Chapter Seventy-One: Rescue

  Heavy rain poured down, and it was unknown when it would stop. The entire river of Jiangjiang was surging, and the water in Quanhe River was also turbulent. Yang Yunqiu looked down from the top of the car, and after scanning, he found 13 sections that were bound to burst under the current water pressure, as well as more than 20 sections that might burst. The entire embankment was severely shoddy.

  "Dolly exclaimed in surprise: 'Who has such a big nerve, daring to do such a thing!'"

  It's not surprising, Tian Shui Town is too small, and the dam here must have been neglected by many people. Over the years, the imperial court has repaired it, but only in areas where the provinces are located, as for Tian Shui Town, the river has always been calm, even when there was heavy rain in previous years, during the flood season, the rivers here were also gentle. The town of Tian Shui relies on the river for water, and for decades, they have never encountered any danger, not even the local people thought that the river they relied on for their livelihood would one day take their lives.

  "Master, is there any way to save it?"

  Zhou Dali was also from a poor family and didn't have the heart to ignore someone in distress, but on one condition: he absolutely couldn't afford to offend his own master. "If it's not going to work out, why don't we leave quickly before things get messy?"

  Anyway, our family's master's mount can fly and run, no need for a bridge.

  Yang Yunqiu smiled wryly: "The riverbank is beyond salvation, but we should still try to save the people."

  In fact, he could spend his spiritual power to build a section of stone dam. With his current cultivation, this was not a difficult task, but it was only a small part. Wanting the entire Mengjiang River to be safe and sound was absolutely impossible.

  Unless it is a high-ranking person who has reached the realm of longevity and long-sightedness, possessing the great power to change heaven and earth.

  He is now blocking Tianshui Town like this, and the upstream and downstream counties will breach faster. We can't ignore the lives of others just for this town.

  "This is the wrath of nature, even gods can't control it."

  Yang Yunqiu climbed onto the vehicle, took a look at the folding operation platform in the back seat, thought for a moment, and said, "Let's go back to Tianshui Town. I'll contact Wang Yi and have him return to Earth first. This time, we might need support from that side."

  He now wants life jackets the most, but if he synthesizes materials and makes them himself, the consumption of spiritual power is too great, and there is no way to let everyone in Quan Tian Shui Town wear life jackets in the shortest time.

  Let the other side of the earth transport goods for him, although there will be aftereffects such as changes in time flow speed, it won't have a big impact, and it's better than watching the great merits in front of you but can't do anything.

  Back in Tianshui Town, Li Shanshan was still desperately persuading the local townspeople to go with her to higher ground, but most people didn't believe her. It wasn't until County Magistrate himself had suffered this disaster that some people thought Situ Jun might not be making a fuss over nothing, and opened their mouths. When County Magistrate spoke up, a portion of the residents half-believed and packed up their belongings to temporarily flee to higher ground.

  There are still a group of stubborn old men and women who don't listen to anything, according to their words, Tianshui Town has not had any major events for decades, this year's rain is abnormal, more severe than the summer flood season, it's not that there haven't been any before, they're not afraid at all.

  Li Shan couldn't think of anything else to do and when she saw Yang Yunqiu, her eyes were already red with tears.

  Yang Yunqiu cried and laughed: "I said Li Shanshan, you do your best, do what you can, it's okay if others don't listen, you can be at peace with yourself, why cry?"

  "First, take away those who are willing to leave. You guys collect more food and warm clothing. These people are unwilling and have no choice, after all, there must be a distinction between light and heavy... There is only two hours' time, two hours later, everyone will gather near the wine building on the east side. Only the east side has a three-story high wine building, which is also made of stone and more solid. The earthen houses and wooden houses below are really not reliable."

  Zhou Dali was very obedient and honestly followed the young master to buy supplies, trying his best to buy as much as possible. He also persuaded those old people who were willing to evacuate to bring some useful things with them, such as gold, silver, jewels, antiques, and ornaments. Unfortunately, there were few people willing to do so, and those who did always brought the most valuable items from their homes.

  Yang Yunqiu also saw a family of over ten people, with large and small boxes, carrying a huge pile of antique jade artifacts.

  Situ Jun and the people from Tianquan Building were actually the ones who believed that a flood would occur in Tianshui Town. Jin Xiuren, despite his old age, grabbed Situ Jun's collar and shook him violently, trying to force him to reveal where he had hidden the two boats.

  "You really think I just hid the boat?"

  Situ Jun sneered, "I want all of you to be buried with our Situ family. What's the point of having a boat?"

  Jin Xiuciai was so angry that he almost fainted.

  The county magistrate sent more than a dozen yamen runners under his command to search around, but nothing was found. He also wanted the yamen runners who were good at swimming to take a wooden raft and go upstream to seek help from nearby prefectures and counties.

  Tianshui Town is a small town, and the county government's manpower was originally scarce. With such heavy rain and rapid water flow, several people who were good at swimming tried to go out but couldn't make it.

  Zhou Dali collected a lot of grain and put it in the car, also brought people who were willing to believe them, tried to get a lot of wooden boards, made into rafts, but now most of the common people did not believe, even those who were half-believing and half-doubting, were unwilling to dismantle their houses to make such rafts, anyway, it was a mess, and progress was very slow.

  Yang Yunqiu didn't bother with such trivial matters, he rented a room upstairs and made his own preparations.

  Time passed by the minute, Li Shanshan replaced Yang Yunqiu, directing Zhou Dali and others to fight for every second, anyway, what could be done, should be done, had all been done with all one's might.

  In the afternoon, Yang Yunqiu went from her house to a high-end suite on the third floor of Tianxiang Building for dinner. At this time, there was no one outside the entire Tianxiang Building, and even the shopkeeper had gone up to the third floor into his own permanent guest room. The guests were all going home, and those who had squeezed onto the top floor to take refuge had also squeezed upstairs.

  Nowadays the house is full of familiar people, so he didn't avoid it and casually took out a lot of life jackets, life rings, a pile of inflatable rafts and lifeboats.

  The county magistrate and the people of Tianshui Town were all surprised, but they were worried that Yang Yunqiu was a person who often went out, carrying strange things with him, but they seemed to be very useful.

  "I'm here to demonstrate for you, everyone put on their life jackets." Yang Yunqiu distributed the items and taught them one by one how to wear the life jacket and use the lifeboat.

  "And there are these backpacks." Yang Yuqiu pointed to the double-shoulder backpacks on the ground and said, "After all, it's a flood, and we don't know what kind of situation will happen. Who knows, if we're not careful, we might get separated, and even if there's food in the car, we can't eat it. This kind of backpack is waterproof, you all carry it on your body, inside are two large bars of chocolate, a bottle of water, and a first-aid kit, each medicine has instructions attached, and a flashlight... uh, it's a kind of lighting lamp, I'm afraid it's too heavy, affecting your reaction speed, there aren't many things, but at critical moments, they can save lives."

  Yang Yunqiu also opened her backpack and showed off the things inside, mainly to tell Zhou Dali and his gang of underlings in this era how to use them.

  There were also the county magistrate and those several residents of Tianshui Town who had been fooled by Sutu Jun, who were lucky enough to be treated with Zhou Dali and others. These people had some trust in Yang Yunqiu and were willing to listen to him.

  Everything has been settled, and the crowd is shouting to leave. In the past when there was a wooden raft, they wanted to leave, but the wind and rain outside were too strong, and they hesitated a bit. Now with this lifeboat and life jackets, where's the reason not to leave?

  At least County Magistrate Yang Yunqiu didn't even discuss it with anyone, and took a lifeboat to leave with his entourage who could protect him, while everyone else also had to leave.

  Li Shan-shan frowned: "Others may leave, but County Magistrate, you are the parent of the people's livelihood in Tianshui Town. In this situation, do you think it is appropriate for you to just walk away?"

  The county magistrate also seemed a bit embarrassed, but with a straight face: "I've reminded them of what they should be reminded of, but I'm just a low-ranking official and the whole government office only has a dozen or so people. Those ordinary people won't listen to me, what can I do? Should I stay here and wait for death?"

  As for Jin Xiuciai and his group, they had long been desperately tying their belongings to themselves, afraid of losing anything, let alone caring about others.

  Yang Yunqiu pulled Li Shanshan, smiled and said: "Let them go, although the water is rushing now, it's a bit dangerous to walk like this, but it's better than staying here waiting for the flood."

  After finishing speaking, he sat down and slowly ate a few mouthfuls of the rice cooked by Li Shanshan, ignoring all this.

  But unexpectedly, Situ Jun, who had already been tied up by the others, suddenly broke free from his restraints. He kicked one foot against the large door and leaned against it, coldly smiling: "I won't be able to stop anyone else from leaving, but you people, if you dare take a step back, don't blame me for making sure we all perish together."

  The county magistrate was suddenly shocked and angry: "Do you think you can cover the sky with one hand? What are you waiting for, hurry up and take him down?"

  Under his command, more than a dozen yamen runners rushed forward. Unexpectedly, without seeing any movement from Situ Jun, the group of people fell to the ground with a thud. Yang Yunqiu took a glance and saw that this person was quite cautious in his actions. Not one of them had a serious injury, just some bruises and scrapes, so she didn't bother with them.

  A group of people were stunned, wanting to escape from the window, but as soon as Little King moved, Sut Jun used a chopstick to pierce his toe, causing him to scream in pain, and everyone was shocked.

  And it's on the third floor, not easy to get down.

  "What exactly do you want?"

  Situ Jun shrugged: "I don't think so, it's just that I'm very unhappy and want to play with you guys."

  Yang Yunqiu smiled and ignored the dispute, seriously stuffing food into her own mouth, and also said to Zhou Dali: "Wait a minute, we still need to check the situation of the dam. If we can find something to reinforce it in advance, maybe we can gain some time."

  After finishing speaking, he turned his head to look at Situ Jun: "Situ, you won't drive me away, will you?"

  Situ Jun's face was expressionless: "It seems like even if I wanted to block Gongzi's path, it wouldn't be that easy."

  Just then, Yang Yunqiu hadn't left yet, his rice bowl still in hand, when he heard a loud rumbling sound, followed by several earth-shaking crashes. Zhou Dali quickly ran to the window. At this time, the sun had already set behind the mountains, but under the moonlight, one could still see the floodwaters rushing in, covering the entire sky. In an instant, the water had submerged half of the building.

  Everyone upstairs, except for Situ Jun, was stunned. Jin Xiucan sat on the ground with a thud, his face pale and white, crying with a nose full of snot and tears: "It's all over, everything is over. I'm an old man at the end of my life, and yet I still have to die by drowning."

  Mr. Zhao and his wife were also huddled together, shivering with fear.

  They were still okay, but Zhou Dali heard cries of surprise from not far away, and outside the window, there were people who accidentally fell down and struggled desperately in the floodwaters, including men, women, and children.

  Yang Yunqiu sighed, put down the bowl and chopsticks in her hand, turned her head to entrust Li Shanshan: "Our car can float on the water surface, you get on the car first. Er Ya, take good care of Miss Biao."

  Seeing Li Shanshan nodding seriously, he grabbed a leather raft and threw it onto the water surface, throwing several more down, taking Zhou Dali to jump down, just falling on the leather raft. Zhou Dali also helped, tying all the leather rafts together.

  "Don't get too close, a little farther away is more flexible, after all this is not a river channel, but a street."

  Zhou Dali nodded heavily.

  Yang Yunqiu saw that the preparations were almost done and smiled: "Let's go."

  Just standing on the skin of the building, the spiritual energy is circulating, and it will flow upwards. When they came down, the water only flooded half a floor, but in just one turn of an eye, the water surface had already flooded an entire floor.

  "Help! Save me!"

  Everywhere was full of cries for help.

  Yang Yunqiu walked along the way, first rescuing the elderly and weak who had fallen into the water. When he saw young men with good swimming skills, he threw them a life ring. He used a small air cylinder the size of his palm to inflate it, but the speed was extremely fast, and it was done in the blink of an eye. The ordinary people on the lower levels might think it's some kind of treasure, without thinking much about it. If people from all over the world saw this, they would definitely ask where to buy such a convenient air cylinder.

  Zhou Dali followed the orders of his young master, took the horn and shouted loudly: "Everyone, everyone, don't panic, those who are good at swimming should find some high ground, climbing onto buildings or trees is also okay, bring more dry rations, don't take those heavy and useless items."

  He shouted all the way past, and many people really settled down.

  The flood swept through, and the original residents of the town were all frightened. Those who understood the water situation let the big water rush in, and they were also dizzy, soon forgetting how to respond. Now that someone has stood up to direct, the situation has improved a bit.

  Yang Yunqiu went back and forth three times, the raft was full, and they were all sent to the top floor of Tianxiang Building. The Tianxiang Building is the largest wine house in the entire Tianshui Town, with a solid foundation, stone house, most solid, and relatively safe. The third floor has a rooftop with a very wide area, just the kind of suite that can accommodate more than ten people, there are over ten suites, which is the most suitable place to take refuge.

  The floodwaters quickly submerged the entire town of Tianshui.

  Li Da was hugging a large wooden barrel floating on the water, his mother sat on it, he had no choice but to look at his mother's pale and terrified face, Li Da hated himself so much that he wanted to kill himself.

  Bai Tianxian Zun sent people to all directions saying that Tianshui Town was about to face a flood, he was half-believing and half-doubting, even thinking of packing up his things, locking the door the next day, and taking his mother to evacuate, but didn't expect to delay for just this short while, which led to his own mother being trapped in the disaster.

  "Son, come here and rest for a while, don't bother about your mother."

  The wooden tub was not big, just enough for washing clothes. His mother sat alone on it, already quite cramped. Li Da, although exhausted and stiff in his hands and feet, almost unable to hold on, refused to get on. He opened his mouth, took a mouthful of mud and sand, and sank down with a gurgle, scaring the old lady into wailing: "Son, come up, quick!"

  "Mother, don't move." Li Da gritted his teeth, wanting to grab the wooden bucket even tighter. A wave hit him in the face, instantly sweeping him into the water. Li Da's mind went blank, and he heard his mother's heart-wrenching wails. He vaguely saw his sixty-year-old mother plunge into the water.

  Li's heart was broken!

  He blacked out for a moment, and through the roar of the waves, he heard a cheer from not far away.

  With a splash, a circular ring was thrown in front of him and floated on the water's surface. He instinctively reached out to grab it, his entire body sticking to it, managing to keep his head above water. Then he saw a bright lamp not far away, getting closer and closer until it was right in front of him. To his surprise, it was a small, strange-looking boat with a young man standing on it, dressed elegantly.

  The young man bent down and stretched out his hand, pulling his mother up close.

  "Mother, mother."

  The young master looked around and saw the small boat approaching, with several arms stretching out to pull him aboard. Li Da hugged his mother tightly and burst into loud sobs.

  "Hey, hey, save me first, save my life!"

  Cries for help kept coming from the side, Li Da followed the sound and saw Old Chen from the coffin shop sitting on a branch of a big tree by the shore waving at him, the branch was already close to the water surface.

  When he heard his voice, the boat drew near.

  He stretched out his hand to pull Old Man Chen, but unexpectedly, the old man leaned this way and the strange little boat sank down. He was so frightened that he let go of his hand, and Old Man Chen slipped away, his face pale with rage, cursing: "Li Da, you want to kill me, don't you!"

  Yang Yunqiu shook his head, he had encountered this kind of thing several times before. This time, without him saying a word, a saucy little girl on the lifeboat shouted: "Old Chen, if you don't want to stay on the tree and wait for the water to recede, then throw away those heavy things wrapped around your body! Our boat is only this big, where do we have the strength to carry all that stuff?"

  "Throw them away? Throw away all my stuff? I'd rather die! An old man's life savings are all here. Without these things, even if we escape the flood, how will we survive in the future?"

  Everyone on and off the ship was silent.

  Li Da also wiped away tears, their family's home was also lost, the value of the broken house was tens of thousands, without a home, how could he support his mother in her old age?

  Yang Yunqiu frowned and also threw a life ring to Old Man Chen: "Put your things on it, tie them up with rope and pull it as you go, losing is fatal."

  There is no other way, can only be so.

  Just as they were talking, a big wave came over and Old Man Chen was swept away by the water and disappeared. Yang Yaqiu didn't think twice, threw out a life ring, stepped on it and slid forward, bent down and grabbed hold of the old man's arm, but his weight was not light, even Yang Yaqiu couldn't pull him up, the entire life ring sank downwards with a thud.

  Everyone gasped in unison, and the crows fell silent.