Xu Jianguo walked out of the yard and walked towards the village along the mountain road.
Because it rained last night, the mountain road was muddy and slippery.
Xu Jianguo was walking slowly. Just when he turned a fork in the road and reached a slope, he suddenly heard a faint cry in his ears.
Xu Jianguo stopped and looked around vigilantly. Following the sound of crying, he finally found something different not far away. He saw a large area of weeds on the slope that had been flattened, and he could vaguely see someone lying in the woods below the slope.
Without thinking too much, Xu Jianguo quickly stepped forward and shouted towards the bottom of the slope. Seeing no one answered, he carefully slid down the slope along the traces.
At the foot of the hill, an old man in his sixties or seventies was lying on his back in the woods. He was extremely skinny and wore a gray Taoist robe that was covered in patches and was tattered.
The old Taoist's face was pale, his robe was covered in mud, and a large amount of blood was flowing from the back of his head, dyeing the grass beneath him red.
Next to the old man, there was a little girl wearing a Taoist robe, about two or three years old, who was crying softly. But from her crying, it could be heard that the child was in a very bad condition.
Xu Jianguo did not delay and quickly walked over to the two of them to check the situation.
The old Taoist's chest was still rising and falling slightly, proving he was still alive, but judging by the amount of bleeding from his body, he was most likely dead.
Looking at the little girl again, she was also skinny and her face was pale.
I reached out and touched the child's forehead and found it was terribly hot. I thought that the child must have been caught in the rain all night and had a fever.
Xu Jianguo took off his clothes, wrapped the child up, and then called the old Taoist softly.
"Old man, old man, can you hear me?"
After a moment, the old Taoist slowly opened his eyes.
His scattered gaze slowly focused, and after a moment, he spoke: "Little, young man, thank you."
"Master, you're welcome. Please wait here for a moment. I'll go to the village to call someone."
"No, that's not necessary. I know my situation well. I'm afraid I won't live long."
"Master, don't give up, there is still hope." After Xu Jianguo finished speaking, he was about to go back to the village to call for help, but the old Taoist grabbed his wrist.
Xu Jianguo only felt that his wrist was clamped by an iron pair of pliers and was pinched so hard that it hurt.
"Young man, I have a favor to ask. I hope you can promise me that I will be your slave in the next life and repay your kindness."
"Master, you're welcome. I will definitely help if I can."
"I, I am Shanliqing, the abbot of Qingyun Temple. My name is Xuanyuan. The child next to me is an abandoned baby I found when I went down the mountain three years ago. I later brought him back to the temple to raise him. His Taoist name is Mingzhen."
"In recent years, the temple's harvest has been declining year by year. To survive, the disciples have all gone down the mountain to make a living. Only Mingzhen and I are left in the temple. Last night, Mingzhen suddenly started to have a fever. I tried everything but nothing worked, so I had to take her down the mountain overnight, intending to seek help from your village, but we accidentally rolled down the mountain."
"Young man, I want to ask you to save my poor disciple. This child's life is too miserable."
"Master, don't worry, I will save her even if you don't tell me."
After hearing what Xu Jianguo said, the old Taoist had tears in his eyes. He struggled to take out an oilcloth package from his Taoist robe and handed it to Xu Jianguo.
"Young man, I have nothing to thank you for. This is the only valuable thing in the Taoist temple. Please accept it."
"Master, don't worry. I have taken the things. I will do my best to save Mingzhen. Please wait here. I will carry her up first and find someone to save her. Then I will find someone to save you." Xu Jianguo said.
He didn't dare to delay any longer because he found that the little girl's crying was getting weaker and weaker.
After saying this, without waiting for the Taoist to reply, he tied the little girl to his back with his clothes, put the oilcloth bag into his trouser pocket, and then climbed up the slope using his hands and feet.
After great effort, Xu Jianguo finally climbed to the top of the slope. He was covered in mud, and the nails of several fingers were broken because he had exerted too much force. Blood was flowing out from between his nails.
But Xu Jianguo didn't care about all this. He untied the clothes that were tied around the little girl, picked her up and ran towards the village.
A moment later, Xu Jianguo arrived at the home of the village chief, Li Mancang, and rushed directly into the yard, shouting, "Uncle Mancang, help!"
In addition to being the village chief of Sandaliang Village, Li Mancang is also the team leader of the production team.
When the old village chief Li Chunjiang was dying, he asked his family to invite several respected elders in the village. Under everyone's witness, they chose Li Mancang, who had just retired from the army and returned to the village, as the next village chief of Sandaliang Village.
As soon as he finished speaking, a man in his 40s ran out of the house and asked, "Jianguo, what's wrong with you?"
"Uncle, I left home this morning..." Xu Jianguo briefly recounted what happened and then urged, "The old Taoist priest is still at the bottom of the slope, and the child is not in good condition either. We have to rescue him quickly!"
"Okay, take the child and go find your Uncle Zhuzi. I'll take people to rescue the old Taoist priest."
"Okay, then I'll go first, uncle!" After saying that, Xu Jianguo ran towards Li Haizhu's house not far away.
"Uncle Zhuzi, help!" After Xu Jianguo made such a fuss, the villagers of Sandaliang also ran out of their homes. When they heard that Xu Jianguo had saved a child, they also ran over to help.
Li Haizhu happened to be in the yard. When he saw Xu Jianguo coming in with a child in his arms, he hurried over.
He only took one look at the child, and his heart skipped a beat, thinking, "Not good!"
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