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After four hours of searching, Quan Shaoqing’s subordinates brought back a man in his forties named Zhang Zhi.

According to the information, he had once assisted archaeologists, searched for many large tombs, and even opened a millennium-old tomb that had witnessed countless deaths.

It was said that he was the disciple of a very strong tomb robber.

He was not only skilled in Feng Shui and The Four Diagnostics but was also proficient in the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams.

Quan Shaoqing had people prepare some food and water and then left the headquarters with him.

In the evening, he handed over his work to Lin Mi and left the command post.

...

Meanwhile, Yun Xiao and Ai Xiang arrived at a village at the foot of Liangshan.

Standing at the entrance to the village, they found that most of the houses were made of thatch.

When the earthquake struck, only some earthen houses collapsed, killing more than a dozen people, while the thatched houses partially injured some.

Although there was no medical treatment available, the villagers themselves picked medicinal herbs in the mountains to treat their injuries. By the time they arrived, some of the villagers had already cleaned up their houses and were rebuilding the thatched roofs.

Ai Xiang rebandaged the injured villagers and distributed some anti-inflammatory medicine to them.

As for those who had died, the local villagers had already buried them.

Compared to the terrible conditions in the smaller towns they had seen earlier, this village was faring much better.

Ninety percent of the people were still alive.

Twelve percent had minor injuries.

Only a few were seriously injured; the rest were unharmed.

Ai Xiang looked at the village and didn’t know for a moment whether she should take them away.

The life outside might even be worse than what they had here.

At least, if the thatched houses collapsed, they still had a place to stay. Food and water were still available.

Here, they could still continue to farm; their grains were intact. Even if their houses had fallen, they could cook in the open.

Eventually, Ai Xiang decided to call the headquarters and request some supplies to be sent over.

They decided not to move the villagers.

Compared to the dire conditions outside, life here was better.

Just then, a helicopter passed by, bringing blankets, tents, and food for the villagers.

Ai Xiang and the others then taught the villagers how to set up tents and so on.

Now that the aftershocks had passed and further monitoring had revealed no more earthquakes, this place was relatively safe.

What surprised Ai Xiang was that beside this village, in the mountain after a Level Eight earthquake, no rocks had tumbled down.

This amazed her even more.

Yun Xiao had many feelings upon returning here.

She grew up in these mountains until she was ten, living in dense forests.

Eating wild fruits and drinking cold water, digging up tree roots when there was no food in winter.

Even following wolf packs to eat the meat of wild deer and drink the blood of wild beasts, she slowly survived.

Now, as she returned, she couldn’t even find her parents’ graves.

The night wind gave the village an indescribable desolation.

She remembered that when she was ten years old and left, the village looked like this.

Decades later, the village still looked the same.

The farmers here were still deeply rooted in their old ways, believing in ghosts and deities.

Even after the earthquake took the lives of their loved ones, they didn’t feel sad.

They believed that it was because the deceased had done bad things in their lives, and the gods were angry, punishing them.

She walked through the rows of dilapidated, collapsed thatched huts, looking at the mountains and forests in front of her.

She couldn’t quite describe what she was feeling inside.

A Butterfly Orchid bloomed at her feet.

She squatted down, picked the stem, and looking at the purple flowers on it, she couldn’t help but smile.

She had grown up.

From that dirty little wild girl, she had become a slim and graceful young lady.

And a qualified soldier.

"What are you looking at?" Ai Xiang came over and asked.

Yun Xiao immediately dropped the Butterfly Orchid in her hand and turned back to smile, "Nothing much! This is where I survived as a child, just feeling a bit emotional returning here."

"The place where you lived as a child? Is it really here?" Ai Xiang had heard her talk about it. But standing here, speaking without expression, there was an indescribable pity in her heart.

"No! It’s in that mountain!" She pointed towards the distant mountain.

"I was abandoned on the back mountain by the villagers right after I was born, and I was picked up by a blind man. When I was six, the blind grandfather died, and then I lived with a pack of wolves in the mountains. It wasn’t until I was ten that I was taken back by dad," Yun Xiao said indifferently, as if she was telling a story that had little to do with her.

Ai Xiang’s heart skipped a beat, "I didn’t expect that you had such a legendary story as a child, meeting my uncle when you were ten. He took you back, taught you to read and write, go to school, right?"

"Right!" Yun Xiao recalled the past and couldn’t help but smile, "I started first grade at ten, and I couldn’t even speak properly. I had to work harder than everyone else to be like a normal person."

"You graduated from university at twenty, it seems you worked even harder than others," Ai Xiang admired Yun Xiao a bit. Such a painful experience would have caused a mental breakdown in an ordinary person, or they might be content with a life of being adopted and wouldn’t strive to study.

Yet, she completed sixteen years of compulsory education in eleven years.

And even joined the army afterward.

"I started later than others, how could I not work hard? Although I’ve finished school, my personality isn’t suited for socializing with people.

Therefore, I have no friends, whether it was during the eleven years of schooling or the first year of military service," Yun Xiao said with a melancholic voice.

Ai Xiang looked at her profile and couldn’t help but reach out to touch her head, saying, "Now, don’t you have many friends?"

Yun Xiao felt the strong, comforting hand on her head, and the corners of her mouth revealed a hint of proud smile, "Right! Everything began to change after I met Gu Xiaoxi. I don’t know why, but it just happened naturally.

I’m no longer afraid to talk about my past to others, no longer afraid to make friends, and certainly not afraid to communicate and talk to people. "

"It seems that she truly is the guiding star of your life!" Ai Xiang said with a smile.

Yun Xiao’s cheeks instantly blushed.

She had never thought that Ai Xiang would listen to her outpouring, and it really took her by surprise.

"Is there a mission from above? When are we heading back?" Yun Xiao, not wanting the atmosphere to become awkward, quickly asked.

"There is! We’ll rest tonight, and head to Gan County tomorrow morning, the nearest place to here."

"Do they need a doctor there?" Yun Xiao asked.

"Several patients at a large hospital over there need me to perform surgery," Ai Xiang said.

Yun Xiao gave her a thumbs up, praising, "You’re amazing!"

"How else would I be a divine healer!" Ai Xiang said, without a trace of modesty in her voice.

Yun Xiao looked at her and shyly smiled.

They had almost never had such a cheerful conversation before.

Even if their time together was brief, she was content.

*

The night was a bit cold.

Yun Xiao lay on an open-air bed made of thatch, looking at the twinkling stars in the sky, her eyes filled with utter happiness.

Because Ai Xiang was lying not far from her side.

The distance between the two was only a meter of empty ground.