Chapter 27: Surviving a Great Disaster
“Ah He, I never thought you’d agree to travel with us!”
“Haha! The homebody is finally embracing the world! Congrats, congrats~”
“Ah He, take this chance to find a girlfriend!”
A few men in modern clothes were joking around with him. Each of them carried a large backpack and held a plane ticket.
Why are they here…
Who is Ah He?
Ah, right, Ah He is me. My past self… Qi Xiao’s past self…
His mind was a mess, and his body ached so much it didn’t feel like his own.
“Ah He!”
The scene shifted again, and his vision plunged into darkness.
He could hear the commotion outside, and someone calling his name urgently, but all around him was darkness.
Right, this was the scene before he died, a scene he would never forget.
The mountains had collapsed, the earth was shaking, tall buildings were toppling, and screams were everywhere. He was crushed under the rubble of a building, slowly, slowly feeling his life slip away.
Just hold on a little longer, the rescue team is almost here, he repeated to himself over and over. He realized that besides begging for rescue, he had no one to miss. No parents, no lover, and his friends were all just passersby. Heh, how did he end up so miserable…
Alone in a small, oppressive space, the pain in his body gradually went numb, then slowly disappeared. He could clearly feel his strength being drained away, his life being taken…
“Qi Xiao… Qi Xiao…”
He felt something wet on his neck.
“Qi Xiao… I’m begging you, don’t die… please…”
Someone was crying.
Qi Xiao’s eyes snapped open.
Seeing him staring at her with wide eyes, Fu Yunzhi’s tears flowed even more freely. He could barely speak through his sobs. “Qi Xiao… Qi Xiao, you’re okay…”
“Yunzhi…”
The only response was the sound of choked sobs.
“Yunzhi… Yunzhi… Yunzhi…” Qi Xiao was already holding him, and now he tightened his embrace, even though the pain in his back was almost tearing him apart.
The boulder was pressing down on Qi Xiao, and Qi Xiao was pressing down on Fu Yunzhi. It was still dark all around, but Qi Xiao knew that this time was different.
Waves of pain washed over him. He felt that several bones in his back must be broken… no, they were probably all broken.
Although Fu Yunzhi had been well-protected by Qi Xiao, he was still injured. He trembled with pain, thinking, If I’m like this, then isn’t Qi Xiao in even more pain? He noticed that Qi Xiao was twitching slightly, his teeth grinding. And so, the tears that had gradually subsided when he saw him wake up, now gushed out again.
It was the first time Qi Xiao had seen Fu Yunzhi cry, and so wretchedly at that. His heart ached, but more than that, he was shocked.
“Yunzhi, don’t cry, don’t cry…”
Fu Yunzhi was being pressed down by Qi Xiao and was already having trouble breathing. Now, crying so hard, he could barely breathe at all. He coughed and choked, looking truly miserable.
Qi Xiao was genuinely terrified. “Yunzhi, don’t be scared, don’t be scared…”
“Qi Xiao,” Fu Yunzhi said in a hoarse voice, “you’re not allowed to die.”
Qi Xiao’s nose inexplicably tingled, and his vision blurred.
“Okay.”
This was different from last time.
This time, someone was crying for him, begging him to stay. Someone was holding him tightly, so afraid that something would happen to him that their whole body was trembling.
The air was getting thinner, his strength was fading. Qi Xiao knew very well what this feeling meant.
If I really die…
“Yunzhi?”
“Hmm?”
“I love you.”
He had wanted to say it with more affection, with more sentimental words, with more preparation, maybe even with a gift. But now, he was in so much pain that he could only manage this one sentence. A love that had been buried for over ten years, yet only one sentence. How could that be enough?
Forget it, at least I said it…
The war was over, and everyone on the island had surrendered. Besides the king, Langxuan had also successfully captured all the leaders, who were just waiting to be escorted back to the capital for trial.
In Tongzi Mountain, the area by the cliff wall was crowded with people, all busy moving stones to rescue those trapped. Besides Qi Xiao and Fu Yunzhi, many others were also crushed under the boulders, waiting for rescue. Most of the people were involved in the rescue effort, while a small group patrolled the area, searching for the missing king.
Qi Xiao had originally planned to release the sea monster fish, but now they had all been crushed to death by the boulders. The pool was a sea of crimson, and the smell of blood was extremely unsettling.
Qi Shaoling clenched his fists. “Prioritize the small rock piles! The large boulders can wait.”
If someone was hit by a pile of small and medium-sized rocks, the force would be dispersed, and they might still have a chance of survival. But if it was a single large boulder, even if they weren’t turned into meat paste, there was no chance of survival.
Duanmu Ling held his arm. “Don’t worry. Cult Leader Mu said that General Qi and Master Fu weren’t hit by a large boulder, just a medium-sized pile of rocks. General Qi is so strong, he’ll definitely be fine.”
Qi Shaoling patted Duanmu Ling’s forehead.
All available hands were put to use. Some were moving stones, while others used ropes and levers to painstakingly move the rocks. Mu Linglong was describing the scene to Shen Linye.
Shen Linye subconsciously looked at the spot where Mu Linglong had described the woman standing. “Let’s go look for a secret passage.”
After informing Qi Shaoling, the two of them entered the stone cave to explore. They had already roughly searched the entire island but still couldn’t find the strange queen. Therefore, they didn’t want to leave any corner unchecked, especially a place where the king had been.
“General Qi!”
A jolt went through Qi Shaoling. He followed the voice to a corner of the cliff wall and saw Qi Xiao, holding Fu Yunzhi, at the center of a crowd. Both of them were unconscious.
“Qi Xiao!” Qi Shaoling checked their pulses. They were weak, but at least they were still beating!
A physician hurried over to examine them.
“Ai, a little longer and they would have gone to see King Yama!” The physician had people separate them and carry them to their rooms. Both of them needed to have their bones set, a treatment that could take half a day and required a good environment to be done slowly.
“Physician… we can’t separate them…” one of the soldiers said with an embarrassed expression. Although Qi Xiao and Fu Yunzhi were unconscious, they were holding each other so tightly that several men couldn’t pull them apart. If they used brute force, they were afraid of injuring them further, since both of them were covered in broken bones and wounds.
The atmosphere was a bit awkward. Duanmu Ling clapped his hands. “Hahaha, they were probably crushed under the rocks for so long that they got stuck together.”
“…”
The physician had no choice but to feel their bones, confirm which areas were unharmed, and have the others use force to pull them apart.
Qi Shaoling secretly breathed a sigh of relief. At least their lives were not in danger.
He looked around. “How many more are still under there?”
“There are still 12 people who haven’t been rescued,” one of the lieutenants said. “Their condition is unknown.”
“Continue.”
“Yes, sir!”
Just as they were speaking, a few muffled rumbles came from the stone cave.
Hearing the familiar sound, everyone couldn’t help but tremble. But this time, no large boulders rolled down. After a few rumbles, the back of the mountain fell silent again.
Duanmu Ling frowned. “The sound came from inside the stone cave! The Alliance Chief and the Cult Leader are in there!”
Qi Shaoling immediately set off for the stone cave to find them, but he found that the entrance was blocked by a large boulder. Outsiders couldn’t get in, and those inside couldn’t get out.
Seeing this, Duanmu Ling said, “It’s fine. We have a lot of gunpowder. We can just blow it up.”
“No,” Qi Shaoling said. “The cliff wall is unstable.”
If they forcefully blew it up, no one could guarantee that the remaining large boulders on the cliff wall wouldn’t roll down again. Therefore, they could only move it by hand, which meant there would be even fewer people available for the rescue.
After thinking for a moment, Qi Shaoling summoned Qi Xiao’s lieutenant. “Have the patrol brothers come back to help.”
Lives were at stake. Compared to finding that king, Qi Shaoling was more willing to use his manpower to save people.
“Yes, sir!”
Duanmu Ling looked at the cave entrance, which was completely sealed by the boulder. He didn’t know what the two of them had encountered inside. He hoped they were safe and that nothing else would happen…
