Jiang Chan no longer used the pickaxe to pry hard, but instead carefully probed into the depths of the crevice and gently moved aside the loose rubble.
The cracks that were dug out are getting bigger and bigger.
The faint airflow also became slightly more noticeable.
finally!
Zhu Zi carefully pried aside the last piece of rubble stuck in the gap, and his fingers suddenly stretched forward, reaching into an empty, cool space!
"It's working! It's really working!" Zhu Zi trembled with excitement, his voice barely audible, yet unable to contain his overwhelming joy.
Jiang Chan immediately reached out and carefully probed into the narrow opening that they had painstakingly dug out.
It was indeed empty outside!
An abandoned alleyway!
The air my fingers touched was noticeably fresher and cooler than in this stagnant pool!
"How big is the opening?" Jiang Chan asked urgently.
Zhu Zi groped around, "It's too narrow...too narrow! I can only...only fit half an arm in? I...I definitely can't squeeze through!" His voice was filled with immense disappointment and despair.
"I can't do it either!" Li Dachui tried it and immediately shook his head.
Jiang Chan's heart sank.
She lay down herself, her small body pressed tightly against the cold pit wall and the wet gravel, her entire right shoulder forcefully squeezing into the opening.
The cold, rough edges of the rock rubbed against her shoulder blades and ribs, causing a burning pain.
The entrance to the cave was so narrow it was suffocating; once you squeezed in halfway, you felt like you were stuck, and the sharp rocks were painfully pressing against you.
“No…” Jiang Chan gasped as she retreated, her voice filled with resentment, “It’s too small! Only… only the smallest one can squeeze through!” In an instant, the images of all the survivors flashed through her mind—almost all of them were adult miners with large frames.
Only... only herself, and...
“Dog Boy!” Jiang Chan blurted out almost immediately.
In the darkness, she anxiously called out towards the crowd, "Gouwa! Is Gouwa there?!"
That thirteen-year-old child, even thinner and smaller than Little Stone!
“Hey… Little Stone Brother…” A voice, thick with sobs and filled with extreme terror, rang out from the dark corner, trembling uncontrollably, “I… I’m here…”
"Crawl over here! Quickly! Crawl over to me!" Jiang Chan's voice brooked no argument.
A series of splashing sounds and groping noises followed as a trembling, thin body stumbled and crawled to Jiang Chan's side.
"Come here! Quick!" Jiang Chan reached out and groped around, quickly grabbing a cold, thin arm and pulling him to the gap. "Gouwa! Listen! This is our only way out! Only you can squeeze in!"
"I...I'm scared..." Gouwa's voice was trembling with sobs, his body shaking like a leaf in the wind. He was just a teenager.
"You'll have to crawl in, even if you're scared!" Zhu Zi roared with an undeniable ferocity. "You don't want to live anymore?! Do you still want to see your parents?!"
These words struck Gouwa like a knife.
His suppressed sobs could be heard from the darkness.
Jiang Chan gripped Gouwa's cold arm tightly, her voice low but carrying a resolute strength, "Gouwa! Only you can save everyone now! Only you can get out!"
She brought her mouth close to Gouwa's ear and whispered urgently, in a voice only the two of them could hear:
"Climb out! Follow this rat trail all the way up! Climb to the end! Outside is an abandoned alleyway!"
"Run! Run for your life out of the mine! Run east along the main road leading to the coal mine! When you see a big river, run along its banks! That's the road to the prefectural capital!"
"Once we reach the prefectural capital, we'll find the highest-ranking government office! We'll beat the drum and file a complaint!"
“Just shout one sentence—” Jiang Chan said slowly and deliberately, making sure Gouwa remembered, “The Black Stone Mine has collapsed, and the kiln owner, Wang Bapi, is going to seal the well and bury more than thirty people alive. Please, Your Honor, save us!”
She pinched Gouwa's arm hard. "Got it? The Black Stone Mine collapsed! Wang Bapi is going to bury people alive! Go to the prefectural government, beat the drum and sue the officials! Shout for help! Just that one sentence! Don't worry about anything else!"
"I..." Gouwa was still trembling, his teeth chattering, "I'm scared... I don't know the way..."
"Run along the main road! Run along the river! Ask everyone you see where the prefectural government office is!" Jiang Chan was frantic. Suddenly, she remembered something, and with a flick of her right hand, a hard, cold cube appeared in her palm. She shoved it into Gouwa's hand. "Take this! If you're too hungry to run anymore, just eat a small bite! Save it!"
Gouwa instinctively gripped the cold little cube tightly.
The unfamiliar texture of the food seemed to give him a strange sense of courage.
"Quick! Get inside!" Jiang Chan pushed him, her voice urgent. "Don't be afraid! There's a way out! We're waiting for you to bring people to rescue us!"
Zhu Zi and the others also gathered around, and hurriedly stuffed the skinny Gouwa into the narrow hole.
"Little Gouwazi! It's all up to you now!"
"Run faster! Don't look back!"
The dog's small body disappeared into the dark, gaping entrance.
Immediately coming from inside was his suppressed breathing and the hissing sound of his body rubbing against the rocks, the sounds growing fainter and fainter...
Everyone held their breath, listening intently to the faint sound until it completely disappeared.
Only a cold airflow remained at the entrance of the passage.
A brief silence.
Exhaustion and fear struck again.
"What do we do now?" Li Dachui asked in a hoarse voice, filled with deep worry.
"We can't wait!" Jiang Chan said decisively. "We have to find a way out! We can't put all our lives on Gouwa's shoulders! This passage can be widened!" She picked up her pickaxe and lunged at the rubble around the crevice again.
"Pillar! Uncle Hammer! Let's get started! We have to dig it ourselves!"
Zhu Zi let out a low growl and pounced on it.
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