Chapter 56: The Three Sufferings of the Three Parties (Part 2)
The heavy stone passed through rough hands, gradually moving upwards to the riverbank, where it was finally hammered into the waterlogged embankment.
For seven whole days, almost non-stop, day and night.
Lin Chengye and Zhao Min worked together to arrange the entire stone transportation route and construction method in an orderly manner. In order to save time, Lin Chengye divided the people into two teams to take turns working. Lin Chengye was in charge of one team, and Zhao Min was in charge of the other team.
As Zhao Min said, during this period, more and more people joined in, most of them were young, and they usually came in groups.
Lin Chengye also took the time to inquire about each family's situation. If they were only sons, he would rush back. If they were siblings, he would leave one of them behind. He then recorded all their names and addresses. Lin Chengye remembered the names of everyone who helped repair the river embankment, a fact that even Zhao Min later remarked with a smile.
"Xiao Chunshen knows more people than I have, someone who has lived in Mengshan City for half my life."
Even now, there are still some people who have dug a ditch on one side of the riverbank, but it is not long. It is just enough to divert the water to a small lake on the side, so that the water will not flood the village behind it in an instant when the dam breaks.
During breaks, Lin Chengye liked to sit high up in a tree, lying on her side with her swollen and congested feet and legs off the ground. Sometimes she would take off her shoes and socks, and the thick blood would stick to the cloth, tearing it off like ripping off a piece of flesh, making her wince in pain.
I should have known Bian Yi sometimes left her some wound ointment. Lin Chengye hung his shoes and socks on the tree and slowly rubbed his sore calves. Actually, his arms were also so sore that he couldn't feel them anymore, and they were swollen to twice their previous size.
The fingertips were worn raw and healed, and the five fingertips were already a bloody mess. Every time he embedded rocks into the riverbank, he would leave some bloodstains on them.
Fortunately, the "Turning Stone into Gold" internal energy was pure and yang, which could dispel the coldness in her bones, while the other people were almost at their limit, their joints were soaked in dampness, and they felt needle-like pain.
Looking at the tired eyes and swollen bodies, and then at the thick dark clouds overhead, Lin Chengye cursed inwardly, "Heaven is unreasonable, why does it have to torment the people?"
"Little Spring God! Little Spring God!"
Suddenly, Lin Chengye heard someone calling her from under the tree. She looked down and greeted them.
"Wang Qing? Why aren't you resting over there? Aren't you tired?"
In fact, there are always people watching her from different places, with the kind of eyes that look like they are worshipping a deity, hesitant and curious.
Some dared to come over and talk to her, but most didn't. Lin Chengye initially tried to correct them, saying that he wasn't the Goddess of Spring, but later he was too tired and didn't bother to care anymore, letting them call him whatever they wanted.
"Tired, so tired."
Wang Qing smiled broadly and asked curiously.
“I heard from Sister Min that you remember everyone, but I didn’t believe it. I said even a god can’t remember everyone who comes to her to pray, right?”
Wang Qing was as thin as a monkey, but very agile. Lin Chengye remembered clearly that this person was responsible for bringing her stones up, darting up and down the high sloping embankment as if walking on flat ground.
"I'd like to sit next to you and talk to you."
Wang Qing didn't know where she got the strength from, but she was still able to climb the tree. She didn't have any internal energy or lightness skills, but she climbed up the tree in no time and sat down next to Lin Chengye.
She chuckled and pulled a few hazelnuts from her pocket.
"Do you want some? My sister just brought these over, they're freshly stir-fried."
"Hmm, God probably can't, there are so many people worshipping Him every day."
By the time Lin Chengye answered her previous question, Wang Qing had already talked on and on. Lin Chengye grabbed a handful of hazelnuts and popped them into his mouth.
“Oh, Little Spring God, let me tell you. My parents refuse to leave. They insist that as long as we offer a child as a sacrifice to the River God, it will be fine. If the Mengjiang River bursts its banks, it must be because we have angered the River God.”
Wang Qing rested his chin on his hand and sighed.
"Have Zhao Yu knock him out and tie him up."
Lin Chengye spoke with a blank expression, blending his words into the rhythm of cracking hazelnuts.
She was used to this kind of talk. According to the younger people here, their mothers believed in some river god, but they didn't, which is why they secretly came here.
"Actually, you know what? We... my friends and I all think that the river god is no good. We all believe in the Spring God."
Wang Qing whispered mysteriously in Lin Chengye's ear.
"...There really is a God of Spring? I thought it was just something Granny Zhao Chunyun made up to fool children."
Lin Chengye clicked his tongue in amazement.
Wang Qing gestured exaggeratedly.
“I saw a sentence that said one of our ancestors was saved by the God of Spring, which is why our family was able to have descendants. We even ordered people to build a stone statue for that God of Spring and held a grand ceremony every rainy season.”
"What does the God of Spring look like? Do you still have a stone statue in your house?" Lin Chengye asked with interest.
"No, it's all gone now. When I was born, everyone worshipped that river god with the head of a crocodile. Even if there were any, they've probably all been smashed."
Wang Qing pouted dejectedly, then suddenly looked at Lin Chengye and leaned very close. Lin Chengye asked, puzzled.
"What's wrong?"
“I think I should remember what you look like. If I were still alive, I would erect a small statue of you. To be honest, I think that's what gods should look like.”
"Don't say things like that, I don't need to erect any statues."
Lin Chengye slapped Wang Qing on the back of the head, but the man wasn't angry and just chuckled.
But then, Wang Qing's smile faded. She fell silent, perhaps truly exhausted. She sat side by side with Lin Chengye, both accustomed to being soaked to the bone by the rain, gazing together towards the riverbank.
Upon seeing this, both of them frowned simultaneously.
The section of the riverbank that was about to collapse was almost completely covered with rocks, while on the road in the distance, cartloads of freshly quarried rocks were being transported by donkey carts along this side of the riverbank.
Zhao Min's team was doing the same work in an orderly manner, but everyone's expression was extremely solemn. No one felt that it was about to end; on the contrary, the unease in their hearts was growing stronger.
The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and the river was flowing faster and faster.
Meng Jianghe's roar never ceased; in its fury and madness, it rammed the riverbank, gnawing at whatever hindered its unbridled flow. And these people, no matter how many, all seemed so insignificant. For the first time, Wang Qing looked at Meng Jianghe from a high vantage point, and she seemed to understand why the Little Spring God always sat in the tree.
Those who were working looked more like ants crawling all over the ground; if Meng Jianghe got angry, they would all be trampled to death in the dust.
"The rain is so heavy today..."
Wang Qing felt that the rain today was heavy and torrential, hitting her body painfully. She muttered to herself, nervously rubbing her fingers, her face filled with confusion and sorrow, almost on the verge of tears.
Lin Chengye raised his head, observed the sky, stood up, and shouted towards the riverbank.
"Everyone, go and rest!"
The last ray of sunlight, hidden behind the dark clouds, disappeared from the sky, and the already gray world was suddenly plunged into an ink-black darkness.
This darkness was something Lin Chengye only saw when he arrived here; it was true night.
Unlike any place she had been before, there were no lanterns, no candles, and no torches. Just pure, absolute blackness, pitch blackness.
"This kind of darkness is too dangerous," Lin Chengye said to Wang Qing as he jumped down from the tree.
"Go, gather everyone to higher ground and go to sleep, but be vigilant. If the river breaches its banks, run to higher ground immediately and don't worry about anything else."
She says this every night.
Wang Qing nodded nervously and quickly jumped down to call for help. Lin Chengye followed suit, but walked in the exact opposite direction from Wang Qing.
She found a place to sit down at the foot of the riverbank, flicked her wrist, and suddenly several thin threads flew out and pierced the trunk of a nearby tree. The threads pulled on her arms and body, preventing her from falling down even when she was asleep.
She never expected that the first use of the mother-son hidden arrow would be here. Lin Chengye gave a wry smile.
Lin Chengye tugged hard, and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that it was completely secure. She closed her eyes and breathed softly. The exhaustion accumulated over the past few days surged up with the darkness, almost overwhelming her, but just as Lin Chengye was about to fall asleep, the thin thread of the sleeve arrow would wake her up again.
Suddenly, there were light footsteps, and a raincoat was draped over her. Lin Chengye's eyebrows twitched, and he wiped the sweat and rainwater from his face, which was covered in the damp heat, and asked.
What day is it now?
"It's the seventh day."
The familiar voice rang out, and Lin Chengye knew it was Zhao Min without even opening his eyes.
"Little Spring God, shall I do it? You go and get some rest; you haven't slept at all these past few days."
"No, only I can do this. If the dam really breaks, I can hold on for a while longer."
Lin Chengye kept his eyes closed and patted Zhao Min on the shoulder.
"Go to sleep, don't worry."
"Sigh...then I..."
Before Zhao Min could finish speaking, a sharp cracking sound suddenly rang out, like someone's earthen pot exploding in the stove.
Lin Chengye's eyes widened instantly, his eyeballs trembling violently. Zhao Min seemed stunned, frozen in place.
"Run! Run!!!"
In his desperation, Lin Chengye slapped Zhao Min's cheek hard and roared.
"Get to higher ground! Lead everyone, run! Run! Don't look back!"
Whether Zhao Min understood or not, Lin Chengye sensed that the person had already run away. He immediately turned around and stared intently at the embankment.
The dam above her head cracked open with a dark gash, which at first was no bigger than a fist, but in the blink of an eye it grew to be several feet wide.
The turbid waves, carrying rotten tree roots, surged out like a yellow dragon freed from its shackles, roaring and shaking the heavens. The rain in the sky seemed to have finally waited for this day, pelting down wildly.
"Damn it..."
But the curse was barely out of his mouth when the waves swallowed it back down.
Much faster than she had imagined, the wave was right in front of her in an instant.
Lin Chengye was immediately horrified. She watched as their efforts over the past few days had only held the river back for a moment. The dam hadn't collapsed immediately, but the small amount of water that had rushed out was already overwhelming her.
"An ant trying to shake a tree." These four words immediately flashed through Lin Chengye's mind. But she didn't stop. Her powerful inner strength poured out from her palms, instantly forming a barrier to block the arrogant Meng Jianghe.
But this was only temporary. Lin Chengye was forced backward by the immense force. She could not stop all the river water, and the water outside the barrier was almost as high as her shoulders.
She dared not think about what was happening to the people behind her.
Lin Chengye could only stubbornly believe that they were running and that they had reached higher ground.
...If we could buy some more time, Zhao Min and Wang Qing probably wouldn't have gone far. Lin Chengye felt his inner energy surging and pouring out without reservation, but it only bought him a few more breaths.
For the first time, Lin Chengye felt her own insignificance and fragility so acutely. Her breathing was heavy as she stared at the cracked dam ahead. As if mocking and ironic, Meng Jianghe had effortlessly destroyed their efforts of many days.
The third flood has arrived.
Lin Chengye closed her eyes in pain, her teeth chattering. She knew that after this night, Mengshan City would become a swamp, a deserted lake.
"The Azure Phoenix carries the Ganoderma lucidum, and all disciples, heed my command!"
A firm and powerful roar tore through the ink-like darkness, simultaneously gripping Lin Chengye's heart and exploding in her ear.
The cyan staff, carrying a sharp gust of wind, instantly extended forward from behind Lin Chengye's ear. The two different internal forces instantly merged into a powerful force, once again erecting a complete barrier. The river, attempting to flow forward, was once again forcefully stopped.
That cold voice roared again.
"Plug the breach!"
Author's Note: The sense of security that Chu He experienced... [ear emoji]
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