She was tricked into marriage for three years, then remarried a childless, tough guy and became preg

The soldiers jumped off the vehicle one by one, but they didn't see Huo Xiuyuan.

Shen Tang's heart leaped into her throat. She grabbed a soldier and asked:

"Where is Commander Huo?"

"Commander Huo didn't come back with us. There wasn't enough room in the car. He, along with two soldiers and a dozen or so disaster victims, are waiting in the disaster area. We'll pick them up in a bit."

Shen Tang looked up at the sky. Dark clouds were already pressing in from the south. This rain had been brewing for several days, and it seemed unlikely to be light.

After thinking for a while, Shen Tang found Yi Lan and asked her for a few raincoats.

"I want to go with them to pick them up," Shen Tang said.

After Yilan found out the situation, she said to Shen Tang, "If there's enough room in the car, I'll go with you."

Shen Tang nodded. "Let's bring some dry food, just in case the rain gets heavier and the roads become difficult to travel."

Yilan nodded, and the two took raincoats and dry food. Shen Tang then went to get some gauze and anti-inflammatory medicine before quickly running over.

Cheng Lei saw Shen Tang and shouted, "Shen Tang, where are you going?"

"I'll go pick them up."

"I'll go with you!" Cheng Lei grabbed a shovel and got into the car.

Yilan looked at him. "Alright, let's go! What if the road is difficult?"

The car's headlights illuminated the mountain road as it sped into the darkness.

Looking at the dark mountains, Shen Tang felt increasingly uneasy.

Yilan took her hand. "Don't worry, I just asked, they're all safe and unharmed."

Shen Tang nodded, but she couldn't suppress the unease in her heart.

Halfway there, it started to rain, and the raindrops pounded on the tarpaulin-covered truck.

Shen Tang gripped the raincoat tightly in her hand. "It's raining."

"This rain is quite heavy!" Cheng Lei said, gazing at the dark sky.

Yilan watched nervously as the mountain road became increasingly muddy. The car sped forward, kicking up clouds of mud.

The car moved forward, but the road became increasingly difficult. The wheels rolled over gravel, causing the car to slide slightly to the left, then slightly to the right.

Driver Zhou stepped on the brake, pulled the handbrake, and jumped out of the car.

He took a few steps forward and looked at the road surface.

"No," said Master Zhou. "The road ahead is too narrow and full of loose stones. It'll be soaked through with rain, and it'll be easy to slip and fall down the mountain."

"What should we do then?" Yilan poked her head out of the carriage.

"Turn down there," Master Zhou pointed to an inconspicuous side road ahead. "There's a village down there. Go around from there and you should be able to connect to the winding mountain road on the other side."

"Okay." Yilan said and sat back down.

Shen Tang sat in the carriage, clutching her raincoat, her gaze fixed on the distant mountain wall.

Shen Tang was worried about Huo Xiuyuan and wondered how things were going on their end.

On the other side of the mountain, Huo Xiuyuan had already led the disaster victims into a cave.

He raised his binoculars and looked across the road, where he saw the car on the winding mountain road.

It's not far, but it takes more than an hour to get here by going around the mountain road, and the rain is getting heavier and heavier.

The refugees inside the cave huddled together, their dry rations almost gone. Huo Xiuyuan instructed his soldiers to distribute the remaining food.

"Commander Huo, have some too." A soldier handed over half a piece of dry rations.

"I'm not hungry," Huo Xiuyuan said. "You guys eat."

Huo Xiuyuan looked at the cars on the winding mountain road opposite him and turned onto a small road at the foot of the mountain.

Huo Xiuyuan frowned.

The rain is getting heavier, and I'm afraid the upstream riverbank will breach again. It's very dangerous for this car to go that way.

But they were too far away for him to contact them.

"Let the smoke rise," Huo Xiuyuan said, "so they can see where we are."

The soldier responded, picked up a few damp firewood and piled them outside the cave entrance, then poured some oil on them.

The flame licked at it, and thick smoke drifted upwards in a crooked and erratic manner.

Shen Tang saw the wisp of smoke on the other side.

Her eyes lit up: "They're there."

She picked up the binoculars from Yilan's hand and saw someone waving in their direction through the rain.

Shen Tang felt half relieved, and she raised her binoculars to look in that direction again.

"Cheng Lei, look, aren't they waving?"

Cheng Lei took the binoculars and looked at them for a while: "Yes, it's waving."

"Aren't they going to let us through?" Shen Tang muttered to herself.

She turned to the driver's seat and shouted, "Sir, is it safe for us to go this way?"

Mr. Zhou leaned out of the car window: "There's a road here, but it's not easy to drive on. It's safer than driving on the mountain road; at least we don't have to worry about overturning."

Shen Tang picked up the binoculars again and took another look. The person on the other side was still waving, making a lot of noise.

She frowned. "Are they preventing us from going this way?"

Master Zhou waved his hand: "They're just happy to see us. Buckle up, I'll drive faster and pick them up as soon as possible."

Yilan tugged at Shen Tang's sleeve: "Master Zhou has been driving mountain roads for more than ten years, he knows this road well."

Shen Tang didn't say anything more, but she still felt uneasy.

The car swayed and bumped along, the wheels grinding over gravel and mud with a dull groan, and the rain was even heavier than before.

Shen Tang raised her binoculars again and looked in the direction of the wisp of smoke, but the rain was too thick to see any figures.

"What was that sound?" Shen Tang suddenly asked.

Cheng Lei listened intently: "Thunder, perhaps?"

"It doesn't seem like it." Shen Tang stood up and peered out the car window.

The sound grew louder and louder, like thunder, but it wasn't thunder.

Shen Tang's expression changed: "Did it get waterlogged?"

The three people in the car looked up at the same time—a stream of muddy yellow water was gushing down the hillside, faster than rolling stones, sweeping away pebbles and weeds along with it, rushing straight down with mud and sand.

"Master Zhou, the floodwaters have risen!" The three of them banged on the car window at the same time.

"I saw it!" Master Zhou's hand jerked violently, and he floored the accelerator, causing the car to lurch forward.

He gritted his teeth, his voice cracking: "Hold on tight—"

Several people clung tightly to the edge of the carriage, which swayed violently in the mud. The rear of the vehicle was hit by a sudden shove of water, and the entire vehicle slid half a meter to the left and forward.

Shen Tang and Yi Lan were thrown out. Cheng Lei grabbed Shen Tang's arm and hooked his leg around Yi Lan's waist.

Shen Tang and Yi Lan quickly grabbed the edge and sat up.

The water had already submerged the wheels, and the vehicle was shaking more and more violently. Soon, water, mixed with mud and gravel, seeped in from the gaps in the bottom of the carriage.

"What should we do?" Yilan asked through gritted teeth.

The wheels spun aimlessly in the mud, and the engine emitted a muffled roar.

"Master Zhou, can we drive uphill?" Shen Tang called out.

"I can't shift gears!" Master Zhou's voice came from the driver's seat, panting heavily. "The water is too strong, the wheels can't get any power."

Yilan's face had turned pale. She gritted her teeth and gripped the ropes on the side of the carriage tightly with both hands.

Cheng Lei swallowed hard. "No, we have to think of something right away!"

"We can't wait any longer," Shen Tang said. "If the water rises another half meter, the car will be washed away."

She turned and called out to the driver's seat, "Master Zhou, is there a rope on the truck?"

"Yes! It's under the back seat!" Master Zhou shouted.