After clearing out all the bandit strongholds in the surrounding areas, Phoenix Village became famous. While the surrounding environment was supposed to allow Phoenix Village to live in peace for a while, who would have expected Wangchun City to be flooded?
Gu Qingcheng's plans were disrupted by this news.
She quickly continued to ask:
"How far did the water reach? Did it really flood the entire Wangchun City?"
"Yes, it's said that nine out of ten households were affected. What's most disgraceful is that the county magistrate fled with his family on the few large boats left in the city," Dai Fa said in disbelief.
"To accept the king's salary is to be loyal to the king."
He never expected this county magistrate to have no integrity at all.
"What? Such a thing happened? Does he still have the audacity to be called a parent official?"
Gu Qingcheng couldn't help but get angry.
It was bad enough that he was corrupt on a daily basis, but he abandoned the common people and fled at a critical moment?
"Yes, it's said that three large boats used for escape were occupied. Besides his family and subordinates, they carried the ill-gotten gains accumulated over the years. Of course, some wealthy landlords and local tyrants also boarded, reportedly paying 1,000 taels of silver per person for a ride," Dai Fa said helplessly.
"What? 1,000 taels of silver per person? He's still profiting at a time like this?"
Gu Qingcheng felt indignant upon hearing this.
What kind of official is this?
It was one thing for him to flee when faced with trouble, but he even sold exorbitant boat tickets?
This is too outrageous. Does the Emperor of Great Zhou know about this?
However, Gu Qingcheng quickly realized that even if the Emperor of Great Zhou knew, it would be useless. The Great Zhou Dynasty was about to fall.
What she should focus on now was:
If Wangchun City was flooded, with the rising temperatures, the floodwaters would become unstoppable!
Gu Qingcheng asked, "What about the common people of Wangchun City now?"
"What else can they do? The government isn't helping, so everyone can only find their own way to survive, using rafts, treating basins as boats, and clinging to wooden beams to escape. It's truly miserable. Furthermore, the flood happened at night, so many people didn't have time to react. In the darkness, most people drowned. A small number managed to escape and are now gathered in Zhan Chun Town," Dai Fa sighed.
Gu Qingcheng then remembered that Wangchun City was at a significantly lower elevation than Zhan Chun Town.
"So, Zhan Chun Town is safe?" Gu Qingcheng asked.
"Yes, the water hasn't reached Zhan Chun Town yet. It's fortunate that we couldn't enter Wangchun City; otherwise, it would have been a great misfortune."
Zhan Chun Town was at a higher elevation than Wangchun City, which was why it escaped the disaster. Generally, towns in the south were built in flat basins. Looking down from Yunwu Mountain, Wangchun City was indeed situated in the lowest flat land, which explained why it was flooded first. Gu Qingcheng estimated that Wangchun City would never recover and that the floods would become even more severe.
"Uncle Dai, from now on, our Phoenix Village will be a blessed land where villagers can live and work in peace," Gu Qingcheng said out of the blue.
Dai Fa hadn't quite grasped the essence of her words. He thought for a moment and smiled, "Indeed. Speaking of which, we are fortunate to be on this high mountain and spared from the flood. If we had entered Wangchun City back then, we might have been fish food by now. It's truly a blessing in disguise, a stroke of luck!"
Gu Qingcheng felt it was time to fetch her parents, so she said to Dai Fa, "Uncle Dai, starting tomorrow, Mi Guo and I will be leaving the village for a while."
"Ah? Why? It's not very peaceful around here now. You two shouldn't wander around. Even with your martial arts skills, it's not entirely safe," Dai Fa advised. He believed it was best to stay in Phoenix Village during this time. They had a strong hunting team and could handle general bandit attacks, except for powerful imperial troops.
"No, I need to go pick up my parents. They are in Jinsha City, a thousand miles away, and it's likely to become unstable there too," Gu Qingcheng said.
"Oh, I see. That's understandable," Dai Fa finally realized.
Gu Qingcheng continued, "However, before I leave, I have a few things I'd like to trouble you with, Uncle Dai."
Gu Qingcheng hadn't expected the flood to come so quickly. It seemed that as the temperature rose, the melting snow in some regions was putting great pressure on the low-lying areas. Moreover, judging by the rising water levels, the snowmelt might not be a matter of just a day or two. She just hadn't perceived it as keenly because she was in the south. For regions that had previously suffered from extreme cold disasters, as long as the temperature rose above 0 degrees Celsius, the snow would begin to melt. For every degree the temperature rose, the speed of snowmelt would increase. This accumulated meltwater, silent yet ceaseless, had been gathering into torrents and had finally reached its breaking point, with the city's flooding being the most obvious manifestation. Gu Qingcheng felt she had been careless and hadn't promptly considered the differences between the north and the south. While she had intended to do some things herself, time was too short now, so she had to entrust them to Dai Fa.
Indeed, after listening to Gu Qingcheng's instructions, Dai Fa said, "Alright, I will pick a few of the most capable young men to handle these matters. I guarantee they will be completed properly."
After Dai Fa left, Gu Qingcheng told Mi Guo about the plan to pick up her parents. Mi Guo was also worried and said, "If that's the case, then we should set off as soon as possible."
Gu Qingcheng nodded and said, "I'll make arrangements. We'll depart tomorrow morning."
Gu Qingcheng then wrote a letter to her parents, informing them that she would be back soon to pick them up and also mentioning the flood in the south, urging them to be vigilant. If there were any signs of rising water in Yasha Mountain, they should flee to higher mountain ranges. If such a situation occurred, they could leave a message in a bottle at Yasha Mountain to indicate their direction. The message in a bottle could be tied to the tallest tree by their doorstep, where she would look for it.
Fearing they might not understand, Gu Qingcheng also drew a diagram of a message in a bottle. It involved using a clean, empty oil barrel, like those from Jinlongyu or Luhua, placing their written note inside, and tightly screwing the lid shut to ensure the water wouldn't seep in and wet the note. Then, a strong climbing rope would be tied to the barrel's handle at one end and firmly secured to the trunk of the tallest tree by their doorstep at the other. This way, the message in a bottle would float on the water, making it easy for her to find.
After giving detailed instructions, Gu Qingcheng once again felt the pain of inconvenient transportation and communication. If communication were convenient, she wouldn't have to go through all this trouble writing letters; a phone call would suffice.
That evening, Gu Qingcheng convened a meeting with the small team captains. First, she informed them of her temporary departure from Phoenix Village and then inquired about the team's recent production situation. Everyone saw Gu Qingcheng speak of it so lightly, assuming she was leaving the village as usual to investigate something, and didn't pay much attention. Only Dai Fa, Yan Xin, and a few others knew Gu Qingcheng's true destination and the difficulty of the journey.