fan dance

22

This rain was a bit unusual. The continuous torrential rain washed away the previous scorching heat. It continued to rain for more than ten days without any intention of stopping. The whole world was covered by water mist, making it difficult to see clearly.

The humid air made people uncomfortable, and even some dark-colored fungi grew in the dark corners of the house.It stands to reason that the rain in summer shouldn't be so continuous, as if a hole has been smashed in the sky, and it can't be filled no matter what.

In the first few days, An Yanheng came to talk about things in the town every day. Later, the rain couldn't stop, and An Yanheng didn't show up anymore. Yuchiqiu's eyebrows furrowed deeper and deeper, and he looked at the sky worriedly every day. Dark clouds shrouded heavily, depressing and faintly carrying a disturbing atmosphere.

"What are you thinking?" After holding back for a long time, Su Chengjing finally took the initiative to ask, and slowly hugged Yuchiqiu from behind, gently sprayed his breath on his neck, and circled the broken hair with his fingers, "Aqiu ,you're not feeling OK?"

For the first time, Yu Chiqiu showed an expression of impatience, and even Su Chengjing's actions made him a little resistant, he tilted his head away, and sighed: "It has been raining for more than half a month, and I always feel panicked."

Su Chengjing thought that Yu Chiqiu was afraid of water, so he couldn't help laughing: "Don't worry, it's just raining, Ah Qiu, look, it's been raining for more than ten days, isn't it much cooler?" He turned Yu Chiqiu's body to face himself, He reached out to comfort the furrowed eyebrows, but stopped the moment he touched Yu Chiqiu's eyes, "What's wrong?"

Yuchiqiu's expression was downcast, and there was an unfamiliar chill in his eyes. He was stunned for a moment, and he seemed to be aware of this problem, and his expression turned soft: "Young master, I don't know, it will rain at this time in previous years, but usually every three to five days That’s it, I’ve never seen anything like this for more than ten days in a row, I’m afraid…”

"Are you worried that the heavy rain will delay the repair of your father's cemetery?" Su Chengjing grew up in the north and did not understand Yu Chiqiu's worries. He just read ancient books about yin and yang Fengshui in the library a long time ago, and he could only think about it. This is reasonable, "Or...the terrain is low there, are you afraid of flooding? How about we go there and have a look?"

Yu Chiqiu shook his head: "The feng shui of the cemetery is particular, don't worry, and it's useless if we go there." He lowered his head, bit his lips, and said, "What I'm worried about is the whole Taohua Town."

"What?" Su Chengjing was puzzled.

"Peach Blossom Town was built along the mountain depression. You should know that the terrain of the mountain depression is relatively low. If you use a metaphor, it is like a water basin." Yu Chiqiu pointed to the unclear mountain range in the distance, and roughly gestured, "Usually Of course it’s fine, but too much rain, and the water on the mountain is too strong, it may form a mountain torrent, and the mountain torrent mixed with mud and sand will flow down, destroying the entire Taohua Town in an instant.”

Su Chengjing's expression changed slightly: "Then, what should we do? Is there no other channel for flood discharge on the mountain?"

"Of course." Yu Chiqiu nodded, "It rains every year. Of course, Taohua Town has its own countermeasures, that is, it has built water storage places and flood drainage channels on the mountain. Every year during the rainy season, the youths in the town will Get organized, stop all the work at hand, and go up the mountain to ensure that the mountain torrents will not threaten Taohua Town. You see Xiaoan came every day to tell me about this, but he hasn't come these few days, so I started to worry. The water and flood drainage fortifications were built according to the usual rainfall in previous years, but this year it has been raining for so long, I am really worried, if the fortifications cannot withstand it, then..."

"No, no, no," Su Chengjing hurriedly interrupted Yu Chiqiu, and comforted him, "It's such a coincidence, although I don't know how to build these fortifications, but I also heard from the emperor's uncle that once the flood discharge channel is opened, let it go down." It’s been raining for a long time, as long as it’s diverted away, it’s fine. Besides, Xiao An is here, since he didn’t come to report to you, he must be busy taking care of it, which also means that things are going well.”

"I hope so." Although Yu Chiqiu was worried, he had no choice but to perfunctory Su Chengjing.

Under such circumstances, Yu Chiqiu was not in the mood to jokingly play chess with Su Chengjing, so after thinking about it, he went back to the study to refine the medicine to drive away the plague for emergencies.Su Chengjing couldn't help, so he played the piano at the side, playing some tunes for concentration and meditation, which was quite peaceful.

But the bad news came the next day.At that time, Su Chengjing and Yu Chiqiu were studying medicine in the study. Yu Chiqiu wanted to add a new medicine to the pills and was discussing with Su Chengjing.

The study can't be soaked in water, but An Yanheng didn't care about it, he just shook off the water on his face to see the situation inside the room, and said anxiously: "Yuchi, it's not good, something happened!"

Yu Chiqiu changed color slightly, and rushed forward: "What's wrong?" Su Chengjing also said, "Speak slowly, what happened?"

An Yanheng glanced at Su Chengjing, pulled Yuchiqiu and said, "Listen to me, Yuchi, there are some problems, Taohua Town may not be able to keep it, you take Mr. Su away quickly. Hurry up! Otherwise, it will be too late!"

"If you don't tell me what happened, how do we go?" Yu Chiqiu thought for a while before reacting, and grabbed An Yanheng, "Is there something wrong with the water storage dam, why haven't the gates been opened to release the flood?"

An Yanheng gritted his teeth and said, "Yes! Yuchi, we have to prepare for the worst."

"Tell me in detail!" Yuchiqiu urged anxiously, and Su Chengjing was also helping out. When An Yanheng saw the two of them asking the bottom line, he could only explain, "Well, Yuchi, you know that the rain this year is different from the past. Unexpected thing. I didn’t expect the rain to last forever, because the rain was too heavy, and we were afraid that the flood discharge channel would not be able to support the water flow after the gate was opened, so we only opened the small gate to discharge water, and the water level was not in danger. , but the water level has suddenly risen sharply in the past two days, and the small gate can no longer hold the water, so Shun'er wanted to open the big gate to release water. But just now I found out that the mechanism of the big gate has failed. Now the big gate can't be opened , the water level is getting higher and higher, and the embankment may burst at any time.

Yu Chiqiu showed a flustered expression for the first time, and said in a voiceless voice: "How could the mechanism fail? Didn't you check and repair it on a monthly basis?"

"Yes, Shun'er took someone to check it last month. At that time, the gate opened and closed normally." An Yanheng was also very annoyed, "Now that the water level has risen, it just got stuck so badly. What a bad luck!"

Su Chengjing was also very anxious listening, but he still held Yu Chiqiu's hand to comfort him immediately. He remembered the records he had read in the library before, and asked, "If the organ fails, is there gunpowder here? This is an extraordinary time. , How about blasting it with gunpowder?"

An Yanheng shook his head and said: "We have also thought about this method, but the gunpowder in Taohua Town is all stored in the warehouse, and the quantity is not much, and because it is not used all year round and it rains continuously, now the gunpowder is soaked in water and damp, it is useless .”

"This, is there no other way?"

An Yanheng sighed: "There is no other way now, what Shun'er meant, he led the young and middle-aged men in the village, tried his best to dig the dam, even if he tried his best to die, as long as he could break through one place, there would be hope. At the same time Send people to move away the old, weak, women and children in the town, and don't take anything with them. If the embankment really breaks, it will be a while to escape." Then, he stretched out his hand to pull Su Chengjing and Yu Chiqiu, "Time doesn't matter. If there are too many people in our town, there is nothing they can do if they can’t escape, Mr. Su, you can’t die here, you two know martial arts, and you can still escape if you leave now.”

"How could I walk away like this?"

"You are the prince, if something happens to you, we will die if we survive, not to mention you have no obligation to die with our town."

"What does this have to do with me being the prince? We..."

"Stop arguing!" Yu Chiqiu suddenly broke out, throwing Su Chengjing and An Yanheng away, "How could manpower break that dam?" He turned around and took out a set of braces from the cabinet, and tied up his sleeves and trousers legs , and tied his hair with a rope, and said coldly, "I'll go and see." After saying that, he ignored Su Chengjing and An Yanheng, turned around and rushed into the rain.

"Ah...Aqiu!" Su Chengjing finally came to his senses, and rushed to the door, the water and the sky outside the house were all the same, where was Yu Chiqiu? "In such a heavy rain, he... isn't he afraid of water?"

Su Chengjing didn't have time to think about it, he turned around, took an umbrella and chased him out.But the rain was too heavy, and the umbrella was smashed by the rain after walking for a long time, and it was completely useless.Su Chengjing simply threw away his umbrella, and persistently chased Yuchiqiu up the mountain.

The mountain road was already difficult to walk, and now it was even more muddy. The rain fell on his face and he couldn't see the way ahead. Su Chengjing fell several times, his body was soaked and covered with muddy water, and he was in a panic: "Aqiu, Aqiu, wait Me." Although he didn't know the way at all, but with a thought in his heart, Su Chengjing still moved forward step by step.

Chen Hua was not in Yuchi's house, so An Yanheng had no choice but to tell Mrs. Ye first, and then hurried to chase Su Chengjing.On the way, he found Su Chengjing who was almost lying on the ground. An Yanheng gave him his coir raincoat and dragged him up the mountain together.

There used to be a natural water storage place on the mountain, but people transformed it and built the whole fortification according to the situation.The large and small gates used for flood discharge are controlled by mechanisms, which are located in a hut not far from the water storage embankment.

Because mayor Xu is old, Xu Shun'er is in charge here. At this moment, Xu Shun'er brought a few elders with dignified faces, and surrounded Yu Chiqiu who rushed over: "Aqiu, why don't you go up the mountain?"

Without saying a word, Yu Chiqiu went to see the failed mechanism.The mechanism is connected to the main gate. Originally, as long as the mechanism is activated, the gate can be opened smoothly. For some reason, the device used to activate the mechanism cannot be used. Seeing that the water is about to overflow the embankment, the situation is already in dire straits.

"Did the gate fail a few days ago?" Yu Chiqiu asked while researching, "Since it started to rain, have you not opened the gate?"

Xu Shun'er's childish face had an incongruent heavy calm, even at this moment, he was still able to calmly respond to Yu Chiqiu: "It's too dangerous to open the gate at will, so I didn't think of opening the gate before. , and there was no abnormality in the gate during the inspection last month, alas, I was careless."

"You did a good job, this is an accident." Yu Chiqiu already understood what was going on, and said with a wry smile, "The design of this big gate is different from that of the small gate. There is a transfer mechanism underneath. The original mechanism is on the water. It must be because the water is too big this year, it is submerged, and the water is full of sand, so it is estimated that something got stuck in the transfer mechanism, so it will not work."

Su Chengjing and An Yanheng also arrived, just in time to hear Yuchiqiu's explanation, An Yanheng patted his forehead and said: "Yes, this fortification was originally designed by your Yuchi family, no wonder you knew it at a glance."

Xu Shun'er was also smart, and glared at An Yanheng and said, "So what if you know, why don't you go into the water to repair it now?" He pulled Yu Chiqiu and said, "Don't talk about it, Brother Aqiu. Right now this mechanism is unreliable. I'll take someone to break it. Dyke, you run."

Yu Chiqiu gritted his teeth and said, "I don't know if the dam can be broken? What's more, even if it can be broken, when the water rushes violently, you will definitely die."

Xu Shun'er also rolled her eyes in anxiety, and shouted at Yu Chiqiu: "Then what else can I do? Do you know how high the water level is now? If the water doesn't flow down, I'm afraid it won't be able to hold it in an hour. You're still entangled with me. what!"

Yuchiqiu bit his lips so that blood came out, but he was biting the key tightly, but he smiled softly: "What else can I do? The mechanism was repaired by my Yuchi family, so I naturally have a way, I just go into the water."

"No!" Su Chengjing, An Yanheng and Xu Shun'er roared almost in unison.

Yu Chiqiu had already made a decision in his heart, so he didn't care about the objections of the three of them, and said decisively: "There is nothing wrong, Shun'er, immediately evacuate the people to a safe place, Xiaoan, Mr. Su will be handed over to you." Turn around and leave.

Su Chengjing had already prepared himself, he rushed forward and hugged Yuchiqiu, "No, Ah Qiu, I won't let you go!"

"Let go!" Yu Chiqiu struggled, perhaps knowing the degree of danger of this matter, he did not resolutely shake off Su Chengjing, "My lord, the matter has come to an end, we have no other choice."

An Yanheng dodged to block the door, and said with a pooh: "Yuchi, don't go crazy, look at the water, what's the use of you going down!" Xu Shun'er also said, "That's right, brother Aqiu, don't be stupid, you just sent your death for nothing. "

Yu Chiqiu looked at Su Chengjing sadly, but comforted him, "Don't worry, with my water skills and martial arts, I can dive to that place." He paused, and then said, "And only I know how to deal with that mechanism." .”

Su Chengjing held on to Yuchiqiu tightly, fearing that if he slacked off, he would escape, and said in a hoarse voice: "Even if your martial arts are unparalleled in the world, even if you can really unlock the mechanism, you will die... No, no! Ah Qiu, I won’t let you go!”

Xu Shun'er said bitterly: "Brother Aqiu, it's not your fault if you die. Okay, tell me where the mechanism is, and I'll go down there myself!"

An Yanheng also rushed forward and said: "What do you want you to do, Yuchi, I'll go, tell me what to do?"

The townspeople present also petitioned to go into the water by themselves. Yu Chiqiu looked at the crowd and just shook his head: "No one knows the underwater situation, and what's wrong with the agency, you can't deal with it."

"Don't worry about that mechanism anymore, gunpowder... that's right, gunpowder!" The confused Su Chengjing suddenly remembered something, and shouted, "This place is very close to Anzhou, I asked Chen Hua to send gunpowder to Anzhou! He is good at qinggong, and he can deliver it in half a day, at most, Aqiu, just wait!" Su Chengjing frantically touched Xunfengmingyin, wanting to summon Chenhua.

"It's too late, this embankment can last for another two hours at most." Yu Chiqiu held Su Chengjing down, "Besides, the amount of gunpowder to blow up this embankment cannot be moved by one or two people."

Su Chengjing roared: "So what! Let me watch you die? I can't do it!"

"Young master!" Yu Chiqiu yelled suddenly, staring at Su Chengjing's face, he stretched out his hand to gently caress that face, his voice turned soft, regardless of the people around him, "Young master, Yu Chiqiu's life alone, and Peach Blossom Town is the life of a town, how to choose?"

"Me!" Su Chengjing was tongue-tied, and Yuchiqiu said slowly, "Peach Blossom Town is facing a catastrophe, how can Yuchiqiu stand by and watch? If you are a young master today, how will you choose?"

Everyone silently looked at the two people who hugged each other tightly. They knew in their hearts that Yu Chiqiu was the only hope to avoid this disaster. Even if they couldn't bear it and didn't want to, there was nothing they could do, not even An Yanheng. If you continue to oppose the position, you can only silently make way.

Su Chengjing's rationality also told him the answer, but looking at Yuchiqiu's spring-like eyes, he couldn't let go: "Yuchiqiu...does it have to be like this? It must..."

Yu Chiqiu interrupted with a smile: "Besides, I may not necessarily die, my lord, don't underestimate me." He raised his face, and gently kissed Su Chengjing's lips.

None of the people present said anything. They saw the two men kissing each other with their own eyes. There was no objection, let alone feeling wrong. In the face of life and death, everything became unimportant. They waited silently and guarded the battle. Farewell, some people have already shed tears.

"Young master, take care."

In the last sentence, Yu Chiqiu pushed Su Chengjing towards An Yanheng, turned around and resolutely walked into the rainstorm.