NOVEL NEXT Chapter 477: Grief
"Is there any other way? What medicine is needed? I still have some medicine at home that can be used. Chengtian has picked ginseng in the mountains before..."
Hua old man really didn't expect it to be so serious.
"It's useless. Even the best medicine can only extend life for a day or two. Now, what we can do is make the old man comfortable, let him enjoy the remaining days."
Upon hearing this, Hua Zhuang sat on the ground and couldn't help but cry, but he was afraid that his father in the courtyard would hear, so his voice was very suppressed.
Seeing this, Hua old man felt uncomfortable, but saying anything now was powerless. Hua old man patted Hua Zhuang on the shoulder: "Hold it back, be careful not to let your dad hear. Listen to Dr. Sun, make sure your dad is happy."
Hua Zhuang knew this too, but the sadness in his heart wasn't something that could just be held back. He knew the village chief meant well, so although his face didn't look good, he still nodded and got up from the ground.
"Dr. Sun, I'll go with you to get the medicine."
No matter what, if it can lessen his father's suffering even a bit, it's worth it.
"Let's go." Even though Dr. Sun was used to life and death, seeing Hua Zhuang so sad still made his heart sink, and he sighed inside.
Watching the two gradually walk away, Hua old man entered the courtyard again. Seeing Uncle Feng was sleeping soundly, he left with a heavy heart.
The entire morning was spent bustling around each household in the village. As village chief, the concern he could offer was only this much.
As for the house, there was no need to rush. It could be tidied and restored first, and there was no hurry to confirm there would be no aftershocks.
In Hua Village, if nothing else, there were plenty of oilcloth tents readily available. Setting up a few tents in each household was effortless.
After touring the whole village, aside from some elderly whose conditions weren't good, Hua old man actually felt gratified in his heart. After all, this life-threatening disaster was nearly behind them.
It was all thanks to his good granddaughter!
If not for the child sensing it in advance, how could there have been so few losses like now?
Regardless, he felt much relieved. Having not rested for half a day and not feeling hungry before, his stomach started grumbling now.
"Let's go back home," Hua old man said to his eldest grandson beside him.
Hua Yunao was also concerned about home, nodding quickly.
In contrast to Hua Village's orderliness, whether the township, county, or state government, even the entire center of royal power was a mess. Everywhere were broken walls, people continuously being dug out from the ruins, the cries and mourning of those losing loved ones, and the painful screams cursing the heavens.
Lingyun State at this moment seemed like a scene from hell. Even the reinforced walls had crumbled from the inside, soldiers caught in the disaster during combat had no time to escape and were trapped beneath, with less than one-tenth of houses left intact in the city, and cries of civilians filled the ruins.
And outside the city gates within a dozen yards, the earth itself had split the realm in half with a long and wide crevice appearing outside the city.
The disaster arrived so abruptly, the sudden split of the land didn't allow time for reaction, swallowing countless Beicang warriors. As the earth shook, it seemed like the mouth of an abyss incessantly devouring warriors plunging into its depths.
The violent shaking from the earthquake made swords and weapons blind, with innumerable people accidentally harmed by their own allies. The lucky ones were only slightly injured, while the unlucky ones lost their lives so unjustly.
Even after a night had passed, the Beicang troops who luckily survived still shivered at the memory of last night's scene, their faces filled with terror.
Protected by their guards, Teng Da and Leiter were also a mess; the once confident warriors now exuded a sense of defeat, like wilting grass.
Especially when witnessing the losses from the earthquake and seeing the warriors swallowed by the abyss crevice, which numbered several times those who died in battle, excluding the injured, this result left the two commanders unable to accept, making them doubt whether their decision to attack Guyan was correct.
The environment of Beicang Country was harsh, and growing up every warrior had to pay a substantial price, making each extremely precious. Yet, since stepping into Guyan, they gained no benefits while seeing their numbers deplete rapidly.
An extreme heat wave had previously left only one-tenth of Teng Da's team alive, and now with the city within reach, a sudden earthquake had again taken countless warriors, unable to accept the series of misfortunes, an overwhelming sense of powerlessness and rage surged from within them.
Especially facing the enormous crevice ahead, splitting Lingyun City before them into two halves, it left them wishing they could grow wings and ravage everyone in Lingyun City.
"Ah..." with nowhere to vent, they could only cry out to the skies.
War wasn't an option anymore, whether there would be further earthquakes was unknown. Among the whole team, few remained intact, everywhere were injured soldiers, and not to mention the serpentine crevice ahead which was impassable.
Even with reluctance, they could only withdraw troops and do so immediately. At this point, they were easy targets; surely the Guyan army on the other side wouldn't miss this valuable opportunity, given their walls were nearly unharmed.
Indeed, when General Zhao and his men ascended the wall, the Beicang invaders had already retreated to safety, trudging away with their remaining forces, leaving behind corpses and damaged weapons. This let General Zhao and the others breathe a sigh of relief, as the inner condition wasn't fortunate either.
The earthquake struck at the height of combat. Although their response was swift, quickly descending from the wall, many soldiers were injured, and some even lost their lives.
Within the wall lay injured soldiers everywhere across open spaces. Although military medics and city doctors were overwhelmed, trying hard to tend to the injured.
Civilians were naturally worse off; during the earthquake, most civilians in the city hid in houses or cellars. Though there were brief moments to react, many simply hadn't had time to escape outside, some hadn't even realized what was happening.
Faced with civilians pleading with grief-stricken faces, who could remain indifferent? Their fierce battle against the Beicang army was for the civilians.
Now the priority was quickly rescuing civilians trapped under the ruins. The Beicang retreat was timely, aided by the crevice outside the wall, giving solace to the generals guarding the city. They left a team to guard, while the rest joined the rescue efforts.
Under Lord Governor's leadership, government officials were already busy searching through every street, digging through the rubble.
Comforting enough, many civilians had hidden in cellars before the quake, now many still had a chance to survive, thus time was life, everyone digging at the fastest pace.
Originally desolate, civilians watching soldiers who fought fiercely against Beicang invaders, and government officials not abandoning them, almost immediately searching for survivors among the ruins, this act greatly encouraged many. Despite their grief, numerous civilians voluntarily joined the rescue teams.