Li Chunyan slowly opened her eyes, her gaze hazy with intoxication.

Suddenly, her eyes cleared abruptly, her pupils trembled, and she sat up abruptly.

"Oh no, what did I do to Zhang Fan last night?" She covered her face with her hands, which were burning hot.

Thinking about what happened last night, Zhang Fan wondered if he would be frightened by his own actions. He realized he had been too aggressive.

She gripped the blanket tightly, took several deep breaths, and finally convinced herself not to overthink it.

It was already bright outside, and after washing up, she went to make breakfast.

Li Chunyan blushed, knocked on Zhang Fan's door, and said gently, "Zhang Fan, come out for dinner."

Zhang Fan opened the door, his hair a mess, and rubbed his eyes as he called out, "Sister-in-law."

Seeing that Zhang Fan looked normal, Li Chunyan wondered if he had been dreaming last night and, because of his drunkenness, had mistaken his dream for reality.

Her tense back, which had been trembling with embarrassment, gradually relaxed.

A glint of light flashed in Zhang Fan's eyes.

This sister-in-law is so bold at night, but so timid today.

Unbeknownst to him, Li Chunyan overheard part of his conversation with Zhang Youde.

However, Li Chunyan didn't hear the whole thing, and didn't hear how Zhang Fan answered.

If Zhang Fan isn't really stupid anymore, then her behavior would be far too unrestrained.

Fortunately, Zhang Fan didn't react at all, so she must have been overthinking it. At the same time, she felt a little disappointed; Zhang Fan's mental illness hadn't gotten better yet.

After breakfast, Zhang Fan went to fetch water, while Li Chunyan went to make kimchi.

Zhang Fan carried the water buckets and slowly descended the mountain, heading towards the location of the new well.

Not long after they started walking, Zhang Fan smelled a strong, pungent smell of firewood.

He subconsciously looked toward the source of the smell and saw a wisp of blue smoke rising into the distance.

Oh no! There's a fire in the distance!

Zhang Fan, disregarding the need to fetch water, ran through the village shouting, "Fire!"

That shout woke up everyone in the village. They rushed out with buckets and other tools, some without even putting on their shoes.

Zhang Youde was so anxious that he didn't even use his cane and limped out, shouting, "Where's the fire?"

Ji Zhi and the others also woke up.

When Ji Zhi woke up in the morning and realized that he had missed such a big thing, he was so angry that he slapped himself.

What a wonderful way to repay a debt of gratitude, yet he didn't cherish it.

Because he had acted as a bridge between Zhang Fan and Zhao Lin, Zhao Lin promoted him to bodyguard after he returned, making him second only to the secretary. Not only did he get a raise, but he also received three years' worth of salary as a bonus.

All of this was thanks to Zhang Fan, and he was extremely grateful to Zhang Fan, always wanting to find an opportunity to repay him.

Without even checking where the fire was, he hurriedly made a phone call: "We need to call the fire department."

Zhang Youde: "The fire department is far away, and the weather is dry, so the fire will start very quickly. We need to save ourselves first!"

Everyone looked around, but saw nothing.

"Zhang Fan, you can't shout without a fire."

"Yeah, are you imitating the story of 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf'?"

Zhang Fan pointed into the distance: "Over there."

Everyone looked in the direction he pointed, but it was too far away to see anything.

Zhang Youde and Zhang Fan exchanged a glance, and seeing the other's serious expression, they knew he wasn't lying. He frowned and called to someone with good eyesight to climb to a higher place to get a better view.

The man squinted, looked again and again, and finally saw a wisp of green smoke.

There are no houses there, so there shouldn't be any smoke rising from the air.

He exclaimed in panic, "It's...it's really on fire, right next to the steep south slope."

It hasn't rained for almost two months, and the withered branches, fallen leaves, and some tree trunks have long been dried out by the sun.

The steep southern slope is densely forested; if the fire spreads over there, several nearby villages might not survive.

Zhang Youde's expression was serious and solemn: "Everyone, grab your weapons and go put out the fire."

Do not use water to extinguish wildfires.

The journey is long, and it would be time-consuming and laborious to transport the water by manpower. Moreover, the fire would not be able to extinguish the wildfire at all; instead, it would evaporate the water into steam, which could burn people.

Therefore, when fighting wildfires, the only option is usually to cut a firebreak and let the fire in the middle burn itself.

Apart from the elderly and children, everyone in the village took machetes, axes, and kitchen knives and headed towards the water source.

Everyone turned back and took one last deep look at their home, their faces bearing expressions of resignation.

Everyone knew that this journey was fraught with danger, but for the sake of their homeland, they had no choice but to fight.

Ji Zhi and his men also grabbed their weapons and followed. They were former soldiers, and protecting the safety of people and property was an idea ingrained in their bones.

With his legs weak, Zhang Youde could only look at the village and pray silently to the sky, bowing again and again: "May God protect us, and may everyone return safely."

Each of them wore an air of unstoppable momentum, determined to extinguish the wildfire.

Zhang Fan frowned and did not follow, but instead pondered deeply to the side.

Zhang Youde noticed Zhang Fan: "Zhang Fan, what are you thinking about?"

"Third Master, there are trees on all sides there. If we go there now, the fire will be bigger. Not only will we not be able to put out the fire, but we will also be in danger of losing our lives."

Zhang Youde's face was pale and his expression was full of sorrow. How could he not know? But what could they do? If they didn't help, they would only be left homeless. They had no choice but to gamble.

If they win the bet, they can save their homes.

They lost the bet, but they had tried their best.

Zhang Youde sighed: "Fire is merciless! There's nothing we can do about it."

Zhang Fan slowly stood up, his eyes fixed firmly ahead: "No, is there another way?"

Zhang Youde's eyes lit up with surprise: "What method?"

Zhang Fan turned around, a smile playing on his lips: "I need to borrow Third Master's influence."

Sunlight filtered through the branches of the old locust tree, casting dappled shadows on Zhang Fan's profile. His features shifted between light and shadow, revealing a striking and handsome face. Charcoal pencils outlined his strong, resolute lines.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!