Chapter 155: Extra Chapter 2: Seven Years Ago (2)
The rain intensified, and everyone had to shout to communicate.
"Team Leader Cheng, we've already searched the two houses nearby. It's getting dark, so we need to hurry and take everyone back the way we came. If we delay our retreat any longer, it will be very troublesome!"
The accompanying firefighters carried the elderly woman with a limp on their backs. Rainwater washed over their faces, making it extremely difficult for them to see where they were going. They could only squint and urge Cheng Sangluo to leave quickly.
Cheng Sangluo handed the little girl in her arms to her teammates. Thinking that no one should be left behind, she looked back at the village house a few more times. Suddenly, she noticed a figure rushing into the backyard as if fleeing.
Her heart skipped a beat, wondering why there were still people around. She immediately gave the order: "You all set off immediately. I'll go back and check again. It seems someone has been left behind!"
"There are still people?!" The teammate exclaimed in surprise. He originally wanted to stop the captain who was walking back, but thinking that the evacuation mission could not be missed, he could only call out urgently, "Okay, we'll go first. Don't take too long. Go and come back quickly!"
"Don't worry about me, let's go, let's go!" Cheng Sangluo pushed the other person and hurriedly turned around and ran towards the village house that was some distance away.
The house deep in the mountains has a front and back yard, and behind the low wall is a fire pit. It doesn't look like a big place, but it's complicated to walk around in the winding alley.
Cheng Sangluo waded through the puddles, deep and shallow, and ran towards the backyard where she had seen a figure. She circled around but found nothing.
Fortunately, she had good hearing and heard rustling sounds amidst the noise of rain hitting the black tiles. So she leaned out and went into the dimly lit woodshed.
A faint, flickering shadow was cast on the wall behind the earthen stove, and it was unclear what the person was doing furtively with the dog.
Cheng Sangluo hunched over and crept closer. When he saw that the hidden shadow was a young woman, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.
The woman's clothes were soaked by the rain, making her slender figure appear small, and she was currently facing away from Cheng Sangluo.
She huddled in a ball, covered in filthy mud, smearing soot from the bottom of a pot onto her face. She was so engrossed in her work that she didn't notice anything amiss when someone approached.
Cheng Sangluo hesitated for a moment, but still reached out and poked the woman's back, asking suspiciously, "What...what are you doing?"
"Ah—" The woman gasped in surprise at the sudden noise, her stiff back trembling uncontrollably. She hesitated for a while before slowly turning around.
Lin Jin stared blankly at Cheng Sangluo, who looked puzzled. Fortunately, her anxiety was quickly dispelled as the iconic camouflage green outfit brought her an unprecedented sense of redemption.
She stared intently at the female soldier's wet face, unsure how to explain her disheveled and absurd behavior.
Cheng Sangluo looked at the woman's face, which was covered in black smears. Apart from her clear eyes, her features were indistinguishable.
She knew what was important and understood that now was not the time to pry. She grabbed the woman's hand and explained, "I'm from the joint rescue team. The heavy rain could cause mudslides at any time. This deep forest is not safe. You have to come with me right away!"
Lin Jin's gaze fell on the large hand gripping her arm. She looked like a startled bird, standing there stiffly without moving. The other person's grip was very strong, making her squeezing her eyes in pain. So she subconsciously tried to pull her arm away, but she didn't have much strength to struggle.
Cheng Sangluo glanced back at the rain outside the door, thinking that there must be a reason why the woman deliberately dirtied her face. So he took off his raincoat and put it on her, and didn't forget to pull the rain hat a few more times so that the dark face could be covered up properly.
Lin Jin traveled non-stop, fleeing east and west until he finally saw a village house nearby. He thought that if he met any villagers, he could ask them for a couple of clothes to change into, smear his face with dirt, and hide, which might allow him to temporarily escape the pursuit of the villains.
The sudden appearance of the female soldier disrupted her plans, but this encounter wasn't necessarily a bad thing. If she were to run into those two thugs again, the female soldier might be able to protect her.
She hesitated whether to explain her predicament, but the other person was eager to take her away, so she swallowed her words.
She tugged at her raincoat and asked succinctly, "What are you going to do?"
“It’s okay to get a little rained on, just come with me.” Cheng Sangluo adjusted her rescue backpack and led Lin Jin outside while explaining, “The team evacuating the villagers has already set off. Luckily, I turned around and saw you, otherwise you would have been in danger if you were left here alone. If you encounter any difficulties, tell me slowly when we get to a safe place, and I will help you. Don’t be afraid.”
Lin Jin was in a daze, her gaze falling again on the hand that was holding her arm. Even through the raincoat sleeve, she could still feel the warm, calloused palm. The subtle roughness didn't make her feel uncomfortable.
When Cheng Sangluo reached the eaves, he noticed that the woman's bare feet were covered in mud, and he could vaguely see bloodstains on the insteps.
She quickly looked around the yard and found a pile of sandals drying in the corner.
"Wait a minute," she called out, jogging to fetch the shoes. She then quickly knelt down to help the woman put them on, muttering to herself, "How come you don't even have shoes? How can you walk with your injured foot?"
The process of picking up the sandals took only a few seconds, yet the person displayed meticulous care, because the shoes they chose unexpectedly fit Lin Jin's feet.
Lin Jin couldn't explain her current situation in just a few words, so she could only silently look down at the figure putting on her shoes.
She thought to herself that the female soldier had broad shoulders and an unexpectedly thoughtful heart. A faint smile couldn't help but appear on her lips as she casually said, "I got lost."
“You don’t look like a villager. Why did you come to a place like this all by yourself in this heavy rain? It’s so unsafe!” Cheng Sangluo looked up at Lin Jin with a reproachful expression, still squatting down. She patted her waist with her back hand and invited, “I’ll carry you away first, and then put you down to walk a few steps when I get tired.”
After saying that, she switched the backpack to the front of her chest and urged urgently, "Hurry, hurry, there's no time to lose."
"This..." Lin Jin hesitated, but couldn't resist the urging, so she leaned down and pressed against Cheng Sangluo's back.
In that instant, the camouflage uniform soaked by the rain brought a strong sense of security, allowing Lin Jin's tense mind to relax after a long day.
Wanting to respond to this kindness promptly, she unfolded her oversized raincoat and quietly placed it beside Cheng Sangluo, thinking that this would at least shield her from some of the rain.
Cheng Sangluo has trained his physical fitness for many years, and his core strength is so strong that he can lift people off the ground with ease, and even walk quickly and steadily into the rain.
Lin Jin rested her chin on that broad shoulder due to inertia, her breath carrying the scent of rain and a thin layer of sweat, and even a hint of the rustic aroma of laundry detergent.
It doesn't smell bad. If I had to describe the smell, it would probably be a sense of security that makes people feel at ease.
Cheng Sangluo mustered all her strength to catch up with the team that had set off earlier, so she remained silent the whole way. If she talked too much, she would easily find it hard to breathe.
Lin Jin's interaction seemed surprisingly tacit; he would occasionally reach out to wipe the rain off her face, but he didn't say a single unnecessary word.
Despite chasing for quite some time, Cheng Sangluo still couldn't spot the main group.
She wondered if she had taken the wrong path, since dense forests could easily turn people into headless flies, and the deeper she went, the more it resembled being lost in a maze.
Lin Jin also sensed something was wrong and asked in a low voice, "Are we lost?"
"Possibly." Cheng Sangluo didn't hide anything. When problems arise, they need to be solved. She simply stopped and let Lin Jin stand there for a while. "Wait a minute, I need to check my backpack."
As she spoke, she looked up at the sky, its light obscured by layers of leaves. In summer, it gets dark a little later, but this bizarre rain had disrupted everything.
This moment is like the last lingering of daylight before nightfall, with the last sliver of light illuminating the path ahead.
Cheng Sangluo quickly rummaged through her backpack to find her phone, but there was no signal. She had also left her walkie-talkie with her teammates, so it seemed she wouldn't be able to contact them for a while.
She lowered her shoulders, took out a flashlight and handed it to Lin Jin, then carried him back on her back. They could only follow the mountain path forward. "You hold the flashlight and light the way for me. We can't catch up with the main group, but we can't linger either. As the saying goes, a road is made by walking. If there's a road, it means there's an end."
"Okay." Lin Jin followed her instructions, gripping the flashlight firmly, feeling that she was finally participating. "Are you tired? If you are, I can walk by myself."
"It's alright." Cheng Sangluo smiled, tilting her head slightly, hoping to dispel the other person's worries. She joked, "This is much easier than carrying a heavy zipper for ten or twenty kilometers, because you are very light, so don't worry."
Lin Jin let out a soft breath and politely apologized, "I'm sorry for holding you back. Otherwise, you could have left with the rest of the group."
Cheng Sangluo steadied the person behind her, then shook her head with a smile: "The one who should apologize is God. It's been raining so heavily for no reason and it just won't stop. Besides, saving civilians is our duty as soldiers. I can't just see you there and turn a blind eye, that would be so annoying."
"You're quite an interesting person." Lin Jin chuckled and asked, "What's your name? I'll come and give you a banner later."
"Is it interesting? I'm speaking from the heart." Cheng Sangluo narrowed his eyes and said easily, "Forget about the banner, just remember that we soldiers serve the people well. My name is Cheng Sangluo."
"Okay, I'll remember your kindness~" Lin Jin agreed in a drawn-out tone, then smacked her lips, "Cheng Sangluo? Hmm... which Sangluo..."
"The mulberry leaves fall in the ninth month of the lunar calendar, signifying the arrival of autumn," Cheng Sangluo explained earnestly, revealing the origin of her name. Curious, she pressed on, "And yours?"
Lin Jin was wary of the various troubles Lin Sheng would cause, so she was somewhat cautious about giving her name and casually replied vaguely, "Just call me A Jin."
"Ah Jing?" Cheng Sangluo didn't distinguish between the nasal and non-nasal sounds, and pondered to herself, "Um... the 'well' in 'don't forget the well-digger when you drink the water'?"
Lin Jin chuckled inwardly at this woman's muddle-headedness, and then went along with her words, replying, "What a coincidence! I'm the one who drinks water, and you're the one who digs the well. You saved my life, so I'll call myself Ah Jing (Well) to commemorate you."
"What a strange explanation." Cheng Sangluo smiled and didn't press further. Her gaze was fixed ahead, and she said firmly, "Don't worry, I will definitely get you out of here. Don't be afraid."
'I'm here.'
'Don't be afraid.'
Cheng Sangluo seemed to really enjoy using these words to convey a sense of security in a confident and concise way.
Lin Jin tilted her head and looked ahead in the direction she was looking.
The rugged mountain road winds on and on, with withered branches and leaves covering stones of all sizes. Rainwater flowing down from the mountain gathers into babbling streams, washing the mountainside to give it a fragile, precarious appearance.
The turbulent aftermath, caught in the perilous situation, gave Lin Jin a strange illusion, as if he were seeing his own future.
That future is a narrow road, hanging alone above an abyss, full of twists and turns, dangerous, and with no turning back.
Lin Jin pondered Cheng Sangluo's words in a low voice, but asked with a questioning tone, "Does having a road really mean it has an end?"
Cheng Sangluo, who was walking straight into the dark, was breathing more and more heavily and was walking with increasing difficulty. Fortunately, the occasional chat made the atmosphere less boring.
only...
The accident happened very suddenly.
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