Chapter 326 Killing and Burning

“You mean Yu Qiang was once a military man? No wonder I have always felt that he was not that simple a character. He gives the impression that he is not merely a civilian official, more like a general.”

Lin Mengya had felt that Yu Qiang looked familiar, when she first met him. Now she remembered that her father’s colleagues whom she had seen at home, had the same traits as Yu Qiang.

Lin Mengya suddenly understood something. Now she knew why her father had not tried his best to argue with the empress, even after knowing that she had been locked up in the imperial palace.

However, Lin Mengya was worried that their enemies might have found out about the relationship between Yu Qiang and her father, and that was why Senior Yu was in danger today.

The situation was critical. Although Yu Qiang was a martial arts master, he was too old and his energy was running out. Skillful martial art practitioners did not have to fight long to defeat their opponents.

Ling Mengya knew that the extreme physical and mental strain would exhaust Yu Qiang’s strength soon. She had hidden here with Baisu for only a dozen of minutes.

She knew that she must do something. If she just stood there, Yu Qiang had very little chance to survive. These people were so vicious, not only did they want to kill Senior Yu, but they wanted to burn his body as well, in order to destroy the evidence.

They were truly a bloodthirsty lot!

Lin Mengya racked her mind, but still could not find a solution to help Yu Qiang out.

However, when she saw the fire blazing, she suddenly came up with an idea. She then hurriedly whispered in Baisu’s ear.

Baisu gave Lin Mengya a hesitant look, before she did as instructed.

Crouching low, she approached the fire quietly, and pulled out a burning stick cautiously.

A dozen people in black were fighting with Yu Qiang. They must have made careful plans before they made a move, and now they had blocked Yu Qiang’s escape route in all directions. Unable to break through, he was trapped in the middle.

Baisu took aim at a man in black, who was trying to attack Yu Qiang from behind. She flicked her fingers, causing the burning stick to fall onto the clothes of the man in black.

Then she did the same, popping the fire sticks onto the second, the third… men in black. Baisu was very smart and she chose the positions that no one else would immediately notice, the clothes hem, for example. The dry cotton cloth burned immediately as soon as it caught fire.

However, these people were so busy attacking Yu Qiang, that they were unaware of the fire at all.

Being surrounded in the middle, Yu Qiang waved his hands more rapidly, as if he had seen what Baisu was doing. The dozen men in black had to focus more in fighting him.

Baisu did not want to spend too much time on what she was doing. Before those people discovered that their clothes were on fire, she had already returned to Lin Mengya’s side. Both of them were extremely nervous as they watched the fierce fighting.

The fire was getting stronger. The petals on the nearby plum trees shriveled and was almost burnt, due to the heat.

It seemed that the men in black could sense the heat and they sped up their attacks. However, they were completely unaware of the flames quietly spreading along their clothes hems.

Even if they had sensed the heat, they might think that it was caused by the fire burning behind them.

Yu Qiang struggled on to fight these people, but he had almost used up his strength. Suddenly, he lost his balance and this gave his enemies a good opportunity to attack him. Instantly, he was sent flying and landed under the window of his little house.

“Eh-hem—”

Yu Qiang coughed a few times and swallowed the blood he coughed up, his eyes shining with wisdom.

Next, he seemed to be in a panic and threw all the black and brown clay pots under the window, at those people in black, hurriedly.

However, these people did not seem to be troubled by the heavy clay pots at all.

“Clatter!” The man in black in front of Yu Qiang smashed the clay pots into numerous pieces with his sharp sword.

A faint fragrance of wine immediately spread in the courtyard.

Lin Mengya could not help praising Yu Qiang inwardly.

“This old fox is really smart! He knows how to seize every opportunity to turn the tide,” she thought.

The leader of the men in black looked triumphant. These were nothing, but only a few pots of wine! Anyway, this old guy was going to be killed by him soon.

However, to his surprise, he suddenly heard someone screaming miserably. Their voices sounded familiar.

“Ah! So hot! Fire, fire!”

Yu Qiang grinned and the despondency on his face disappeared.

“I’ve treasured the plum wine for five years. I’ll leave it for you to drink on the road to hell!”

The man in black was stunned when he saw some of his men suddenly on fire. Alcohol was the best combustion aid!

Moreover, the black suits they wore had been baked dry and became highly flammable, due to the heat of the fire.

Like several big fire balls, these shrieking men were in a panic, due to the pains caused by their burns. Meanwhile, the sparks landed onto a few more people in black, who had been splashed with the wine.

Soon their miserable screams filled the courtyard.

Lin Mengya and Baisu were still staring at Yu Qiang quietly. Although they were lucky to have gotten rid of a few enemies for Yu Qiang, most of the men in black were still there.

The leader of these men in black raised his sword.

In the blink of an eye, he killed all his companions, who were on fire.

The smell of their burnt flesh which almost made Lin Mengya sick, aroused the anger of the rest of the men in black.

After all, anyone would be filled with anger when they watched their companions die so miserably in front of them.

Taking advantage of the frenzy, Yu Qiang rested for a short moment. He looked as if he was going to fight his enemies to the death, but his eyes fell on the corner of the courtyard, where Lin Mengya and Baisu were hiding.

“Come on, show me all your skills! The empress and the prince were really kind to me and they even sent you to accompany me on the way to the netherworld!”

Yu Qiang looked mighty and heroic as he said this. Although his hair was white, it did not detract from his courageous demeanor.

Lin Mengya admired him so much, and she was even more determined that she should not just stand and watch this old hero die a wrongful death here.

“Don’t talk nonsense. Let’s attack together!”

Except for those who had been killed, there were only six men in black, left.

Six to one! Compared to Yu Qiang, it seemed that they had an absolute majority in numbers.

The eyes of the men in black shone with a bloodthirsty gleam. However, at the very moment, something unexpected happened.

An unfamiliar figure in black suddenly appeared in front of them, while they were approaching Yu Qiang.

They seemed to be in a trance, and a cold light was flashing.

Before these people could realize what was happening, one of their heads fell to the ground.

“Well done, young man! Your martial skill is so powerful. I admire you!”

Yu Qiang praised this person loudly. Worrying that the new comer might become a hindrance to their task, the men in black rushed at Yu Qiang together, without any hesitation.

Lin Mengya crouched in the grass, feeling both nervous and worried.

Fortunately, Baisu had not used up any of her physical energy yet. Besides, Lin Mengya had waited patiently for a long time, until the men in black were worn out, before letting Baisu, who could not wait to rush out, suddenly join the battle.

Moreover, she had specifically reminded Baisu to attack the man who was closest to her, once she started her attack.

It was very important to stay calm, be accurate and ruthless while attacking. Obviously, these killers were good at martial arts, but not at sneak attacks, so they were so surprised, when they saw a figure suddenly appear in front of them.

An extremely sharp dagger was Baisu’s most powerful weapon now.

Two to five! It seemed that Yu Qiang and Baisu had a chance to win.

Although it was the first time they fought together, they worked well as a team. Baisu’s ruthlessness and skill, coupled with Yu Qiang’s strength in attacking, brought out the best in each of them.

Soon, blood gushed out from the chests of two of the men in black.

On the other side, Baisu and Yu Qiang suffered only minor injuries.

Now there were two people on both sides. However, it was still a close call.

Lin Mengya became very anxious. She was worried about Yu Qiang. She did not want to see her maid injured as well. Lin Mengya’s mind raced to come up with an idea. She suddenly raised her voice, imitating the voice of a eunuch, and shouted loudly,

“There is a fire! Come and fight the fire!”

The four who were fighting were taken aback by her sudden scream.

The two men in black exchanged glances and suddenly leaped backward. They then jumped onto the wall and fled from Yu Qiang’s small courtyard as fast as they could.

After the two men disappeared, Baisu and Yu Qiang looked at each other and cupped their fists in salute. At this point, a figure ran to them quickly.

“Senior Yu, hurry! Let’s find a place to hide!”

Lin Mengya thought that people would soon come to the courtyard to fight the fire.

No matter if Yu Qiang had been burnt to death or not, those people would still come. Otherwise, it would be seem very suspicious.

Lin Mengya could never tell anyone about what had taken place tonight, so she was extremely anxious for the moment.

Although Yu Qiang had just experienced a battle of life and death, he was strong-minded and was not eager to hide. Hearing what Lin Mengya said, he pointed at a big jar under the window.

When Lin Mengya and Baisu had just hidden in the jar, a few figures appeared at the gate.

Lin Mengya could not help sweating with anxiety, worrying that those people were the killers’ companions.

However, when she saw them clearly, she heaved a sigh of relief. They were all young eunuchs. With their dirty faces, they looked like messy kittens.

Their gray clothes were all ragged, and they looked like refugees.

When they saw Yu Qiang, who was staring at the fire calmly in front of the house, these eunuchs became very cautious.

“Sir, we are the eunuchs from the imperial palace. The fire is spreading all over. Please leave with us.”