Chapter 278 Bereavement
Somebody cried out, “My God, another wave of aftershocks!”

Then many people started evaluating the area, and Fourth Brother wasted no time in pulling Second Brother out of the hole forcibly and ran away with him by seizing his arm. He had lost Murong Yunxi, and he couldn’t lose Second Brother again. Now he was actually extremely afraid. He feared that someone dear to him would be swallowed up by this horrible earthquake again.

The sensation of the shocks disappeared quickly. But when everyone returned to the hole again after a minute, their hearts practically stopped beating!

There was no opening there. The minor aftershocks just now had unexpectedly covered it up again. Like a crazy man, Gong Yu rushed to the spot of the covered hole and continued frantically digging up the place with his hands.

It was a rather heart-rending scene for those standing by, and they went up to assist Gong Yu in digging the hole. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Although the entrance to the cave structure was blocked again, it seemed that the short aftershocks had made a slight alteration of the interior structure of the cave, making it easier to excavate.

As the day was getting dark, the group seemed to catch a glimpse of hope. “When we pry open that last plank, the woman who is squeezed underneath can be rescued.”

Gong Yu called to the woman softly, “Yunxi, is that you? Yunxi…”

No reply greeted him. His heart plummeted uncontrollably. He turned to Murong Ye with frightful eyes, and found it a little difficult to continue excavating for the moment. He was too scared to see what he had been so afraid of seeing.

Murong Ye patted Gong Yu’s shoulder gently. He was also afraid of the eventuality.

Second Brother took a look around at all the people. In desperation, he went over to continue the job of digging up that last piece of board. However, all measures were exhausted, and this board remained unmoved and would not come out. The rescue came to a standstill again.

Murong Ye then spoke in a cold tone. “Let’s work together to lift up the board a little. Gong Yu, then, you… you pull her out the moment the board moves.”

Gong Yu nodded, everyone gave a look at one another, and they started to take action.

Murong Ye shouted out and everyone yelled “one, two, three” together to exert themselves at the same time in lifting up the floorboard. It was a heavy block, especially because there was a more massive one above it. A crack scarcely appeared when everyone worked themselves until their faces were flushed with blood and their necks thickly bulged out.

Gong Yu seized the moment. He went over quickly then held and pulled the woman’s exposed arm out a little. Then he reached in his other arm for her arm inside the hole. When he got it, he started dragging her out by grasping both of her arms.

When this person was finally cleared out of the cave structure, everyone was amazed.

There was no concrete evidence from the very beginning that this miserable person was Murong Yunxi, but the whole group had unconsciously taken her to be Murong Yunxi. Now the woman was finally out of the debris and they discovered that she was not Murong Yunxi. It was clearly a granny.

Third Brother squatted down to check. The old woman might have been crushed and trapped there for too long because she had stopped breathing and her body was completely cold.

After hours of effort, who they had been trying to save turned out not to be Murong Yunxi, but an elderly woman who had passed away. It was more than disappointment for the group. It was despair.

Even if this person was not Murong Yunxi, but was another survivor, it would be some kind of hope for the group, considering their situation. Under the circumstances, it was still hard for them to accept when they saw death with their own naked eyes.

Gong Yu was the first one to burst into tears. He fell down to the ground on his knees, covering his head with his blood-stained and muddy hands. His cries were shocking to the people in their rescue efforts. They even speculated that this young man finally dug up his mother’s body and, unable to accept the brutal reality, was mourning for his loss.

A soldier of the People’s Liberation Army approached him and handed him a tissue. “Don’t cry now, handsome man. I think Auntie doesn’t want to see you so sad from heaven.”

Gong Yu ignored the soldier, and nobody inserted an explanation. It was definite that everyone was feeling sad at this moment. Second Brother came up to take the tissue from the army soldier and said “thank you” to him.

The solider gave a second look at Gong Yu, sighed a little, and turned around to plunge into his rescue mission again.

The rescue campaign was more than difficult. It was arduous. The group hadn’t eaten anything all day. The last meal they had was some breakfast desserts and a little water on the plane.

At this moment, as if their strained nerves were broken finally, they instantly felt that their energy was emptied and no strength remained in their body. Several of them dropped down and sat on the ruins. The sky was completely dark now. Due to the power outage, there were no street lights. The rescue efforts in the region were forced to slow down.

Some kind-hearted rescue backup staff passed by, delivering to the group some bread and water. Nobody had an appetite, they just mechanically put the food into their mouth and drank the water and, gradually losing consciousness, fell to sleep while leaning against each other.

At dawn on the second day, Murong Ye was woken up by the freezing cold. Opening his eyes, he saw that he had slept while reclining on the back of Fourth Brother. When he lowered his head, he chanced to see that Gong Yu was lying supine at his feet.

Gong Yu’s eyes were fixed on the sky without blinking, and he had no expression on his face. Murong Ye was shocked and, struggling, reached out his hand to detect his breath at his nostrils. Luckily, there were weak exhalation and inhalation indicating that he was still alive. Otherwise, Gong Yu might truly have been a corpse.

Murong Ye’s movements woke up Fourth Brother on his back. When Fourth Brother looked down, he also chanced to see Gong Yu’s lifeless body and became frightened instantly.

The moment Murong Ye’s finger touched Gong Yu’s skin carelessly, he felt intense heat on his fingertip. He immediately cupped his hand over his forehead, and the degree of heat there surprised Murong Ye again.

“Third Brother, bring the first aid kit here quickly!” Murong Ye gave an order to Third Brother hastily. Every member of the group carried a small bag, in which there were some first aid medicine and other stuff, but only Third Brother shouldered the first aid kit.

Third Brother brought Murong Ye the first aid kit and tested the temperature of Gong Yu, finding that the fever was as high as 40 degrees Celsius. He then searched and took out some antipyretics from the medicine container and tried to administer them to Gong Yu. But Gong Yu remained motionless, just like a dead person.

Murong Ye lost his patience suddenly. He grabbed Gong Yu by the collar and pulled him up to face himself. “Gong Yu, stop acting like this! Dammit! Yunxi is still waiting for us to liberate her. You dare not act like a corpse at this moment. Who will go to save Yunxi if you’re like this?”

The mention of the words “Yunxi” eventually solicited some reaction in the pupils of Gong Yu. He rotated his eyeballs in a daze and looked toward Murong Ye.

“Listen. Yunxi would be definitely fine. She is waiting for us in some corner in this place. Every one of us must take good care of ourselves because we have a mission to complete. We need to save her, and we will take her home!”

“Is Yunxi, is she really waiting for us?” Gong Yu finally stirred up, whose tone was hoarse and broken.

“Absolutely. Yunxi is waiting for us. All of us need to be good and well. If anything happens to any of us, Yunxi would regret it. If you don’t want Yunxi to be sorry about this, you must act like a man. Cheer up now, for me and for everyone!”

Third Brother presented the pills to Gong Yu again. This time, Gong Yu took them and tossed them directly into his mouth.

Third Brother showed him water. Gong Yu held it up and drank a mouthful.

It was not until this moment that Gong Yu seemed to really come alive again.

The group recommenced the search and the rescue campaign. On this day, they saved a number of people in the process of their private mission. Some were alive, some were already dead, and there were the elderly, children, men, and women… but no Murong Yunxi.

The sky was turning black again. 48 hours had passed since the earthquake occurred, but there was still not a trace of Murong Yunxi.

Murong Qingtian never gave a phone call to them again, but he had been staying next to the phone at home. He was afraid to make a phone call for fear of hearing the bad news. He feared more that the phone would ring, but nonetheless, he dared not walk away because the phone was the only way for him to receive any information from over there.

Despite her young age, Niannian seemed to have noticed something in these two days. She was unusually submissive. She didn’t talk or laugh much, but holding Cutie in her arms, she stayed alone and looked quietly outside of the window. Cutie seemed more understanding and was also extraordinarily submissive. She lay noiselessly in Niannian’s arms, keeping her company.

Watching this, Gu Yuxuan almost couldn’t bear it. She walked beside Niannian with a bowl of fruit soup, and spoke to her gently. “Niannian, let’s eat something.”

In the last couple of days, Niannian didn’t eat much. She was submissive to have meals and go to bed as Gu Yuxuan instructed her, but she didn’t take much food or sleep. Her originally plump little face was obviously thinner than before.

Niannian looked up, her big eyes seemingly brimming with tears. “Nanny, is Mommy dead?”

Niannian’s peacefulness touched Gu Yuxuan’s heart like a sharp needle. Instantly, tears welled up in her eyes, and she took Niannian into her embrace. “What a silly child. Don’t say these ominous words. Your mommy is good. She is just on a business trip and is too busy to make it home lately.”

“I know everything. Mommy went to C City, and there was an earthquake in C City. Daddy and Uncle and all the other uncles, they all went to C City. There must be something wrong with Mommy. I know it!” Niannian’s voice choked up. She had been such a good child. She was understanding when she fell ill the last time, and was the same this time. But Niannian’s cooperation was a little heart-rending. She was too composed to be a child just turning four.

“Niannian, don’t talk nonsense. Your mommy is really fine. She is safe and sound and will be back soon!” Stroking Niannian’s hair gently, Gu Yuxuan was comforting the girl, a mere child who was apparently peaceful but internally was as fragile as a glass doll.

“Nanny, are you sure?” Niannian raised her little head, and with a pair of black and bright eyes like beans, stared closely at Gu Yuxuan. The yearning and hope exuding from those eyes unexpectedly made Gu Yuxuan hesitate in her answer. What if Murong Yunxi were really dead and gone? How could she be honest with this child again then?

“Yes, Yunxi will certainly come back because she knows Niannian is expecting her at home. She loves Niannian so much, how can she not return?! She would love to throw a birthday party for Niannian!” Gu Yuxuan thought up all these words, but she felt that they were so weak and empty that even she couldn’t be convinced by them.

A sweet smile showed on Niannian’s face and she nodded her head adorably. “Yes, Niannian will be a good child at home, waiting for Daddy and Uncle to bring Mommy back! They have gone to pick Mommy up. They will surely come back together to celebrate Niannian’s birthday!”

Gu Yuxuan also managed to put on a smile and gave an affirmative nod.

“Then Nanny, how many days are left until my birthday?” It seemed that Niannian finally clutched at something and she even got a little excited.

“Your birthday? There is only a week to go before Niannian’s birthday!”

“A week, that is seven days. Seven days before Mommy comes back with Daddy and Uncle!”

Niannian’s excited words were like thrusting a fishbone in Gu Yuxuan’s throat. “Is it true? Yunxi will come back in seven days?”