Chapter 553 - 553: Saving People Is Like Fighting a Fire

The mountain road was slippery and treacherous after the rain. Fortunately, the Bone Woman was an excellent driver, and the Mercedes G55 SUV's performance was superb. The journey had been relatively smooth, but their pace was slow. After more than two hours of driving, they had only made it halfway up the mountain.

After rounding a bend, a township bus appeared up ahead. Its old, small interior was packed with people.

Tomorrow was New Year's Eve, so the mountain folk who worked in the county seat and other towns were all rushing home today. It was a national tradition—the New Year had to be spent at home with one's parents and children. Otherwise, it just wouldn't have that festive spirit.

The bus was filled to capacity, and every passenger was carrying large and small bags of luggage and New Year's goods, so it was moving very slowly. The Bone Woman trailed it for a while before growing impatient. She flicked on the turn signal, preparing to accelerate and pass.

Just then, the White Cat, which had been dozing beside Zhao Yuan, suddenly opened its eyes and shot to its feet. As if it had seen something terrifying, all the fur on its body stood on end, and it began to meow incessantly, its cries sharp and urgent.

The White Cat's reaction made Zhao Yuan's heart drop. He instantly lost all interest in studying his copy of *Internal Medicine of Traditional Chinese Medicine* and quickly opened his eyes.

Past experience had taught Zhao Yuan that whenever the White Cat behaved this abnormally, it meant danger was imminent!

He yelled urgently, "Stop the car!"

The Bone Woman immediately hit the brakes, slowing down and pulling over to the side of the road. She turned her head and asked, "Master, what's wrong?"

"The White Cat gave a warning. There's danger!" Zhao Yuan replied, his eyes narrowing as he scanned their surroundings, his expression grim and alert.

"What?" The Bone Woman raised an eyebrow and scanned the area as well.

Just then, a deafening rumble echoed from the mountainside to their left. Zhao Yuan and the Bone Woman whipped their heads around to look, and the color drained from their faces.

Zhao Yuan gasped, "Shit! Rockslide!"

On the mountainside to their left, a boulder half the size of a sedan came roaring down, accompanied by a cascade of smaller rocks and dirt. The spectacle was terrifying!

However, the rockslide wasn't heading for them; it was happening several dozen meters up the road.

Seeing this, Zhao Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, but his relief was short-lived as tension seized him again.

The township bus was directly in the path of the landslide.

"Oh no, this is bad!" Zhao Yuan's expression changed dramatically. He wanted to shout a warning, to help, but it was already too late.

The massive boulder, carrying unstoppable momentum, came crashing down the slope. With a thunderous BOOM, it slammed into the rear half of the bus, completely caving in one side and spinning the entire vehicle more than a hundred degrees!

The only saving grace was that the boulder hadn't landed directly on the roof, and this stretch of road was relatively wide. Otherwise, the casualties would have been much worse—the bus might have even been sent plunging off the cliff.

"Go save them!"

Snapping out of his momentary shock, Zhao Yuan shoved his door open and jumped out.

The Bone Woman tried to stop him. "Master, don't go! The rockslide hasn't stopped, it's dangerous up there!"

Even though Zhao Yuan was a Cultivator, he was still mortal, and a rockslide posed a significant threat to him.

"There's no time for that!" Zhao Yuan activated a Shrinking Earth Talisman and shot toward the wrecked bus at incredible speed, his voice echoing back to the Bone Woman, "Saving people is like fighting a fire! If I wait for the landslide to stop and for it to be safe, the injured will all be damn well dead by then!"

Seeing Zhao Yuan rush forward, the Bone Woman couldn't just stand back and watch. She gritted her teeth and followed, both to help and to protect Zhao Yuan should danger arise.

The people inside the township bus were in a state of utter panic.

Many people were injured, either screaming and wailing in agony or sobbing uncontrollably. Those who were unhurt were still scared out of their wits, shouting in confusion, desperate to get off the bus but unable to figure out how—the doors had been struck by other falling rocks during the impact, warping them shut.

Inside, people were pushing, shoving, and stepping on one another. The scene was pure chaos. If this continued, it would inevitably lead to trampling injuries.

At this critical moment, Zhao Yuan reached the bus, smashed a window with a single punch, and roared at the frantic crowd inside, "If you want to live, then stop panicking! One at a time, climb out through the window!"

Seeing an escape route, the panicked passengers swarmed toward it, fighting to be the first to squeeze through the broken window. This only made the situation more chaotic, wasting precious time.

Zhao Yuan flew into a rage. He slapped a man who was shoving aside women, children, and the elderly to get to the window. "Shoving, you motherfucker?!" he roared. "No order, just pushing! Believe it or not, even if you get out, I'll throw you right off the cliff myself!"

Then he raised his voice and yelled to everyone inside the bus, "Don't panic and don't push! I'm going to open up the other windows! Look around for any tools you can use to break them open, too! Remember, you need to be orderly! No chaos! Let the injured, the women, children, and elderly out first! Also, see if there's anyone severely injured inside, clear a space around them, but do not move them!"

Whether he was snapped to his senses by the slap or just scared by Zhao Yuan's threat, the man who had been pushing before calmed down. Not only did he stop shoving, but he even took a few steps back to help the women, children, and elderly escape through the window.

Zhao Yuan shattered a few more windows just as the Bone Woman arrived to help. Inside, passengers had found the emergency hammers and managed to break open several more windows on their own.

With more escape routes available, the evacuation became much more orderly. However, the passengers were still dazed with shock. After escaping the bus, they didn't know where to go and just stood around blankly.

Zhao Yuan quickly shouted to them, "Don't just stand here! If more rocks fall, you won't be able to get away! Move forward! Get clear of the landslide area! If you have a phone, call the police and call for an ambulance!"

His words snapped the dazed crowd out of their stupor and gave them a direction. They began to run toward a safer area. Those who had phones started dialing the police and emergency services as they ran, just as Zhao Yuan had ordered.

Soon, almost everyone was out of the bus. Only a few of the severely injured remained inside.

To Zhao Yuan's surprise, the man he had slapped earlier was still on the bus; he hadn't escaped.

"Why haven't you left?"

Zhao Yuan asked as he grabbed the edge of the window and vaulted into the bus.

The Bone Woman followed close behind him, climbing in to help.