PFC Chapter 365 It's good that everyone is alright.
Chapter 365 It's good that everyone is alright.
As soon as Li Xiangyang finished speaking, the earth began to tremble violently.
At first, it was just a slight tremor, but soon the tremors became stronger and stronger, with trees shaking and rocks rolling down the mountain.
"Earthquake!" Wang Ergou's face turned deathly pale. "Brother Xiangyang, which way do we run?"
"Pack your things!" Li Xiangyang shouted as he quickly packed his backpack. "Come with me, let's go to that open area!"
He pointed to a relatively flat area not far away, with no tall trees or cliffs around it.
Wang Ergou hurriedly packed his things, while Xiao Jin, startled by the earthquake, let out a sharp cry and hovered above Wang Ergou's head.
"Little Jin, follow us! Don't fly around!" Wang Ergou shouted into the sky.
Although Xiaohu and Xuanmao were also frightened, because they had spent a long time with Li Xiangyang, they became even more dependent on their master in times of crisis and followed closely behind him.
The two staggered toward an open area, with tree branches breaking and falling along the way, and rocks rolling down the hillside.
Li Xiangyang looked up and secretly rejoiced that there were no tall cliffs here, otherwise it would have been even more dangerous if a landslide had occurred.
The ground continued to shake. Li Xiangyang pulled Wang Ergou to a flat spot, squatted down, and covered his head with his hands.
"Crouch down and protect your head!" Li Xiangyang shouted.
Wang Ergou did as instructed, and Xiao Hu and Xuan Mao also instinctively lowered their bodies.
Little Gold seemed to realize the danger and hovered anxiously in the air.
The earthquake lasted for about a minute. Although it was short, the commotion in the mountains was extremely frightening.
The distant roar of an avalanche echoed, and the crackling sound of falling trees filled the air.
"Luckily we reacted quickly," Wang Ergou breathed a sigh of relief as the tremors subsided, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. "If I had been asleep, I probably wouldn't have even had time to react."
Li Xiangyang nodded, looked around, and only relaxed slightly after confirming that there were no trees about to fall or rocks about to roll down: "Aftershocks are common after earthquakes, we need to find a safe place to wait."
"Luckily, it wasn't in the village," Wang Ergou said, still shaken.
"Yes, thankfully. But with such a commotion, the whole village must have heard it. Let's rest for a bit and then head back quickly so our families don't worry."
The two found a flat spot away from the trees and cliffs and quickly tidied up their scattered luggage.
It was still early, several hours before dawn, but neither of them wanted to sleep. They just sat there silently, waiting for the sunrise.
Little Tiger seemed to sense its master's emotions and paced anxiously around Li Xiangyang.
The black cat perched on his shoulder, warily watching its surroundings.
Little Jin remained perched on Wang Ergou's shoulder, occasionally letting out a soft bark.
"No wonder all those animals were running for their lives; they sensed an earthquake was coming," Wang Ergou remarked. "We, on the other hand, were slow to react."
Li Xiangyang nodded: "Animals have a stronger sense of impending natural disasters than humans. We must be vigilant if we see anything unusual like this next time."
The waiting time felt exceptionally long, during which two small aftershocks occurred. Although not as strong as the first one, they were still terrifying.
Finally, the east began to lighten, and the sky gradually brightened.
“It’s dawn, let’s go down the mountain.” Li Xiangyang stood up and dusted himself off.
Wang Ergou nodded, packed his luggage, and the two of them, along with their respective animal companions, descended the mountain along the route they had come from.
However, the mountain road has been completely altered, with landslides and fallen trees in many places, making the already difficult mountain road even more challenging.
"Be careful," Li Xiangyang warned. "The mountainside is unstable after the earthquake, and new landslides could occur at any time."
The two proceeded cautiously, detouring around any landslides they encountered to avoid steep cliffs and loose rocks.
By a stream, they encountered several startled wild rabbits, cautiously drinking water.
Li Xiangyang raised his hunting rifle and hit one of them with a single shot. Wang Ergou also quickly followed suit and hit another one.
"At least the trip wasn't a complete waste," Wang Ergou laughed. "Although we didn't catch any big prey, we still got some results."
They put away their prey and continued on their way.
After crossing a mountain ridge, we could see a group of wild boars foraging on a hillside in the distance.
"Look! A wild boar!" Wang Ergou exclaimed in a low voice.
Li Xiangyang gestured for him to be quiet, carefully observed the terrain and wind direction, and said softly, "We'll approach from the side; the wind direction is in our favor, so they can't smell us."
The two men quietly approached the herd of wild boars, selected their target, and fired simultaneously.
After two gunshots, the wild boar fell to the ground, and the rest scattered and fled.
"Haha, not bad!" Wang Ergou said excitedly.
Li Xiangyang frowned. "Strange, why aren't these wild boars afraid of people anymore? They should be more wary after an earthquake."
"Who cares, as long as we have prey." Wang Ergou didn't mind and went forward to process the prey.
Li Xiangyang didn't think much of it and helped Wang Ergou deal with the wild boar. One wild boar, plus the rabbit they'd caught earlier, was already a pretty good haul.
After processing the prey, the two dragged it down the mountain.
The sun had risen, and the warm sunlight shone on me, dispelling the chill of the night and the fear brought by the earthquake.
“It seems nothing serious has happened in the village,” Li Xiangyang said, gazing towards the village as he reached the halfway point up the mountain.
Wang Ergou breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good, that's good."
On their way down the mountain, the two encountered a few more pheasants, which they casually shot down, an unexpected bonus.
Finally, at noon, Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou returned to Xiaoliang Village.
The situation in the village was much better than they had imagined. Although some houses had cracks, the overall damage was not significant.
The villagers are busy repairing houses and clearing away debris.
Upon seeing the two people dragging their prey, Li Xiaoyun and Ma Hongxia ran out from the crowd, their faces filled with worry and joy.
"Are you alright?" Li Xiaoyun stepped forward and grabbed Li Xiangyang's hand, her eyes filled with tears. "We were all terrified during the earthquake, thinking that you must be in even more danger in the mountains."
Li Xiangyang gently hugged his wife and whispered comfortingly, "It's alright, Er Gou and I are both fine. We even brought back some game."
Ma Hongxia held Wang Ergou's hand tightly, her joy overflowing: "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back."
"What's the situation like in the village?" Li Xiangyang asked.
Li Xiaoyun shook her head: "Fortunately, the earthquake wasn't too big, and it was during the day, so most people were out working and were mostly unharmed. Only a few old houses had some problems, and the water in a few wells turned muddy."
"It's good that everyone is alright. A damaged house can be repaired, a well can be dug again, and life can still go on as usual."
Looking at the busy yet orderly village before him, and then at his family beside him, Li Xiangyang finally felt a huge weight lifted from his heart.