The raging fire was like a sea of red waves. The turbulent, erupting heat rushed against their faces, and strands of hair curled slightly in the orange-red light and shadow.
Chen Ji watched Jin Zhu retreat and called out in confusion, "Lord Jin Zhu, didn't you just say you were going to leave Tian Ma behind?"
Jin Zhu ran toward the distance. "I've offended so many people over the years, and Tian Ma is my biggest backer in the Directorate of Ceremonial. If he dies, I won't meet a good end either."
Chen Ji called out sincerely, "Lord Jin Zhu, thank you for coming to save me."
With his back to him, Jin Zhu waved his hand impatiently. "Hurry up and get lost."
Standing at the edge of the sea of fire, Chen Ji listened to the wails of the soldiers behind him and watched Jin Zhu run back into the battlefield.
He knew very well that Jin Zhu had traveled day and night to rush over and save him because he had placed a bet on him; essentially, it was driven by self-interest.
But if Jin Zhu and Tian Ma hadn't arrived in time, he wouldn't have survived until now. Saving was saving, and he accepted this favor.
It was just that, looking at Jin Zhu's retreating back, Chen Ji was somewhat uncertain whether Jin Zhu went back to save Tian Ma so as not to drop in realm, or out of friendship.
Perhaps, sometimes Jin Zhu himself couldn't clearly distinguish it either.
The Prince Heir looked at Chen Ji. "Let's go. The mountain fire is building momentum very quickly. In the blink of an eye, it can burn out ten miles. If we don't leave now, it'll be too late."
Chen Ji looked back at the hand the Prince Heir had bent down to extend, but he said, "I can't. I can't leave yet."
"Hmm?" The Prince Heir was somewhat surprised. "Are you going to help them?"
While hurriedly looking around, Chen Ji answered, "No."
His gaze searched the surroundings but failed to find the figure he wanted to see. Zaozao stood impatiently stamping its hooves in the waves of heat, ready to take off at any moment.
Chen Ji didn't want to delay Bai Li and the others, and immediately slapped Zaozao on the rump. "You guys go first!"
However, Zaozao didn't get startled and run off like an ordinary horse. It merely calmed down and gave him a baffling look back.
Chen Ji hesitated for a split second: "... Second Miss Zhang, your horse?"
Zhang Xia said testily, "Zaozao won't just get startled away by anything. What on earth are you staying behind for? We can help you!"
The situation was urgent, and Chen Ji could no longer care about much else. He opened his mouth and shouted, "Wu Yun! Wu Yun, where are you?"
The Prince Heir was taken aback. "Wu Yun is here too?"
Chen Ji peered into the mountain fire, a feeling of foreboding rising in his heart. If Wu Yun was fine, it definitely would have followed by his side. Its failure to answer him now meant it must have been trapped by something.
The mountain fire!
Right at this moment, a meow came from within the sea of fire. Following the sound, he saw Wu Yun anxiously pacing back and forth on the branch of a dead tree. Beneath its feet was the sea of fire, and the flames were currently spreading upward along the tree bark.
Chen Ji rushed toward Wu Yun but was beaten back by a wave of fire. The billowing thick smoke choked him so much he could barely open his eyes.
Gradually, Wu Yun was no longer anxious. It merely sat quietly on the branch, allowing the flames to spread.
Watching Chen Ji's frantic and burning anxiety, Wu Yun let out a soft meow. One person and one cat gazed at each other from a distance of over twenty paces.
The Prince Heir shouted anxiously, "Chen Ji, hurry up and go!"
Zhang Xia shouted in confusion and incomprehension, "What time is it to still care about a cat? Human lives are more important than cat lives! The three of us risked our lives to look for you, yet you want to delay time for a cat?"
"Sorry, you guys go first!" Chen Ji cast a glance at Zhang Xia. He stopped charging into the sea of fire and instead urgently began searching for something.
In the next instant, carrying the Whale Blade, he sprinted toward a towering cypress tree. Gripping the blade with both hands, he chopped forcefully into the tree trunk, slash after slash. With every slash, a large amount of wood chips was brought out.
The Prince Heir wondered, "What is Chen Ji doing?"
Zhang Xia said calmly, "He wants to chop down this tree to make a bridge for that cat."
When he was halfway through chopping, Chen Ji looked back at the location where Wu Yun was. When he looked forward again, he gripped the blade with both hands and accurately chopped at a certain spot. "Fall!"
A creaking sound of snapping wood fibers rang out, and the towering cypress tree yielded beneath the heavy burden and toppled over.
Looking at the direction the cypress tree was toppling, Zhang Xia silently calculated in her heart for a moment, then suddenly said loudly, "The direction is wrong; it needs to be slanted a bit more to the north!"
Chen Ji looked back at her, took a deep breath, and took a few steps back. Then, he sprinted with all his might and rammed his shoulder straight into the falling cypress tree!
The force of this ram could only cause the giant tree to shift slightly... but it was enough.
With a thunderous crash, the cypress tree smashed down not far from Wu Yun, forming a long bridge.
Wu Yun leaped down from the branch, nimbly landing on the cypress tree from several meters away. Stepping on the cypress trunk, it crossed the sea of fire, sprinted toward Chen Ji, and leaped straight into his arms.
Chen Ji looked down and saw that the pitch-black Wu Yun's fur had already been singed curly. He tucked Wu Yun into his embrace, turned around, and began to sprint wildly. "Run!"
The Prince Heir shouted, "Get on the horse too!"
Chen Ji replied without looking back, "Four people are too heavy. Those soldiers have already been driven away by the mountain fire. Right now, we only need to race against time with the mountain fire."
Zhang Xia gently flicked the reins and urged the horse to keep up. Zaozao was exceptionally majestic; even carrying three people, it could advance neck and neck alongside Chen Ji in the mountain forest.
However, the sea of fire covered the mountains and plains. With a strong gust of wind blowing, billowing thick smoke rose from it. The four blindly scrambled in the gray smoke but seemingly could not outrun the pursuit of the fire; it felt as if they were constantly running on the edge of the sea of fire, never having left.
Chen Ji stopped his footsteps.
They couldn't run blindly anymore; they had to carefully observe the fire.
Mountain fires were divided into surface fires, crown fires, and ground fires. Surface fires were further divided into steadily-advancing fires and rapidly-advancing fires. When encountering a rapidly-advancing surface fire, the only way to survive was to escape the direction the fire was spreading; humans couldn't outrun fire.
But how to escape?
Chen Ji only pondered for a few seconds. "Head northwest!"
"Head northwest!" Zhang Xia spoke almost in unison with him.
Zhang Xia glanced at Chen Ji, flicked her wrist to shake the reins, and galloped toward the northwest without hesitation.
After sprinting madly for another few hundred paces, the four of them crashed headfirst out of the thick smoke. The world suddenly opened up into a clear expanse!
The Prince Heir asked in amazement, "Why is the fire here so much smaller?"
Zhang Xia replied, "This side is the leeward side, so the influence of the mountain wind is smaller. In addition, this is the shaded side of the mountain; vegetation is scarce, and the dead leaves accumulated over the years are also fewer. Naturally, the fire spreads slower."
The sea of fire was still surging up the mountain along with the mountain wind, but their location was much more peaceful.
Everyone looked back, only to see devastation everywhere behind them. The ashes left by the sea of fire were like black scars on the mountain's body.
The fire was still burning up the mountain. Chen Ji wanted to find traces of the battle between Mister Feng and Tian Ma, but he couldn't see anything at all. Even the soldiers who had been hunting them down were nowhere to be seen.
Surviving a disaster.
While deep in thought, Zaozao's front legs suddenly buckled, nearly throwing the three people on its back to the ground.
The three hurriedly jumped off the horse. Zhang Xia explained, "Zaozao has been carrying the three of us running all night, and it's a bit unable to hold on."
She hugged Zaozao's head, her heart aching slightly. "Zaozao, thanks to you."
Having said that, Zhang Xia took out an oil-paper package from the knapsack beside the saddle. Opening it, it turned out to be over a dozen pieces of traditional snacks. She held the snacks in her palm and fed them to Zaozao's mouth, saying softly, "Eat, eat."
She hesitated for a moment, then looked toward Chen Ji. "... Would that cat of yours eat food given by strangers?"
Chen Ji stroked Wu Yun's head sticking out from his embrace and said calmly, "It doesn't eat that; it eats strangers."
Zhang Xia: "..."
(End of Chapter)