Chapter 384 The desire to save people is the same

Fear before a natural disaster is instinctive, but being driven by high wages to take risks is also driven by desire.

Sang Zhixia spent the money without blinking an eye. Many people from nearby villages that had not yet been swept by the mountain torrents came to help, and more and more things were dug out from under the messy rocks and tree trunks.

There were passers-by who had already lost their breath, carriages smashed to pieces, and horses, cattle, sheep, and poultry that had suffocated to death.

The corpses of young, strong, old and young were squeezed and deformed, and their original appearance could no longer be distinguished. Blood, flesh and mud were mixed together, and the scene was shocking everywhere.

But things don't always go as planned.

A second flash flood, triggered by heavier rain, buried the road that had been cleared with great difficulty.

When the mudslide that was powerful enough to swallow everything gradually subsided, the land was left in ruins and devastation.

Ling Chu struggled to hold up the umbrella, his voice hoarse from not sleeping for two days and one night: "Boss, you can't stay here!"

Thanks to Meng Pei's timely reminder, the people who came to help dodged in place, and the flash flood that broke out in front of them did not hurt anyone.

But the chaos waiting for the Qing Dynasty was even worse, and the scene was even more chaotic.

Even if someone was protecting her closely, Sang Zhixia could not endure it any longer.

It’s raining so hard that everyone’s clothes are wet. If this continues and we still haven’t found anyone, Sang Zhixia might fall ill at any time!

Sang Zhixia wiped the tears running down her forehead and said with a wry smile, "All the roads ahead and behind are blocked. Where can we retreat to now?"

The power of the mountain torrent was earth-shaking, and under the majesty of heaven, all living things were like grass.

The front and back of the feasible road were completely blocked by rocks and mud, and the only part that had not been affected was the high ground where they were currently.

If you want to retreat at this time, you can only allocate manpower to clear the way.

Sang Zhixia didn't want to waste time.

Ling Chu opened his mouth to persuade her but couldn't find any words. With no strength left, he could only hold the umbrella over Sang Zhixia's head: "But it's not a good idea for you to waste time here, how about..."

"Go a little further, I know there's a cave that leads to it."

Meng Pei, who had long since turned into a clay figure, had bloodshot eyes. He walked over, dripping with mud and water, and said hoarsely, "That cave can lead across this section of the road."

"A cave?"

Sang Zhixia narrowed her eyes subtly: "The cave is small, how can it be connected?"

"Of course it must have been dug through with a chisel and hammer, or else it could have been a gift from Heaven."

Meng Pei choked as if his mouth was filled with gunpowder. His next words made Sang Zhixia tighten her lips in a way that made him confuse her. "That's the hiding place the people of Huwei Mountain had to dig out to avoid the government's crackdown."

The terrain is high, accessible from front to back, and the location is hidden.

Once the government launched a bandit suppression campaign, the people on Huwei Mountain could quickly escape through the various passages dug in advance, disperse and disappear from the sight of the officers and soldiers, and then reunite after the bandit suppression campaign was over.

Meng Pei's vein-filled hands grabbed the hem of the clothes and twisted it hard. Seeing the half-dried hem get wet by the rain in an instant, he cursed his mother in a low voice with anger.

"The people of Huwei Mountain are also known as ground rats. They have been digging holes everywhere for the past few years. I know where they are and I will lead you through them."

Ling Chu was instinctively wary of Meng Pei and said without thinking, "If there is a passage, why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"What did I say?"

Meng Pei glared at him with his tiger eyes and shouted, "If you don't dig the road ahead to here first, what's the point of me saying anything?"

"As soon as we get there, tell us where we are. Can you grow wings and fly straight there?"

The place where I am standing now was moved here by my hands and feet, which took two days and one night.

It is indeed useless to say it first.

Sang Zhixia patted the muddy water off her hands and said in a faint voice: "Where does the passage you mentioned lead to?"

"It can get through this blocked canyon."

Meng Pei put one hand on his waist and pointed in a direction, squinting his eyes and said, "Don't you want to send people to search both front and back?"

"If we split some of our men up and go through there, searching from the front and back will be much faster."

More importantly, if we can get through this canyon through Guanye Road, we can get in touch with the people who are stuck on the other side of the canyon, and maybe there will be good news.

We are just moving at a snail's pace here, wasting too much time.

Sang Zhixia hesitated for less than three seconds before making a decision: "Lingchu, you lead the team here and continue searching forward. I will lead the others to go with him."

"Boss, how about I..."

"We can't leave people here either."

Sang Zhixia pressed down with her palm, interrupting Ling Chu's words. She said in a steady tone, "Before we get any news, the sooner the better. We can't afford to waste time."

"Don't worry, we all have the same desire to save people. No one would intentionally want to harm me."

To be precise, no one dared to be disgusted with her at this time.

Chen Anzhu's whereabouts are unknown, and his life or death is unclear. Meng Pei is alone and has been poisoned. He wants to save Chen Anzhu, and the only person he can count on now is Sang Zhixia.

There is no need to worry too much about the chained beast.

Ling Chu suppressed his uneasiness and nodded, then blew a whistle to gather people.

Forty-eight secret guards all set off with Sang Zhixia.

Meng Pei's eyes flickered when he saw this, and he spat out the branch he was biting with a "Puh" sound: "So many martial artists, all following the same form and with such strict rules, this is not the work of ordinary people."

"Who are you? Why did you capture Shen Anzhu?"

Sang Zhixia adjusted the rain hat on his head nonchalantly, his voice flat and even: "Whether you believe it or not, Shen Anzhu did it voluntarily."

"Instead of thinking about where my people came from, you might as well use your brain, which is not much bigger than a peach pit, to think carefully about what Shen Anzhu said in the letter to you."

Meng Pei held his breath again, only to receive a cold stare from Sang Zhixia: "What are you standing there for?"

"Don't you want to save your Shen Anzhu anymore?"

Meng Pei took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. His face was as dark as iron, and he strode forward: "Follow me!"

Under Meng Pei's guidance, Sang Zhixia and others successfully crossed the blocked gorge and found a tightly covered cave halfway up the mountain.

Meng Pei cleared the weeds and branches from the cave entrance, pointed to the opening wide enough for one person to pass through, and said, "This is it."

"From here, follow the mountain all the way down, and you will be able to pass through the canyon of Guanye Road in half an hour at most."

This is the only relatively safe passage besides clearing silt and blocking the canyon road, and passing through the mountain at the risk of landslides.

Of course, it is not absolutely safe.

Meng Pei sneered, "If the mountaintop completely collapses here, we'll be crushed to death in the passage, with no way up to heaven or down to earth."

"If the landslide reaches this point, there's no need to look for a way to escape. You can just open your eyes and wait for death."

It has collapsed halfway up the mountain, and the canyon in front of us will probably be buried in mud. The result will be the same for people at the foot of the mountain and in the man-made mountain passages.

Sang Zhixia finished her stabbing and was about to move forward, but the person following closely behind her whispered, "Boss, please wait a moment."

"Where do we have time to wait for you to send someone to explore the way?"

Meng Pei gritted his teeth with a dark face: "How long will this back and forth take?"

"If you're worried, I can just go ahead!"

Meng Pei's face turned grim as he started to walk towards the cave entrance. Sang Zhixia called out to him, "Wait."