Chapter 1063: Landslide

Chunliang initially thought the rockfall had ended, but the boulder he was clinging onto unexpectedly cracked open. He took a deep breath and leaped upwards, grabbing onto a wild jujube tree on the cliff face as deftly as a nimble ape. Just where he had been clinging, a rock measuring three meters long by about two meters wide split and dislodged from the cliffside, crashing down with a thunderous roar.

Chunliang was deeply concerned, fearing that the boulder might smash into the helicopter wreckage. If that happened, further disaster would likely be unavoidable for the survivors.

Fortunately, the boulder fell elsewhere, shattering into pieces. Several fragments struck the helicopter wreck, producing metallic clanging noises.

Once everything calmed down, he hastened his descent and finally reached the valley floor.

Through the rain curtain, he spotted the helicopter wreckage approximately twenty meters in front of him. The fuselage had split into two sections, and the rotor blades were bent and broken, though the cockpit appeared relatively intact from the outside.

Chunliang found the helicopter door, which was severely deformed. He grabbed the door and pulled forcefully, ripping it off the fuselage and tossing it to the ground with a resounding clang.

The cabin air was thick with a blend of kerosene and the scent of blood.

Chunliang saw bodies sprawled around awkwardly inside the cabin, the pilot’s head tilted at a strange angle, indicating his cervical vertebrae were clearly broken.

Chunliang finally found Ye Changyuan at the rear of the cabin, lying motionless.

“Godfather!” Chunliang shouted loudly, but Ye Changyuan still showed no response. Chunliang reached out to check his pulse and found none.

During the helicopter’s descent, Ye Changyuan’s bones shattered, and his internal organs ruptured. He had long since died.

Although Chunliang had already sensed something was amiss, confirming Ye Changyuan’s tragic death stirred profound sadness within him. Regardless of one’s status, all become vulnerable in the face of unexpected events — death is the great equalizer.

Chunliang noticed Ye Changyuan clutching a photograph in his hand, showing a family portrait of the three of them.

Ye Changyuan’s occipital bone had shattered from the impact during the fall. Chunliang carefully positioned his body to rest properly. There were eight people inside the helicopter, none survived the crash.

The radio continuously transmitted anxious shouting.

Chunliang exited the cabin silently, and said somberly into the radio, “This is Chunliang. I’ve arrived at the scene. The helicopter crashed with the fuselage split in two sections, all eight onboard perished…”

The other side fell into a long silence upon hearing Chunliang’s report, only replying after a while, “Understood. Stay safe. A professional rescue team will arrive in forty minutes. Stand by at your location.”

Chunliang felt heavily burdened, his mind filled with scenes of Elder Ye, Qingya, and Lin Sijin overwhelmed with grief. Ye Changyuan’s body hadn’t fully cooled yet. Perhaps if Wang Wenxiang and Fang Cheng hadn’t hindered him midway, he would have arrived in time for rescue.

Chunliang had no personal feud with the Life-taking Sect, but they required no reason to kill — they were just a bunch of bounty hunters. Chunliang privately held them accountable for this incident.

In reality, even without obstructions along the way, he might not have located Ye Changyuan immediately. Finding him might not have led to saving his life. After the helicopter crash, Ye Changyuan’s occipital bone was fractured from impact — even if he miraculously survived, he would likely be reduced to a shell of a person.

Given Ye Changyuan’s pride, he’d rather choose death than live on under such circumstances.

Chunliang raised his head, allowing the pouring rain to wash over his face. Regardless of his proficiency in the Innate Realm, he couldn’t bring Ye Changyuan back to life.

Once again, a voice came through the radio, “Chunliang, please respond if you hear this, please respond.”

Chunliang replied, “I’m here!”

“A mudslide occurred in the northwestern direction near Hundred Feet Cliff. Based on the trajectory, it’s likely heading towards Chaotic Stone Valley, reaching your location within two minutes. Please evacuate immediately.”

Chunliang listened intently and indeed heard the low rumbling coming from the northwest direction. Two minutes were enough for him to escape, but no! His godfather’s body was still inside.

Chunliang turned and sprinted toward the helicopter. Entering the cabin, he hoisted Ye Changyuan’s body onto his back, securing it with straps around him. Chunliang had no other choice; if he had time, he would surely take all the bodies with him.

As he emerged, he felt the ground trembling, like the sound of a mountain collapsing and bursting from the valley entrance approaching his position.

The murky mudslide resembled a fierce dragon, carrying rocks, rotted wood, and yellow sand, crashing into the boulders blocking the valley entrance. Originally hindering the rescue team’s path, the rocks yielded pathetically under the mudslide’s impact, collapsing completely and joining the mudslide’s ranks. This dragon grew even more powerful, unstoppable, hurtling straight toward Chaotic Stone Valley.

The earth trembled, the mudslide rumbled against the valley like a roaring beast.

Chunliang sprinted towards Hundred Feet Cliff with Ye Changyuan’s body on his back. He didn’t look back, feeling the unstoppable force of nature.

The mudslide struck the helicopter, and in its pressure, the helicopter groaned, moving a distance only to crash into rocky terrain ahead, its cabin immediately crushed flat.

Chunliang climbed up Hundred Feet Cliff with Ye Changyuan on his back. Just as his feet left the ground, the muddy flood engulfed the spot where he’d been standing moments before. Chunliang exerted all his strength to climb upward.

The wind, laden with sand and stone, lashed at his body. Chunliang clung tightly to the rock crevices to prevent being blown away by the fierce wind. With all his might, he widened his eyes, seeing the area below entirely swallowed by mud.

Chunliang continued to climb; he must bring Ye Changyuan home.

The first to receive the news in the Ye Family was Lin Sijin. When Lin Sijin heard about Ye Changyuan’s helicopter accident, she stood there in a daze, her mind blank, only regaining her senses after a long time: “What did you say? Say it again…”

The other party repeated the news in an extremely sorrowful voice, informing Lin Sijin that the helicopter Ye Changyuan was on had crashed, falling into Chaotic Stone Valley on Fushan. Currently, there was a mudslide in Chaotic Stone Valley, which meant that they might not even be able to find the body.

Lin Sijin asked, “Who told you this news? Can you be sure?”

“One of the rescue team members went down. He reported the situation to us, but shortly after he reported, another mudslide occurred locally.”

Lin Sijin collapsed weakly to the ground: “So you haven’t found Changyuan’s body.”

“I’m sorry, we will do our best to find Director Ye’s body…”

“Enough! Don’t tell me these unconfirmed messages. As his wife, I must see a living person, or at least find his body!” Tears streamed silently down Lin Sijin’s face.

“I’m sorry.” The other party seemed to have nothing else to say but ‘sorry’.

Lin Sijin composed herself: “I’m the one who should apologize. The disaster in Juzhou is so severe, and a lot of rescue resources have been mobilized because of Changyuan. I have only one request: do not tell Elder Ye about this until everything is confirmed. He is old and may not be able to withstand such a blow.”

“Okay, we will contact you immediately if there are any new developments.”

Ye Qingya tossed and turned, unable to sleep, because of her father and also Xu Chunliang. The earthquake situation in Juzhou was grim; both of the people she cared about most were on the front lines in the disaster area. Ye Qingya didn’t dare disturb her father’s work; she wanted to call Xu Chunliang but felt it was inappropriate, the inner conflict kept her awake. She hoped that all of this would pass quickly, praying for the people of Juzhou to return to their normal, peaceful lives soon.

Ye Qingya was about to go out for a walk but found her grandfather sitting alone by the window in the living room, quietly looking outside.

Elder Ye didn’t seem to notice his granddaughter’s arrival, lost in thought.

“Grandpa!”

Elder Ye’s hand trembled, and the walnut he was holding fell to the ground.

Ye Qingya quickly bent down to pick up the two official’s hat-shaped walnuts and placed them in her grandfather’s hand, only to find that his hand was unusually cold.

Ye Qingya asked, “Grandpa, what’s wrong with you? Why are your hands so cold?”

Elder Ye smiled and said, “It’s nothing, I’m old, I don’t have the vitality you young people do.”

Ye Qingya went to find a coat to drape over her grandfather.

Elder Ye asked, “Your dad is still in Juzhou, right?”

Ye Qingya nodded and said, “He just left not long ago, are you missing him?”

Elder Ye replied, “He said he would call me tonight.”

Ye Qingya said, “He went to inspect the disaster, the situation over there is very severe, I guess he might have forgotten because of work, maybe he’ll call later on.” She looked up at the time; it was already almost midnight.

If he doesn’t call at this time, he definitely won’t call tonight, because her father is very respectful and would not disturb Elder Ye’s rest lightly.

Elder Ye said, “Qingya, I’ve been feeling restless today.”

Ye Qingya said, “Is it because of the rain, and the air pressure is low? How about I ask a doctor to come by tomorrow for a checkup.”

Elder Ye shook his head, indicating there was no need.

Ye Qingya knew what her grandfather was worried about and quickly changed the subject: “Grandpa, Xu Chunliang also went to the disaster area in Juzhou, joining the medical rescue team.”

Elder Ye said, “He went too? That child has a kind heart. Call him and tell him to be careful.”

Ye Qingya nodded, she had long wanted to call. With her grandfather saying so, she now had a good reason. She called Xu Chunliang, but his phone was out of service.

Ye Qingya smiled at her grandfather: “Grandpa, the communication in the disaster area hasn’t been restored yet; sometimes we can get through, sometimes we can’t. I believe they’re all okay.”

Elder Ye sighed and said, “When people grow old, they become more anxious. Whether it’s your dad or Chunliang, they are both doing what they should do. If I were a few years younger, I would go too.”

Ye Qingya said, “Grandpa, I plan to donate some money to the disaster area.”

Elder Ye nodded: “That’s good, that’s good, I’ll donate some too.”