The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#729 - It's getting lively

The next day, Lu Jing was already able to take over the work from Xia Huai, providing the bronze basin with secret power, which also gave the girl time to recover and recuperate.

And that very night, when Lu Jing was casting a spell into the basin again, he saw a black shadow flash past.

It was a rat, with gray-brown fur and a long tail, no different from the rats that were commonly seen in the old house, but its appearance still caught Lu Jing's attention.

So, the rat tonight seemed a little suspicious.

Moreover, after wandering around, the rat finally stopped in front of the iron box where the black knife was stored.

"As expected, Mr. Ji has a way to track down the whereabouts of that iron knife," Lu Jing sighed, "No wonder no matter how we go, we can't shake off those little tails behind us."

Xia Huai was meditating on the bed at this time, and opened her eyes when she heard the words.

Because monitoring the scene in the bronze basin required the two of them to take turns, Xia Huai simply gave up her room and moved into Lu Jing's room.

Anyway, the two of them had slept on the same bed on the boat before, so it wasn't so awkward to live in the same room now.

Not to mention that they each slept separately, Lu Jing had to watch the basin when Xia Huai rested, and when Lu Jing slept, it was Xia Huai's turn to guard the bronze basin.

"Have Mr. Ji's people arrived?"

"Yes, but it looks like it's just a scout."

While Lu Jing and Xia Huai were talking, the rat had already circled the iron box three times, but it seemed a little helpless.

The iron box, weighing a thousand catties, was obviously not something it could move away, and its teeth could not bite open the thick outer shell of the iron box.

So, it could only stare blankly outside.

After a while, it disappeared from Lu Jing and Xia Huai's sight.

"Should we go over?" the girl asked.

"No hurry, wait a little longer."

Lu Jing's guess was correct, the rat was indeed just a scout. About an incense stick later, a large group of rats emerged from nowhere, numbering hundreds.

Soon, as far as Lu Jing could see, the vault was full of rats.

These rats surrounded the iron box, and then some rats spontaneously formed a human wall, one riding on another, and then pushed the iron box together, seemingly trying to move the iron box.

Unfortunately, they failed many times, even though the rats had climbed all over the iron box, it still didn't budge.

Lu Jing watched the efforts of the rat swarm in the bronze basin with great interest. After another quarter of an hour, the commander behind the rats also realized that it was futile to continue trying, so like the first rat that appeared, these rat swarms also disappeared cleanly in a short time.

"The people who came this time seem a little weak," Lu Jing said, stroking his chin.

As soon as he finished saying this, he heard the night watchman outside beat the copper gong, and at the same time shouted at the top of his voice, "Fire! Fire! Help put out the fire! Help put out the fire!"

Lu Jing poked his head out of the window and indeed saw a ball of flame burning fiercely.

And the place where the flame rose was in the direction of the Taiping Qianzhuang.

"Tonight's excitement has finally begun."

… … … …

Of course, the Taiping Qianzhuang was not so easy to burn down. For Qianzhuang, fire prevention has always been a top priority, and this branch of the Taiping Qianzhuang was no exception.

The Qianzhuang was equipped with a gable wall, which could effectively prevent flames from spreading from other places, and inside the Qianzhuang, there was a large water tank every five or six zhang, used to store water. Once the people in the Qianzhuang discovered a fire, they could take water from the water tank to put it out as soon as possible.

In addition, the Qianzhuang also prohibited the storage of all flammable items, and even the kitchen was not set up. The accountants and guards inside could only go to the restaurant across the street if they wanted to eat.

As for the metaphysical designs such as caisson ceilings and chiwen, there was no need to mention them.

But even so, the fire still broke out tonight.

Several guards were very dutiful, discovering the fire at the first time and trying to put it out, but they were dumbfounded after pouring a bucket of water down, finding that the fire not only did not go out, but burned even more vigorously.

It was as if it had been doused with oil. Someone didn't believe in evil and poured another bucket down, and as a result, the entire front hall burned up.

The fire soared into the sky, illuminating half of the county town clearly.

Seeing that the fire was so fierce, the guards could only give up the plan to put out the fire and ran out with a few accountants. Everyone stood on the street, watching the fire raging in the Qianzhuang.

Afterwards, they had to find a way to stop the enthusiastic residents around from carrying water buckets to help put out the fire.

So much so that many people even suspected that something strange had happened in the Taiping Qianzhuang, using this kind of self-inflicted injury to destroy evidence.

Manager Yu was woken up from the bed, and before he had time to put on his boots, he ran over barefoot.

And when he saw the scene in front of him clearly, his eyes went black, and he almost fell to the ground.

When Lu Jing and Xia Huai rushed over, the street was in a chaotic mess.

From time to time, someone would take advantage of the Taiping Qianzhuang's people not paying attention and pour water into it with good intentions, helping to maintain the fire.

It was also thanks to the Qianzhuang's gable wall being high and thick enough that it did not affect the nearby shops and residents.

Lu Jing was still holding the bronze basin in his arms, but now the vault was filled with thick smoke, and nothing could be seen. Moreover, Lu Jing estimated that in a while, the Tianyan Talisman left by Xia Huai would probably be lit.

At that time, even if they still had the bronze basin in their hands, they would not be able to see the scene inside.

Fortunately, the two of them had left a backup plan.

Xia Huai took out a golden beetle from her arms and released it into the sky.

The golden beetle circled twice, then plunged into the flames. Fortunately, the girl was quick-witted and stopped it again, avoiding the tragedy of the latter receiving a lunch box as soon as it appeared.

At this time, a voice sounded from behind the two of them, "Seeking Son Golden Armor? You are cultivators."

Xia Huai turned her head and saw a monk with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, wearing a moon-white monk robe and holding a Panlong iron staff, and then the girl let out a soft sigh.

"You are... Master Zhihai of Xuankong Temple?"

"It seems that this female benefactor has met the poor monk," Zhihai's eyes were bright.

Xia Huai pursed her lips. She had indeed met Zhihai, because Zhihai was a good friend of her master and had been a guest at Xijian Pavilion. When her master Xiao Mengrou hosted a banquet to entertain Zhihai, she brought her along.

But this matter definitely cannot be brought up, otherwise Zhihai would know who the person behind the human skin mask is.

Seeing Xia Huai's silence, Zhihai's eyes moved slightly, but he didn't ask further, but bowed to the two again, "Since you are fellow practitioners, it will be easy to handle. Please help the poor monk."