"What about the bookstore? Was the fire serious? Are my books safe?"
"The bookstore is fine, and your books are in good condition."
"That's good, that's good." Her brother didn't even finish his words, which scared her so much that her heart was pounding.
It was a false alarm. Xu Jiang felt his legs go weak and he hurriedly held onto a lamppost to catch his breath.
Shopkeeper Wang fanned her with his sleeve and continued, "The fire started outside the backyard wall. Fortunately, it was put out in time. Only the donkey shed burned. The eaves of the house were also licked by the fire, but it's not serious. We can fix it later."
Xu Jiang recovered her breath and heard the donkey shed was on fire. She asked again, "Where's the donkey? Is he alright?"
"The donkey is fine, but Uncle Jackal was badly burned." Shopkeeper Wang exclaimed, "What a good dog! So fierce and fierce! Thanks to him and Yinyin for spotting the bad guys first and stopping them. Otherwise, if they had caught up and set the whole shop on fire, we would have been finished."
Just hearing what Shopkeeper Wang said was enough to tell her how dangerous it was. Yinyin had seen it herself, and the little girl must have been terrified. And there was no telling how badly Uncle Jackal was injured. Xu Jiang's heart tightened, and she couldn't stand still for a moment.
"Let's go back to the bookstore first."
The two men arrived outside the government office. In addition to Guard Xue and Xu Wu and Xu Twelve, there was also a team of yamen runners with horses ready to go. When Xu Jiang asked, he found out that it was Shopkeeper Wang who had reported to the authorities, and they were going together to investigate and arrest people.
Shopkeeper Wang helped Xu Jiang onto the cart, then he himself climbed onto the donkey's back. "I caught two accomplices of the arsonist, and Uncle Jackal caught an arsonist and was burned along with him. He has been sent to Qianjinfang for treatment."
Xu Jiang was filled with gratitude and anxiety, and kept thanking him.
The chief officer in charge of the yamen runners whipped his whip and shouted, "Go!"
The group quickly headed towards Yonghefang.
Xu Wu and Xu Twelve were carried by Guard Xue to sit in the front of the carriage and were almost thrown off several times.
Xu Jiang sat in the car, feeling extremely anxious. Finally hearing the familiar sounds of the city, she quickly opened the car curtain, muttering, "We're here, we're here."
After turning into Huailiu Lane, she pushed Xu Wu away and jumped out of the carriage before it stopped.
Xu Wu's hands were tied and he couldn't hold on, so she pushed him and he fell off the carriage, with his mouth full of mud.
Xu Jiang had no time to care about him and ran straight to the bookstore. When the neighbors saw her come back, they came up to her and described the previous scene one after another.
Xu Jiang knew they had helped light the fire, so he thanked them repeatedly. Then he grabbed Guard Zhu and asked, "Where are Yinyin and Liang Mo?"
Guard Zhu said, "They are cleaning Uncle Jackal's wound in the backyard. I am guarding the gate."
"Thank you for your help." Xu Jiang glanced at Shopkeeper Wang, who was leading the yamen runners around the area, and said, "You and your brother will lead the officers to investigate. Answer whatever they ask, and hand over any thieves you catch to them for punishment."
"I understand." Guard Zhu walked towards several yamen runners. When the neighbors saw the officials coming, they hurried forward and told them what they had seen and heard.
Seeing someone watching from the front, Xu Jiang quickly ran into the corner gate.
Entering the backyard, Xu Jiang saw the donkey shed, reduced to its wooden frame, and the carved room's walls, scorched black and yellow. She felt a pang of distress; Lou Yunchun had built the donkey shed himself, and the walls had only just been painted.
Damn it these days!
Then, a donkey's head suddenly hit her belly, and she started to moan.
Xu Jiang lowered his head and patted its head, feeling a little relieved. "It's good that it's not dead, it's good that it's not dead."
"Sister Xu? You're back?"
Xu Jiang looked in the direction of the sound and saw Yin Yin and Liang Mo squatting under the eaves, cleaning Uncle Jackal's wounds.
She pushed the stubborn donkey aside and walked quickly forward to examine the jackal lying on the mat. She saw that the jackal's once glossy fur had been singed black, with flesh exposed in many places, which made Xu Jiang's heart ache.
When Uncle Jackal saw her come back, he raised his head to look at her, hummed a few times, and then lowered his head again.
"Good dog, good dog." Xu Jiang patted its head and then asked Liang Mo, "How is it?"
"I've cleaned off some of the kerosene and mud on my body, but my boss has seen that I'm badly burned. I'm not sure if I can make it through this."
"I don't know if human medicine can be used on it."
The stubborn donkey also raised its head to smell it, and Xu Jiang slapped it away with one palm. Then he remembered that he had been injured in a fight with another donkey and was cured by Zhao Zhang's medicine.
Zhao Zhang is good at treating horses, but I wonder if he can treat dogs.
Never mind, let’s send it to him first.
Xu Jiang pulled the stubborn donkey over and asked Liang Mo to help harness the cart. Then he carefully lifted Uncle Jackal into the cart and sent it to Zhao Zhang's horse farm.
After seeing Liang Mo off, the yamen runners came to the backyard to investigate.
Xu Jiang followed beside him and thanked him, "Thank you for your help, sirs."
After checking around, Zaotou rubbed his nose and frowned, saying, "What a strong smell of kerosene."
Shopkeeper Wang stood outside the corner gate and pointed to a spot. "The thieves poured kerosene outside the back wall. There are still several barrels of it, unopened, piled outside."
Zaotou went out and looked in the direction he pointed, and sure enough, there were several wooden barrels piled up there. He ordered the yamen runners to bring all the barrels over, and then opened them for inspection, and they were indeed kerosene.
"Take it back as evidence."
The yamen runners left with kerosene.
Shopkeeper Wang pointed at Yin Yin and said, "It was this little girl who saw those people set the fire with her own eyes."
Yin Yin stood there at a loss.
When Zaotou's sharp eyes swept over her, she didn't know what to do with her hands and feet.
Xu Jiang hurried over, patted her back, and soothed her, "Don't be afraid. Just tell the officer everything you know."
With Xu Jiang around, Yin Yin became much bolder and told Zaotou in detail how she discovered the thief, how her uncle Jackal fought with the thief, how the thief set himself on fire, and how his accomplices escaped.
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