Chapter 79: Discussing the Gods! (Second Update)

The sky seemed to have a huge tear, and as the torrential rain poured down, the fire was finally contained; the fire line blocking Qian Qixue and the others also gradually shrank.

They used the rain to break out, escaping their previous predicament and finding another safe route down the mountain; however, this route necessarily went through the area near the lightning.

Fortunately, the lightning has now weakened and is not as dense as before; they only needed to pass through briefly, and there should be no problem.

Besides this, other paths were blocked by burnt‑broken tree trunks and other obstacles, so only this road was usable.

After Qian Qixue and the others made their decision, they quickly set off toward the southeast.

The fire blazed wildly; facing this fire monster that devoured countless lives, Qian Qixue and the others showed no fear.

The pouring rain extinguished its arrogant blaze; countless water vapors rose, and although thunder rumbled overhead, it inexplicably gave them a sense of reassurance.

Probably because the lightning and rain came just in time.

The lightning struck not far away, even denser than what they had seen in the sky, with purple and silver-white intertwining like countless silver snakes.

Because they feared being struck by lightning, everyone walked quickly, needing to pass through this narrow path in the shortest time possible.

Why did the lightning strike this place?

Qian Qixue was not normally a curious person, but this thought suddenly popped into his mind, and he glanced over as if compelled by some unseen force.

Just then the lightning paused, gathering new energy in the heavens; the light gradually faded, and by a strange coincidence they were able to see what was happening over there.

A peculiar snake was coiled there.

Why say it's peculiar?

Because this snake differed from all the serpents Qian Qixue had seen; its scales emitted a unique coloration, making it look especially extraordinary.

As firefighters, they had actually dealt with snakes quite often.

The surrounding area is mountainous with a rich and diverse ecosystem, so snakes occasionally wander out; they would capture them and then release them.

But Qian Qixue had never seen such a serpent before.

Moreover, it was right where the lightning struck—could it have avoided being hit?

Qian Qixue's steps gradually slowed, and without realizing it he fell to the rear of the group,

"Captain, why are you walking so slowly? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"

A teammate's voice pulled Qian Qixue back from his wandering thoughts; all he heard was a low thunder rumble in the sky, as if the next round of lightning were about to arrive.

He instantly dared not delay any further and quickly quickened his pace.

Boom—

With a deafening blast, Qian Qixue and the others jumped in fright; he instinctively turned his head and looked again at the spot where that snake had been.

In an instant, the lightning struck straight down; the blinding light made it impossible to keep eyes open, but it vanished in a mere moment.

Qian Qixue suddenly felt an indescribable sense of awe welling up inside him, yet he saw the snake still coiled there, unmoving.

Soon the whole group finally broke through and reached a safe spot.

Their silhouettes in the rain‑mist appeared especially hazy, save for the orange‑yellow patch on their clothing, which gradually grew unusually bright.

Others who saw Qian Qixue and the others still found it hard to believe, thinking they were hallucinating.

"Captain, you're back!"

"Great, the captain and the others are unharmed!"

"Captain, we couldn't reach you earlier; we almost thought something had happened to you."

Besides Qian Qixue, all the personnel who had lost contact earlier were also found; the crowd rejoiced, their excited delight evident on their faces.

Qian Qixue spoke briefly, recounting what had happened earlier on the mountain.

"Now that heaven has sent a downpour, even the skies are helping us; this is a good opportunity for us. Let's seize the time to further suppress the mountain fire—does everyone have confidence we can completely extinguish it?"

"Yes!"

Everyone spoke in unison, full of confidence; this heavy rain brought hope and eased much of their pressure.

Although it cannot yet be fully extinguished, with their efforts added, the dual approach means the mountain fire will be put out before long.

Moreover, if this downpour continues, it will greatly help their subsequent monitoring of embers and preventing the mountain fire from reigniting.

The mountain roads are difficult in the heavy rain, but everyone is full of vigor, their faces brimming with hope.

Qian Qixue had expended a great deal of energy and ought to rest now, yet he still chose to keep fighting on the front lines.

The weather monitoring station also reported good news: the wind direction has shifted to a headwind, and the wind speed has decreased, meaning the mountain fire will no longer spread rapidly.

Even heaven seems to be on their side; the rain has not ceased, and as they expected, the mountain fire is visibly shrinking, so extinguishing it is merely a matter of time.

Raindrops fell on the parched farmland; the once‑withered crops received an endless influx of vitality and sprang back to life.

Some drought‑resistant plants, whose leaves had curled from the heat and dryness, now unfurled again, their broad leaves receiving heaven's sweet rain.

The dried‑up ponds once more shimmered with fresh water, and the severed streams began to flow gently once again.

Everything was developing for the better.

As the heavy rain ceased, and with the continued efforts of additional personnel, the mountain fire was nearly extinguished; the firefighters have not left yet, still checking for any embers to prevent a resurgence.

The villagers at the mountain foot also returned to their normal lives; to thank the firefighters for their hardship, they provided three meals a day and even carried water up the mountain.

The warm, simple villagers are basically fine; if one must point out a flaw, it is that they are too superstitious.

For example, right now.

"Captain Qian, when you went up the mountain to fight the fire, did you see the Mountain God? I heard Little Grass say the Mountain God is a snake—too bad we lack the fortune to see it."

The auntie who brought the food chattered on, saying the word "Mountain God" appeared most frequently.

Qian Qixue and the others had somewhat complex expressions, as if they wanted to say something, but in the end they did not speak.

That rain truly came too timely and too coincidental; at first they had even prepared themselves for sacrifice, but in the end they survived by luck, and even a staunch materialist would have doubts in such a situation.

On the other hand, the firefighters who had not been present and were not trapped could not help but interject:

"Auntie Li, the talk of the Mountain God is unreliable; those are all feudal superstitions, not to be taken seriously."

Li Dashen shook their head, "You all are still too young, after all, what feudal superstition, the village's little grass girl, but I have seen it with my own eyes."

These days, while carrying out firefighting work, the firefighters have also heard about what happened in the village.

After all, every villager is familiar with it and often mentions it, wishing they could grab someone and talk for days; even if they wanted to stay ignorant, it would be hard.

"How can we take a child's words seriously?"

These firefighters have never been trapped by a mountain fire, so they have not experienced the feeling of despair followed by hope.

In their view, these hearsay matters are not very credible.

Li Dashen's expression gradually turned stern: "Xiaocao Tou wouldn't lie; moreover, those strange things are enough to prove it, just like this heavy rain—it was prayed for by the Mountain God."

Another firefighter couldn't help but interject: "Auntie, you're wrong; this is related to the weather, purely a coincidence."

If the firefighter hadn't said that, Li Dashen would have gained full confidence and wished to broadcast it over a loudspeaker.

"Didn't you meteorologists say earlier that it wouldn't rain during this period? Yet the thunderclouds drifted over suddenly, a huge mass— and the downpour came as soon as it was said."

"How could such a miraculous thing be done by anyone other than the Mountain God? And how could there be so many coincidences in the world? It must be that our Mountain God is powerful and kind-hearted."

Li Dashen spoke with such coherence that it left that firefighter at a loss for words.

After a while he couldn't utter any rebuttal, "It seems to be something like that."

He scratched his head, feeling a bit anxious, "Oh dear, I almost got led astray by you, Auntie—why don't you believe? There really is no Mountain God in this world."

Seeing he still wanted to rebut, Qian Qixue glanced at the towering mountain and suddenly patted his shoulder, "Alright, hurry up and pack your things."

Whether one believes in it or not, perhaps this great mountain truly possesses some mysterious power.

Although it sounds far-fetched, Qian Qixue himself cannot bring himself to believe it, but some things still deserve a sense of reverence.

Li Shenzi muttered, "Forget it, you young people can disbelieve if you want; we believers are fine."

"The village head has spoken; to celebrate our Longyuan Village's survival after the disaster, we will hold an event, and you are welcome to join."

This event is also related to the Mountain God sacrifice, to thank the Mountain God for sending the heavy rain that let Longyuan Village escape disaster.

However, the firefighters probably won't have time to participate, since they must return after their mission ends.

After Li Dashen left, her words did not stir any waves among the firefighters, after all they don't believe in it.

But then a special person paid a visit.

"Captain Qian, someone is looking for you!"

Qian Qixue was still wondering who was looking for him at this time; after a glance, he saw it seemed to be someone from the police.

The visitor was none other than Sun Zhenbang.

After stating his name, Qian Qixue became even more puzzled—why would the police come looking for him out of the blue?

Now the villagers don't need to be relocated, and with the mountain‑fire work nearing its end, manpower is sufficient, so no further support is needed; the police have already withdrawn at this time.

"Officer Sun, what brings you to see me?"

Sun Zhenbang didn't beat around the bush; he went straight to the point and voiced his doubt.

"I heard that when you, Captain Qian, and the others came down the mountain, you took a small path right near where the lightning struck?"

Qian Qixue nodded, his doubts deepening, not knowing why Sun Zhenbang asked that.

"Did Captain Qian see that the lightning struck only one spot?"

How did Sun Zhenbang know about this?

Besides being doubtful of Qian Qixue, he also felt a bit surprised, but he didn't think much of it, assuming he had heard it from other colleagues.

"Yes, at the time I also thought it was quite strange—lightning striking exclusively that area, truly remarkable."

Sun Zhenbang's tone grew urgent, his body unconsciously leaning forward slightly, "Did you see anything special?"

"Something special?"

Qian Qixue fell into thought; these days have been hectic with many follow‑up tasks, so he almost forgot what happened on the mountain.

Now that Sun Zhenbang brought it up, he recalled, "You're right, I did seem to see a snake, but because I was worried about danger later, I didn't pay much attention."

"Now thinking about it, a fleeting glance—maybe I just mis‑saw it; perhaps it was a broken branch. After all, if it really were a snake, how could it not flee from such lightning?"

Qian Qixue went on to say more, but Sun Zhenbang didn't hear any of it; his mind had already wandered elsewhere.

Another snake!

The same mountain, the same abnormal weather change, the same scene—put together, does the world really have such a coincidence?

Moreover, when Xie Yixuan returned last time, he also said he saw a snake, just like Qian Qixue now.

This is the second time such a thing has happened.

The Mountain God spoken of by the villagers is also a snake.

Adding to that, the earlier smugglers, and later Yang Cheng and Ma Tian with their bizarre deaths, it seems as if there are unseen eyes watching, meting out punishment on these people.

According to the villagers, these are all punishments meted out by the Mountain God on these wicked people.

Sun Zhenbang is a steady person; if it were Xie Yixuan here, he would probably already believe and become a die‑hard fan.

But he is a steadfast materialist; he never used to believe in such things, and after experiencing all this, plus this mountain‑fire incident, his heart inevitably wavers.

Afterwards he once asked the on‑site meteorological staff who conducted the measurements; they replied quite definitely that there would absolutely be no rain in the short term, and they could not form such huge thunderclouds.

Those clouds seemed as if they had been summoned out of thin air.

Could it be that there really is a Mountain God in this world who can summon wind and rain?

Otherwise, how could one explain the myriad bizarre events occurring on this mountain?

Sun Zhenbang's worldview is continually being shaken; his thoughts are so absorbed that he didn't hear Qian Qixue's voice.

"Officer Sun? Officer Sun?"

Qian Qixue shouted several times in a row before Sun Zhenbang reacted.

"Officer Sun seems quite interested in these matters, doesn't he?"

Facing Qian Qixue's surprised and doubtful gaze, Sun Zhenbang nodded and smiled, his expression returning to normal: "Thank you, Captain Qian, for telling me these things; I mainly just wanted to understand, with no other intention."

After exchanging a few pleasantries and obtaining the answer he wanted, Sun Zhenbang indicated he would return to the police bureau.

Qian Qixue watched Sun Zhenbang leave, and he was utterly bewildered.

A firefighter curiously asked, "Captain, what did Officer Sun want from you? Why do you look so strange?"

Qian Qixue shook his head. "Nothing, he just asked me a few questions."

"What kind of questions?"

Qian Qixue made a gesture to knock his head, though he didn't really mean to hit him, "You're not doing your job, gossiping here about nothing but our going down the mountain."

The firefighter hehehed a laugh, "I'm just curious, but speaking of it, Officer Sun and this big mountain are fated to meet."

Qian Qixue became interested, "How so?"

The firefighter showed a mischievous smile, "Captain, you're not being fair, saying I'm gossiping when you yourself"

Qian Qixue made a motion to strike down.

He quickly covered his head, darted to the side, and dared not continue his chatter.

"I have a friend who works at the police bureau; recently there have been two cases, both occurring in this big mountain, both handled by Officer Sun. Isn't that a coincidence?"

"My friend didn't give specifics, just that both cases involved deaths and were quite serious."

Qian Qixue showed a hint of surprise, "There's actually something like this."

He really couldn't imagine that in such a remote place, a tiny mountain village, and deep in the old forests, any major case could occur.

The two chatted a few sentences, and didn't take the matter to heart.

As for the departing Sun Zhenbang, his heart became unsettled once again.

Even on his way back, he kept thinking about it.

Does the Mountain God truly exist after all?

Is all this merely coincidence, illusion, or reality?

Looking at the not‑far green mountains, the captain of the police bureau fell into thought once again.

(End of chapter)