Sober and beautiful, my husband and son begged for my forgiveness on their knees.

Inside Qingyang Mountain.

Ning Yao and Master Meilin squatted at the entrance of the cave, watching the torrential rain outside, as waves of damp, cold air seeped into their bodies.

“Master Merlin, the rain is getting heavier and heavier; we can’t stay here.”

Her intuition told her she had to leave immediately!

Merlin's expression hardened slightly. "Yes, I'll contact the driver right away."

Ning Yao also took out her phone to check the weather forecast, but found that her phone had no signal.

Merlin noticed this as well, and his expression became even more serious than before.

"Looks like you don't have a signal. This place is too low-lying; we'll have to go uphill."

Ning Yao had just nodded when her gaze suddenly froze, and then her voice trembled as she said, "Master Merlin..."

Merlin immediately looked behind him, his face instantly stiffening.

Two streams, mixed with mud, suddenly appeared on either side of the flat area where they had been standing.

Their flow rate is astonishing; they carry away all the silt and sand in their path.

What frightened them even more was that the forest behind them began to become noisy, with the sounds of trees being washed away and rocks hitting each other constantly coming from behind.

"Ning Yao, run!"

Ignoring the heavy rain, Merlin grabbed Ning Yao and ran to higher ground!

at the same time.

Lu Jingmo's car was stuck in traffic on the outbound expressway, and the traffic in front of him had formed a long line that stretched as far as the eye could see.

The red brake lights reflected in his eyes, just like his suppressed and anxious mood at that moment.

Suddenly, the car's radio came on.

"...According to the latest news, a section of road in Qingyang Mountain is at high risk of mudslides due to loose soil. Listeners who are planning to travel to Qingyang Mountain are advised to postpone their trip..."

Yang Qian thought to himself that he was doomed, having forgotten to turn off the broadcast.

Upon hearing this announcement, Lu Jingmo suddenly straightened up.

My heart felt like it was being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, and each beat was accompanied by a suffocating, dull pain.

"Contact the search team and have them take a chartered plane directly to the top of Qingyang Mountain. Spare no effort to rescue Ning Yao and Mei Lin!"

Yang Qian was shocked by the aura emanating from him and couldn't tell for a moment whether he was worried about Merlin or Ning Yao.

……

The rain showed no signs of letting up.

It was like being whipped by raindrops, striking Ning Yao and Mei Lin hard.

After finally reaching the halfway point of the mountain, the two quickly found a slope to hide on temporarily.

Merlin was alright; his sportswear was waterproof and warm. But Ning Yao was in a worse state.

She was only wearing very ordinary casual clothes, and because she was running in the rain, she was soaked to the bone, and her lips were white.

Merlin made a quick decision, "Little girl, your physical condition isn't good. Come on! Put your clothes on."

Ning Yao was shivering from the cold, but she didn't take Merlin's clothes. "You wear them, I'm young and can handle it."

In her past life, she was often locked in a dark room in a mental hospital, so she could endure this bit of cold.

Merlin tried to persuade her, but Ning Yao forced him to put it on and then made Merlin take out their phones.

The location is at a higher elevation, so the signal is better.

Ning Yao's phone had a weak signal, so she quickly dialed Lu Jingmo's number.

As soon as I dialed, Lu Jingmo's number came through.

"Ning Yao, where are you right now?"

Lu Jingmo's voice sounded calm and indifferent, but only he knew how nervous he was when he finally got through to Ning Yao.

Ning Yao knew this wasn't the time for idle chatter, and wanted to explain her position to him.

But Merlin took out his phone and gave me a coordinate system.

Ning Yao told the truth.

Lu Jingmo shared his location with the professional team that had already reached the summit before calmly reassuring her.

"Don't be afraid, the search team has reached the top of Qingyang Mountain. They will find you within half an hour at the latest."

Ning Yao was truly comforted by him, and said calmly, "Okay, then you..."

A series of static sounds came through the phone, and then it was forcibly disconnected.

"Did President Lu send a search team?" Merlin hadn't heard their conversation, but he had his own deductions.

Ning Yao nodded. "He said the search team has reached the summit and will find us soon."

Merlin then smiled with relief, "I've encountered similar unexpected situations before, but my partners didn't manage to assemble a search team in such a short time, let alone get them to the summit. Ning, Mr. Lu cares about you a lot."

Ning Yao pursed her dry lips and smiled coldly, "You're mistaken. The person he loves isn't me, and I don't want to have anything to do with him anymore."

Merlin immediately knew the two had a story, but he had no intention of prying into other people's privacy, so he didn't ask any further questions.

Time passes minute by minute.

Guided by the search team, Yang Qian's car traveled along the winding mountain road to the entrance of Qingyang Mountain.

They happened to run into Merlin's driver, who they couldn't contact.

After a brief conversation, Lu Jingmo quickly determined the location of Ning Yao and the others.

Back in the car, I changed into a black windbreaker and waterproof boots, and went straight inside.

"Mr. Lu, you can't go, it's too dangerous!"

Yang Qian quickly tried to stop him, but no one could change Lu Jingmo's decision.

"Fifteen minutes. Whether I find them or not, I will be back."

He wasn't showing off; he had done a lot of outdoor activities with friends when he was abroad, so he had plenty of experience in dealing with such situations.

In five minutes, he arrived at the place where Ning Yao and Merlin had first stayed.

He was so sure because he saw the canvas undulating in the mud.

He bypassed the most dangerous area and went around it to climb up.

The rain pattered down on him.

Soon, he heard faint conversations through the rain.

"It's been almost half an hour, why hasn't the search team arrived yet?"

Merlin stood in front of Ning Yao, using the angle between himself and the slope to protect her behind him.

Looking at Ning Yao's almost bloodless face, he knew that she was in great danger and might fall into a coma due to hypothermia if she wasn't saved soon.

But this girl was stubborn and refused to wear his clothes no matter what.

"It's alright, we'll be there soon," Ning Yao whispered in response to Merlin, also trying to encourage herself.

But when people are driven to the brink, their defenses become weaker.

The scene of her first time being locked in a dark room began to flash through her mind.

At that moment, she felt as if she had fallen into an abyss, where there was nothing but darkness.

The only sound in the entire space was her frightened gasps.

Once a person is deprived of their five senses, it is as if they have been abandoned by the whole world.

Loneliness, despair, vulnerability, and fear all clung to her.

Little by little, they dragged her into an abyss from which there was no return.

No one came to save her.

No one will save her.

She could only die silently in a mental hospital, just like in her previous life.

"Girl..."

"Girl!"

Merlin's cries jolted her awake from her suffocating despair, but she couldn't open her eyes no matter what she did.

She desperately tried to stop herself from responding, desperately tried to open her eyes, and finally opened them a crack.

A tall, slender figure emerged from the rain.

He trudged along the muddy road, each step so firm and powerful.

But she couldn't hold on any longer; everything went black again, and she lost consciousness.