Crouching Tiger Temple, Inner Courtyard.
After someone shouted, "Fire!" a crowd of soldiers rushed out of the Dining Hall and Guard Room, including the Guard Captain responsible for the Inner Courtyard.
He had been eating dinner, but the moment he heard the shout, he rushed outside.
Nearby, many soldiers on duty, unaware of how serious the fire was, also swarmed toward the Rear Courtyard to help put it out.
At that moment, Ren Ye stood inside the Dry Latrine. Seeing the red glow in the direction of the Rear Courtyard, he knew Big Fat Dragon had succeeded.
The two had agreed that afternoon that once dinner began, Big Fat Dragon would find a chance to set fire to the Rear Courtyard and draw the guards over, while Ren Ye would use the opportunity to sneak into Niu Xi's bedroom and get to work.
Now that the fire had started, it was time for a thrilling, nerve-racking theft.
Ren Ye immediately summoned a set of night clothes from his consciousness space, put them on in an instant, then covered his face with a black cloth.
This disguise was to keep Big Fat Dragon from being exposed too if anything went wrong during the theft. After all, the two had returned together today.
Once ready, Ren Ye strode out, concealed himself in the shadows of the trees along the high wall, and hurried toward the main house in the Inner Courtyard.
The Rear Courtyard behind the main house.
The Guard Captain had just arrived when he saw a storage room ablaze. The fire was fierce and growing worse.
Around him, the soldiers who had come to help had already begun fetching water in buckets, setting aside their weapons so they would not get in the way.
Not far away, a servant