Chapter 62: Having a wife, forgot his mother

  On this side, Dong Changcheng Rong Chu and Qiao Yurun are competing in wits, while on the other side, Bei Yan City's Tai Shi Lan and Su Ya are going out with some simple tools and wearing waist cards. They left the city and arrived at San Tian Village just before dawn. Tai Shi Lan did not enter the village immediately, but instead walked around part of the embankment.

  The dam originally had a stake to measure the water level, but now it's gone. The old man roughly measured the water level and felt it was already very high. Each dam has a critical water level, but now there is no reference. The Yishui Dam was reinforced last year, so it's not surprising that nobody paid attention.

  Yihe Dam itself is divided into five dams, two long and three short, with a total length of over 100 miles. They surround the lower reaches of the Yi River and several villages in the surrounding area, which are considered to be one of the few fertile areas in northern Shanxi Province. In recent years, paddy fields have been opened up, taking on the task of supplying water, rice and vegetables for the entire city. Sometimes they also supply nearby military camps, serving as a small supply base for military rations. As a result, there are not many households in the surrounding area, with an estimated total of several thousand.

  Once a comprehensive breach occurs, lives, livelihoods, and even the harvest in the second half of the year will be affected. Even military camps 100 miles away in Zhenghe and Xifeng will be impacted.

  Tai Shi Lan found that the section of the dam she had walked through had fine cracks appearing here and there. The danger Fire Tiger spoke of might be imminent.

  Look at the sky, it's almost dawn. Ta Shi thought for a moment and felt that within three days, it would be almost impossible to relocate all households downstream of the embankment over 100 miles long without official support. It was necessary to first determine where the most likely place to breach the dam was, move those people out first, and once the dam broke, there would be persuasive power afterwards.

  She had Su Ya ride a fast horse to inspect all the dams, and make a record of the nearby fields, terrain, and water levels, then quickly return to Beiyuan City to bring the news to Huo Hu, asking him to make a judgment.

  Su Ya needs time to do these things. Tai Shi Lan decides to take care of both ends. She first settles down in Santian Village, waiting for news and persuading the villagers to move to higher places.

  She walked down the embankment and went to find the village head, who turned pale as soon as he heard she was from Beiyancheng Prefecture, thinking it was another tax collector. After hearing her request for lodging, he let out a long sigh of relief and took her to a relatively well-off peasant's house, with a blue-brick tile-roofed house, two courtyards, clean inside and out, which is rare in the village.

  Tai Shi Lan also didn't care about good or bad, just as he was about to enter the door, his eyes suddenly froze.

  On the village path, Zhao Thirteen walked by, with Jing Tai Blue riding on his neck, smiling and waving at Ma Ma.

  "Didn't I tell you not to come?"

  "Thirteen brought me here." Jing Tai Lan chuckled, "Thirteen brought me here."

  Zhao Thirteen crooked half of his face and smiled bitterly.

  Tai Shi stared at him.

  "He said..." Zhao Thirteen drawled, "Either bring him here or go die."

  ……

  Tai Shi suddenly turned his head in silence - sometimes children's education can be too effective and that's not a good thing.

  She turned around and saw that little boy laughing heartlessly, she took a step back, turned around and pointed to the thatched cottage next door: "Whose house is that? We live in that house."

  The village head was taken aback. "Gua Lao San's family is deaf and dumb, eight people with five missing, so poor that they don't even have overnight rations, how dare they entertain several adults."

  "Just right," said Taishi Lan.

  Gua Lao San's family is indeed deaf and dumb, a disabled family. Gua Lao San's father is mute, his mother is blind, Gua Lao San himself is also blind, his wife is an idiot, four children, one blind, one mute, only two are normal.

  The house is drafty on all sides, and there's not a single decent piece of furniture. On the stove I built myself, an iron ladle serves as a pot. The bed is just a wooden board with mud bricks underneath, and after days of heavy rain, water is almost flooding under the bed. Half of the black cotton quilt is in shreds, greasy and damp, making one's heart feel stifled at the sight.

  Jingtai Blue's mouth opened wide as soon as he entered, his eyes filled with incredulity - Ah! Is this a place where people live?

  He immediately shut his mouth because a foul and pungent smell rushed into his nostrils, bringing tears to his eyes and making him feel nauseous.

  But he didn't dare spit it out, vaguely knowing that if he did, his mom would be displeased.

  "If you want to follow me out, then you have to live with me here." Tai Shi Lan looked into his eyes, "Don't be allowed to cry or complain, you are a man, and you must take responsibility for all your own affairs."

  Jingtai Blue hesitated for a moment and softly said "en".

  "This place is uninhabitable, what if we get sick?" Zhao Thirteen took a glance at the strange family and shuddered, "No way, no way."

  "Is he your dad?"

  Zhao Thirteen's face turned white with shock, "You're crazy, how dare you say that..."

  "Are you my husband?"

  "Ah ah ah......" Zhao Thirteen covered his head and surrendered, "I'd rather go to the Western Bureau's prison..."

  "You're self-aware enough to know you're not worthy of me." Tai Shi Lan took the blue porcelain, "Then shut up."

  Zhao Thirteen silently lowered his head and left.

  "Get some materials and buy the necessary tools, it's best to prepare a boat." Ta Shi Lan looked at this family that really had no place to live, and shouted out to Zhao Thirteen's dejected back.

  Zhao Thirteen's back trembled slightly, gritted his teeth and left silently.

  Gua Lao San and his family huddled in the corner of the bed, terrified, not knowing how to entertain their guests. The women didn't dare lift their heads, tightly wrapping their bodies with quilts that barely covered them.

  There was only a small figure, wrapped in half a quilt, getting up with great effort to light the fire, scooping some water from the broken vat under the eaves, boiling it in an iron pot, first washing and rewashing the only dirty black ceramic bowl on the table, then pouring half a bowl of water and carefully carrying it over.

  "Brother, drink some water."

  The voice is tender and sweet, listening to it makes one's whole body feel relaxed, as if every pore is slightly opened.

  Tai Shi Lan lit up the thick and dusty oil lamp, took a glance at the small person in front of her, and suddenly her eyes sparkled.

  A phoenix emerges from a humble abode, and a poor household gives birth to a beautiful person. Who would have thought that in such a dirty and impoverished home, which is beyond description, there could be someone with such talent?

  The little girl was only five or six years old, a rare cleanliness in a pile of dirty people. Although her small face had a slightly pale complexion, it was spotless. Her nose was like jade and her lips were like cherry blossoms, with dark eyebrows that shone brightly. What stood out the most was a pair of eyes, extremely deep double eyelids, with eye corners slightly upturned, black eyeballs larger than usual, shining brightly and sparkling with light. At such a young age, when looking at people, her eyes would flow like waves, as if she had a thousand graces, and her forehead was broad, with a pair of relaxed eyebrows.

  This humble and disabled child was born with a dignified and noble appearance, making people wonder if they had mistakenly entered the wrong womb.

  "This doll has a bad fate." The village chief sighed behind them, "With such an appearance, she would be a precious gem in any family, but unfortunately fell into the hands of Guā Lǎo Sān. She was born with a good face and a good temperament, but not a pair of good eyes... I advised Guā Lǎo Sān many times to sell this doll, so that she could fall into a good place, and his family would have a better life, but he refused..."

  Is this girl blind? Such a beautiful pair of eyes, yet they're blind?

  Watching her every move, not a single mistake, Jing Tai Lan just nodded and said "en", she knew this was her brother. The direction of sending water was not wrong at all. Such an intelligent child, turned out to be blind.

  Jing Tai Blue didn't understand what the village chief meant, looking at the little girl with shining eyes, smiling and taking her water, "Good... good..."

  He held the small paws and moved the bowl, Tai Shi Lan stretched out his hand to hold the edge of the huge bowl, Xiao Se Lang stared at the little girl with a blink, while chatting and drinking a mouthful of water, then "wow" sound.

  Got burned...

  "Brother, drink slowly." The little girl said softly, leaning down and puckering up her small mouth to blow on it for him.

  Jingtai Lan stared at her dazedly, suddenly stretched out his claws and hugged the little girl's face, "smack."

  What a big mouthful of saliva...

  The little girl was still young and didn't know how to be shy, she smiled and touched her face, wiped away her saliva, and said: "Little brother smells so good."

  Jingtai Blue suddenly burst out laughing, his eyes disappearing into a slit...

  Tai Shi Lan hugged her chest and silently looked at him - had he fallen in love with someone else so quickly? Having a wife and forgetting one's mother was indeed an ancient philosophical saying.

  Jing Tai Lan had no idea that Ta Shi Lan would make such a vulgar judgment in an instant. He just intuitively liked her, and the women he had seen before were all mature women. When they met Ta Shi Lan, they were even more mature women with cold faces. Their attitude towards him was either respectful or distant. Although Ta Shi Lan was good, but because of his personality, he was slightly too hard and introverted. A young girl like her, who was close in age and gentle, was like an oasis that suddenly appeared in the desert, a new world full of surprises.

  He had seen several young girls before, all with a rich and noble air, but not interested in Jing Tai Lan. Instead, this one was simple and lovely, and Xiao Zi felt happy just looking at her.

  "Stay down... stay down..." The little boy no longer minded the stench, nor did he mind the poverty. He hugged Tai Shi's leg and refused to leave.

  Tai Shi Lan patted his head, "Don't regret it then." He gave the village chief a string of copper coins and asked him to help get some food. At this time, Gu Lao San's family had gone from their initial fright and also got up to start making breakfast. The breakfast was very simple, a thin, dark corn porridge that you could see people's shadows through.

  Breakfast was still made by a little girl called Xiao Ying, her younger brother and sister were healthy but too young, she was only six years old, but had already taken on most of the household chores.

  Jingtai Blue has been stuck to her since she saw Little Shadow, and Taishi Lan doesn't care. She brought Jingtai Blue here just to let him see that behind the glittering gold and silver, and the beautiful clothes and delicious food, there is more unimaginable poverty.

  Xiao Ying took corn flour to cook, Jing Tai Lan went to help. Xiao Ying scooped out half a spoon and carefully poured it down a bit. Jing Tai Lan scratched his head, took a large spoon, smiled and scooped out a big spoonful, presenting it to Xiao Ying like a treasure.

  Little Xiao patted the spoon, smiled and said, "Brother, you don't need that much."

  Jingtai Lan put down his spoon in confusion, but he felt that even this much was not enough to eat.

  Xiao Ying boils water, Jing Tai Lan helps her make fire, squatting on the ground with a small butt, fanning hard, fanning until her face is covered in black soot, fanning several times and the fire goes out again. The little girl is very patient, not saying a word, just slowly teaching, "Little brother, be gentle... Little brother, you don't need to fan now..."

  Xiao Ying stirred the cornmeal in the pot, Jing Tai Lan stood on a broken stool, holding a spoon and stirring vigorously. The corn porridge splashed out and landed on Xiao Ying's face. She quickly wiped it off with her hand and ate it carefully. Jing Tai Lan stared blankly at the red mark burned onto her face, "Sister... hurts..."

  "It doesn't hurt..." The clever little girl understood his meaning and smiled softly, "Hush, don't waste it."

  "Mother..." Jing Tai Lan seemed to understand a little, yet didn't quite understand, and turned his head to look for Tai Shi Lan.

  "This is the life of ordinary people, not necessarily all, but many people are like them, and many may be more miserable than them." Taishi Lan said, "Jingtai Blue, don't believe what those officials tell you, where there is a bumper harvest, where there is joy and prosperity, where the people are safe and sound. Everything is beautiful. In places you can't see, there will always be unimaginable hardships. What a country needs to do is to make its people eat well, dress warmly, and enjoy education."

  Jing Tai Lan didn't make a sound, looking at her and then at Tai Shi Lan again. Suddenly, she bit her finger and said, "Live a good life."

  Taishi Lan wondered if he was planning to let all the common people live a good life or just let the woman he had his eyes on live a good life.

  Either one is fine.

  The former is a good husband, and the latter is a good man. Both are successful.

  Breakfast is ready, no table, everyone takes a little and squats on the ground to eat. Xiao Ying first serves Jing Tai Lan and Tai Shi Lan. The yellow corn porridge is thin and can't be seen clearly. There's a black thing as thick as a finger, its shape and smell are not good - is it dried radish?

  Jingtai Lan held the bowl, foolishly not knowing how to eat. His stomach, accustomed to exquisite cuisine, was really unable to take an interest in this food that had no color or fragrance. Across from him, his wife, Dairou, was drinking with a loud "gulp gulp" sound, finishing off a whole bowl in just a few mouthfuls. Then she stuck out her tongue and licked the rim of the bowl, round and round, quick as lightning. The rim of the bowl, which had been smeared with a bit of leftover porridge, was now spotlessly clean.

  Jingtai blue was stunned.

  "Brother, eat... " Xiao Ying held a small wooden bowl, with only a little porridge in it, and smiled as she urged Jing Tai Lan.

  Jingtai Lan drank a mouthful of porridge in a daze, and his small face immediately scrunched up like a bun. After being stunned for half a day, he tentatively took another bite of the dried radish, and a strange salty-bitter taste instantly filled his mouth. His eyes widened, and with a "Ptoo" sound, he quickly spat it out.

  After vomiting, I knew something was wrong. Hurriedly looking at Tai Shi Lan, Tai Shi Lan pointed to the bowl with her finger, "Did you notice that except for you and me, no one else has dried radish?"

  Jingtai blue looked around and found that it was indeed true, his big black eyes were full of confusion and incomprehension. "Is it because it's not delicious, so nobody else eats it?" He pouted and started stomping his feet, "Hate it! Hate it!"

  "My brother doesn't like it, give it to me." Xiao Ying hastily smiled and quickly picked up the dried radish, carefully stuffed it into her brother's mouth, whose eyes lit up. The child immediately started chewing rapidly, with a happy face.

  Jingtai blue is stupid again.

  "This is their good food, understand?" Tai Shi said calmly, "You wasted someone else's good food, use your own to compensate."

  The village head brought some dried meat and steamed buns at this time, and also some self-made pastries. Jing Tai Lan lowered his head and said softly: "I won't eat, sister eats."

  The children of Gu Lao San's family cheered and rushed up, but Xiao Ying asked Tai Shi Lan if she could eat, and after getting a positive response, she first took two buns to her parents, then took a piece of cake and sat down beside the hooked-headed Jingtai Lan.

  "Brother... eating cake..."

  "Sister won't blame me, will she..."

  "You're not wrong, actually dried radish is really not delicious... haha, but it's more filling after eating."

  "I'm just... I just think it's so dark and scary..."

  "Black black... what is black?"

  "Ah..."

  "Little brother, I don't see it, you tell me, what is black? The village chief said that not seeing is black, that's the color... But I've heard there's also white, yellow, green..."

  "Yes, I'm wearing green with yellow edges, it looks great... why can't you see?"

  "I've never seen it before, some people are just born this way."

  "What does invisible look like?"

  "It's just no one has a face... nothing has a face... Father, Mother, Brother, Sister... none of them have a face..."

  "Did you cry..."

  "There's nothing... actually there isn't anything, little brother, I can't see it, but I can feel it, hmm, green clothes, yellow edges, your face must be white, very good-looking..."

  "Then touch it some more..."

  "Hmm..."

  Tai Shi Lan suddenly walked out quickly.

  The rain outside had temporarily stopped, and the air was very refreshing. She tilted her head back and took a deep breath.

  "Village head," she said to the approaching village head, "please gather the villagers, I have something to say, it's an order from the Beiyuan government office."

  The village head struck the bell, and soon the villagers gathered, most of whom were in tattered clothes. Although this place is full of rice fields, most of the villagers are tenants, and Beijian is a military city, with an additional military tax. The grain and copper coins that the common people have worked hard to earn throughout the year are mostly paid as taxes, and it's rare for them to be warm and full.

  "The Yih River dam is going to collapse." Taishi Lan said straightforwardly, "Everyone hurry and evacuate to the mountain."

  The common people were stunned for a moment, and then they burst into anger.

  "How is it possible!"

  "No way, I just planted this season's rice!"

  "It's not even raining, what's the point of having an umbrella."

  "A few days ago, didn't He Bo just come to check the water level and said it was nothing? How did it change in the blink of an eye?"

  "What are you looking at the water level for? The measuring rod was taken back home and burned a long time ago."

  "Is this girl from the government? When did the government have women? Isn't this a scam?"

  "Uh-huh, cheat, go away."

  A group of people chatted among themselves and then left after waving their hands.

  In the morning, he ran to three villages downstream and almost all of them were like this. By noon, Su Ya returned panting, bringing with him Hu Huo's judgment: "The dikes outside the five villages of Santian, Ming'an, Jinsuiwei, Xian'an, and Yangyi will definitely burst. Baibai Bridge, Liudu, and Xinglongtai may be in danger, it is suggested to move to higher places, and the villages west of Fengjiapengzi can stay put."

  Eight villages must be relocated, involving thousands of people.

  "Which village is the largest?"

  "Good morning."

  "Go to Ming'an." Tai Shi Lan turned back to Gu Lao San's house and said to Xiao Ying, "Xiao Ying, the Yih River Dam is going to collapse. Today, no matter what, you must move your family to a higher place. The nearest Yangjia Ping has high terrain, go there."

  Xiao Ying opened her mouth in a daze, thought for a moment, and silently began to pack up her things. She said to her father, "Let's go to Yangjiaping to avoid this for the time being."

  The whole village was suspicious, and no one would believe it. Tai Shi Lan pointed out the cracks on the dam, but those with clear eyes didn't think so. Instead, this blind little girl immediately believed it.

  Tai Shi Lan gazed at her silently, and as if sensing Tai Shi Lan's gaze, Xiao Ying turned around, smiled, "I may not be able to see, but I can hear. Some people's voices are like floating clouds, their tone is vague, like mist, those cannot be trusted. Some people don't have many words, but every word is very clean and solid, like...” She blushed at her own clumsy wording, "like tree roots. Very stable."

  The words spoken will not be clean, cleanliness is just a feeling that one person conveys. The blind girl's world is pure because of the darkness, and it can even distinguish the light hidden in each word.

  Tai Shi Lan nodded and went to carry Jing Tai Blue, but Jing Tai Blue refused to leave, tugging at Xiao Ying's hem. "I'll watch them for you...watch them move..."

  Zhao Thirteen let out a loud "pu" sound as soon as he entered the door.

  Ta Shi Lan took a look at her half-son - obviously indulging in vanity, yet speaking with a righteous tone, how come she hadn't noticed this slyness before?

  "It's up to you now, be sure to take good care of it." She nodded hastily at Zhao Thirteen and turned to leave. Zhao Thirteen opened his mouth, wanting to tell her a piece of news, but she was already gone.

  "Hmph." Zhao Thirteen snorted in anger through his nose.

  "It's been raining heavily for nearly a month, and the Yan River dam is in danger of bursting at any moment! Fellow villagers, evacuate immediately!"

  "The dikes outside of Ming'an, Jinsuiwei, Xian'an, Yangyi and five villages will inevitably burst! It will happen tonight or tomorrow!"

  "I'm Beiyancheng's deputy historian, the Yihewan dam is going to collapse! Evacuate immediately!"

  Two women who didn't like to talk, their voices were hoarse, but the embankment that was reinforced last year gave people blind confidence, no one believed the new embankment would collapse. It was just the season for spring planting, every household was rushing to plant, who could bear to drop this important matter and flee with the elderly and children because of a frightening rumor?

  People subconsciously reject the approaching disaster, and inertia plays a role at this time. Some people who have discovered that the dam has indeed cracked go to ask the village chief and the local official, but the village chief says: "We also went to the city to ask, and Jin Dashi, who is in charge of the river conservancy, said that those two women are crazy, stirring up the people and creating panic. I don't know what they want to do. This is not an official announcement from the River Conservancy Bureau or Beifeng Prefecture, and they haven't found any problems either."

  The surreptitious dismantling of the Beiyuan Castle government office made migration even more impossible. By noon, it started raining again, not a storm this time, but that kind of long and unrelenting rain that makes one worry about the last straw that would crush the camel, or perhaps just the next drop of rain.

  In the fields, those who are transplanting seedlings are still transplanting, delaying the transplanting and affecting the harvest. By the end of the year, they will not be able to hand over their grain, which is a matter of life and death for the common people.

  Tai Shi Lan stood at the entrance of Ming An village, watching the villagers coming and going without paying attention to her. Suddenly she said: "Su Ya, can you do a big god dance?"

  "Huh?"

  "You used to travel around and perform, you should have seen it," said Tai Shi Lan, "come on, let's see a segment."

  "Ah..."

  "You said you'd listen to me."

  “……”

  After a while, Su Ya pulled out a Jingtai blue monkey mask from his waist and put it on his face.

  "Wow!"

  A loud shout shook the sky and the villagers turned back in astonishment.

  A slight stumble may lead to a loud noise - if it doesn't make a sound, then that's fine; but if it does, it will shock people!

  "Great calamity is encountered, heaven and earth are dark, sun and moon have no light, muddy waves overflow the sky. My Holy Mother has mercy on the people's suffering, the Pure Maiden descends to the world, all people turn their lives around. The source of the muddy chaos begins with the opening of the primordial void, the Pure Maiden appears once, and the prosperous era is lifted. In the true empty hometown, there are no parents who give birth. The Pure Maiden descends, all things are reborn! The yellow tide's calamity ends, sun and moon will rise again. Green bamboo stands tall, Holy Girl descends! Mountains and rivers have China's land, sun and moon reopen the great Qi Tian!"

  Su Ya wore a monkey mask, climbed up to the big stone at the village entrance, and sang in a hoarse throat the folk teachings of dressing up as gods and ghosts. Her vocal cords were damaged, her voice was dull, and singing these scriptures didn't feel ridiculous, but instead added a kind of deep, heavy, desolate, and ancient feeling.

  Tai Shi thought that if he was really squeezed out and couldn't make a living in the future, taking Su Ya to roam the jianghu should also be able to get by.

  She sat down on the bluestone, crossed her legs, closed her eyes, and looked dignified.

  The villagers stopped in their tracks and stared over in shock, Su Ya picked up a discarded jar from the ground and smashed it to the ground with a loud crash.

  The can was crushed in front of Tai Shi Lan's knees.

  "Emergence of the Holy Maiden of Qingtong!" Su Ya raised her voice and shouted out the title she had just pulled out.

  Tai Shi Lan took a piece of cloth and covered it over the broken jar fragments, placing her hand on the cloth.

  The villagers rushed over, their eyes shining brightly.

  "She's playing with a tin can without getting hurt! I've seen street performers play with it before!"

  "No, it's doing a one-handed handstand over a jar!"

  "Are you going to play with broken pieces?"

  "Turn the can into a little bird!"

  "If you can turn into a beautiful girl, I'll believe you!"

  Everyone was talking and laughing, with jokes flying back and forth.

  But gradually the laughter stopped.

  Underneath the blue cloth, something slowly protruded, and its shape was exactly like a jar.

  An old man in the village, originally supported by people to watch the excitement, when Su Ya smashed the pot, he was disdainful, when Tai Shi's hand pressed on the cloth, he was slightly surprised, but there was no movement, until the cloth slowly bulged underneath, he suddenly flashed his eyes.

  "Isn't it...? The can has come back?"

  "Magic! Dazzling technique! I've heard of it!"

  "That's a trap! We're on solid ground here! You just peed your pants!"

  "Stop quarreling! Alright!"

  With a loud crash, Tai Shi lifted up the green curtain.

  "Ah!" - The villagers let out a long, drawn-out exclamation, and a low hum of air swirled around.

  The old man pushed away the person who was supporting him, stepped forward quickly, picked up the jar and examined it carefully, his eyes narrowing.

  This is the jar he personally threw away this morning, it's the one he used for thirty years. The small crack on the mouth of the jar that he accidentally chipped is still there. Not a single detail has changed.

  He's used to seeing tricks on the street, but usually they're just sleight of hand, "restoring" a fake jar that's not the original one and requires props. He's never seen anyone casually sit down, without any movement, and produce the original jar out of thin air like this before.

  "Immortal maiden..." He stared blankly ahead, muttering to himself.

  Tai Shi Lan lowered her eyes - Fortunately, she had met someone who understood her worth. If everyone thought it was just a play in the jianghu, it would be troublesome.

  It can be seen that this old man has a lot of prestige. As soon as he spoke, the suspicious expressions on everyone's faces disappeared, and they all stared at Tai Shi Lan with their mouths agape.

  "The Holy Maiden's light descends, saving all living beings!" Su Ya immediately began to jump and shout, "We bear the Holy Maiden's edict, specially proclaiming to the villagers of Ming'an and other places, Heaven is angry and punishes the North severely. On the second day of this month, the Yi River will burst! Many good men and women in Ming'an and other places who do not engage in evil deeds are pitied by the Holy Maiden, especially informed. Village elders from all over, must not disobey the Holy Maiden's edict! Otherwise, disaster will befall, lasting forever!"

  "Yi River......" The old man looked up at Tai Shi Lan, "Will it really break...?"

  Tai Shi Lan opened her eyes, and the old man met her light brown gaze, slightly startled.

  "This is the last time." Tai Shi Lan stood up, "Believe it or not - life and death are in one's own hands."

  She has done her best, if the other party is stubborn and refuses to change, she will not be so holy as to kneel down and beg for their trust.

  "Believe me, the crops of this season will wither. Don't believe me, and countless lives will perish." She said calmly, "Choose for yourself what's lighter and what's heavier."

  She casually tossed the can and said to Su Ya, "Let's go."

  The villagers were silent, watching as the two women didn't flinch or roll their eyes white, calmly finishing the big god dance and walking through the crowd.

  Suddenly, I felt a chill in my heart for no reason.

  Tai Shi walked out seven or eight steps, and heard the old man shouting loudly, "Fellow villagers, this is a strange person! He must have come to rescue us on behalf of Heaven's will! Don't treat him as a joke anymore, quickly take your family members and leave Ming'an, go to Yangjia Ping!"

  After a moment of silence, there was a loud noise behind him, the sound of footsteps rushing back from the paddy field.

  Tai Shi Lan raised her head and let out a long sigh.

  The common people have always had a psychology of following the crowd. The largest village, Ming'an, has abandoned its paddy fields and retreated outward. The remaining villages that were originally resolute in their attitude have also begun to waver, with some people starting to leave one after another. Just as the villagers were retreating, breaches occurred at three places around the embankment surrounding the Jinshuiwei water area, but they were all relatively small and were quickly blocked by local villagers using sandbags. However, the discovery of these breaches has also started to shake the villagers' firm confidence. They looked out at the water surface and felt that this year's water level was indeed higher than in any previous year.

  Tai Shi Lan station is in a relatively high position, seeing the people start to climb the mountain in twos and threes, frowned and said: "Rong Chu doesn't know if he can arrange it in time, once the dike breaks, if the water is big, the reception and food of the people, as well as the fire, must be arranged by someone."

  "I came back via the Golden Knife Society, and the leader heard about this matter, saying that he would send some brothers to help out." Su Ya said.

  Tai Shi Lan nodded, and suddenly frowned. Su Ya turned her head and saw the prefect, accompanied by the vice-prefect, the river conservancy officials, and others, arriving at the dam near Yangjiaping.

  Su Ya frowned, the people had just begun to migrate with great difficulty, what were they doing here? If they came up with another few words, all their previous efforts would be in vain.

  However, Zhang Fuyin did not speak, and Hebo Suoda, the great envoy of Jinzheng, came over with a cold smile: "I heard that you have already persuaded the villagers to leave the village? Alright, let's see how it goes. But if the dam doesn't burst and the rice planting is delayed, and there are accidents or related expenses when these people go up the mountain with their elderly and children, how do you plan to take responsibility?"

  "Wait until it's over before talking." Tai Shi Lan gazed at the surging river water, too lazy to look at him.

  "It's burst!" Suddenly a loud shout, everyone was shocked, and then they saw that a group of people had quickly gathered at Yangjiaping. Everyone rushed over to take a look, and there were two cracks about a foot long. This wasn't a big deal for the dam, it was still far from bursting. After letting out a sigh of relief, he couldn't help but sneer. Jin Zhengdao said: "Taishi Lan, is this what you meant by 'bursting'? You're just trying to stir up trouble and deceive people! I heard that earlier you were pretending to be some kind of holy girl, bewitching people's hearts? Are you really from some sort of evil cult?"

  Tai Shi Lan didn't say a word, her eyebrows slightly furrowed - Huo Hu had said that Yangjiaping was the highest point and the last barrier to block the river, and even the most turbulent water would become calm after passing through the previous layers of buffers, it should be the least likely place for a dike breach. Now that a breach has occurred on this side of Yangjiaping, what if Huo Hu's estimate was wrong? Wouldn't these thousands of villagers still face the disaster of the flood?

  Huǒ Hǔ didn't witness it personally, and Su Yà isn't a professional, the data they reported back is ultimately not as accurate as seeing it with one's own eyes. This matter is of great importance, what to do?

  She looked around, about half of the officials from Beiyuan Prefecture had arrived, seemingly waiting to see her make a fool of herself. Coincidentally, no river control experts were brought along, and although Jin Zheng understood water conservancy, he definitely wouldn't lend a helping hand now.

  "You watch, I have something to do." She gave Zhang Qiu a casual bow and didn't wait for his response, rushing down the embankment and jumping onto her own horse.

  "Hey, where are you going... Hey, we're in the middle of a conversation... You... uncivilized savage!"

  "Crack!" The long whip cracked, and in a flash of light, Taishi Lan was already far away.

  He rushed all the way back to Beiyuan City, and by now the rain was getting heavier. Tai Shi Lan stopped his horse in front of the government office, didn't even have time to tie the reins, and rushed straight towards the prison at the back of the government office.

  Huo Huo was shocked when she heard that Yangjiaping Dam had also begun to burst, and he jumped up in surprise.

  "How is this possible?" His voice changed, "How can it be so serious? This is a disaster. Outside Beishan City, except for Yangjiaping which is slightly higher in terrain, there are no other mountains that people can escape to. The nearest mountain is thirty miles away, and the elderly and children cannot pass through!"

  "A single breach is not repeated; it's not necessarily possible for a dike to collapse."

  "You don't understand." Huo Huo irritably scratched his hair, "Once the San Tian Ming An dike bursts, the resulting shockwave will cause damage to the remaining dikes. Yang Jia Ping has already had a breach, and when the time comes..." He suddenly pounced over, grabbing Tai Shi Lan, "Let me go! Take people to block it, I'll take a look and know where it's weakest, can reinforce it in advance!"

  Tai Shi Lan gazed at him with eyes full of bloody tears, silent for a moment.

  Then she said: "Okay."

  "Taishi girl, what are you saying..." The prison guard standing behind her was shocked and just about to stop her when Taishi threw a backhanded punch.

  "Bang." The jailer fell backward. A long stream of nosebleed splattered on the black railing.

  Tai Shi Lan grabbed his waist and pulled down the key.

  "Jailbreak! Someone's breaking out of jail!" The rest of the guards rushed over, and Tai Shi Lan stood still, looking back at them.

  "Mitada, Myōan, Kinshūi, Sen'an, Gyōgi, Happu Bridge, Rikuto, Kyōryūdai!" she said. "Are there any friends or relatives of yours?"

  The jailers stopped.

  "You block me, that is killing your own people." Ta Shi Lan said, "I'll take Huo Hu away, I'll take all the blame, whoever blocks me, I'll open Huo Hu's shackles."

  "Whoever blocks me, I'll kill whoever!" Huo Hu immediately chimed in, bursting into laughter.

  ……

  Half an hour later, in the heavy rain, two riders came galloping, followed by some strong men, who were Taishi Lan's subordinates from the Golden Knife Society he met on the way to help him.

  As soon as Huo Tiger arrived at the dam, he suddenly changed color, turned over and dismounted his horse, shouting: "Brothers, follow me!"

  Tai Shi Lan rushed up to Yangjia Ping, following Huo Hu's instructions, and arranged for the villagers to climb as high as possible in the higher terrain.

  Zhang Qiu and others on the dam saw the fire tiger running around, directing the Han people to block sandbags and move earth and rocks. At first, they did not believe their eyes, and when they finally saw clearly, they burst into a rage.

  "Tai Shi Lan!" Zhang Qiu shouted loudly, "You actually secretly released a prisoner who has been sentenced to death and is a repeat offender!"

  "Has Jing Tai Lan arrived?" Ta Shi Lan grabbed Su Ya, Su Ya shook his head, "Almost everyone from San Tian Village has come, only Xiao Ying and Jing Tai Lan haven't, also Xiao Ying's mother hasn't come. The village chief said that Xiao Ying's mother has gone mad, saying there are ghosts outside the door and refuses to leave. Xiao Ying is filial and won't leave either. I was just thinking of going back to take a look."

  "You stay here, I'll go get Jing Tai Blue." Taishi Lan's eyes were full of bloodshot, turned around and ran wildly.

  "Too much, Tai Shi Lan! You've gone too far!" Zhang Qiu and Jin Zheng were shouting on the dam, "The prefecture is asking you questions! Come back here, I want to capture Huo Hu, and as for you, Tai Shi Lan, where are you escaping to? Tai Shi Lan! Stop right there! Stop for me!"

  Jin Zheng angrily lifted his robe and rushed down the dam on a horse to chase after Tai Shi Lan, "Tai Shi Lan, the Prefect has an order for you! You have been stripped of your titles as Assistant Magistrate and Vice Magistrate, and will be held accountable for not following orders, spreading rumors among the people, and privately releasing serious prisoners. Stop right now... Ahh... I'm going to die from anger... STOP! STOP!"

  Kim Jeong's shouting was heard all the way from behind, and Taishi Lan was like a mad dog barking at his heels, not even turning his head back once. He rushed all the way back to Santian Village, but the village was empty and deserted without any human figure. As soon as he lifted his head, her eyes narrowed.

  On the embankment outside Santamura Village, there were over a dozen human figures, among them a small, round figure - who else could it be but Jing Tai Lan?

  It's already mid-afternoon now. According to Zhuo Huo's assertion, the dike may burst at any moment. Why are they running to the dike at this time? Isn't that seeking death?

  Tai Shi Lan almost fell off the horse and rushed up to the dam, where he saw Xiao Ying's madwoman jumping and shouting on the dam.

  "The heavenly maiden has arrived! The heavenly maiden has arrived! She's come to fetch me! Right here! Right here!" That crazy old woman, with her clothes in disarray and her hands raised to the sky, had a pair of eyes shining wildly between her disheveled hair, filled with joyful release and anticipation.

  Tai Shi felt a sense of karma in an instant - just now she pretended to be the Heavenly Maiden and deceived the people into leaving the dam, now Xiao Ying's mother "saw the Heavenly Maiden" and led Jing Tai Lan onto the dam.

  "Zhao Thirteen!" Taishi Lian angrily shouted, "How could you let Jing Tai Blue get on the embankment here?!"

  Zhao Thirteen scowled - wasn't this all your teaching? Now Jing Tai blue is restless, "Either do it or die." Does he dare to stop him?

  This crazy woman, he can stop her, but as soon as this woman is approached by a man, she starts taking off her clothes, scaring him and the brothers to retreat three thousand feet.

  Tai Shi Lan didn't have the heart to waste words with him at this moment. At a glance, she knew that the key to making someone jump off the dam still lay with that crazy woman.

  She rushed over, the madwoman saw people approaching and started undressing, Xiao Ying cried out to stop her, Tai Shi Lan squatted down, picked up the madwoman and ran.

  Everyone was stunned, and the half-undressed madwoman also froze, her withered breasts drooping down, brushing against Tai Shi's cheek. A pungent, indescribable odor assaulted his nostrils, making him want to vomit, but he forced himself to hold it back.

  The madwoman was carried away, and Xiao Ying immediately followed. Zhao Thirteen picked up Jing Tai Lan and ran, his strides were big, and he quickly surpassed Xiao Ying. Jing Tai Lan looked back at Xiao Ying with concern from his shoulder.

  As expected, that little girl couldn't run for a few steps and finally fell down because of the change in terrain, her eyes were not convenient, and she tripped over stones, ah, and fell to the ground.

  Zhao Shisan turned back, just about to pull, when Jin Zheng rode his horse and rushed up the embankment, panting heavily.

  Jin Zheng rushed over, but in the wrong direction, and didn't see Tai Shi Lan. He charged straight at Zhao Thirteen, who was holding a piece of Jing Tai blue porcelain and reaching out to grab Xiao Ying with his hand. Just as Jin Zheng arrived in front of him, about to speak, there was suddenly a loud "crack" sound.

  Crisp and enormous, the entire ground shook, like a mountain's pulse, severed in an instant.

  The sound was so ominous that it seemed to pull everyone's heart out, tugging and tearing with force, almost as if the ground itself had sunk in an instant, along with every person's heart.

  "The dam has burst!"

  Zhao Thirteen let out a terrified loud cry, while Jin Zheng in front of him and Bei Yanfu's Sun Tongzhi, who rushed over one step later, Zhang Dàmǒu, seemed to be shouting too, but surprisingly couldn't make any sound.

  Extreme unexpected terror causing vocal cord dysfunction, unable to make a sound.

  "Boom, boom, boom." Almost immediately after that desperate "crack", the dike beneath their feet began to transmit dull, muffled sounds, and then the surface of the dike suddenly collapsed downward. If one looked down from the horizon at this moment, they could see the Yu River embankment like a giant dragon coiled head to tail, with its massive skeleton breaking off segment by segment in the middle, each section falling neatly and evenly, as if it had been chopped into several pieces by an enraged god wielding an axe.

  In an instant, the long-accumulated river water surged violently, standing like a wall and rushing down angrily!

  Kim Jong's eyes reflected the river water that was pressed down by the mountain, it was a wall, a wall that crashed into his life, coming with a loud crash, about to crush his career and even his life in an instant.

  In this moment of despair and terror, what surged up was not only regret, but also unwillingness, and deep hatred.

  Resentful of the heavens' injustice, resentful of the corrupt superior, resentful that Zhang Qiuxin's heart was too black back then, filling the cracks at the bottom of the dam with sand and stones, mainly fixing the wooden pillars but discovering they were rotten and not replacing them, saying to leave some silver to give to King Kang as a satisfactory birthday gift.

  Still resentful of Tai Shi's existence, why was it her who discovered the unstable dam, why was it her who saved all the people, and why did she have to be so annoying that he had no choice but to pursue her in order to please Zhang Qiu, only to end up on a path of no return.

  At this moment, he hated everyone else, without realizing that he himself had also taken a share of the loot, had been arrogant and self-assured, and had also looked down on Tai Shi with disdain.

  A spark of electricity, a flash of thought, the moment hatred was born, he saw Zhao Thirteen turn to pull Xiao Ying, and the blue-green porcelain in his arms stretched out with concern, half of her body twisted out of Zhao Thirteen's embrace, while the floodwaters were just a few feet behind them.

  Jin Zheng suddenly took a step forward, snatched the blue scenery and threw it into the river water that was rolling back behind him!

  He immediately turned around and ran away.

  Zhao Thirteen pulled Xiao Ying over, suddenly feeling a void in his arms. He turned around, and his heart was shattered!

  A small piece of celadon, without a sound, slipped into the river's wall and vanished in an instant!

  At this time, Tai Shi Lan also saw this scene!

  She was not far from the crowd, but her figure was blocked by the long grass on the embankment. She saw Jin Zheng rushing over and felt uneasy in her heart, but she still carried a small mirror frame and couldn't just throw it down.

  At this moment, she turned her head and saw the blue porcelain vase flying high, passing through the water curtain and falling into the river wall. Tai Shi Lan didn't think twice, seeing someone rushing up from under the dam with all their might, and threw Xiaoying's body onto that person!

  She didn't care if the other person had received it or not, and she didn't even have time to see who the other person was. She turned around and rushed towards the embankment.

  At this moment, the river water is pouring down from all sides, pressing down on our heads.

  Digression

  Rubbing hands, today's votes are not bad, didn't let me get overtaken quickly, thank you everyone, yeah, one person gets a French kiss.