Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 821 - 819_1

Chapter 821: Chapter 819_1

"Lass, stay on the deck!" Shangguan Xuanyi also noticed that the cabin walls had been doused with oil everywhere.

If that were the case, the fire would spread quickly along the streaks of oil. He feared that Xiao’er might be accidentally burned.

At this point, sailors on the ship came running with barrels, fetching water from the river to put out the fire, bucket by bucket.

"No, let me help you put out the fire!"

Xiao’er and Shangguan Xuanyi also found two wooden barrels and started fetching water from the river to put out the fire.

Yang Liu and Yang Mei quickly evacuated the guests from the private rooms on the ship, asking them to converge on the deck.

Gong Qinghua also quickly grabbed a wooden barrel and started to help put out the fire.

As the ship’s hull was mostly made of wood, which had been varnished for waterproofing and doused with oil by someone, the fire was burning fiercely and rapidly.

Upon seeing this, Shangguan Xuanyi shouted loudly, "Yang Liu, get the ship to shore as quickly as possible, then have everyone jump off the ship and swim to the shore. The fire is spreading too quickly! We will contain it here for now. Hurry!"

Hearing Shangguan Xuanyi’s words, Yang Liu directed everyone to prepare to abandon ship.

"But I can’t swim! Jumping into the water will drown me!" someone exclaimed in fear, turning pale at the prospect of jumping ship.

"Yes, I can’t swim either!"

"I can’t either, what now?"

...

The deck was filled with people, each stating they could not swim.

"Those who can swim, jump into the river first and get someone who can’t swim ashore!" Yang Liu came up with a plan quickly.

"Wah..." Some of the more timid women started crying out of fear.

The sight of this frightened the children on board into loud cries.

...

"Captain, tell the helmsman to steer towards the shore! Have him take the ship as close to the shore as possible at full speed!" Xiao’er told the captain, who was running over with a barrel.

The river breeze was quite strong at night, which further fueled the spread of the fire. But if the sails could be adjusted promptly, docking the ship could be done quickly.

The sail handler, anxious, busily tried to adjust the sail to face the wind.

But the more flustered he became, the harder he found it to do.

Seeing this, Xiao’er quickly ran over and shouted at the sail handler, "Master, move aside, let me do it!"

The sail handler, sweating profusely from his anxiety, turned to see a delicate young woman asking him to move aside. He shouted back, "Can’t you see everyone is trying to save their lives? Step aside and stop getting in the way!"

"Yes, what are you crowding here for? Don’t hinder the sailors from working!" the passengers on the ship were irritated when they saw Xiao’er come over to "make trouble."

"Where did this mad woman come from, hurry up and throw her into the river!"

"Is there something wrong with this woman’s brain? She’s a threat, keep her away from causing harm!"

...

The passengers were already panicked, and seeing Xiao’er causing trouble at this moment, they all started to criticize her.

The sailor handling the sail, seeing someone interfering at such a crucial moment, waved his hand to shoo Xiao’er away.

Xiao’er didn’t bother arguing with him. She reached out and grabbed his clothes, thrusting him aside, then shouted loudly at the other sailors, "All of you, follow my orders!"

The other sailors were taken aback by Xiao’er’s fierce manner, looking at each other, unsure what to do.

"If you don’t want to end up roasted like a pig or drowned like a ghost, follow my instructions!" Xiao’er scanned them coldly, then began to calmly and systematically adjust the sails and direct them.

Perhaps Xiao’er’s calmness inspired everyone. For a moment, they really began to follow her commands.

As the sail’s windward area changed, the ship began to move towards the shore.

"The ship is approaching the shore, the ship is really approaching the shore!" someone shouted out loud.

"Everyone, prepare to jump ship! Those who can swim go first! Hurry up! I’ll count to three and you jump! Jump from here!" Yang Liu shouted loudly.

By this time, the fire had spread to the entire cabin. The rate at which the fire could be extinguished was simply not enough compared to how quickly it spread.

People on the deck saw this and also started taking wooden barrels to fetch water to extinguish the fire.

There were many wooden barrels prepared on the ship, hanging on both sides of the ship.

"One"

"Two"

"Three, jump"

About a dozen "splash!" sounds were heard one after another.

Over a dozen men jumped into the river first.

Then they shouted to the people on the ship, indicating who should jump into the water so they could take them ashore.

By this time, the ship was only a few meters from the shore.

With a few more "splashes," several more people jumped into the water.

"Either die by fire or by drowning. Jumping into the water might give you a chance to live. Consider for yourself if you want to jump or not! If you don’t want to jump, I’ll have others jump!" Yang Liu spoke upon seeing a few people too scared to jump.

Upon hearing this, the few people gritted their teeth, closed their eyes and jumped.

At this time, Xiao’er noticed that the ship was beginning to sink, "Brother Shangguan, the ship is sinking!"

Upon noticing this, Shangguan Xuanyi directed, "Captain, tell the sailors to jump into the water first and take some people ashore."

"Young men who can’t swim, come here and put out the fire. Control the flames and let the sailors on the ship save people."

Men who couldn’t swim hurriedly picked up the barrels left behind by the sailors and began to douse the fire, preventing it from spreading to the deck.

So, the sailors jumped into the water first, and then the captain directed corresponding numbers of people to jump into the water to let the sailors save them ashore.

The ship was now about one meter closer to the shore, only about four to five meters away.

Shangguan Xuanyi picked up two women holding children by the clothes, used his Qinggong skills, leapt two meters off the ship, trod across the water for a few steps and landed on the shore.

After setting down the two women, Shangguan Xuanyi flew back onto the ship using his Qinggong skills to continue saving people.

Upon seeing this, Xiao’er, Yang Liu, and Yang Mei also quickly grabbed children or those carrying infants, using their Qinggong skills to fly towards the shore.

Gong Qingnian, seeing this, also hurriedly began saving people in the same manner.

Xiao’er quickly returned to the ship after placing two women with infants on the shore.

But her Qinggong skills were not as good as Shangguan Xuanyi’s. To gain momentum, she had to step on a sailor’s back to jump back onto the ship.

The surprised sailor barely managed to hold onto the person in his arms.

In this back-and-forth manner, the ship moved another meter closer to the shore.

Now only about two meters away from the shore, this distance was not far at all.

Half of the burnt part of the ship had already sunk.

The people on the ship gathered at the highest point.

The fire had died down somewhat due to the sinking of the ship.

Everyone wasn’t as desperate to jump into the river anymore, instead they continued extinguishing the flames to prevent the fire from reaching their location. In any case, they would surely end up in the water as the ship was sinking. They simply waited on the deck for Shangguan Xuanyi and the rest to rescue them using Qinggong.

Shangguan Xuanyi and Xiao’er and the others made dozens of trips back and forth, carrying people from the ship to shore using their Qinggong skills.

Gradually, the number of people on the ship dwindled.

In the last trip, Xiao’er picked up an old man with one hand and a trembling woman with half-white hair and patched clothes, who had been cowering in a corner, and flew towards the shore.

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