Reservoir Dogs chapter 29
Mudslide
Driving onto the cross-river bridge, a damp river breeze hit him head-on.
He left the city, following the car onto and off the highway for nearly two hours as the road grew increasingly remote.
Xiao Zhou felt uneasy, unsure of the intentions of the car ahead.
As the night deepened, the sky grew darker with no stars or moon in sight. The yellow headlights blurred, casting odd shapes on the roadside scenery. Suddenly, a muffled thunderclap sounded in the distance, followed by several flashes of pale lightning that tore through the sky. In an instant, a downpour of large raindrops came crashing down.
Raindrops hit the windshield noisily, and Xiao Zhou turned on the wipers, sweeping away the water in broad arcs.
When the car ascended a winding mountain road, there were no other vehicles in sight. To avoid being noticed, Xiao Zhou turned off his headlights.
The black car blended into the darkness, vanishing into the storm and night.
As he reached halfway up the mountain, his speed slowed, and he noticed the car ahead had stopped. Xiao Zhou pulled over onto the emergency lane at a bend in the mountain.
Turning off the engine, he got out and walked slowly closer. The heavy rain and dark night provided excellent cover, making it nearly impossible to see anything beyond a few steps.
Wiping the water from his face, he squinted and saw the car ahead had turned off its lights. Someone got out, opened the trunk, and took out a duffel bag before crossing the barrier separating the road from the deep mountain wilderness.
The figure didn’t look like Jiang Chengyuan but more like Zhou Jun. But why would Zhou Jun be in such a place at night, and what was in the bag? Xiao Zhou found it odd and also a bit worrying.
Just as the person was about to disappear into the dense forest, Xiao Zhou quickly sent a location pin from his phone and hurried to follow.
He jumped over the barrier, landing lightly with barely a sound.
The person didn’t go too deep, winding around a bit before stopping. Xiao Zhou saw him place the duffel bag on the ground, take out a shovel, and start digging.
The soil, softened and loosened by the rain, made it easy to dig. Suddenly, a flash of lightning illuminated the scene, startling the person in the pit. He looked up, and the lightning revealed Zhou Jun’s face.
Xiao Zhou frowned, squatting down and hiding in the grass, patiently waiting for Zhou Jun to finish his task.
The rain showed no sign of letting up, and occasionally, thunderous booms echoed from distant valleys.
After finishing the pit, Zhou Jun took several metal canisters from the duffel bag, resembling hospital oxygen tanks, and dumped them into the pit. Standing over the pit, he grinned—a look that was sinister—making Xiao Zhou’s hair stand on end.
He waited until Zhou Jun’s figure completely vanished before emerging from his hiding spot. Using a thick tree branch as a makeshift tool, he began digging up the freshly filled pit.
Looking at the metal canisters, Xiao Zhou couldn’t understand why Zhou Jun went to such lengths to dispose of them here. Instinctively sensing their importance, he took photos and loaded the canisters into his car in batches.
The back-and-forth took quite a while, and the rumbling sound he’d heard earlier grew louder and more intense, causing the ground to tremble.
A sense of foreboding struck him—heavy rain, loud noises. He looked up and saw the distant mountain slope appearing to tilt.
His pupils constricted as he suddenly realized the implications.
Rushing back to his car, he started the engine. Perhaps due to being soaked, his hands fumbled in his panic, failing to start the car initially.
He was in a mountain pass flanked by steep slopes, and rocks and dirt began to slide down from the mountain walls, emitting deep rumbles as if some monster was awakening within.
Xiao Zhou’s fingers trembled, and the road surface was flooded from the rain. Taking deep breaths, he tried again, and the car finally roared to life, the headlights piercing through the darkness ahead.
Flooring the gas pedal, he sped away, attempting to escape the mountain before the mudslide struck.
Almost as soon as the car sped off, a tremendous crash sounded behind him. A torrent of muddy water, trees, and rocks cascaded down the steep slope, surging and roaring, quickly engulfing the spot where he had just parked.
Unable to turn back for a closer look, and too afraid to do so, the rain was so heavy that he couldn’t see the road ahead clearly.
The ground kept shaking, the valleys thundered like roars, and the endless flood seemed ready to engulf the road.
Xiao Zhou’s heart pounded violently, feeling fear and dread. For the first time, he faced nature’s anger and power so closely, experiencing its overwhelming and cruel violence as if trapped in a surround trap with no way out. In the face of this disaster, human life seemed so insignificant, easily destroyed at any moment.
Fortunately, the initial collapse didn’t happen too quickly, perhaps gathering strength or showing some mercy, not so eager to destroy the life and miraculous scenery nurtured over millions of years.
The car surged through the wind and waves, breaking through the swirling rain and sand like a released arrow,
Just as the exit came into view, he abruptly slammed on the brakes. Due to inertia, he lunged forward, then snapped back by the seat belt.
Xiao Zhou saw a huge object ahead, almost colliding with the car’s hood. A large tree had smashed across the road, blocking passage.
The thunderous roar of the mountains and rivers echoed overhead, drawing nearer.
Without hesitation, Xiao Zhou abandoned the car and fled. He remembered not to run downhill during a mudslide but to head for the slopes on either side.
Another thunderous roar, Xiao Zhou turned to see the car engulfed by rolling sand from the mountainside.
His palms were sweating cold, his breath unsettled. It was a close call; had he hesitated a moment longer, he would have been buried under the mud and sand.
But then he remembered the metal bottles in the trunk—things he had risked his life to retrieve were now destroyed, lost under the mud and sand, impossible to recover.
He stood frozen for what felt like an eternity. Before he could dwell on the heartache, another violent, almost like a mountain rupture, deafening sound echoed, nearly piercing his eardrums.
The next wave of mudslides began.
Xiao Zhou gritted his teeth, lifted his legs, and ran up the hillside.
Throughout the night, he ran in exhaustion, narrowly escaping death countless times amid shock and anxiety.
As dawn approached, the rain finally eased, and the landslides stopped.
But the highway leading out was already destroyed, covered in mud and rocks. His phone had been lost during the escape, and he had numerous wounds, fatigued from blood loss.
He returned to the road from the mountainside, the heavy rain causing thick mud to accumulate thigh-high. Moving in such an environment was exhausting, but he never considered giving up.
By the time the sun rose, Xiao Zhou sat by the roadside, surrounded by blocked paths, unable to clear the fallen trees and debris alone. Occasionally, loose rocks would tumble down from the slanting mountainsides.
Fortunately, such a large-scale mudslide would surely attract official attention, so he wouldn’t be trapped for long.
The sun had risen, its warm light shining down. The air smelled sweet and fresh after the rain, but the mountains remained devastated, with fallen trees everywhere.
Exhausted, Xiao Zhou buried his head in his arms and closed his eyes for a brief rest.
His dreams were chaotic, his sleep restless. Half asleep, he heard loud voices and helicopters circling overhead, their propellers making huge noises.
Suddenly waking up, he lifted his head from his arms. The bright light was dazzling, and he realized it wasn’t a dream. The rescue team had arrived.
In the sunlight, a tall figure walked at the forefront, outlined against a hazy white edge.
Xiao Zhou’s vision was somewhat blurry. Squinting, he finally recognized the person and was stunned, completely caught off guard.
It was Jiang Chengyuan.
Jiang Chengyuan didn’t look presentable at the moment. His complexion was pale, cheeks smeared with mud, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing strong forearms. He wore a dirty white shirt alone, mud splattered on his suit pants, and black high-top rubber boots over them, outlining his long legs.
Upon seeing Xiao Zhou, he visibly relaxed, but his expression quickly turned serious, his eyes sharp as knives.
Xiao Zhou stared at him, his heart suddenly racing.
He didn’t know how Jiang Chengyuan had found his way here. After a moment, it dawned on him that before tracking Zhou Jun, he had last sent his location to someone. Jiang Chengyuan was the emergency contact on his phone, ranked first. He hadn’t saved many numbers on his phone, and after some thought, Jiang Chengyuan seemed the only choice, so he had instinctively sent it to him.
Just a few steps away, suddenly a rescuer behind Jiang Chengyuan exclaimed, “Watch out!”
Jiang Chengyuan’s face changed, then he dashed towards Xiao Zhou. With a sudden leap, Xiao Zhou was caught off guard and fell into a warm embrace.
His head was protected by a palm, and the two rolled on the ground for a couple of rounds before stopping, Xiao Zhou ending up lying on top of Jiang Chengyuan.
Soon after, a loud bang echoed. A huge stone fell right where Xiao Zhou had been sitting moments before.
Xiao Zhou lifted his head, meeting Jiang Chengyuan’s urgent gaze. Jiang Chengyuan’s forehead was slightly sweaty, eyes still filled with shock, his breathing unsteady, clearly shaken by the close call.
The mountainside was still unstable, with loose rocks continuing to fall.
Jiang Chengyuan stood up, holding the person horizontally in his arms, bones pressing against his chest, imprisoning him in the curve of his arms.
“If you come looking for death next time, don’t let me find out,” Jiang Chengyuan lowered his head, sternly whispering near Xiao Zhou’s ear.
Xiao Zhou closed his eyes, silent. He was soaked through, freezing cold, his mind a mess, too weak to think, yet the person in whose arms he lay was warm. His fingers involuntarily tightened on Jiang Chengyuan’s shirt, feeling hot sweat, sticky mud, and water.
In fact, Jiang Chengyuan could have ignored that text message, but he came anyway.
Even in such a dangerous situation, with the mountains unstable and at risk of collapsing again at any moment, he came.
He even saved him. Owing Jiang Chengyuan such a great favor left Xiao Zhou with indescribable feelings.
The rescue team arrived soon after, someone shouting in relief, “He’s alive, he’s safe! Over here!”
People quickly took command, removing obstacles, using excavators to clear the road, restoring access as soon as possible.
Rescuers wrapped Xiao Zhou in a blanket, inspecting his wounds.
Jiang Chengyuan remained silent, standing to the side, watching as the nurse with the team bandaged Xiao Zhou.
“Sir, your hand wounds should also be bandaged,” a medical staff member approached and said.
Only then did Xiao Zhou notice Jiang Chengyuan’s numerous injuries. His hand and arm were scraped deeply, flesh exposed, mixed with gravel, not much better than his own injuries.
Jiang Chengyuan nodded and sat down. While the nurse bandaged him, she examined his upper arm, noticing a wound on his shoulder. Cutting away part of his sleeve to inspect, she found his back shoulder soaked in blood, obscured by mud, hence unnoticed.
The exposed shoulder was as hard as stone, swollen with a large tendon, fortunate that the robust muscles resisted injury to the bone. The nurse exclaimed as she treated the wound, “Were you hit by stones? Luckily, regular exercise has strengthened your muscles; otherwise, your arm might have been crippled.”
It was later, from conversations around him, that Xiao Zhou learned Jiang Chengyuan and the rescue team had searched all night. His phone was buried under cascading rocks and mud, faintly emitting a GPS signal, mistaken for a living person trapped inside. Lacking the right equipment and tools, they had to dig with bare hands, hence the severe wounds.
Initially, they didn’t even believe anyone was still in the mountains, as no vehicles were detected by the foot of the mountain on surveillance, and the weather was too harsh at night, with continuous landslides. It was Jiang Chengyuan’s persistence that led to a small team of rescuers going in. They searched all night like this.
Xiao Zhou was astonished to hear this; Jiang Chengyuan’s actions far exceeded his expectations.