Jiang Zhi quickly threw on her clothes and shoes, hastily tying her hair behind her head. Opening the door, she pressed a hand to her pounding heart and said impatiently, "Let it burn!"
In the half-month since they had come up the mountain, there had been fires every few days, and they had grown increasingly frequent lately.
Thinking of the burned houses in the village, everyone had initially felt angry and heartbroken, but gradually they became numb to it. At night, they no longer bothered to check on the situation below.
So why had Xu Errui woken her up today?
Xu Errui was also puzzled. Usually, his mother slept more lightly than he did—she claimed she would wake at the slightest rustle of leaves falling on the thatched roof. Yet, there had been two times when she slept so deeply that he couldn’t rouse her no matter how long he tried.
But Xu Errui had no time to dwell on this now. The fleeting thought vanished as quickly as it had come.
Pointing toward the cliff where Xu Family Village was visible, Xu Errui said, "Mother, there’s a fire over there—a huge fire!" His voice trembled with unprecedented fear.
Jiang Zhi didn’t bother questioning her foolish son, who tended to ramble when panicked. Instead, she walked toward the cliff edge.
It was late February, a pitch-black night without stars or moon, where you couldn’t see your own hand in front of your face. Yet, a faint red glow flickered from the direction of the cliff.
Without waiting for Xu Errui to say more, Jiang Zhi hurried over. Looking down, she froze in shock.
Fire—a massive fire!
Thick smoke enveloped the entire Xu Family Village. Though the flames themselves were not visible, the sky above was illuminated in a crimson glow.
A fierce mountain wind howled, and Jiang Zhi felt as if she could smell the smoke.
Xu Errui led Qiaoyun, who was equally frightened, over to her. "Mother, it’s all over now!"
Jiang Zhi remained silent. She didn’t know whether the destruction of this world from the book meant it was truly gone forever or if everything would reset and start over again.
If this were reality, then Xu Family Village was truly finished this time!
The village had originally housed dozens of families. Even though the people had left, their homes remained, offering a place to return to someday. But now, a single fire had reduced everything to ashes…
Before Jiang Zhi could finish her thoughts, Xiao Man arrived, holding a torch made of dried grass tied together.
Before he even reached them, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Aunt Jiang, Brother Er Rui, my grandfather says the weather is dry, the wind is strong, and we need to be careful of the mountain fire spreading up here."
They had also seen the village fire from below.
Mountain fire!
Jiang Zhi’s heart tightened again. Damn it, how had she not considered this?
The wind was strong, the land was parched, and everywhere was covered in dry grass that hadn’t yet turned green. Once the fire from the village spread, fueled by the wind, it would sweep across the entire mountain, turning them all into roasted meat…
Both Xu Errui and Xiao Man panicked. Did they have to flee again?
Jiang Zhi looked down the mountain. Xu Family Village lay right at the foot of the mountain. If the fire spread upward, it would reach the peak in just over ten minutes.
Cut a firebreak?
Against a mountain fire driven by strong winds, a firebreak would be useless unless it was dozens of meters wide and hundreds of meters long. With just the three of them hacking at trees with knives… they’d be better off burning to death than exhausting themselves.
Wet the ground with water?
That would be futile too. First, there wasn’t enough water. Although there was a mountain spring nearby, the winter drought had reduced its flow to a trickle. The meager amount collected in a day was barely enough for their daily needs, and they didn’t dare waste it on washing clothes.
Moreover, the intense heat from the flames would evaporate any moisture in an instant. The only viable option was to run—and they had to do it before the mountain fire reached them.
"We have no choice but to run!" Jiang Zhi declared.
Her heart ached for the home they had just built, now gone; for the terraced fields they had just cleared, now lost. They would have to wander the wild mountains and desolate hills once more.
"Run? How can we leave?"
Xu Errui and Xiao Man exchanged helpless glances. Where could they flee on such a pitch-black night? One misstep could send them tumbling down the cliff.
Moreover, there were the sick, pregnant women, elderly, and children. Even in broad daylight, a swift escape would be impossible.
As soon as the words left her mouth, Jiang Zhi knew she had spoken nonsense.
She turned to glance again at the spreading red glow below the mountain, desperately searching for a way to save their lives.
Hiding in caves or deep pits—the first places ordinary people would think of—were actually the most dangerous. Low-lying areas easily trapped smoke, dust, and carbon dioxide. Even if they avoided the flames, they would suffocate from lack of oxygen.
Suddenly, she sniffed the air. "Er Rui, Xiao Man, do you smell anything?"
The two sniffed hard. "Nothing!"
A flicker of hope rose in Jiang Zhi's heart. She quickly asked Qiaoyun, "Qiaoyun, can you smell anything?"
Qiaoyun, being pregnant, seemed to have a heightened sense of smell, detecting scents several times more intensely than others, her sensitivity overwhelming.
Qiaoyun sniffed carefully and shook her head. "Only the stench of the night soil Er Rui left. Nothing else!"
Night soil…
Jiang Zhi's face twitched, and she immediately glared at Xu Errui, who was shrinking back guiltily.
With so few people and vast land on the mountain, they hadn't built a proper latrine yet. She had instructed Xu Errui to relieve himself in the woods fifty meters away every day, but he must have been lazy.
Seeing that his laziness had been discovered, Xu Errui immediately hid behind Qiaoyun. "Mother, just this once, only today…"
Drinking thin porridge every day, with bowls full of water, he had to get up several times at night to urinate.
If he hadn't gone out to relieve himself tonight, they wouldn't have noticed the fire below.
Jiang Zhi had no time to dwell on matters of waste now. One thing, however, gave her a sigh of relief.
Qiaoyun said she couldn't smell smoke or fire, which meant the wind direction was favorable for them.
But this was only temporary. Wildfires could change at any moment due to terrain and wind shifts.
A fire scene was like a battlefield, unpredictable and ever-changing. Now that the fire had started, it was too late to flee. They could only think of ways to survive.
"Er Rui and Xiao Man, go back. Cover the grain at home with stones and soil, then bring everyone here."
Jiang Zhi had already thought of a way to deal with the wildfire. The grain could be handled easily: placed in an open area and covered with soil and stones to prevent it from burning.
But the people had to leave.
They couldn't stay at home. The bark roof, wooden pillars, and beams were highly flammable, and they needed to get away as quickly as possible.
They couldn't run blindly, nor could they head for the mountaintop.
Smoke rises, and wildfires spread toward mountaintops faster than anyone could imagine.
Even before the flames arrived, the thick smoke would suffocate them.
If they couldn't escape the fire, they had to choose open areas with sparse vegetation, reducing combustible materials around them—in other words, find a natural firebreak.
Jiang Zhi thought of the terraced fields she had just dug out today. It was a gentle slope where the flames would slow down.
Moreover, most of the trees there had been cut down, leaving only low shrubs and some weeds.
If they cleared it quickly now, they could create a safe zone.
Xiao Man and Xu Errui went down the cliff. Xiao Man's family couldn't save themselves and needed help.
Jiang Zhi and Qiaoyun returned to their own home. The several bags of grain were everyone's lifeline and needed careful handling.
They moved everything they could carry to the open area near the charcoal kiln.
The night was dark and the path uneven, fearing a fall, Jiang Zhi told Qiaoyun not to walk back and forth. Instead, she should just stay halfway and guard the torch to keep it from being blown out by the wind. Meanwhile, Jiang Zhi carried the grain to the terraced fields.
Fortunately, during the day, Jiang Zhi had smoothed the path while repairing the terraced fields. Now, with the light of the torch, the walk was relatively smooth.
The grain was brought over, the bedding was brought over, and Xu Errui and Xiao Man also arrived with their entire families.
Xu Errui carried Da Zhu on his back, Xiao Man held the three-year-old Nini in his arms, and Xiaoman's grandfather and Xiaoman's grandmother supported each other as they made their way to the charcoal kiln.
"Auntie, tonight's disaster might be hard to avoid!" Xiaoman's grandfather's first words were filled with despair.