Chapter 26: Is She Going to Die Here Today?

"Prepare the car for the Western Hills! Now!"

His voice was hoarse with a fury and terror he’d never known before as he barked into the phone. The moment he finished, Fu Yancheng snatched his suit jacket from the chair and bolted from the office in a rush that swept a chill through the air. The gust he left behind sent papers flying from his desk, but he paid them no mind.

Meanwhile, at the Western Hills Botanical Garden.

Rain poured like a waterfall.

Qiao Xi was soaked to the bone, shivering uncontrollably from the cold. She clutched the precious sample of star-moon grass she’d struggled so hard to collect, stumbling through mud and water with great difficulty. Her vision blurred with rain; around her was nothing but the oppressive gray gloom and the relentless roar of the downpour. Fear and despair flooded her heart.

A thunderous rumble sounded from the direction of the hillside.

Then came the crashing of earth and rocks tumbling down.

A landslide.

Qiao Xi froze in shock, her heart skipping a beat. Instinctively, she turned to run, but her foot slipped and she fell heavily into the muddy water. Not far away, a torrent of muddy debris—rocks and broken timber swept up in its flow—came thundering straight toward her.

A mudslide.

Panic seized her. Qiao Xi struggled to her feet, but this time her body failed her entirely and she collapsed once more into the mire. Mud instantly choked her nose and mouth, making her cough violently as blackness danced before her eyes.

She hadn’t even caught her breath when a massive boulder, dislodged by the flood somewhere far above, crashed down and pinned her calf with brutal force.

A piercing, searing pain shot through her, as if her very bones had been crushed. Qiao Xi nearly lost consciousness from the agony.

Curled in the freezing mud, rainwater beat mercilessly against her face. The boulder pinned her leg so she couldn’t move, and she could only stare, helpless, as the terrifying mudflow drew ever closer.

“Is anyone there? Help! Somebody help me!”

Qiao Xi cried out uncontrollably, her voice swallowed by despair. “Help me!”

Her screams grew hoarse, but the only answer was the relentless roar of the rain.

It was over. Was she going to die here today?

Just as the pain threatened to drag her under, a voice pierced the storm.

“Qiao Xi!”

A desperate, heart-rending call split the downpour, echoing from afar.

That voice... was it Fu Yancheng?

With the last of her strength, Qiao Xi lifted her head and looked toward the source of the voice in disbelief.

A tall, imposing figure was charging through the rain, heedless of anything but her, racing with all his might.

It really was him!

Rain streamed down Fu Yancheng’s chiseled face and disheveled black hair. In his deep eyes raged a tempest of terror and overwhelming relief at having found her.

He ignored the frenzied shouts from Zhou Ze and the bodyguards behind him, throwing himself madly toward where she was trapped.

“Yancheng...”

Qiao Xi’s lips trembled, tears streaming down her face, mingling with the rain.

“Qiao Xi! Grab my hand!”

Fu Yancheng shouted, plunging into the mud without a second thought and seizing her wrist.

“Yancheng, I can’t move. My leg...”

Qiao Xi’s voice was barely more than a whisper, wracked with pain.

His gaze swept over her right leg, pinned cruelly by the boulder.

“Zhou Ze!”

He roared over his shoulder.

Zhou Ze and several bodyguards forced their way through the rain, straining together to drag the massive stone away with shouts of exertion.

Fu Yancheng immediately knelt and checked Qiao Xi’s injuries with the utmost care.

“Don’t be afraid!”

His voice trembled as he lifted her from the muck and, without hesitation, hoisted her onto his back.

“Hold on tight. Don’t let go, no matter what!”

His words were a fierce command.

“Mr. Fu, we can’t! The road is completely blocked, the mudslide’s too large. The way we came is buried, the rescue team can’t get through!” Zhou Ze cried out, despairing through the storm. “And... our convoy seems trapped ahead too. There’s no signal at all!”

Feeling Qiao Xi’s faint breath against his neck, Fu Yancheng’s gaze turned hard and unyielding, sharp as a lone wolf.

“Find higher ground, look for a house, hurry!”

He gave the order in a voice as cold and unbending as steel. “Go!”

With Qiao Xi on his back, Fu Yancheng trudged up the slope, away from the mudslide, step by agonizing step.

Qiao Xi clung to his back, her cheek pressed to his neck. Even the pain in her leg seemed to lessen, wrapped in the immense sense of security he gave. Silent tears slid down her cheeks.

No one knew how long they battled the rain and mud. Just as Fu Yancheng’s strength was nearly spent, Zhou Ze suddenly pointed ahead at a faint flicker of light on the mountainside.

“Mr. Fu, there’s a light! It looks like a farmhouse!”

Summoning his last reserves, Fu Yancheng gritted his teeth and pressed forward.

It was a remote farmhouse, tucked away from the world.

Staggering to the gate, Fu Yancheng didn’t bother with courtesy, pounding on the wooden door.

“Is anyone there? Please, open up! Help my wife!”

His voice was raw, desperate in a way he had never known before.

An elderly farmer opened the door and was startled by the imposing stranger before him and the pale, unconscious woman on his back. He quickly stepped aside.

“Come in, quickly!”

Fu Yancheng hurried inside, gently laying Qiao Xi on the kang bed.

“Please, my wife’s leg is badly injured. Do you have any clean cloth and water? I beg you!”

The urgency and pleading in Fu Yancheng’s eyes moved the old farmer.

“Yes, yes! Wife, bring some clean cloth and hot water!” the old man called to his wife.

Fu Yancheng, caked in mud, knelt by the bed, clutching Qiao Xi’s hand tightly.

“Xi Xi, hold on. We’re safe now, it’s all right. Look at me...”

With the hot water and clean cloth, he carefully wiped away the mud and blood from her leg. When he saw the ugly wound, a storm of anguish and fury churned in his eyes.

“Yancheng...”

Qiao Xi was icy cold, her teeth chattering uncontrollably. The pain in her leg and the wound on her arm burned fiercely. Her head throbbed, consciousness flickering.

He was speaking anxiously with the farmer, his voice low and urgent.

Then he hurried back to her side, kneeling down. A feverish palm pressed gently to her forehead.

“She’s burning up.”

His deep voice trembled with worry and barely suppressed fear.

The farmer’s wife brought a bowl of hot water and some fever medicine she’d found.

Fu Yancheng helped Qiao Xi sit up against his arm. He held the bowl in one hand and spoon in the other, blowing gently on a spoonful of water before offering it to her lips.

“Drink some hot water, warm yourself up.”

Qiao Xi sipped obediently, her mind still fuzzy.

“Take your medicine,” he said softly.

She swallowed the pills in a daze, and he helped her lie down, tucking the quilt securely around her.

“It’s all right now...”

His voice was low and soothing, almost hypnotic. He bent down, resting his forehead against hers. “Xi Xi, I’m right here. Sleep...”

Perhaps it was the medicine, or perhaps his voice was simply too comforting, but Qiao Xi’s taut nerves finally eased and she drifted into a peaceful sleep.

Night deepened. Outside, the rain still raged.

Suddenly, Qiao Xi’s steady breath grew ragged. Her body began to shake violently.

“Cold... so cold...”

She murmured unconsciously, her face flushed and her forehead burning.

Fu Yancheng woke with a start and reached out to touch her. His heart plunged.

A high fever, brought on by infection from her wounds.