304 Insane
Song Renying did not take offense at the other party's rudeness; on the contrary, he appreciated the young hero's valor. He turned to his subordinates and said, "You all follow me to save them. Magistrate Han, go back and dispatch more people here. We must rescue Miss Zhao and Young Master Qiao!"
Without hesitation, the group hurried back to the cave entrance.
At this moment, the ground was covered with Shi Tou, and the cave was also blocked by Shi Tou. Zhao Yu anxiously called out Zhao Zhitong's name.
Among the rubble, a disheveled man was lying—none other than the missing Li Zhoucheng. He seemed to have fainted, motionless on the ground.
Li Zhoucheng had secretly gone to the mountaintop to set up barrels of fire oil, intending to bury everyone under the Shi Tou. By coincidence, as Zhao Yu was going up the mountain, he encountered Li Zhoucheng. Becoming suspicious, Zhao Yu followed him to the top and witnessed his actions.
He immediately intervened, but Li Zhoucheng, realizing his plan had been exposed, decided to detonate the fire oil early in an attempted mutual destruction.
Luckily, Zhao Yu's lightness skill was remarkable, and he avoided the full force of the explosion. Li Zhoucheng, however, was not so fortunate; he was struck in the head by a flying Shi Tou and rendered unconscious. Zhao Yu then carried him down.
Song Renying did not have time to understand the situation. He ordered someone to watch over Li Zhoucheng to prevent him from escaping after regaining consciousness. Then, he commanded the rest of the Yamen clerks to move the Shi Tou blocking the cave entrance.
"Young hero, the cave is here." Song Renying pointed to the original entrance of the cave and said to Zhao Yu, "They fell into this cave to avoid the Shi Tou."
"Thank you very much, sir." Zhao Yu hastily expressed his gratitude and then rushed over like the wind, joining the Yamen clerks in moving the Shi Tou at the entrance.
Since the outer part of the cave had completely collapsed, they dug for a long time seeing nothing but Shi Tou. By afternoon, the cave still hadn't been unearthed, and Zhao Yu became increasingly anxious.
Upon hearing the news, Zhao Yue rushed over in a panic.
When Zhao Zhitong hadn't returned after some time, Sun Kang and others from the medical clinic went to the yamen to inquire. That's how they learned what had happened. The medical clinic closed for the day, and everyone headed straight for the back mountain.
"Sir, the inside of the cave has completely collapsed!" At that moment, a Yamen clerk ran up to report to Song Renying.
"What?" As soon as the words were spoken, Sun Kang, who happened to be walking over, overheard them. Frightened, his legs went weak. Fortunately, Sun Daji supported him, preventing him from falling.
Struck by the news, Sun Kang's vision went dark, and he began to tremble. He pushed Sun Daji away and staggered toward the cave, calling out, "Young girl, young girl..."
"Master..." Sun Daji's eyes also reddened as he jogged over to support Sun Kang.
Song Renying hurriedly consoled the old man, "Old Sir, don't worry. Miss Zhao and Young Master Qiao will be fine. This cave has hidden mechanisms and secret passages; it's unlikely to have entirely collapsed. They must have entered a secret passage before the cave-in. As long as we move these Shi Tou, we will definitely rescue them."
Sun Kang asked anxiously, "Really?"
"Master, please believe Sir Song. Your cousin and Young Master Qiao are blessed individuals; they will surely turn this danger into safety!" Sun Daji said with certainty, as if to comfort Sun Kang and himself.
Sun Kang practically begged, "Then, sir, you must save them!"
Song Renying nodded. "Old Sir, rest assured. I have summoned nearly all the Yamen clerks from the yamen to dig out the Shi Tou. We will do our utmost to rescue them!"
Sun Kang expressed his thanks repeatedly.
Song Renying said, "Old Sir, you don't need to thank me. If we're speaking of the danger these two young ones are in, it's all my fault." Song Renying sighed with remorse, exchanged a few more words with Sun Kang, and then went to direct his subordinates to move the Shi Tou.
A thought struck Sun Kang, and he turned to Sun Daji. "Don't send word home about your cousin being in danger. Your grandmother isn't well; I'm afraid she couldn't bear it."
After seeing Sun Daji nod, Sun Kang also went over to help move Shi Tou.
Meanwhile, as they dug for so long with still no sign of the cave entrance, Zhao Yu grew increasingly anxious and worried.
Ding Xiang, who had come with them, also looked concerned. Seeing that the cave showed little change after so long, she couldn't help saying, "How long will this take?"
As soon as she spoke, Zhao Yu immediately turned to glare at her, his tone extremely unpleasant. "If you're tired, go back! Don't just stand here making discouraging remarks and affecting everyone!" His tone was so harsh that even Zhao Yue, who was beside him, looked up.
Zhao Yu usually had a good temper and rarely lost it. However, this was only if his sister's safety wasn't threatened. As long as Zhao Zhitong's safety was involved, he would definitely explode.
Seeing Ding Xiang's momentary bewilderment, Zhao Yue stepped in to smooth things over. "Miss Ding, please don't take it to heart. Zhao Yu doesn't mean any harm. You don't know, but whenever it concerns his sister, he just... blows up." After saying that, he told her to go rest by the side.
Then he turned to Zhao Yu. "Zhao Yu, you too. I know you're tense and worried, but don't take it out on a young girl. You've practiced martial arts for years; don't you realize the aura you give off? Besides, Zhao Zhitong and Qiao Muchen are trapped, and everyone's worried. The young lady didn't mean any harm; she's just anxious, that's all."
Zhao Yu, his face taut, glanced at Ding Xiang but said nothing. He lowered his head and resumed moving Shi Tou relentlessly.
"Sir! Sir!" At that moment, the Yamen clerk guarding Li Zhoucheng suddenly came to report, "Sir, Prefect Li has woken up!"
Song Renying stopped what he was doing. "Oh? Take me to him." With that, he headed towards Li Zhoucheng's location.
When he got there, he saw Li Zhoucheng sitting dazedly on the ground, motionless. Song Renying called out, "Li Zhoucheng, do you know your crimes!"
After a long pause, Li Zhoucheng stiffly turned his head to look at Song Renying, his eyes unfocused, as if devoid of spirit. Immediately after, he suddenly sprang up from the ground and lunged at Song Renying. Fortunately, the Yamen clerks nearby managed to stop him in time.
Then, Li Zhoucheng began to laugh maniacally.
"HAHAHA!"
Then, a terrified scream followed. "AH! Don't kill me! Don't kill me..."
He appeared to have completely lost his sanity.
Seeing his crazed state, Song Renying frowned deeply and ordered, "Men, first escort him back to the yamen. Assign people to guard him."
Whether he was truly mad or feigning it, they would deal with it after rescuing the two young people.
The situation outside was tumultuous, far from peaceful. Naturally, for Qiao Muchen and Zhao Zhitong trapped in the cave, things weren't much better.
Zhao Zhitong closed her eyes and actually fell asleep. When she finally woke up, she realized that she was no longer leaning against the stone wall but on Qiao Muchen's shoulder.
The moment she moved, Qiao Muchen opened his eyes.
"Awake? Did you sleep well?" Because he hadn't spoken for a long time, Qiao Muchen's voice was even more hoarse.
Zhao Zhitong nodded. "Yes. How long did I sleep?"