No sooner had Song Ning finished speaking than he heard something rumbling above the cave, instantly drowning out the sound of rain outside.

Song Ning was now thankful that they had found shelter from the rain; if they had continued on their way, they probably would be dead by now.

There was a slope outside the cave, and the soil all went downhill after it came down, so their cave was safe for the time being.

The two of them dared not sleep anymore, just in case.

The two of them sat in the cave, watching the soil outside being poured down into the cave.

The fire in the cave hadn't gone out yet, and it could still provide some light, but Li Xingwang still moved closer to her.

Song Ning was speechless: "At a time like this, are you still afraid of ghosts?"

Shouldn't the concern now be that the soil above will collapse the entire cave?

"Don't worry, there won't be any ghosts. Ghosts won't come out in this kind of weather."

"real?"

......

The commotion outside continued until dawn the next day, when it gradually subsided.

The rain outside finally subsided. Song Ning glanced at the cave entrance and saw that the path they had taken into the cave was gone. The outside was all mud and rocks, and if they went in, they would sink in and never be able to get out.

So, they're trapped here now and can't get out.

The rain continued until the afternoon of the next day, when the sun finally came out.

The moment they saw the sun, they both smiled.

But we can't go out yet; we have to let the sun bake us before people can leave.

But before they could even go out, there was a commotion outside.

Although I couldn't hear clearly, I knew that someone had arrived, and quite a few people at that.

Song Ning was right. There were quite a few people on the road above the cave, all of them government soldiers.

Because the rain caused a landslide, as soon as the rain stopped, the government office in Yuanzhou City dispatched many officials and soldiers to check the damage in various places.

This road is the only way to get from Yuanzhou City to other places. Everyone who leaves Yuanzhou City has to go through here.

Xie Linzhou stood on the destroyed road with a livid face, dark circles under his eyes, looking much more haggard.

After a normal landslide, the soldiers wouldn't arrive so quickly, but Xie Linzhou couldn't wait; there was still no news of Song Ning.

Xie Linzhou only learned of Song Ning's departure after he returned, but by then it was already raining outside. Given the speed of the mule cart, Song Ning would have arrived just as the rain was at its heaviest.

Along the way, we saw many people buried on the road, and without exception, they had long since died.

The more he searched, the more panicked he became. The thought of Song Ning dying here made Xie Linzhou's hands tremble uncontrollably.

Li Xingwang listened outside: "Could it be that someone outside is looking for us?"

After saying that, he shouted outside.

Xie Linzhou, who was outside, seemed to have heard the shouts and looked down sharply.

But the sound was heard only once, and then it was gone.

Xie Linzhou suddenly had a glimmer of hope: Could it be that Song Ning was still alive?

Just as they were about to go down, Zhang Ping ran over: "Young Master, we found this."

Xie Linzhou quickly took it and looked at it. His heart sank to the bottom. It was Song Ning's purse.

"Young master, we've dug up the whole place and only found this and a carriage. It should be the one from Miss Song's family. The mule is gone; they must have left. Don't worry, everything should be alright."

Even so, Zhang Ping knew in his heart that this Miss Song was probably in grave danger.

It's a miracle to survive under such circumstances.

Xie Linzhou looked down and said in a deep voice, "Take a few men and come down with me."

"Young Master, we don't know what the situation is down there yet. Let's wait and see. We can't rule out the possibility of another collapse."

Xie Linzhou couldn't care less about these things at the moment, and Zhang Ping couldn't stop him, so he could only let Xie Linzhou go his own way.

The mud below was extremely slippery, so Xie Linzhou walked in front, shouting as he went.

Li Xingwang called out again from inside the cave, expecting no response, but to his surprise, they heard him this time.

Song Ning suddenly stood up, stood at the cave entrance, and shouted out as well.

The sound outside grew closer, and Song Ning frowned; the voice sounded somewhat familiar.

It wasn't until Xie Linzhou and the others stood on the cave floor that Song Ning finally recognized him. Xie Linzhou?! What's he doing here?

He called out to the outside, "General Xie?"

Upon hearing the sound, Xie Linzhou outside instantly had tears in his eyes.

"It's me. How are you? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, please don't come down. It's not safe outside. We're safe here for now."

This guy is incredibly daring! He came down into the mud before it was even dry. He's got a death wish!

Not hearing Xie Linzhou's response, Song Ning called out again, "General Xie, you should go back quickly. We are safe here. Wait until things get a bit better outside before coming down. Don't take any risks!"

If Xie Linzhou gets hurt while saving her, she wouldn't be able to pay for it even if she had ten lives.

But Xie Linzhou wouldn't listen and immediately gave orders to prepare for the rescue.

"Song Ning, don't be afraid, I'll go down and save you right away."

Song Ning: ...She wasn't afraid at first, but she became scared when she heard that he was going to come down and save her.

"General Xie, are you even listening to me? It's not safe outside right now. Go back immediately and come back tomorrow!"

But Xie Linzhou wouldn't listen. It's been raining a lot in Yuanzhou lately. What if it rains again? It would be even harder to save people then.

He felt uneasy now that he couldn't see Song Ning.

There's no way down from there, but you can hang a rope from above, tie it to your body, and then hoist yourself back up.

When the rope was lowered, Song Ning told Li Xingwang to go up first.

"Brother Xingwang, you go up first. I'm light, so it'll be easier for me."

Li Xingwang initially refused, but couldn't persuade Song Ning otherwise.

Once the rope was tied up, Song Ning shouted, and people above started pulling on it.

Xie Linzhou didn't even glance at Song Ning when he saw that it wasn't her coming up. He quickly threw down another rope, and Song Ning tied the rope around herself and was hoisted up.

After going up, Xie Linzhou stared blankly at her, ignoring the fact that she was covered in mud, and suddenly pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly.

But it only lasted a moment before it was released.

"Alright, let's go up quickly."

After saying that, he grabbed her hand and started climbing up.

Song Ning didn't have time to worry about the proper distance between men and women; getting out of here was the most important thing right now.

Xie Linzhou was going to carry her on his back, but Song Ning refused no matter what.

The group climbed upwards, and only when they reached the top did Song Ning notice Xie Linzhou's current miserable state.

They had just gone up there and hadn't even had a chance to speak when a soldier not far away shouted in their direction, "The mountain has collapsed! Run!"

But it was too late. As soon as they finished speaking, a section of the mountain in front of them slid down, not much, but right in the direction where Song Ning was.

Along with the rolling stones, it was about to hit her. Because she was so close, there was no time to dodge. In the next instant, Xie Linzhou suddenly turned to the side and blocked her way.