Shuangling: Braving the Rapids

Ma Xiangju rushed to the crash site immediately, followed closely by Huo Zi, who had lost control of his bladder, and Qin Yuechuan, whose face was deathly pale.

"Mao Dan'er, are you alright... Let Mommy see you, quick... Let Mommy see you..."

Ma Xiangju was disheveled and dazed, sobbing with snot and tears streaming down her face.

In the chaos, she forgot to untie Mao Dan'er's ropes and forcibly pulled her unconscious son into her arms.

Huozi stood blankly behind the mother and child, like a wooden stake, looking lifeless.

"What are you standing there for! Get them to the hospital right now!" Yue Chuan roared, roughly shoving aside the hole blocking his way.

At this moment, the boy's bloodshot eyes were fixed on his uncle, Aimin, on the haystack—Aimin had already died, but strangely, blood was still gushing from his mouth.

"Uncle! Say something, Uncle!"

Yue Chuan shook Ai Min's body, and in an instant, his palms were covered with warm, sticky blood. He didn't care about anything else, but saw a sharp, withered branch piercing through his uncle's left chest, dark red blood dripping down the barb.

Why would such a deadly thing be hidden in a haystack? The bottom of the pit was clearly cleaned before!

The thought flashed through his mind for only a moment before the boy was overwhelmed by a torrent of grief. He threw his head back and let out a wild howl: "Help! Save my uncle!"

Among the villagers who had gathered around, some checked Aimin's breathing and examined his pupils by lifting his eyelids, but ultimately shook their heads in silence.

Aimin died, in the mine he so vehemently hated. But the boy lying on the corpse refused to accept this fact; his bulging eyes were even more horrifying than the dead man's.

"My uncle isn't dead! Get him to the hospital quickly!"

Yue Chuan tried desperately to help his uncle up, but even with all his might, he could only turn the corpse over. Perhaps he used too much force, because the boy accidentally fell to the ground. A sense of powerlessness overwhelmed him, and the boy finally burst into a heart-wrenching cry.

The villagers stood rooted to the spot like wooden stakes, ignoring Yue Chuan's pleas. They weren't entirely without pity, but in this situation, they dared not make a move. Just then, a burly figure pushed through the crowd—it was Qin Geda, the mentally challenged man! Before everyone's eyes, he skillfully tossed the corpse, pierced by broken branches, onto his shoulder. Yes, this action was exactly the same as when he rescued the goat that had fallen into the mine pit years ago.

The lump charged wildly like a black bear. Several quick-thinking individuals chased after it with flashlights, but they couldn't catch it. No one knew why it was running, nor where it was going. Soon, it and Aimin, carried on its shoulder, disappeared into the night...

The wildfires in Xiling have been completely extinguished, but the damned smoke has become even more rampant. The ghostly smoke obscures the sky; this is probably the true darkest hour.

Without moonlight or starlight, the outlines of the mountains were invisible. This was the first time in Yue Chuan's life that he had ever witnessed such a dense, dark night.

After an unknown amount of time, a distraught figure appeared on a mountain path where even the flashlight beam couldn't reach. The surrounding noise faded into the distance, while the indescribable wisps of black mist relentlessly pursued him.

He ran wildly, relentlessly pursued by the black mist; he stopped, and the gloom hung suspended like a curtain.

The boy knew he was doomed. As the black mist transformed into thousands of tentacles and burrowed into the top of his head, his pupils suddenly lost their luster and turned into two deep black holes.

The blind boy grabbed at the air, the loose stones beneath his feet shifted, and he tumbled and fell down the hillside.

After a long while, a shooting star streaking across the sky startled him awake. The boy futilely reached for the streak of light, but the last glimmer of light slipped through his fingers.

Tears mixed with soot slid down his cheeks. He tried to wipe them away, but found himself unable to move—no, he should say he had lost control of his body. In a daze, a yin-yang symbol suddenly appeared deep in his consciousness: black and white attacking each other, relentlessly tearing and colliding.

Sorrow and joy, bitterness and kindness, hatred and grace, indulgence and restraint, hope and despair, light and darkness—these extremely opposing emotions surged into the young host's dantian, tearing him apart.

The boy felt as if his internal organs were being ripped apart by sharp blades; it was an excruciating, searing pain. He couldn't bear it any longer, and his brain went into shock again, causing him to fall into a coma...

Geda placed the cold carcass on the bluestone platform next to the sheepfold. This was indeed the place where pigs and sheep were slaughtered for the New Year, but it was also Qin Yunhai's worktable for treating sick lambs. Geda vividly remembered that the lamb that had fallen into the mine pit years ago was saved by Old Hai right here.

At this moment, the simple-minded Geda stood in front of the stone platform, quietly waiting for the old man to come and treat Aimin. But instead of Qin Yunhai, he bumped into a woman with short hair and high cheekbones.

As soon as the woman appeared, she stumbled and rushed to Aimin's body, kowtowing and begging for forgiveness while wailing loudly.

"Aimin! It's my fault you died! It's all my fault! I shouldn't have let you go save my child..."

"Aimin! You're leaving like this? How will we ever repay your kindness, Aimin..."

"Aimin! Wake up! I'm willing to die in your place..."

……

Yes, the short-haired woman with snot and tears streaming down her face was Ma Xiangju. She had been carrying Maodan'er down the mountain when she bumped into Qin Geda. At that moment, she was only concerned with her son's safety and hadn't had time to inquire about Aimin's condition. Now, the child had been taken to the clinic and, after confirming it was just a minor injury, she turned and ran to her savior to express her gratitude. However, words of thanks seemed somewhat superfluous, because Aimin had died the moment he fell into the pit.

The earth-shattering cries alerted half the village. Those who had come out to see what was happening unexpectedly stumbled upon this scene.

Ma Xiangju knelt on the ground and frantically banged her head against the ground, a sight that made everyone's hearts clench with pain.

Several kind-hearted elderly women came to comfort her, but Ma Xiangju ignored them all. She kept crying and slapping herself hard with her hands, repeating "I deserve to die." When someone tried to lift her up, her limp body suddenly burst out with the strength of a bull.

Aside from kneeling and kowtowing, Ma Xiangju didn't know what else she could do for Aimin. The image of the fall was still etched in her mind. If Aimin hadn't rolled over and acted as a cushion for Maodan'er, how could her son have survived unharmed? Others only knew that Aimin had died saving Maodan'er, but Ma Xiangju understood that Aimin had died for her son.

Faced with this immense kindness, Ma Xiangju could do nothing but try to make up for her debt through this almost self-destructive method.

She repeatedly praised the deceased's virtues and recounted Aimin's many kindnesses to his family. Although she was trying to comfort the spirits of the fallen heroes, she always gave people an extremely oppressive feeling. Perhaps only in this way could everyone stop doubting her piety.

The news spread like wildfire. By now, everyone present knew about Aimin's rescue. They stopped trying to comfort Ma Xiangju, not because they had lost their compassion, but because they didn't want to disrupt a solemn ceremony of atonement.

Not long after, the clueless Qin Huozi approached Ma Xiangju, intending to persuade his wife to go home and take care of the children. Instead, he was met with a barrage of slaps and endless insults.

"If you were capable, Aimin wouldn't have died!"

"With so many good families out there, how could I have been so blind as to marry you!"

"Get out! Get out! It's all your fault for not watching the child properly!"

……

This time, Qin Huozi didn't dwell on who was right or wrong. He didn't fight back, letting his wife punch and kick him. A spineless man could only commemorate the deceased in an even more spineless way. It seems this mourning ceremony was destined to end in a farcical and hasty manner…