Chapter 96

Chapter 96

There was no telling whether the heavens had calmed their wrath, but hundreds of soldiers worked through the rain and mist repairing the embankment and dredging clogged drainage channels, so that the floodwaters could flow smoothly through the channels without threatening the homes on either side.

"Move aside!" Huo Jilin shouted.

That soldier had probably been scared out of his wits by the scolding, just keeping his head down and working without watching for danger!

Huo Jilin shoved the soldier aside, and the soldier watched, face pale, as an uprooted log was swept away by the floodwaters. He scrambled up from the mud, but couldn't steady himself. He swayed, then knelt at Huo Jilin's feet.

Huo Jilin grabbed him by the collar and flung him aside.

"Follow the main force! Move toward the embankment, fast!"

Huo Jilin had led over five hundred men to check for dangers this time, with two hundred at the reservoir releasing the floodwater—they were the ones doing the releasing.

All were sturdy, strong men, chosen for their agility and strength.

The remaining three hundred were split into three groups of one hundred to assist in the villages, ready to evacuate at any moment.

Besides Chen Family Village and Wang Family Village, which had already been evacuated since they were the most flood-prone, Zhao Family Village and Gao Family Village were also threatened by this rainfall.

If the rain kept up and the sluice gates had to be opened again, these two villages would have to be evacuated.

After inspecting the drainage channels on the way, Huo Jilin finally reached the embankment. After checking it thoroughly, he worked to divert the water at the southwestern upstream section and reinforce the embankment.

Though repairing the embankment now was too late, there was no choice—every bit helped, and every second bought was precious.

Magistrate Liu had come once to check the flood situation, but he hadn't even made it onto the embankment. Huo Jilin paid him no mind; carrying sandbags, he was in no mood to deal with him.

Seeing that he couldn't get Huo Jilin's attention, Magistrate Liu had no choice but to wait. In front of him, the rolling yellow waters churned, carrying rocks and debris, and Magistrate Liu's face looked like it had been soaked in rain for days.

Finally spotting Huo Jilin on the embankment, Magistrate Liu stumbled forward. The wind was too strong—his umbrella had long been blown away, and he could barely move, feeling like he might be blown into the water at any moment.

He wouldn't have dared take a step if the soldiers hadn't given him a thick rope to tie around his waist.

When Magistrate Liu couldn't walk any further, he shouted across the reservoir, straining his voice toward Huo Jilin, who stood motionless on the embankment like an anchor: "Regional Commander Huo, how is the disaster situation?"

Whether the wind and rain scattered his words or Huo Jilin simply couldn't hear him, Huo Jilin only came down from the embankment after a moment. His first words were: "Magistrate Liu, just prepare the relief grain for the coming days."

Magistrate Liu's face was ashen, his lips trembling from the cold: "...When will this rain ever stop?!"

Huo Jilin said nothing. Natural disasters weren't something men could control.

In modern times, such rain might be more manageable for flood control, but this was ancient times, with poor equipment and infrastructure.

Even the drainage channels hadn't been cleared in God knows how many years. This dynasty had few people and thus few soldiers—the entire county of Dongling, large as it was, had fewer than a thousand troops, and after last year's heavy losses on the northwestern battlefield, only about five hundred were left.

Many projects were maintained through corvée labor from the common people.

Last year's conscripted labor had gone to the battlefield without clearing the channels, and this year's hadn't started yet. That's why they were now scrambling to repair the channels—it was barely enough, a stopgap at best.

Huo Jilin had tried every approach he could think of.

If the rain didn't stop tonight, they'd have to release the floodwaters in the south.

The villagers of Zhao Family Village and Gao Family Hollow would also need to be evacuated.

Four villages being flooded at once already counted as a major disaster.

But releasing the floodwaters was necessary. If they didn't, and all the embankments burst, it wouldn't be four villages—it would be over a dozen villages across the southeast of Dongling County facing catastrophe.

Huo Jilin looked at Magistrate Liu's blue-tinged face and didn't say anything harsh to him at a time like this, only saying: "Magistrate Liu, after the flood ends, the embankment repairs will need to be reported. The southwestern section is already cracking—it won't last until the next rainy season."

Magistrate Liu's lips twitched, and he trudged off, dejected.

Chen Jue finished bandaging a patient, then slowly rose from the ground, bracing his back. He had to stand gradually, or his lower back would ache.

He hadn't faced such intense work in a while and wasn't used to it yet.

The medical apprentice steadied him: "Doctor Chen, are you alright?"

Over the past day and night, forty to fifty wounded had been brought to them, yet they had only four doctors and two apprentices.

The two apprentices could only help with brewing medicine and basic rescue work; they couldn't assist with much else.

So Doctor Chen had been going for over six hours without rest.

It wasn't just his body that was tired—he was even more worried about Huo Jilin.

He asked the apprentice, "We're at forty-five people so far, right?"

Huo Jilin had led over five hundred soldiers in disaster relief. That was already a very high injury rate.

Chen Jue couldn't stop worrying about Huo Jilin.

He was only human—even with his past life's experience, there were things he couldn't control in the face of natural disasters.

Chen Jue stood under the eaves, looking out. He couldn't see a thing outside anymore.

Darkness had long fallen, only the rain streaking briefly through the dim lantern light.

Chen Jue gazed at the heavy, dark sky, and his heart grew heavy.

It was so late, and Huo Jilin still hadn't returned. If the rain didn't stop, he wouldn't be able to come back.

Though the soldier who had brought in patients earlier told him Huo Jilin was still standing on the embankment and was safe, he still felt anxious.

Late in the night, Huo Jilin finally returned. Chen Jue was dozing by the medicine stove—he'd wanted to wait for Huo Jilin but had dozed off while waiting.

Only when he felt someone crouch down in front of him did Chen Jue suddenly open his eyes. Seeing it was Huo Jilin, his heart suddenly eased—Huo Jilin was back.

Chen Jue ran his hands over him, checking that he hadn't lost any limbs. But what about other wounds?

Chen Jue's trembling hands moved over his clothes, from his chest to his back: "Your back... does it hurt?"

His hand came away covered in mud and water.

Mud and sand had caked onto his clothes, forming thick layers of caked mud.

Huo Jilin and his men had been hauling sandbags to hold back the water.

Chen Jue felt like his chest was clogged with mud and sand. He grabbed Huo Jilin's arm tightly, unable to speak for a moment.

Huo Jilin took his hand and said: "I'm fine."

His voice was hoarse and raw—he'd been yelling all day.

Chen Jue wanted to stand up and get him some water, but Huo Jilin opened his arms and, still in that half-crouch, pulled him into a hug, whispered in Chen Jue's ear, "Chen Jue, you were worried about me."

Chen Jue, you like me.

He didn't say those words out loud, but the heat swelling in his chest made his eyes burn, and in that moment, he knew for certain that Chen Jue liked him.

At this moment, all the suffering he'd endured, those agonizing hours standing in the freezing water, dissolved into mist.

The smoke vanished, the rain passed, and the sky cleared.

A bright moon had settled into his heart, shining as clear as a sunny day.

Chen Jue rested his chin on Huo Jilin's soaked shoulder and let out a soft laugh, "Of course I'd worry about you. You've gotta take care of yourself."

Huo Jilin smiled back. "I will. Chen Jue, the rain's stopped."

Chen Jue closed his eyes for a moment and said, "Good."

The rain had stopped, the embankment held, and both Zhao Family Village and Gao Family Village were safe.

The next morning, when the first ray of sunlight shone over the mountains, everyone cheered. They hadn't seen the sun in seven days—not one this big, this bright.

With the sun out and the temperature climbing, the flood would soon recede. They could go home.

But even so, it took another three days before the villagers could come down the mountain, the mudslides stopped, the water level at the embankment dropped to a safe mark, and every drainage channel was flowing freely.

Once the injured were brought down and settled, Chen Jue finally had a moment to himself.

He and Huo Jilin finally went home.

Huo Yu hadn't seen them in three days. When they showed up, he stared at them blankly for a second, then turned his face away, toward Chen's mother. Chen's mother chirped, "Oh, baby, look who's back! Hey, don't cry, don't cry!"

Huo Yu turned back, pouted at Chen Jue and Huo Jilin a few times, and then the tears came streaming down.

The tears came down just as freely as the rain had over the past few days.

Chen Jue's chest tightened. He hurried over and scooped him up, and Huo Yu looped his little arms around his neck, pressed his face into him, and let cold tears soak into Chen Jue's collar.

Chen Jue held him and murmured, "I'm back, I'm back."

Huo Jilin reached over and patted his back. "Daddy's here. Don't cry, okay?"

The more he talked, the harder Huo Yu sobbed, his little body shaking.

He'd never been away from them this long. Before, he could always see at least one of them—and at night, both!

Chen's mother chimed in, "He's just feeling wronged. He was fine a second ago. These three days you two were gone, he'd just whimper and fuss a little before bed, but he didn't cry. Little Yu's been good... Your daddy's back now..."

Huo Yu cried in Chen Jue's arms for a long while before looking up at Huo Jilin and reaching for him. Huo Jilin took him, wiped his tears, and smiled. "You missed me, huh?"

Huo Yu buried his face in his chest again and kept crying.

Huo Jilin and Chen Jue exchanged a look, both hearts aching. After thanking Chen's mother, Zhang Xiuer, Uncle Liu, Nannan, and the rest, Huo Jilin kept holding him.

Chen Jue even asked for two days off from Wanchun Hall just to stay with him. Huo Jilin still had follow-up work to finish and had to go to work.

Fortunately, Huo Yu was easy to comfort. He just felt wronged. In fact, the people who accompanied him daily were all close to him—his grandmother came to see him regularly, Uncle Liu and Zhang Xiuer doted on him every day, and Sister Nannan played with him daily, even spending more time with him than Chen Jue and Huo Jilin did.

So Huo Yu was comforted within two days, but he had become very clingy. At night, he insisted on sleeping between the two of them.

He'd squirm around in Chen Jue's arms for a while, then turn over to look at Huo Jilin. When he saw Huo Jilin watching him, he'd smile at him, giggling, and occasionally babble a few words like "Dad, daddy, daddy..."—quite good at charming people.

Huo Jilin had no choice but to let him sleep between them. He hadn't expected such a small child to be so sensitive, to understand what a sense of security meant.

Huo Yu slept in their shared bed for several days before finally feeling reassured.

But Huo Yu hadn't been happy for long before his two fathers became busy again—this time, they didn't come home for as long as half a month.