Sitting in the carriage, Xie Qin urged the coachman to rush back to Huaqiong Tower as soon as possible.

Along the way, in the markets and beside the lakeside pavilions, there were all impassioned Tang people who vowed to serve the country.

Xie Qin was thinking about what the situation in Chang'an would be like after today, when the people discovered that the so-called imperial conquest was just a lie.

Thinking of this, she couldn't bear to look any further and lowered the curtain of the carriage.

When they arrived at the door of Huaqiong Tower, Xie Qin first told the clerk that no one was allowed to disturb her tonight.

Then, Xie Qin held up her skirt with her hands and trotted all the way to the door of the pavilion.

She unlocked the door with the key and entered the room. She turned back and locked the door bolt, then brought a brazier and used the fire to light the firewood.

After doing all this, Xie Qin came to the bookshelf in the pavilion and took all the information collected from various places over the years, as well as the letters and records from Bachuan Villa, Liangzhou Neifang, Dunhuang Mansion, and Anxi.

Come down.

Break the seal, tear the pages, and throw the paper into the fire.

At this moment, several large vehicles came outside Huaqiong Tower.

From the leading car, a pretty woman wearing a red undershirt stepped out, it was She Hongzhi.

She Hongzhi raised her head, glanced at the plaque of Huaqiong Tower, smiled slightly, and clapped her hands.

Several large cars behind her clanged several times, and their doors opened one after another, and many men in black armed with sharp knives jumped out.

She Hongzhi led a group of men in black into Huaqiong Tower.

The receptionist in the hall was frightened when she saw the person coming, but she still braved the courage and walked up. After saying all the blessings, she said, "I don't know if you all came to Huaqiong Tower to make an appointment or just passing by."

She Hongzhi looked at the clerk and asked with a smile: "Where is the piano player?"

The case lady glanced at the fierce-looking men in black behind She Hongzhi, her body trembled, and she forced herself to calm down and said, "I don't know if Jie is here."

She Hongzhi's smile became even bigger.

The long sleeves of the red jacket suddenly rose, and a dazzling sword flashed through.

A three-inch long wound suddenly appeared on the case mother's neck, and blood flowed profusely.

She Hongzhi took back the dagger, which was still stained with blood, and smiled softly: "My ability to lie has never improved."

For a moment, the men and women in the hall were all horrified when they saw this appearance.

Some people screamed murder, some collapsed and cried, and some tried to run away.

She Hongzhi glanced at the lifeless body at her feet, and said to the man in black behind her: "This trip to Huaqiong Tower is, firstly, to find out the secret chamber here and get information about Zhou Jun; secondly, to

Catch Xie Qin...remember, you have to catch him alive!"

The leader of the men in black team asked She Hongzhi: "Where are the others?"

She Hongzhi looked back at the man with a playful look on his face.

The men in black were stunned at first, then nodded and said: "I understand."

After saying that, he pulled out the sharp blade, raised the knife with his hand, and directly hacked to death a guest who was trying to escape from the lobby.

Jie Qin, who was in the pavilion, was busy burning the books.

There were faint screams and cries in his ears. Jie Qin was startled, stopped what he was doing, and came to the window of the pavilion to look out.

A maid ran to the corridor outside the pavilion. Before she could run a few steps, she was chased from behind by a man in black and pierced her back with a sword.

Jie Qin was shocked and subconsciously covered her mouth with her hands.

At the end of the corridor, more and more people in black gathered, and some of them pointed their fingers in the direction of the pavilion.

Xie Qin knew something was wrong and quickly took a few steps back and left the window.

Looking at the documents and books in the room, she understood that the current situation was critical and there was no room for hesitation.

I just saw that Guqin first used a brazier to light a book, and then used this book to light the bookshelf in the pavilion.

As if worried that the fire was not strong enough, Xie Qin took out a small bottle of kerosene used to light the lamp in the pavilion and poured it all on the bookshelf.

In an instant, the fire became so intense that it slowly surrounded the entire pavilion.

While avoiding the fire, Xie Qin went to the innermost bedroom of the pavilion, pushed open a secret door on the wall, and ducked directly in.

The fire in the pavilion attracted everyone's attention at this time.

She Hongzhi came to the corridor, looked at the pavilion that was engulfed in flames, and was silent in thought.

The men in black team said to her first: "The fire is so strong, that woman may have been buried in the sea of ​​​​fire."

She Hongzhi said in a deep voice: "You don't understand that woman. She is not showy on weekdays, but she is actually as cunning as a fox."

After saying this, She Hongzhi looked around, pointed to the backyard and said: "There must be a back door in the pavilion, so that your people can be separated from each other. Guard every passage in the hospital and search carefully. No one should be left behind.

!”

The leader of the men in black team heard the words, nodded slightly, and passed the order to his subordinates.

Jie Qin escaped from the pavilion, passed through a secret passage, and came to a shed in the backyard used to store debris.

I walked out of the room and left through the backyard, but unexpectedly there were men in black searching everywhere outside the house.

Jie Qin had no choice but to turn around and sneak back into the inner garden of Huaqiong Tower, climbing up the wooden steps towards the second floor.

The fire gradually spread from the pavilion to the entire back garden due to the wind.

The bright firelight also illuminated every corner of Huaqiong Tower.

Soon, a man in black spotted Jie Qin who was climbing the stairs and shouted: "There is someone there!"

She Hongzhi took a closer look and shouted with joy: "Hurry and catch her!"

A group of men in black rushed towards the building. They wanted to catch up directly from the stairs, but unexpectedly the fire became stronger. After some consideration, they had no choice but to abandon the original route and planned to take a detour from the back room of the main hall to the second floor.

Jie Qin finally climbed up to the second floor. Before she could take a breath, she saw a group of men in black running toward her downstairs outside the window.

Knowing that he could not delay, Xie Qin first went to the inner hall on the second floor, closed the door with a wooden latch, and then climbed up the innermost spiral wooden ladder towards the viewing pavilion at the highest point of Huaqiong Tower.

Huaqiong Building is divided into three floors. The first and second floors are standard hall-style structures. Only the third floor is an attic of less than 100 square meters.

On weekdays, sitting in the viewing pavilion, you can enjoy the wonderful scenery of Bachuan Xizhou. Literati have always been keen to hold banquets and cultural gatherings here.

Just when Xie Qin arrived at the Viewing Pavilion, She Hongzhi led a group of men in black to the second floor and arrived at the door of the inner hall.

She Hongzhi found that the door was bolted and ordered to the man in black: "Break the door open!"

The men in black looked at each other with hesitation on their faces.

She Hongzhi saw this and said angrily: "Are you going to disobey me?!"

The leader of the men in black team stood up and said to She Hongzhi: "The fire has now spread to the second floor. If we don't leave, we will all be burned to death here."

There was only madness on She Hongzhi's face: "I don't care, we must catch that woman!"

The men in black glanced at the fire behind them, shook their heads and said, "If the fire spreads like this, it will only be a matter of time before that woman is burned to death."

She Hongzhi: "You idiots! Since Xie Qin dares to climb up to the attic, it means that she must have a way to escape!"

The leader of the men in black: "Whatever you say, life is most important. My brothers and I have to take the first step."

She Hongzhi was extremely angry and shouted loudly: "You can leave if you want! Knock this door open before you leave, and I will catch that bitch myself!"

The leader of the men in black hesitated for a moment and nodded to his men.

At this time, Jie Qin first put the tables and chairs in the viewing pavilion into a pile, then took out the hook and rope hidden in the wooden cabinet in the corner. She then took the hook and rope and climbed to the top of the tables and chairs, aiming at the top of the attic.

He opened the skylight and threw away the hook in his hand.

Even though there were tables and chairs with legs, the height of the skylight was too high and the outside bricks and tiles were too slippery. I tried several times to untie the piano but could not hang the hook securely.

At this moment, there was a loud noise downstairs, and the door bolt on the second floor was knocked open.

Xie Qin was very anxious. Just when she was about to try throwing the hook again, a person suddenly poked out of the skylight, startling her.

After seeing the man's appearance, Jie Qin shouted in disbelief: "Song Ruo'e! What are you doing here?!"

Song Ruo'e, who was dressed plainly, lay on the skylight and shouted to Jie Qin: "I'm here to save you!"

Xie Qin was very angry: "I told you just now, don't come to Huaqiong Tower!"

Song Ruo'e said sadly: "If it weren't for you, Ruo'e would have been nothing but a handful of dirt... You saved me in the past, and I will save you no matter what today!"

Xie Qin sighed helplessly and asked, "How did you know this place?"

Song Ruo'e: "Do you still remember the rehearsal last year? I went up to the attic and joked about what to do if Huaqiong Tower caught fire. You told me something at that time. Erlang had gone to Luoyang to supervise the construction of lanterns earlier, and he encountered

After the fire, I had to rely on the rope ladder on the top floor of the lantern to escape the flames. I remember that at that time, you said again that for the sake of safety, the Huaqiong Tower should also do the same."

Xie Qin was stunned: "You actually still remember that."

Song Ruo'e: "I saw Huaqiong Building on fire and gangsters going around killing people. Then I remembered what you said, so I decided to try my luck. I went around to the outer compartment on the other side of the second floor, climbed out of the window, and climbed up from the railing.

On the lower eaves of the pavilion, I found a rope ladder leading to the top of the pavilion in the cabinet."

Although Song Ruo'e said it simply, Xie Qin knew clearly in her heart that the former had lived in the house for a long time and was in frail health. Now that he was able to come here to save her, it was really a miracle.

Jie Qin looked at the skylight and threw the hook again.
To be continued...