GBP Chapter 418 The Perilous Situation of the Torrent
Chapter 418 The Perilous Situation of the Torrent
Disasters are merciless, but humanity is compassionate.
Faced with this sudden natural disaster, these people from different backgrounds were forced to stand on the same front, using the experience of the ancients and modern knowledge to fight against the wrath of nature.
The mud was still churning, and the rain was still pouring down, but in everyone's eyes, besides fear, there was a greater determination to overcome the difficulties together.
After settling the last injured guard in, Cui Yu'an walked to Shi Wanxia's side, raindrops dripping down his chin: "Miss Shi, thank you."
If she hadn't reminded him in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Shi Wanxia shook her head: "We're in the same boat now, it's only right that we help each other out."
She paused, looking at the still raging mudslide in the distance, and said, "Hold on, we will survive."
Cui Yu'an looked at her pale yet determined profile and nodded solemnly.
Amidst the turmoil, this small pine forest seemed to become an isolated island, carrying the hopes of everyone.
They don't know when this disaster will end, but as long as they rely on each other and work together, they will eventually overcome the difficulties.
Amidst the raging mudslides and sharing life and death, the bond forged during this perilous journey will forever be etched in everyone's hearts.
The roar of the crashing waves had not yet subsided when Shi Wanxia leaned against an old tree, her knuckles turning white from the strain. Her wounds, soaked in the rain, swelled and throbbed, and every movement felt like countless needles churning inside her flesh. Yet, she didn't even have time to furrow her brow—the lives of dozens of people behind her rested entirely in her injured hands.
"Move to higher ground, and make sure you're on the rocks, not touching the loose soil!" she shouted in a hoarse voice, her gaze sweeping over the servants, the healer, and the pampered young lady of the Langya Wang family, Wang Jinqian, who were huddled on the earthen slope. In the hasty escape from the flood, the carriages and horses had already been scattered, and now only about half of them had managed to gather together, all of them ragged and pale.
Just as everyone hunched over, catching their breath, the earth suddenly trembled deeply. The sound wasn't the roar of a raging torrent, but a series of deep, resounding thuds from the depths of the earth, like a giant beast beating a drum inside a mountain, causing the soil beneath their feet to tremble slightly.
"What's going on?" Someone looked up in panic, but before they could finish speaking, they were thrown off balance by an even more violent shaking.
Shi Wanxia's heart sank suddenly, and she forced herself to push aside the rain curtain in front of her eyes despite the dizziness.
She looked toward the source of the tremor and saw yellow mist rising from the summit of Qingluan Mountain not far away, a sign of soil peeling away.
After more than half a month of rain, the already loose mountainside was no longer able to withstand the pressure, and now a section of the mountain wall was visibly cracking and sinking.
One of the dark, massive rocks was particularly terrifying. It was as tall as a six-story building, like a dark cloud hanging overhead. It was slowly tilting forward with the rhythm of the landslide, and boulders kept falling from the cracks in the rocks, splashing into the floodwaters below and creating towering, muddy waves.
"not good!"
She gasped, cold sweat instantly soaking through the wound on her back.
This is no ordinary landslide; it's as if the entire mountain, carrying those tens of tons of boulders, is about to collapse with a deafening roar!
Once they crash into the torrent below, the resulting waves and mudslides will completely engulf their temporary shelter on the earthen slope.
"Get up quickly!"
Shi Wanxia turned around abruptly, her voice cracking with urgency.
"The mountain is about to collapse! Everyone evacuate immediately and run towards the break in the southeast! Hurry!"
She staggered and tried to help the person next to her, but was seized by a sharp pain.
Just now, while protecting a box of life-saving medicines, her calf was run over by an overturned carriage, and the wound has probably reopened.
But she couldn't collapse. Her gaze swept over the panicked crowd. She saw Wang Jinqian's maid clinging tightly to her mistress, trembling. She saw the old physician huddled in a corner with his medicine box. She saw Cui Jiu and the other guards trying to calm everyone down—they were all waiting for her to make a decision.
Shi Wanxia gritted her teeth and swallowed her pained cry back, straightening up with the arm Cui Jiu offered her.
The rain intensified, the roar of the landslide grew closer, and the overhanging boulder tilted more and more noticeably, as if it would break free from the mountainside's embrace at any moment.
She took a deep breath and shouted with all her might, "Cui Jiu will lead the rearguard, Cui Yu'an will lead the way! Food and medicine first, everyone keep up, no one is allowed to fall behind!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than a deafening roar came from above.
The six-story-high boulder finally cracked, carrying with it countless mud, sand, and broken logs, and crashed towards them like lightning.
Shi Wanxia's roar pierced the rain, carrying an undeniable determination: "Quick! Everyone move southeast immediately! Abandon the vehicles and horses, and take the most important supplies: food and medicine! The mountain is about to collapse—!"
Before he finished speaking, the mountain behind him trembled violently again, and a boulder the size of a tabletop, mixed with mud, tumbled down and crashed into the swamp not far away, splashing up several feet high.
Everyone turned pale, and without the slightest hesitation, they dropped their heavy luggage and hurriedly began to move the grain bags and medicine boxes from the vehicle.
Cui Jiu half-supported and half-carried Shi Wanxia to his side, his rough hands gripping her arm tightly, and whispered, "Miss, watch your step, it's very slippery in the mud."
His eyes were sharp as an eagle's, constantly alert to any movement around him, while his other hand directed the servants: "Move the medicine and rations first! Tie the sacks of food to your backs with cloth straps, don't let them fall apart!"
Despite the sharp pain emanating from her ribs and the fine beads of cold sweat on her forehead, Shi Wanxia still kept her back straight.
She looked at the orderly crowd amidst the chaos, her voice trembling slightly from her rapid breathing, yet exceptionally clear: "Cui Jiu! You lead the ten-person team to the front, clear the roadblocks, and mark the safe route!"
"Yes!"
Cui Jiu called over a maid and asked her to help Miss Shi.
He wiped the mud off his face, deftly pointed out ten strong guards, each of whom picked up a broken cart shaft as a walking stick, and began to probe the way southeast, the mud reaching their knees, making each step extremely difficult.
Wang Jinqian was helped to her feet by her maid, her pale face showing no sign of fear.
She caught sight of several women cowering and not daring to move, and immediately shouted sternly, "What are you all standing there for? Didn't you hear Lord Shi's orders? Take the medicinal herbs you can carry! These are things that can save lives; losing them would be a sin!"
After saying that, she bent down and picked up a medicine box that wasn't too heavy. Although she staggered, she followed steadily to the side of the group.
The maid exclaimed and tried to snatch it, "Miss! You are of noble birth, how can you do such rough work?"
Wang Jinqian pushed her away, panting, and said, "What time and place are we in now? Why bother with distinguishing between noble branches and jade leaves?"
"These medicinal herbs are related to the lives of countless people; losing them would be a grave sin!"
Carrying her medicine kit, she followed unsteadily to the side of the group, her gaze fixed firmly ahead, giving everyone an invisible strength.
Shi Wanxia saw all of this and felt a growing respect for this delicate Miss Wang.
Despite the excruciating pain in her ribs and the fine beads of cold sweat on her forehead, she kept her back straight and kept shouting to remind everyone: "Watch your step! Keep to the left, the terrain is a bit higher over there! Watch out for falling rocks!"