Against the backdrop of the raging flames, he looked like a demon straight out of hell.
The crowd was terribly frightened. Upon hearing his words, they scattered in all directions like they'd had their switches flipped, searching for any tools they could use to save the people and put out the fire.
However, the thick smoke billowed on the scene, choking everyone terribly. The tiles were constantly bursting, and fiery dragons were rampaging wantonly, making it impossible for anyone to get close.
Among the women who had followed Feng Linche from the front hall, the timid ones were already pale with fright, sitting on the ground and unable to get up.
The women who could still stand were wailing pitifully, shouting, "Third Prince! Third Prince, come out quickly..."
All the men, with lingering fear in their hearts, rushed into the inferno, looking for opportunities to save the people.
Quite a few people chose to hide in the corners where Feng Linche couldn't see, pretending to be saving people.
After all, the fire here had already lit up half the sky, and the fireworks stored in the fireworks shed were still exploding in small areas from time to time, making the firefighting operation extremely difficult.
At a time like this, of course, it was most important to save one's own life.
Who would be willing to risk their own life to save the Third Prince, who was most likely already buried in the flames?
The only one who truly wanted to save Feng Jingxuan was Princess Yunxi, wearing a disheveled white dress with her makeup completely smeared. She was seen desperately trying to enter the fireworks shed that was still bursting.
Zhuo Lingxiao hugged her tightly and shouted hoarsely, "Yunxi! Go back quickly. It's dangerous here!"
By now, he had recovered from the initial shock of learning that Feng Jingxuan might be in danger.
He held Princess Yunxi tightly in his arms. With his scarlet eyes fixed on the raging inferno, his heart was filled with pain.
Feng Jingxuan, don't blame me... How could I have known you were right next to the house that was set on fire?
He murmured silently in his heart.
He felt extremely guilty, really guilty!
He had only intended to burn that little Bai Zheng to death. Even if Feng Linyuan came to settle the score with them afterwards, he had made full preparations.
But who could have thought that Feng Jingxuan would also be implicated?
Wasn't this guy supposed to be in the front hall, accompanying Princess Yunxi nicely? Why on earth did he come to such a dangerous place!
Moreover, what kind of fireworks shed was this? What a terrifying thing!
Another stone was suddenly sent flying by the explosion of the fireworks. Zhuo Lingxiao was startled and quickly protected the almost-crazed and irrational Princess Yunxi in his arms. He turned around and used his back to block the stone.
The servants had already scattered in all directions, and no one came out to help him knock away the stone.
The stone hit Zhuo Lingxiao heavily without any obstruction. Caught off guard, he felt a sharp pain in the inner side of his calf. He lost his strength and fell straight down.
Princess Yunxi had been forcefully held in his arms. Now that he fell, she was also pulled down to the ground.
The ground was full of sharp gravel. When she fell, a piece of upright gravel pierced into her leg, deeply embedding itself in the flesh.
Blood gushed out immediately.
But she only let out a muffled groan and didn't cry out loudly.
Zhuo Lingxiao was in pain for a moment, and his hand unconsciously loosened. Princess Yunxi finally got free. She didn't care about her own pain at all and just wanted to get up and rush into the inferno again.
But her leg had been pierced too deeply by the sharp gravel, making it impossible for her to move. She had just managed to stand up when she quickly fell down again.
By the time Zhuo Lingxiao came to his senses and wanted to grab Princess Yunxi again to stop her from running around, he found that she was just kneeling on the ground blankly, no longer trying to get up.
"Yunxi..."
Seeing Princess Yunxi like this, Zhuo Lingxiao felt a bit reluctant. He wanted to step forward and hug her again.
But before he could reach out his hand, two lines of tears suddenly welled up on Princess Yunxi's blank face.
"Third Prince..." she murmured, her voice faint, like an echo in a cave. "Where are you? Where are you? Why haven't you come to find me yet?"
Zhuo Lingxiao's hand trembled, and his eyes suddenly turned red.
"Yunxi... I'm sor..."
Sorry.
In the end, he swallowed these three words and murmured them silently in his heart.
Princess Yunxi was sitting slumped in front of a pile of ruins, her face streaming with tears. She didn't notice Zhuo Lingxiao's expression at all. Looking at the still-raging fire in front of her, she suddenly knelt up.
"Don't be afraid, Third Prince. Don't be afraid. I'm coming to save you. Wait for me!"
As she said this, she struggled to crawl forward two steps. The blood on her leg was still flowing, leaving a trail of blood behind her.
She tried hard to get closer to the ruins of the fireworks shed and began to frantically dig at the broken tiles and stones below with her bare hands. Her hands were covered in mud, and her face was smeared with soot. It was completely unrecognizable that just an hour ago, she had been the most dazzling woman of the day, the fiancée of the great Zhou's Third Prince, and the most beloved little princess of the Western Liang Emperor.
She dug at the ruins desperately. Her fingers were soon cut by the sharp gravel, and blood kept flowing out. There was a long cut on her palm at some point, but she seemed not to feel the pain and still struggled to dig with her bare hands.
"I'm coming to save you. I'm coming to save you, Third Prince. Hold on a little longer, hold on a little longer. I'll be able to save you out soon..."
Zhuo Lingxiao's eyes had never felt so sore. Even when his mother concubine passed away, he hadn't felt this uncomfortable.
But this time, seeing the carefree younger sister he had grown up with suddenly change so much, he was scared, panicked, and heartbroken.
"Yunxi, get up quickly!"
He rushed forward suddenly, trying to grab the crazed Princess Yunxi.
"Don't touch me!" As soon as she was grabbed by Zhuo Lingxiao, Princess Yunxi turned into a furious lioness.
Her eyes were bloodshot, and she stared at Zhuo Lingxiao fiercely, screaming at a voice that almost pierced people's eardrums, "Let go of me!"
"Yunxi, this is useless. You can't save the Third Prince at all!" Zhuo Lingxiao pleaded earnestly.
But Princess Yunxi didn't listen at all. She still shouted, "The Third Prince is waiting for me. He's waiting for me to save him! Let go of me, let go of me..."
Her voice gradually became lower, turning into a humble plea. "Please, let me save him. The Third Prince is still inside. He hasn't come out yet. He's waiting for me to save him. Please help me save him quickly..."
The plea of Princess Yunxi made almost everyone present feel pity.
Zhuo Lingxiao closed his eyes, and finally a hot tear rolled down from the corner of his eye.
Feng Jingye, who had witnessed everything, was completely stunned. But soon, an uncontrollable excitement welled up in his heart.
The fire had burned so fiercely that even if a god were here, there would be nothing they could do.
Moreover, all the fireworks in the house had exploded together, collapsing the house!