Chapter 47: Eliminating the Obstacle

Ji Ling struggled to push aside the debris beside her, a piercing pain shooting from her wrist. She gasped, and once the pain subsided, she reached into her pocket, pulled out her whistle, and brought it close to her lips.

"Toot—toot—" The sound of the whistle filled the tiny "safe zone," but no one answered for a long time.

Reluctant to give up, Ji Ling held the whistle between her teeth and frantically clawed at the ruins with both hands. Wooden boards, shattered tiles—every single item was unimaginably heavy. Ji Ling's fingernails dug into the gaps time and time again, trying to pry open the heavy objects, but they remained completely motionless.

The blood continually flowing from the woman was like a ticking clock, urging her on stroke by stroke.

Ji Ling clenched her teeth, ignoring the pain in her wrist. However, her fingernails were torn clean off by the debris, and fresh blood quickly seeped out through the gaps in her fingers, dripping onto the ruins and onto Ji Ling's face. Yet, the woman's faint breathing made Ji Ling forget everything else as she continued to claw at the rubble with her hands.

Staring at the unyielding debris, Ji Ling felt a wave of near-collapse, a sense of despair almost threatening to drown her, but she still let out a defiant, desperate cry.

"Is anyone there? Toot—toot—"

The world was dead silent. In the darkness, Ji Ling closed her eyes and breathed heavily. The oxygen in the small space was running out.

Ji Ling felt around the tiny space with her hands until she suddenly discovered a small hole through which a faint stream of air was passing. A surge of joy washed over her. She slowly turned her body, pressed her nostrils against the small hole, and took a deep breath, instantly feeling as though she had returned to life. After calming down for a moment, Ji Ling aimed her whistle at the hole and blew again.

This time, she heard the sound of chaotic footsteps and bustling human voices.

Indeed, her world finally faded into a blank void.

When Ji Ling opened her eyes again, it was already the following morning.

In an instant, the sensations of her body returned: her lips were dry, her whole body felt shattered, and her hands ached—a bone-deep agony that caused her to curl up. Looking down, she saw that all ten of her fingers were wrapped in white gauze.

Her father and mother stood anxiously by the bed. Seeing Ji Ling wake up, both of them let out a slight sigh of relief. "You girl, are you trying to worry your mother to death?" Mother Ji cried as she spoke. No matter what, this was the daughter she had raised and cherished.

"Mom, I'm fine. Where is Ji Qing? How is he?" Ji Ling asked after catching her breath.

"Your brother is fine, don't worry. All our houses were reinforced, and he managed to run out in time. It was just you—walking past that thatched cottage, how could a dilapidated house like that withstand an earthquake?" Father Ji frowned as he looked at the daughter who had always been his pride, saying sternly, "If you pull reckless stunts like this again in the future, I won't allow you to take part in the sheep farm's work."

"It was just an accident, and I'm fine now, aren't I? Dad, where is the person who saved me? How is she? I want to go see her."

"She's in the next room. She's fine too; her back took a deep gash, she lost a lot of blood, and she's very weak and needs plenty of rest. We owe her a huge thanks for this."

Ji Ling got out of bed. Unable to dissuade her, Mother Ji supported her as her feet touched the ground.

Ji Ling approached the woman, who was now lying on a makeshift bed supported by wooden boards. Her face was pale, her brow tightly furrowed, and she muttered, "Ningning, Ningning, my Ningning."

Ji Ling carefully cupped the woman's hand in her palm, feeling a pang in her heart. She truly could not understand why someone she had never met before would protect her with her life without a moment's hesitation. Ji Ling wondered if she had lost her memories, yet in neither her past life nor this one had she ever seen this woman.

Feeling Ji Ling's hand, the woman suddenly squeezed tightly, opened her eyes, and looked at Ji Ling. Tears rolled down like broken beads. "Ningning, you are my Ningning."

Without answering, Ji Ling gently pulled the blanket up over the woman. "Get some rest. If you don't behave, Ningning will be unhappy."

"Okay, I'll be good. Ningning, won't you leave me? I've looked for you for nearly twenty years. It's all Mom's fault for not leaving you alone, it's all Mom's fault." Overwhelmed with emotion, the woman fainted once more.

Ji Ling felt a heavy depression weighing on her. It seemed that at that moment, the woman had mistaken her for her own daughter.

"Pay up, pay compensation! It was all because of what you said that my Er Mao listened to you and went inside the house. It's all because of you, you have to pay for my son's life!"

As Ji Ling walked out, she happened to see the wife of the local scoundrel, Zhang Er, making a scene outside.

Standing to the side, she listened for a moment. It turned out that Deputy Director Ji had doubted his own judgment and privately sought out Er Mao, giving him ten yuan to refuse to cooperate with the work and stay at home instead. As a result, Er Mao's house was of the same poor quality as her thatched cottage; unlike the lucky Ji Ling, he was directly crushed on the head and killed.

The epicenter of this earthquake was in the southwestern region, some distance away from them, and they were only affected by the aftermath. Most households were fine; houses that had been reinforced suffered no damage at all, and everyone was safe. Only a small fraction were trapped and, like Ji Ling, rescued one after another.

Deputy Director Ji brushed away Zhang Er's wife's hand in disgust. "I didn't force him. He was willing himself, what does it have to do with me?"

Just for ten yuan, he threw his life away. But when it all came down to it, it was because they refused to believe Ji Ling.

"Who is Ji Shu?" Suddenly, two police officers walked over. "We received a report stating that due to overconfidence, negligence regarding villagers entering houses and facing potential danger, and other reckless behavior, you ultimately caused the serious injury and death of a villager, constituting the crime of involuntary manslaughter. Please come with us."

Deputy Director Ji's face turned pale and his legs trembled, yet his tone remained completely unfaltering. "What gives you the right to arrest me? I am the deputy director of Guma Commune, the second-in-command. Whose courage are you borrowing?"

At that moment, Skinny Monkey darted out from somewhere. He blinked at Ji Ling, handed the ledger records he was holding to the police, and said, "This is evidence of him accepting bribes and helping local bullies suppress the villagers during his tenure. You must bring him to justice!"

Shen Yi had previously instructed them to listen to Ji Ling. Ji Ling had long planned to deal with this scoundrel, but taking him down completely wasn't an easy task, which was why they had spent this period lobbying the victims and finally managed to obtain these documents. Skinny Monkey flashed a wide grin; his brother had said his sister-in-law was a capable person, and following her meant having meat to eat.

When Ji Shu saw the ledger opened by the police, he collapsed heavily to the ground.

It was over. He was finished.

"Oh right, his nephew previously used his official authority to ruin my reputation at the state-run restaurant. The daughters of the textile factory director and the ceramic factory director can both testify for me. He committed the crime of defamation."

Ji Ling stood to the side. Some accounts could be settled after the harvest; it was never too late.

The expressions of the two police officers turned grim upon hearing this; this fellow truly was scum. Refusing to allow Ji Shu any further rebuttal, they barked, "Let's go, move!"

As Ji Shu was pushed and shoved forward, he suddenly whipped his head around to glare at Ji Ling, his eyes split wide with fury, and yelled, "It was you!"

"Hmph." The corners of Ji Ling's lips curled into a half-smile. Her gaze was indifferent, a flash of imperceptible cunning and vindication dancing in her eyes.