Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 21 Relics
"Sister Xin, if you trust us, we will definitely help you overturn the case. Don't be stubborn anymore. I don't care about their fate at all, but I don't want blood on your hands!"

"You still have such a long life to live. I want to go to the south of the Yangtze River with you to see the singing orioles and green willows. I want to go to the frontier with you to see the snow flying. Sister Xin, come back!" Rong Wanyin tried to convince her with emotion and ideals.

"Thank you, Yin'er. It's great that I could meet you before I die. It's a pity that I couldn't meet you earlier. I really can't turn back. These things have already been done. How can there be a way back?"

"Yin'er, stay on the boat and don't let the fire burn you." Wen Xin looked at Rong Wanyin with soft light in her eyes. After she finished speaking, her face turned cold and she overturned the kerosene lamp. In an instant, the whole pavilion caught fire.

The pavilion was originally constructed entirely of wood, heavily lacquered. The floor was also covered in kerosene, and the curtains were also stained with oil. "Sister Xin!" Wanyin rushed over, reaching out her hand, trying to pull Wen Xin out of the flames.

Wen Xin smiled brightly and reached out to hold Wan Yin's hand. Wan Yin just breathed a sigh of relief when Wen Xin suddenly pulled the bracelet from her wrist to Wan Yin's wrist and said, "Please keep it safe for me! This is my mother's only relic. It must be very cold over there, I don't want to take it with me..."

After saying that, Wen Xin pushed Wan Yin away and fell backwards into the dark lake. Rong Wan Yin was caught off guard and was pushed to the ground, but she was also away from the fire.

"Sister Xin!" Rong Wanyin, who fell to the ground, cried out at the top of her lungs and crawled towards where Wen Xin fell into the water. Yan Mingzhang used all his strength to control Rong Wanyin.

"Stay here and don't move. I'll go save people!" Yan Mingzhang pulled Rong Wanyin to the stern of the boat, then he went onto the pontoon bridge and pushed the boat away with force to ensure Rong Wanyin's safety.

Yan Mingzhang himself leaped into the water, searching for Wen Xin beneath the surface. He searched back and forth, but couldn't find her. The underwater situation was complex, the sky was pitch black, and the fire in the pavilion was growing larger and larger. Yan Mingzhang's strength was almost at its limit. He emerged from the water, holding onto the edge of the boat with both hands. Rong Wanyin quickly reached out and pulled him aboard.

Rong Wanyin's eyes welled up with tears, and she trembled violently, knowing that there was no hope of finding them today. After Yan Mingzhang boarded the boat, he didn't rest, but instead ran towards the pavilion. He was going to save those two people!

Rong Wanyin hesitated. Burning such a vicious person to death in this pavilion was a blessing for them, but… but… Rong Wanyin was torn. But she saw Yan Mingzhang struggling to move forward amidst the flames, determined to save people. She gritted her teeth, stomped her feet, stood up, took off her cloak, doused it in the water, then pulled herself up with all her might, draped the cloak around herself, and with a powerful push on the boat, flew onto the pontoon. Rong Wanyin pulled Yan Mingzhang back and draped the cloak over both of them: "We'll do it together!"

Yan Mingzhang nodded at her.

The two men worked together to pull down the burning curtain on the pavilion and threw it into the water. They also threw the wooden table in the pavilion into the water. Only then did the fire weaken slightly.

Rong Wanyin took out a dagger, cut off one side of the floating bridge, pulled down the hemp rope on the side of the bridge, swung it upwards to tie the beam, and flew up with a light skill. She then used the dagger to pry open the secret door and flipped into the mezzanine. As expected, there were two people hiding in the mezzanine.

The two men were tied up and had rags stuffed in their mouths. When they saw Rong Wanyin coming, they moaned with excitement.

Rong Wanyin threw the two men down from the mezzanine one by one, causing them to scream in pain, but the dagger also accidentally fell down.

Seeing the fire growing bigger and bigger, the only exit of the mezzanine was also surrounded by flames, and Rong Wanyin was trapped in the mezzanine. Rong Wanyin tried several times but was forced back by the fire and could not escape. On the other side, Wen Yi and his wife limped and crawled, picked up the dagger, and ran towards the floating bridge. "Wanyin, come down quickly! I'll catch you!" Yan Mingzhang stretched out his arms to catch her, "Don't be afraid, jump!"

Rong Wanyin shielded her face with her hands and leaped into Yan Mingzhang's arms, who protected her tightly with his wet cloak. As if to make matters worse, the roof's mezzanine collapsed in the fire. Rong Wanyin, quick-witted, pushed Yan Mingzhang back, avoiding the burning planks. However, she was trapped in the flames.

Yan Mingzhang wanted to move the wooden board away with his hands, but the fire pulled his hands back, so it was impossible to do it with his hands.

"Go away quickly! Don't worry about me! Those two are going to take the boat away! If we don't leave now, neither of us will be able to leave!" Rong Wanyin shouted at the top of her lungs, coughing repeatedly.

Without even turning his head, Yan Mingzhang picked up a long wooden stick and used it as a lever to lift the burning plank, revealing an opening. Without a word, Rong Wanyin emerged.

The two men ran to the pontoon bridge, only to discover that the bridge, which was supposed to be connected to the pavilion on one side, had been broken off from the beginning. Wen Yi had stolen Rong Wanyin's dagger and cut the ropes, leaving the planks of the bridge scattered. The two newly rescued people, leaving their savior behind, boarded the boat and sailed away.

Not only did these two people drive the boat away, but they also cut the pontoon bridge, leaving no chance of survival!
Wen Yi must have thought that instead of letting the Chief Justice reopen the case and sentence the suspect to exile or death, it would be better to burn to death all those who knew about it here, and perhaps the case would never be overturned.

"This despicable villain! He shouldn't have saved them! Sister Xin is right. Burning this cruel and vicious beast to death will only make it easy for them!" Rong Wanyin supported Yan Mingzhang and stomped her feet in anger. Seeing that the wooden pavilion was about to collapse, Yan Mingzhang didn't wet his cloak, inhaled a lot of smoke, and kept coughing. It seemed that he was about to faint.

Seeing the pavilion about to collapse, Rong Wanyin made up her mind and pulled Yan Mingzhang into the water. Rong Wanyin couldn't swim, so she had to grab a plank from the floating bridge. She wanted to carry Yan Mingzhang up, but she was exhausted. Furthermore, the plank was too small to support the weight of one person.

Rong Wanyin felt a little exhausted. Her fingers scratched the wooden board, her nails nearly peeling off, oozing blood. The night water was piercingly cold, and Rong Wanyin couldn't help but shiver. She wrapped one arm around Yan Mingzhang, barely holding onto the board. The wound on Yan Mingzhang's back was horrifying, bleeding profusely. She soaked the wound with cold water and patted it repeatedly.

"You'd better leave quickly..." Yan Mingzhang was only breathing in but not out.

Rong Wanyin didn't answer, but she felt like she couldn't hold on any longer! How could it be so heavy... Rong Wanyin felt as if something was pulling her down fiercely under the water, and her body slowly slid into the water.

Are you going to die here?

Time seems to be going very slowly. When will someone come to rescue them?

Rong Wanyin suddenly saw the "treasure chest" coffin floating on the water not far away...

(End of this chapter)