Chapter 615: Yellow River Breach
Li Daoxuan truly longed to see Luoyang, but he wasn't in any rush.
It would be a while before Jiang Cheng reached Luoyang. Each day, Li Daoxuan simply needed to switch his "Co-sensing" to the cotton thread Heavenly Lord on Jiang Cheng's chest for a quick glance. He could fully shift his attention for a complete "tourist experience" of Luoyang once Jiang Cheng arrived.
A day later, Jiang Cheng waited for a moment when the wind and rain had subsided and the river was relatively calm. He boarded a ferry, pulling on the iron chain, and crossed Fengling Ferry, finally reaching the Tongguan Path on the south bank of the Yellow River.
Then, he began to travel eastward along the official road...
From Tongguan Path to Luoyang, it was a journey of over four hundred li.
Along the way, gales and torrential rains intermittently assailed them, making Jiang Cheng's journey exceedingly arduous. Several times, Li Daoxuan used his "Co-sensing" to check his progress, only to find him struggling through the downpour.
Li Daoxuan couldn't help but sigh, realizing that earning money was truly no easy feat for ancient merchants.
After several days, the journey of over four hundred li was finally covered.
A smile spread across Jiang Cheng's face as he announced to his subordinates, "We're finally almost in Luoyang! Just ahead is Mengjin Crossing. We're very close to Luoyang now. Whew, I'm absolutely exhausted."
His joy lasted less than five seconds.
He heard one of Jiang Cheng's subordinates cry out, "No! Master, quickly, look over there... look!"
Jiang Cheng and Li Daoxuan's gazes simultaneously followed the direction of the subordinate's pointing finger.
He was pointing north, towards the Yellow River dike at Mengjin Crossing...
In the very instant everyone turned to look, they witnessed the Yellow River dike breach.
With a thunderous roar, the dike cracked, and yellow river water surged out. At first, it was just a trickle, leaking everywhere, but very quickly, it began to collapse entirely.
The dike began collapsing over a wide area, and the yellow river water gushed forth furiously.
Jiang Cheng: "Damn it!"
Li Daoxuan: *!!!*
Jiang Cheng's subordinates shouted in unison, "This is disastrous!"
"Run!" Jiang Cheng was the first to react. "Quick, run to higher ground! Run, run now!"
A subordinate cried, "The salt carts!"
Jiang Cheng: "Forget them, leave them! Just run!"
They abandoned the salt carts and began sprinting towards the nearest hillside.
The breaching Yellow River waters, meanwhile, surged furiously across the plains outside Luoyang.
Everywhere, common folk screamed and ran in a frenzy.
The yellow waters chased the fleeing populace, driving them forward, but how swift was the current? Human legs were no match for its speed. Regularly, people stumbled, were swept into the torrent, and swallowed whole...
Jiang Cheng and his group were further from the dike, so they weren't immediately engulfed by the river. They still had time to run. Ahead lay a small, not-too-tall hill, aptly named "High Slope."
Hundreds of people had already gathered on the slope. Jiang Cheng and his group scrambled desperately up.
From the summit, they turned and looked back. The yellow river water had already reached the spot where they'd abandoned their salt carts. The carts were swallowed by the river, vanishing in an instant.
These salt carts, which they had transported through immense hardship from Yongji's Gudu Ferry, were now gone. To think that in a single moment, all their arduous journey had been for naught.
But far more tragic than the salt carts were the common folk overtaken by the river, who, one after another, disappeared into the torrent.
A few fortunate survivors reached the base of High Slope and scrambled desperately upwards, but those already on the slope dared not descend to rescue them. They could only shout forcefully from the summit, "Hurry up! Quick, quick!"
"CRASH!"
The floodwaters swept past the midpoint of the slope. Those who had managed to climb halfway up narrowly saved their lives, but those who couldn't ascend in time were all swept away by the yellow deluge.
Li Daoxuan watched this scene, feeling an intense pang of anguish.
But this area was beyond his field of vision. He could not reach in to help these common folk and could only sigh in helplessness.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but eventually, the surroundings finally settled.
The river no longer raged furiously, but instead accumulated across the plains, now flowing slowly.
Several hundred common folk stood atop High Slope, surrounded on all sides by yellow river water.
They strained their eyes, gazing into the distance, and could make out other hills, scattered east and west across the water's surface. Each summit was crowded with hundreds of people.
They were like small islands in a yellow ocean.
Though the people on these isolated islands had salvaged their lives, new problems immediately arose. Each island held hundreds of survivors, all having fled in disarray, many without food, water, or cooking implements. They had no sustenance, no shelter from the rain, and were continually soaked by the cold rain and buffeted by the river wind.
How long could they endure like this?
Jiang Cheng glanced at their surroundings and told his subordinates beside him, "I fear we won't be able to return home this time. We may not have drowned, but trapped on this isolated island, we won't last more than a few days."
A subordinate muttered softly, "We have some dried rations, maybe we can last a few more days? The water will recede in a few days, won't it?"
Jiang Cheng: "That's hard to say! It's not uncommon for the Yellow River to change its course. It's entirely possible this area will become a permanent riverbed, and we'll be trapped here until we die."
The group fell silent.
Jiang Cheng continued, "Even if it doesn't become a permanent riverbed, once the water recedes, a thick layer of silt will accumulate."
Everyone nodded grimly. The problem of the silt was truly deadly; walking through it was incredibly dangerous. One could easily get stuck, unable to escape, leading inevitably to death.
All of them plunged into despair.
Just then, the cotton thread Heavenly Lord on Jiang Cheng's chest spoke: "Hold on. Gao Family Village's rescue forces have already departed."
Jiang Cheng was overjoyed. He quickly bowed his head, but saw that the Heavenly Lord had spoken just that one sentence before falling silent once more.
But that single sentence was enough.
A powerful surge of hope instantly ignited in Jiang Cheng's heart.
His will to survive blazed fiercely. He sprang to his feet and loudly addressed the trapped common folk: "Gather together, huddle close, and use each other's bodies for warmth. If you have anything that can offer shelter from the rain, hold it up and share it with those next to you. We must conserve our strength as much as possible. Hold on! Wait for the rescue to arrive."
A group of impoverished people looked at him with ashen, lifeless eyes. "Esteemed sir," one said, "What rescue could there be? The government wouldn't care if we common folk live or die."
"Indeed," another chimed in, "who would come to rescue people like us?"
Jiang Cheng declared loudly, "Don't be afraid! Don't be afraid! Rescue will come, it absolutely will! There is an Immortal called Dao Xuan Tian Zun, who cares deeply for the common people. He will come to save everyone soon... Don't be afraid, everyone. First, gather together for warmth, and don't needlessly waste your strength. Come, everyone huddle together, and I will tell you stories of Dao Xuan Tian Zun."
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