Reborn as a Happy Wife in a Rural Family
Chapter 148: The Storm Arrives

Chapter 148: Chapter 148: The Storm Arrives

Female physicians usually only treated women for simple ailments.

There were very few like her who possessed genuine medical skills, and even fewer who made public appearances.

With Doctor Li’s help, the rescue work sped up considerably.

After Gu Qingli and Doctor Li had treated the six people on the open ground, Gu Chang’an immediately ordered others to carry them back to the cliff cave.

If the downpour arrived now, all their efforts would be in vain.

But whether they can survive or not is up to their fate.

However, Gu Qingli knew that these six definitely wouldn’t die.

"Quick, everyone run into the cliff cave!" Gu Chang’an shouted. Just as the six people were carried away, rain suddenly poured down as if a basin of water had been overturned from the sky. It came down in sheets.

Instantly, everyone was drenched to the bone.

"Miss, I’ll take you," Wuqing said, not waiting for Gu Qingli’s consent. She scooped her up and dashed towards the cliff cave.

While sprinting, Wuqing held Gu Qingli tightly protected in her embrace.

The rain was too heavy, chilling everyone to the core and making it hard to open their eyes.

Wuqing dared not slow her pace; otherwise, her lady’s entire body would get soaked. Wuqing herself lacked the internal energy to dry her clothes, nor did she have spare clothes to change into.

Gu Qingli didn’t dare to move a muscle in Wuqing’s arms, fearing that the slightest movement would disturb Wuqing’s concentration.

As Wuqing sped along, Gu Qingli could still hear, amidst the downpour, villagers shouting, "Run faster!" and "Give me a hand!"

SWOOSH.

Just as they were about to reach the cliff cave, Wuqing made a final surge, rushing into a less crowded section of the cave.

PHEW. Wuqing set Gu Qingli down and wiped the rainwater from her own face.

Just as the mistress and servant had settled, Yun No. 20 and Yun No. 18 rushed in. Each carried a person under their arm, and Yun No. 20 was even carrying Gu Qingli’s medicine box.

"Thank you, thank you!" The four people they brought in wiped the rainwater from their faces and quickly thanked Yun No. 20 and Yun No. 18, who merely nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

"Wuqing, your clothes are all soaked. What should we do?" Gu Qingli asked, frowning as she pinched Wuqing’s wet sleeve.

"Miss, we’ll be fine. We can use our internal energy to dry our clothes in a moment," Wuqing whispered in her ear.

Gu Qingli glanced around the cave. Most of the villagers, having arrived before the downpour, were already seated on the ground, leaving hardly any empty space.

"Let’s go further in and see."

Gu Qingli spoke to her three attendants. No matter how high their martial skills, wearing wet clothes could still make them fall ill.

The three nodded in agreement.

It was indeed inconvenient for them to dry their clothes in front of the villagers.

Yun No. 20 immediately took the lead, weaving through the crowd, with Gu Qingli and the other two following closely.

They saw that the four people Yun No. 20 and Yun No. 18 had just brought in were already being helped into dry clothes by some kind-hearted villagers.

The seated villagers saw them trying to go deeper into the cave, their clothes still dripping wet. Having seen Yun No. 20 and Yun No. 18 bring in four villagers earlier, many people automatically stood up to make way.

However, some couldn’t help but cast a few extra glances at them.

The villagers knew Gu Qingli had a maidservant, but they weren’t aware she also had male attendants.

As the four of them went deeper, the light grew very dim. While some light filtered in from the outside, the interior was almost pitch black.

Gu Qingli was led entirely by Wuqing’s hand.

"Miss, please be careful. The ground here is very uneven. It narrows further in but seems to lead straight through. We’ll go to the very end."

"Alright. Tell Yun No. 20 to be careful; there might be poisonous snakes or other creatures inside," Gu Qingli instructed.

"Rest assured, Miss. We’ve endured environments ten times worse than this. We’re not afraid."

Wuqing said this as if such things were commonplace for them.

But hearing this, Gu Qingli’s heart clenched with pain. How had such young children survived all that? If I had been exposed to such cruelty since childhood, I would have kicked the bucket long ago, not even needing to wait until I was in my twenties to be killed by that madwoman.

Gu Qingli’s grip on Wuqing’s hand tightened.

Sensing Gu Qingli’s emotions, a warm current surged through Wuqing’s heart. Miss is worried about us.

She bit her lip, blinking rapidly until her eyes were dry.

Which child who entered the Secret Sect wasn’t abducted or sold at the tender age of four or five? From that young an age, they began to face life-and-death situations and endure all sorts of brutally inhumane training.

Those deemed useless were disposed of, their deaths as insignificant as crushing an ant.

When they died, no one buried them; their bodies were directly tossed into a charnel pit to feed insects and snakes.

Who had ever cared about them? Who had ever concerned themselves with them?

They were merely living, breathing tools for killing.

Wuqing was truly grateful for her resolute decision back then, which had given them a chance to live like normal people, to be cared for, and to be treated as human beings.

This feeling is as warm and gentle as a breeze in March.

After walking about ten feet, they reached a larger cavern capable of holding twenty to thirty people.

Yun No. 20, who had arrived first, had already lit a tinder-fuse and tidied the place simply, piling the collected debris in a corner.

"You three, quickly dry your clothes," Gu Qingli said as soon as she arrived. At the same time, she took a lantern out of her Space and lit it, replacing Yun No. 20’s tinder-fuse.

The three of them were long past being surprised by Gu Qingli’s ability to conjure things from thin air as if performing a magic trick. Hearing her words, they each chose a spot and sat down cross-legged.

They began to circulate their internal energy to dry their clothes.

Gu Qingli’s lower garments and shoes were also soaked. She took out a pair of shoes from her Space and changed into them.

As for her trousers, she would have to endure them being damp for now.

Once she had changed, she drank a cup of spiritual spring water, and the chill in her body finally dissipated.

It was nearly early winter, and the weather had already turned very cold. She was very worried that after this downpour, an influenza epidemic and the legendary plague would surely break out.

The entire village had mobilized, yet they had only managed to dig out a dozen or so people. It was estimated that another dozen or so were still buried.

This didn’t even account for other villages, or the towns and county seat; the number of buried people must be in the thousands, if not tens of thousands.

She couldn’t be optimistic about how many more people could be rescued in those mere few hours.

And after this torrential rain, those without food, clothing, or shelter would likely end up as corpses strewn across the land.

Gu Qingli didn’t dare to imagine further what a horrifically tragic scene that would be.

Communication was poor here. Even an urgent dispatch sent by fast horse to the Capital City would take four or five days to arrive. Once it did, if the Daqian Emperor was a ruler who loved his people as his own children, that would be fortunate, as he would quickly send people for disaster relief.

But judging by how he had turned weapons against Xiao Yunjing, this Emperor was clearly not a good person.

She felt she understood Xiao Yunjing’s temperament. If the Emperor were a good man, Xiao Yunjing would not have drawn his weapon against him.

He would rather lead them far away from the Daqian Kingdom than engage in a major conflict with the Emperor.

So, by the time the Emperor actually took action, it would likely be too late.

The common people had no choice but to try and save themselves.

Gu Qingli sighed deeply. In the face of a natural disaster, human strength is so insignificant. Survival is a matter of luck.

She could only hope this torrential rain would pass quickly, allowing the common people to rebuild their homes as soon as possible.