Lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the courtyard. The gate was slammed loudly, accompanied by strong winds and heavy rain, which was frightening.
Cheng Yaoyao looked at the gate and said, "It sounds like the voice of someone from the village. I'll go check it out!"
Xie Fei was so scared that she hid beside Grandma Xie: "Grandma! What should we do? Are they going to search our house?"
Grandma Xie hugged Xie Fei and said, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Nothing will happen. Yaoyao, you are not allowed to open the door. Go back to your room."
Grandma Xie tried to sound calm, but her worry was hard to conceal.
"But they keep knocking on the door. I don't know what's going on." Cheng Yaoyao stared at the gate.
The kerosene lamp flickered in the wind. Grandma Xie's face was solemn: "No matter what happens, wait until Zhao Ge'er comes back. You and Xiao Fei go back to the house! ... Zhao Ge'er, Zhao Ge'er..."
Grandma Xie's expression suddenly changed: "Could something have happened to Zhao Ge'er?!"
Cheng Yaoyao's mind went blank. By the time she came to her senses, she had already rushed into the yard. The heavy rain pounded on her body, causing pain. In the blink of an eye, she was soaked by the rain. Cheng Yaoyao leaned over to the crack of the door and asked, "Who is that?"
Lin Jiajun's voice rang out from outside: "It's me! Something happened to Xie San!"
Cheng Yaoyao pulled the bolt hard, but was nearly knocked down by the wind when he opened the door. Lin Jiajun, wearing a raincoat and soaked like a chicken in soup, was standing at the door. When he saw Cheng Yaoyao, he was stunned: "Why are you the one opening the door? Where is Grandma Xie San?"
"Tell me what you want to say!" Cheng Yaoyao grabbed Lin Jiajun by the collar, "What happened to Xie Zhao? Tell me now!"
Lin Jiajun took a breath and said, "The mountain road back to the village collapsed, and Xie San went to rescue people and was crushed under the rocks!"
"..." A flash of lightning flashed across the sky, and Cheng Yaoyao's face turned pale.
Grandma Xie's trembling voice echoed behind him: "You...what did you say?"
Lin Jiajun thanked his grandmother and said, "Don't worry, the villagers have already gone to look for her. My father was afraid that you would worry, so he asked me to come and inform you..."
Grandma Xie leaned back and fainted.
Cheng Yaoyao finally responded: "Grandma!"
Lin Jiajun hurried forward to help, and together with Cheng Yaoyao, they helped Grandma Xie into the house. It was raining heavily, and several people were soaked by the rain. After finally putting Grandma Xie on the bed, they were so tired that their legs and feet were weak.
Grandma Xie closed her eyes tightly, breathing weakly, and Xie Fei lay on the bedside of Grandma Xie and cried. Lin Jiajun scratched his ears and cheeks, and then he realized that he had gotten into trouble.
Cheng Yaoyao pulled him into the hall: "Come out with me!"
Lin Jiajun found that Cheng Yaoyao looked cute, but she was actually very strong. The hall was dark, Cheng Yaoyao relit the kerosene lamp, and her beautiful face looked extremely pale under the lamp.
She looked at Lin Jiajun and asked, "What happened? Where is Xie Zhaoren? Wasn't he transporting watermelons into the city? How could he be crushed by the rocks?"
Cheng Yaoyao asked a series of questions, so Lin Jiajun had to concentrate and answer seriously: "I don't know either. I heard that on the way back, they encountered several women and children trapped by a mountain torrent. Xie San and Lin Daguan went to rescue them together. As a result, when Xie San was saving the last child, the rocks above collapsed, and Xie San... I don't know if he was buried or washed away by the water."
Lin Jiajun secretly glanced into the house and whispered to Cheng Yaoyao, "We've been looking for the whole afternoon. Please comfort Third Grandma. I'm afraid there is no hope."
"Impossible!" Cheng Yaoyao shouted abruptly, "Nothing can happen to him! You are lying!"
"Really." Lin Jiajun was shocked by Cheng Yaoyao's reaction and explained earnestly: "People from our village have already gone to look for him! People from Bashang Village were also rescued. People from their village also came to help. We will definitely be able to dig him out! But it's more dangerous than safe..."
"Nonsense, nonsense!" Cheng Yaoyao stamped his feet and denied desperately: "Impossible! He will be fine!"
Cheng Yaoyao grabbed a straw sandal and threw it at Lin Jiajun: "You are talking nonsense!"
“Okay, okay, I’m talking nonsense, I’m talking nonsense!” Lin Jiajun was so scared that he quickly dodged and said, “I won’t talk to you anymore, I have to go find someone too!”
Cheng Yaoyao immediately said, "I'll go too!"
"You? Wouldn't you just cause trouble if you go?" Lin Jiajun asked, "There are several collapsed mountain roads outside, what are you going to do?"
Cheng Yaoyao said: "I'll go find him!"
Lin Jiajun said, "Stop making trouble. Everyone else is helping. What good will it do you to go?!"
"I don't believe them." Cheng Yaoyao said bluntly, "I'm going to find him myself!"
Cheng Yaoyao's words were straightforward, and Lin Jiajun scratched his head. After all, he was the son of a landlord, and he knew how the villagers had treated him over the years. But it was a bit strange that Cheng Yaoyao was speaking up for him like this...
Many chaotic thoughts flashed through Lin Jiajun's mind, but Cheng Yaoyao only had one thought in his mind. He repeated stubbornly: "You won't take me with you, right? I'll go by myself!"
Cheng Yaoyao's eyes were burning with two flames, and her pale face was full of determination. Lin Jiajun felt that if he didn't agree, she would really dare to go out alone in the storm.
Lin Jiajun gritted his teeth, took off his raincoat and handed it to Cheng Yaoyao: "Then don't tell my brother that I brought you here!"
Cheng Yaoyao nodded vigorously.
Xie Fei ran out: "Sister Yaoyao, where are you going?"
"I'll go find your brother." Cheng Yaoyao picked up the teapot on the table, secretly added some spiritual spring water into it, and handed it to Xie Fei, "Feed grandma some water and tell her not to worry. Your brother will be fine."
Xie Fei burst into tears and held Cheng Yaoyao's hand tightly: "No, it's too dangerous outside, Sister Yaoyao, you can't go!"
"Be obedient and don't tell grandma that I'm out." Cheng Yaoyao assured, "Don't worry, I will definitely find Xie Zhao!"
Xie Fei held Cheng Yaoyao's hand and just cried, shaking her head vigorously.
Xie Fei's little world was supported by her brother and grandmother, and later on, Cheng Yaoyao came into the picture. Now her brother was in danger of death, and her grandmother had also fallen ill. If Cheng Yaoyao tried to get involved again, it would be like killing her.
Lin Jiajun urged: "Are you going to leave or not? If you don't leave, I will leave!"
"I'm leaving!" Cheng Yaoyao didn't care about anything else. He pulled his hand back, put on his raincoat, and rushed into the rain with Lin Jiajun.
As soon as she stepped out of the door, a strong wind mixed with raindrops hit her in the face, making Cheng Yaoyao unable to open her eyes. The muddy water on the ground reached her ankles, sweeping all kinds of dead branches and stones. Humans seemed so weak and powerless in the face of the wrath of nature. Cheng Yaoyao didn't know how she held on. The raincoat was useless. All her clothes were soaked. She almost slipped with every step, and stumbled behind Lin Jiajun.
Lin Jiajun finally shouted, "It's right in front! Everyone in our village is in front, look!"
Cheng Yaoyao wiped the rain off his face and looked up. Flashlights flashed ahead, and many familiar and unfamiliar villagers were digging in the rain.
That was the mountain road leading to Tianshui Village and the city. On one side of the road was a hillside, and on the other side were terraced fields. But at this time, the road was completely blocked by yellow mud and rocks.
Cheng Yaoyao clutched his clothes tightly, feeling suffocated. Was Xie Zhao really buried underneath?
A woman was crying hysterically up the hillside, with several people holding her back.
Lin Jiajun explained: "Xie San got into trouble just to save their child, and now the child is also buried underneath!"
The woman's mournful cries broke through the sound of rain and scraped at everyone's nerves. Cheng Yaoyao tried his best to hold back his tears and not look at them.
Lin Jiajun pulled Cheng Yaoyao and said, "My brother is in front, go and ask about the situation. Don't let my brother find out!"
Lin Jiajun brought Cheng Yaoyao to Lin Jiaqi's side. Cheng Yaoyao was wearing a raincoat with his hat pulled down low, and at first glance, it was impossible to tell whether he was a man or a woman, and his identity was completely unrecognizable.
Lin Jiaqi stood on the side of the hill in the rain, shouting and directing the villagers to dig. Lin Jiajun called him several times before he heard him and said, "What are you doing here?!"
"I'll help!" Lin Jiajun said, "Brother, what's going on?"
Lin Jiaqi shook his head: "It's more dangerous than good. The rain is getting heavier. If we can't find anyone, we have to ask the villagers to retreat and come back after the rain stops."
Cheng Yaoyao said anxiously: "No!"
Lin Jiajun waved his hands at her. Lin Jiaqi looked at Cheng Yaoyao with sharp eyes, then looked at Lin Jiajun and kicked him: "Why did you bring her here!"
"Don't hit him, I came here on my own initiative!" Cheng Yaoyao rushed forward to block Lin Jiajun and looked up at Lin Jiaqi.
The hood of the raincoat was blown back by the wind, revealing Cheng Yaoyao's pale and beautiful face. Cheng Yaoyao glared at Lin Jiaqi: "What do you mean by fierce and unlucky? Xie Zhao hasn't been found yet, how can we go back!"
Lin Jiaqi pushed Cheng Yaoyao's hat back and shouted in a low voice, "It's dangerous here. Why are you making trouble here as a girl? If someone sees you, you will lose your reputation!"
Lin Jiaqi grabbed Cheng Yaoyao's arm with one hand and Lin Jiajun's arm with the other, and shouted at Lin Jiajun: "Send her back immediately, and you go back too!"
Cheng Yaoyao struggled hard and kicked Lin Jiaqi's knee hard: "Let me go! Let me go!"
The wind and rain were strong, and suddenly there was a rumbling sound on the hillside. Lin Jiaqi looked up and his face changed drastically: "Oh no!"
A huge tree on the hillside fell down with its roots, and under the weight of the huge tree, rocks and soil collapsed down again. The place that the villagers had just dug was buried again.
Cheng Yaoyao murmured: "Xie Zhao..."
The rocks and soil shifted again. Even if they were still alive, they would be dead now...
The team leader of Bashang Village and the team leader of Tianshui Village, Lin Dafu, called the villagers together and announced, "Go back tonight! Come back to dig after the rain stops."
"No!" Before Cheng Yaoyao could finish his words, the woman cried out miserably, "No! My Feifei is still alive, how can you go back! No!"
Lin Daguan, who was rescuing people with Xie Zhao, also shouted, "No! My brother is still trapped, we can't leave!"
The villagers looked at each other, and one said, "Let's dig a little longer, maybe we can save him!"
The leader of Bashang Village said decisively: "The rain is getting heavier, and there might be another landslide!"
The other villagers were immediately shaken. They wanted to save people, but their own lives were more important.
"No, you can't leave!" Cheng Yaoyao stopped everyone and shouted at the village leader: "Those are human lives! Why did you sentence them to death?"
The leader of Bashang Village frowned: "Didn't you see the landslide just now? People have been buried for the whole afternoon, how can they still be alive?! If we delay any longer, other people's lives will also be lost! Is it worth it to sacrifice so many lives for two lives!"
"Xie Zhao is not dead yet! He won't die!" Cheng Yaoyao repeated fiercely in a stubborn tone, "I know he won't die, he must be fine!"
Lin Jiaqi grabbed Cheng Yaoyao's arm and pulled him back, saying in a deep voice, "Stop talking."
At this moment, the thunder stopped. In the brief interval, a choked voice from Cheng Yuanyao was particularly clear and reached everyone's ears: "If they were still alive, you left like this, they...if they were still alive..."
The woman burst into uncontrollable tears.
A villager hesitated and said, "Captain, she has a point..."
The leader of Bashang Village wiped his face and said, "Are you going to listen to me or her? Everyone from Bashang Village, go back!"
Thunder roared and white lightning exploded overhead, splitting the sky into pieces. Heavy rain poured down, washing trenches through the soil.
Lin Dafu also shouted: "The rain is getting heavier again. People from Tianshui Village, go back immediately!"
The villagers no longer hesitated, and in groups of two or three, they carried their tools and staggered away from the dangerous hillside.
Lin Jiaqi directed the villagers to leave, and when he turned around, he suddenly found that Cheng Yaoyao was gone. He grabbed Lin Jiajun and yelled, "Where is Cheng Yaoyao!"
"She was here just now..." Lin Jiajun was also shocked.
The muddy water on the hillside rushed down with small lumps of earth, and a few lumps hit Cheng Yaoyao in the face. She seemed to be unaware and dug hard at the mud with both hands. Cheng Yaoyao dug for a while, then struggled to cross the tilted tree trunk and walked to the other side.
Spiritual springs were continuously released from his fingertips, and Yang energy was rapidly lost. Cheng Yaoyao inserted his hand deeply into the soil, feeling it.
The villagers had all left, leaving only a small figure climbing up the steep slope. Finally, the small lotus leaf swayed slightly.
Cheng Yaoyao raised his head in ecstasy, his fingertips scraped against a sharp rock, his hand loosened, and he almost slipped down the hillside.
A hand suddenly pulled her up from behind, and Lin Jiaqi yelled, "Are you crazy?!"
Cheng Yaoyao looked up. Her face was covered in mud and water. She looked nothing like the rich lady she usually was. Only her eyes were burning with fire, so bright that it was shocking.
Lin Jiaqi was filled with anger, but Cheng Yaoyao asked him a completely irrelevant question: "If you were Xie Zhao, where would you hide?"
Lin Jiaqi asked: "What did you say?"
Cheng Yaoyao climbed up with his help, his face flushed with excitement, and asked, "If you were Xie Zhao, where would you hide when the landslide happened?"
Lin Jiaqi frowned. He had participated in rescue operations when he was in the army, so he had a lot of experience with these things. He looked carefully at the surrounding terrain and said, "There are places with shelters on both sides of the hillside... But we have already dug on both sides of the hillside and didn't find anyone."
Cheng Yaoyao hurriedly asked: "Where is there a place with shelter?!"
Lin Jiaqi hesitated for a moment and said, "There are three places, but I can't be sure which one it is."
Cheng Yaoyao asked: "What if I can be sure?"
Lin Jiaqi wiped the rain off his face: "What did you say?"
"I said," Cheng Yaoyao paused for each word, pointing to the pile of dirt behind them with tears and laughter: "They are right here. I can feel that Xie Zhao is right under here!"
Lin Jiaqi looked at her silently.
Cheng Yaoyao wiped his face, which only made the mud even more messy. He tried to explain, "I'm not crazy. I'm serious! Xie Zhao is not dead. I can feel him. He is right down here..."
Lin Jiajun climbed up from below and shouted: "What are you doing? Get out of here!"
Cheng Yaoyao simply snatched the shovel from Lin Jiajun's hand and started digging. Her movements were clumsy, and the soft mud and water splashed all over Lao Gao.
Lin Jiajun looked at her in shock, then glanced at his brother: "She...what is she doing?"
Lin Jiaqi looked up at the sky. The wind, rain, thunder and lightning were getting stronger and stronger. Lin Jiajun stamped his feet anxiously and simply pulled Cheng Yaoyao: "Hurry up and leave!"
"Let me go!" Cheng Yaoyao struggled desperately, "Xie Zhao is right down here, he's not dead!"
The slope was steep and if they were not careful they would fall down. Lin Jiajun did not dare to force Cheng Yaoyao and shouted to his brother, "Brother, stop being in a daze and help me pull her down!"
Cheng Yaoyao hugged a fallen tree beside him without caring about his image and shouted, "If you want to leave, go ahead! If you force me again, I will jump down!"
Lin Jiaqi frowned, Lin Jiajun was confused, Cheng Yaoyao was determined, and the three of them were stuck in a standoff.
The three of them struggled on the hillside, and the person below shouted, "Get down quickly! It's dangerous!"
The three men did not come down, but suddenly started digging the mud. And they did not dig from the side as they usually did, but dug from the top of the hillside.
Lin Jiaqi and Lin Jiajun were digging desperately, and Cheng Yaoyao was directing them from the side: "Dig from here, no, over there, a little further to the side..."
The three of them were soaked to the skin, and the heavy rain continued to pour down on them. Only those who have experienced it know how exhausting it is.
Cheng Yaoyao's command was like playing, sometimes left, sometimes right. Lin Jiaqi followed Cheng Yaoyao's command and dug in the mud silently. Lin Jiajun was panting and muttered, "I'm really crazy, and I'm going crazy with you guys..."
Suddenly, the shovel hit something hard. After a few shovels, the yellow mud on the surface was removed, revealing the dark brown bark.
The three people's eyes lit up, and Lin Jiajun shouted: "It's that big banyan tree!"
This big banyan tree has a history of several hundred years. Although it is not very tall, its trunk is as thick as two adults can hug together. Cheng Yaoyao knelt down and touched the trunk with his fingers. The small lotus leaves swayed with joy.
Cheng Yaoyao shouted: "Right here, right here!"
"Get out of the way!" Lin Jiaqi pushed Cheng Yaoyao aside and started digging from the side of the tree trunk with Lin Jiajun.
Suddenly, Lin Daguan also climbed up and began to help without saying a word. After a while, several villagers, known or unknown, also climbed up one after another. Their children were all rescued by Xie Zhao, who had been wandering around below and did not leave. At this time, they also joined the digging.
The captain of Bashang Village yelled at the people below: "Get down here right now! Do you want to die? Come down!"
The mud and water on the hillside rolled down, and there was a danger of collapse at any time. But no one retreated, and they dug desperately. The captain also climbed up, cursing.
At this time, someone shouted: "There is a sound!"
Everyone quieted down and listened nervously. There was only the rumble of rain between heaven and earth, no other sound could be heard.
Cheng Yaoyao put his hand on the tree trunk and shouted into the gap: "Xie Zhao! Xie Zhao, is that you?!"
There was a hint of tears in her tone, but she suppressed her anger and shouted again: "Xie Zhao!"
She shouted until she was hoarse, but the sound of rain and thunder started again, completely drowning out her voice. When Cheng Yaoyao was in despair, he suddenly felt the tree trunk shaking a few times.
Cheng Yaoyao placed his palm on the tree trunk. Soon, several regular vibrations were heard, indicating that someone was knocking on the tree trunk.
"Here! Here!" Cheng Yaoyao was overjoyed and pointed at the piece of tree trunk.
Everyone quickly aimed at that section and dug up the soil. When everyone worked together to move a stone pressing on the side of the tree, a gap of about ten centimeters was revealed inside.
The rain poured down, and everyone held their breath, staring at the gap.
Those few short seconds seemed like a lifetime.
Cheng Yaoyao half-knelt down, put his hand to the edge of the gap, and murmured, "Xie Zhao..."
She swore in her heart: If Xie Zhao was safe this time, she would never get angry with him again!
A large blood-stained hand reached out and firmly grasped her fingertips.
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