Chapter 643: Goodwill

"Why is it so hot?"

As Yang Xiaohai had this thought, his nose suddenly caught a familiar scent—that of burning wood. As a cook, he smelled it every day while preparing meals, so it was very familiar to him.

When the smell of firewood grew stronger, mingled with the aroma of roasting meat, his heart immediately sank.

Stepping on his wife's feet, Yang Xiaohai clung to the wall, cautiously peeking his head out from behind it.

The moment his head emerged, he felt a sudden heat on his face, and his pupils contracted sharply.

Yang Xiaohai saw that the inn and shops in the distance were on fire! The entire building collapsed in a blaze, instantly igniting everything around it! They were actually using fire as an attack!

Regardless of who started the fire, it was a catastrophic disaster for Yang Xiaohai, who was trapped inside.

If he didn't run, he would be burned alive, but if he ran out, he would be caught in their crossfire.

Having been put down, Yang Xiaohai spun around anxiously. "Senior Brother Li, what should we do? Senior Brother Li!"

As soon as he spoke, he realized that the seemingly omnipotent Senior Brother Li wasn't there at all; this time, he had to figure things out on his own.

He glanced back at the tall wall, which was impossible to scale, and his grip on the rotted wooden Ruyi scepter in his hand alternately tightened and loosened.

He pulled out some painstakingly refined pills from his pocket, nodded carefully, and then drew out a few talismans.

These were all the things he could rely on now. If he encountered enemies, he would have to depend on these to survive.

Seeing the distant flames drawing nearer, Yang Xiaohai steeled himself and told Zhao Xiumei beside him, "We're going out. If I get tangled up later, make sure you run out of the county town."

Their original path was now completely blocked by fire, so they had no choice but to repeatedly climb over walls and gates, taking a detour.

The only fortunate thing was that the three "monkey children" proved extremely helpful at this moment; their small, slender bodies allowed them to easily crawl through dog holes and open any garden they wished to enter.

Flipping and climbing, all five of them became covered in dirt, but when the smell of burning wood started to fade, a panicked Yang Xiaohai breathed a slight sigh of relief.

It seemed they had moved away from the center of the battle.

"They must be fighting to the death; they won't have time for us. Let's push on!" Yang Xiaohai encouraged them, and they continued to climb.

As they scaled the third courtyard and reached the edge of the fields, Yang Xiaohai suddenly felt a shadow fall over him.

He turned his head and saw a burly man with a yellow patch of hair covering his forehead and fish-scale tattoos on his neck, holding a blood-stained Wu Hook, staring at him.

At that moment, Yang Xiaohai froze, his mind blank, completely forgetting to pick up his weapon and fight back.

The man quickly glanced at the white headscarf on the monkey child's head, a sneer appearing on his face, and raised his Wu Hook.

"More remnants of the Dharma Sect, huh? You immoral wretches, why do you always want to commit such evil acts of murder and arson?"

Seeing the Wu Hook glinting coldly in the firelight, Yang Xiaohai shivered and instantly snapped back to reality. "We're not with them! My... my senior brother is the Emperor of Daliang!"

"Haha, the Emperor's junior brother dresses so shabbily? Then I'm the damn Jade Emperor!" The Wu Hook swung down forcefully towards Yang Xiaohai's neck.

"My other senior brother is Li Yi—" Before Yang Xiaohai could finish, he saw a flash of light cutting towards his neck.

Instinctively, Yang Xiaohai slammed his eyes shut, covered his head, and curled into a ball. Just as he thought he was about to die, he felt no pain.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw a gaunt figure standing in front of him. The burly man had been forced back about nine meters.

"Auntie!" the monkey children excitedly shouted, looking at the figure's back.

The old woman was still the same old woman, unchanged, yet her presence gave Yang Xiaohai a different feeling than before.

"Children, hurry and leave. I'll hold this fellow back," the old woman said calmly, staring at the man in front of her.

Hearing this, Yang Xiaohai snapped back to his senses, took one last look at the old woman, and quickly pulled the others towards the nearby rice paddies.

"Children, may Grandfather Shidu bless you. You must all live well, don't you dare die," the old woman's last words echoed from behind.

Yang Xiaohai and the others ran for their lives, not daring to rest even for a moment, fearing they would be followed.

They ran for a full hour. By the time the moon hung high in the sky, they could no longer endure, collapsing by the dirt road, gasping for breath.

Just as Yang Xiaohai collapsed onto the ground, trying to clear his thoughts, he heard the clatter of hooves. When he propped up his neck and looked towards the sound, he saw that it was surprisingly his own carriage.

Two men were driving the carriage: one was the burly man with the Wu Hook who had just tried to kill him, and the other was also familiar to him. Both were from the Directorate of Celestial Observation, and they had, after all, caught up.

At that moment, Yang Xiaohai saw a plump man, around thirty-four or thirty-five years old, wearing a black floral headscarf and a purple floral robe, looking like a wealthy landowner, jump down from the carriage and walk towards him.

Yang Xiaohai mustered all his fierceness, reached into his pocket, pulled out the rotted wooden Ruyi scepter, aimed it at them, and then shouted loudly, "Xiumei! Run! Run as far as you can!"

"I'm not leaving! If you don't go, I won't either!" Zhao Xiumei said, her eyes red.

"Don't be sentimental! They'll kill you! I'm a man now; I need to protect my wife!" Yet, even as he spoke, Yang Xiaohai himself broke down first, tears uncontrollably streaming from his eyes.

Seeing the man about to reach him, Yang Xiaohai roared and forcefully flung the Ruyi scepter in his hand towards him.

However, the man's body folded like paper, swiftly dodging the attack. He took a few steps to Yang Xiaohai's side, smiled with his eyes, and firmly grasped both of Yang Xiaohai's hands, shaking them vigorously.

"Hehehe, my young friend, I'm truly sorry about what just happened. My esteemed brother is a crude man. I heard your senior brother is the Emperor of Daliang, right? I also heard you have another senior brother?"

The man's reaction left Yang Xiaohai momentarily bewildered, unsure how to respond.

"I also heard your other senior brother's surname is Li? May I ask what sect or faction he belongs to? And how does he usually dress?"

As he spoke, Yang Xiaohai noticed the man's smiling, narrowed eyes slightly open, revealing cold, serpentine pupils within.

This sight made Yang Xiaohai shiver immediately. He quickly nodded and said, "Yes! My senior brother is the Emperor of Daliang; his name is Gao Zhijian. I also have another senior brother named Li Huowang. He... he's really powerful! He usually wears a red Daoist robe and carries three swords on his back. You know him, right?"

The plump man paused slightly upon hearing this, his face breaking into a wide smile as the cold, serpentine pupils retreated back into his narrowed eyes.

"Ah, so it's Brother Li! Hehehe, of course I know him, I definitely know him. When we were little, his father used to bring him to visit my house every New Year and holiday."