Chapter Forty-Three: Borrowing Money from the Head of the Household

  But the heavens seemed not to be beautiful, and the heavy rain came unexpectedly. The road was muddy and slippery, making it difficult to move forward. Heading east to cross the Taihang Mountains became extremely dangerous. However, most teams were enthusiastic and strong, braving the wind and rain, overcoming countless difficulties to advance towards the summit of the Taihang Mountains.

  Only the ninth team led by Fei Yan hid in a cave to avoid the rain under Fei Yan's orders. For this, the ninth team almost had an internal conflict, with one faction supporting Fei Yan and another insisting on advancing having a fierce quarrel, fortunately, Fei Yan handled it properly and no mass brawl occurred.

  One disaster has not been settled, and another disaster has arisen. The heavy rain triggered a mountain flood, the water level of Dashariver surged, and the current was rapid, making it impossible to cross the river. And Dashariver flows from northwest to southeast, with its source hundreds of miles away, which is the only way back to Fenghuang Valley.

  After going through thousands of hardships and crossing the Taihang Mountains, the various teams arrived at the Dashe River, looking at the turbulent river water in a daze. Along the way, many people got high fevers after getting soaked in the rain, just to return to the camp as soon as possible, everyone rushed forward desperately, now with the rapid river water blocking the way, almost making everyone feel hopeless.

  Some people suggested going upstream of the Dasah River, where the water is shallow and can be crossed. However, as soon as this plan was proposed, it was opposed by many people. Going upstream of the Dasah River would necessarily mean heading northwest, while the main camp is in the east, isn't that going in the opposite direction? Moreover, the Dasah River is hundreds of miles long, and the entire route is rugged mountains, who knows when we can get back if we really go around it.

  Some people suggested cutting down trees to make rafts, and this proposal was approved by the majority. Immediately, some people took action, cutting down trees and using wild grass to tie them together with ropes as thick as bowls. Several rafts were quickly tied up. But when they tried the water, the raft was instantly overturned by the huge waves, and the people on the raft also fell into the river. Fortunately, they all had ropes tied around their waists, and the people on the shore pulled them back with all their might.

  At this time, everyone was worried and helpless. What's more difficult is that hundreds of people gathered on the riverbank, and the food supply was almost impossible to continue. Not to mention wild beasts, even some wild vegetables and fruits could no longer be found. Many teams could only eat some bitter tree leaves and bark. If they waited any longer, these people would only starve to death.

  Pan Feng gathered nine team leaders to discuss countermeasures, and after much discussion, they still couldn't come up with a good plan. At this time, Fei Yan led the ninth team to arrive at Dashao River, and after two days of rest, the ninth team's morale was boosted.

  Feiyan, upon hearing the news of everyone's failure to cross the river on a raft, went to the riverside and observed carefully before proposing an idea to Pan Feng: "Find a few people who are familiar with water, tie safety ropes around their waists, and force their way across. If things don't go well, quickly pull them back."

  Pan Feng shook his head and said: "This method has been tried before. The current is too rapid, even the best swimmers can only make it halfway across."

  "The Swallow pointed to a narrower section of the river ahead and said, 'As long as we can get halfway across, there's a way. The narrowest part of this river is only over ten zhang wide, and on the opposite bank, there are several large trees. As long as we can get to the middle of the river, use the flying claws to hook onto the tree trunks, and we won't have any trouble getting across. If just one person can get across the river, tie the ropes to the big trees on both banks, and everyone else can cross by holding onto the rope.'"

  "Good idea," said Pan Feng excitedly, "but just now several attempts have been made and those familiar with the water are already exhausted, I'm afraid it will take some time to recover their strength."

  "Zhang Jiao, Chen Li, you two get ready to dive into the water." Fei Yan turned her head and pointed, calling out Zhang Jiao and Chen Li, who were the best swimmers in the team.

  "Yes!" Zhang Jiao and Chen Lin stepped forward, bowing their heads to accept the order.

  With ropes tied around their waists, Zhang Jiao was the first to charge into the river and swim towards the opposite bank with all his might. The Dashe River roared and churned out huge waves, and although Zhang Jiao was a good swimmer, he too found it hard to make headway in these giant waves. As they gradually approached the middle of the river, the current grew even more turbulent, sweeping him downstream with its powerful eddies. Seeing that they were about to lose their last chance to grab hold of the big tree on the opposite bank, Fei Yan shouted loudly: "Zhang Jiao, take action!"

  Zhang Jiao exerted himself and jumped up, the flying claw in his hand drawing an arc, but unfortunately fell just a few feet short of the big tree. One strike missed, the opportunity was lost, and everyone pulled him ashore with all their might.

  "The water is flowing too fast, if we can get a bit closer, there's still a chance." Zhang Jiao spat out the mud and sand in his mouth, panting.

  "Look out for yourself."

  Chen Li re-chosen the place to enter the water, compared to Zhang Jiao's entry point, moved dozens of feet upstream, stayed in the water for a longer time, and had more opportunities to approach the river center. However, the risk was also self-evident, as it was the most exhausting in this big wave, and once exhausted, it would be very dangerous. Chen Li naturally understood this truth, so when he entered the water, he didn't desperately swim towards the opposite bank, but instead adopted a method of following the current, drifting downstream with the flow, slowly approaching the river center. Just as he was about to brush past a large tree on the shore, he suddenly burst out, let out a loud shout, and leaped up, his flying claws shooting out like meteors, firmly grasping the trunk of the tree. The shore immediately erupted in thunderous applause and cheers.

  Chen Li climbed up the opposite bank and tied one end of the rope firmly to the tree trunk, while someone on this side also secured the other end. The crowd lined up in order, each person entering the water one by one, tightly grasping the rope, no matter how strong the wind and waves were, they couldn't shake it off. In less than two hours, all personnel had crossed the Great Sandy River.

  Everyone let out a sigh of relief and passed through this ghost gate, and everyone's body and mind were much lighter. But what they didn't know was that their nightmare had just begun.

  The team members climbed up to the high ground on the east bank of the river, and the scene in front of them left them stunned. The original forest that had been there before was gone, replaced by a landscape of charred remains everywhere, with blackened dry branches and leaves scattered all over the ground, which was covered with a thick layer of ash. Some of the burnt tree trunks were still emitting wisps of smoke, as if telling people about the fire that had occurred yesterday. Perhaps it was the heavy rain in recent days that had extinguished the flames; otherwise, this place would probably still be a sea of fire. No one could understand what was happening before their eyes, but everyone's heart felt an eerie heaviness. This place was at least 150 miles away from the main camp, and under these circumstances, this forest could no longer provide them with any food. Perhaps all that awaited them was death.

  But staying here, there is no chance of survival either. So all the teams didn't hesitate for a moment, each chose a path to move forward and marched towards the east with determination.

  Hunger is like a plague, spreading rapidly among the people. The stomach churns, and the brain seems to have been paralyzed. Lead-filled legs move mechanically. People are frantically searching for food, but animals may have escaped in the face of the great fire. All wild fruits and vegetables were destroyed, and even finding a piece of tree bark became a luxury. People could only gnaw on grass roots and tree roots, the bitter juice had no nutritional value, but it stimulated the scorching mouth like a fire, making the feeling of hunger even more intense.

  Catching a mouse is almost considered good luck, no longer using fire to roast, no longer using water to boil, but instead swallowing it alive and biting it into one's throat, eating with a mouthful of fresh blood. The mouse also seems to have been scared silly by these crazy people, still making squeaking sounds after entering the throat.

  Everyone was almost naked, with countless wounds all over their bodies, including abrasions, bruises, cuts and collisions. Many people's feet were crippled, and they limped forward, relying on the roots of trees for support. Some people fell to the ground unconscious as they walked, but their companions immediately helped them up, even using simple stretchers to carry those who had lost consciousness forward.

  The end is already not far ahead, without the shelter of tall trees, and the distant camp can be seen vaguely, but for these exhausted people, the end seems to be very far away, visible but out of reach.

  The rescue team stood by their side, the food behind them emitting a mouth-watering aroma that made one's mouth water three feet away. But not a single person stepped forward, more of them licking their dry, cracked lips, swallowing saliva with all their might, but there was no saliva left in their mouths, they gazed steadfastly ahead, as if their eyes had never seen the rescue team and their food at all. At this point, what kept people going was only the conviction of a must-win mentality, nobody wanted to give up easily.

  Liu Ze stood at the camp gate, gazing westward with an expression that seemed to have stiffened, remaining motionless for a long time. The heavy atmosphere on the scene infected everyone present, even Zhang Fei, who was usually talkative, quietly stayed there without making a sound.

  At last, a team of people appeared on the horizon, their clothes tattered and worn, stumbling along, supporting each other as they staggered to the finish line - the entrance of the headquarters.

  The first station arrived in front of Liu Ze, his voice was hoarse but extremely calm: "Report to the master, the captain of the ninth team Fei Yan reports to you, the whole team should be 50 people, actually 50 people, reporting is complete!"

  Liu Ze looked at the girl in front of him, her slender and delicate skin half-exposed, her tattered clothes barely covering her lithe curves. It was hard to imagine how she had survived this "journey through hell". Liu Ze took off his own red cloak and draped it over her shoulders, saying solemnly: "Ninth Squad, return to camp!"

  "Alright!" Flying Swallow saluted and led the team back to their camp, where hot dishes and rice were already prepared. The hungry team members ate ravenously.

  Half a day later, the third team led by Pan Feng and Chen Biao returned to the camp, followed by Zhang Long's first team. It wasn't until the third day at dusk that all ten teams had returned to the camp.

  "The Journey to Hell" started on May 15th and ended on June 3rd, lasting for seventeen days. During this time, it was a bumpy ride, like passing through the underworld, a true embodiment of its name.