Chapter 703 - 705: Does Saving People Break Rules?
Bai Ruozhu’s family of three was heading south with Jiang Yichun accompanying his wife and child. It was their first trip altogether, but there was no joy of traveling. Apart from the carefree Dengdeng, their faces were filled with worry and anxiety.
"It will be alright, we can’t scare our child," Jiang Yichun said, holding Bai Ruozhu’s hand for comfort.
Bai Ruozhu let out a sigh, "I hope we can find Elder Shougu soon. Otherwise, I can’t even sleep securely."
Jiang Yichun, holding Dengdeng in one arm and his wife in the other, put on a forced smile and said, "It will be ok, we are lucky to have noticed in time, and we owe a lot to the furball given by Elder Shougu."
"Yes, we owe him a great deal," Bai Ruozhu replied.
At lunchtime, they found a small restaurant to have a quick meal. Soon, a guard reported that Elder Shougu had moved further south to Linchuan City. They had already sent people to convey the message and ask the old man to wait for them there.
After eating a few mouthfuls of food, Jiang Yichun ordered takeaway from the restaurant. He said to Bai Ruozhu, "Let’s have dried food for dinner and find a place to stay after it gets dark in order to speed up our journey."
Bai Ruozhu nodded, "Alright, I will finish my food quickly."
She ate quickly and fed Dengdeng with egg yolk and millet porridge.
For the next three days, the family traveled in much stress, and by the evening of the third day, they finally arrived in Linchuan City.
Linchuan City was named for its location alongside a river. When the family entered the city, the citizens were celebrating their annual River God Festival. Many people were placing lotus lamps by the river, making the city lively and bustling.
Exhausted, Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun couldn’t afford any delay. After meeting up with Jiang Yichun’s subordinates, they went straight to Elder Shougu’s residence, but the elder had vanished, and no one knew when he had left.
"How could this happen? Where did Elder Shougu go? Didn’t you tell him we were on the brink of losing our lives?" Jiang Yichun vented his frustration on his subordinates.
One of the subordinates in black bowed his head and admitted, "My apologies, we didn’t notice that Elder Shougu had left."
Bai Ruozhu was increasingly worried, but she soon calmed down, tugging at Jiang Yichun’s sleeve, she said, "If he took off knowing we were coming, he must have faced imminent danger, or an urgent matter. The fact that he didn’t leave a message before leaving suggests he might be pursued."
"You’re right, we have no other choice but to send people to look for him again, and we should stay in Linchuan City for the time being. If he’s safe, he’ll find us," Jiang Yichun said.
The couple checked into a local inn with Dengdeng. The innkeeper, a lively middle-aged man, warmly told the strangers, "You mustn’t know today is our annual River God Festival. Let me tell you something. Our River God is very effective. You can write your troubles on the river lamp. If it floats away smoothly, your wishes will come true. You should give it a try tonight."
Being worried about Dengdeng, Bai Ruozhu wasn’t in the mood for setting river lamps. However, Jiang Yichun seemed interested and asked, "Where can I buy a river lamp?"
"They’re sold by the riverside. Make sure you go early. They sell out quickly," the innkeeper replied.
Having entered their room, Dengdeng had already fallen asleep in Bai Ruozhu’s arms due to the tiredness of the journey. Jiang Yichun looked at his son and suggested, "Let’s go set a river lamp. Even if it doesn’t work, it’s good to pray for our son."
As a modern woman, Bai Ruozhu didn’t quite believe these traditions. Still, she understood that this was Jiang Yichun’s way of praying for their son. Considering that she had transmigrated, there might be gods after all, maybe more than one.
"Sounds good, let’s go right away," she stood up and said.
"Let me hold the baby, you must be tired from the journey," Jiang Yichun took the sleeping Dengdeng from Bai Ruozhu’s arms.
The family went to the riverside, bought a river lamp as directed by the innkeeper, wrote their wishes for Dengdeng’s swift recovery inside, and carefully set it on the river. They watched as their river lamp floated away alongside others. They both sighed deeply.
Sometimes, people need something to cling on.
"Maybe we will find Elder Shougu tomorrow," Jiang Yichun broke the silence.
Bai Ruozhu nodded, "Yes, perhaps he’ll even come and find us."
While saying this, her gaze drifted over to the distance. Suddenly, she squinted. From afar, she saw a twelve or thirteen-years-old girl leaning forward to set her lamp better. The edge of her skirt was soaked wet. All of a sudden, someone bumped into the girl out of excitement, causing her to slip and fall into the river.
"Someone’s fallen into the water. Let’s go check it out," Bai Ruozhu said anxiously. It was late at night, and the place was crowded. If no one noticed this, the girl might drown.
Upon reaching the spot, Jiang Yichun yelled, holding Dengdeng, "Be careful, you take the baby while I save the girl."
"I can swim!" Bai Ruozhu jumped into the river and swam towards the striving girl without looking back.
In that instant, many thoughts ran through her mind: if she were to hold the baby and Jiang Yichun jumped in later, it might be too late. Besides, if a drenched girl were to be rescued by a man, it would jeopardize her reputation for sure. She didn’t want to save someone and cause trouble simultaneously, so she decided to do it herself.
She caught the girl in no time. The young girl had no knowledge of swimming, therefore she was thrashing about, getting further and further from the bank. To prevent the girl from flailing and endangering both of their lives, Bai Ruozhu knocked her unconscious and dragged her to the shore.
By then, a crowd had gathered. One person yelled, "Someone’s fallen into the water, let’s see who it is!"
A woman rushed over, crying and hugging the girl, "It’s my Yiyi! Don’t you die on me! It’s all my fault, why wasn’t I watching!"
Bai Ruozhu pulled the woman away, saying, "Don’t interfere with the rescue!"
She started to resuscitate Yiyi. Meanwhile, someone screamed, "How dare you save her? The River God will be furious!"
Bai Ruozhu helped Yiyi to vomit the water she had swallowed, and applied acupuncture to help her regain consciousness. Only after Yiyi woke up did she notice the onlookers cursing at her, accusing her of breaking the River God’s law. They believed that the River God wanted to capture a young girl, but Bai Ruozhu saved her, and angered the god, causing bad luck to the entire city.