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Chapter 492 Rescue
Being mocked made Wang Ergou unhappy. He stood up and said, "We believe what we believe, what's it to you?"
Seeing Wang Ergou's unfriendly tone, the young man stopped his joking and his face darkened: "What, you're allowed to indulge in this feudal superstition, but I'm not allowed to speak up? Let me tell you, it's only now that things have changed. Two years ago, you'd be in big trouble."
Sensing the tense atmosphere, Li Xiangyang quickly pulled back the somewhat agitated Wang Ergou and calmly said, "We each get what we need; we don't want any trouble."
The young man sized up Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou. Seeing their robust builds, especially Li Xiangyang's calm demeanor, which suggested they weren't easy to deal with, he scoffed, "Tch, what's with the act of being so mature? Always believing in this stuff, what good stuff can you find?" He then winked at his two companions, "Let's go check it out up ahead."
The three men carried their tools away, but before they left, the leader didn't forget to turn back and sneer, "You worship the mountain god and the heavens, but even they don't know who you are!"
Wang Ergou's face turned red with anger: "Brother Xiangyang, these ignorant brats!"
Li Xiangyang shook his head: "Don't bother with them, let's keep looking for ours."
The two wandered around the mountains for most of the day and found two more ginseng roots, small but quite old, which they carefully stored away. As evening approached and darkness fell, they prepared to descend the mountain and return to their village.
"Brother Xiangyang, you've had a good harvest today!" Wang Ergou patted the cloth bag containing ginseng with a satisfied smile.
Li Xiangyang nodded: "Yes, that's quite good for the first time. But it gets dark quickly on the mountain, so we need to hurry down."
The two walked down the mountain along the same path they had come from.
Along the way, the sky suddenly darkened, with thick clouds gathering, and gusts of mountain wind howled past, causing the tree branches to sway and make a rustling sound.
"Brother Xiangyang, it looks like it's going to rain." Wang Ergou looked up at the sky, somewhat worried.
Li Xiangyang frowned as well: "Indeed, let's hurry and try to get down the mountain before the rain starts."
The two quickened their pace, but the mountain path was rugged and downhill, so they had to be careful.
After walking for about half an hour, a muffled clap of thunder came from the sky, followed by large raindrops pelting down.
"Oh no, it's raining heavily!" Wang Ergou quickly pulled up his collar to shield himself from the rain.
Li Xiangyang looked around and pointed to a protruding cliff: "Let's hide over there first!"
The two ran quickly to a flat area at the foot of the cliff, where there were some large rocks that could temporarily shelter them from the rain.
Just as we reached the foot of the rock, the rain suddenly intensified, turning the mountainside into a white expanse with extremely low visibility.
Just as the two were taking shelter from the rain under a rock, they suddenly heard a cry for help coming from afar. Although it was very faint and was covered by the rain, Li Xiangyang still managed to catch it.
"It sounds like someone is calling for help!" Li Xiangyang stood up and strained his ears to try and pinpoint the direction of the sound.
Another cry for help, this time clearer.
“Brother Xiangyang, you came from over there!” Wang Ergou pointed to a hillside to the left.
The two exchanged a glance and, without prior arrangement, rushed into the rain, running towards the direction of the sound.
The rain stung his face as Li Xiangyang squinted, trying to find someone who might need help.
After running for about five minutes, they saw a familiar figure. It was the young man they had met in the mountains earlier. He was standing on the edge of a steep hillside, anxiously shouting something down.
Li Xiangyang strode forward: "What's wrong?"
The young man turned and saw Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou. Forgetting their previous unpleasantness, he pointed anxiously downwards and said, "My brother fell down! It's a steep slope down there; he couldn't keep his balance, and below that is a huge pit!"
Li Xiangyang looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a young man lying on a protruding rock about two or three meters down the hillside, half of his body dangling in the air, looking extremely dangerous. Below that was a ravine about five or six meters deep; if he fell from there, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Where is the other person?" Li Xiangyang asked hurriedly.
"He went to find a rope to ask for help!" the young man said, his voice trembling with panic. "But the rain is getting heavier, and I'm afraid it will be too late by the time he gets back!"
Li Xiangyang quickly assessed the situation and said to Wang Ergou, "I'll go down and rescue them; you stay up here and provide support."
After saying that, he took off his coat, twisted it into a thick rope, and handed one end to Wang Ergou and the young man: "You two hold on tight, I'm going down first."
Wang Ergou and the young man held tightly to one end of the clothes rope, while Li Xiangyang held the other end, carefully moving down the slippery hillside.
The rain washed away the mud, making every step extremely dangerous, but Li Xiangyang was experienced and found the right foothold, gradually approaching the young man in danger.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here to save you!" Li Xiangyang shouted, his voice piercing through the rain.
The young man was pale, his fingers clenched so tightly they turned white, and his eyes were filled with fear: "I...I can't hold on any longer!"
"Hang in there a little longer!" Li Xiangyang finally moved to within about a meter of him, reaching out his hand. "Grab my hand!"
The young man tried to reach out, but the rocks were slippery, and he was in danger of slipping if he moved.
Seeing this, Li Xiangyang took a deep breath, loosened the rope holding his clothes, braced his hands on the rock, and slowly moved towards the young man.
"Brother Xiangyang, be careful!" Wang Ergou shouted nervously from above.
Li Xiangyang did not respond, focusing intently on maintaining his balance, and finally reached the young man's side.
"Grab my shoulder, I'll take you up," Li Xiangyang said calmly.
The young man trembled as he reached out and placed his hand on Li Xiangyang's shoulder. Li Xiangyang supported him with one hand and grabbed a protrusion on the rock with the other, slowly moving upwards.
"Ergou, throw down the clothes rope!" Li Xiangyang shouted.
Wang Ergou immediately threw down one end of the clothes rope. Li Xiangyang grabbed it and signaled the young man to hold on tight to the clothes rope. Then the three of them worked together to pull him up the hillside.
The young man finally returned to safety, collapsed on the ground, panting heavily, rain and tears streaming down his face.
"Thank...thank you so much! Thank you so much!" he said, his voice choked with emotion.
The previously arrogant young leader stepped forward, his face full of remorse: "I'm sorry, I was wrong before. Thanks to you all, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable."
Li Xiangyang brushed the mud off his clothes and said calmly, "It's dangerous in the mountains, everyone needs to be careful."
"My name is Zhang Yong, and this is my brother, Liu Ming," the young man introduced solemnly. "If it weren't for you, my brother might be..."
Liu Ming struggled to his feet and bowed deeply to Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou: "My benefactors, you saved my life today!"
At this moment, the rain subsided. Li Xiangyang glanced at the sky and said, "It's getting late. The rain is lessening. Let's hurry down the mountain; it's dangerous in the mountains at night."