"Boom!"
Thunder rumbled from the sky. Lightning flashed through the clouds. The heavy rain lashed at the tiles of Dongli Town. Water trickled down through the gaps between the tiles, forming a curtain of rain under the eaves.
Outside Huichun Hall, the awning, which had been crowded with people not long ago, was broken by the strong wind. The tables and chairs under it were completely soaked in the rain.
The wind carried water vapor in through the window. The lingering summer heat was swept away by the rain. The coolness brought by the rain dispelled the summer boredom.
Inside the room, Ye Wanmian, Li Zhao and a few others were sitting around the table, looking out at the empty street.
"This rain is coming down hard. I wonder how long it will last," Qi Wen sighed, holding her face in her hands.
Li Zhao looked up at the sky, a hint of worry on his face. "Dark clouds churn and the wind rages. Thunder roars and lightning flashes as the rain pours down like a waterfall. In July and August, we should be most wary of such thick clouds. This rain might not be as simple as it seems."
Ye Wanmian had been silent all this time. She stared blankly at the rain curtain outside, still feeling a sense of unease in her heart.
But she didn't know where this unease was coming from.
"Apprentice niece?"
She came back to her senses and found Mo Zhizhang standing in front of her, holding a bowl of steaming ginger soup.
"Apprentice niece got a bit wet when you were packing up the clothes and medicinal herbs just now. I see your complexion is not looking good. Drink this ginger soup first to warm yourself up."
Ye Wanmian took the bowl and said softly, "Thank you, Uncle."
The ginger soup in the bowl had cooled down to a suitable temperature. She held the bowl and sipped it slowly.
After the warm ginger soup went down her throat, her body did feel a bit warmer.
Li Zhao looked at her with a gentle and kind expression. "It's raining so hard. No one will come for medical treatment anyway. You look so tired. Why don't you go back to your room and take a rest? We'll keep an eye on things outside. There won't be any problem."
Li Zhao noticed that Ye Wanmian was in a low mood, so he specifically suggested that she go back to rest.
Ye Wanmian smiled and shook her head. "I'm not tired. Uncle Li, don't worry about me."
Suddenly, Dahuang, who was lying beside her, pricked up its ears, stood up from the ground, and ran towards the door of the medical hall.
"Dahuang?"
Ye Wanmian noticed Dahuang's strange behavior and called out to it.
The next moment, faint barking sounds came from outside. The barking became clearer and clearer, as if the dogs were running towards them.
The door was blocked, so Dahuang couldn't get out. It was so anxious that it ran around in circles inside, whimpering softly. It turned around and ran to Ye Wanmian's side, biting her sleeve and tugging hard.
Dahuang rarely showed such an anxious expression, and the tugging force was quite strong. Ye Wanmian was dragged staggeringly from the chair to the door by it.
Sure enough, the dogs stopped outside the door of Huichun Hall and barked wildly inside. The barking sounded very intense, with a hint of urgency.
Dahuang also barked loudly at the door inside the room and raised its paw to scratch the door panel forcefully.
Ye Wanmian had interacted with these dogs in the town before and had even fed them a few times. She knew that if there was nothing wrong, they wouldn't come here barking in the heavy rain.
Especially Dahuang. Its current state was also not right.
Could it be that something big had happened in the town?!
Ye Wanmian immediately reached out to remove the door panel, but her hand was suddenly grabbed. Mo Zhizhang had come to her side at some point. He said seriously,
"Apprentice niece, don't open the door. There are so many stray dogs outside. Be careful that they might hurt you."
Li Zhao also said, "Yes, Mujin. It's raining heavily outside. We don't know what they're up to when they come here at this time. It's better not to open the door."
As if they had heard the conversation inside, the barking outside became even more urgent.
Ye Wanmian couldn't help but feel a bit impatient. She quickly said, "No, I know these dogs. They won't hurt me. They must have a reason for coming here at this time. Uncle, Uncle Li, please trust me!"
After saying that, she shook off Mo Zhizhang's hand, pulled the bolt, and removed the door panel.
A puff of damp air immediately rushed towards her. The dogs, soaked by the heavy rain, finally saw her and barked even more loudly. Two of them even slipped into the medical hall and bit the corner of Ye Wanmian's clothes, trying to pull her outside.
Realizing that the dogs were trying to lead her somewhere, Ye Wanmian raised her hand to shield herself from the rain in the air. She gritted her teeth and rushed into the rain curtain on her own initiative. She shouted loudly at the dogs,
"You lead the way in front. I'll follow behind. Let's go!"
"Mujin!" Li Zhao didn't expect Ye Wanmian to rush out directly. He called out to her in a hurry and said to Mo Zhizhang, "Quick, go get the umbrellas. We'll follow her too!"
Mo Zhizhang turned around and took two umbrellas. He handed one to Li Zhao, then held up an umbrella and caught up with Ye Wanmian.
The rain was blocked. Ye Wanmian looked to her side. Mo Zhizhang lowered his eyes and looked at her, asking gently, "Apprentice niece, do you need my help?"
Ye Wanmian paused. "How can you help?"
Mo Zhizhang switched hands to hold the umbrella. He said "Forgive my rudeness" and reached out to put his arm around Ye Wanmian's waist, pulling her closer to him.
Ye Wanmian's clothes were already a bit wet from the rain. The man's long arm tightly encircled her, and she had no choice but to lean into his embrace. The warmth from his body spread to her without any hindrance.
It was a bit too close.
Just as Ye Wanmian was in a daze, Mo Zhizhang said, "Hold on to me."
Ye Wanmian instinctively wrapped her arms around his waist. Mo Zhizhang gathered his energy and quickened his pace. He caught up with the leading dog in front. His speed was more than twice as fast as before.
She almost forgot that this uncle of hers knew martial arts. He had even struck Xiao Jingcheng with a palm.
Ye Wanmian was secretly shocked. Suddenly, she seemed to remember something and looked back.
Li Zhao was holding an umbrella, walking with a slight limp. He was still following far behind them.
The group followed the running dogs towards the east of the town.
At first, Ye Wanmian didn't know why these dogs suddenly came to Huichun Hall, barked at her, and led her out. But when she saw the familiar street scenes on both sides, countless thoughts flashed through her mind, and her heart skipped a beat.
This is...
The road to the courtyard where her mother was being held!
Ye Wanmian had walked this road countless times. She would never forget it.
Could it be that something had happened to her mother?!
But how did these dogs know to come to Huichun Hall to find her? She had never mentioned anything about her mother to them. She only remembered that Dahuang had once fought with a mangy dog outside her mother's yard.
Ignoring the doubts in her heart, Ye Wanmian became anxious. She said to Mo Zhizhang, "Uncle, can you go faster? I know the way. I'll show you the way!"
Mo Zhizhang said, "Of course."
Ye Wanmian raised her hand and pointed forward. "Go that way!"