Chapter 46: Flood |
Luo Mother followed beside them, tears streaming down her face.
Only after she rushed to the river did she learn that today, the Luo River had suddenly become abnormally swift and turbulent without any warning. Luo Father and the eldest son had exhausted their strength beneath the water, and in the end, sank down.
Fortunately, the river later calmed somewhat,
allowing the others a chance to pull them ashore.
“Father! Big Brother!”
Luo Ya threw herself forward, tears falling anxiously.
At that moment, He was hurriedly summoned.
Without a word, he immediately began directing:
“Quick, lay them flat on the ground!”
He crouched down, his hands hovering over their chests.
A gentle starlight began to glow in his palms, enveloping Luo Father and Luo Xing within its radiance.
Luo Ya stared blankly at that sacred light.
Her heart was filled with shock.
So this was the power of a god?
Very soon, under the healing of the starlight,
Luo Father let out a faint sound in his throat, coughing up several mouthfuls of water before slowly regaining consciousness.
Immediately after, Luo Xing also resumed breathing, his complexion gradually returning to a healthy color.
“They’re alive! They’re really alive!”
“A miracle! This is a miracle!”
“Praise the great Lord of the Stars!”
The ecstasy of surviving a calamity, mixed with awe toward the miracle,
caused everyone to kneel down in excitement.
Toward He, and even more so toward the unseen god, they expressed their deepest gratitude.
Luo Ya and her family also knelt together,
weeping uncontrollably as they thanked He for saving their lives.
He, however, shook his head, his expression serious and humble.
“The ones who healed them were the powers bestowed by the god.”
“If you truly wish to give thanks, then thank the great god.”
“Without the god’s grace, there would be no us today.”
Hearing this, everyone became even more convinced, once again praising the greatness and compassion of the god in unison.
……
After handling this incident,
He returned to the residence Mo had arranged for him.
Pushing open the door, he found Mo already sitting inside.
His expression was grave, his brows tightly furrowed.
“What’s wrong, Mo?”
Sensing something amiss, He asked.
Mo raised his head, his eyes filled with concern.
“He, I have come to the Luo River Tribe to preach for thirty years. In these thirty years, the Luo River has always been gentle and calm…”
“For it to suddenly become so violent and turbulent like today has never happened before.”
“This… is far too abnormal.”
He pondered for a moment.
“Perhaps… this is just an accident?”
Mo let out a sigh,
his gaze drifting toward the still night outside the window.
“I hope… this is only an accident.”
……
From that day onward,
the Luo River became increasingly temperamental.
It was like a colossal beast gradually awakening,
beginning to roar intermittently!
The rushing currents carried mud and sand as they surged downstream, turning the water unbearably murky.
At first, some still relied on their swimming skills and attempted to enter the water.
But after several people were swept away by the river one after another,
no one dared to go into the river anymore.
Fortunately, thanks to the farming techniques Mo had brought,
the crops produced from the fertile lands beside the Luo River became their final reliance. They no longer needed to risk their lives fishing in the river.
However, misfortune never came alone.
The sky began to drizzle with fine rain.
At first, it was thought to be an ordinary rainy season.
But who could have expected that the rain would continue without end?
It poured for half a month straight!
The sky remained gloomy all day, and the rain gathered into streams,
constantly pouring into the already swelling Luo River.
At this moment, Mo and He stood on higher ground, looking down at the Luo River together.
They saw the waters surging violently, muddy waves crashing against both banks, the water level rising visibly with the naked eye.
“The water level keeps getting higher.”
“If this continues, all the tribes along both banks will eventually be submerged.”
Mo’s voice was filled with helplessness.
He remained silent for a moment, then sighed.
“The will of heaven cannot be defied…”
“We… can only migrate.”
Mo closed his eyes in pain.
Thirty years had passed—he had long since regarded the Luo River Tribe as his home, and every person here as his kin.
But to persuade these people, who had lived by the river for generations, to abandon their homeland—how difficult would that be?
Yet he knew even more clearly that if they did not make a decision soon, once the flood completely overtook the riverbanks, everything would be too late.
“I will go discuss it with the tribal leader.”
When Mo opened his eyes again, determination had already settled within them.
“We must organize everyone to evacuate as soon as possible.”
“While… there is still time.”
He nodded.
“I will do my best to assist you.”
……
Luo Father stood beneath the eaves,
watching the unending rain, his brows tightly knit.
“Father, are you unhappy?”
Luo Ya walked to his side and asked softly.
Luo Father rubbed Luo Ya’s hair and smiled.
“I’m fine.”
Soon, after Mo’s persuasion, the tribal leader also made up his mind.
He gathered everyone and announced:
“After discussing with Missionary Mo,”
“I have decided… the entire tribe will relocate!”
“I will give you three days. Within three days, everyone must pack everything that can be taken.”
At once,
the crowd erupted into commotion, voices overlapping.
Some complained about the pain of leaving their homeland,
others worried about the uncertain road ahead.
But looking at the increasingly violent river,
everyone understood that this was the only path to survival.
On the day they left, the rain still had not stopped.
Luo Ya turned back for one last glance at the home she had lived in for more than ten years, her eyes filled with reluctance.
Suddenly, a thunderclap exploded across the sky.
A sense of unease surged in Luo Ya’s heart.
Faintly…
she seemed to hear a low, deep roar.
That was not thunder!
It was the Luo River roaring!
“The Luo River is flooding!”
Someone shouted hoarsely at the top of their lungs.
Luo Ya turned back in terror.
In the distance, a towering wall stretched across the sky, sweeping toward both banks with overwhelming force!
It was the Luo River, breaking free from all restraints!
Wherever the Luo River passed…
all things were swallowed, vanishing into a vast expanse of water.
“Run! Hurry and run!”
Luo Father shouted.
He grabbed Luo Ya and Luo Mother,
rushing desperately toward higher ground with the chaotic crowd.
But how could human legs…
outrun towering waves?
The first wave caught up to them.
In an instant, it swallowed Luo Ya’s parents beside her.
“Father! Mother!”
Luo Ya’s cries were drowned by the floodwaters. She only saw her parents struggle briefly before disappearing without a trace.
The second wave surged right after.
“Little sister—!”
Her brothers’ cries cut off abruptly.
They too were swept into the torrent.
In mere moments, her family was destroyed.
At last…
Luo Ya climbed onto a higher rock,
surviving by sheer luck.
She collapsed weakly upon it, her spirit shattered,
staring at the muddy, boundless waters before her.
Even now, she could not believe what had just happened.
The others who had survived around her had also lost their loved ones. Grief-stricken cries echoed through the storm.
“Father! Mother! Brothers!”
“Come back!”
Luo Ya cried out.
She did not know how long she cried, until even her tears had run dry.
Suddenly,
Luo Ya thought of the golden-haired divine envoy upon the altar.
She thought of the starlight that had healed her father.
She thought of that supreme being worshipped by the tribe.
She knelt down.
With the last of her strength, she raised her head to the sky and cried out:
“God!”
“Great God!”
“Please, I beg you—save everyone!”