Chapter 22
Lin Xing flashed into the house and asked, "What's going on outside the city? Are there any casualties?"
Shen Ling and Yu Hang fell into silence, saying nothing. Lin Xing became more and more anxious. "Just tell me what's going on."
This time, without letting Lin Xing wait any longer, Yu Hang finally spoke: "Not good, many people died in the fire. We need to go to the scene to find out the specific situation."
Lin Xing's eyes suddenly turned red. The truth was too cruel. They had clearly met again in the morning. She sat down slowly and calmed herself down.
The room was silent. Shen Ling saw that the time was almost up and decided to break the silence.
"The carriage is ready. Let's set off quickly to the outside of the city and see everyone off."
"Well, let's go quickly."
The three of them went out together and happened to run into Sister Lian who wanted to come in to deliver some fruit. Lin Xing pulled her aside to explain things, and motioned for the two to go first.
"Sister Lian, I'm going to go out of town. I don't know when I'll be back. Don't worry."
"Young shopkeeper, you just came back and you're leaving without any rest." Sister Lian looked reluctant, "You haven't gone to see Yuanyuan yet."
Lin Xing wanted to get out of the city and didn't want to waste any more time, so she responded briefly and walked out. She walked quickly and got on the carriage in a flash.
Lin Xing was the only one in the carriage, and it was so quiet around her that she couldn't help but imagine the final outcome. Every time at this time, she would look out the window and see the lights lit up along the way, and she would feel more at ease.
Before they arrived at the destination, a burnt smell entered Lin Xing's carriage. She quickly looked outside, but there was nothing there. There were only ruins and the survivors slumped on the ground.
The carriage finally stopped. Lin Xing jumped out and walked into the crowd without looking back at Yu Hang and Shen Ling. She looked at the people and did not find any familiar faces. She stopped and dared not move forward.
The guard noticed the three people and stepped forward to salute, but Shen Ling stopped him and signaled him to quickly report the whole story.
"The fire broke out suddenly. Everyone had gone back to rest when it started. By the time we discovered it, it was already a little too late and many people could not be saved."
Lin Xing interrupted him, "With such an abnormal fire, why didn't the yamen runners come to investigate?"
"Manager Lin, you don't know that the bailiffs have already been here. They said that the fire fell from the sky and was purely accidental."
The three of them are not fools. How could they possibly believe such a crappy reason? Lin Xing and Yu Hang looked at Shen Ling. Now it was his time to perform.
"How dare you use such an excuse to deceive us. How could the yamen runners say such a ridiculous thing? Could it be that you are all united because you are afraid of being held accountable?"
"Master Shen, you are wise!" The guard was frightened by these words and knelt down, "This is indeed what the yamen runner said, and I dare not forge it."
Seeing that he didn't look like he was lying, Lin Xing secretly nudged Chen Ling. Shen Ling said, "Okay, I don't think you have the guts to do that. Get up and help with the disaster relief."
The guard scrambled away, fearing that he would be punished again if he left late. The three men behind him had solemn expressions. The fire was definitely not accidental, but the bailiff dared to make such a judgment. There must be a reason.
"What do you think?"
Shen Ling turned a blind eye and said, "Of course I see it that way."
Yu Hang followed suit and put his hands over his eyes, "I look at it this way."
Lin Xing was helpless and held her forehead with her hand and smiled bitterly. It was already this time, and they were still in the mood to play around. But she couldn't bear to scold them, as they were just trying to make her happy.
Finally, Lin Xing was very considerate and laughed twice to avoid making them too embarrassed.
"That's enough, let's talk about something serious."
"It's obvious that there must be someone behind this, and things are definitely not as simple as they seem." Although Shen Ling put away his nonchalant attitude, his words were still not serious.
"Let's go and find out the situation now. It will take us a while to figure it out."
The three of them thought for a moment and walked towards the crowd. Lin Xing walked through the crowd, confirming one by one, she wanted to find Xunhuan and the aunt. The more I looked, the more frightened I became. No, not here, and not there.
Both of them died in the fire. Lin Xing couldn't accept the news for a while and her body was staggering. She chose to squat before she fell, it's better not to cause more trouble at a time like this.
The new shed had been built. Lin Xing saw an old lady walking towards that direction with difficulty not far away, and hurried to help her. Unexpectedly, when the old lady saw Lin Xing coming, she suddenly burst into tears.
"Manager Lin, what should I do? I am the only one left in my family. My daughter survived the fever but died in the fire. How can I live like this?"
The old lady was shaking as she spoke, and Lin Xing had to use all her strength to steady her. A familiar voice rang out, and Lin Xing remembered that she was the one who had proposed marriage to her together with the old lady.
Seeing her so desperate, Lin Xing had no choice but to comfort her to the best of her ability. Fortunately, it was effective. At least the old lady stopped wailing and was supported by her into the shed.
At this point the survivors were mostly in the shed, only half of them. Everyone was lost in their own sorrow, and said nothing. Suddenly someone cried out, and then everyone began to feel pain.
"My son, why did you leave?" The speaker was a woman with white hair, but some parts were blackened by smoke.
"My mother was weak to begin with, but she survived the plague. I thought she wouldn't die, but in the end..." This was a middle-aged man who kept slapping the ground with his hands while speaking.
The crying sound echoed in Lin Xing's ears. Similar words were shouted out by different voices, each one with great emotion. She couldn't bear to listen any longer, so she turned and rushed out of the shed.
Lin Xing, trying hard to hold back her tears, didn't look up and ran out, unfortunately she bumped into someone.
"What's wrong? You're so anxious."
It was Yu Hang. When Lin Xing heard Yu Hang's voice, her tears immediately welled up. She cried so hard that she couldn't speak and could only shake her head continuously.
Yu Hang helped Lin Xing aside, making sure that no one else would see them. He wanted to wipe away Lin Xing's tears, but his outstretched hand was stained black. After a pause, he withdrew his hand and began to feel around his body, hoping to find a handkerchief.
What a disappointment for him, there was nothing. In the end, Lin Xing took out a handkerchief from her body and wiped her face, and Yu Hang stood beside her to accompany her.
After a while, Lin Xing explained the whole story in a nasal voice, "I didn't see Xun Huan and Auntie, I guess..."
"There are not many survivors, only about half. The fire was so serious that it was worse than the plague."
Yu Hang took out a notebook from his sleeve and handed it to Lin Xing, who took it with confusion.
"When I was helping just now, I heard that the people who came to help today compiled a list of people who had been feverish, so I asked them to copy it."
Lin Xing flipped through the list and saw familiar names one by one. Then she thought that many of the people on the list might not be around anymore, and tears started falling again.
She didn't want to read it anymore, so she closed the book and put it away. Just then, there was a shout outside, and it sounded like Shen Ling. What did he want to talk to them about?
The two went out and found Shen Ling, "What happened? Why are you looking for us so anxiously?"
"Your restaurant sent someone to look for you. They're over there."
Shen Ling pointed behind the three people and followed their line of sight. It was Uncle Gui, so something must be going on.
Lin Xing was shocked, and her intuition told her that she was doomed. But his steps became faster and faster until he arrived next to Uncle Gui.
"Uncle Gui, is there something wrong at the restaurant?" Lin Xing didn't notice that her voice was shaking.
"No, there's nothing wrong with the restaurant, it's Yuanyuan."
Lin Xing had breathed a sigh of relief, but the second half of the sentence made her breathe it back, "What happened to Yuanyuan? She was fine just now. Sister Lian wanted to take me to see a doctor."
"Not long after the shopkeeper left, Yuanyuan developed a fever and was seen by a doctor. He said she was dying. You should go back quickly to see her for the last time."
She didn’t know if it was Lin Xing’s illusion, but she felt that Uncle Gui’s voice seemed to come from far away. She was unaware of what happened afterwards, including how she got on the carriage or how she arrived at the restaurant. She only woke up from her dream when she heard Sister Lian crying.
It was too late, Yuanyuan had also left. Lin Xing, who was standing outside the house, was reluctant to take that step. Looking at Liu Lian who had fainted from crying in the house, a feeling of frustration surged in her heart.
Why did this happen? Everything was going well yesterday, why did it suddenly turn out like this today? She left no one behind; Auntie, Xunhuan, Yuanyuan, everyone left.
"Sister Lian!" Lin Xing heard Huan'er's voice in the room and quickly turned around to see that Liu Lian had actually fainted. She hurried into the house to help Liu Lian up, and together with Lin Huan, she sent her to her own room.
The doctor did not go far. After entering the house, Lin Xing asked Lin Huan to call the doctor back while she stayed with Sister Lian first. Looking at Liu Lian lying unconscious on the bed, she really hated herself for making Liu Lian experience the pain of losing her child again.
"Sister Xiao Xing, the doctor is here."
Lin Huan invited the doctor into the room, and the two of them retreated to the door to avoid affecting the diagnosis. Time passed by minute by minute.
"Boss, Miss Liu is fine. She just fainted because she was too sad. I'll give her a few prescriptions. If she takes them on time every day, she will be cured."
"Thank you, doctor." Lin Xing now seemed like a machine, and nothing could make her upset again.
"Doctor, please come with me." Lin Huan saw that something was wrong with Lin Xing, and quickly asked the doctor to leave. "Sister Xiao Xing, you should go back and rest. Sister Lian is in my care. The most urgent thing now is to take care of yourself."
Lin Huan pushed her out of the door and watched her walk towards her room before taking the doctor to get a prescription. Lin Xingze returned to her room like a puppet. She suddenly remembered that she had not yet seen Yuanyuan.
She ran to Yuanyuan's room like crazy again. Lin Xing walked to the bed carefully, afraid of waking Yuanyuan up. Just when she wanted to take a closer look at Yuanyuan, she found nothing on the bed.
Lin Xing threw all the bedding on the bed onto the floor, but there was still nothing there. However, a letter was picked up. She hurriedly grabbed the letter and tore it open, only to find that it was full of accusations that she was harboring a patient with the plague.
After seeing the last scene, Lin Xing realized that it was the person who wrote the letter who took Yuanyuan away, saying that he was afraid of infecting innocent people and did not allow her to speak out. She really couldn't refuse such a high-sounding reason.
The door was pushed open and someone came in. Lin Xing looked over and found that it was Uncle Gui. Looking at the mess on the ground, he was not surprised.
"Uncle Gui, Yuanyuan..."
"Shopkeeper, stop talking. I'll take Yuanyuan's body away for cremation. Don't nag about it anymore."
Just when Lin Xing was about to tell the truth, Uncle Gui interrupted her. Listening to Uncle Gui's words, Lin Xing smiled bitterly. She knew that this was definitely not done by Uncle Gui, and that man must have threatened Uncle Gui.
Well, well, well, there was nothing she could do.
Lin Xing stopped talking, pushed Uncle Gui aside and walked out of the house. Perhaps because she looked too crazy, Uncle Gui seemed to be hesitant to speak behind her, but finally asked.
"Where are you going, boss?"
"Go back to the room and sleep. Where else can you go? It's like this now."
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