Volume 6 Chapter 19: Clear Lotus in Full Bloom
Everyone on the dam was completely stunned by the scene before their eyes.
When the waves of fracturing sounds had just sounded from the dam, they sensed the trembling of the great earth under their feet! A great roar sounded through the skies!
The River Dragon King is furious!
This river dam really was dangerous, it really did burst!
Ah!
"The dam collapsed!"
"Our homes!"
"Hurry and go up!"
After a momentary silence, the hill immediately erupted into an uproar.
Many people directly sat down on the ground.
Jiang Xiaoyi also finally completely understood. He didn't know how Lin Xi was sure that this dam was about to burst, but from the shaking of the ground and from the chunk of dam wall that was who knew how many jin of weight that was launched from the surging waters, he knew that the power and wrath this river displayed was something even Yunqin's great army couldn't contend against.
If he was currently in those fields, he would definitely be just like those houses, instantly swept through by the crazy waters, swept to who knew where.
The originally clear river water, after being swept through, became extremely muddy. The powerful force raised a heaven reaching great wave not even the oldest fisherman had ever seen before, easily reaching over all of the houses in the fields and ponds, these houses becoming ruins in just a breath of time.
What the dead elder said was true.
What Young Sir Lin said was also true.
Before this type of scene, what all of the villagers thought about weren't their homes, but rather their own lives.
If they didn't have that elder, if there was no Young Sir Lin, then right now, they would also be swept through by the heaven reaching flood.
Lin Xi and Jiang Xiaoyi continued to head towards a higher elevation.
The elder had said that this was a rare Rise of the River Dragon King weather that happened once every few decades, the water level extremely high. With the collapse of this dam, the entire Breath River's waters flooded into the vacant land, the power of the flood far greater than what they anticipated.
This was extremely shocking speed. In just a moment of time, like countless galloping horses, the heaven reaching waves that swept through everything already arrived.
The great rumbling noises were so loud that the people on the hill had to scream in order to barely hear each other.
The surging water vapor made it feel as if it rained again.
He Zijing ran in an extremely sorry state, incredibly panicked, like a dog. When he originally chased after Lin Xi and the others, he was already gasping for breath, yet now, every single step brought his body and spirit a type of tremendous torment.
When he heard the thunderous rumbling noises behind him, He Zijing's brain became more and more blank. He suddenly felt like this was the judgment the River Dragon King passed on him. He was already running crazily with everything he had, feeling as if something was falling down on his back... in that instant, his completely empty mind produced some things. He felt as if it was the walking stick that half lying elder on the bamboo chair clutched that struck his back.
Then, his entire body was sent flying.
The muddy great waves rushed against his body, instantly submerging this Swallow Descent Town Supervisor and the bodies of several officials at his side, as simple as washing away some vegetable leaves.
Shang Yin coughed fiercely, running with everything he had.
After all, he was the one with the greatest stamina and willpower here, the military also sharpening a powerful physique, so he ran at the very front, arriving on the hill. When the great waters battered against the hill, the endless muddy water soaked him, but he wasn't swept away by the vicious great waves behind him like the others were.
His entire body was drenched, trembling as he hugged a large tree tightly.
His body's originally formidable shiny copper armor was also covered in filth. Streaks of dirty water flowed down his armor and clothes as his body shook intensely, as if there were slugs on him , looking extremely disgusting.
...
Lin Xi didn't give Shang Yin, this sole survivor of those officials a single look.
When he saw the empty horror on He Zijing's face and in his eyes the moment he was swept away by the flood, Lin Xi only coldly thought that this type of judgment, for He Zijing, was still not enough. His eyes continued to stare into the flood, becoming more and more ice-cold.
Elder Chen Yangzhi said that before Sir Yuan built this dam, this region was an inner river shallows. Back then, that Sir Yuan and who knew how many elders like Chen Yangzhi, fortified this river dam, changing this place to fertile land, but after today, all of this would return to becoming inner river shallows, everything from yesterday no longer existing.
Suddenly, his ice-cold gaze moved further towards the even more distant river surface.
Waves of great cries of alarm sounded amidst the river's rumbling noises. His pupils couldn't help but contract.
Loud cries also sounded from the hill.
Originally, because of the river dam's collapse, the river water's momentary downpour also immediately became like a waterfall, pouring out from the giant opening that suddenly appeared. Among the three ships, one large ship that was full of goods was rapidly adjusting itself, but then it began to lean to the side, many goods and sailors continuously falling into the rapidly flowing river water.
Only Thriving Prosperity's single great ship immediately lowered its sails when the water direction changed, preventing the ship from immediately losing balance. However, the other Fortune Memory great ship couldn't react in time, while adjusting itself, the back end actually bumped into Thriving Prosperity's ship.
In that instant, countless wood fragments flew off of the two ships. Many people on Fortune Memory's ship felt as if something wasn't quite right, and then the one who was frantically steering the ship discovered that the ship already completely lost balance.
Under a wave of intense rocking, both ships fiercely leaned into each other again.
This was a scene that was unimaginable in Lin Xi's previous world.
The area where the two massive ships collided looked like sharp spears, exposed in a numerous and disorderly manner.
When they clashed, even the mast of Fortune Memory's great ship snapped, carrying heavy sails with it as it fell towards Thriving Prosperity's ship.
The two large ships couldn't control the directions they moved towards. They were swept by the river straight through the collapsed dam, towards the hill Lin Xi and the others were on.
The depth of the land behind the river dam wasn't great enough, and there were chunks of the dam hidden underneath. Only heavy striking sounds continuously sounded from beneath the ships, the two ships rocking back and forth as they continued to rush towards the hill.
These were like two extremely large sledgehammers.
Lin Xi and Jiang Xiaoyi's expressions changed, only feelings as if two great shadows were covering the heavens.
Boom!
Boom!
The two ships smashed heavily against the hill.
The people were still at a higher elevation above, and they had time to prepare, so they only felt alarm, not in any true danger. However, the weight of these two ships was astonishing, and together with the continuous days of violent rain, the sand and stones on the hill were loose. After being rammed into, large amounts of mud and stones continuously crumbled, immediately forming several landslides.
Huge chunks of earth and stones flew through the sky, smashing into the two ships.
The bows of the two ships ruptured, burying themselves deeply into the sand and stone. Much of the goods and crews were sent into the air, falling into the surging waters outside the ship.
At this time, there was no longer any rubble that smashed down. The crews on the two ships immediately entered a state of extreme danger.
Almost no one noticed that behind these two great ships, there were several small ships that were also swept in by the current.
Compared to these massive ships, these small leisure boats had no ability to control themselves, flung left and right at the tip of the waves.
On one of the small ships, precisely the one carrying the scholarly green clothed teacher and child, the teacher was tightly gripping the child who just couldn't understand why this river would be like this with one hand, his other hand tightly gripping a cable on the boat, already unable to control his own body, flung back and forth on this boat.
When this small boat was about to smash into one of the large ships, this green clothed teacher was covered in dismay, only giving the copper-armored military official standing on the not too distant hill a look.
However, when that shiny-armored military official saw the landslides happening to this hill, he instead covered his head, wishing to run in the opposite direction, forming a stark contrast with the two youngsters who were crazily sprinting in the direction where the great ship was smashing over.
Garrisoned soldiers weren't members of the border army after all, and Shang Yin already completely lost his head from the horrifying flood previously. Right now, he truly was like a stray dog, only knowing how to run for his life.
The first thing Lin Xi and Jiang Xiaoyi thought of, was to save people.
As for Lin Xi, he didn't know just how many people were on this great ship whose freight alone weighed over ten thousand jin. However, what he knew for sure after this collision, was that at least several dozen people fell in the water, and there were many on the ship who were injured, difficult for them to avoid the rubble that tumbled down from above.
Lin Xi clutched his green umbrella in hand, while what was in Jiang Xiaoyi's hand was a black scabbard long blade, the two charging in just like in Green Luan Academy's Direct Spear Strikes Trial, charging towards the two stranded large ships.
This scene once again left the thousands of people on the hill in shock.
When they saw the tumbling mountain rocks, their first feeling was fear, yet Lin Xi and Jiang Xiaoyi actually charged in duty-bound towards the two great ships, going out to rescue people!
Young Sir Lin!
Tears immediately poured out from many people's eyes.
...
Lin Xi wasn't some inflexible person. If everyone on the two massive ships were officials like He Zijing, then he might just watch coldly from the side, but he knew that these two great ships mostly carried simple people like those from East Port Town, which was why he didn't think anything else in his mind, only wishing to rescue others.
Both he and Jiang Xiaoyi were cultivators, and they had experienced the training of Green Luan Academy. The rubble that tumbled down from the mountains, for the two of them, wasn't that frightening, they only had to be careful to avoid letting their head being struck, or being caught up in the landslide. However, at the same time, he knew that his unique ability had already been used today, so he was even more careful.
Ah!
"Young Sir Lin!"
Suddenly, many people cried out in alarm from atop the hill.
Lin Xi and Jiang Xiaoyi already approached the fractured bow of one of the stranded ships, but right at this time, there was a large chunk of earth that tumbled down with a mudslide, a lot of rubble still falling from above.
"Jump!"
Lin Xi screamed. Both he and Jiang Xiaoyi jumped high up into the air.
Everyone could see two youngsters leap into the air.
Everyone saw the green umbrella in Lin Xi's hands open up, just like a clear lotus in full bloom.
Sword radiance scattered out from Lin Xi's hands, like the clear and cold light of dawn.
Several large chunks of rocks that smashed towards the youngsters in the air were forcibly sliced apart.
Thunk!
The mudslide smashed into the hull of the ship, making it shake greatly once more.
Lin Xi and Jiang Xiaoyi landed, descending upon this greatly shaking large boat's deck.