The rain is still falling.
Two groups of people lay quietly inside the dilapidated house.
On the left are the survivors rescued by Lin Qiye and his group; on the right are the victims who lost their lives.
There were 17 survivors and 9 fatalities.
When a natural disaster like a mudslide occurs, many people lose their lives at the moment the disaster strikes, buried by mud and rocks, crushed by broken walls, or pierced by sharp rocks and branches... There is no way to save these people.
Meanwhile, the survivors on the other side were all under Wen Qingqing's forbidden aura, repairing their physical damage through sleep. The entire room was filled with quiet.
For this reason, Lin Qiye and the others could only lean against the dilapidated walls outside the house, enduring the wind and rain.
Suddenly, among the survivors on the left, a girl with braided pigtails slowly opened her eyes.
She sat up from the ground in a daze, her memory still stuck on the aftermath of the mudslide. She was about to go back into the house to tell her grandparents to leave when she tripped over the shaking ground and fell into a corner...
Where are Grandpa and Grandma?
Ya Ya looked around and soon spotted two elderly people lying quietly in the group on her right.
She gritted her teeth and got up from the ground, quickly ran to the two elderly people, and shook their cold bodies vigorously, her little face turning pale with fright.
"Grandpa, Grandpa! What's wrong, Grandpa!"
Her voice startled the people outside, who rushed into the house and saw Ya Ya kneeling on the ground shaking the old man's body. They looked at each other, somewhat at a loss.
Wen Qingqing pursed her lips tightly, walked to Ya Ya's side, and gently picked her up.
"May I have your name?"
Ya Ya's body trembled slightly as she whispered, "My name is Ya Ya..."
"Ya Ya..." Wen Qingqing said softly, "Grandpa and Grandma are asleep, let's not wake them up, okay?"
Ya Ya looked back at her grandparents lying quietly on the ground, pursed her lips, and nodded heavily.
Wen Qingqing carried Ya Ya out of the house and sat down next to the ruins. Lin Qiye and the others exchanged glances and also left the house.
"Sister, who...who are you people?" Once outside, Ya Ya's complexion improved slightly, and she asked timidly.
"Us? We're here to rescue Ya Ya."
"Oh..." Ya Ya blinked, "Then, when will Grandpa and Grandma wake up?"
Wen Qingqing's body trembled, and she lowered her head, unsure of what to say.
Just then, Shen Qingzhu let the sleeping Lin Xi Chen leaned against the wall then he stepped forward, paused for a moment, and slowly asked, "Your name is Ya Ya, right? Besides your grandparents, do you have any other relatives?"
"Yes, and so are my mom and dad."
"Where are your mom and dad?"
I don't know... Dad went to the mountains to collect firewood this morning, and then it started raining heavily. Mom took her raincoat and went up the mountain to look for Dad, but she hasn't come back yet," Ya Ya said softly.
"Do you remember where they came up the mountain from?" Shen Qingzhu continued to ask.
Ya Ya nodded and pointed in one direction, "There."
Everyone turned to look, and the place Ya Ya pointed to was exactly where the mudslide had first rolled down. The collapsed mud and rocks had already buried half of the mountain peak, and there were hardly any trees left.
The group exchanged glances and fell silent.
Going up the mountain in the morning, followed by heavy rain, and then an earthquake and mudslide—staying in the mountains under those circumstances, most likely...
Wen Qingqing's eyes were a little red, and she forced a smile as she gently stroked Ya Ya's head.
"Yaya, let's take a nap first, okay? Look, Yaya still has a wound on her hand."
Ya Ya looked down at her hand and saw that a large patch of skin had been scraped off. Wen Qingqing had just treated her and stopped the bleeding, but the wound was still there.
Before Ya Ya could say anything, a wave of weariness washed over her, and she quickly fell asleep.
Wen Qingqing picked up Ya Ya, quietly went into the house, put her back on the ground, and then took off her military overcoat and gently covered her small body.
She walked back outside and could clearly sense that the atmosphere was somewhat heavy.
Shen Qingzhu leaned against the wall, squinting as he gazed at the distant mountain peaks. "I think we should go and look for them."
"We must stay with the survivors until the rescue team arrives," Instructor Hong shook his head.
"We can split into two groups."
"No." Instructor Hong's expression was very serious. "The commander's inexplicable disappearance must have some unknown variables behind it. Splitting up now is definitely not a wise choice."
"Moreover, the place where they entered the mountains was too close to the mudslide eruption point. Under such circumstances, it would be impossible for an ordinary person to escape. Even if they did go, they would probably only find two corpses."
"Even assuming they survived, more than ten hours have passed since the mudslide, so why haven't they returned yet?"
Shen Qingzhu lowered his head, silently clenched his fists, and remained silent.
Although the others also wanted to search for Ya Ya's parents, as Instructor Hong said, their chances of survival were too slim; even if they went, they would likely only find two bodies...
"The Night Watchmen are just men, not gods. We can't save everyone…" Instructor Hong felt bad seeing everyone's low spirits and said, "You've worked so hard for so long, everyone should rest. We'll go down the mountain when the rescue team arrives."
"After you descend the mountain, you should prepare for the swearing-in ceremony to officially become members of the Night's Watch and then proceed to your respective posts."
Instructor Hong's gaze swept over everyone, and he smiled, "I still remember when you bunch of greenhorns first entered the camp, you were so weak and pretentious!"
"Especially you, Shen Qingzhu, you have such a bad temper, and you always look like you're asking for a beating. And that chubby kid, he's no different from a pig every day..."
Shen Qingzhu frowned, snorted, and turned to look into the distance, while Baili Pangpang scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly.
"Now, you can all run for so long in one go to rescue people in the deep mountains... It's different, really different. Witnessing your growth firsthand, seeing you transform from rookies into night watchmen, is perhaps the joy of being an instructor."
Instructor Hong's lips curled up slightly, but then he shook his head. "But that's not enough. You haven't grown enough yet."
"You are all too naive and too young. Take Shen Qingzhu, for example. Although you are not as arrogant as you were back then, you still have a terrible temper. You will only truly grow up when you can calm down and completely control your emotions."
"Don't give me that sour look. Of all these people, you have the most serious problems. When you reach that point, your future achievements won't be any less than Lin Qiye's."
Shen Qingzhu turned to look at Lin Qiye, his brows furrowing even more. He snorted, not wanting to listen to Instructor Hong's rambling anymore, and stood up and walked toward Lin Xi Chen.
Lin Qiye:...?
You can scold him if you want, why are you making he hate me?