Threedayspassedwithouttrouble。Thebordervillageslowlyreturoitsordinaryrhythm。Farmerswentbacktotheirfields,mertsreopeheirstalls,andchildrenonceagainranthroughthenarrowpathsbetweenthehouses。Thewatremainedontheplatforms,buttheirpresenolongermadeeveryonenervous。
Suyuanfoundherselfenjoyingthequiet。ShespentmostmswalkingthroughthevillageswithAyao,chegthegrainstoresandspeakingwiththevillagers。Shenoloriedtosolveeveryproblemherself。Instead,sheaskedquestionsandlistened。
Thatm,however,theskywasunusuallydark。
“Therainwillesoon,”Ayaosaid。
Suyuanlookedtowardthemountains。
“Notsoon。”
Ayaofrowned。“Howdoyouknow?”
“Thewind。”
Afewmomentslater,thefirstdroplandedonAyaoscheek。ShestaredatSuyuan。BeforeAyaocouldanswer,asoldiercamerunningfromthewesternroad。
“MissSuyuan!”
Sheturned。
“Thewesternvillageneedshelp。Thestreamhasrisen,andthebridgeisstartingtogiveway。”
Suyuanimmediatelylookedtowardtheroad。
“Hoeoplearethere?”
“Nearlythirtyhouseholds。”
“Children?”
“Many。”
“Thendontwaitforthebridgetocollapse。”
SheturoAyao。“Getthevillagersawayfromthestream。Tellthemtonlywhattheycarry。Foodfirst,thenmedie。”
Thesoldierhesitated。
“ButGeneralSuhasnt—”
“Hedoesntogiveanorderforustomovepeopleawayfromadangerousbridge。”
Hervoiceremainedcalm。
“IfImwrong,theyllplainthatwefrightehemfornothing。IfImright,theywillbebegratefulwemovedthemearly。”
Thesoldieruood。
“Yes。”
HehurriedawaywhileSuyuanfollowedwithAyao。Bythetimetheyreachedthewesternvillage,therainhadbeeheavy。Waterrushedbehthewoodenbridge,carryingbranchesandbrokenpiecesofwooddownstream。Thevillagerswerefrightened。Suyuanclimbedontoastoneplatformhevillageentrance。