Chapter 785: The Great Fire

“Don’t forget, after it’s done, throw that bitch at the village entrance so everyone can see her,” Vernon Spann instructed.

“Don’t worry!”

The three men weren’t the type to show a woman any mercy; they were just getting paid to do a job. Vernon Spann lit the fire. A northwest wind was blowing that night, causing the flames to grow steadily and sending thick smoke billowing into the air. But the Spann family’s house had been vacant for a long time, and it was the dead of night. Exhausted from a day of labor, the villagers were sleeping so soundly they didn’t notice a thing.

The Spann family’s house wasn’t a standalone structure. It was an old, half-brick, half-timber building that Phoenix Golding had bought from a family who’d moved away from the village. It was packed tightly against several other homes, all of them old brick-and-timber structures as well. If one went up in flames, a dozen others would be in danger.

Vernon Spann stood outside, watching the fire grow. He started to panic. Jacqueline Spann had told him to wait until the house was halfway engulfed in flames before shouting to attract the villagers’ attention, creating a diversion for the three thugs.

But now, Vernon couldn’t wait for the house to be halfway burnt. He was afraid that by then, he wouldn’t have time to escape. ‘If the villagers catch me, they’ll kill me.’

So, when only a third of it had burned, Vernon Spann couldn’t take it anymore and started screaming, “Fire! Somebody, help! There’s a fire!”

The shouts were piercing in the dead of night. One dog began to bark wildly, and soon every dog in the village had joined in. The racket was immense, startling the sleeping villagers awake. The two families living next to the Spanns were the first to realize something was wrong. With the thick, billowing smoke and the acrid smell of burning, even a fool would know a fire had broken out.

The two families were so terrified they ran outside barefoot, without even stopping to get dressed. One of them was the family of Sherman Golding—the same family that was about to host a wedding banquet for their eldest son, Bowman Golding, and who had once feuded with Adrian Hawthorne over a potato patch.

Sherman Golding was only in his underclothes, as was his wife, Mandy York. They ran out in a panic. When he saw the fiery glow painting the night sky red, Sherman’s heart sank. He immediately dashed back into his courtyard to grab a bucket for water, while Mandy York charged back into the house like a madwoman. A moment later, she emerged, carrying a large basket full of cigarettes.

“Bowman, hurry, go get the sewing machine! Grab whatever you can and get it out of there!”

Mandy York screamed frantically. The wedding banquet was just a few days away, and they had already prepared the cigarettes, wedding candies, and thank-you gifts for the guests. It had cost them their family’s entire savings, and they’d even gone deep into debt, counting on the cash gifts from the banquet to pay it all back.

Other families, startled awake, now came rushing out of their homes. Seeing the ever-growing fire, they needed no instruction. People grabbed basins and buckets, anything that could hold water, and began trying to douse the flames.

But Millstone Peak didn’t have running water at the time. Everyone used well water, and not every household had its own well. Usually, a dozen or so families shared a single one, or they had to trek up the mountain for spring water. All in all, Millstone Peak was not a village with particularly abundant water resources.

On top of that, the northwest wind was blowing hard. Flames that the villagers had painstakingly managed to put out would roar back to life with the next gust. The blaze was quickly becoming uncontrollable. To make matters worse, Sherman Golding’s house was situated directly north of the Spanns’ property, and the fire was visibly creeping toward it.

Worse still, the Goldings’ storeroom—the one where they kept their valuables—was the room closest to the Spanns’ house. Sherman Golding and his family watched helplessly as tongues of fire engulfed the storeroom, but there was nothing they could do.

“Somebody, please help! There’s still so much stuff we haven’t gotten out! It’s all for Bowman’s wedding! We spent all our money… We have to get it out…”

Mandy York was frantic. Disregarding the blaze, she tried to rush in to salvage their things, but Sherman Golding and his son held her back with all their strength.