Chapter 124: Though One Sees the Yellow River, the Heart Remains Unbroken

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Ye Chang reckoned that defeating one burly man would pose no problem, but two would probably be pushing it. The old man, however, had five sons there.

The old man had become the village headman largely because he had so many sons. Surely those five sons were enough to inspire fear and respect in many of the villagers.

Under such circumstances, Ye Chang could do nothing.

Just as when he had faced those barbarians earlier, no matter how sound his reasoning or how clever his schemes, they had to be directed at people capable of listening.

He let out a sigh and withdrew, preparing to turn and flee.

He had already done all he could. It was impossible for him to live or die together with this village.

Yet the moment he stepped outside, a dazzling flash of steel came straight at him. Startled, he hurriedly retreated and struck the wall behind him.

“This time, you won’t escape.” The barbarian swung his blade, his gaze cold and severe.

“Who said I was escaping?” Ye Chang glared at him. “If I intended to flee, would I have told you to come to this village in search of your princess?”

The barbarian was instantly taken aback. It was true—Ye Chang had just said that he would run to this village to look for their princess. In that case, he had not been trying to flee at all.

“You fool! In weather like this, unless your princess is as stupid as you are, she would certainly have run toward the village.” Ye Chang raised his voice again. “Besides, there are more people here. Having them help us search is far easier than relying on a few strangers who don’t know the terrain.”

“Yes… yes…” After being berated by Ye Chang, the barbarian grew confused.

“This is the household of the village headman. I asked them to summon people and help with the search, but they refused.” Ye Chang lied without batting an eye. “What do you think should be done?”

“Such a thing actually happened?” The barbarian’s eyes bulged, and his fierce expression intensified. “Young Master Ye, let me make them obey.”

“To avoid unnecessary trouble, do not take any lives,” Ye Chang said.

Angered by the old man’s rudeness and selfishness, Ye Chang was actually hinting that the barbarians could beat him. Unfortunately, his subtle suggestion was wasted on a blind man—the barbarian completely failed to understand what he meant.

Fortunately, the barbarian was not an honest sort to begin with. After leading several men inside, he first shouted and cursed. Then came a resounding commotion, followed by wails and cries.

Only then did Ye Chang clasp his hands behind his back and stroll inside. He saw the old man and his entire family kneeling in the muddy water, begging desperately for mercy.

“Old man, you have five sons, correct?” Ye Chang walked up to him. This was no time for reasoned persuasion, so he issued his orders directly. “Your eldest stays here with you. Your second and third go outside the village to search for our people. Your fourth and fifth summon the heads of every household in the village.”

“Why—”

Ye Chang gave the barbarian a meaningful glance. The barbarian immediately slapped the old man across the face, knocking the question back into his mouth.

Only then did Ye Chang put on an affected look of concern. “Good heavens, there is no need to strike him. We came to ask them for help. If they refuse to listen, there will be time to use force later.”

By now, how could the old man and his family fail to understand the situation? The old man merely ordered, “Do as you have been told,” and four of his five sons hurried out.

But the barbarian was dissatisfied once more. “Why not have them all search for our princess?”

“I called you a fool, and you are only proving yourself even more foolish,” Ye Chang scolded. “The river has overflowed its banks. It will probably reach this village very soon. If we do not prepare a route of retreat, then even if we find your princess, are we supposed to wait here together for death?”

The barbarian immediately fell silent.

Seeing these fierce-looking barbarians being reprimanded so thoroughly by Ye Chang without daring to utter a word, the old man felt his heart sink. He had truly offended this young man just now.

The old man’s fourth and fifth sons were about to leave when Ye Chang stopped them and instructed, “Tell everyone that they are to evacuate with the rest of the village. Anyone who refuses to come should not expect to remain in the village afterward.”

The two young men had been anxious, unsure whether they could summon everyone. Hearing Ye Chang’s words, they finally had something to rely on and immediately carried out his instructions.

They did not know that the villagers were already in a state of panic. No one knew what to do; after all, they had never encountered such a disaster in decades. Thus, the moment someone stepped forward to take charge, people began arriving from every household. Not only did the heads of families come, but many others followed as well.

Before long, the area outside the household was filled with people wearing straw rain capes.

When they first saw Ye Chang and the barbarians, the villagers were somewhat frightened. The old man, however, had learned his lesson. Following Ye Chang’s instructions, he merely told them that Ye Chang was a scholar traveling through the countryside. As simple villagers with limited knowledge, they had invited him to offer advice in this crisis.

Ye Chang counted the people. There were more than sixty in all.

“Who among you can run fastest and has the best sense of the water?” Ye Chang called loudly. “Go and estimate how far the floodwater is from the village.”

The villagers pointed out a man who turned out to be the village fisherman. He hurried to the edge of the village to take a look.

Ye Chang continued, “Every household is to gather its food and secure its doors and windows. Families with more people must help those with fewer. If anyone has difficulty walking, prepare a stretcher from wood and carry them out.”

As he spoke, he divided the villagers into groups. In the blink of an eye, more than thirty men had been arranged into pairs, each pair responsible for four households. They began preparing for the evacuation.

Ye Chang repeatedly emphasized that no bulky possessions were to be taken—only food and a few clothes. He had no idea whether they would actually follow his instructions.

Among those remaining, Ye Chang selected ten strong men and ordered them to search outside the village for any villagers who had not yet been notified. In particular, they were to look for Wei Niang and the others. Ye Chang understood that if he did not give this order, the barbarians behind him would be the first to rebel.

By using the barbarians to suppress the old man’s family, and then using the old man’s family to direct the villagers, Ye Chang had sacrificed some efficiency, but at least the village was no longer in chaos.

Only the older villagers remained behind. Ye Chang looked at the old man.

“Elder, I have neglected to ask your honorable surname.”

The old man glanced at the barbarian blades and replied respectfully, “This old man’s surname is Kuang.”

“Elder Kuang, and all of you—tell me, where nearby can we take shelter from the flood?”

The reason Ye Chang had kept these people behind was to find a place safe from the rising water. He had no idea how long the rain would continue or how high the floodwaters might rise, so the choice of refuge was crucial.

“Three or four miles south of here lies Mount Beimang.”

The elders discussed the matter for a while before answering him.

When Ye Chang heard the name Mount Beimang, he secretly sighed in relief. Beimang was a mountain. Since there was a mountain nearby, they would at least not have to fear the Yellow River flooding without limit.

“We will retreat to Mount Beimang. The old and the young go first. The able-bodied will carry the food,” Ye Chang ordered.

Although there were only several dozen households, amounting to two or three hundred people, organizing their evacuation was no easy matter.

Several old men were stubborn. They insisted that in all their years they had never seen the river rise into the village and refused to leave. In the end, Ye Chang had to have the barbarians use force. After slapping and kicking them, they finally drove the old men from their homes.

Those who still refused to leave could only be left to their fate. Fortunately, there were only two such stubborn old men in the entire village.

As the old and weak began evacuating southward toward Mount Beimang, a shout finally rang out from the village entrance.

“We found them! We found them!”

The barbarians followed with cries of delight. Ye Chang relaxed slightly, assuming that Wei Niang had been found.

He did not care whether the barbarian woman lived or died, but if something happened to her, these barbarians would become impossible to control.

Before long, Wei Niang appeared before him, muddy from head to toe and utterly exhausted.

“Have your people follow my orders.” Ye Chang did not wait for her to speak before shouting sternly.

Wei Niang nodded, then shook her head. “The water is rising. It will soon overflow into this area…”

After reaching the riverbank, her group had failed to see the village on this side. They had simply followed the embankment in search of Ye Chang and had nearly been trapped by the advancing flood. Only after barely escaping to the vicinity of the village and being found by the villagers had they reached temporary safety.

“I know. Every quarter hour, someone is to report how far the water is from the village.” Ye Chang spoke calmly. “You go with the old and the young. Take two of your men. And remember to bring several cooking pots.”

“Pots?”

“Yes. Large ones—the larger, the better.”

Wei Niang was puzzled, but Ye Chang was completely focused and had no time to explain. He went from house to house, checking whether anyone remained inside.

He also looked for anything that might prove useful.

Five elders from the village accompanied him. Whenever Ye Chang ordered something carried away, they carefully recorded which household it belonged to.

Straw rain capes and bamboo hats went without saying. Ye Chang also had the villagers gather a considerable number of bowls and chopsticks.

The villagers all thought that when fleeing for their lives, there was no use carrying such heavy, fragile objects instead of money and valuables. But intimidated by the barbarians around Ye Chang—and by Elder Kuang’s many years of authority—they still followed his instructions.

How faithfully they complied remained to be seen.

Once he estimated that enough supplies had been prepared, Ye Chang finally left the village with Elder Kuang. By then, the floodwater had reached the village entrance, and the roads outside were already submerged.

Elder Kuang’s eldest son carried him on his back and hurried through the water, finally escaping the danger zone.

The distance of four or five miles was not far, but the storm showed no sign of stopping. The world around them was a blur of rain. After their initial panic subsided, the villagers began to weep.

All around them, beneath the endless water, lay their fields—the crops that had been on the verge of ripening and harvest.

Ye Chang felt sorrow as well. This was not a later age in which aid would pour in from every direction when one region suffered. In this era, a disaster of such magnitude almost certainly meant a complete loss of the year’s harvest.

If the authorities provided sufficient relief, some of the victims might survive. Otherwise, they would either become wandering refugees or die of hunger by the roadside.

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“This is it. This is it. This is the nearest mountain.”

After finally seeing the hills ahead, Elder Kuang spoke between gasps. Though his son had carried him, the old man had still walked a considerable distance.

“Find somewhere sheltered from the wind and rain.” Seeing no sign that the storm would stop, Ye Chang cursed inwardly.

The words had barely left his mouth when a tremendous boom rang out, and the earth trembled.

At first he thought the Yellow River embankment had burst, but he immediately realized something was wrong. The Yellow River lay to the north, while the thunderous sound had come from the south.

“A flash flood!”

Only then did Ye Chang understand, and he could not help but groan inwardly.

Behind them was the Yellow River spilling over its banks. Ahead was a flash flood of unknown size.

Even so, lamenting would not save them. Survival came first.

Seeing the flood surge toward them like ten thousand galloping horses, the villagers fled up the hill. The old and weak who had escaped first were already waiting there anxiously. When they saw the others arrive, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.

When the villagers turned back to look at their home, the entire village had already become a vast swamp.

Elder Kuang nearly collapsed onto the ground. After a long while, he recovered and hurriedly had his sons help him up. He came before Ye Chang and bowed deeply.

“Young sir, this old man was rude to you. If not for your help, our village… We would be lucky if even half of us had escaped.”

“Do not worry about that for now. First, find a way to shelter from the wind and rain. The old and the young cannot remain drenched for long.” Ye Chang looked at the sky. The clouds remained dark and heavy, and there was no sign that the rain would stop anytime soon.

“Please give us your guidance, young sir. This old man no longer knows what to do…”

Ye Chang looked around, and a plan gradually formed in his mind.

The forests and vegetation throughout the Guanzhong region had already been severely damaged, but Mount Beimang was where the tombs of the nobles of Luoyang lay, and its vegetation was therefore relatively well preserved.

Before leaving the village, Ye Chang had also reminded everyone to bring knives. He divided the villagers into groups and had them cut down trees, prop them against other trees, and cover them with bundles of freshly cut brush and grass.

At last, they had a place to shelter from the rain.

It was hardly ideal. The torrential rain outside became a lesser rain beneath the shelter, and more than two hundred people were crammed into the small space. The smell was unpleasant, to say the least.

“Use earthen jars to collect rainwater. Find a way to start a fire. Distribute the bowls—each person is to use one, and do not mix them up. Over there, downwind, dig six pits to serve as temporary latrines. Weave branches into fences around them.”

Ye Chang issued one order after another.

He had brought nearly the entire village out safely, and everyone had seen that they had managed to bring along their most important food and supplies. As a result, they were almost completely convinced by him. Whenever he gave an order, they followed their assigned groups and went to work.

Elder Kuang watched as Ye Chang arranged the people and supplies in an orderly manner, secretly marveling at him.

He had seen traveling scholars before. Most were arrogant but incapable. They could speak eloquently about national policy and grand strategy, but when faced with concrete problems, they could only muddle through.

The young sir before him was different. His assignments seemed to be made casually, but when Elder Kuang considered them carefully, he found that every group had been arranged with sound judgment.

The strong had been paired with the weak, of course, but more importantly, the people Ye Chang selected to lead each task were all diligent and dependable, rather than the sort who shirked work and schemed for advantage.

In only a brief time, he had already discerned the dispositions of these people.

The smoke from a fire lit in wet weather was especially thick, but since the fire had been placed downwind, it was not too suffocating.

When Ye Chang saw that the fire had caught, he secretly relaxed. So long as they had hot water to drink, the number of people who fell ill from exposure in such heavy rain would be reduced.

What worried Ye Chang was what would come next.

No one knew how long the rain would continue. If it lasted ten days or half a month, people here would inevitably begin falling ill—and contagious diseases could easily spread. By then, the situation would become extremely troublesome.

“Elder Kuang, is there a physician in the village?” Ye Chang asked.

Elder Kuang shook his head. “In a little village like ours, where would we find a physician?”

“What about anyone who knows medicinal herbs?”

“There are two people who know a little…”

“Bring them to me. Have them wear straw rain capes and bamboo hats and search for these herbs. If they do not recognize them, I will teach them first.”

Ye Chang recalled several herbal remedies for preventing colds, which he had learned while studying under Luo Shouyi of the Medicine King Monastery. He then began making a fresh set of arrangements.

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