叭哒漫画

The area primarily affected by the landslide was the front half of West Mountain Village and the road leading into the village, with the back half untouched; the village houses and roads in the back remained intact.

Due to the complex geography of West Mountain Village, the residents live scattered about, making it impossible to determine the extent of the casualties from a bird’s-eye view.

Wei Ruo and Wei Jinyi entered the village with their men and saw people wearing soldier’s armor digging. At the same time, the villagers were also busy digging with their own hoes, spades, and anything they could use.

We Ruo caught hold of a soldier and asked about the situation; “What’s the current situation? How many people were buried? Who are they?”

“Well… apart from General Qian and Deputy General Xu, everyone else is here. When the second landslide happened, General Qian sensed something wrong and ordered us to evacuate to the back village. Therefore, everybody is basically safe.” The soldier answered Wei Ruo’s questions.

Wei Mingting and Wei Jinyi had made the same judgement, as the area in the back village where the bamboo plants were cultivated was unlikely to be prone to landslides, making it relatively safe.

We Ruo continued asking: “Where are General Qian and Deputy General Xu?”

“Before the second landslide, some locals told us that there were still two families in the valley, General Qian, aware of the danger, chose to go rescue them. Deputy General Xu, worried, followed along. Then the landslide happened, and as of now… we have not found them yet…”

Wei Mingting and Xu Zhengyong had both gone missing…

“Where exactly in the valley?” Wei Ruo asked.

“It’s roughly that area over there. We have a few brothers who have gone over to investigate. However, since we are uncertain about the exact location General Qian and Deputy General Xu were at the time, we could only search the area blindly,” the soldier answered.

Wei Mingting, who led a rescue team of a hundred people yesterday, has left half of the squad to help the villagers clear the road while the other half had gone to search the valley.

We Ruo turned her head to Wei Jinyi, “Second brother.”

“Let’s go,” Wei Jinyi responded without much ado, turning to lead the group of porters he had brought along to the direction of the valley.

###

Meanwhile, the news of the accident involving Wei Mingting reached the Military Prefecture.

Upon hearing the news, Mrs. Yun almost fainted.

Wei Yichen and Wei Qingwan, realizing the gravity of the situation, rushed to Cangyun Garden. Wei Qingwan cared for Mrs. Yun, while Wei Yichen took charge of the situation.

The first thing Mrs. Yun did when she woke up was ask about Wei Mingting’s condition: “Yichen, where is your father?”

Wei Yichen’s face turned grave, “Mother, calm down, the Prefecture has already sent out people to West Mountain Village for a search. The Government Office has also sent help. We should receive some news soon.”

“So, we’ve not found him yet?” Whether he is dead or alive, they still don’t know! Mrs. Yun’s face turned pale, “Landslides are extremely dangerous. If someone gets buried underneath, it’s incredibly difficult to survive!”

Wei Yichen didn’t know how to respond. For he himself didn’t know how to comfort his mother, he too felt incredibly heavy-hearted at that moment.

Wei Qingwan consoled Mrs. Yun: “Mother, don’t worry. They say misfortune never strikes in one place where a man’s heart is. Even the brutal Japanese pirates were unable to harm father; he will not be struck down so easily!”

Mrs. Yun shook her head. Wei Qingwan’s words didn’t bring her any comfort. She knew very well, the brutality of the Japanese pirates and the horrors of nature disasters were completely different.

“Yichen, gather all the male servants in the Mansion to go looking, all of them! None is to stay in the Mansion,” Mrs. Yun instructed.

She could not consider anything else, she only wished for her husband to return safely!

“Mother, I understand your feelings, but I’ve already sent out anyone I could. Those left in the mansion are all old, as well as the women,” Wei Yichen explained.

“What should we do then? Yichen, tell me, what should we do now?” Mrs. Yun’s eyes turned red with panic.

“Mother, I’ll be paying the County Government a visit and talk to Magistrate Qian, to see if we can get more people sent to West Mountain Village. Without father’s presence, it would require the Deputy General’s command to mobilize the stationed soldiers. However, the current Deputy General is new and I am not familiar with him, hence I would need Magistrate Qian’s assistance.”

Wei Yichen, though worried and anxious, retained his composure.

“Okay, okay, just do as you suggested, quickly go!” Mrs. Yun urged him.

Having lost all initiative, she could only follow her son’s arrangement.

Wei Yichen was about to leave but not before he reminded Wei Qingwan to take care of their mother: “Wanwan, mother is upset; you should keep her company, try and console her.”

“I understand.” Wei Qingwan nodded, then immediately asked, “Big brother, will father be able to return safely?”

Wei Qingwan understood that her father was the backbone of the family. If something were to happen to their father, the Military Prefecture would collapse.

Wei Qingwan couldn’t imagine their life and her life, without her father.

Wei Yichen couldn’t answer her question: “I don’t know. All I can do now is to put in all our efforts to rescue father. Before that, I cannot afford to think about this question.”

After giving Wei Qingwan a few instructions, Wei Yichen headed towards the Government Office.

###

In the valley of West Mountain Village, about seventy to eighty people were spread out, conducting a carpet search for the whereabouts of Wei Mingting and Xu Zhengyong.

Wei Jinyi kept close to Wei Ruo, maintaining a certain distance from her.

The valley had complex terrain and on top of that, it had experienced a landslide, so any place was subject to possible collapse. Indeed, danger lurked around every corner.

After walking for a while, Wei Ruo stopped.

After projecting her father’s habits, she knew, as he had sensed the possibility of another landslide and had judged the back part of the village planted with bamboo to be relatively safe, he must also have taken a comparatively safe route when going in and out of the valley.

Wei Ruo looked around, putting herself in Wei Mingting’s shoes. If she were Wei Mingting, how would she have gotten in and out of the valley, how would she have reached the two households needing assistance and how would she have retreated?

Wei Jinyi stood behind Wei Ruo, refraining from disturbing her.

After a while, Wei Ruo suddenly sprang to her feet, running towards one direction. Wei Jinyi followed closely behind.

Wei Ruo went in the direction of the western mountains. After approximately an hour’s journey, she suddenly stopped.

She noticed something among a pile of rocks and mud. Immediately, she ran to inspect it.

“This is Brother Xiaoyong’s dagger!” At first glance, Wei Ruo saw a hilt. But after digging it out, it was a complete dagger.

“Are you sure?” Wei Jinyi asked.

“Positive, this is the dagger I had custom made for Brother Xiaoyong!” Wei Ruo responded with certainty.

“I will call some people over.” Wei Jinyi summoned a few porters over.

The men were very deferential towards Wei Jinyi. At his command, they began working quickly and efficiently.

Wei Ruo stood on the side, her mind in turmoil. They had been buried for some time now. It was very possible that even if they were dug out, they would be dead….