XH 73

 

Xiao Hua felt very annoyed and had no idea how to vent it out! She was led like a cow to where the attacker wanted her to be!

 

The sound of light footsteps disturbed her self-anger moment. A tall, skinny boy wearing worn-out clothes stopped in his tracks upon noticing her, staring at her cautiously as if Xiao Hua would scold him. From his attire, she recognized that he was one of the Third Prince's lower-ranked servants, but this was the first time she saw someone wearing such a threadbare uniform.

 

From all those months she had stayed with the Third Prince, she never saw him treat his servants badly and made sure they have good quality products to make their life comfortable.

 

Was this boy being bullied?

 

Xiao Hua decided to say something when the boy does not look like he will talk anytime soon. "Are you the one that called me over to this place?"

 

Could it be he wanted to use her to complain about being bullied right to the big boss?

 

The boy's eyes widened like a goldfish's and shake his head fiercely. "I do not know you would be here!"

 

"Then why are you here? This courtyard is forbidden for anyone to enter."

 

"I was asked to collect the fireworks from the storage."

 

Xiao Hua found it hard to believe this boy as it was too much of a coincidence that he was heading to the storage as well. With a friendly smile, she said, "What a coincidence! I'm heading for the storage room too, so let's go together!"

 

"...Alright." His face showed his reluctance but did not reject her because of their position difference. Everyone in the Third Prince's residence recognized their master's personal maid since An Jing had introduced her to everyone during her first day.

 

Xiao Hua felt that if he was the one that threatened her, she will wait until he starts talking. If he was not the one, it does not matter since he can be her guide to lead her to the storage and a companion for this adventure!

 

The thought of getting his consent without further explanation did not cross her mind at all. His 'alright' was equivalent to 'yes' in her mind.

 

Xiao Hua felt as if she had met the boy before, but it was more towards having a vague feeling of remembering someone she had seen once in the past.

 

"What's your name? My name is Xiao Hua."

 

"I know your name... I'm Er Yen."

 

"Nice to meet you!"

 

Normally, Xiao Hua would not bother to ask his name because Chinese names were hard to remember but since she will be around him for quite a while, calling him by his name would be better than calling him, 'Hey you.'

 

The only thing worse than that was calling him by the wrong name, but she can always blame it on his ears catching the wrong thing or apologize for her mistake.

 

Er Yen glanced at Xiao Hua at the corner of his eyes, expecting her to recognize him, but there was no hint of recognition on her face upon hearing his name. He slowly relaxed when she still has no inkling of who he was.

 

"Why are you walking around with your hair like that?" Er Yen awkwardly stared at her loose hair with half of it already dried from her unplanned walk. Her hair was messy from the clumsy dodging earlier but she looks sort of cute that way.

 

Xiao Hua touched her loose hair and remembered that she had not tied them up. She had not thought about her hair earlier due to the demanding arrows, but it was also due to Le XiaoTing that was pretty much used to not tying her hair up in public during non-working hours.

 

"I forgot," Xiao Hua said casually as she pulled out a ribbon from her bracelet. Thankfully she could store something inside her spatial dimension apart from the knives.

 

She tied her hair into a high ponytail, feeling a bit fondness for the familiarity of the swinging sensation. It might be a psychological problem, but for Le XiaoTing, she found that the difference in hairstyle affects her productivity. Untied hair makes her lazier and ladylike while the ponytail made her more alert and willing to move more.

 

Er Yen's confusion turned to a mixture of understanding and pity. Looks like Elder Sister Hua is a stupid person like the rumors said.

 

"Why are there fireworks stored in this forbidden courtyard?" Xiao Hua asked curiously.

 

"If the fireworks are accidentally lit and damaged the other goods, it would be bad. We are here."

 

Although this courtyard was a forbidden area, the place showed signs of someone having the place cleaned.

 

Er Yen removed a bunch of keys from his sleeve and unlocked the lock with chains around the handle of the storage door. With the lock and chain in his hand, he walked into the storage room with the confidence of a person that had been into the place before. He headed straight to a corner where the fireworks were placed on the top shelf away from the window and other items in the room.

 

Xiao Hua stepped into the storage after seeing no one around. Perhaps the blue pouch was hidden inside? But with just a glance around the mostly unoccupied room, she could see that her pouch was not likely to be here.

 

"Are you looking for something?" Er Yen asked when Xiao Hua looking and shifting things around as if searching for something. He had gotten what he needed here but if she remained in here, he could not lock up the storage.

 

"A blue pouch - look out!" Xiao Hua watch in horror as the firework in Er Yen's arms suddenly sparked and the rope attached to the firework lit up.

 

Er Yen's reaction was quick, throwing the fireworks away, but the fire was even quicker. No one noticed when the door was closed, but no matter how Xiao Hua tried to push open the door using her back and shoulder, it only trembled from her force, refusing to open.

 

Her ears rang from the loud bang coming from the firecrackers and the sparklers flew everywhere with some hitting Xiao Hua and Er Yen.

 

"We need to get out of here!" Er Yen shouted urgently. He used his long sleeves to cover his head from the sparklers and dashed to the windows. He easily breaks the windows apart and quickly gestured to Xiao Hua.

 

"Quick!"

 

Ignoring the painful sensation from the sparklers, Xiao Hua quickly ran towards the new escape path and with the help of Er Yen, she was able to climb out of the storage.

 

"Grab my hand!" Xiao Hua extended a hand for Er Yen to grab onto. But something suddenly exploded inside the room, separating their hand. The force pushed Xiao Hua far away, but Er Yen was still inside the storage room!

 

Half of the roof had collapsed and the fire had become larger. The fire fiercely eating everything it could burn and the sight terrified Xiao Hua.

 

Should she go in and help? The fire was spreading too fast and she might get killed too if she runs in. No one was around to help and Er Yen might have already died from that explosion.

 

"Xiao Hua!" The scream came from inside the storage was filled with desperation, the voice was weak and hoarse from inhaling too much smoke.

 

But that scream woke Xiao Hua up from her cowardice. With trembling limbs, she stood up and ran back towards the burning building. The window she had escaped from could no longer be used.

 

She ran towards the area where the fire had not spread yet, which was the locked entrance. Someone had placed a long, thick wood over the handles to lock them in!

 

Eyes turning stony, she pushed the knowledge that this accident was clearly an attempted murder, and focused on the important matter. She quickly removed the thick wood and pushed open the door.

 

"Er Yen!" Xiao Hua called out as the smoke had gotten too thick for her to see anything. The fire was aggressive, generating more heat and smoke which was suffocating, but she pushed herself to step in to look for Er Yen.

 

He needs her help!

 

She pulled out a knife from her spatial dimension and used it to cut a large part of her sleeves and cover her mouth and nose with it. There was no water around so this will have to do! She got down to her knees and started crawling around the floor to look for Er Yen.

 

"Er Yen! Answer me!" The smoke filled her lungs the more she yelled, but she must not stop.

 

Her hand bumped into something and much to her joy, it was Er Yen! He was unconscious and one of the heavy shelves had fallen onto his lower body.

 

"Er Yen... Er Yen!" Tears quickly pooled in her eyes but she forced them back in. She must not break down! There was no time for her being weak!

 

Her body feels tired as she tried to lift the shelf but something seems to be holding down the shelf. Whatever it was, it was too heavy for the first rank cultivator like Xiao Hua.

 

"Somebody, help!" Xiao Hua shouted. Despite doing her best to call for help, no one appeared. Autumn Courtyard was a restricted area where no servants were allowed to enter.

 

Perhaps no one would even notice the fire.

 

Xiao Hua grew desperate as she feels herself growing weaker and weaker, as the fire becomes brighter and brighter. It was even harder to breathe now.

 

Is she going to die?

 

She felt her body growing cold as her sight slowly filled with black dots. She tried to blink the dots away, but the black dots expanded until they covered her vision completely in black.

 

During the last moment before the darkness overtakes her, she felt someone broke her fall. She wanted to open her eyes but she could not stop herself from sinking into the dark silence.