying," Shi Lu Wen replied with a bright smile. Traces of tears from the corner of her eyes were still present, but she felt genuine relief to be able to stay alive and see Shan Yi again. 

Wei Liuying picked her sword again. When she was inside, a pillar fell on them and hit her legs. She cut off the wood with her sword to free herself, but her legs felt hurt to move around now. Her hands also had traces of burns from moving the wood to pave a way out for herself.

After freeing herself, she had thrown her sword out in order to protect Gao Ling. It seemed that the sword did its work properly.

'I can't move around so much, yet the fight is not over yet.' Wei Liuying closed her eyes for a moment. She knew that she had to do something because brute force alone wouldn't safe them in this situation.

Gao Ling furrowed her brows. "You're so reckless!"

"Continue with your arrows. They're coming."

"En."

Taking more arrows from her tube, Gao Ling aimed to the incoming men around them. She felt relieved that Wei Liuying was fine, but at the same time, she didn't know what else she was supposed to do. There didn't seem to be any way out from here at all.

"We need to leave," Wei Liuying said as she looked at their surroundings. Her dark irises reflected the fire that started to envelope everything around. A thought crossed her head at this very moment. "Burn the gates and other buildings with fire."

"What in the world are you thinking of doing?" Shan Yi was stunned.

"There are several villages nearby and also soldiers stationed at the bottom. If the commotion can't be heard that far, they should be able to see the blazing fire if the entire temple is on fire, right?" Wei Liuying reasoned as she dragged her limpid legs.

"That's…"

"Gao Ling, let me borrow your bow and arrow."

"Ah, yes."

"Shan Yi, guard us."

"Yes."

Shan Yi still didn't understand what Wei Liuying wanted to do, but he did as he was instructed. For some reasons, he felt that it would be the best choice to follow what Wei Liuying had arranged.

Contrary to the others, he was still healthy and robust, so he continued to attack the men who managed to defeat his men and entered the perimeter. With his large power, more and more men fell prey to his sword.

Wei Liuying tore open part of her outer robe and used it to tie burning grass and wood to the arrow before she positioned it on the bow. The stature was not that firm, but it was enough for her to send it to another place. Her eyes paid close attention to the nearby buildings.

The buildings in the temple were mostly built with wood, so it was not that hard for her to set them ablaze as long as she had the necessary material to do so.

It would take time for the fire to spread, so she had to hasten it by adding more points where the fire could start.

Dzing!

The arrow bypassed the barrier and quickly headed to the nearby buildings. The burning woods and grass that Wei Liuying put on the arrow help it easier to set the building with fire.

Blarr!

Several more arrows were shot as the entire area was set ablaze. Fire burned everything as the temperature risen. Some poor enemies were trapped between buildings and burned alive.

Screams started to fill the previously quiet temple.

There was no emotion within Wei Liuying's face as she continued her attempt to deliver burning arrows. On the other hand, Gao Ling was killing the enemies who managed to bypass the formation of the people they had set there.

'I hope this will help us buy enough time.'

"Can we leave this place?" Shi Lu Wen asked in worry. She wanted to leave this place as soon as possible because the temperature continued to rise steadily. Sweat filled her small face.

"We're safe in this dirt courtyard," Wei Liuying replied.

"Eh?"

"There's no flammable material around us. If we stay here, the fire will not reach us and died down before. However, the rising temperature will make it impossible for us to leave this area."

It would be dangerous to stay here, but it was still the safest option. The ground around the area was dirt and not grass, so fire couldn't reach the place. While the hot temperature and the smoke would make it torturous for them, there was no other option.

"Cover your mouth with cloth and breath that way," Wei Liuying instructed. She glanced to the side and furrowed her brows. The wind was coming from the back's direction which barely had any building.

Hopefully, not much smoke would cover them at this period of time.

"It's a gamble, isn't it?" Gao Ling asked in solemn tone.

"Yes."

The calm tone that Wei Liuying used seemed so surreal. It was as if there was nothing in this world that could make fluster and panic. Her dark eyes simply stared into a distance as she analyzed everything.

The wind barely blew that night and the smoke at the back's area was not as intense as the rest. The area where they were staying was partially free of smoke, but Wei Liuying still didn't allow them to breathe without using the cloth to cover their mouth.

Smoke from burning materials could be dangerous. 

"I see."

While they were still in the middle of the courtyard, the bandits were trying to push the men who came outside, towards the fire. Some of the unfortunate ones were thrown straight to the fire.

"AAAAGGGH!"

"FIRE!"

Shan Yi grinned with an evil smirk. "Push them to the fire, MEN!"

"YES!"

With loud roar, they continued to move faster and faster to push the tribe men to the fire. Thanks to their action, some of the men chose to run and escape before the fire continued to spread further.

"The wind blow is good today."

Wei Liuying sat down on the ground and looked at the surroundings. The entire temple was set ablaze. It was not a good thing to do, but there was simply no other way out for them.

"Where are the monks?"

"They have been evacuated," Shan Yi replied. "When there's chaos here, they escape from a secret passage at the back. But we can't go there because there are several buildings preventing us from reaching that place."

Wei Liuying nodded. There must be an escape route that the people here had prepared in case of emergency. However, it was simply too far from their location. It was as if the people there were already prepared to abandon the guests who were the target and escaped with their lives.

Not that she could blame them.

As it was simply how the world worked.