Shuangling: Braving the Rapids

Following the sound, they saw a group of people with heavy mining explosion-proof lights on their waists rushing towards the uncle and nephew. For a moment, streaks of pale light shone in the dim yellow night.

Village accountant Qin Xiaofu led the way, followed closely by Ma Xiangju, Qin Xiaohu, and others. Needless to say, this small team was there to look for Maodan and Pipi.

The group had searched the village thoroughly, turning it upside down, and had even checked the Xiling fire site twice, but they still couldn't find the two children. At that moment, upon seeing Aimin, Ma Xiangju immediately stumbled and rushed over: "Aimin, you were on the mountain before the fire started, weren't you? Did you see my Maodan?"

As soon as these words were spoken, more than twenty headlamps shone on Aimin, drawing everyone's attention. This man, who had first discovered the fire, had become the last hope for both families. Yue Chuan, seeing his uncle's shoulders tremble slightly, assumed he was exhausted and stepped in front of the crowd to explain, "My uncle just finished putting out the fire and hasn't rested yet..."

Before he could finish speaking, Aimin said firmly, "I've seen him!"

The two words were ordinary, yet they were enough to pierce through the thick smoke of the night. At this moment, everyone opened their mouths wide and pricked up their ears to hear Aimin continue speaking.

"I saw Mao Dan and Pi Pi!" Ai Min wiped the soot off his face, his Adam's apple bobbing violently. "Right when the cypress forest was just starting to smoke, I saw two kids in the ravine. I chased them down the mountain right then and there. What? They still haven't come home?"

After saying this, Aimin felt a chill run down his spine. No one knew the severity of this wildfire better than him. He had risked his life to escape the thick smoke after the fire started. If these two children disobeyed and went back to Xiling, they would face the same predicament as him, and the consequences would be unimaginable.

Upon hearing this news, the faces of the parents and relatives searching for their children turned extremely grim. At that moment, Pipi's mother suddenly pushed through the crowd, her voice trembling with sobs, and cried out, "You clearly saw the children, why didn't you take them down the mountain? My children! Waaah..."

"Yes! Yes! If you had taken them home earlier, things wouldn't have turned out like this..."

Pipi's mother was probably too anxious, but it was going too far for the old hunter's daughters-in-law to jump out and blame Aimin—they had already given the necessary reminders, and it was really not Aimin's fault.

These words pierced Aimin's heart like steel needles. He stood there, speechless for a moment. Seeing this, Ma Xiangju jumped in front of the women and roared, "Shut up, all of you! What does this have to do with Aimin?!"

After saying that, he turned to Aimin and pleaded, "Aimin, the mountain is on fire everywhere, and we have no idea what's going on. Since you've seen the child before, could you... could you take us to find him?"

Ma Xiangju was already in tears, saying that for a mother, not being able to find her child was worse than being killed.

Seeing that Ma Xiangju and Pipi's mother were both crying, Aimin felt sorry for them and quickly said to the others, "The two children ended up heading towards Dongling. Without further ado, let's go now!"

Hearing this, the parents were slightly relieved, but Yue Chuan, standing to the side, couldn't be happy at all. Everyone else was pointing the finger at Ai Min looking for the child, but he was worried about whether his uncle could handle it. However, the boy knew he couldn't persuade his uncle; all he could do was follow behind him and be a good follower.

"Xiao Chuan'er, you're not fully recovered yet, go home first," Aimin said, tugging at his nephew's sleeve.

"Uncle, don't try to get rid of me this time. The more people there are, the more help we can get. Besides, I won't be in any danger if I stay behind you."

Yue Chuan was stubborn and insisted on protecting his uncle. Ai Min couldn't do anything about it, so he shook his head and didn't say anything more, but simply handed the wooden stick in his hand to his nephew.

Thus, the search team gained two new members, and the core of the team was changed from Qin Xiaofu to Aimin, who was more familiar with the distribution of the wildfires. Under his leadership, the group avoided several dangerous areas and soon arrived at the junction of the East and West Ridges.

"Look, this is where I last met Pipi and Maodan'er," Aimin said, standing on the boulder and pointing to the pitch-black valley.

"Hairy Egg!"

"Pipi!"

Upon hearing this, the parents sprang into action. They shone their headlamps around the room while calling out their children's nicknames.

Because of the wildfire, the valley was no longer as peaceful as usual. In addition to the shouts of the search team, there were also crackling and popping sounds. There was no way around it; the valley was a natural sound amplifier, and even though the plants in the valley had not been affected by the wildfire, those chaotic sound waves still gathered there.

The parents' voices were almost hoarse from shouting, but there was still no response. At this point, Aimin suggested, "Stop shouting, save your energy, let's go through the valley to Dongling later!"

No one said anything more, leaving it all to Aimin to decide.

Aimin then dispersed the group and began a grid search using lights as communication signals. Even after everyone had crossed the valley, they still found nothing. Well, it's not that they found nothing; at least they ruled out the possibility that the two children were in the valley.

But if they weren't in the valley, where could they be? If they were on the East Ridge, the two children should have heard everyone's shouts. Since no distress signal was received, their chances on the East Ridge are slim. Are we going to have to go back to the West Ridge after all that trouble? It's still a sea of ​​fire there. If it comes to that, is there any chance the two children will survive?

Anxiety spread through the search team. Pipi's mother began to sob weakly. This time, no one tried to comfort her. Everyone was exhausted and just kept their heads down, hurrying on their way.

By the time the team set foot in the Dongling area, it was already midnight.

By this time, everyone's face was etched with exhaustion, and Ma Xiangju was in even worse shape. She had tripped and fallen while leaving the valley, her kneecap hitting a rock, and now she was limping behind the group.

She was filled with worry and concern for her own child.

Ma Xiangju prayed countless times in her heart, and even swore an oath to the two temples on the East and West Ridges to exchange her lifespan for Mao Dan'er's safety, but even so, she still had no peace in her heart.

At one point, she looked back at the sky over Xiling and saw flames shooting into the sky, a scene like purgatory. She was immediately plunged into despair. If her son really met with misfortune this time, she was not prepared to live either.

From the moment Ma Xiangju was tricked into coming to this small mountain village, she lost all hope of survival. If it weren't for her pregnancy, she would have divorced her useless, lame husband long ago. This wasn't her hometown to begin with; without her son, she had no relatives or friends—why would she be willing to live on?

Countless thoughts rushed through her mind, plunging Ma Xiangju into deep darkness. But just then, a faint sound came from the old mine pit not far away…