Da Huang, who was beside Qin Sang, chased even faster:
"Da Huang, watch out! They have knives."
The only answer she got was Da Huang vanishing from sight.
Qin Sang and the others sped up; Tian Dazhuang and Hei Zi held torches, following closely on either side.
It was hot and stifling.
Qin Sang knew this was because she was too anxious.
Before long, Qin Sang heard Da Huang barking ahead; the shouts were exceptionally clear in the dark night:
"Woof, woof, woof..."
Qin Sang was overjoyed. Da Huang was an expert at running in the mountains, with top-tier scent and speed; he must have found Tian Hongmei and the others:
"Hurry, to the left."
Cresting a small slope, Qin Sang saw two torches three hundred meters ahead. In the dim light, she could see Da Huang's vigorous figure leaping and pinning someone down.
Tian Hongmei saw the torches of Qin Sang's group approaching and said anxiously:
"Quick, light the fire! Burn them to death! Light it!"
After saying that, she snatched a torch from one of the Rebel Soldiers and thrust it into a nearby cluster of dried vines.
The flames shot up as if doused in oil. Qin Sang's eyes nearly burst with rage; Tian Hongmei was insane—to save her own life, she actually intended to set the mountain on fire.
"Da Zhuang, shoot her dead. Now."
"Yes, Mother."
Da Zhuang handed his torch to the person behind him, drew his bow, and notched an arrow. A single arrow streaked toward the center of Tian Hongmei's back.
*Thwack.*
A soft sound of piercing flesh was heard. Tian Hongmei's body stiffened, and she turned around with difficulty. Watching Qin Sang and the others run toward her, she opened her mouth, a trickle of blood sliding from the corner of her lips.
The torch in Tian Hongmei's hand fell onto the dried vines. She looked up to see the vines snaking up a large tree; burnt embers rained down on her head like a shower of sparks.
The fire climbed the tree, spreading rapidly through the branches and trunk to the surrounding area.
Tian Hongmei began to laugh:
"Qin Sang, if I can't live, you all... don't... even think about it..."
With several more arrows, Tian Dazhuang hit three more people. When the others reached a distance of only a few dozen meters, they threw their wooden spears and broadswords, finishing off the rest. Meanwhile, the heatwave began to spread around them.
Qin Sang looked at the fire already burning in the canopy above, her heart filled with extreme anxiety:
"Da Huang! Da Huang, come back quickly!"
Seeing no sign of Da Huang, Qin Sang could only turn and instruct Da Zhuang:
"Quick! Go back and notify them. Everyone must return to the camp."
Tian Dazhuang knew what the consequences would be once a mountain fire started. He agreed but then remembered his Mother:
"Mother, you come with us..."
Qin Sang glared at him:
"Go now! The villagers don't know anything yet. Go and spread the word."
Having sent Tian Dazhuang, Hei Zi, and the others away, Qin Sang wasted no more time. She put on a Gas mask, donned a Fireproof suit, and pulled out all the spare Firefighting equipment from her space.
Da Huang jumped out from the fire, his fur singed and mottled.
Seeing Qin Sang incessantly spraying white mist, Da Huang anxiously tugged at the hem of her clothes, trying to drag her away.
"Woof, woof, woof..."
Qin Sang had no time to pay attention. Intelligent firefighting Drones took to the air; some sprayed powder, others sprayed water, stopping the rapidly spreading fire with a wall of water.
What Qin Sang needed to do was minimize the range of the fire's spread as much as possible. One by one, Intelligent firefighting Drones ascended.
She ran through the forest, continuously launching firefighting Drones while her Water gun sprayed incessantly in front of her.
...
In the mountain ravine, Tian Dazhuang and the others began shouting before they even arrived:
"Run! There's a fire! Find a place to take shelter!"
The news of the fire spread quickly with the shouts. Everyone turned to look and indeed saw the sky over the mountain glowing red.
Everyone was stunned, frozen in place.
They had thought that with these Rebel Soldiers dead, they, as Refugees, would finally have some peaceful days.
Just moments ago, everyone had been chatting and laughing, saying how kind the people of Tianjia Village were—not only providing rations for the past few days but also allowing them to take the belongings, clothes, and food from the Rebel Soldiers.
One quick-handed person had already gathered over seventy Copper Coins and found a bag of grain hidden in someone's crotch.
Even the poorest Rebel Soldier had four or five Copper Coins on him; though it wasn't much, there were a lot of Rebel Soldiers.
Moreover, the people of Tianjia Village didn't want any of these spoils, so everyone worked even harder.
But now they were met with the terrible news of the fire.
They were in the mountains, and it hadn't rained for months. The trees in these mountains were like dried firewood; a single spark could ignite them.
Usually, they had to be extremely careful when cooking, fearing that a stray spark would set the forest ablaze.
Without water, trying to extinguish a fire would be difficult.
Looking at that reddened sky now, the hearts of the people, once high from victory, instantly fell into an icy cellar.
The Heavens truly did not want them to live.
Seeing everyone stunned by the news, Tian Sangui shouted urgently:
"What are you standing there for? Go back and notify your own villagers! Find a Cave! Hurry and find a Cave to hide in!"
"Those without a Cave, dig firebreaks! Chop down all the surrounding trees! Without fuel, it won't burn."
"If there's no water, use soil!"
"Those who can escape, get out as quickly as possible! Don't waste any more time!"
Jolted by this roar, the crowd finally came to their senses. No one cared about the corpses on the ground anymore; everyone quickly grabbed their things and ran in various directions. They had to return to their camps as soon as possible; their families still knew nothing.
The people of Tianjia Village also ran swiftly toward their camp. Compared to the other Refugees, the faces of the Tianjia Village people appeared much calmer.
This was because when they had wiped out Butcher Hu and his gang in Tianjia Village last time, Qin Sang had told them what to do if a forest fire occurred.
Those were exactly the methods Tian Sangui had just shouted to inform the other Refugees.
Furthermore, their camp was at the bottom of a pool area. Although surrounded by three large mountains, the flat ground in the middle was quite large and had few trees. Because they had built many wooden houses, many large trees around the pool bottom had been cut down, making it much sparser than the other forests.
They had an emergency plan, so they weren't as panicked as the Refugees.
After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Tian Dazhuang and the others met up with the villagers of Tianjia Village. Tian Sangui looked around and asked anxiously:
"Big Brother, where's Mother? Why didn't she come back with you?"
"Mother wanted to find Da Huang and told us to come back first to report. I'm going to get her now."
Tian Dazhuang turned to go back and search, and San Gui was about to follow, but both were grabbed by Hei Zi:
"Da Zhuang, don't forget, you have your wife and Eldest Girl at home."
"San Gui, think about your unborn child."
"Nothing can happen to you, and even more so, nothing can happen to the camp."
"I'll go find Aunt. I will definitely bring Aunt back to you."
Tian Dazhuang and Tian Sangui knew Hei Zi was right, but that was their Mother.
"Brother Hei Zi, you still have Grandma at home; you can't have anything happen to you either."
"Help me take Big Brother back. If anything happens to Mother and me, Big Brother can still take charge of the family."
Saying this, he shook off Hei Zi's hand and ran back, giving his big brother no time to refuse.