C87

After leaving the fishing village, they walked for two whole days. during the mudslide, flood bridge roads, etc... One could imagine the difficulty involved. Many times they had to change their original route because the road was so badly damaged.

This place was already the hinterland of the Great Phoenix. Looking around, one could see countless hills and mountains. It was unending, and many times it was intimidating.

The horse carriage had been stuck in a quagmire many times in a row, and once almost fell off the broken bridge. It was only because Yun Duan was actually a man with God Power, that he was able to save the horse and men all thanks to him, and who knew how many dangers awaited them in front of them. They decisively gave up the horse carriage, and led the two horses away.

Even Zhuang Li himself didn't know how much mud she had gnawed on in the past two days. At this time, no matter how precious his identity was, it could not stop the natural magic. Wang Su could not do anything about this muddy ground. He was a martial arts practitioner, in the end, he was still better than Zhuang Li who walked slowly. With Yun Duan's protection from both the left and right, he still managed to maintain his dignity. There were also many times where he had actually acted and saved Zhuang Li from the brink of death.

Such lightning-fast methods almost made Zhuang Li think that the back of his head had eyes too …

Sometimes they would climb over the quagmire, and sometimes they would also have to cross the waterfall. The turbulent force of the water was extremely intense, and the pressure was also extremely great, if not for Wang Su holding his back tightly, she would probably have been knocked over the rocks on the ground by the waterfall and rolled to the bottom of the unfathomable cliff … His ears were filled with the sound of water, which was greatly different due to the large amount of water flowing.

Usually, the water was gurgling and flowing. The sound of the water was almost inaudible. If one were to talk about streams, one would imagine streams flowing down through the cracks in the mountains, dripping down, like the tinkling sounds a beauty would hear when playing the zither. Closing one's eyes was a type of enjoyment. When it came to mountains and rivers, it was naturally the usual docile and beautiful waterfall. It was like a beauty hiding in the shade of a mountain. The scenery was marvelous as it fell down, flowing towards rivers and lakes.

But now, what they were facing was the waterfall that had been spoiled by the torrential rain. It was powerful and lawless. Before he could get close, he heard a rumbling sound like that of thunder, and other than that sound, he could no longer hear anything else …

Water vapour filled his nostrils and it felt as if he was in water. The waterfall came crashing down from above, as if it was going to cut him into pieces …

Once they entered the waterfall, their hearing, sense of smell, sight, eyes, nostrils, and ears were all filled with surging water. It was as if they had stepped into hell with despair.

If Zhuang Li was alone, she probably would not be able to walk such a steep road even if she died. But Wang Su walked in front of Zhuang Li and held tightly onto her hand.

The only thing they didn't take away from the waterfall was their sense of touch …

Although it was still hit by the powerful water current, you had to use a lot of force to be able to feel another person at your side.

There were many times when Zhuang Li was so afraid that she almost knelt down, but all of them were because of the power that pulled her up once again.

At that time, the only word that Zhuang Li could only think of …

People I Love... Right in front of me...

This was probably the only chance she had to grab hold of his hand so tightly …

It was unknown, but as it was buried deep in the abyss of despair, it surfaced, reminding itself how clear it was …

I love him

What was more embarrassing was the horses. They didn't want to give up their horses, and after giving up their carriages, they still had a lot of parcels that they could use and would have to rely on horses to transport them. Fortunately, Yun Duan was here, so he was once again able to see his strength. He tied one horse to the entrance of the waterfall and led the other through.

Although Yun Duan looked to be proficient and powerful, he didn't expect that he was actually born with this kind of godly strength. He was actually able to control that beast and bring it out safely from the waterfall.

Later, Zhuang Li found out that Yun Duan was a guard with superior skills in martial arts. He left the palace guards and the legendary martial arts experts in the streets behind …

It was also because of these reasons that the Eunuch Li was able to let the emperor be at ease with his suspicion of this Ten Thousand Mountains of Water …

When Yun Duan finally managed to get the two horses to ride past the waterfall, Zhuang Li was completely exhausted. If it wasn't for the fact that her eyes were quite tight, her eyeballs would have probably fallen out of their sockets …

Travelling all the way, they also met some people who were living in the mountains. They lived in the mountains and were isolated from the outside world for a long time, some for training martial arts manuals, and some for avoiding worldly worries.

Along the way, the word that came to Zhuang Li's mind was:

The martial arts world …

Compared to the freedom he had in West Cold and the strictness he had in Great Phoenix Palace, it seemed to be another world altogether …

As they walked, asking about information about Qing Qiao County, most people shook their heads. It seemed as though aside from a guard who had passed by their door many days ago to deliver them the calamity that had struck the Qing Qiao County, there was no more news regarding this at all.

They said that the man was dressed in rags, even worse than a beggar. There were bloodstains on his body, as if he was only half alive.

This news and analogy made his heart tremble in fear, but at the same time, it also made him feel pain.

More Worries...

Until one day, they finally met a calamity victim who claimed to be from the Qing Qiao County. He had fled up the hill, a boy of eighteen or nineteen.

"You guys want to go to Qing Qiao County?" He was especially suspicious when he heard about the origins of Zhuang Li and the rest.

"Do you know how to get to the Green Bridge from here?" Can you bring us there? "

"What's there to go for? I won't go." "You'd better not go as well …"

"Why?"

"Because of that Qing Qiao County. "It's gone …"

Because of what the youth had said, Zhuang Li had actually complained in her heart that this child was truly in a rebellious phase. How could the county city be gone?

Even if they were submerged by the flood and faded away, they could still fight for a new life like the people in the fishing village. Clean up the house and clean up the furniture. If it's too dilapidated, then we'll have to wait for the imperial government's disaster relief money to build a new house …

How could it be said that there was nothing left in the entire county?

Until Wang Su allowed the child to lead them to the place where the Qing Qiao County used to be.

Because up until now, the Qing Qiao County had … Still caught in the flood...

The place where Qing Qiao County used to be was a low-lying area. Rivers flowed through the heart of the city and the land on both sides of the river was fertile. It could be said to be a wealthy county city. Although there had been some water disasters in the past, those were only minor ones compared to this one. This time, not only was there a flood, there was also a mudslide, directly flooding half of the town. Most people didn't even have the chance to escape …

What was even worse was that the mud flow had directly blocked the river... The flood had completely flooded the remaining half of the city. Therefore, it would not be excessive to say that this disaster was a calamity.

The number of people who managed to escape was not many. Most of them lived on high mountains to begin with. Of the people in the city, aside from those who happened to be visiting friends or surviving working on the mountain, none of the people in the city escaped …

The three of them stood on top of the mountain and observed the scene below. The once prosperous town had already become a pond. If it was a new customer, they would never have guessed that there was a city under the pond.

There were only about a hundred or so survivors of Qing Qiao County and even county magistrate had probably died in the hands of a fish. Most of them were buried together with their entire family, so they didn't spend too much time on top of the mountain by the lake, crying like their loved ones.

There was always a plague after a big flood, not to mention the Green Bridge which had buried so many people, but now there was a pond filled with dead people, it was filled to the brim with dead people, there were no officials nor was there anyone out to speak, not to mention that everyone had heard of the plague coming, and the remaining people would all be dead, so it was extremely terrifying to think about it, so anyone who could still think of survival had already struggled to escape from this town.

The person who had ran far away, the one who had reported the disaster to the imperial government, couldn't even stand still. He wanted to send the report, but before he could even make it halfway, he fell to the ground unconscious.

The memorial that was handed over was sent over by someone who had seen him on the way and sent it to the imperial court because he didn't feel good. Other than the person who was on the verge of death and was still unconscious, no one in the other counties knew about the current situation of Qing Qiao County, although they had heard that there were also officials and masters who had sent people over to take a look at the Qing Qiao County. It was a pity that the various transportation conditions at that time weren't good.

Furthermore, the other counties were unable to protect themselves and did not have the mood to care about the matters of the Qing Qiao County. This matter was put on hold because of various circumstances, thus, the Imperial Court was unable to obtain accurate information …

Along the way, they asked about the whereabouts of the surviving Cyan Bridge people. Aside from a small portion that went off to distant places to seek help from relatives and friends, the majority of them chose to go to a similarly stricken county city near Qing Qiao County.

Now that her Qing Qiao County had become like this, although she still had to manage the city, Zhuang Li understood the gist of it. To deal with Qingyang County, one had to burst a hole in the surface of the lake that was surrounded by mud and rocks, and release the water that was surrounding the county, revealing the city underneath, and clean the river to ensure the smooth flow of the river. If she continued to do this, then the river would change its course, and there would be even more cities that would suffer a disaster …

The question of whether or not to relocate or rebuild the imperial court didn't seem to be a problem at all. First, send troops to clear the river, ensuring the safety of the downstream was the priority …

Lijiang County...