Chapter 16 World One

The pungent smoke filled every corner of the room. Bao Shan staggered to his feet and heard only hurried footsteps and calls coming one after another.

Through the oil paper on the window, a faint flicker of light could be seen. The wooden door of her room was kicked open, and two soldiers rushed in and helped her out.

There was a mixture of sounds: footsteps, splashing water, and the crackling of wood in a blazing fire.

Bao Shan and the soldiers stood outside the post station. A cool breeze blew, and the fire became more fierce. The red flames devoured the beams, tables and chairs...

The cool breeze made Baoshan's drowsy mind clear. She looked up and saw that the place where the fire was most fierce was Mu Nanxing's room.

"Miss Baoshan, be careful!"

A cry of surprise was heard, and the treasure fan was pulled backwards by the owner of the voice.

With a "bang", the place where she was originally standing was occupied by a piece of wood that had been burnt into charcoal. The shape could barely be recognized as a window frame.

Bao Shan pulled the arm of the man who saved her, her expression slightly changed, and her tone was filled with a bit of urgency: "Quick, go find the young marquis!"

This fire must be related to Zhang Shang, but Zhang Shang knew that Mu Nanxing was attending the banquet.

The post station is directly under the capital, not under the management of Lord Zhang. Zhang Shang went to such great lengths and risked being blamed by the court to set this fire, burning several empty rooms. He must have had some ill intentions and wanted to destroy all traces in the room.

But the soldier didn't seem anxious, saying, "The young marquis asked me to protect Miss Baoshan. If I leave without permission, I will be punished according to military discipline."

Bao Shan didn't know whether Mu Nanxing had already made plans, or whether this soldier was too dull and only knew how to follow orders without being flexible.

Lord Zhang was planning to silence the witnesses, and he intended to do it at the banquet. The fine wine in the silver wine cups would make people drowsy, and when they had no strength left to resist the enemy, they would take action.

However, if the news that Lord Zhang did not intend to let the relief team lose their lives spread in Fuling City, it would inevitably arouse suspicion in the capital.

He simply set a fire and burned the post station to ashes.

Firstly, he could destroy the clues that Mu Nanxing had found. Secondly, he could use the destruction of the post station as an excuse to keep Mu Nanxing, Feng Hui and others in his house.

When the day came for him to return to Beijing, he ordered people to dress up as Mu Nanxing and others. On the way back to Beijing, they randomly found a steep hillside and pretended to fall down and die.

By that time, the accident happened outside the city, and he could not be blamed anyway, so he could only blame it on God's will.

However, Lord Zhang thought this was a clever idea. When he saw several people lying on the table with dazed looks, he ordered the guards to arrest them.

But things changed in a flash, and before Lord Zhang was immersed in his pride, he was captured by the people brought by Mu Nanxing.

Not only him, but also Madam Zhang, Zhang Shang, and his close guards...

All of them were tied up tightly, like chickens or ducks, and thrown to the ground.

Zhang Shang's eyes were bloodshot and he shouted for him to be let go. Seeing that no one paid attention to him, he collapsed to the ground.

A look of struggle flashed in his eyes, and he looked up at Mu Nanxing from afar.

"The post station is on fire, go back quickly..."

Go and save the precious fan.

Lord Zhang was already in a depressed state, unable to accept his own flawless plan. How could something go wrong? He should have been sitting firmly on the throne, but in the blink of an eye he was about to become a prisoner.

When he heard what Zhang Shang said, his eyes suddenly widened.

"You're such a loser! You're so soft-hearted because of a woman..."

It must be Zhang Shang, his favorite son, who leaked the plan and told Bao Shan in advance, which led to Mu Nanxing finding out and causing him to end up like a lost dog today.

Even though Zhang Shang said angrily that he had not revealed a single word, Lord Zhang did not believe it. He now only believed in everything he had speculated.

He would rather attribute the reason of his failure to a woman, thinking that it was this little woman who ruined his plan, than admit that he was too incompetent.

Mu Nanxing had already arranged for soldiers to protect the treasured fan. She was the only woman at the post station, and the other soldiers had been training in the barracks for years, so even if something happened, they would be able to protect themselves. She was a weak woman, powerless. Besides, asking the soldiers to take better care of it was just a piece of cake.

Although the treasure fan would be safe, a white light flashed through his mind. Mu Nanxing raised the whip, and the horse Hualiu under him let out a long sigh and increased its speed.

Seeing this, Feng Hui and others also whipped their horses and followed closely behind him.

Bao Shan was worried about Mu Nanxing, but she became calmer at this moment. She heard the sound of horse hooves and the dust flying wherever they went.

The sound was getting closer and closer. The soldiers who were protecting her saw that her complexion looked better, and at Baoshan's soft urging, they took the bucket and went to get water to put out the fire.

Figures gathered in front of the fire, their footsteps hurried. No one paid attention to Baoshan. The blazing fire was reflected in Baoshan's eyes. She weighed the pros and cons in her mind and quickly made a decision.

I saw a beautiful figure running towards the burning post station.

Because they were so anxious, one of their embroidered shoes fell off. Everyone was so focused on putting out the fire that no one noticed.

Mu Nanxing jumped off Hualiu before he could pull the reins. His house seemed to have been engulfed in flames, with red flames dancing on the tiles.

Mu Nanxing was about to go in, but Feng Hui hurried over and grabbed him.

Mu Nanxing said coldly: "Let go."

"Young Marquis, that's a sea of fire, you can't go there!"

"I'm going to pick something up."

Mu Nanxing remained unwavering and continued to enter the sea of fire. He only thought about being wary of Lord Zhang. He never imagined that he would set the fire, and his sachet was still in the box.

Seeing him like this, Feng Hui could guess what he was going to get, and what else was there that was worth him risking his life and even rushing into a sea of fire, except that damn sachet.

"Young Marquis, it's just a sachet. If you like it, I'll ask Miss Li to sew one for you after we return to the capital."

If I sew another one, I'm afraid there won't be a second one. Mu Nanxing once again thought of Li Qingyu's alienation and rejection before leaving.

If he didn't break in today, the sachet would have turned to ashes, just like the relationship between him and Li Qingyu.

Mu Nanxing couldn't figure out whether he cared about the sachet or was unable to let go of the pure love he once had.

Those childhood companionships and happy times seemed to be being devoured by the fire.

He had made up his mind, and no matter how many difficulties and dangers there were, nothing could stop him, let alone a mere Feng Hui.

Bao Shan ran into the post station and found a place where the fire was the smallest. She took out the sachet and stroked the "Yu" character on it. The next moment, she placed the sachet on the raging fire. The fire met the silk and instantly burned it to ashes.

Seeing this, Baoshan reached out and held the fire that was about to spread from the sachet in his palm.

A burning pain came from between the fingers. Soon, the fire was extinguished. Baoshan stretched out his five fingers, but they were all red and swollen.

She frowned because of the pain of the burn, but after a moment, a look of relief appeared in her eyes.

Bao Shan squatted down and let the thick smoke drift in the air. This square place was enough to hold her for a while, so she was not in a hurry to leave.

The word "Yu" on the sachet had been completely burned, emitting a burnt smell. Bao Shan flattened the injured hand, his eyes slightly deep, and he clenched it again.

She clearly heard the soldiers outside the post station exclaiming in surprise.

"Where did this shoe come from?"

Baoshan was the only woman in the post station, so these embroidered shoes must belong to Baoshan.

One of the soldiers slapped his head and remembered that when he was carrying a bucket of water to put out the fire, he vaguely saw a figure.

He thought he was seeing things. After all, who would go to the post station nowadays? Now that he thought about it, that figure might be the treasure fan.

Hearing that Bao Shan had entered the post station, Mu Nanxing's already hurried pace quickened even more.

Before he even set foot into the inn, he was hit by a soft touch.

Bao Shan let out a soft cry, and looked up to see that it was Mu Nanxing. Her brows immediately softened. She grabbed Mu Nanxing's long sleeves and handed the sachet she had brought back from the post station to him, with a hint of flattery in her voice.

"Young Marquis, I've retrieved your sachet."

Behind him, the fire shone brightly, but Baoshan's eyes were even brighter than that.

Those tender eyes now revealed a burning affection.

There were a few streaks of dust on her fair face, and one of her embroidered shoes had fallen off because she was in such a hurry.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that Baoshan was in a mess at this moment. Even when Mu Nanxing first met her, she was being harassed by Zhang Shang and was wearing a coarse linen dress, which was clean and tidy.

It's nothing like now, where a person ran into the burning post station alone just to find the sachet in the box, and ended up in this state.

Mu Nanxing was filled with mixed emotions. How could a woman like her have the courage to run into the sea of fire alone?

Even battle-hardened men could only fetch water from outside to put out the fire and would not force their way in.

Mu Nanxing looked at Baoshan's eyes, which were as bright as stars, and her heart moved slightly. She couldn't describe the feeling: he probably knew why Baoshan broke in. ——Because the sachet was very important to him, she was willing to go.

How could there be such a stupid person who would rush in and risk falling beams just for two thin pieces of silk?

Mu Nanxing looked at the treasure fan as if he was looking at himself. He was about to go in just now and had made up his mind to get it back.

Baoshan stuffed the sachet into Mu Nanxing's arms and smoothed out the wrinkles for him. His eyes began to become hazy.

"Young Marquis, I feel dizzy..."

"Precious fan! Precious fan!"

Feng Hui shouted from the side.

Bao Shan had fainted in Mu Nanxing's arms. Mu Nanxing passed his hands through her slender and soft legs and held her in his arms.

Bao Shan's hand fell downwards, revealing horrific scars. Seeing this, Mu Nanxing stepped more anxiously.

The doctor took Baoshan's pulse and found that he had fainted due to inhaling too much smoke.

But Baoshan's hand was red and swollen, and a few drops of blood were stained on her snow-like skin.

Her hands were naturally delicate. Before she met with misfortune, her family had taken good care of them, and they had grown into a pair of soft, boneless, and snow-white hands.

Even after encountering misfortune, Baoshan still cherishes his hands and takes good care of them all day long.

Now, one is still small and cute, but the other has been burned by the flames and looks horrible.

The wound wasn't deep, and it wouldn't leave a scar. But the doctor, seeing such a delicate hand for the first time, felt heartbroken even for the smallest wound. He couldn't say, "It's nothing serious. It will heal with careful care."

He could only think it over again and again, and finally said: "Please be careful, how did you hurt your hand like this?"

Feng Hui followed the doctor to get the medicine.

Grind the herbs in the prescription into juice, discard the residue, leaving only half a bowl of juice, soak it with gauze, and then apply it to the wound.

Feng Hui wanted to apply medicine to the precious fan, but Mu Nanxing stopped him.

"Men and women should not touch each other."

Feng Hui put down the medicine and said meaningfully.

"Then come on."

Mu Nanxing still frowned and said the same thing as before.

Finally, Mu Nanxing hired a female doctor to change the medicine on the precious fan every day.