After escaping from the raging fire, the fresh air outside did nothing to ease Churi Huaizhu's pain. The next moment, the elders channeled their inner strength to expel the thick smoke she had inhaled from her body.
"Thank you, esteemed elders. I'm truly in your debt this time," Wang Quan Baye said, bowing to the elders with his fists clasped as he saw Churi Huaizhu gradually regaining consciousness.
Churi Huaizhu stood on the ground, staring at the house engulfed by flames with a strange look on her face. Why did the fire break out suddenly? The whole thing was so fishy that it was hard not to be suspicious.
"Master, your clothes are scorched. Go change into a new one quickly," the butler said nervously, noticing the blackened back of Wang Quan Baye's clothes.
Churi Huaizhu put aside her suspicions for the time being and quickly led Wang Quan Baye to their bedroom. She took out a medicine bottle from the bookshelf. It was carefully prepared by the doctor and was very effective for all kinds of wounds.
Churi Huaizhu gently took off Wang Quan Baye's clothes, revealing the wounds on his back. The skin was red all over, with blisters here and there.
This made Churi Huaizhu's eyes well up with tears. She tried hard to hold back her sobs and applied the ointment to Wang Quan Baye's back gently.
"Does it hurt?" Churi Huaizhu asked with a trembling voice. Wang Quan Baye wanted to turn his head to look at her, but she held his neck and stopped him. Wang Quan Baye just smiled.
"Not at all. Don't cry," he said softly, trying to comfort her. Churi Huaizhu bit her lips, feeling ashamed of her sudden outburst of tears. She didn't want Wang Quan Baye to get hurt for her, nor did she want to cry in front of him, but she just couldn't stop.
"Next time, you must take good care of yourself and never get hurt again," Churi Huaizhu said seriously. She would leave Wang Quan Baye soon, but she was becoming more and more reluctant to part with him. She was afraid that no one would take care of his wounds if he got hurt...
Wang Quan Baye nodded. Soon, Churi Huaizhu finished treating the wounds on his back. She took out a dark - colored robe and helped him put it on. At this moment, Wang Quan Baye was deep in thought about the sudden fire.
Churi Huaizhu thought the incident was very strange. The fire broke out suddenly, and it happened just when she was taking a bath. But Wang Quan Baye suspected that there was definitely someone behind it! After settling Churi Huaizhu down, he hid in a secluded corner and waited for the fire to die out.
Sure enough, after the fire was extinguished, a black - clad figure rushed out from a corner. The person's swift movements almost made it impossible for Wang Quan Baye to stop him. Wang Quan Baye used a charred wooden stick to block the black - clad man's way.
The black - clad man turned around and saw Wang Quan Baye. He immediately charged forward, trying to kill him. The two fought, but neither could gain the upper hand.
During the fight, a hairpin fell out of the black - clad man's body, but he didn't notice it. He took something out of his sleeve and threw it at Wang Quan Baye's left side.
"Don't even think about running away!" Wang Quan Baye dodged the hidden weapon and chased after the black - clad man relentlessly. The black - clad man stared at Wang Quan Baye menacingly and struck out with his palm. Just as his palm was about to hit Wang Quan Baye, a puff of white smoke emerged from his palm. When the smoke cleared, the black - clad man had disappeared.
Wang Quan Baye searched around unwillingly but couldn't find any trace of the black - clad man. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something glinting faintly. He stepped forward to investigate and found a hairpin inlaid with gold, silver, and jewels.
He picked up the hairpin and examined it carefully. The hairpin was of excellent quality, with delicate patterns engraved on its end. The pendant made of Western Sea wool pearls indicated that this hairpin had an extraordinary origin.
"Someone, call all the old servants in the mansion. Remember, all of them, not a single one should be missed," Wang Quan Baye said to the butler. Then he left the place. As he left, he stared at the corner where the black - clad man had emerged, lost in thought.
"Have any of you seen this hairpin?" Wang Quan Baye held up the hairpin and asked the butler to show it to the old servants one by one. The servants examined the hairpin carefully.
When they saw the patterns and pearls on the hairpin, some of them showed envy in their eyes. Then the butler took the hairpin and was about to ask the newly - recruited servants.
Wang Quan Baye observed the servants' expressions when they saw the hairpin. He found that there was no strange change in their expressions. Even if there was, it was just envy. "Have you all seen it? Has anyone seen this hairpin before or seen someone wearing it?"
"No, such a precious thing. I've never seen it before, let alone seen someone wearing it," an old servant whispered to those around him, but Wang Quan Baye heard it clearly. He was lost in thought but was not willing to give up. Only those who had served in the mansion would know about that corner. If it wasn't someone from the mansion, they would never have chosen that place.
"Master, the servants have never seen this hairpin before. Some of them said they had an impression, but when I asked them in detail, they couldn't say anything," the butler reported the situation to Wang Quan Baye.
Wang Quan Baye frowned when he heard this. If no one knew about it, it meant that the black - clad man had never worn this hairpin. But if he didn't wear it, why would he carry it with him? Could this hairpin have some special meaning to the black - clad man, or was it a token for their communication?
"Let them all go. Make it clear to them what they should say and what they shouldn't. Question those who said they had seen the hairpin carefully about where they saw it," Wang Quan Baye instructed the butler. Then he put the hairpin in his bosom. If the person wanted to take the hairpin back, it would surely alert him.
When the servants who said they seemed to have seen the hairpin saw the butler coming with people, they quickly told the truth. They had never seen this hairpin before. They just wanted to get closer to it.
If Wang Quan Baye had believed them, this delicate hairpin might have fallen into their hands. As soon as they said this, the butler immediately sold those servants to the human traffickers outside without any mercy.
"None of you are allowed to say a word about this!" the butler warned the remaining servants. They were so scared that they all kept this matter to themselves and didn't even dare to tell their families.