Chapter 222 I Heard Him Calling Me! (1/2)

Nights in the mountains were characterized by their menacing coldness and the frigid air suffusing them. Under the moonlight, there was a burst of orange light appeared in a certain corner of the village. The light slowly enlarged and soon revealed itself to be a ball of flame. A split second later, an explosion sounded and the roof of a bamboo hut burst asunder. The peculiar thing was that despite such a huge stir, nobody was screaming. Nobody came running out of the buildings, either.

Ying Qingcang's eyes shot open. Another loud boom sounded beside his ear. He got up in haste and ran to the window to see what was happening. His eyes widened at what he saw. In one swift motion, he picked Xin Qing up. Just then, Chieftain Mo Lin and Boss Wan's voices sounded outside his door.

”You carry him!” Ying Qingcang tossed Xiao Rui into the chieftain's arms. There was an uncharacteristic look of panic on Boss Wan's face right then. ”I can't find Huanhuan,” Boss Wan said.

”Let's get out of here first. The explosions are drawing close,” Ying Qingcang said, leading the way outside.

Chieftain Mo Lin carried Xiao Rui and ran after them. ”They've all been drugged,” Chieftain Mo Lin wailed. ”Nobody was awake during the blast. They're all dead. Who did this? Which maniac is capable of such a sadistic act?”

Ying Qingcang's face turned grim as he ran. Xin Qing was still fast asleep in his arms. Boss Wan ran ahead to the front of the group, shouting Chen Huan's name as he did. All of a sudden, Boss Wan halted in his steps. Then, he turned around and ran in another direction.

Ying Qingcang and the chieftain followed him. Even from afar, they were able to discern Chen Huan's profile amidst the flame, and right now, she was holding a flaming torch in her hand.

”Huanhuan?” Boss Wan ran towards her and noticed the vacant look in her eyes. She could not even hear him screaming.

Then, the old chieftain shouted in horror. ”Hypnosis?”

”Come on, man. Knock her out!” Ying Qingcang said sternly. ”She's setting off the explosives.”

Boss Wan's palm connected with Chen Huan's neck. Then, he picked up her unconscious form and ran.

The old chieftain's heart-wrenching yells sounded out: ”Save them! We have to save them!”

”It's too late,” Ying Qingcang said, staring at him. ”Unless you have a way to instantly wake them up. Otherwise, we won't have time to carry them out one by one.”

Chieftain Mo Lin shook his head as he cried. ”I can't watch them all die while I do nothing. You take Xiao Rui away.”

While Ying Qingcang and the chieftain argued, Boss Wan suddenly yelled from ahead. ”Look out! The water tower is about to collapse!”

The tallest building in the entire village was a tower used to store water. Its supporting structure had just been destroyed by the explosives. As a result, the entire structure was tilting and leaning towards the trees and wooden cabins beside it. Ying Qingcang's eyes turned glacial. ”Catch!” he yelled before tossing Xin Qing towards Boss Wan.

Boss Wan quickly set Chen Huan on the ground and caught Xin Qing in mid-air. The two of them crashed down to the ground. The old chieftain tossed Xiao Rui away from him almost at the same time as the tower crashed down upon Ying Qingcang and the chieftain.

Boss Wan crawled along the ground, looking the worse for wear. His gaze never wavered as he stared at the burning wood and collapsing walls before him. All of a sudden, a series of panicked footsteps sounded behind him. He turned his head around abruptly and sighed in relief.

”Hurry up, get them out of here...”

Bit by bit, streaks of white formed in the horizon. Although the night had finally passed, everything had changed.

”How many men do we have left?” Boss Wan asked. He and a bunch of people were now standing in front of the village's entrance. On the ground lay Xin Qing, Chen Huan, and Xiao Rui respectively. None of them were awake yet.

One of his men spoke in voice laced with pain: ”There's five of us left. We didn't eat much last night, that was why we woke up in time to escape. The other brothers...”

Chen Huan shifted. Boss Wan quickly helped her up. ”Huanhuan?”

”My... My head hurts. What's wrong with me?” Chen Huan touched the back of her head. Her whole body felt exhausted. Then, she saw everyone standing around her, looking utterly disheveled and grimy. Xin Qing and Xiao Rui were still lying on the ground unmovingly.

”What happened?” she asked in a panic. ”What's wrong with everyone?”

Boss Wan recounted last night's events to her, though he did not mention the part about her being hypnotized.

”Then why are you guys still standing around? Hurry up and save them!” Chen Huan stood up and dashed into the village. Boss Wan held her back. ”Hey, don't be so impulsive. It's good that you've woken up. You need to stay here and look after Xin Qing. We'll go in now and look for Ah Cang.”

Just when the men were about to enter the village, Chen Huan saw Xin Qing's eyes blinking open.

”Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?” Chen Huan held Xin Qing's arms. Xin Qing rubbed her eyes. Before Xin Qing could even open her mouth, Boss Wan spoke first: ”Xin Qing, you have to calm down. For the sake of the baby...”

Xin Qing went still with shock.

The entire village was in ruins. All that was left of the houses were the charred remains of their supporting frames; some did not even have those left. The smog caused by the explosives stung all of their noses. Boss Wan stood in front of the place where Ying Qingcang and the chieftain had been buried under the collapsing tower last night. He watched as his men began pulling piece after piece of broken planks from the ground. He could not afford to look for the others. The longer they waited, the more danger Ying Qingcang would be in.

Xin Qing stood on the sidelines, staring stupidly at the everything before her. Chen Huan had her arm wrapped around Xin Qing, patting her shoulder occasionally as a gesture of comfort.

”Ah Cang! Ah Cang!” Xin Qing yelled out suddenly, dashing forward. Not even Chen Huan was quick enough to stop her. Xin Qing ran towards the rubble, dropped to her knees, and began sifting through the debris herself. She pushed the planks apart with total abandon. Not once did she stop to check if the planks had any nails on them. ”Ah Cang! Ah Cang, don't scare me like this, okay? Come out now, please. Hurry up! Show yourself!”

Even Boss Wan's men had stopped digging by then. They had already dug to the bottom of the pile. They found nothing.

”Xin Qing, stop. You need to watch out for your baby,” Chen Huan said, moving in to help Xin Qing to her feet. Somehow, Xin Qing found the strength to shove Chen Huan aside. Then, Xin Qing turned to one of Boss Wan's men beside her, her hands clutching the hem of his pants. ”Why aren't you guys digging. Don't you dare stop digging. Hurry up and dig! Ah Cang is still waiting! I can hear him calling me. Hurry up and dig, damn it!” After her tirade, Xin Qing started digging once again, shifting piece after piece of charred wood until her palms were riddled with splinters and all her nails were broken.