After their car drove a few hundred meters away from the mountain waterfall, they can't drive any further. The road that follows is very rugged and muddy so they can only get out of the car and walk on foot.
The three of them followed the mountain road, calling the child's name all the way but they never saw the child.
When the three of them walked halfway up the mountain, Xia Lin thought for a while and said, "Village chief, I remember you mentioned before that those college students decided to return when they walked halfway up the mountain?"
"That's right." The village head turned to look at Xia Lin and asked, "Why?"
"The child returned earlier than they did so the child couldn't have gone up again." Xia Lin thought for a while,
"We've all looked for the child on the mountain road. Did the child have an accident and fell out of the road?"
Song Yan looked around and felt that Xia Lin's guess was very likely.
This mountain road doesn't even have a proper stone road. It's fine when it's sunny but when it rains, it's all muddy and bumpy. Moreover, the mountain trail is very long and narrow. The narrowest part can only accommodate two adults walking side by side. If the child was running on the slippery mountain trail and fell, he likely rolled down the slope.
The village chief glanced at the steep hillside and said bitterly: "What should I do, he is too difficult to find. I can call some people over. If there are more people and strength, the chance that we can find him will be higher."
However, Xia Lin felt that this was inappropriate. A mudslide would happen in a short while. At this time, it's too late to evacuate people. Wouldn't we be only finding people to come over and let them die in vain?
But Xia Lin couldn't say this clearly. After all, the village chief still held a half-trusted attitude towards the mudslide. At this moment, in his opinion, the lives of children in his village were more important than not knowing if the mudslide would really happen.
At this time, the village head had already taken out his cell phone and started to make a call but he couldn't dial a few numbers. He sighed dejectedly: "This phone's broken."
Xia Lin suggested: "Why don't you go down the mountain first to contact the person. Song Yan and I will look around again. There'll be no delay on either side."
"That's okay." The village head didn't reject the idea, told them to pay attention to safety, and then hurried down the mountain.
After the village chief left, Song Yan checked the time and said to Xia Lin: "We are still more than an hour away from the time you estimated. We did our best. We really couldn't find the child. We must withdraw before 12:30."
Xia Lin nodded and the two of them walked slowly down the mountain path, looking for the child from the rain curtain and the rocks while walking.
After more than half an hour, they still got nothing.
The time when the disaster will break out was getting closer and Xia Lin's face became paler and paler—if the child really fell in a hidden corner and the mudslide pours down, there will be dead ends covering the entire mountain road and the surrounding area. The child will never survive.
"Xia Lin," Song Yan wiped off the rain from his face and said loudly to Xia Lin in the sound of the rushing rain, "Let's withdraw. If we continue to look for the child, we can't leave."
Xia Lin pursed his lips and did not speak. He knew too much about the fear of a person being trapped somewhere alone and helpless. He always thought that maybe he could find the child in the next moment. What if they're just a little bit short of time?
"Xia Lin..." Seeing that he was not speaking, Song Yan tugged his arm and was about to say something when suddenly he heard a muffled noise coming from behind.
The two followed the sound at the same time, only to see a group of dark shadows appearing on the top of the mountain, sweeping down the mountain at an extremely fast speed.
The mudslide actually broke out in advance!
"Follow me!" Xia Lin grabbed Song Yan and ran in the other direction.
At this moment, they were not far from the cave. Based on the memory of his previous life, he quickly found the location of the cave and rushed into it just before the mudslide went down.
With lingering fears, Song Yan looked back out of the cave.
He saw a young man standing quietly at the fork in the mountain road. His temperament was very dusty, as if he was incompatible with the whole world.
On his left arm, he was holding a child who was asleep with a relaxed posture, as if he was holding a piece of clothing instead of a living person in his arms.
At the moment Song Yan saw him, the young man turned his head and looked over, the expression on his face unchanged.
Then he looked up at the top again, raised his right hand, palm outwards, and made a push gesture in the direction of the hole.
Song Yan almost didn't have any time to think when he heard a burst of destructive sound spreading from the top of the cave.
His eyes darkened suddenly.
Song Yan turned around without thinking twice and ran quickly while protecting Xia Lin in the cave.
There was a chill on the back of his head as if something was chasing behind them, biting them tightly.
He has no time to look back. His body has already made an immediate response.
He hugged Xia Lin tightly in his arms, leading him to a sudden leap. They leaped forward heavily.
The moment they landed, the rustle of cold, hard sand and mud slapped on their backs, making them unable to move.