0p0 Chapter 183: Surrounded by Fire
Chapter 183: Surrounded by Fire
After carrying the person, Zhao Shisan asked, "Brother, are we still staying here tomorrow?
"We will leave this inn and move to a new one tomorrow in case the other party comes back to check again." Tian Zhenwei thought he should be more cautious and leave tomorrow.
Tian Zhenwei couldn't even sleep in his bed because he had released the weasel before. It was not easy to ask the shopkeeper to change rooms so late at night, so he went to the roof to cool off. It was still early autumn and the nights were quite cool.
On the other side, the two people who had left earlier brought people and surrounded the entire inn in the second half of the night.
"Hurry, pour the oil, we can't let them run away, be careful, those people are not easy to deal with." The leader ordered his men to deal with it carefully.
They circled the entire inn and poured flaming oil all over it to prevent anyone from escaping. They were determined to kill everyone here.
"ignition."
The power of kerosene was well known. It would catch fire at a touch. The inn was made of wood, which was even more flammable. They set fire to every corner of the inn, leaving no one with a chance of survival. Tonight the wind made the fire grow rapidly and fiercer, and soon it became a big fire.
"retreat."
They must not let anyone discover their whereabouts in this matter, otherwise if they are investigated, things will get out of control.
Because Tian Zhenwei was in a high position, he could only smell the fire when it started to grow.
"Oh no, it's on fire."
He jumped off the roof and knocked on other people's rooms, "Hurry up, there's a fire, if you don't leave now, it will be too late."
The waiter who was on night watch was also awakened at this time. He found the fire and immediately started to beat the hunchback, "There's a fire, there's a fire, come out quickly, come out quickly."
The shopkeeper, who was upstairs, heard the waiter knocking the gong and ran downstairs without even putting on his clothes or shoes. He was frightened when he saw the thick smoke outside.
"Quick, put out the fire, quick. I'll call for help."
The shopkeeper snatched the gong, turned around and went to the guest room to beat it everywhere.
The other waiters who were not on duty also woke up, and the three of them went to the kitchen to get water to put out the fire.
When they fetched water and started to put out the fire, they found that it was impossible to put out the fire.
"What should we do? The fire is getting bigger and bigger." Several waiters were terrified as they watched the fire grow bigger because they were pouring water on it.
The front hall was already surrounded by fire and there was no way out through the main door, so the few of them went to the backyard and found that there was fire all around.
Tian Zhenwei and his men had already come down. They had looked around and found no place to escape. They went to the front yard, where there was a large open space that could accommodate 60-70 people if they were packed together.
At this time, Zhao Shisan was still carrying Li Da on his back, and asked worriedly, "Boss, what should we do? Are we going to die here?"
Tian Zhenwei frowned, he didn't expect that he was careless for a moment and got caught. Now the fire was so big, no one could escape. If there was no open space in the inn, they would all have been burned to death inside.
Soon the shopkeeper came here with other people. This could be considered as the shopkeeper's foresight. In order to prevent accidents, he specially designed the yard to be so big. Otherwise, everyone would have died here without even having time to call for help.
The smell of water and oil was choking enough, and the people around had already noticed that there was a fire.
First, the yamen runners on duty brought the surrounding people to help put out the fire, and then all the people who could come from the county government came.
The fire is too big. If it is not put out, it will burn the surrounding areas.
The entire perimeter is now on fire. If you don't know this inn, from the outside it looks like the entire inn is on fire and you'd think there's no one alive inside.
The wind tonight added fuel to the fire. Fortunately, there were no other shops on either side of the inn, otherwise they would have all been destroyed.
"Sir, the fire is too big. I don't know if the people in the inn are still there." The county magistrate was also alarmed and came to check. Tonight's shift leader hurried over to report.
"This is kerosene. I'm afraid someone set it on purpose. I've asked people to bring soil to put out the fire, but at this rate, I'm afraid we won't be able to rescue anyone in time."
"What's the point of talking about being in time? Let's put out the fire first. There are so many people in this inn. Find more people and let the people around help." The county magistrate was annoyed. This inn usually had good business and many people stayed there. If everyone was really dead, how would he report it and how much responsibility would he have to bear?
"Boss, does your inn have any tools that can be used to dig things?" Tian Zhenwei didn't want to just sit there and wait for death, so he had to try every method.
"Yes, yes, we have a few hoes in the backyard, and we usually grow some vegetables, flowers and so on."
Tian Zhenwei jumped onto the roof. The fire had not yet spread inside and was still surrounding the outside. People were safe for the time being. The backyard was only half burned. He shouted down, "Where is the shopkeeper?"
"Just go near the back kitchen. Is there a fire there? If not, I'll go with you. I know where it is." The shopkeeper was also very anxious and didn't know what Tian Zhenwei wanted.
Then Tian Zhenwei jumped down and said to the shopkeeper and the guests around him, "I just went up and saw that the fire in the outer courtyard has only spread to the outer part. There are several large vats nearby, which should still be filled with water. Let's go together and carry them all over."
It's too small over there to accommodate too many people. Bringing the water tank here to make a firebreak can also block one or two people and allow people outside to rescue us. "
After hearing what Tian Zhenwei said, many people present understood at once. The shopkeeper said, "Okay, let's go now. It will be too late if you are late. Don't ask if you don't understand."
After hearing what the shopkeeper said, no one dared to hesitate and ran to the kitchen. In order to survive, everyone moved.
The shopkeeper Gang took Tian Zhenwei to find everything that could be dug up, and he fully understood what Tian Zhenwei was going to do.
"These, these, can all be used. Take everything you can use with you. It's important to save your life." The shopkeeper gave a message, and the waiters followed suit and took all the things they usually used for work, including the spatulas in the kitchen.
This inn is quite large. Normally, the owner would instruct the cooks to prepare the water needed for the next day in advance, and would also place a large water vat in the backyard to prevent accidental fires.
Then, everyone moved all the water tanks to the front yard. There were more than ten of them! Tian Zhenwei directed everyone to form a circle around these huge water tanks to form a spacious open space. Everyone stood in it. There were quite a few people in the inn tonight, more than 40 people, but the space for each person to move around was very limited, just enough to turn around.
"Everyone, please use a wet cloth as a mask to cover your mouth and nose. This smoke may be toxic, so please be careful." Seeing that more and more people began to cough non-stop, Tian Zhenwei hurriedly reminded them loudly.
After everything was arranged, he led his brothers to the outside of the water tank again and started digging a firebreak. Seeing this, the shopkeeper immediately ordered the waiters to distribute the items they had just brought out to everyone and help dig the soil together. Without anyone urging them, everyone understood and took the initiative to participate.