LWDC Chapter 163

One Hundred and Sixty-Three – Fires in the Night

One Hundred and Sixty-Three – Fires in the Night

One Hundred and Sixty-Three – Fires in the Night

Casinos can arrange visits, but they don’t know when someone will write a name. So, they have to rush back to call someone after receiving news, and then quickly send the person to the scene.

And so, at 2 a.m. in the dead of night, Ning Fei was picked up by the casino’s carriage.

Duan Yunhong was, of course, also called. He originally had a cold face because his sleep was disturbed, but Ning Fei’s face was even worse than his. As soon as he got in the carriage, he leaned on Duan Yunhong, who found it both speechless and amusing.

He said, “Why not just go back?”

“No.” Ning Fei replied without even opening his eyes, “I want to go.”

Duan Yunhong didn’t know what was so interesting about writing a name, but Ning Fei seemed very persistent, so the man didn’t say anything more. They leaned against each other in the darkness as the carriage traveled through the dark streets. Only the sound of the horses’ hooves and the wheels rolling over the cobblestones was particularly clear.

Finally, Ning Fei and Duan Yunhong entered a small building. The small building was a short distance from the square, but this was the best location the casino could get. It was the closest observation point possible without being easily caught by the square patrol’s “witch hunt.”

Before entering, Ning Fei glanced in the direction of the square.

The surrounding buildings were like towering, intimidating ghost shadows in the dark night, interspersed with the firelight at the end of the street. Shouts, curses, whistles, and horns traveled along the street, carrying far in the silent night.

Ning Fei turned his head and followed the waiter’s light up to the attic room.

The attic was relatively small and had a sloping roof. Duan Yunhong and Ning Fei had to bow their heads when they walked to the window. Fortunately, chairs and a table were arranged in front of the window, with snacks, red wine, and a telescope prepared on top—the standard setup for nobles to watch executions. Because the space was small, the waiter led them here and then left, saying he would be waiting downstairs.

Ning Fei looked out the window. Although the roofs below were a bit in the way, the view was much more open, and he could see most of the central square. The light that had been squeezed in was now brightly lit. No, to be precise, it was all torches, with flames soaring into the sky.

Ning Fei picked up the telescope, and the details were immediately clear.

“There are even children charging into the square?”

Ning Fei narrowed his eyes and observed more carefully, “…Salai?”

Duan Yunhong, who was about to close his eyes to rest, said, “Hmm?”

*

Ten minutes earlier.

Beep—beep—

The whistle sounded in the distance. The teenagers hiding in the dark whispered, “The people over there have attracted the guards again! Prepare to throw kerosene and Molotov cocktails, and push the hay wagon to the alley entrance! When the hay wagon rushes five meters forward, we’ll follow closely behind and then throw the Molotov cocktails when we have a good shot!”

“This time, the hay wagon has to be lit and pushed forward directly!” Salai couldn’t help but remind them again from the side. “The hay wagon was still ten meters away from the square just now, and the person was shot dead. So, there’s no time to light it after pushing it!”

“But if we light it first and then push it from here, the thirty-meter distance is enough for the hay wagon to burn completely. And after the hay wagon is lit, the fire will blow towards the person pushing it. The handle of the wagon is less than a meter long, and the fire will burn directly onto the person! Before the wagon reaches the square, the person will be burned to death!” Someone retorted, “It’s better to push it out first and then light it. At least light it when it’s closer. Last time, someone was shot dead about ten meters away, so this time, we’ll light it after running halfway. The hay has already been sprinkled with oil, it’ll be quick!”

“That plan already failed just now! Do you think those archers are stupid and will foolishly wait for the wagon to enter ten meters before firing again? If they kill the person pushing the wagon once, they’ll push the hay wagon away and search the area again. How many more people can we sacrifice? How many more hay wagons can we give away for free? Every time they come to search, we have to take our things and move to another place. If someone doesn’t escape and the things aren’t taken away, we’ll lose a lot!” Salai said with dissatisfaction, “Pushing the lit hay wagon into the square is to scare away the guards and also use the fire to block their archers’ aim. If it’s not lit, it’s useless no matter how close you push it. It’s just sending people to the guards for nothing!”

“I said, the person will get burned! They’ll be burned to death before they’re shot dead! Isn’t that also a meaningless sacrifice?” The teenager’s tone involuntarily rose. “If the hay wagon is lost and the supplies are gone, then we’ll come back next time. One day, it’ll be written up there!”

“It failed last time, and it failed just now. If it always fails, when will it succeed? How many people will be willing to come next time? How many more supplies can we bring?” Salai retorted, “And do you think Ning Fei will wait for someone to write the name until the end of time? He’s a ‘devil’, not a ‘god’! Don’t you remember how many civilians were burned to death in the church fire? He’s not playing this game to vent the anger of the civilians, but because he wants to kill nobles! He can crush civilians as easily as we buried those two rogue thugs that day!”

Saying that, Salai stood up: “If no one is willing to push the burning hay wagon, then I’ll push it! I’ll light myself and push it!”

“Don’t talk big!” The teenager also retorted her, “You’re just a little girl, can you even push a hay wagon?”

“Then I’ll go push it with her.”

Another voice came from the darkness, and Salai immediately recognized who it was: “Kai!”

“I originally wanted to write Prince Fane’s name myself. After all, I have a blood feud with him, and I would be willing to give my life for it.” Kai replied, “But now I can’t even get close to the square. I can’t stand my own incompetence. Rather than waiting for an opportunity in the back, I would rather be burned to death. At least I tried my best, and I won’t feel guilty when I face my deceased family after death.”

Salai said, “Okay, I’ll go with you.”

Kai said, “Salai, you should still stay in the back…”

“No, I want to go. I already missed an opportunity when I was a servant at Ning Fei’s house. I don’t want to miss it again, otherwise I’ll never be able to sleep, I’ll always live in his shadow. I had a dream where Ning Fei laughed at me, saying that he dared to kill any powerful person, so how could I not even have the courage to write a name? It’s like I’ll always only dare to be a rat moving in the gutter.” Salai replied firmly, “I want to write the King’s name on there. Will Ning Fei really kill the King? Even if I die, I want to see the answer to this in the sky.”

“I believe he will kill Prince Fane, as long as I can write the name on there, I’m willing to believe it until death.” Kai walked over, “Let’s go, we’ll go replace the people pushing the wagon.”

“Okay.” Salai said, “We’ll wrap our heads in cloth and soak ourselves completely, so that we can at least last a little longer in the fire. I’ll also hang a bunch of kerosene bottles on my body. If the guards dare to kill me, I’ll light myself and rush up to hug them!”

“Then I’ll hang kerosene bottles too!” Kai replied, “I’m also going to write Prince Fane’s name on the square with kerosene. When the fire burns, his name will be forever on the stone pavement. Even if the fire goes out, the name will still be there, hahaha…”

The last sentence was obviously a joke. Salai didn’t refute him, and the two went to the group responsible for pushing the wagon together.

The support and writing group members who were left in place were silent for a moment. Even the teenager who had repeatedly rebuked Salai stopped talking. No one knew what they were thinking.

Unexpectedly, Salai was driven back, but Kai stayed in the pushing group. Salai said that the pushing group agreed to light it and then rush out, and Kai stayed there to be a backup in case something went wrong.

The teenagers became even more silent.

But time wouldn’t wait for them to think clearly. Just one minute after Salai returned, the pushing group moved.

Kerosene was poured on the hay and ignited instantly. What was being pushed out was less a hay wagon and more a “fire wagon.” The raging fire directly illuminated the buildings along the way, and the open flame scattered in the air with the severed hay. The guards who were still guarding in this direction were simply stunned. They looked in astonishment as several “fire wagons” rushed towards them, and instinctively retreated to avoid them. In the chaos, the defense formation was actually in a mess. The “fire wagons” took advantage of this moment to run much closer.

“Enemy attack! Enemy attack!!!”

The horn sounded, and the guards in the square began to converge again. But the front of the “fire wagon” was too terrifying. The guards could only fire arrows, in addition to waiting for this team to rush out of the alley and attacking directly from the side. No archers were stationed on the upper floors of this alley, and the archers in the front couldn’t see the people behind the fire, so they had to shoot wildly.

“Ugh…!”

The wagon pushers couldn’t avoid being hit by the arrows coming through the fire. Finally, one was hit squarely and staggered and fell. He was struggling to get up when Kai had already quickly filled his position and grabbed the wagon to charge forward! The fire had almost engulfed the entire wagon with the wind. Even though Kai was soaked all over, the flames licked at Kai’s hands and eyebrows, stinging his eyes and scalding him so much that he wanted to let go immediately.

But he didn’t let go, still gripping the handle tightly, charging forward with all his might.

Finally, the “fire wagon” was about to rush out of the alley entrance. It was only five meters away from rushing into the square!

“Molotov cocktails! Throw them quickly!”

The people behind the wagon pushing team shouted. The lit Molotov cocktails were thrown out with force, smashing into the front of the “fire wagon” with a bang. The bottles burst, kerosene splashed, and the flames ignited instantly along the oil stains. The guards were made to have difficulty moving by this change and didn’t rush forward to stop them for a time. But the wagon pushers and the civilians behind were not afraid of these flames at all and went straight through the fire wall, rushing to the edge of the square at a rapid pace!

“Catch them! Catch them!”

Someone shouted among the guards. They tried to get around the fire and hacked at the crowd with spears and long swords. More Molotov cocktails, torches, and kerosene cans were thrown out, black oil flowing everywhere, and the flames followed, burning everywhere. The guards dodged and raged, wielding their swords at the crowd recklessly, and fiercely thrusting their spears at the people over by the flames, becoming bloodthirsty. Even if the people charging into the square resisted with wooden sticks, hoes, sickles, and the like, they were still no match for the longer and sharper weapons and began to fall one by one. Some people fell just two or three meters away from the square, their eyes wide open staring in the direction of the square, seemingly wanting to see the scene of their goal being achieved before they died.

In the pupils illuminated by the firelight, the wagon pushing team really rushed into the square.

Among them was the almost oblivious Kai. When he realized that he had really entered the square, the joy was about to surge when a spear stabbed straight into his shoulder!

Bang!

The kerosene bottle hanging on his body was also smashed, and the kerosene instantly spilled all over him. The flames of the hay wagon only needed to lick him lightly, and his whole body quickly burst into flames!

“Ugh…!!!” Kai roared in pain, but did not fall to the ground and struggle, but staggered and pounced on the guards next to him. The guards were frightened by this fire person, and retreated one after another, while using their weapons to knock him down.

In the end, whether it was because of the fire or the stab wounds from the weapons, Kai fell to the ground.

The fire was still burning fiercely on his body. The guards wouldn’t put it out, and no one else had time to care. Kai was lying face down, the surrounding noise drowning out his painful groans. With his remaining strength, he tried his best to use his palm, or any part of his hand, to laboriously draw on the stone ground, stroke by stroke.

It was the letters of the name he wanted to write the most.

But after only writing the first stroke of the third letter, his hand stopped completely.

…

“Don’t look.”

Duan Yunhong took the telescope from Ning Fei’s hand and covered the youth’s eyes.