Chapter 138 - 137: Dragon Vein Anomaly, Changying Takes Action
Chapter 138: Chapter 137: Dragon Vein Anomaly, Changying Takes Action
"Miss Ning?" The young man paused in shock before speaking urgently. "The front line is dangerous. You are a crucial person; you can’t go. If something happens to you..."
Ning Liuyu retorted, "You all can go, so why can’t I? Is it because you think I don’t know martial arts, that I’m too weak and won’t be of any help?"
"No, that’s not what I meant at all." The young man opened his mouth. "I mean, your importance is incredibly high..."
"All lives are equal. Why is mine considered nobler?" Ning Liuyu looked at him calmly. "I have medicine. If I go, I can save people."
At that moment, a powerful, unquestionable aura radiated from her.
The young man fell silent for half a second before reaching out and closing the car door. The rescue vehicle carried Ning Liuyu away.
Before the young man could breathe a sigh of relief, a familiar figure appeared before him. Startled, he immediately bowed to Shaoyuan.
Shaoyuan looked at him. "Speak."
"This flood indeed broke out very suddenly. We have already dispatched an advance team to investigate the cause," the young man said, taking a deep breath, his face filled with shame. "There were absolutely no warning signs. The instruments monitoring for levee breaches didn’t issue any alarms. It’s extremely bizarre."
"I understand," Shaoyuan said evenly. "No casualties are allowed. That is an order."
The young man’s heart tightened. "Understood. The second batch has also just set off. However, there was a slight unexpected variable—Miss Ning went along with them."
Shaoyuan gave a faint hum of acknowledgment. "What about the third batch?"
"They are about to depart," the young man replied.
"Good." Shaoyuan draped his coat over his shoulders and smiled. "You don’t know that I came here today, nor do you know that I went to the scene. Understand?"
The young man was taken aback. "You’re going too?!"
Although the flood had indeed erupted suddenly, there had been quite a few natural disasters in Jiuzhou over the years, and they had managed to resolve all of them. Could it be that there was someone very important to Shaoyuan in Shisong Village?
Shaoyuan didn’t answer. He finished putting on his disguise and left.
The young man realized that this incident was probably not that simple. He wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Something major has really happened..."
The situation at the disaster site was far worse than the news broadcasts had depicted. In just two hours, the water level had risen again, reaching the height of a three-story building. The houses at the foot of the mountain were all self-built, maxing out at four stories high, making the situation incredibly dangerous.
"Brother Fan, the current is too strong!" a young rescue worker gasped, his voice filled with anxiety. "We can’t reinforce the levee to withstand the scouring force of the water."
Xu Yunfan’s voice was heavy. "Save the people first and evacuate the masses. We have to hold the line first, understand?"
The young men all wore grave expressions. Fortunately, they had conducted numerous drills in the past, allowing them to successfully rescue the trapped villagers from the floodwaters.
Only then did Xu Yunfan breathe a sigh of relief.
SPLASH!
The rain poured down heavier than ever, and the rushing waters showed no signs of slowing. After rescuing the villagers, the soldiers did not rest, immediately throwing themselves into a new round of relief efforts. They plunged back into the muddy water to salvage valuables from the flooded homes and move them to safety.
RUMBLE!
Another booming sound echoed from the mountaintop as more rocks tumbled down.
"Hurry, move faster!" someone shouted. "Don’t slack off!"
Shi Changying was just about to join the rescue operation when a hand grabbed her shoulder. It was Xu Yunfan.
"When did you get here? Forget it, that’s not important right now. I know what you want to do, but this isn’t your job!" Xu Yunfan’s face was tight with anger. "If something happens to you, how am I supposed to explain it to my fourth brother? If you want to be willful, this is not the time for it. Leave immediately and don’t get in the way of the rescue!"
He shoved Shi Changying aside and continued commanding the rescue efforts.
"Little niece, don’t be mad," said the young man whom Xu Yunfan had called out earlier at the training ground, offering her a smile. "Brother Fan is just anxious. We know you want to do your part, but this isn’t your responsibility. Go back."
After saying that, he turned around to comfort an elderly woman who had just been rescued. "Don’t worry, ma’am. We will definitely ensure your property loss is kept to a minimum."
He plunged into the floodwaters once again. After several trips back and forth, he was completely exhausted. His lips were purple from the freezing cold, and his face was covered in scratches from branches and debris.
Just as he was about to jump into the water for what seemed like the hundredth time, the corner of his shirt was grabbed in a death grip.
"Stop jumping in!" the elderly woman pleaded bitterly. "I don’t want those things anymore, I don’t want any of it! Don’t go back in, it’s dangerous... too dangerous!"
He smiled at her, but still dove back in without hesitation. The waves swallowed his figure.
The elderly woman stared blankly at the empty surface of the water before suddenly letting out a wail. Someone else quickly pulled her up. "Let’s go! This place could be submerged at any moment. It’s not safe!"
She and Shi Changying were both evacuated to a safe area.
Shi Changying silently watched the people bustling back and forth, suddenly coming to a realization. Even though she was in an unfamiliar era, and Jiuzhou had cycled from prosperity to chaos and back to prosperity, some things had remained completely unchanged through five thousand years of history.
In times of peril, the Heavenly Gods wouldn’t come, but the warriors of Jiuzhou always would. Whether it was four hundred years ago or four hundred years in the future.
DRIP, DROP...
Time ticked by. The rain gradually lessened and the current slowed. They could finally begin deploying reinforcements for the levee, significantly easing the pressure on the rescue personnel.
Xu Yunfan was finally able to sit down and catch his breath. "Is everyone here? Sound off!" he shouted.
However, after the count, someone was missing.
"Brother Wei is missing! He... he didn’t come up. But we can’t be sure, maybe he went somewhere else. Don’t panic, let’s wait a bit longer!"
Those words, however, carried little conviction. In such a massive flood, how could mere flesh and blood continuously resist the raging waters?
Xu Yunfan didn’t speak, but his fists clenched tightly.
Dying in the line of duty was unavoidable. They were prepared for death every time they went on a mission. But he was their comrade. How could their hearts not ache?
Shi Changying slowly stepped forward.
The civil servants used to curse her for only knowing how to fight and being ignorant of governance. It was true that she didn’t understand profound philosophies. She only knew that as a King, there were only two things she needed to do—
Guard the land beneath her feet.
Protect the people living on this land.
Shi Changying raised her hand and quickly tapped a few acupoints on her own body. She felt the surge of Inner Strength welling up within her, then quietly dove into the water.
Only the elderly woman witnessed this entire scene. Startled, her hands trembled, completely unable to process what had just happened.
Xu Yunfan exhaled a long breath, suppressing the heavy feeling in his chest, and continued to verify the headcount. Suddenly, he noticed something was wrong and gasped. "Where’s Changying? Has anyone seen her?"
Undeniably, he was prejudiced against Shi Changying and didn’t like her. Between Shi Changying and Xu Zhao Yu, he would naturally completely defend the sister he had lived with for decades. But ever since she had saved Xu Shuangqiao last time, his opinion of her had changed.
Perhaps she had some flaws, but who didn’t? Xu Yunfan also knew that he was overly chauvinistic and had quite a few shortcomings himself.
"She... she jumped in too! She jumped!" The elderly woman slumped on the ground, muttering blankly. "I told them not to jump... not to jump. I don’t want any of those things anymore. How can mere possessions be more important than a human life?"
Xu Yunfan’s expression changed drastically. Without a second thought, he prepared to dive in.
Suddenly, a voice rang out in joyous surprise. "Brother Fan, there’s movement! There’s movement!"
SPLASH!
Shi Changying broke through the surface of the water, dragging a person with her.
Xu Yunfan was stunned. From her slender frame, she had somehow unleashed an immense burst of strength, using her own two hands to forge a bridge of life.