Nothing is Burning

"Fair enough," Tai Cheng said, refusing to waste any time - if they were already pouring kerosene, chances are a lighted match would not be far behind. "Follow me, but not too closely. Keep low, and make sure your feet don't make any noise. Don't cast any shadows if possible."

Jingwei nodded fervently, biting his lips to stop himself from panicking. Xue Ning's father seemed to have a lot of experience dealing with delinquent arsonists - was that something normal in this town, along with the random cows in the fields?

He would have to ask that, once his mind stopped shrieking at him. His hands were beginning to tremble, and he took a deep breath to calm himself down, only to be hit with the stench of kerosene. It seemed to be getting stronger, the closer they got to the outside.

"How much of this is enough?" Jingwei heard a voice ask. "It smells fucking terrible."