Chapter 13: Shattered Beliefs

"Mu Bai!" A burly man flung open the tent flap, his eyes wide as he searched among the patients who were lying down, sitting, or sprawled out.

"I'm here." Mu Bai, who had just woken up, stretched his limbs, feeling the strength coursing through his muscles and sighed inwardly.

It's good to be alive.

"How are you? We were told you were dead and came to collect your body." Zhou Tian walked over to Mu Bai, scrutinizing him closely but seeing no signs of death.

Mu Bai stiffened and instinctively glanced at the little girl in black beside him.

He had indeed died, but his master had brought him back to life.

Zhou Tian, a member of the Qinglong Special Forces, had sharp senses. He followed Mu Bai's gaze and widened his eyes in disbelief. "Captain?"

Ye Jianghuai, who was half-hidden by Ling Ji, looked up at Zhou Tian and nodded. "Report the situation here."

"Yes sir." Zhou Tian instinctively stood at attention, his expression serious as he began his report, forgetting his earlier confusion.

Wasn't the captain supposed to be with the supply convoy? How did he get here ahead of the convoy?

And how did he get here?

Seeing Zhou Tian's distraction successfully redirected, Ye Jianghuai quietly sighed in relief and led everyone out of the tent to begin rescue and disaster relief efforts.

"Um, my lord, may I leave now?" White Guardian, who had been trying to minimize his presence, looked at the new batch of names on his death notice and asked cautiously, "New tasks have come in."

"Go ahead." Having achieved her goal, Ling Ji wasn't unreasonable. She waved him off.

White Guardian swiftly grabbed his scythe and hurried away.

Jin Hong watched him disappear, then turned back to her idol, her eyes sparkling.

Ling Ji felt a bit uncomfortable under her intense gaze. She coughed and beckoned her over.

"My lord." Jin Hong's eyes lit up and she hurried over.

Ling Ji patted her pockets, feeling a bit embarrassed when she found nothing. "You helped Mu Bai. Is there anything you want?"

Thinking of her treasures—pearls, jade, emeralds, gold, silver, beast skins, and demon bones—Ling Ji mentally tallied her inventory, ready to reward the little fish demon.

"I don't want anything else." Jin Hong shook her head, understanding Ling Ji's intention. Her eyes burned with admiration as she said, "I just want to stay by your side."

"Though my powers are low, I can still be useful." Determined to seize this chance, Jin Hong eagerly promoted herself. "As a koi, I can bring you luck, change your fortune, and serve you."

"Though I failed to leap over the dragon gate, I'm still a fast runner. Any errands you have, I'll handle them flawlessly."

"You tried to leap over the dragon gate?"

"Yes." Jin Hong's shoulders drooped at the mention, her whole demeanor deflated. "But I failed."

"How did you end up here?"

Though she wasn't great with directions, she could recognize rivers perfectly. The dragon gate was in Heze, the koi lived in Mengjin, and this place was neither.

"I was swept here by the river." Jin Hong pouted, initially wanting to garner sympathy, but then her expression turned serious. "Actually, there's more to the story."

"I was swimming along my usual route when a serpent appeared out of nowhere, causing floods and changing the river's course. Unable to fight the flood, I was swept here."

"Are you saying this flood, which caused so many casualties, was caused by a serpent?" Mu Bai's face changed, his voice rising.

Jin Hong nodded. "The serpent is trying to transform into a dragon, stirring up chaos. This time, the disturbance was especially large."

"A serpent turning into a dragon..." Ling Ji mused, her eyes flickering with thoughts.

"If we stop the serpent, will the rain stop?" Mu Bai asked, getting out of bed and putting on his shoes, looking seriously at Jin Hong.

"Probably." Jin Hong glanced at Ling Ji, uncertain if the rain was caused by the serpent or was naturally due. But as an ancient demon and pure-blooded dragon, Ling Ji had strong control and perception of rain. She would know the exact cause.

Mu Bai also looked at Ling Ji.

Ling Ji nodded.

"My lord, I have a request." Mu Bai walked up to Ling Ji, looking down at the girl who barely reached his shoulder, his expression solemn and eyes filled with earnest plea. "Can you..."

Before he could finish, a frantic shout interrupted. "Pack up and leave quickly! The flood is rising and will soon submerge this place."

The tent bustled with activity.

People hurriedly packed supplies and moved patients, pushing the two demons and one human to the tent's edge.

"Don't just stand there. Either help or leave quickly."

A nurse rushed past them, muttering as she joined her colleagues in packing up.

"Big brother, big sister, my lord." Haizhou squeezed out from inside, his face red with effort. "Where are you going?"

He tugged at his shirt, his eyes filled with fear and anxiety, yet he stood there timidly, afraid of annoying them.

Mu Bai knelt down, ruffling the boy's hair. "Don't worry. Someone will come to take you to a safer place. Stay with the group."

"What about you?"

Mu Bai paused, looking at the raging floodwaters nearby, his gaze firm. "I have to go save more people like you."

Haizhou hesitated, surprised that someone who almost died would go back into the flood to rescue others. He wanted to ask him not to go, but seeing the green military uniform, he swallowed his words.

The country's in need, soldiers must respond.

It was a belief ingrained in every soldier.

He hugged Mu Bai. "Take care, big brother." Then he ran to Ling Ji, looking up at the cold-faced girl. "My lord, you'll protect big brother, right?"

Ling Ji initially didn't want to respond but felt his pure faith and knew he had helped her escape. "Yes."

She nodded slightly.

Haizhou's face lit up with a smile. He bowed deeply to her, then ran back to help the nurses pack up.

Ye Jianghuai and Zhou Tian approached. "The flood is rising fast. Follow the others to a safer place."

Others might not know, but Ye Jianghuai saw Ling Ji bring Mu Bai back from the underworld. Mu Bai's body must be weak. He couldn't let his soldier die again.

"Captain, I can handle it." Mu Bai knew he meant well, but as a soldier, couldn't leave the battlefield prematurely.

"That's an order."

Mu Bai stubbornly shook his head. "But this flood isn't a natural disaster. It's caused by a monster."

Ye Jianghuai's gaze turned cold. "What did you say?"

Mu Bai repeated Jin Hong's words, then said, "We need to kill the serpent to stop the rain and proceed with the rescue."

"Hey, Mu Bai, have you been waterlogged? That sounds ridiculous." Zhou Tian wanted to knock some sense into him.

"It's true. Ask the captain." Mu Bai dodged Zhou Tian's hand, seriously.

"Captain, do you believe this?" Zhou Tian asked Ye Jianghuai, ready to teach Mu Bai a lesson but stopped by a cold, firm voice. "I believe."

Zhou Tian turned in disbelief, seeing the serious captain. Was he hearing things?

Something so fantastical must be a lie. Why would the wise, capable captain believe Mu Bai's nonsense?

"Do you believe there are dragons, captain?" Zhou Tian asked, half-joking.

"I do." Ye Jianghuai replied seriously. "I rode a dragon here."

Zhou Tian: "..."

Great, the captain's mind is waterlogged too.

Vice-captain, help!

Twenty kilometers from Fengchuan County, Chen Yicheng, Zhou Tian's hopeful rescuer, was stranded on high ground due to the rising flood.

"Vice-captain, the water's too deep. Vehicles can't pass." A soldier reported.

"Any other route to Fengchuan County?"

"None, all flooded." The soldier was dejected. "Unless the water recedes, we're stuck."

Jiang Lingyan and Yang Zhen were also stranded, but had better luck, their vehicles stopped at the county's edge.

"We'll have to walk from here." Dong Shanmin assessed the situation. "Scared?"

"No." Yang Zhen donned a raincoat, packing equipment in a waterproof bag. "I expected this and wouldn't be here if I was scared."

"Good." Dong Shanmin gave her a thumbs up and got out first.

Passing a nanny van, Yang Zhen peeked inside but saw nothing through the tinted windows.

She followed Dong Shanmin closely towards the rescue station by the Yellow River.

The closest safe zone to the disaster area, someone was there to meet them.

"System, what do we do?" Jiang Lingyan's voice trembled inside the motionless nanny van.

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