Chapter 38: Chapter 38: A Mountain Rainstorm

“What happened? What’s going on?”

The village chief’s heart raced with fear as he was supported by his eldest grandson, hurrying to meet the men running back.

The man at the front pointed in the direction downhill and gasped, “Fire, the fire is coming up!”

“What?”

The village chief’s vision went dark, and he fainted on the spot.

The shocks came one after another, and his old body truly couldn’t take it.

Several other elderly people present couldn’t bear the shock either, fainting one after another.

The scene turned chaotic in an instant.

Qi Zheng still held onto his breath, not collapsing, and promptly had his second grandson look for his sons.

Soon, Qi Quanjin and Qi Ercai returned. Upon seeing the ground littered with collapsed people and the crying women, they were stunned.

“What’s happened here?”

Qi Quanjin quickly ran to his parents’ side.

His father hadn’t fainted yet but looked terrible, seemingly on the verge of collapsing.

His mother was also crying, not wailing loudly, but holding Manbao and crying, while the little one kept wiping her grandmother’s tears.

Ah, my daughter is truly the sweetest.

Just as he felt a bit of joy, Qi Quanjin was jolted back to reality by his father’s words.

“Son, we old folks are useless now, you must take the young people in the village and run to the back of the mountain as fast as possible!”

“What?”

Qi Quanjin looked puzzled: “Dad, what nonsense are you talking? We’ve made it here; it should be safe now.”

“Nonsense! The fire is coming up, and if we don’t run, no one will make it.”

Qi Zheng was so anxious that he began to cough violently after speaking.

Qi Quanjin jolted up, looking towards the direction downhill.

He didn’t see flames, but the smoke was thicker than before.

Could the fire really be coming up?

Qi Quanjin’s heart sank, and he hastily called out to everyone, “Stop crying, quickly carry the fainted elders and let’s get out of here!”

“No.”

Qi Manman’s voice suddenly rang out.

After wiping her grandmother’s tears, Qi Manman said, “Dad, we’re not leaving, it’s raining.”

“Raining?”

Qi Quanjin instinctively looked up, and to his surprise, the slightly blue sky had somehow turned overcast and gloomy.

Everyone had been too focused on the smoke below the mountain to notice the weather change.

“Dad, look, it’s going to rain, and as long as we hide in the cave, we’ll be safe!”

Qi Quanjin knew it was impossible to outrun the wildfire with so many elders.

But leaving them here to await death was something he couldn’t do.

Qi Zheng had already looked up to the sky.

It was densely covered with clouds, so heavy they seemed about to press down.

“Then, let’s quickly help everyone into the cave! If we live, we live, if not, we’ll die together; at least we’ll have company on the road to the afterlife!”

Qi Zheng sighed.

The others had already heard Qi Quanjin’s words, and all started to move their elders into the cave.

The cave was filled with a foul smell, unpleasant to say the least.

But in order to survive, no one had the heart to worry about such things.

The cave entrance wasn’t wide, allowing two men to walk side by side.

Going in three to four meters, there was a bend, not too sharp, and after walking another seven to eight meters of passage, the width was about half more than a person.

Walking through that narrow path led to a relatively spacious cave.

It was a little over three meters high and covered an area of about 130 square meters.

The walls and ground were uneven stone, barely better than the flat land outside.

The women working inside the cave had already lit two fires, adding mugwort and such; though there was plenty of smoke, the smell of mugwort masked some of the odor.

“Why is everyone coming in now? It’s not ready yet!”

The village chief’s eldest daughter-in-law looked surprised.

“The fire is coming up, and it’s going to rain outside, so everyone is coming inside first. Just clean up the mess and throw it out; the rest can just be makeshift!”

The one leading them in was the village chief’s eldest son, carrying the village chief on his back.

Upon hearing this, the women working in the cave became anxious but still worked quickly.

They swept the bear droppings into the dry grass where it lay, bundled it and tossed it out.

One of the fires was put out, leaving only the central one for light and warmth.

The space of 130 square meters couldn’t fit everyone, so they prioritised getting the elders and children in, then the women.

As for the village men, they sat in the passage.

Qi Quanjin and Qi Ercai sat at the cave entrance, even Qi Zheng stayed with them.

Everyone’s carts were placed outside, with belongings that could withstand the rain moved inside.

There was no other choice, the cave wasn’t large enough to hold so many things.

Just as Qi Quanjin and Qi Ercai helped Qi Zheng sit down, before they had a chance to relax, there was a thunderous crack outside, followed by more roaring thunder.

Before anyone could react to the loud thunder, torrential rain began pouring down like a waterfall.

Strong mountain winds blew through the cave entrance, bringing in some drizzle.

Seeing this, Qi Zheng immediately called out, “Second and third son, move in a bit, hold up the oil paper high, make sure not to get wet and catch a cold.”

Now, amid such circumstances, even a cold could be deadly.

Qi Quanjin complied and said to his second brother, “Brother, let’s take turns holding up the paper! I’ll hold it first, you sit and press down the bottom with your feet.”

“Alright.”

Qi Ercai had no objections.

The oil paper covered most of the cave entrance, leaving just a small bit at the top uncovered.

Luckily, not much rain came in, so they didn’t have to worry.

The mountain rain lasted a full two hours.

During those two hours, Qi Quanjin and Qi Ercai took turns, with Qi Zheng even helping to hold up the paper for a while.

When the rain finally stopped outside, Qi Quanjin removed the paper, a damp coldness mixed with smoke greeted them.

Qi Zheng quickly had Qi Ercai help him out of the cave, the first thing he did was look downhill.

Upon seeing it, Qi Zheng couldn’t help but gasp.

The villagers who followed them out all looked downhill, too.

Before, they had been worried the wildfire would come up, and that the mountain rain wouldn’t extinguish it.

Waiting for so long and seeing the rain continue, with no smoke drifting in from outside, they relaxed.

When the rain stopped, they rushed out with hope.

Although the village burned, as long as the mountains remained, they could think of ways to rebuild the village.

But now… everything was destroyed.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep