The Slender Waist-Chapter 436 - 316: Beneath the Avalanche

Feng Yun hurriedly got up to change her clothes, ordered people to light torches, and the entire manor’s troops and guards were all dispatched, running towards the mountain with torches in hand.

Once they had left the village path, they ran into Yang, the village head, who had gathered a group of villagers, and they too followed shouting along the way.

The people of Huaxi Village were very united; as soon as the able-bodied men got the news, they didn’t care about anything else, they just threw on clothes and rushed out the door.

Feng Yun called out to Ge Guang, instructing him, "You move fast, just go ahead, there is only a quarter hour to save them, be quick, be quick, you must be quick. Of course, you also need to watch out for your own safety."

Ge Guang acknowledged the order, waving his arms and shouting loudly.

"Everyone, come with me."

The Sun Family had two elders and two children, six people in total, and there was Alou... If they were all buried under the snow, their chances of survival were slim.

In the pitch-black night, the torches formed a continuous line.

Feng Yun walked forward with a somber face; her shoes were soaked through with the snow.

Xiaoman looked on sympathetically, "Miss, you should wait at home for news; why bother going there yourself?"

Feng Yun replied, "It’s okay, I’ll just walk slowly. Waiting at home makes me uneasy."

She was usually easy to talk to, but she could also be stubborn. Unable to dissuade her, Xiaoman had no choice but to accompany her as they trudged through the snow with uneven steps.

The farther they got from the village path, the thicker the snow became, making their journey increasingly difficult...

"Feng Twelve, you really are stubborn."

A voice neither light nor heavy came from behind her.

Feng Yun turned around and saw Chunyu Yan sitting on a sedan chair carried on shoulders.

Despite the fierce snowstorm, the Princely Heir looked quite comfortable, carried by two servants and protected by a cover on the sedan, seemingly leisurely enjoying the situation.

"What brings the Princely Heir here?" Feng Yun frowned slightly.

Chunyu Yan gestured slightly with his palm, and the servants, understanding the command, set him down.

"If I didn’t come, you’d probably freeze to death in the snow." His tone wasn’t very impatient, his voice light and indifferent, showing no clear emotion, but he stepped forward towards her.

Standing tall in the snow, his masked face tilted slightly.

"Get on."

Feng Yun: ...

Everyone was busy rescuing, and it would be better for her not to go if she were to be carried there in a sedan chair.

"No need," Feng Yun said. "The Princely Heir should go back and rest early... Ah, what are you doing?"

Before she could finish speaking, she found herself lifted off the ground by the arms of Chunyu Yan, held securely before she could resist, and placed in his embrace.

Xiaoman reacted quickly, about to rush forward to take her back, but Yin You and Sang Jiao blocked her way.

Chunyu Yan said nothing, carrying Feng Yun to the sedan, pulling the straps on both sides to fasten her in, and thoughtfully tying a snow hat on her head.

"Moving faster won’t cause any delay."

Feng Yun would not admit that being carried was faster than walking, but in truth it was, and the porters, bearing her on their shoulders, strode effortlessly through the snow with no burden at all.

Xiaoman looked on and felt relieved, smiling cheerfully:

"Miss, accept the Princely Heir’s kind gesture."

Chunyu Yan turned to give Xiaoman a friendly glance, then lazily teased Feng Yun.

"Look at you, not even as sensible as a little girl."

Feng Yun said nothing.

She never considered herself to be a paragon of virtue or selflessness. If she could get there comfortably and reduce the risks, she had no desire to resist, so she just lay back lazily, feeling refreshed, which seemed to irk Chunyu Yan suddenly.

Feng Twelve, she really had a way of getting under his skin.

But as annoyed as he was, he couldn’t help but find it amusing.

In this bitter cold, who else but himself was to blame for seeking out discomfort?

The deeper they went, the colder it became.

Feng Yun wrapped her clothes tightly around her, and not until she saw the lights of a fire did she speak up.

"Stop here."

She did not want the villagers, busy with the rescue, to see her arriving in a sedan chair. Chunyu Yan, however, didn’t seem to care much. He looked at Feng Yun slowly, with a low hum.

"Hypocrite," he said, then settled himself into the chair.

"Keep moving a little further."

Feng Yun had no time to pay attention to him; after looking around the situation of the avalanche, she approached to inquire about the rescue efforts.

Alou had climbed out on his own.

He was right at the edge of the collapsed snow, buried shallowly. Before Ge Guang arrived with the rescue troops, he had already dug out Big Sister Sun and the young girl from the Sun Family.

When Feng Yun approached, Alou was wrapped in a blanket, shivering, and gesticulating the location where the others were buried.

"When we left, Uncle Sun was still trying to convince the Sun Family elders and must be in their room by now."

At that time, Alou had informed them of Feng Yun’s instructions. Uncle Sun and Auntie Sun immediately began packing to head for Changmen Academy but the Sun Family’s elders were reluctant to go anywhere else for the New Year, insisting on staying in their own home, no matter how much they were urged.

With no other choice, Uncle Sun could only ask Auntie Sun to take the two children and the valuable belongings and follow Alou to Changmen while he stayed behind to keep his parents company...

Who could have predicted that just as Alou and the others had not gotten far, an avalanche occurred.

After Feng Yun understood the situation, she found Ge Guang and Yang Shichang and told them.

"Order everyone to keep quiet, and try to speak in whispers as much as possible. In a quarter of an hour, whether or not we have found anyone, we must quickly leave..."

Yang Shichang asked, "Why a quarter of an hour?"

Feng Yun said, "After a quarter of an hour, the people buried will no longer have any chance of survival. But us digging through the snow to rescue people could trigger a secondary avalanche..."

Hearing this, everyone’s expressions turned solemn.

"Understood."

Many people came to take part in the rescue, and the village tool workshop had made a fair number of iron tools. Those coming to help brought their tools. Even those without tools did not fear the cold and dug with their bare hands.

Everyone worked tirelessly, digging hard in the direction indicated by the young Sun boy...

The pit grew larger and Feng Yun’s heart was tense as she periodically surveyed the terrain.

"It’s my dad’s! That’s my dad’s clothing," the voice of Sun Xiaoman rang out. Only then did everyone notice that Lun Dashan had uncovered a corner of fabric. They rushed over excitedly and soon pulled Uncle Sun out.

He was fortunate to have a strong will to live; he had already passed out by then but a few sips of hot water and wrapping him in a thick cotton quilt soon revived him.

Unfortunately, the stubborn Sun Family elders were not so lucky.

By the time the others dug them out from under the snow, they were no longer breathing.

"Father, Mother—" Uncle Sun and Auntie Sun cried out in grief, and the two Sun siblings couldn’t hold back their tears either, streaming down their faces.

Seeing this scene, Feng Yun said with a somber face:

"Retreat, don’t delay."

Having been reminded by her earlier, everyone fled upon hearing her command. The snow was too deep, and their feet would easily sink in. They pulled on one another, a group of people holding torches for assistance, and had just evacuated the area of the old Sun estate when a loud "boom" came from the mountain.

"Another collapse!"

The crowd held their breath, feeling a chilling relief on their backs as if they had narrowly escaped with their lives.

They let out a sigh of relief after a long while.

"Lucky we had the Village Chief’s wife..."

"The Village Chief’s wife is truly a lucky star."

Feng Yun wrapped her half-wet clothes around herself and sneezed.

"Ge Guang, Yang Shichang, count the number of people and see if everyone made it out," she said.

The two acknowledged and started calling out, holding up torches.

"Everyone check, make sure the brothers who came with you are all here."

There were many villagers present, all in disarray, and more villagers kept arriving from behind, all wanting to contribute their efforts. Upon hearing about the demise of the Sun Family elders, they also sighed and lamented the fickleness of fate.

When they returned to Changmen Academy, Chunyu Yan had left at some point.

Feng Yun was not concerned with him and called for Alou.

"For the funeral of the Sun Family elders, help with the arrangements. If there’s anything lacking or needed, just take it from the account," she said.

Alou looked surprised at first, then touched.

"Had it not been for the young lady’s early warning, the Sun Family would not have survived tonight..."

Feng Yun shook her head nonchalantly and then gave further instructions: "Find a few people to notify every household. Have them check their houses to reinforce what needs reinforcing. Don’t try to cut corners..."

Alou wrapped herself in her clothes and went out.

Lamps blazed brightly around the manor.

In the middle of the night, the howling intensified, and the snow seemed to whirl in the air as if to rupture eardrums.

Feng Yun couldn’t sleep.

It had been a long time since she thought about her past life.

On this snowy night, unsettling thoughts began to slowly take hold, revisiting the events that happened in the twelfth month of Xinghe Year Three.

That year, heavy snow also fell, and countless people froze or starved to death. She had followed Pei Jue back to the Central Capital, and it wasn’t long before they heard about the avalanche in Andu County. The disasters that followed the New Year were even more unrelenting, the people’s livelihoods were more difficult than before the war, instances of starvation and people exchanging their children for food were common...

It was for that very reason that bandits pillaged everywhere, warlords wreaked havoc, and not long after spring arrived, many villages in Andu County were robbed by bandits. Hence, three months later, Jin and Qi erupted into war again, a protracted conflict that lasted three long years...

In this life, many things have changed, but the weather has not.

So, the blizzards would continue...

And at the moment, the Central Capital was certainly in chaos.

Preparing a funeral for the Emperor and enthroning a new ruler, would they even have the attention to spare for the people’s welfare and the snow disaster?