Ling Huan didn't dare to see her again. Although the girl was weak in literature, she must have regarded the skull in her arms as a true lover like everyone else. She pointed out a way for the girl to leave the village, and then immediately turned back, trying to find the location of Chenxing and the others, and rescue more people along the way.
"Quick! Let's go!"
This time, she helped a young man, who was holding a wooden sculpture in his hand with human outlines. Although this seems easier to accept than the truly human part, Ling Hu has decided not to care about it. Regardless of their state, regardless of their rationality, she only knew that these were living people. She must save them, not always be the one being protected. Since fate has gifted her with such miraculous skills, maybe she should do something extraordinary.
If Xie Zhe were here, he would definitely do this.
It's hard to say how much of her courage came from that, but she was certainly inspired. This was what she was thinking as the scrawny boy ran after her. There was a low wall of fire ahead - too low to even be called a wall. Ling Huan stepped over briskly, and then stretched out his hand towards the young man behind him. The young man timidly held the wooden sculpture in his arms, fearing that it would be swept away by the fire.
"Come on! It's safe once you step over!"
The young man hesitated, then finally made up his mind, took a few steps back and tried to run across the wall of fire. And just when he was directly above the flame, many small tentacles suddenly shot out of the flame. Their speed was so fast that Ling Huan didn't even have time to see what they were. The tentacles quickly grabbed the boy's feet and threw him to the ground. His trousers caught fire and the fire quickly spread across his body. He shouted loudly, and Ling Huan immediately stepped forward and tried to hold his hand, but he hugged the wooden sculpture tightly with both hands and refused to let go.
"You're going to die! Catch me quickly!!"
"No! I don't want to be separated from her!"
There was no other way, so Ling Huan stepped forward and pulled his shoulder. Her strength was so great that her right hand even pinched the boy's shoulder. He was so thin that Ling Huan could only touch a handful of sharp bones. Not to be outdone, those tentacles in the fire pulled the poor young man with her in the fire. The flames quickly covered his whole body, and Ling Huan was burned and had to let go. Due to inertia, she sat down on the ground, and the heat that her feet were accustomed to spread to her skin again. But her despair was greater than the current pain. She saw with her own eyes that the boy in the fire became withered and thin.
But not because of the fire.
Too fast, he shrunk too fast... Even a person who was purely burnt to charcoal by fire would have a much larger remaining size than he is now. Ling Huan's mind went blank, and he just watched helplessly as his fresh life turned into a piece of coke.
And that's really a small, twisted piece of coke.
Why did she have no problem crossing the flames just now? Is it because the tentacles are afraid of the power of the ghost hand, or is it because she has never been poisoned by the illusion here, or is it both? Look carefully, aren't those the roots of plants? She panicked for a while, and she was covered in cold sweat so that she could no longer feel the heat of the flames.
At this time, there was a hand on her shoulder. The force was neither light nor heavy, and she was not frightened. She suddenly felt inexplicably safe. It was like she had been falling from a high place before, not knowing when she would fall to the ground, and this hand was like a big soft net, gently wrapping her.
"Yin, Yin Quan?"
Ling Hu finally had the strength to stand up. She opened her eyes wide and looked at this relative who rushed into the fire she hated.
Yin Huan held her hands tightly, and she felt that her right hand, which had been numb and stiff, felt the warmth of a human being again.
The cries for help kept coming, this time it was two people side by side. They tried to save many people from the flames. Sometimes it succeeds, sometimes it fails. Next, the two saw similar situations happening several times, but they couldn't even get close. When life disappears in vain in a place beyond their power, the two of them can't even leave much time to regret. They are all a little numb, but they must be faster, faster. In order to save more people, the sisters had to close up their rich emotions, which was definitely not something they could do in the past. The two of them didn't have time to think carefully. Did they appear to be affectionate or heartless?
Their actions became mechanical, and even the search for those two people was put aside in their minds. Ling Huan was a little confused, because as time passed, she could hardly hear those sounds. Her hearing was excellent, but the survivors disappeared so quickly that she didn't even have time to do anything.
This fire never seems to go out.
It's getting hotter and hotter... What's even more frightening is that the cracks on the ground have a golden-red sheen. There was a dark fire burning underground, as if the cracks were filled with magma. Every breath felt like coals burning through their throats, and their eyeballs were so dry that it was so painful that it was difficult for them to open their eyes. They couldn't help but begin to long for leaving. This desire did not come from a kind soul, but from a body that had limits after all, sounding an instinctive warning to them. Fortunately, they no longer need to stay too long.
It was hard for Ling Huan to hear the painful groans around him. On the bright side, it's because they have rescued those who can, and those who can still take care of themselves have escaped the disaster scene on their own. Think the worst...
It’s better not to think the worst.
After all, they are not gods, not even powerful masters. Those who are unable to rescue are far beyond their ability and responsibility to lend a helping hand simply out of kindness.
My throat was as dry as the land that had been cracked by three years of drought, as if countless little claws were scratching, trying to cut open the blood vessels and grab water. Ling Huan coughed a few times uncomfortably, and Yin Huan patted her back gently. He couldn't help coughing, hissing in his throat. They no longer lingered here, supported each other and moved away, just in time to see a wonderful scene not far away.
Red, pure red closer to cinnabar than flame, is climbing up a burning house, devouring the orange-red of the fire. Taking a closer look, those are large tracts of Bana flowers. The two sisters ran over with some staggering steps, enduring the high temperature and walked around to the back of the house. Their eyelids and skin were so dry and itchy that they almost used up their willpower to restrain themselves from rubbing and scratching.
They were happy to see She Zishu and Chenxing behind the house. Chenxing was tapping the clusters of flames with her special ring-headed knife. It was like a dragon sucking water. The flames flowed towards her knife and were swallowed up.
"I did... underestimate you." She was talking to She Zishu, "But in this way, all the clues have been destroyed."
She Zishu looked around, his expression very calm, as if there was nothing extraordinary about her ability. She just responded fairly to Chenxing's mistakes:
"It's a little too much..."
"..."
Chenxing opened his mouth and closed it again. She headed towards the direction where Yin Huan and Ling Huan were running, and turned to speak to them:
"Those demonic flowers that are still here have been almost burned out."
"However, they also draw nutrients from many people and use them as nourishment." Ling Huan said worriedly.
"Well, we know. This battle lasted for a long time, and those oleanders were not always like this - energetic. Several times, they regained their strength when they were sluggish. I guessed that they must have regained their energy. Source." Chenxing explained calmly, without any special emotion, "But, it doesn't matter. Those people are already hopeless anyway."
Ling Huan paused for her words and tone. She understands that Chenxing has no obligation to be kind, and she is indeed a good person, at least someone who is kind to others. Isn't Yin Huan the beneficiary? Besides, without her, she and Yin Huan would not be able to cope with the disaster here. She should not question Chen Xing. But Ling Huan could not hold back in the end and made a different sound:
"You...how can you think so? Just now, we saved many people..."
"You don't have to prove anything to me, and neither do I." Chenxing interrupted her as if she was a little tired, "Now, I should care about myself first. It's very troublesome to get out of the fire...since this fire is not ordinary. Fire, you created it with your own hands, can't you take it back?"
Her last words were to She Zishu. Ling Huan and Yin Huan also looked at her with hope, but unfortunately the latter shook his head. Chenxing's expression was a little hard to describe.
"Okay. It's not that I can't handle it, but you just have to - ask for your own luck."
After finishing speaking, Chenxing swung his knife horizontally, looked in one direction and rushed out. Although she couldn't protect everyone, she didn't leave them alone. Several people saw that wherever she stepped, the flames disappeared, leaving only clean residue after burning. And she herself seemed to carry a force that isolated and repeled the flames she faced, as if the fire was bowing to her arrival and getting out of the way.
Her three companions were stunned for a while by this unusual sight. She Zishu was the first to come to his senses. What surprised her was that the hellfire, which she was powerless to do, could be ignored in front of Chenxing. She couldn't figure out the reason. After the brief curiosity passed, She Zishu took steps and followed the path taken by Chen Xing to leave the fire scene.
As if Yin Huan and Ling Huan were awakened by her, the two sisters looked at each other and hurriedly chased them outside. Thinking of the special features of Chenxing, Ling Huan had a guess. Since hell fire is not an ordinary flame, but more like a special power, then the glazed heart on Chenxing's body may be able to purify it, right?
When they stood next to Chen Xing, panting slightly, Ling Huan felt that he might have thought too easily. Chenxing's condition didn't seem to be very good. Although there was no obvious sign of weakness, it made them feel very different from their usual calm and strength. Even so, when she saw Yin Huan, who was gesturing with worry, and Ling Huan, who was about to speak, she waved her hand and interrupted them:
"I'm fine. It's better to leave now."
They were finally able to slow down and allow their tired bodies and minds to recuperate. But even though they were exhausted, the people the four of them saw when they reached the entrance of the village were still much more embarrassed than they were.
The villagers who had been rescued earlier stood together blankly. Most of the people were disheveled, slovenly, their faces were dusty, and their hair was in clumps. Some people only had half of their clothes left, and some had tattered trousers, one long and one short. The neatest ones were barefoot. The ground had been blistered by the fire, but they seemed to be unaware and still stood there numbly.
The same thing is that all the people with empty eyes are staring blankly at their burned homes.
