Edited by Lord Immortal
Some people who ran fast came back earlier than others while shouting in the rain.
Xie Mengxuan also heard the words, and her face turned pale. She wondered about the landslide; did it really break the path to the outside world? Was it so severe?
"Anyway, I can"t leave, but what about Geng Zhishan? He went out before the mudslide. Where is he now? Why hasn"t he come back?"
Xie Mengxuan came down at that moment and wandered back and forth under the eaves. There was no message from Geng Zhishan and Gu Yusheng. The villagers came back one after another, and each of them was counting his cereal at home. Even if the heavy rain could stop tomorrow, the road was cut off, and they were doomed to be trapped for a while. It was always wise to make good plans in advance.
Xie Mengxuan waited anxiously. She didn"t care about counting her food stockpile because she understood that only when people were safe could they be useful.
Shortly afterward, Gu Yusheng returned while limping with the help of Uncle Luo. When he went out, he was neat and tidy, but now, his body was full of mud, and his hat and coat were lost.
Xie Mengxuan stood under the eaves and eagerly asked, "Brother Gu, are you OK?"
With the aid of Uncle Luo, he entered the house. Xie Mengxuan immediately found a clean towel for him. Although she was anxious, she still said patiently, "Please change your clothes first."
After that, she went to the kitchen to make a bowl of ginger soup. She had never done this before, but she was smart. She carefully cut ginger silk, poured water in the pot, put ginger silk, and then brown sugar in it. After doing all this, she had difficulties in lighting up a fire.
Xie Mengxuan was embarra.s.sed because she hadn"t made a fire yet, even after Gu Yusheng changed his clothes.
Gu Yusheng came to the kitchen and saw that her face was dirty with soot. He could not help wiping it for her with a smile. "You shouldn"t do these things, and you are not supposed to ignite a fire. Come out of the kitchen."
Xie Mengxuan smiled bitterly and stood up to pat the dust on his clothes. "It looks easy, but it"s hard in reality."
"That"s not what your delicate fingers are for." Gu Yusheng pinched her hand and played a joke when she was embarra.s.sed.
Xie Mengxuan felt a little strange, so she changed the topic and said, "Brother Gu, what"s going on outside?"
Her movements were natural, and she looked calm, but her hands behind her back seemed conspicuous.
Gu Yusheng withdrew his eyes. "The rain lasted for the whole night, causing the dam upstream to break down. The current flowed downstream as a result. Adding in the storm, the small forest at the hillside was uprooted. The loosened soil, without the protection of these trees, gave rise to mudslides.
"If it had only rained last night, it would not have caused such a bad situation, but it is said there was a thunderstorm a few days ago." Gu Yusheng said slowly.
Xie Mengxuan thought about it for a while, and the scene where Aunt Cui came to the cabin in the rain flashed in her mind. She said firmly, "Yes, I remember it; there was a heavy rain indeed."
Gu Yusheng nodded. "So it"s reasonable. Two short periods of heavy rain in a row would cause such disasters."
Xie Mengxuan walked to the doorway worriedly with her fingers clenched. Her expression was complex as she looked at the door to the yard, "We have to wait until the rain stops and the road is cleared up. Only by then can we leave."
Gu Yusheng stood behind her, taking a deep breath. When Xie Mengxuan came to herself, she asked, "How did you become so muddy?"
Gu Yusheng"s face changed slightly but then smiled and pretended to be normal, "I had a bad fall accidentally, so I was hurt."
Xie Mengxuan stepped in front of him and asked with concern, "Is there something wrong with you? Now, we can"t leave because of the bad weather. It seems that our plans will be delayed for a few more days."
Gu Yusheng shook his head, "It"s all right to wait a couple more days. But if it is more than three days, we have to leave for Imperial Capital even if it is an arduous journey."
Three days was their time limit. Xie Mengxuan had not received any messages from the Imperial Capital, and she was worried inside but could not show it.
She bowed her head and sighed, "Geng Zhishan hasn"t returned yet. What"s wrong with him?"
She did not ask Gu Yusheng about Geng Zhishan as she knew that they didn"t get along well with each other.
The sky was gloomy, so the time could not be judged. But according to the pa.s.sage of time, it would soon be lunch. At about noon, Geng Zhishan came back with some fish in his hand and a big bag on his back.
Xie Mengxuan calmed down when she saw him. She didn"t need to worry about him anymore, but she said in a hurry, "Why did you go out for so long? Don"t you know there are some people at home? You didn"t know that you should come back early. Just have a look. What did you bring here? Why don"t you care about yourself in such heavy rain?"
Geng Zhishan was stunned. He placed the things down, wiped the rainwater on his face, and said with a smile, "Darling, are you concerned about me?"
Xie Mengxuan was enraged, "Call me Xie Mengxuan!"
Although Xie Mengxuan was furious like a stepmother, Geng Zhishan still smiled and said, "They call you Xuan"er, but I would like to call you Mengmeng."
Xie Mengxuan felt speechless. She had something to say, but she stopped to wave her hand instead. It was just a name, and she did not care that much. But there were few people who called her Mengmeng except her two brothers.
"Whatever." Xie Mengxuan finished and turned back to the house.
Geng did not look at Gu Yusheng. He went to the kitchen to prepare lunch. He had brought back some rice with him earlier. But no one knew where he got the food from, which could sustain them for at least two days.
People hoped that heavy rain would stop on the second day. After all, there was a weakening trend in the evening, but the next morning, the downpour was even more torrential.
The rainstorm lasted for three days in a row. Although Gu Yusheng said that three days was his limit, the rumbles of thunder were so clear that it made him feel frightened. He knew that it was not so easy to depart.
After three days of heavy rain, the house was too moist and sultry to cope with. Gu Yusheng and Xie Mengxuan stood together and watched the falling droplets. He whispered while peering outside, "Xuan"er, do you think something is wrong here?"
"Maybe it"s just a coincidence." Xie Mengxuan actually had this nagging feeling, but she couldn"t find any evidence. So she could only explain it with an accident.
Buzz
A harsh buzzing sound came into her ears. Xie Mengxuan felt uncomfortable and immediately covered her ears. She glanced at Gu Yusheng, who was also suffering.
"What"s going on? What"s this noise?"
Xie Mengxuan had a headache when she heard the voice. She could hardly stand steadily, even while holding the post.
Geng Zhishan came out of the small house aside and staggered to the doorway without saying anything. As soon as he opened the door, he saw an open s.p.a.ce in the village not far from his house. All the villagers rotated something which looked like the objects of Lama in their hands, and the crowd shouted to the sky.
"Please don"t cry, Mountain G.o.d."