Ping was a Lizheng, an official in charge of a hundred households in Mengguang County. He usually had a rather leisurely life.
His main responsibilities included household registration, purchasing agricultural supplies, inspecting illegal activities, and collecting taxes. He was an official at the lowest rung of the ladder, and there were thousands like him across the four prefectures and seventeen counties of Nanyue.
The climate here was not as distinct as in the inland regions. The main crop was rice, and the unique environment allowed for crops in various stages of growth to be found in the fields.
Taking paddy rice as an example, some were newly planted, some were tillering, and some were almost ready for harvest.
Ping stood in his elevated wooden house, watching the vast expanse of water with helplessness as heavy rain poured down for more than ten consecutive days.
Floods occurred almost every year, but he had never seen one this severe.
Behind him, dozens of men and women were gathered. These were the people under his charge. Among them, several women were quietly sobbing, their children having been swept away by the water the day before.
Even so, it was thanks to their houses being mostly elevated wooden structures; otherwise, half of the people here might have been lost.
The women's cries made Ping very agitated. The continuous rain had already cast a gloomy mood upon him, mirroring the weather.
He threw the flatbread in his hand towards the women: "Stop crying! Do you want even more water?"
*Boom!*
Just then, a wooden house in the distance was washed away by the flood, its planks scattering with the current.
*Woosh~*
The strong wind began to howl again, mixed with raindrops that hit Ping's face, reminding him that another heavy downpour was arriving.
"Ping, think of a way! If this continues, we'll all die here!"
An old woman, her face etched with worry, looked at Ping and said. She was Ping's mother.
"What way can I think of? The road out of the valley is blocked by fallen rocks!" Ping roared, pointing towards the distant mountain pass.
Their location was surrounded by mountains, with only one exit, which was now completely blocked.
Forget the waist-deep rainwater, even without the water, they wouldn't be able to get out of the valley.
Livestock cried out mournfully in the accumulated water, and granaries were washed away by the flood. All they could do was stand and watch from a distance.
"The sky has cleared, the rain has stopped! Quickly, think of something to salvage!"
"I don't care anymore, I'm going to save my cow!"
"Wuuwuwu~~ I need to find Sanwazi~~"
"Quick, quick, please, help me find Erniang~"
As the heavy rain slightly subsided, the people in the elevated wooden houses rushed out.
"No one is allowed to go! Stay here obediently!"
Ping's attempts to stop them were futile. The usually meek villagers, in their desperation to reclaim their lost belongings, were risking their lives.
The valley entrance being sealed by fallen rocks had turned the valley into a barrier lake. The water in most areas reached waist-deep, and in lower-lying places, even adults could be submerged.
To find their lost livestock and family members, over a hundred people were searching in the accumulated water.
More than ten days ago, when the rain first started, the children were excitedly playing in it. However, the incessant rain had instilled a sense of awe towards heaven in these children. They sat atop their elevated wooden houses, watching their parents search for things in the water outside.
From time to time, someone would lose their footing and fall into a deep pit. Those lucky enough were rescued by nearby people, but the unlucky ones drowned unnoticed at the bottom of the water.
Ping stood on the roof of the wooden house, watching the number of people in the valley dwindle. In less than half an hour, three to five familiar faces had disappeared, causing his heart to ache as if being cut by a knife.
The villagers in the mountain villages were almost all related by blood. Ping was appointed Lizheng not because he was particularly capable, but simply because he was of a higher generation.
A few months ago, the Protectorate had issued an order, calling for the people to settle in the city. But how could they abandon the land cultivated by their ancestors?
This land was constantly plagued by wars and strife. Compared to the plains, people preferred to settle in the mountains.
Especially in secluded mountain villages, tax collectors were reluctant to enter, allowing them to evade taxes openly.
However, when natural disasters like this struck, they could only rely on themselves for salvation.
Ping saw a woman suddenly disappear from the surface of the water. He instinctively jumped from the wooden house and swam towards the spot where the woman had vanished.
"Ping~"
Seeing him jump into the water, Ping's mother cried out in concern and rushed to the railing at the edge of the wooden house, watching him swim further and further away.
"Help~~"
*Plop!*
The woman who had disappeared struggled to resurface, but before she could even finish calling for help, she sank again.
Ping, using the objects visible on the water surface as reference, clearly knew that the woman had disappeared near a pond!
Using all his strength, he swam to the spot and, closing his eyes, dived underwater to search for the woman.
By the time he pulled the woman out of the water and before he returned to the wooden house, he saw another person suddenly vanish from the surface.
"Idiots! A bunch of idiots!"
Ping cursed furiously. After placing the woman in shallower water where she could stand, he turned and slapped her across the face.
A jet of water gushed from the woman's mouth, and five clear red finger marks were visible on her face.
She covered her face, which had been struck, and simply cried without a word.
"Stand here and don't go anywhere!"
After scolding the woman, Ping rushed towards the place where the other person had disappeared.
These people were too stubborn. If only they had used force to bring them all to the prefectural city to settle.
Ping felt like cursing his mother, as he was unable to be in multiple places at once.
Even with some strong young men helping him during the rescue, he still watched helplessly as people disappeared from the water's surface and never resurfaced, unable to even reach them.
Just as he felt abandoned by the world, a buzzing sound echoed from the sky.
The sound was loud, like a water buffalo snoring next to his ear.
He looked up towards the sky and saw a massive white monster rapidly flying towards them from the direction of the valley entrance.
"The Warrior of Man, Wei Xuancheng!"
As the distance closed, Ping clearly saw the characters on the object.
He only knew they were Tang characters and didn't understand their meaning, but he knew someone was inside this behemoth.
Before the heavy rain, traveling merchants had boasted about something the Tang people had called a "zhi sheng ji" (helicopter), which could fly in the sky and travel a thousand li a day. This must be that beast.
Ping became instantly excited. He quickly ran to a higher spot, took off his clothes, and waved them continuously, shouting in the local dialect.
"Save us!"
"Save us!"
There were a total of twelve people on the helicopter.
Xue Rengui and Cui Geng were the pilot and co-pilot, a porter from Liu's Timber Company served as the guide, and eight soldiers formed the main rescue force. In addition to them, there was a female doctor from Shenyang Hospital, who was formerly part of the palace maids.
"Captain, look down below!"
Cui Geng saw Ping waving his clothes and alerted Xue Rengui.