The bamboo raft left at the foot of the mountain had been carried up by a few men. If the raft had remained at the foot of the mountain, it would have been swept away by the high tides overnight.
An Jiuyue rowed the bamboo raft towards the village.
Many of the houses in the village were completely submerged by the floodwaters.
Some plants were drifting along the water. She immediately noticed a pair of hands clutching onto a large tree. She rowed the raft towards it, trying to get closer to the log.
Soon, there was a loud bang as the bamboo raft collided with the large log.
The person, who had been relying on her survival instinct to prop herself up against the log, was jolted awake by the sound. She opened her eyes and looked up to see a bamboo raft with a woman standing on it.
“Do you still have strength? Can you climb up?” An Jiuyue asked but still stretched out her hand towards the woman in the water.
“Save me…”
The woman gritted her teeth and used all her strength to reach out and grab An Jiuyue’s hand. When An Jiuyue pulled her up, she collapsed onto the raft immediately.
“Thank you. Thank you.” She mumbled repeatedly as she looked at An Jiuyue through squinted eyes.
She had been immersed in the water for more than a day and was hungry and exhausted. Even so, she gritted her teeth and sat up after a while.
“Miss, save… save them.”
She stretched out her hand and pointed in another direction. An Jiuyue turned and saw a tree far away. There seemed to be something on the tree, but she could not see it clearly.
There should be at least two more people, she thought.
Without hesitation, An Jiuyue rowed over on the bamboo raft and caught up to the tree drifting downwards. Sure enough, three people were hugging the tree trunk—two men and a woman.
“Everyone, come up.”
She did not extend her hand this time.
She could tell that although the woman was in poor condition, the other two men were alright. They still had enough strength to climb onto the bamboo raft.
When the woman on the bamboo raft saw that An Jiuyue did not intend to lend him a hand, she stretched out her hand towards the man instead. “Big brother, give me your hand.”
“Yan Yan, you stay put.” The man glanced at his younger sister and was reluctant to exhaust her even further.
He looked at the other man and instructed him to board the bamboo raft first. Then, they helped the other woman up the raft before coming up himself.
“Thank you for saving us, Miss.” The man cupped his fists and thanked An Jiuyue after they were all safe.
“You’re welcome.” An Jiuyue glanced at him indifferently and did not say anything else.
She began searching for more people, pausing to rest for a while before continuing her search. She rescued two more people after the initial four.
The two women on the bamboo raft rested for a while and were feeling a little better. The second woman was unhappy that An Jiuyue remained on the waters and did not leave.
“We’re already on the bamboo raft. Why aren’t you sending us to the mountain?” she questioned with a sour expression.
She was cold and hungry, and her teeth were chattering. She felt awful.
What is wrong with this woman? Does she not know that we’re cold and hungry after being immersed in the water for so long?
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We need to find a place to light a fire and dry our clothes quickly. Then, we have to search for food. But this woman refuses to leave! Why is she rowing around for so long?