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Outside the door, Secretary Qi began shouting.

"Is Jingyu home?" Secretary Qi asked. He wanted to ask He Jingyu some questions, after all, He Jingyu was an expert. Although he worked in agriculture, he was knowledgeable and far more capable than these farmers who toiled in the fields!

When Wang Shuping saw Secretary Qi approaching, she quickly said, "Old He isn't home; he's still in the peach orchard. Tian Tian saw the thunder and knew it was going to rain, so she went to bring an umbrella to her father. I'm cooking right now and can't leave. Secretary Qi, could you help me find Tian Tian?"

That brat is infuriating! She never listens to reason.

Secretary Qi had originally come to find He Jingyu to go up the mountain together, and upon hearing this, he quickly said, "Alright, I'll take some people over right away. You stay home with your third aunt, you don't need to come out."

"Thank you so much, Secretary Qi," Wang Shuping said gratefully. She added that she would definitely give her daughter a good scolding when she got back; that brat!

He Tiantian was very fast; she had already reached the foot of the mountain by the time Secretary Qi left the village.

He Tiantian knew the way to Taoyuan very well. Even in the dark, she could walk as if on flat ground and move very fast.

Seeing that there were lights inside the wooden house and no signs of a struggle, He Tiantian did not go in, but went to the cave first.

He Tiantian was dumbfounded when she entered the cave.

The snake king's body was many times larger than before, now as thick as a large bowl, and its body was blood red, causing the water in the pool to churn and boil.

He Tiantian reached out and tried it; it was scalding hot, no different from boiling water, even hotter.

The Snake King is truly undergoing a tribulation!

He Tiantian dared not move, silently watching the Snake King from the side, hoping that the Snake King could get through this calamity as soon as possible.

Just as He Tiantian was sincerely praying for the Snake King's safety, the Snake King suddenly opened his eyes, let out a whoosh, and soared into the sky.

Because of the angle, He Tiantian couldn't see outside, so she quickly climbed out of the cave again and looked up at the sky.

Three bolts of lightning, one white and one red, appeared once again, approaching from afar. This time, however, the lightning appeared larger than the previous two, covering the entire sky behind the mountain. With three cracking sounds, they struck the Snake King.

"Awooo...whoosh..." A shrill yet powerful sound came from the sky.

At this moment, Secretary Qi came up and called out, "Sweet girl, sweet girl."

They had been walking very fast, but they hadn't seen He Tiantian, and Secretary Qi was a little worried.

He Tiantian happened to be near Taoyuan and heard the shouts, so she quickly came over.

"I'm here." He Tiantian knew that her mother had asked Secretary Qi to come and find her. If she found out that she hadn't gone to the cabin, her mother would be very worried and might even mobilize more people to look for her.

Such a stormy night is too dangerous.

Seeing He Tiantian come over, Secretary Qi laughed and said, "You little rascal, you run pretty fast. Come on, let's go inside. I think the sky looks a bit strange; it's about to rain."

"Oh." He Tiantian nodded and followed Secretary Qi inside.

When He Jingyu saw his daughter arrive, he immediately put on a stern face and said, "What are you doing here so late!"

He Tiantian held the umbrella in front of her and said, "I'm giving Dad an umbrella!"

"Splash, splash..." A torrential downpour began outside, pounding against the roof and windows with a constant thud.

"Hey, you!" He Jingyu frowned, but seeing that his daughter was also worried about him, he didn't want to scold her in front of everyone.

Secretary Qi stepped forward with a smile and said, "Alright, let's not talk about that for now. This rain tonight is strange. I think those tomb raiders probably won't be able to make a move for the next couple of days."

“Yes, when it rains, their tunnels get flooded or damp, making them unsafe. Once buried inside, none of them can get out,” He Jingyu said. “By the way, what did the county leaders say?”

"Sigh, the leader said to report tomorrow, but we don't know when they'll send someone over yet. We'll just have to keep an eye on it ourselves," Secretary Qi said with a bitter face. "Fortunately, this heavy rain came at a good time and can provide some relief. But it's the middle of winter, and there's still thunder! Those red and white lightning looks quite scary."

"Who says it isn't? This is really eerie," Qi Shuming agreed, listening to the raindrops on the roof. "Brother He, is our house alright? It's thundering outside, and we're surrounded by trees. Isn't it safe?"

"No, it won't happen," He Jingyu said. "When I built the house, I had already considered the possibility of rain and thunder, and I installed lightning rods. My wooden house is made of solid materials, so there won't be any problems."

"Dad, have you eaten yet?" He Tiantian asked, as there was no smell of food in the room.

“We saw a few figures around here just now, and they’ve been watching us. They haven’t eaten yet,” He Jingyu said. “Since you’re here and can’t leave even though it’s raining, why don’t you cook for your uncles and elders first?”

"Okay!" He Tiantian agreed and went to the small kitchen outside with her umbrella.

He Tiantian washed the rice and prepared to cook rice porridge, along with some pickled vegetables.

He Tiantian found a few sweet potatoes, threw a few at the bottom of the pot, and roasted them.

He Tiantian caught fire, so she walked to the kitchen door and looked outside.

Upon seeing this, he was so frightened that he sat down on the ground. Four red and white bolts of lightning came from the four directions of east, west, south, and north, approaching the snake king in the center.

"Snake King, you must hold on!" He Tiantian clasped her hands together and silently prayed for the Snake King.

The four bolts of lightning did not strike the Snake King consecutively, but simultaneously.

It is evident that the force is several times greater than before.

The Snake King staggered a few times in the air, let out a few long roars, and once again soared into the sky.

Meanwhile, inside the cave, Lu Laoda and Hu Sanchuan, who were preparing to set off, were startled by the sound of thunder.

After they finish their work here, the thing they fear most is rain.

Aside from the fact that the tunnels are not sturdy and could collapse at any time when it rains, the damp air and muddy ground also make it impossible to use matches or torches. More importantly, they would leave their footprints.

Even though they were in the mountains, leaving traces could very well expose their identities.

"Boss, are we still going to operate tonight?" Hu Sanchuan asked. "There are still stars in the sky; it doesn't look like it's going to rain."

Standing at the entrance of the cave, Lu Laoda looked at the white and red lightning in the sky and had a bad feeling.

His ability to become the leader over the years is closely related to this feeling.

On several occasions, he had this feeling that he made advance arrangements or changed the original arrangements to save his brothers from losses, so he had a lot of prestige in front of his brothers.

"No, we can't move yet," said Old Master Lu. "Let's see if it rains."

If it rains, then today's activities will have to be cancelled. (To be continued.)