Zhou Jiuzhen clutched the blood-stained jacket tightly, his back to the raging floodwaters, like a stone statue whose soul had been emptied.
The sob was squeezed out from deep in the throat, hoarse and desperate, shattering into pieces in the roaring wind and rain, even the waves seemed to be sobbing along with it.
The soldiers on the ship shouted anxiously, but no one dared to step forward.
They had never seen the iron-willed Commander Zhou cry like this, crying like a child who had lost his soul.
The pain contained in those cries brought tears to everyone's eyes, and they could only grit their teeth and turn their heads away, letting the rain mingle with their tears and stream down their faces.
"I shouldn't have let you come back..." Zhou Jiuzhen pressed his forehead against the cold roof tile, tears mingling with the rain as they streamed down his neck, salty and bitter.
He didn't even dare to look down at the surging, muddy waves at his feet, afraid of seeing something he shouldn't have.
Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of something white hanging under the eaves.
At first he thought it was someone's bed sheet that had gotten caught, but upon closer inspection he realized that the thing had actually moved!
It's not a swaying motion that drifts with the current; it's a powerful, kicking motion.
Zhou Jiuzhen looked up abruptly, his heart suddenly stopping as if gripped by a hand.
That's not a bed sheet.
It has two legs!
His trousers, stained with mud, were rolled up to his knees, and there was a cut on his calf from which blood was seeping out with each movement.
With his legs dangling half a foot above the water, his toes pointed straight, he tried to kick in vain, as if trying to step on something for leverage, but only managed to create splashes of water.
"..." Zhou Jiuzhen's mind went blank for a moment, and the piece of cloth in his arms fell into the water with a "plop".
Who would have their legs dangling in mid-air?
unless……
Zhou Jiuzhen scrambled to the edge of the roof, the rain blinding him, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the tiles.
"Huanwu?" he called out in a hoarse voice, his voice trembling uncontrollably, "Is that you?!"
As if they heard him, the legs suddenly increased their kicking range and even veered sharply towards him, the red string he had braided around their ankles flashing in the waves.
Zhou Jiuzhen instantly held back his tears, which were replaced by a mixture of surprise and fear, and wild joy.
He saw clearly that the area above the thighs looked as if it had been forcibly severed by something, and the area above the waist was empty, with only air—yet Ling Huanwu was clearly still moving!
"Where are you?" He leaned forward, trying to reach out, but then worried he might collapse the roof. His voice was hoarse with anxiety. "Are you alright? Does it hurt?"
The leg kicked even harder, as if responding to his words, but there was no sound.
Zhou Jiuzhen recalled the spaces Ling Huanwu had taken him to several times. It was probably because the flood had been too great, and the spaces had been shut down in an emergency to prevent mud and water from entering, leaving her stuck in mid-air.
"Huanwu, does your back hurt?"
His voice trembled as he reached out to support the swaying ankle, but fearing he might break something, his hand hovered in mid-air, shaking uncontrollably. "Don't worry, I'll figure something out! Wait for me, and don't move!"
The waves outside crashed into the house again, making her legs sway as if they were about to be swept away.
Zhou Jiuzhen's eyes turned red. He grabbed a broken piece of wood and was about to jump down when reason pulled him back.
If he falls too, who will save her?
He gritted his teeth, wiped his face, looked at his legs thrashing in the wind and rain, and suddenly laughed, then cried again.
I didn't dare to delay any longer.
He spotted the swollen beam at the edge of the roof, which was the original beam of the old house. It had been washed away and was now wedged between two pillars, barely serving as a temporary support.
He untied the thick hemp rope from his waist to save the person, wrapped one end tightly around his wrist, and tied the other end three times around the beam, making a tight knot.
His palms ached from the hemp rope, but he seemed oblivious, staring only at the leg dangling in mid-air below the room.
The waves were still rising, and the roof had begun to creak, as if it might fall apart at any moment.
He shuffled across the slippery tiles to the edge of the eaves, leaned most of his body out, and leaped into the icy floodwaters inside the house.
Finally, he reached the ankle.
The red string felt warm against my palm...
"Bear with it!" He strained to lift up, but his body seemed to be held firmly by something. He only moved half an inch before he heard a muffled groan from the other end, as if he was in excruciating pain.
Zhou Jiuzhen dared not exert any more force, fearing he might hurt the person, and his forehead veins throbbed with anxiety.
"Don't be afraid! I'll help you pull it out!"
Her leg struggled in his grasp, as if in response.
He seized the opportunity as the wave receded outside the door, supporting her ankle with one hand while groping with the other towards her waistband—it was empty there, as if separated by an invisible wall. His fingertips could feel a warm wave of air, but couldn't touch anything substantial.
It's a spatial gap!
He gritted his teeth and stretched out his entire arm, using it to brace against the suspended waist and abdomen, while using the reaction force from his feet to push upwards.
He used brute force, and he heard his bones crack and a clear cry of pain from above his head. Then, his stuck body finally loosened by half an inch!
"Give it your all!" he roared, a metallic taste rising in his throat from the splinters of wood that had cut his throat while climbing the roof.
But he couldn't care less; all he could see was the body slowly moving outwards.
Just then, a piece of broken wood, as thick as a bowl, floated in from outside, pushed by the waves, and crashed straight into the house.
"Watch out!" Zhou Jiuzhen instinctively tried to pull the female lead aside, but he was still tightly gripping her ankle and couldn't break free. He could only whirl around, using his back to block the broken piece of wood—
But he lost his footing under the floodwaters.
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