"Are you Xiao Yi's friends? Have you helped evacuate at the village entrance? Thank you, thank you so much... I'm fine, you don't need to come in and look for me, I'll be out soon."
On the way, after finishing her call, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The rain was so heavy it blurred her vision. She wiped the water from her face and struggled to walk uphill along the slippery bluestone path.
Most people had already evacuated. The owner of the general store, with too much stuff to carry, was dragging a cart downhill with his wife. Seeing her, he shouted, "Girl! Girl, why did you go back? Hurry up, the village chief said everyone needs to evacuate."
"I'm going to get my master's umbrella! Uncle, you go ahead!"
"Don't listen to your master, what umbrella are you getting? Those useless old umbrellas aren't as important as people!"
Xia Wei Liang squinted and shook her head, "No, master said it's the umbrella of Gu Mo Village."
The owner paused, then nodded silently, "Then hurry up!"
"Got it!"
Xia Wei Liang ran a few steps and tripped, her head hitting the wall unexpectedly. The pain made her wince.
But Uncle Qu's house was just ahead. She couldn't afford to feel the pain and quickly got up. The ground was covered in mud, with branches and leaves mixed with sand and stones surging down from the mountain.
She pushed open the door with effort. The rain was getting heavier, pouring down like columns of water. She saw the umbrella, carefully wrapped by Uncle Qu, lying in the courtyard. She quickly went over, found a rope, tied the umbrella, and slung it over her shoulder.
Just as she stepped out the door, the walkie-talkie at her waist crackled to life, "Is anyone there... is anyone left in the village... is anyone trapped at home and needs help..."
It was Lang Yue's voice.
She quickly fumbled for the walkie-talkie, "Lang Yue, this is Xia Wei Liang, I'm here."
The anxious voice crackled intermittently, "Xiao Jinzi is still at home..."
The other end fell silent.
Xia Wei Liang knew the child. She was particularly special.
Xiao Jinzi was a four or five-year-old girl, always dressed in dirty clothes, with a faded hair clip on her head. She often squatted alone by her doorstep playing. Xia Wei Liang had seen her on the way to Uncle Qu's house.
Later, she heard that the child hadn't spoken a word since birth, a mute who could hear. Her parents had completely abandoned her after the birth of a younger brother.
Looking at the floodwaters surging down the mountain, Xia Wei Liang clutched the walkie-talkie and stood still. To her left was the road leading to the village entrance, and to her right was the direction of Xiao Jinzi's house.
She wasn't an immortal, just an ordinary person, and this was her first encounter with such a massive natural disaster. So, she was afraid, she hesitated.
She gripped the walkie-talkie tightly, lowered her head, and walked towards the village entrance, desperately trying to convince herself that she knew nothing, heard nothing, and only needed to get the umbrella.
Everyone had their own destiny. Rebirth was a gift from heaven, and such a precious life wasn't meant for taking risks!
As she walked, she wasn't paying attention and slipped directly into the mud, getting covered all over.
"Ah!"
She sat on the ground, incredibly annoyed.
Finally, she resigned herself to getting up, turned around, and headed for Xiao Jinzi's house.
"I must owe you from a past life! Argh! I'm a reborn person, more precious than a national treasure! And now I have to save someone... Ah! Is there any justice? Why did I bring a walkie-talkie? Why did I have to listen?"
She muttered and ranted, angrily turning into the alley where Xiao Jinzi lived.
There were only a few houses here, all built with similar stone.
She vaguely remembered that where the little girl used to squat playing, there was a wooden post used for tying things.
She finally found the wooden post and directly pushed open the door of the house, calling out loudly, "Xiao Jinzi! Xiao Jinzi!"
The little girl couldn't speak, so she couldn't respond. Xia Wei Liang had no choice but to search room by room.
Water had already entered the house, reaching past her ankles.
Xia Wei Liang was anxious, searching room by room. Even a large house would only have four or five rooms.
Damn it!
She would never be a good person again! If she was going to be someone, she'd be a villainous supporting character who didn't care about others, someone who needed a public celebration for doing an occasional good deed!
Now, look at this. She might not find the child and end up getting herself killed.
But just then, she heard a "meow."
Xia Wei Liang stopped abruptly. Another "meow," audible through the rain, came from the direction of the woodpile.
She hurried over, pushed aside the bamboo poles, and saw the little girl huddled inside, her big eyes looking at her in terror. She was holding the little black cat that was famous in the dog world!
At that moment, Xia Wei Liang felt like crying.
"Why are you hiding here?!"
If it weren't for Xiao Hei's meow, she might have missed the child. The girl couldn't speak or call for help, so the outcome was predictable.
She reached out to pull Xiao Jinzi, but the little girl seemed terrified of her, avoiding her hand and shrinking further inside, trembling.
Time was running out. If the girl didn't cooperate, both of them would be in trouble.
So, she patiently said, "Xiao Jinzi, Auntie is here to help you. Look, the rain is so heavy, and it's so dangerous here. Shall Auntie take you to find Mommy?"
Hearing the word "Mommy," Xiao Jinzi's gaze finally changed.
Xia Wei Liang reached out again. This time, she didn't dodge.
When she picked the child up, she realized how pathetically thin the girl was, weighing no more than two ounces.
In the current situation outside, carrying the child was inconvenient. She happened to spot a woven basket in the courtyard. She placed Xiao Jinzi inside, looked at Xiao Hei, and picked it up to put it in the basket as well. Then, she found an oilcloth to cover them, hung the umbrella around her chest, and prepared to set off!
But as soon as she stepped outside, she realized it was too late.
The floodwaters began to surge into the village, rising past her calves in just a few minutes. Xia Wei Liang forced herself to calm down and made a decisive choice: stay out of the village and head for higher ground.
The mountain path she had taken while helping her master cut bamboo was secluded but higher in elevation, and it could be accessed by绕ing from Xiao Jinzi's house.
She struggled to carry the little girl forward, talking non-stop, whether to comfort the child or herself, "Don't be scared, this is nothing, just a mountain torrent and mudslide, who hasn't encountered a few in their life!"
As she climbed onto the mountain path, Xia Wei Liang looked as if she had been fished out of mud and water. Carrying a child, she felt her waist about to break.
The mountain path was very muddy, and she could slip off at any moment. She had to use both her hands and feet, her palms were scraped raw, the pain piercing.
"Xiao Jinzi, don't be scared, Auntie will take you to a safe place!"
Just as she saw the slope about fifty meters away, rocks began to roll down from the mountain, more and more, and larger and larger.
Xia Wei Liang was startled, her grip loosened, and she slid down abruptly—