Returning to the 82 Mountain Village: An Encounter with the Journey to the West Film Crew at the Beg

The group arrived at the ancestral hall and found eight flashlights, along with three from the village and several kerosene lamps, thus acquiring lighting tools.

There aren't many men left in the village; most of them have gone to work as miners in the antimony mines.

The crew members volunteered, but Wang Bo originally didn't want people unfamiliar with the mountains to come along, but there was a severe shortage of manpower.

Zhou Fangyuan then arranged for the film crew members to pair up with the local villagers and patrol the mountain together.

The beam of the flashlight swept back and forth through the woods. The muddy path was even more difficult to walk on at night, and one could easily get stuck.

"Spring Dawn!"

"Zhang Caixia—!"

The shouts echoed through the mountains and forests, startling several small animals out, but still no one responded.

"drink!"

A startled cry startled the person next to him; it turned out that Zeng, the production assistant, had accidentally slipped into a mud pit.

It was already completely dark, but the shouts continued.

Zhou Fangyuan suddenly thought of something and turned to look at Li Lingyu.

"I found footprints on my way back from the forest today, which were very likely left by them."

"The wild forest? Is it dangerous?"

"That's dangerous; it would be a real problem if that happened."

Zhou Fangyuan found Chen Dashan and Wang Bo, who were nearby, and the four of them entered the wild forest.

Chunxiao felt a sharp pain in her head, as if she had been hit by a hammer, and she opened her eyes groggily.

She tried to move, but her whole body felt like it was falling apart. A sharp pain shot through her left leg, making her cry out.

She only remembers slipping and falling, then rolling downhill, and then she knows nothing more.

Chunxiao was startled and struggled to climb up, but her legs hurt so badly that she couldn't muster any strength.

Just then, she heard it.

"Spring Dawn Sister Tuo!"

It's Fang Yuanguo's voice! He's calling me!

"I……"

Chunxiao Zhang's throat tightened, and the sound she made was barely audible even to herself.

She was anxious and scared, and tears welled up in her eyes immediately.

She took a deep breath and shouted with all her might:

"I'm right here!"

She gritted her teeth, grabbed the tree trunk beside her, and tried to stand up, but as soon as she put force into her left leg, another piercing pain shot through her.

"I'm here!" Chunxiao shouted at the top of her lungs, this time even louder.

"Over there! There's a sound!" It was Zhou Fangyuan shouting.

Several beams of light shone at the same time, making Chunxiao squint. She saw Zhou Fangyuan rush over first, his face showing both anxiety and joy.

"Chunxiao! I've finally found you!" Zhou Fangyuan squatted down, shining his flashlight on her. "Where are you hurt? Can you move?"

"My leg... my left leg hurts..."

Li Lingyu carefully examined the mangled, bloody mess, and her face grew increasingly grave.

"It's a fracture, Comrade Zhou. Quickly find some straight wooden sticks to immobilize her leg."

"Okay, Brother Dashan, go and call the person with the door panel over here, and be quick!"

"Wait!" Chunxiao suddenly grabbed Li Lingyu's clothes. "My mom, my mom's still up there!"

Zhou Fangyuan asked quickly, "Where is she?"

"We picked mushrooms together and found a lot, but the ground was slippery. She tried to hold me back, and we rolled all the way down the mountain. She hit her head on a tree trunk."

I... I can't wake her up no matter how I call her. I want to carry her down the mountain.

But my legs hurt and I couldn't carry her, so I could only move her to a drier place and cover her with branches. I wanted to go back to the village to call for help, but I slipped and fell...

The child choked up as he spoke, but he didn't get to the point at all, so Zhou Fangyuan quickly interrupted him.

"We'll talk about these things later. Where did you leave Aunt Zhang?"

"There's a small cave...my mother lives there."

The two mountain folk next to him exchanged glances, and Zhou Fangyuan quickly conceived a plan in his mind before making a decision.

"Brother Dashan, hurry up and find others to help. Uncle Wang, you and Comrade Li stay here and watch over Chunxiao. When the door panel arrives, quickly have two people carry her down the mountain."

Mr. Zhang and Mr. Sun are waiting at the foot of the mountain. You two take a car directly to town. I'm going to find Aunt Zhang!

"Fang Yuanguo, I'm going too!" Chunxiao struggled to stand up. "I know the way!"

"Nonsense!" A sharp shout silenced the previously noisy scene instantly.

Li Lingyu even felt that Zhou Fangyuan was no longer her age, but more like an elder in the family.

"You can't move your leg anymore! Be a good girl and wait here, I promise I'll bring Aunt Zhang back safely!"

"Fang Yazi, you're all alone..."

Zhou Fangyuan calmly interrupted Wang Bo, "One has a broken leg, and the other's condition is unknown. We can't afford to waste a single second now."

Upon hearing this, Chen Dashan quickly went to call for help.

"Comrade Zhou! You must be careful," Li Lingyu said worriedly.

"Okay, don't worry."

Zhou Fangyuan had his own judgment. The little girl's leg was injured like this, so she couldn't walk very far. She also lost her footing and fell down. Therefore, the cave must be not far up above.

Chunxiao wanted to say something, but the excruciating pain in her leg prevented her from speaking.

They could only watch helplessly as Zhou Fangyuan went deeper into the search alone.

After a while, everyone arrived.

Ma Dehua and Yan Huanli carried Chunxiao onto a door panel and walked down the mountain.

The villagers wouldn't let the film crew go any deeper, but Li Lingyu, who knew some first aid, made an exception and continued the search.

Going down the mountain was more difficult than going up, especially when carrying someone; the two of them walked very slowly and carefully.

Chunxiao lay on the door panel. Although there was a soft cushion, every bump made her legs ache so much that she broke out in a cold sweat.

She gritted her teeth, trying not to cry out, but her eyes remained fixed on the direction where Zhou Fangyuan had disappeared.

The flashlight beam is getting dimmer and dimmer; the battery is almost dead.

"Uncle..." Yanzi whispered, "Uncle, please turn off one of the flashlights, save them... Fang Yuan and the others still need to use it..."

Yan Huanli paused for a moment, nodded, and turned off one of the flashlights.

Chunxiao lay on the door panel, looking at the few stars peeking through the gaps in the leaves above, feeling both panicked and afraid.

How is Mother? Is she still unconscious? It's so cold up in the mountains at night.

"We're almost at the bottom of the mountain, I can see car headlights!"

Chunxiao opened her eyes, struggled to lift her head, and sure enough, she saw a few faint lights at the foot of the mountain.

Just then, faint shouts came from the mountain behind them, along with the flickering light of flashlights.

"It's them! Fang Yuan and the others are down!" Ma Dehua said happily.

Chunxiao's heart tightened; she wanted to see, but the door lurched, and another piercing pain shot through her.

The flashlight beam got closer and closer, and we could see eight or nine figures.

Leading the way was Zhou Fangyuan carrying Aunt Zhang on his back! Uncle Wang and Li Lingyu supported her on either side, and they walked unsteadily.

"Mom!" Chunxiao couldn't help but call out.

Aunt Zhang didn't react at all, and Zhou Fangyuan's face looked particularly solemn in the dim light.

"How is he?" Yan Huanli asked anxiously.

"He hasn't woken up yet, there's blood on his head, and his breathing is very weak."

Zhou Fangyuan was panting heavily. "We have to hurry. We can't delay either of them."

The group quickened their pace and hurried down the mountain. Just when everyone was at their most exhausted, a faint groan came from Zhou Fangyuan's back.

"Aunt Zhang? Aunt Zhang, you're awake?" Zhou Fangyuan hurriedly turned his head to ask.

"This... Fang Yazi..."

"Mom!"

Chunxiao was so excited she almost fell off the door.

"Mom, wake up!"

Hearing her daughter's voice, Aunt Zhang struggled to get down: "Chunya? Where is Chunya? Is she alright?"

"I'm here! Mom, I'm here!"

Zhou Fangyuan carefully put Aunt Zhang down, and Li Lingyu quickly helped her up.

Aunt Zhang's face was pale, but her eyes had cleared up a bit. When she saw her daughter lying on the door panel, her eyes immediately reddened.

Fearing that Aunt Zhang had just injured her head and was now emotionally unstable, Zhou Fangyuan quickly recounted the events in a positive light.

Aunt Zhang thanked her repeatedly after hearing this.

Everyone returned safely to the foot of the mountain.