Quick mission: We don't make trouble

雨城

In the past few days, it has been raining in Rain City for several days in a row, and the whole town is shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere.

The usually bustling streets are now deserted, with few people to be seen. People are staying at home, avoiding going out as much as possible.

At first, some farmers outside the city would come to the market, but as the rain continued, they no longer came to the city.

Even the gatekeeper who usually seemed arrogant had lost his spirit. He huddled in the city gate, staring listlessly at the gloomy sky.

Winter was about to arrive, but suddenly it started to rain heavily, and it continued for several days without any sign of stopping.

A young city guard couldn't help but mutter, "Is there a hole in the sky? Why does it keep raining non-stop..."

The old official next to him responded, "The weather this year is truly strange, completely reversed. Summer was dry and rainless, but in autumn and winter, it's been raining heavily... This isn't a good sign. I'm afraid disaster is about to strike."

The young man said disapprovingly: "Old Qin, can you please make a good wish?"

Old Qin shook his head helplessly: "Even if I tell you, your child won't understand. I've been through a lot."

The young man snorted in disdain, "Tsk! He's just a little older, and all he does all day is take advantage of his age."

A sudden gust of cold wind blew, making him shiver uncontrollably. He quickly tightened the raincoat around him and muttered, "It's almost dark. It looks like no one will want to enter the city anymore. I guess we might as well close the city gates sooner rather than later."

Old Qin glanced at him sideways, then said slowly, "If you think you have the ability to convince the city guard to close the city gates, then go ahead and give it a try."

When the young man heard this, he immediately shrank his neck, an embarrassed expression appeared on his face, and he muttered, "Forget it... I don't have the courage."

At this moment, Old Qin, who was leaning against the wall, suddenly straightened up and whispered, "Someone is coming!"

After hearing this, the young man couldn't help but look outside the city. He saw only rain and fog, and there was no one in sight.

The young man laughed inwardly, thinking, "Is this old fellow trying to scare people?" Just as he was about to make a few sarcastic remarks, he heard Old Qin say again, "What's more, the people who came were riding horses!"

"On horseback?" The young man's heart moved, and the figures of those on horseback emerged in his mind.

In this era, people riding horses often represented a certain status and position. They might be court officials, children of wealthy families, messengers at post stations, or members of caravans. Thinking of this, the young man couldn't help but perk up, his eyes wide open, and looked towards the city gate.

Not long after, a steed, wrapped in wind and rain, came galloping towards them. The horse was so fast that it reached the city gate in the blink of an eye. The rider seemed to have no intention of slowing down, passing directly past the young man, stirring up a cloud of rain and mist.

The young man was startled and quickly jumped back. Even so, he was still quite wet. Looking at the horse and rider going away, the young man couldn't help but curse: "This person is going to be reincarnated! How abominable!"

Old Qin, standing by, said calmly, "That's someone from the Weiyuan Escort Agency. I just saw the small flag on his horse's head."

Hearing this, the young man asked doubtfully, "Weiyuan Escort Agency? Is it that powerful?"

Old Qin explained, "The Weiyuan Escort Agency is one of the largest escort agencies in Jincheng Prefecture. Their escorts are all highly skilled in martial arts, and are responsible for escorting goods and protecting the safety of merchants."

The young man snorted disdainfully, "The escort agency guys think they're so great that they don't have to dismount when entering the city? They don't have to pay?"

Old Qin frowned, thought for a moment and said, "Oh, I'm afraid something has happened to the Yang family caravan."

The young man asked curiously, "What happened to the Yang family caravan?"

Old Qin said, "I remember the Yang family caravan hired escorts from the Weiyuan Escort Agency, and they should have been returning these past few days. Now that I see the Weiyuan Escort Agency people rushing back in such a hurry, I'm afraid something must have happened on the way."

That’s right, the rider on the horse was none other than the escort from Weiyuan Escort Agency. He rode his horse straight towards the city gate, and then headed straight towards the Yang Family Warehouse on East Street.

At the door of Yang's warehouse, the shopkeeper stood on the threshold, looking at the rain pouring down like a waterfall outside, and couldn't help frowning.

"This rain is really making me anxious!" he muttered to himself, his tone revealing a hint of anxiety and helplessness.

The shopkeeper had been in charge of the Yang Family Warehouse in Yucheng for several years, but he had never encountered such continuous heavy rain. This made him very troubled and worried.

He had originally sent some men out to buy mountain products, but due to the torrential downpour, they were trapped outside and have yet to return. Meanwhile, the Yang family caravan, which should have arrived long ago according to plan, had yet to show up, wondering if it too had been delayed by the downpour.

At this moment, the mountain of mountain goods and furs piling up in the warehouse weighed heavily on the shopkeeper. These goods were supposed to be shipped back to the provincial capital with the caravan for sale, but now, damp from prolonged rain, their quality had been severely affected, potentially even spoiling. Faced with this situation, the shopkeeper couldn't help but worry about not being able to deliver to the provincial capital.

"Oh, what should I do?" He said to himself anxiously, his heart full of worry and uneasiness.

Just then, the sound of horse hooves approached from afar, at a rapid speed, like a flash of lightning across the sky. In a flash, a steed appeared before their eyes, stirring up a cloud of rain and mist. Before the horse could even stop, the rider leaped off and rushed straight towards the door.

The visitor looked anxious and nervous, and shouted hoarsely, "Shopkeeper Yang, Shopkeeper Yang..."

Hearing the voice, Shopkeeper Yang's heart skipped a beat and he quickly responded, "Here, here!"

The man leaned against the doorframe, breathing heavily, his face wet with rain, looking utterly miserable. He gathered himself and said in a trembling voice, "The caravan, the caravan encountered a landslide on Dayu Mountain... a flash flood... Team Leader Yang... he..."

He was riding at the front of the team, exploring the route, when he suddenly noticed falling rocks ahead, a dangerous situation. He immediately turned back to Team Leader Yang and another escort, shouting, "Retreat! Retreat!" However, it was too late to turn back. He could only grit his teeth and lash his horse hard, trying to avoid danger. He rushed forward, but luckily, just as he did, a massive landslide struck behind him, followed by a flash flood...

He only felt a buzzing in his ears, but there seemed to be a faint voice coming. When he listened carefully, he heard someone shouting: "Team Leader Yang and the others fell down!" He was startled and turned his head to look, but saw that the torrent had separated the road, and he could no longer see the situation on the other side.

At this moment, he was blocked by the mountain torrent and could not get through. He was extremely anxious, but helpless. However, he could not sit and wait for death. He immediately urged his horse down the mountain to find the others. He prayed silently in his heart, hoping that they would be safe.

Moreover, he remembered that there were several villages at the foot of the mountain. If a flash flood came and the villagers were unaware of it, the consequences would be disastrous. So, without hesitation, he spurred his horse and galloped down the mountain.

He ran very fast, but the mountain torrent was not to be outdone and followed him closely. When he finally reached the outskirts of the village, the mountain torrent also poured down like a beast.

Fortunately, the village is some distance from the river and has not been affected for the time being. However, if the village is not evacuated in time, the consequences will be disastrous if the river water spreads to the village.

He was so anxious that he rushed into the village without thinking, shouting: "The flood is coming! The flood is coming! Everyone run!"

Fortunately, the village was small, and he ran from one end of the village to the other, shouting once, and then ran back and shouted again, and some villagers heard the noise and came out.

Someone climbed up a big tree and saw that the river had disappeared and was covered with a vast expanse of water, so the gong was struck urgently.

The escort did not stop and continued to the next village.