Chapter 23: Moment of Crisis

In the evening, Su Ruo was studying medical arts in the Sea of Knowledge when she suddenly heard a booming thunderclap; the sound was so loud that the whole house trembled.

This loud noise startled everyone in the village; they all came out of their rooms, faces full of shock, not understanding what had happened.

After hearing the sound, Su Ruo put on her clothes and ran toward the village entrance.

In her previous life, as soon as she arrived, she caught a cold, leaving her feeling dazed and unable to remember which day the disaster occurred.

Later, after she recovered, she heard that villagers who had gone to the county by ox cart to purchase supplies encountered a landslide on their return; boulders rolled down and crushed several people to death.

Several others survived by luck, but all suffered serious injuries.

Su Ruo's reason for reminding Lao Zhishu was also to hope those people could avoid the disaster of her previous life.

But Su Ruo also knew that, after these few days of peace, the villagers had not taken Lao Zhishu's words to heart; every day, people went to the county in small groups.

Fortunately, after Lao Zhishu and the Battalion Commander consulted, they decided to suspend the village's ox carts, because if everyone were crowded onto the carts, there would be nowhere to hide if an accident occurred.

Upon learning this, Su Ruo felt somewhat relieved.

She had done what she should; now she could only do her best and leave the rest to fate.

Upon hearing that sound, Su Ruo immediately confirmed it was a landslide; now she only hopes there will be no casualties.

Lao Zhishu in the courtyard, upon hearing this loud boom, trembled all over and almost couldn't stand; after regaining his senses, he also staggered toward the village entrance.

The Branch Secretary's wife looked at the nearby mountain peak, her lips quivering as she said, 'That girl really was right; something really has happened!'

Originally, the Branch Secretary's wife had wanted to take her son to the county hospital for a checkup today, after all, his injuries were so severe that she wouldn't feel at ease without examining him.

But the old man stopped her, saying: 'The son is currently not suitable for moving.' Seeing that her son was indeed improving day by day, no longer crying out in pain and gaining spirit, she did not insist further.

Now, the Branch Secretary's wife only feels lingering fear; fortunately they didn't go, otherwise those buried under the mountain now might have been them.

Su Ruo ran to the village entrance and saw that rocks sliding down from the mountain had blocked the only road out of the village.

Several women were buried in the mud, constantly struggling and calling for help, trying to crawl out.

Fortunately, the rocks rolling down from the mountain were few, and no casualties occurred.

At that moment, amid the flying dust, a green-clad figure was desperately scraping away rubble and earth to rescue people.

That figure was tall and resolute, causing Su Ruo a momentary fluster, but only an instant passed before she recovered.

Su Ruo walked over, just about to help, when she saw a huge boulder roll down from the mountaintop, heading straight for the man who was rescuing people.

At that moment, Su Ruo's mind went blank; by the time she reacted, she had already lunged straight at that man.

The man, eager to save others, had not noticed the danger at all; by the time he reacted, Su Ruo had already tackled him to the ground.

The next second, a loud boom came from behind them.

A boulder over a meter high struck exactly where the man had just been standing, blasting a deep pit in the ground.

Song Jingyu had been on the battlefield, accustomed to life and death, yet at this moment he couldn't help but feel a pang of alarm.

If it weren't for this girl who suddenly appeared and saved him just now, he would have been only a hair's breadth from death!

"Thank you," Song Jingyu said to Su Ruo, but he is always cold-hearted; even his thanks lack warmth.

Su Ruo felt a piercing pain in her left shoulder; having studied medicine for so long, she immediately determined that her left shoulder was dislocated.

Song Jingyu also noticed something wrong with Su Ruo; seeing her pallid face, he frowned anxiously and asked, 'Are you injured?'

Su Ruo did not pay attention to Song Jingyu; she took out a handkerchief from her pocket, placed it in her mouth to bite, then used her right hand to support her left arm and pushed hard.

Only a 'crack' was heard, accompanied by intense pain, and Su Ruo successfully reset her arm.

Song Jingyu stared at Su Ruo in shock; the girls he had met were all delicate and weak, bursting into tears over the slightest injury.

Yet the girl before him, without changing expression, put her dislocated arm back in place; she didn't even utter a single cry of pain.

At this moment, Su Ruo's performance had already shattered Song Jingyu's perception; for the first time, he felt curiosity toward someone.

What Song Jingyu didn't know was that, compared to the hardships Su Ruo endured in her previous life, this minor injury was nothing at all.

In her previous life, after Wang Tufu married, he would fly into a drunken rage and beat people whenever he was drunk; the worst incident saw this beast break ten of Su Ruo's ribs, her body torn and bruised with no patch of unharmed flesh, yet she still managed to survive.

Su Ruo was like an insignificant blade of grass, striving to survive in the crevices of boulders; even though life was full of hardship, she never thought of giving up.

Until, on that snowy night, Wang Tufu struck her head with an iron shovel, causing her brains to splatter instantly; she died in that cold night.

Su Ruo desperately wanted to live, yet she spent her entire life unable to escape her tragic fate.

Given a second chance, Su Ruo only wishes to live well; she will never let those who harmed her go unpunished.

If Su Ruo cherishes her own life this much, she naturally cannot tolerate those who do not value life.

She looked at Song Jingyu with icy eyes and said, 'Even if you want to save others, you should first protect yourself; otherwise you'll only bring trouble to others.'

Song Jingyu never expected that one day he would be lectured by a little girl, but he didn't resent it; indeed, upon hearing the little girl say the same thing as his former regiment commander, he inexplicably felt a twinge of guilt.

Song Jingyu nodded and said, 'I know, but the situation was just too urgent.'

Su Ruo didn't listen to his explanation; she had already gone to rescue people, and she considered that warning her limit—whether they heeded it or not, she would not interfere further.

Su Ruo struggled to pull a woman out of the mud; at that moment, Lao Zhishu and the Battalion Commander also arrived with a group of young men from the village.

Everyone worked together to rescue the women trapped in the mud and sand, getting them all out.

After rescuing the people, everyone quickly withdrew to a safe distance.

Only then did Lao Zhishu speak up to reprimand: 'Didn't I say you weren't to leave the village these few days? How could you still go out? Don't you know how dangerous it was just now?'

Having just experienced a life-and-death ordeal, the women were now terrified, their faces ashen, bodies trembling uncontrollably as they wiped tears and said, 'We never expected to be this unlucky; for decades nothing had happened, but the moment we set out, we encountered a landslide.'

Although Lao Zhishu was angry, he also knew this wasn't the time to scold; he had people send them first to the brigade.

He also left two young men to guard the village entrance, ensuring no one could enter or leave; if another landslide occurred, they wouldn't be so fortunate.

After arranging everything, Lao Zhishu approached Su Ruo and said, 'Girl, the village entrance is blocked; we can't get out to call a doctor, so their injuries are now up to you.'

After the incident with his son, Lao Zhishu now trusts Su Ruo's medical skills without reservation.

Su Ruo had originally planned to make a living with her medical skills; this was an excellent opportunity to prove herself, so she naturally wouldn't miss it—when Lao Zhishu spoke, she immediately agreed.

(End of chapter)