Chapter 29: Saving a Life is Like Putting Out a Fire

Huang Feihong helped the priest close his eyes and looked at Chang Huan, saying, "Brother Chang, what should we do now?"
Chang Huan pondered for a moment and replied, "First, we need to rescue those students from Tongwen Academy. However, just the two of us may not be enough; we need to find more help!"
Huang Feihong nodded and said, "I will send A-Kuan to the militia to find a few brothers to come and help."
Huang Feihong had already disregarded whether it violated regulations; even if the authorities were to punish him, that would be a matter after saving the people. The most important thing right now was to rescue them.
Common Huan instructed Liang Kuan to notify everyone and then directly meet at Tongwen Pavilion, while he and Huang Feihong set out first with their two disciples.
Originally, Common Huan could have invited Yan Zh Dong and the disciples of the Knife and Spear Elders, but after consideration, he felt it was not the right time to reveal their strength, so he abandoned this idea.
When Chang Huan and Huang Feihong arrived at Tongwen Academy, the members of the White Lotus Society had already dispersed. The area was a complete mess, and the outer walls of the academy showed signs of having been burned, now dark and charred, with plenty of talismans plastered all over them.
Chang Huan clenched his fist tightly; this was the first time he felt so furious that he wanted to kill someone after his second crossing into this world. Even after witnessing the deeds of the Shahe Gang earlier, he had never felt this angry before.
Although this Tongwen Guan was established by foreigners, the ones studying inside are all Chinese compatriots, and they are just children. These insane cultists act without any scruples to commit such acts.
Chang Huan took a deep breath to calm the anger in his heart and said, "Let’s go in and see what’s going on inside."
Huang Feihong, also feeling heavy-hearted, nodded. The two directly broke in, and the scene inside was chaotic. There were numerous bodies of foreign priests and staff scattered around, with a terrifying state of death, clearly having been whipped by the White Lotus sect.
The two apprentices from Baozhilin who followed along had never seen such a scene and immediately started to vomit. Although Chang Huan and Huang Feihong didn't vomit, they also felt a wave of discomfort.
“Shall we search separately?!” Chang Huan said to Huang Feihong.
Then the two split up to look for the students mentioned by the priest, living or dead.
In the end, it was Chang Huan who, relying on his keen hearing, heard noises coming from a cellar. After a few unsuccessful attempts to open the door, he forcibly broke it down, finding a priest's corpse inside, along with about ten trembling children.
Chang Huan counted the number of people and, finding it matched the figure reported by the priest, finally breathed a sigh of relief. He immediately called out loudly to Huang Feihong, asking him and his two disciples to come over to receive the people.
Although these children are still young, they are very clever and can tell that Chang Huan and the others are not evil. Each of them obediently cooperated with Chang Huan to leave the cellar.
Chang Huan didn't forget that in the movie, a child was injured. When he was carrying these children out, he carefully checked their bodies and indeed discovered that one child had an arrow wound. It seemed that the priest guarding the cellar had already treated it, which allowed the child to hold on until Chang Huan and the others arrived.
Looking at the terrifying wounds on his body, even an adult might not be able to endure it, yet he gritted his teeth and remained silent, holding on.
“Child, what is your name?” Chang Huan asked softly.
“Xu, Xu Rongjiu!” The injured child replied stammeringly, enduring the pain.
After hearing this name, Chang Huan's heart trembled. Before crossing over to Hong Kong Island, Chang Huan was from the provincial capital, and he had heard the stories of the Huanghuagang Uprising since he was young. He had memorized more than half of the names of the seventy-two martyrs, and Xu Rongjiu's name was prominently among them.
Thinking of what this person would do in the future, the joy in their heart added a bit more pain.
“Don’t worry, with Uncle here, no one can hurt you anymore!”
“Mm!” Xu Rongjiu nodded vigorously.
Afterward, Chang Huan brought these children back to Baozhilin with Huang Feihong. With the renowned doctor Huang Feihong present, it was naturally no problem to heal Xu Rongjiu's injuries.
Most of these children studying at the Tongwen School were not locals. With the school destroyed, they had nowhere to go; as for the few local children, they could be sent back to their homes first.
After treating the injuries on Xiao Xu, Huang Feihong pulled Chang Huan to the side.
“Brother Chang, what should we do with these kids?”
Chang Huan didn't answer and instead asked, “Do you already have some ideas?”
Huang Feihong nodded and said, "The White Lotus Society is causing chaos everywhere, and it’s likely that the peace of Baozhilin won't last long. I want to send them to that person, Nalan; the government will be safer for them than I can provide."
“I'm afraid not. Right now, Nalan Yuanshu is busy protecting those foreigners, and there aren't any extra hands to protect these children. Moreover, if I'm not mistaken, there will soon be a big incident in the provincial capital!”
“Huh? What will happen?” Huang Feihong asked.
Chang Huan shook his head and did not continue. Due to inadequate confidentiality measures on Sun Xian's side, the conspiracy to rebel would soon leak out, and they would face the siege from Nalan Yuanshu.
Sending the children to the embassy, as depicted in the original play, is even more unrealistic. In a critical situation, those foreigners will definitely prioritize saving their own lives first, and they won’t care about others.
Once Nalan Yuanshu begins to suppress the Revolutionary Party, the protection for foreigners will also become scattered. Given the limited strength of the foreigners, they won't be able to withstand the furious White Lotus Society.
The safest approach is actually to keep these children here; Baizhilin is not safe, but that doesn’t mean Changhuan Factory is unsafe either.
His factory not only has the twenty guards he recruited, but also members of the militia working inside. Plus, with the high walls as a buffer, even if the White Lotus Sect wants to invade, it would take a considerable amount of effort.
Moreover, Chang Huan has set up many traps around the factory to protect it. If anyone tries to sneak in, they will probably be caught before they even get close to the wall.
“Let me handle it. I’ll first find a safe place for them to hide, and once the outside environment is safe, I’ll bring them out.”
Huang Feihong thought for a while but couldn't come up with a solution, so he had to agree to Chang Huan's suggestion to let him arrange for the children’s safety.
That night, Chang Huan had Yan Zhendong personally escort these children to the factory, along with the two old masters, to be on the safe side.
They couldn't handle foreign weapons, but they could deal with the thugs from the White Lotus Sect, at least buying some extra time.
```htmlTo ensure safety, Chang Huan simply sent over the foreign guns he had purchased. With these guns, the strength of the guards would be enhanced a bit.
Probably due to the destruction of the foreigners' clubhouses outside, in the following days, the White Lotus Sect's assault on the embassy became even more fierce, not even sparing the telegram office set up by the government. Nalan Yuanshu used tremendous effort to protect it.```