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墨書 Inktalez
When everyone was in a panic, only An Shaomin seemed more certain, calm, and composed than anyone else. She helped Qing Shusheng lift Bai Cuifen from the ground and said, "Mother, trust An Shaojie; Lanlan will be fine."
"Mm!" Bai Cuifen nodded at An Shaomin, tears mingling with the rain as they streamed down her cheeks.
At that moment, large raindrops fell furiously!
The villagers had already approached Qing Shusheng and the others.
"What happened?" asked the leading man, his clothes completely soaked.
"It's nothing," Qing Shusheng replied calmly. "You should take them back."
Then he looked up and shouted to the people who were following behind, "You all go back!"
The leading man hesitated for a moment and waved his hand to the people behind him, saying, "Everyone go back!"
"What's going on?"
"Yeah, what's going on?"
"Weren't we told that Qinglan or An Shaojie was in trouble? We were supposed to go into the mountains to look for them?"
The people behind looked at the leading man with puzzled expressions.
"Oh, it seems there's nothing wrong. Shusheng Brother is up front; he told us to go back." At this moment, the leading man seemed to understand something and tried to smooth things over while waving his hand to signal everyone to return.
After managing to send back the group that had caught up, Qing Shusheng turned his gaze back to the three women tangled together on the ground.
At this moment, the rain was pouring down heavily, almost like a deluge.
"You all should go back!" Qing Shusheng said, looking at them.
"Go back? What about Lanlan?" Liu Xiuzhen's first reaction was maternal concern.
"Lanlan and An Shaojie only need me to find them," Qing Shusheng said decisively.
Liu Xiuzhen had always obeyed Qing Shusheng's words. Even though she was very worried about Qinglan and looked back with uncertainty, she still got up from the ground, stood for a moment, and then turned to head home.
"You all should go back too," Qing Shusheng said to Bai Cuifen.
"Mother, let's go back. Lanlan and An Shaojie will be fine. Trust An Shaojie," Shaw Min helped Bai Cuifen up from the ground.
Bai Cuifen nodded and followed An Shaomin home as well.
Qing Shusheng held a flashlight, its weak light guiding him through the torrential rain.
"Third Uncle, An Shaojie likes to go to the grove behind Wife Mountain," Shaw Min suddenly turned around and shouted to Qing Shusheng.
"I know," Qing Shusheng replied while trudging through the rain. "You and your mother should hurry home; the rain is getting heavier."
Qing Shusheng walked along the mountain path toward the grove behind Wife Mountain.
In the grove, he pushed through the bushes and grass, completely soaked. He shouted into the depths of the forest for An Shaojie and Qinglan's names, "Lanlan! An Shaojie! Where are you? Can you hear my voice?"
It is often said that a man does not easily shed tears, and this phrase perfectly describes the character of Qing Shusheng throughout his life. In his youth, he traveled far and wide, experiencing the warmth and coldness of human relationships, the harshness of society, and disdain from others. He faced it all until he married into Liu Family Village, transforming from a despised son-in-law to someone who gradually established his own authority there. No matter what hardships or setbacks Qing Shusheng encountered, he almost never shed a tear.
However, tonight, rain mixed with his tears flowed continuously down his once youthful and fair face, now darkened by time.
Braving the heavy rain, as he fought his way up the steep rocky slope of Wife Mountain, the weak beam of his flashlight illuminated a slowly and laboriously moving shadow ahead. The shadow was clustered together and seemed to emit faint sounds.
“Who!” Qing Shusheng instinctively shouted.
Suddenly, the shadow collapsed to the ground, seemingly calling out someone's name in a muffled voice before falling.
Although he could not see the shadow's face clearly and did not catch its voice or words distinctly, Qing Shusheng immediately realized that it must be An Shaojie and Qinglan.
Qing Shusheng rushed forward in a single leap, using both legs to stop the shadow from sliding down, his hands already reaching out to touch it.
“An Shaojie, Lanlan.”
His judgment was correct; the two drenched shadows were indeed An Shaojie and Qinglan!
Qing Shusheng knelt on one leg on the rocky ground while squatting with the other. He first helped An Shaojie up, but Qinglan, who was leaning against An Shaojie's shoulder, remained motionless.
“Lanlan, what’s wrong?” Qing Shusheng leaned over An Shaojie and managed to hang the flashlight on a low pine branch before anxiously asking.
“Third Uncle.”
As soon as he called out "Third Uncle," An Shaojie's voice began to tremble. The intense fear that had been hanging in the air suddenly released its grip, causing him to collapse completely without any strength left. He could barely make a sound; all that could be heard were violent sobs erupting from deep within his heart and suppressed cries flowing from his throat. Tears streamed down his face like rain, unable to be contained for a long time.
This was the first time An Shaojie felt so close to Qing Shusheng after the misunderstanding between them, as if he were seeing his dearest person, allowing him to completely reveal all his vulnerabilities and emotions without reservation.
Seeing him like this, Qing Shusheng gently set down Qinglan and embraced An Shaojie.
After crying for a while, An Shaojie finally calmed down, but his voice was still weak and intermittent as he said, “Lanlan... fell off the bank... her leg is broken... There was a wasp nest on the shore, and when she rolled down, she hit the nest and got stung by a swarm of Bees.”
In the dim light, Qing Shusheng noticed that An Shaojie's face was covered in swollen red patches.
Clearly, he had also been stung quite severely by the Bees.
“Oh, hurry up, An Shaojie, you take the flashlight, I’ll carry Lanlan, let’s get home quickly.” After hearing An Shaojie's words and realizing that Qinglan was not in any serious danger but had just fainted from the stings, Qing Shusheng still felt some worry and urgency since he hadn’t yet seen how badly her leg was injured.
“Okay.” It was rare for An Shaojie to be so obedient in front of Qing Shusheng.
He stood up, took the flashlight from the tree branch, and followed behind Qing Shusheng until they returned to Liu Family Village.
When they reached the bridge at Liu Family Village, An Shaojie, who had been following behind, stopped.
Qing Shusheng, carrying Qinglan, turned to look at him.
“We're home now; I need to go back first.” An Shaojie handed the flashlight to Qing Shusheng, lowering his head with a soft voice. After a pause, he continued, “I didn’t touch her except for carrying her home; I didn’t push her off the bank; she tripped over something and fell in by herself.” “Hmm.” Qing Shusheng nodded and said, “I believe you.”
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