Chapter 24.1

The sky above was like a funnel with a hole, the heavy rain making it impossible to keep one’s eyes open.

Yang Guozhu was completely soaked, running barefoot through the village, knocking on doors one by one.

“Water’s rising, hurry up and go!”

“At this point, why are you still carrying boxes?”

“Are you more concerned about two broken quilts or your life?!”

“What are you standing around for, run!”

A woman was holding her child, a man was carrying the family’s belongings, and rainwater was running down their faces, whether it was from the rain or tears.

“My grain!”

“Why doesn’t heaven open its eyes—”

The elderly person who was worried about their grain wanted to go back to save it, but it was impossible to drag it away.

Suddenly, the sound of the heavy rain, the crying of a child, the scolding of a woman, and Yang Guozhu shouting at everyone to flee for their lives filled the air.

At this point, the lower valleys were already flooded, and there was no way to wade through the water from Daqing Mountain to the top.

Gu Sui wanted to find Guan Yue, but he had to take a detour and run all the way from Xiaoqing Mountain.

Now it was already dawn, but inside the mountains it was still quite dark. The trees swayed in the wind and rain, the sound of raindrops hitting the leaves was like a cracking noise, and the dense moisture in the forest made the place look lifeless, unlike its usual vibrant self.

For those with a small heart, looking at the terrifying forest, they probably did not have the courage to walk into the mountains.

Gu Sui found a straw hat in the wooden house, barely enough to keep the rain off so he could keep his eyes open.

After putting on the hat, he ran into the mountains without hesitation.

In the deep mountains, Guan Yue was in an unsettled state.

Her treehouse, Wen Nuan, was dry, but outside the wind and rain were fierce, like an asura field.

With her extraordinary senses, she could feel that the raging torrents had already formed a dangerous situation; she didn’t need to think too hard to know what Qingxi Village looked like below the mountain.

Guan Yue thought about Gu Sui—he was so smart, he should have found a safe place by now, right?

Guan Yue hugged the blanket, turned over, and still couldn’t fall asleep, so she sat up.

“Forget it, let’s just do a good deed for the day.”

She decided to go down to the foot of the mountain and see if she could help.

She probably wouldn’t need to help—she wasn’t dumb; if the valley was flooded, people should be running out of it quickly.

Guan Yue held a wooden stick, her abilities causing it to quickly transform into a raincoat that covered her entire body.

Before going down, she took a look at the piglets. The wood at the bottom of the pigsty had gaps, but after a night of heavy rain, the water that hadn’t drained out was almost reaching the piglets’ bellies.

Guan Yue widened the gaps between the planks so the water could flow out before leaping up onto a tree and running down the mountain.

At the bottom, Yang Guozhu was shouting for the people who were going back to save their belongings to leave. But no one was listening to him.

In the mountains, Gu Sui ran, trying to make his way through, uncertain of the direction. Once again, he turned in circles, anxious, when suddenly a vine flew down from above, wrapping around his waist and lifting him into the air.

Gu Sui let out a sigh of relief as Guan Yue pulled him up, wrapping her arms around his waist and running down the mountain until minutes later they landed in the courtyard of a wooden house.

The two ran inside; Gu Sui was soaked through, while Guan Yue’s shoes were only wet.

Guan Yue shouted at him in a panic, “Are you crazy? Do you know how dangerous it is in a heavy rain in the mountains? It’s lucky I ran into you; otherwise, you’d be finished, do you know that?”

“You know how dangerous the mountains are?” Gu Sui replied. “I was afraid you’d get into trouble and no one would know.”

With a smile, Gu Sui eased the tension in Guan Yue’s heart.

Guan Yue stamped her foot, “With how powerful I am, how could anything happen to me?”

Gu Sui looked at her, “But I worry.”

Guan Yue turned away, not looking at him. In the dimly lit room, there was a hint of pink on her ears.

A flash of lightning illuminated the dark forest, briefly lighting up the room as well. When Guan Yue turned, she saw Gu Sui’s wet and bedraggled appearance.

“Go change your clothes quickly, don’t catch a cold.”

“My body is strong, and for now, I should be fine. I need to go down and check the situation; do you want to stay here, or come with me down the mountain?”

“I’ll stay here.”

Gu Sui was going down to check on the village situation, to see if there was anything he could help with.

After Gu Sui left, Guan Yue climbed up a tree and ran to the right side of the mountain, towards the exit of the valley.

The valley was like a funnel; after the stream swelled, it had turned into a waterfall at the exit, blocking the elderly and children trying to escape, as well as those coming back to save grain.

“What do we do now?”

“Here’s not passable, let’s go up the mountain, cross Xiaoqing Mountain, and head directly to the Qingsong Brigade.”

“No, we can’t do that. The soil on the mountain has already been soaked through; with the things we’re carrying, if we slip, we’ll fall all the way down.”

Gu Sui came running and saw about thirty to forty people, all carrying belongings, blocked at the entrance of the valley.

Yang Guozhu said, “Leave the things behind; let’s swim across—it’s only a few dozen meters from here to the valley’s mouth anyway.”

“I won’t do it! All our summer harvest is here; if we throw away the grain, what will our whole family eat?”

“Exactly, we won’t let it go, no way.”

With the elderly and children already sent to Qingsong Brigade, and with the water still not receding from the mountains, they could only manage to find temporary shelter there. How were they going to find extra food for them?

It was not acceptable to throw away the grain; people preferred to risk their lives. Yang Guozhu was at a loss for words, realizing he couldn’t scold the family, given their mouths to feed.

Just then, across the small stream, from Daqing Mountain came a cracking sound, and a huge tree fell, crashing down towards their position.

Gu Sui noticed first, shouting, “Be careful, everyone, get back!”

A moment later, another tree fell, not too far off, exactly hitting the valley’s mouth.

The two trees formed a triangle—one end was at their standing position, and the other end was at the valley’s mouth.

Gu Sui knew it was likely Guan Yue’s doing. He was the first to climb onto the tree, quickly reaching the other side and then crossing the valley’s mouth via another tree.

“Why are you waiting? Hurry up!” Yang Guozhu shouted, urging everyone to get up and start climbing.

Once everyone had made it to the valley’s mouth, Gu Sui finally let out a sigh of relief. He looked towards the right side of Daqing Mountain, then turned to follow everyone down.

Guan Yue returned to the wooden house, using her abilities to reinforce the walls with planks, making it even more secure. Then, she lit a brazier inside to dispel the dampness in the room and warm the space a bit.

In the Qingsong Brigade area, the people from Qingxi Village were settled. Those with relatives stayed with them, while those without moved to the Educated Youth point, the brigade office, or the grain storage room for temporary shelter.

Qingxi Village had fewer than forty households, and it settled quickly.

After getting soaked in the rain, many of the elderly and children, who weren’t in good health, caught colds and fevers. Gu Sui and the Barefoot Doctor from Qingsong Brigade were busy treating people.

“Do we still have medicine for fever?”

“Yes, I have some left,” Yang Guozhu pulled out a bottle from his bag and handed it over quickly.

While others went to fetch grain, Yang Guozhu was preoccupied only with bringing back the exchanged medicine—he didn’t care about anything else.

When Yang Guozhu had come over earlier, his wife had been complaining about him.

After giving the child medicine, Gu Sui hurriedly handed over a glass of water: “Make sure the child drinks plenty of hot water.”

“Thanks, Doctor Gu.”

“Don’t mention it.”

At that moment, two young men, completely soaked, ran in: “We just took a look, the valley is completely flooded. When we came out, even the big tree that was blocking the valley’s entrance was washed away by the water.”

“Oh dear, the flood is that bad? It’s a good thing we ran early.”

“Speaking of which, those two trees really helped us out.”

“Yeah, without those two trees, we would have been trapped in the valley.”

“Maybe it was the old mountain goddess who saved us again.”

“Come on, the mountain temple was flooded. If the goddess really was that powerful, there wouldn’t be floods.”

“What are you saying? The old mountain goddess tried her best. She’s just a local deity; what can she do when the heavens decide to send rain?”

“Right, Zhang, you’ve got a point there.”

Zhang, feeling pleased, replied, “Exactly, our mountain temple is still effective!”

Gu Sui, who was checking the pulse of a child, couldn’t help but think of Guan Yue, wondering if she had stayed obediently in the wooden house.

The Li family ran out of the valley in the rain. When they reached the brigade office, they were taken in by the He family and decided to stay with them.

After Li Tao finished her shower and changed into dry clothes, she suddenly remembered something.

“Oops, Guan Yue is still up on the mountain.”

Lin Haiyin became anxious, asking, “Do you think she’ll be okay?”

Zhang Cuihua reassured them, “She’ll be fine. She’s been living in the mountains for a long time; she must know what she’s doing. Since she hasn’t come down, it means she’s okay.”

Li Da added, “She should be fine. The wooden house is so high up, even if there’s a flood, it shouldn’t reach there.”

Li Tao still felt uneasy, “I just want the rain to stop so I can go back and check on Guan Yue. Gu Sui’s down now, and Guan Yue’s up there alone; she must be scared.”

The family sat together as Li Da’s father looked out at the heavy rain, “The grain at our field is ruined, no hope for the autumn harvest now.”

Li Da said, “Once the rain stops and the flood waters recede, we should plant again; maybe we can get one more crop in.”

“What if it rains again?”

Everyone turned to look at He Wen, who had spoken up.

He Wen scratched his head, “It’s not impossible. The valley is usually fine, but with rains like these, there could be flash floods and landslides—living here is too dangerous.”

“Shouldn’t it be okay? We haven’t seen this much water very often.”

“You can never be too sure,” He Wen replied.

Discussions about the flood weren’t just happening in the Li family. The people temporarily staying at the brigade office and the storage room were also discussing their future.

While most of the village’s houses were made of stone and weren’t at risk from rain, continuing like this wasn’t sustainable.

Maybe they should move to Qingsong Brigade?

This conversation wasn’t new—there had been talk about it before, but no one had really taken action. Now it was time to have a serious discussion.

Yang Guozhu asked, “Zhao Er Ye, you’re the most respected in Qingxi Village; what do you think?”

Zhao Er Ye, with his cloudy eyes wide open, replied, “If you’re asking my opinion, I think we should move.”

Someone offered a counterpoint, “If we move out, the others in Qingsong Brigade won’t agree; the issues with food and housing will become complicated.”

Yang Guozhu thought for a moment, considering the move as an option.

The Qingsong Brigade has a large piece of wasteland near Xiaoqing Mountain. If they could clear the land, it would be enough for these people to plant crops. As for the houses, if they’re not afraid of hard work, they can demolish the original stone houses in Qingxi Village and move the stones out to rebuild them.

“Opening up new land doesn’t take time? The yield from the wasteland in recent years can’t compare to that of established land.”

“We are originally from the Qingsong Brigade; they dare not ignore us.”

People inside the house were talking noisily, creating a lot of commotion.

Yang Guozhu stood up, “Quiet down first. Once the rain stops, we’ll call everyone else together and have a vote to decide whether to move. If we really decide to move, we’ll discuss how to handle it properly.”

Among the people here now, more seemed to support moving out of Qingxi Village.

Gu Sui finished examining the last patient, stood up, and stretched his back. If everyone agrees to move out, as the barefoot doctor from Qingxi Village, he would definitely need to move out. What about Guan Yue?

Would she move?

Given her temperament, he guessed it was highly unlikely that she would move out.

During the anxious wait, as the rain gradually subsided at noon, everyone couldn’t help but feel joyous.

“Let’s go back and see if the water level has gone down.”

Of course, it hadn’t—the rain may have stopped, but the water on the mountain hadn’t finished draining, and the water level in the valley was still rising.