Gu Nanxun pointed to the wisps of smoke rising from the distant mountains and said to Chen Aihua.

"Blue smoke? Someone's on the mountain?"

Chen Aihua shouted loudly, and everyone followed Chen Aihua's gaze to look up at the mountain of Chaoyang Brigade. They saw thick smoke rising into the sky through the rain.

"It must have been Mom and Dad who lit the cigarettes. Today was the day to hand in the grain tax. Everyone in the village except the elderly and some children went to hand in the grain tax. At this time, only Dad and my second uncle could go up the mountain to light cigarettes. They must have been afraid that we would worry, so they lit cigarettes for us to put our minds at ease!"

Gu Nanxun patiently explained to Chen Aihua.

"Xiao Gu, do you mean our village wasn't completely flooded?"

Upon hearing what Gu Nanxun said to Chen Aihua, a villager asked Gu Nanxun with anticipation.

"Yes, that should be the case. Judging from the water depth from this angle, it's impossible for it to have completely flooded our village. It might have flooded part of it, but the rest of the higher-lying areas should be fine!"

When a villager asked him a question, Gu Nanxun patiently explained it to the villager.

"Hey Xiao Gu, do you think there's anything wrong with our house? Our house is on higher ground."

"Yes, Xiao Gu, do you see if there's anything wrong at my house? My family isn't poor either."

"..."

Upon hearing Gu Nanxun's words, everyone eagerly inquired with him, hoping to hear from him that their families were alright.

"Don't panic, everyone. I don't know the specifics either. What we need to do now is find a place to settle down. We'll go back and check on things after the floodwaters recede. Fortunately, we're handing over our grain today, so there's not anyone home. Regardless of whether our families are safe or not, our safety is the most important thing."

Gu Nanxun then pointed out several places with caves to everyone before returning to the caves with Chen Aihua. Along the way, Gu Nanxun also helped Chen Aihua pick some wild fruits and chestnuts.

Fortunately, it is autumn now, and there is plenty of food to eat on the mountain. As long as everyone finds a cave to shelter from the rain, they should be able to survive for a few days.

Back in the cave, everyone was relieved to hear the news. Gu Nanxun distributed the wild fruit to everyone, then took the hot water Lin Qing handed him and sat down by the fire to drink it.

After resting, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter returned. They brought back a deer, a lot of firewood, and a sack of sweet potatoes.

So Gu Nanxun and a few other men used the plastic sheeting that Lin Qing handed them to make a simple tent out of the wind using ropes and wood.

Another group of people went to the spring to deal with the deer, and several women also cleaned up the tents where they would sleep that night.

Lin Qing's plastic sheet was very large, and the tent it enclosed was also very large. At this moment, a fire was lit in the middle of the tent, and they would roast meat by the fire in a while. The two sides of the fire had also been cleared out for them to rest on at night.

Gu Nanxun and Zhao Chen took the sacks of sweet potatoes and went out several times to find some hay. Gu Nanxun laid out a spot in a corner, preparing for Lin Qing to rest on the hay that night.

Night fell quickly. The autumn night was still a bit chilly, but everyone sat in the tent made of plastic sheeting, around the fire, eating the venison that Zhao Xi had roasted, and a pot of sweet potato soup.

The anxiety and fear of the whole day finally subsided, and after eating and drinking their fill, everyone lay down on the ground.

Gu Nanxun held Lin Qing as they lay down on the hay, with a blanket draped over Lin Qing.

Lying not far away were four women: Zhao Chen, Zhao Xi, Lu Xianghong, and Xu Fengjiao. On the other side of the fire lay eleven men: Chunxia and her group, and Chen Bin and his group.

"Let's take turns keeping watch! It gets quite cold at night, so be careful not to let the fire go out."

Zhao Chun spoke to everyone in a low voice and quickly arranged for people to be on duty.

"..."

"Jianjun, how are Nanxun and the others doing now?"

At this moment, Zhao Xuan lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), looking at the pitch black outside, wiping away her tears as she spoke to Chen Jianjun.

Today, she was at home making clothes for Lin Qing when she suddenly heard about the mudslide. She couldn't catch her breath and fainted.

Although Jianjun kept reassuring her that Nanxun would be alright, she was still very worried. Why was her son so pitiful? Why had he suffered so many misfortunes since he was a child? He had finally recovered, so why did this mudslide have to happen?

"Don't worry, Xuanxuan, it'll be alright. You forgot they have Jinxiang's people with them. Don't worry, everything will be fine!"

In truth, Chen Jianjun himself was not sure either. Although he believed in his son's abilities, he was still his son, and he would still worry until he received news. But he had to comfort his wife first, as Xuanxuan was in poor health and could not be stressed.

"What should we do, Captain?"

Meanwhile, in a grove of trees on the border, a group of people were running hurriedly. They were almost able to shake off their pursuers, but suddenly it started to rain. The rain made the ground muddy, leaving traces of their escape. If this continued, they would be caught up with sooner or later.

Looking at the footprints behind him, Lin Changyuan finally closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and said to his team members, "Wang Dajun, the team is now in your hands. Lead everyone to run for your life, survive, and complete the organization's mission."

"team leader!"

"team leader……"

Wang Dajun and his teammates seemed to know what Lin Changyuan was going to do, and they shouted at Lin Changyuan with red eyes.

"Captain, you take the others and go! I'll stay behind."

Wang Dajun said to Lin Changyuan with red eyes.

"Captain and Vice Captain, stop arguing, I'll stay!"

"Captain, I'll stay!"

"..."

"Alright, everyone, stop talking! Wang Dajun will carry out the order and lead the team forward quickly."

"Yes, Captain..."

Upon hearing Lin Changyuan's order, tears instantly streamed down Wang Dajun's face. He straightened up, saluted Lin Changyuan, and then turned to lead the group forward.

Lin Changyuan also saluted the group of people running in the distance, then turned around and began to erase the footprints they left behind.

When Lin Changyuan reached the fork in the road ahead, he cleared the footprints until they were no longer visible, then turned back to the fork and ran in a different direction. As he ran, he diligently left messy footprints. The enemy was getting closer and closer, and finally, Lin Changyuan was unable to dodge in time and was shot in the chest. In a panic, he rolled down the mountain!

After realizing they had been tricked, the enemy fired a few shots down the mountain before changing direction and continuing their pursuit.