Chapter 361 - Chapter 361: Twice the Harm

Chapter 361 - Chapter 361: Twice the Harm

Chapter 361: Twice the Harm
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
There were many more potted cacti than before when Sun Dahai climbed over the wall. Thorns and barbs pricked and pierced, catching Tian Yong and Tian Gang off guard as they landed face-first in the potted cacti below. As one would have it, their fate was worse than Sun Dahai’s.
Unprepared, the duo nearly screamed in pain. Their quick reactions – stuffing their hands in their mouths – stopped them from giving themselves away.
Whether or not their reactions were for better or worse was debatable. Needle-like leaves pricked their hands and faces, piercing flesh in both areas alike.
However, the one difference that set them apart from Sun Dahai was that they were professionals. Even if they were stabbed, they knew to endure the pain in silence; it would not do to alert their victims to their presence. The pain sharpened their determination to make the Su family suffer. Only by vetting their resentment for the injuries suffered would they have vengeance.
The two brothers dreamed of vengeance, their eyes bloodshot, their faces twisted in fury.
No sooner had they gotten their bearings than a raging fire swathed the outer perimeter of the courtyard wall. Goaded by the kerosene dumped on the flames, the fire spread at an incredible speed. In an instant, half the courtyard was set alight.
It was too late for the two brothers to escape, their eyes almost popping out in fear and surprise.
Near the source of the flames, Tian Yong and Tian Gong saw a figure. They could not make out who it was. But wreathed in the halo of flames all around them, that figure looked like a demon from the pits of hell. Flames danced around them, a macabre spectacle against the black night. Twin orbs stared through those flames, staring at them unblinking.
“Aah… Help, help!”
The fire pounced as if scenting prey, clinging onto both men’s clothes. Pain bloomed in their vision, searing against their skin like a cast iron poker. Soon, the two men were set ablaze, their hair and clothes consumed by the fire. Their screams pierced the tranquil night like a clap of thunder, waking the villagers.
A heart-wrenching cry followed, pleading for help to put out the fire.
In the countryside, stopping a fire before it spreads is more important than catching a thief. Fires knew no friend or foe, indiscriminate in their destruction. Many houses were connected, so an uncontrolled fire would quickly spread, burning half of the village before it could be put out.
Su Wen glared at her two would-be assailants, a wooden chopping knife in hand. The knife was as much for her safety as it was to keep Tian Yong and Tian Gang alive; death via immolation was too good for either of them.
Should it become necessary, she would use the knife to free them from their clothes, thereby saving their lives.
Whether it would leave them crippled was none of her concern.
“Su Wen, I’m your uncle. Help, help. Please save me!” Tian Yong staggered as the flames crept up his clothes, growing more intense as its fodder fueled its advance. The pain was unbearable, and even now, he rolled on the ground alongside Tian Gang, trying to extinguish the fire.
It was the right thing to do, but it was impossible to extinguish it all at once, let alone come out unscathed.
“Big Sister.”
“Big Sister, Big Sister!”
Su Qing and Su Xiu hugged Sixth Sister, preventing her from running to Su
Wen. Little Sister Su hid in the shadow of the water tank under the eaves. In the crimson light, Su Wen looked like a vengeful god robed in flames, with eyes the color of fresh blood. Those eyes seared their way into her memory, never to be forgotten.
Su Xiu followed Su Wen’s orders to the letter and prevented any of her younger sisters from leaving her side.
Meanwhile, Su Xue and Fifth Sister distributed bedsheets and blankets soaked in water – they would need them to prevent smoke inhalation. They also cleared the ground of all flammable objects to prevent the spread of the fire.
Tears rolled down Sixth Sister and Little Sister Su’s cheeks, their sobs drowned by the crackling flames.
“Big Sister, Big Sister, come here quickly!”
Su Wen was in danger, standing there where she was. To begin with, the courtyard was not big. If she were not careful, she would be swallowed by the flames alongside the kitchen and the main house. The fire had already spread across the courtyard toward the western wall where Tian Gang and Tian Yong had broken in.
An inferno raged, soaring into the sky..