Forest Fire ? ...

Jiushu looked at the starry sky in astonishment. She immediately ran to her window to check. The fire is still going strong. She sighed and reverted back. At the time she harvested garlic, she activated 'manure pit'. She checked the details this time. The pit is just a black hole that decomposes anything that's thrown in there and adds it to soil as nourishment.

For now, Jiushu threw all the food waste there. She boiled another pot of rice, with a little bit of garlic and amaranth. The best she can say about it is it's edible. Luckily, she knew how to cook most wild vegetables. Unfortunately, her cooking experience amounts to zero. She has dabbled in it after college entrance exam. So, she does know the process, from watching her mother, aunt and such. However, she has neither talent, nor interest in cooking. The food is edible, that is all one can say about it.

Add to her abysmal cooking knowledge, she knew almost all these vegetables are easy to cook, if and only if she has a little bit of oil to roast them with garlic. Steamed, all of them taste horrible. Yet, she bit down hard and ate her greens. Then she laid down leisurely on the straw and watched stars. She did not know when she fell asleep.

While Jiushu is dilly dallying, the life for Moqiu is nothing short of blockbuster.

He ran home immediately following Jiushu's fall. Fortunately, owing to his father's over cautiousness and his own carefulness, the place he almost always flashes to hide is a tree hollow. He immediately ran out of the hollow to straight home, only to realize there were armed soldiers in there.

"Father, We need to go save her… " MoQiu's further words died down as he noticed the tense situation.

His mother is the first one to notice him.

"Mo Qiu" She shouted as she hugged him, furtively tucking his jade pendant inside his vest.

"A'Qiu" his father came over immediately to stand beside him.

The guard captain looked at his parents smugly.

MoQiu knew there is some kind of situation here, however, his news is urgent. They need to rescue Jiushu.

"Let the boy speak. Who is she?" The guard asked him, referring to his previous words.

"The girl who came to get her rice milled." MoQiu answered noncommittally.

"Ha..! Just now you said no one came by." The guard is accusatory towards his parents.

MoQiu answered before either of his parents could. They are both too honest individuals, probably brought up in big families as little lords and ladies, with stories about honor, sanctity of monarchy, and all such hubris. MoQiu noticed early on that his parents are ostracized half for the manners they exhibit, the other half for their views.

"She did not pay yet. You are going to drag her away before she pays for the milling, aren't you?" MoQiu said half childish and half accusing.

People in authoritarian positions always look down upon greedy people. They dismiss them as manageable threats. His father has the air of a warrior, his mother a scholarly beauty. They by no means can play random greedy little villagers.

The guard just scoffed at him, but the smugness changed into disdain. They went from willingly hiding a criminal to greedy passersby in the guards head. His father and mother both looked at him surprised. Since the guard did not deny they are here for Jiushu, he will lead them there. After all, he is sure she's hiding in her bracelet, and he will be the only one who knows that. As long as they did not know, they would not find her.

"So, where is she?" Another guard asked forcefully.

"We went up the mountain. She slipped on the edge of one of the holes and fell down in the dark cave. I came to get rope and torches to search for her." Mo Qiu told the guards.

His parents looked at him in disappointment, for it seems they expected him to protect Jiushu. Despite the disappointment, his father started helping him.

"We do not have enough rope to go down the fathom. We need iron pikes, and also an inch thick rope. We borrowed it from the temple when you were lost. Also, we need a guide from the blackdragon temple. They are the only ones who go down the dark cave."

Mo Qiu looked at his father in surprise. He did not know this part. Thankfully, he came here to ask his father, even with his power. This place, despite looking like the earth, feeling like the earth, sounding like earth, is not the earth he knows. If something felt uncomfortably dangerous, it is probably because it is. He felt the dark cave was ominous, thus he came to speak with his father first.

"Then let's go to the temple." The guard captain said.

"Can't." his father shook his head.

"The temple closed down for seven days to elect a new supreme Taoist." his mother told him.

"They will open for us." the guard said confidently.

"Nothing short of imperial decree can open those gates." his father said, looking doubtful.

"They will open the doors for us." The guard repeated.

MoQiu is surprised. This kind of confidence meant whichever authority they are searching with is either imperial or equivalent. Why in the world is the imperial family looking for Jiushu? Worse yet, who in the world could be as powerful as the imperial family?

Then he remembered the warning his father gave him.

It seems it's not in vain. There are powerful people looking to take your blessing.. Is what his father said. Seems it's not as simple as having a bounty on his head. The big guy wants them so badly, they have a robust system in work that can find them as soon as they use their powers. Or is it more? Sometimes could they find them even before?

Yet , just as they were at the doors of Taoist temple, the cliff caught on fire. MoQiu stared at it in astonishment. That does not look right, is his first thought. Is it a forest fire? … no there was no storm, not even a strong wind… It is the kind of fire that gets displayed in the news…

Fire in news ? ..

…

..

.

Damn.. it's petroleum fire… The dark cave.. Can't go inside.. The shining black ness.. Gods! That's tar ooze. That's why the slimy dark feeling.. The cave ran so deep, it's a natural petroleum well…

Wait…!

Doesn't this mean Jiushu is already dead? No one can survive such fire…

For a moment, MoQiu's legs gave in. It's not that he had an attachment with the girl. He is sad for human loss, and she probably was the only person who could understand him as a fellow transmigrator. Now, she's dead.

He is an avid reader of web novels.. He thought since he is transmigrated, he is protected.. But this shows transmigration is truly accidental.. Or they just came to another world, thus every one of their actions will have consequences only for themselves. For a moment, the realization dawned on him that he could die any moment. He is not an exception. He doesn't have any plot armor.

Black Dragon temple gates opened before they could so much as say 'Open Sesame'.