No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 768: Drinking Ice in the Fire
Xunyang Palace is located in the latter half of Xiushuifang.

Adjacent to Kuanglu Mountain.

In fact, if you climb over the wall of the back garden of the mansion, you can find a forest path for collecting firewood and head straight into the Kuang Lu Mountains.

However, if you go straight ahead on Xiushuifang Main Street, you will find a road that leads directly to the deeper parts of Kuanglu Mountain.

The construction of this road was a gift from the Xunyang Palace to the Jiangzhou government to facilitate the common people and celebrities to enter Mount Kuanglu.

But Kuanglu Mountain is a group of high mountains, not just one mountain, and this road just passes through its periphery.

But this also makes the speed of rushing into the mountains in a carriage much faster than walking into the mountains through the back garden of Xunyang Palace.

At this moment, this also became a tricky issue for the pirates from Hukou County who were planning to raid the Xunyang Palace.

According to a trembling steward who was arrested, a quarter of an hour ago, a horse-drawn carriage from the "Yinbingshi" business, which had just finished transporting ice, drove out of the back door in a low-key manner and took the main road deep into the Kuanglu Mountains.

What followed was a strange fire in the inner quarters of the palace, which seemed to have started faster than the 300 pirates from Hukou County.

It seemed as if someone wanted to burn down the palace completely, leaving no useful clues for these raiding pirates.

This kind of anomaly, which was vaguely expected and one step ahead of time, made the face of the pirate leader with a white cloth on his forehead so gloomy that it seemed like water was about to drip. He stared at the raging fire in front of him with sinister eyes, which showed no sign of abating.

In fact, before this, they had a "pirate vanguard" that had been lying in ambush long ago. They arrived at the palace one step ahead of the main force of pirates, climbed over the wall into the inner house, and prepared to control Prince Xunyang's family.

But this strange fire broke out suddenly, and it seemed that the vanguard of more than ten pirates was completely wiped out.

No one was able to escape alive and report the situation in the inner house at that time. It is unknown whether the Xunyang King’s family was also buried in the sea of ​​fire like them...

At this moment, the inner house of Xunyang Palace was engulfed in a dark green sea of ​​fire. No one dared to approach, and no living creature dared to stay in it, for fear of being roasted through by the strange fire.

Because the wall blocked the fire, the outer house was temporarily spared.

Three hundred pirates, each wearing a white cloth strip on their head, completely occupied the Xunyang Palace in an atmosphere of silence.

After controlling the few maids and stewards who stayed behind, blindfolding them, tying them up and throwing them into the dark room in the kitchen, the pirates gathered together tacitly.

The reason for leaving some people alive was to make it easier to prove after the crime that they were pirates from Hukou County and that the palace was attacked by accomplices of the rebels from the Tiannan underworld.

But now, although the whole play has been done, there is no clear trace of the most important target. No one knows whether he was buried in the dark green fire or escaped and ran into Mount Kuang Lu.

In the hall of the outer house, tables and chairs were overturned, and pears rolled all over the floor, with the juice splashing everywhere as they were stepped on by the pirate leaders in the hall.

A skinny man dressed as a pirate walked in and subconsciously used the military etiquette of kneeling on one knee. After reacting, he immediately stood up and clasped his fists and said:

"Boss, according to a steward, Prince Xunyang Li Xian had already transferred all the guards of the Prince Xunyang Palace this morning; Princess Wei Mei had already started to dismiss the maids and servants in the inner house an hour ago; and the ice-drinking carriage had only arrived at the palace half an hour ago, and was personally taken to the inner house by Xie Lingjiang. In the past, the ice-drinking carriages would have to wait for a long time to unload, but this time, they stayed for less than a quarter of an hour before leaving the inner house, as usual, returning to the ice-making cave in Mount Kuanglu, which belongs to a business called the Ice-drinking Room; and then there was the sudden fire in the inner house."

A one-eyed man dressed as a pirate leader asked:

"Has anyone seen Prince Xunyang's family since the ice carriage left the palace?"

"No, mainly because Princess Wei Mei issued a strict order not to allow any servants to approach the inner house during the day. The reason is that the prince has a headache and needs to be quiet... However, a steward said that after the ice carriage drove out of the back door, he heard Xie Lingjiang's voice coming from inside, ordering them to let it go immediately."

Inside the hall, the pirates looked at each other and exchanged gloomy looks.

Someone said coldly:

"This girl from the Xie family is the little princess's female companion, but according to intelligence reports, she is actually a guard for Prince Xunyang's family. Because her eldest brother is Ouyang Lianghan, the chief strategist of Prince Xunyang's palace, she has an extraordinary status in the palace and is an honored guest. She is also one of the two middle-grade Qi-refining masters around Prince Xunyang. The other one is a sloppy Shangqing Taoist who rarely goes out. His name is unknown, and he is suspected to have also cultivated the middle-grade red Qi..."

Hearing this, the people in the hall did not panic at all, and some even curled their lips.

There were eleven men in the hall, all wearing white cloth strips on their heads, tall and strong, with an aura as deep as the abyss. When they heard about the middle-grade Qi Refiner, there was no fear in their eyes. Instead, many of them were grinning or eager to try.

A bald man standing at the back said in a defiant tone:

"Then what are we waiting for? Prince Xunyang has already run into the mountains, why don't we chase him? There are only two middle-grade Qi Refiners, and we are all eleven with red Qi, so we are more than enough to deal with them. Even if they have a few more hidden in secret, how many can they have? Besides us, there are three hundred elite warriors who have been trained in the northern border army and are not inferior to the White Tiger and Black Tortoise guards outside the city. Just by forming a formation and besieging them, the two middle-grade Qi Refiners will be exhausted to death. They can only flee and cannot save Prince Xunyang."

The one-eyed man stared at the former and spoke coldly:
"Baldy Cheng, what are you in such a hurry for? Did he let you go? The prince didn't raise you to leave the team and act on your own at a critical moment. Listen to my arrangements today. Otherwise, if you make a big mistake, you will go back to see the prince and Master Wu with your head on your shoulders."

The unruly man snorted coldly and calmed down a little.

Another fat-faced man dressed as a pirate slowly spoke:
"This fire is so strange that it will burn immediately. It is impossible for anyone to survive. Even if they hide, the thick smoke, high temperature and lack of air will suffocate them to death. It is very likely that they have escaped to Mount Kuanglu. We can't delay any longer. Our plan was to clean up the palace and leave, but plans cannot keep up with changes. We have to chase them immediately."

This analysis made most people in the hall nod in agreement.

The one-eyed man had a stern face and did not answer for the time being. He ignored the gazes of everyone, turned his head and looked at the dark green fire that was still burning the ruins of the house in the inner house.

For some reason, this fire gave him a strange feeling.

Not only was the timing of the burning strange, the color was strange, but the intensity of the fire was also strange, giving him an indescribable feeling, as if something was missing.

But fire is fire, plain and simple, what else could it lack?

After a moment, the one-eyed man who was the leader of the team withdrew his gaze, looked around the hall, scanned everyone's faces one by one, and calmly deployed:
“First, immediately send someone back to consult Master Wu and report the situation.

"Secondly, send half of the men and Qi-refining practitioners to immediately enter Mount Kuanglu to chase the enemy, and the other half..."

He turned to the previously unruly bald man and said:
"Tubby Cheng, take a small team and follow the mountain trail behind the palace into Mount Kuanglu. Chase them along the way. Since they are trying to escape, every road must be searched. The roads in Mount Kuanglu are rugged and they can't run far. The most likely scenario is that they have found a cave to hide and pretend to be dead."

The one-eyed man finally pointed around:

"As for the rest of you, stay here with me. Wait until the fire is out and then go in to check everything."

One pirate wondered, "Wouldn't it be a bad idea to divide the troops like this?"

The one-eyed man shook his head indifferently:

"We have enough manpower. The number of Qi Refiners is greater than theirs. It is not a problem to divide our forces. We also have an advantage. However, no matter which side we are on, once we find Queen Xunyang, we must immediately send a signal to call everyone to reunite."

When everyone heard this, their eyes lit up and they all agreed.

The fat-faced man asked again, "We left nearly half of our people here to wait for the fire to stop. Isn't it unnecessary? The fire is so big, what if the Xunyang King's family is all burned to ashes? There is no result even if we look for them."

The one-eyed man swept his fierce gaze across the room and said word by word:

"Master Wu said today that if he's alive, I want to see him. If he's dead, I want to see his body!
"I will lead the others to stay here. If you two find the target in the mountains, we can rush to help immediately. As for whether the corpses will burn to ashes... there will always be clues left! Let's search the ruins first.

"I still don't quite believe it. Could they have known about our plan to destroy the mansion today? Then why didn't they flee earlier? There's something fishy about it... Anyway, we have plenty of time today. There's no rush. Let's take them one by one!"

"Yes!"

……

The pirates in the hall of the outer house were discussing matters in a busy manner.

The entire inner house outside was ablaze with dark green flames, which was daunting.

The study room where Li Xian used to go for secret meetings was also engulfed in the sea of ​​fire.

Next to the burning study building, there was a rockery with dried water in the pond. Twenty feet underground, there was a sealed stone room filled with ice cubes, wine jars, and soup pots.

It seems like an ice cellar, full of cold air.

The high temperature from the flames on the ground above was offset by the large amount of neatly arranged ice blocks in the stone chamber.

The fusion of ice and fire causes cool and hazy "white smoke" to continuously emerge when the ice melts.

Permeated among the people hiding in the ice cellar.

The atmosphere in the ice cellar was somewhat dead silent.

Li Xian, Wei Mei and Li Guoer were either sitting, standing, or pacing.

In addition to them, there was also Li Guoer's personal maid Cai Shou, Li Dalang's teacher Mr. Yuan, the old housekeeper Shunbo, and a middle-aged maid. Li Dalang and Li Guoer usually called her Aunt Qi. She was the maid that Wei Mei brought from her natal family as a dowry. She was devoted to her and followed her all the way. She even blocked a knife for Li Xian and Wei Mei...

At this moment, all of these trusted elders in the palace were there, standing quietly in the corner of the ice cellar, not daring to make a sound.

Most of the people's eyes were looking at the figure of a young man with a paralyzed face in front of them.

It’s Lu Ya.

He was wearing a dirty Taoist robe and standing at the door of the ice cellar that had been sealed and blocked by a huge rock.

There were seven or eight corpses at his feet, dressed as pirates.

The peach wood sword on his back had been cut off, and one piece was stuck in the back of the chest of a burly man who seemed to be dead with his eyes wide open.

There is another part, the one with the hilt, at Lu Ya's feet.

It seemed to slip from his trembling hands.

At this moment, the condition of the young man with the paralyzed face was not very good. Blood was dripping from his knuckles, and he stood there motionless, with his breathing a little uneven.

Li Xian and the others were each wrapped in a brand new blanket, which should have been prepared in advance. Even Cai Shou, Shun Bo and the others had one.

But Lu Ya was the only one who didn't.

Li Xian looked at Lu Ya with some concern and asked:
"Is Xiao Daoist Master Lu okay?"

Li Guoer said nothing, just frowned as he looked at the corpses on the ground.

Wei Mei's eyebrows were slightly raised, and those who knew her well knew that she was somewhat dissatisfied and angry. The Princess Xunyang suppressed her tone a little and said:

"Master Lu, why didn't you follow Tan Lang and Ling Jiang's plan? You were supposed to go find Ling Jiang and drive to Mount Kuanglu together, but why did you come back? If you act on your own like this, it's easy to cause trouble."

Lu Ya remained silent, his eyes fixed on two slightly special corpses of pirates among the many corpses in front of him, one of which had a sword stuck in its chest.

There was another corpse embedded in the wall in front, with a tiger-like beard and hair, and his head drooped. He was no longer breathing. There was a purple-gold talisman paper stuck on his chest. His sturdy bronze muscles were slowly oozing blood, and his heart was beating again and again in the electric current of the thunder talisman. Although the man was dead, his heart was still beating. The corpse was still full of energy.

What a brave soldier he is, just like a dragon and elephant on land.

These two military cultivators, one of the sixth rank and the other of the seventh rank, were both dealt with by Lu Ya himself, but he borrowed the thunder talisman that was sent to Li Guo'er from the Tianshi Mansion in Xialonghu Mountain.

Otherwise, with the tacit cooperation of these two hidden Wei masters, Lu Ya would find it difficult to restrain and subdue them in the narrow space. The most crucial thing was that Li Xian and the others were in the ice cellar, and he had to distract himself to protect them. Therefore, he could only use this thunder talisman which contained part of the power of Taiqing's unique skills to suppress them with one thunder strike.

Li Xian hesitated for a moment and said:
"Okay, Mei Niang, Taoist Lu didn't mean it. If it weren't for him, Shunbo, Caishou and the others wouldn't have had time to enter the cave, and the boulder would have sealed the entrance."

Wei Mei still said somewhat unhappy:

"But it was this delay that let these thieves in, and they almost hurt you, Qilang. Fortunately, I had the treasured talisman."

Li Xian smiled awkwardly.

Cai Shou, Sun Bo and others on the side heard what happened and knew that their mistress was unhappy. They did not dare to look at Lu Ya with too much gratitude and kept their heads down.

Their original plan was that Li Xian, Li Guoer and Wei Mei would hide in the ice cave to "drink ice" first, while Cai Shou and others would ignite the Burning Sky Dragon Oil and set fire to the inner house.

However, a small team of pirates arrived in advance. During the search, they discovered Caishou and others who had set the fire and were about to arrest them.

In a critical situation, Lu Ya appeared, saved them, and continued to set fire.

And that group of pirates, because of the early warning when their companions were killed, followed Lu Ya and others who retreated to the ice cave and found the entrance to the ice cellar before they were buried in the fire in the inner house.

Before the huge stone gate was about to close, some of the pirates were lucky enough to rush in, and then had a brief but dangerous fight with Lu Ya in the narrow space for about ten breaths... Fortunately, Li Xian and others were safe for the time being.

Although there were many twists and turns, the pirates who broke in have now all been dealt with, and the pirates who knew about the situation and stayed outside should have been killed in the fire. This ice cave was sealed by huge rocks and is temporarily safe.

Everyone felt a little relieved.

(End of this chapter)