Chapter 789: All 789 are gone.
"Little sister, why are you alone? Where are father, mother, and the fourth brother?" Ye Gaoshui had also just rushed out from the fire and was coughing violently from the smoke inhalation.
Ye Jiu hadn't had the chance to respond when they heard Ye Gaosheng's voice, "I'm here."
Ye Gaosheng was supporting a clearly weakened Qingyue, while Serving Maid and Attendant appeared together with Ye Qingzhi, and the people from the First House had been brought out by Xiang Nan and the others.
It was only after everyone had gathered that they realized a severe problem: Old Man Ye and Mrs. He were missing.
Speaking of this, Ye Jiu felt a twinge of guilt and could only say, "Father and mother were rescued early. I took them to another place; you all don't need to worry."
Then, everyone finally let down their guard.
The blaze was enormous, and despite the villagers' best efforts to extinguish it, it was ultimately in vain. In the end, they had to abandon their attempts under the pained gazes of the onlookers.
The Ye Family mansion, along with the adjacent First and Second Houses, had been turned into a sea of flames overnight.
Fortunately, Ada and Xiang Nan had a team patrolling every day, so there had been no casualties among the family members.
As everyone grieved and sighed, Ye Jiu quietly slipped away to a secluded spot before releasing Old Man Ye and Mrs. He.
Both were still unconscious. After Ye Jiu administered the antidote, they slowly came to.
"Fire, save me…" Mrs. He suddenly screamed as she woke up, her thoughts still trapped in the moment of fleeing from the flames.
Ye Jiu quickly reached out to comfort her, "Mother, the fire is gone; we're safe now, don't be afraid…"
Mrs. He looked around; they were in a patch of grass, which was partly dry, obviously scorched by the fire.
The surroundings were very familiar. They weren't far from their house, but as Mrs. He's gaze shifted left and right, she suddenly saw that their home, in the direction not far from there, was now a sea of flames.
"Ah, my house…" Mrs. He cried out in shock and tried to get up to return.
Ye Jiu pulled her back, "Mother…"
Ye Jiu originally wanted to offer consolation, but Mrs. He cried out in pain, "Ah…"
Ye Jiu, frightened, quickly let go, and Mrs. He clutched her arm, her expression still filled with intense pain.
"What's wrong, mother?" As Ye Jiu asked, Old Man Ye had already moved to check on Mrs. He first.
They saw that her clothes were torn and tattered, and her arm was severely burned, revealing a horrific wound beneath the rags.
"Mother, please sit down; I'll apply some medicine to you first," Ye Jiu hurriedly said, taking out ointment from his clothes, intending to treat Mrs. He's burns.
Unexpectedly, Mrs. He, after glancing at her wounds, said, "My injury is nothing serious. I'm old, not a young girl; a burn or two doesn't matter much. But my poor house, quickly get someone to put out the fire…"
Although knowing deep down that the house was no longer salvageable, she couldn't help feeling reluctant—this was Mrs. He's current state of mind.
"Mother, don't be sad. We will have a house again in the future, and it will be a hundred, a thousand times better than the current one!" Ye Jiu said, looking towards the distant fire that hadn't yet ceased, a vehement fire burned in his own eyes as well.
...
At dawn, in Ye Zhong's house, Mrs. He lay in bed sobbing mournfully, occasionally interspersing her weeping with curses.
Mrs. Wang brought her medicine to drink and comforted her by her side.