Volume 1: Swan Goose Chapter 433: People’s Hearts Are Unpleasant, Dreams Are Shocking
--storm--
The fleet had just traveled halfway when a strong wind suddenly rose on the river, and several flaming lightnings split the sky, creating a glimmer of light in the darkness.
What followed was a rumble of thunder rolling over the head, exploding into the silent night.
People who woke up from their sleep put on their clothes and walked out of the cabin. At this time, the waves on the river were rolling into the sky, and the dark clouds above the head gathered thickly, and they were so heavy that they seemed to hit the ground.
Suddenly, a gust of wind carried dark clouds and rolled up the waves under the boat, as high as a hill. After the strong wind, the huge waves fell back into the river, making the whole boat rise and fall, making it very bumpy.
.
Many people on board were taking a boat ride for the first time and could not bear the bumps. They had already run to the side of the ship and vomited.
Others seemed to be too frightened and had forgotten the discomfort in their stomachs. They hugged the thick mast tightly and kept chanting "Amitabha".
Hu Qi had been familiar with water since he was a child. After seeing the scene in front of him, he calmly came to Lu Ning's room.
Lu Ning was also awakened by the thunder, and bumped into him as soon as he went out: "What's the sound? What happened?"
Hu Qi smiled slightly and reassured in a gentle tone: "It's okay, it's just a few thunders, I'm afraid it's going to rain. This happens often on the river, don't worry about it."
As he spoke, the ship's hull shook violently again.
Lu Ning's feet were unsteady and she fell towards Hu Qi like a puppet with its strings cut off. This was her first time on a boat, so she was inevitably a little panicked.
She grabbed Hu Qi's lapel tightly and asked in horror: "Why is it shaking so hard? Is something going wrong?"
"Don't worry, I'm here! I will protect you!" Hu Qi pulled her into his arms, hugged her slightly trembling body with one hand, and grabbed the mast with the other to stand firm.
Hu Qi's comfort seemed to have no effect. Lu Ning's chest rose up and down rapidly, and his expression remained uneasy.
Rain and mist spread from the corner of the river to the end of Orange Island, and the rough waves of the river soon flooded the southbound ferry.
The water stirred up by the heavy rain was like white beads and gravel, splashing onto the ship's deck and forming a stream. The clothes on everyone's body had also been soaked by the heavy downpour, and they could not help but shiver in the cold wind.
The ship was rocking violently with the huge waves, and there was no one sleeping on the ship. Everyone felt that the end was coming, and began to cry on the deck, praying for God's protection.
Even Lu Ning, who had always been fearless, clenched his teeth and hid in Hu Qi's arms without saying a word. The fresh color on his face had long since disappeared.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here!" Hu Qi's comforting words rang in his ears over and over like a dream.
But just as he finished speaking, there was a "pop" sound, and a huge wave hit, completely overturning the ship.
A heart-rending wail suddenly sounded from heaven to earth.
In the blink of an eye, people on the boat fell into the water one after another, floating in the rolling waves, shouting for help.
Some people who didn't know how to swim sank forever, while those who were good at swimming swam desperately to the shore.
Lu Ning didn't understand the nature of water, so she could only rely on instinct and keep slapping the water to keep her head above the water.
Unfortunately, the waves were too big, and the people around her were also thrashing about, causing her to choke on the water repeatedly. She could no longer scream and felt like she was suffocating.
The river water was freezing cold, causing her to gradually lose strength. Coupled with the fear of not being able to swim, her consciousness was already somewhat blurred.
Although she raised her head desperately, her body still became heavier and heavier. As a huge wave came, a group of people who were struggling to survive were completely plunged into the abyss-like bottom of the river.
And Lu Ning was like a lotus, slowly sinking into the water. The river was getting farther and farther away from her, and the air in her body was about to run out. She felt that her eyelids were getting heavier and heavier, and she had lost the motivation to live.
Just when she was about to drown, a white figure suddenly swam over nimbly like a fish, picked up her body and swam desperately to the water.
Later, Lu Ning, who was unconscious, felt as if he was placed on a wooden board and pushed to the shore.
The river water in the shallows was filled with waves, and some broken boards and broken limbs were pushed to the shore by the big waves.
Hu Qi pushed the board and swam to the shallows, then carried her one foot deep and one foot shallow to the shore.
"Little deer, little deer! Wake up!" Before he could take a breath, Hu Qi immediately checked on Lu Ning who was lying unconscious on the wooden board as soon as he reached the shore.
After a while, Lu Ning finally spit out some water, then coughed desperately, and then his consciousness gradually returned.
"Great!" Hu Qi breathed a sigh of relief before sitting down on the shoal and breathing heavily.
"What happened...what happened?" Lu Ning woke up completely and was stunned for a moment when he saw the scene in front of him.
Hu Qici gasped and said out of breath: "The wind and waves on the river are too strong, and the boat is capsized. This is also a common thing! Fortunately, we are out of trouble now!"
Lu Ning's almond-shaped eyes widened, looking at the tragic situation in front of him, he gradually recovered from what had just happened, and couldn't help but feel a shiver all over his body.
The sky was dark and the surroundings were foggy. The world seemed to be shrouded in a huge black jar. There were moans and groans coming from the river bank, but everyone's face could not be seen clearly.
"Where's Toto?" Lu Ning glanced around intently and started to panic.
Hu Qiyi was stunned and asked quickly: "Does he understand the nature of water?"
Lu Ning shook his head hard: "I don't understand. I've never seen him swimming."
Hu Qi immediately stood up and looked around, but it was pitch dark all around and he couldn't see anything clearly.
He patted Lu Ning's back and said comfortingly: "Wait for me here, I'll go look for you!"
After saying that, he turned around and ran away.
Lu Ning was very anxious. She wanted to call Hu Qi to take her with her, but her weak body collapsed uncontrollably on the shore and she could no longer hold herself up.
Only then did she feel severe pain coming from her ankle, which seemed to be injured.
She was lying on the ground panting heavily, but her eyes were fixed on Hu Qi's figure as he shuttled back and forth in the shallows.
Hu Qi helped rescue people in the sea while looking for Totuo.
After a while, I saw a strong man lying on the door of the cabin, and he was pushed to the shore by the waves.
Hu Qi walked over quickly and recognized at a glance that the strong man on the door panel was Totuo.
He pushed the door panel to the shore with all his strength. But when he reached the shallows, Hu Qi was exhausted and fell into the water.
Seeing that the person on the door panel was motionless, Hu Qi was very anxious and shouted repeatedly: "Brother Toto! Brother Toto!"
After a long time, the person on the door panel moved slightly.
After a while, he opened his eyes and saw that he was in the water, so he jumped up and jumped to the shore.
Hu Qi in the water and Lu Ning on the shore breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Totuo jumping lively.
"By the way, where is Master Xia?!" Lu Ning looked around, his expression tense again.
"Master Xia is here!" A panting voice came from beside him.
Lu Ning looked back and saw that it was Hu Qi's bodyguard Baohua who desperately rescued Xia Yunqing ashore. At this time, although Xia Yunqing's hair was messy and her clothes were soaked, she seemed to be in good spirits.
"Master Xia, what should we do next?" Everyone looked at Xia Yunqing, mentally at a loss of ideas.
As the backbone of the team, although Xia Yunqing was still in shock at this time, he quickly organized his thoughts and issued an order to everyone: not to harass the local people, first find the nearest temple to stay for one night, and early the next morning, he went to the local government office in person
Help!
"I have been to this place before and know that there is a Xuanqing Temple nearby. Why don't we go there and settle down!" Baohua suggested from the side.
Everyone was exhausted and had no better way, so they followed Baohua and walked towards Xuanqing Temple one step at a time.
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The place where everyone went ashore is called Longyou County. It is a very, very small county.
Go to a post station that is not set up by the government.
This storm capsized the ship, and most of the people in the mission were lost. Maybe some people were buried at the bottom of the sea, and maybe some people landed elsewhere.
Now they were gathered together by Xia Yunqing and counted, and there were only about fifty people left.
Everyone was wet, exhausted, and extremely embarrassed, but they followed Xia Yunqing step by step to seek shelter in a nearby temple.
This temple is not big either. There is only one old abbot and three or five junior monks, who make a hard living by cultivating the one-third of an acre of land in the temple.
Seeing someone from the government coming to ask for help, how dare the old abbot turn him away. But the temple was too small, and except for Lu Ning who lived alone in a wing, the other men could only crowd together.
The heavy rain was still pouring down, and the rescued Jin Jiawei finally had a breather when he arrived at the temple.
The people who had struggled back from the brink of death were already exhausted, but they still had to help the host and the monk light a fire to bake clothes and cook.
There was nothing to eat in the temple, so everyone could only cook some vegetable porridge to satisfy their hunger.
Even so, everyone still thinks it is very precious.
The situation in the other wing was not much better.
Although Hu Qi and Tuo Tuo helped, lit firewood to bake Lu Ning's clothes, and the monk gave some porridge to him, Lu Ning could not sleep because of the pain in his feet.
"Sorry, there is no medicine available in the temple. I can only apply a cold handkerchief on you first!"
Hu Qi came over with a clean handkerchief dipped in cold water, carefully took out Lu Ning's feet from the quilt, and then gently covered the affected area with the cold handkerchief.
The biting coldness mixed with severe pain came. Lu Ning took a breath and couldn't help moaning in pain.
"Just be patient tonight. I'll go find a doctor to check on you tomorrow morning." Hu Qi looked at her with distressed eyes and comforted her in a coaxing tone.
Seeing that his clothes were still wet and his face was full of exhaustion, Lu Ning felt sour in his heart: "Xiao Qi, stop being busy. Take a rest quickly!"
Hu Qi smiled and shook his head: "I'm not tired! This is your first time on a boat. I'm worried about you."
Lu Ning forced himself to sit up and patted the bed: "Come and sit, it's very warm here!"