23 – Disbelieving in Romance Brings Bad Luck
Soon, Taohua spotted Qin Feng and the village men.
They were about to enter the water, so at that moment they were undressing on the riverbank.
Seeing the men rolling up their sleeves and pant legs, Sun Xiao Lan quickly pulled Taohua around to face away.
“Goodness, how can some of them strip down to just their shorts? Aren’t they cold?”
Sharp-eyed men heard the commotion from their direction and turned to look, immediately bursting into laughter:
“Where did these two young ladies come from? They’re actually watching men undress!”
Seeing this, the Village Chief immediately said to Sun Xiao Lan and Taohua, “You two stand right here and don’t move, and don’t look around. I’ll go discuss this with the Zhubu.”
After speaking, the Village Chief turned to leave.
Taohua hurriedly called him back: “Village Elder Grandpa, if my dream really comes true, two birds will soon fly down from the sky. They’ll land on a big tree by the river, and then they’ll fight.
When they fight, the whirlpool in the river will appear! You must explain this clearly to the Zhubu before the two birds start fighting!
Also, Village Elder Grandpa, could you please ask Brother Qin to come over? I have something to say to him.”
“Alright, wait right here.”
Not long after, the Village Chief returned.
Along with the Village Chief came Qin Feng and two other men.
One of the two had a goatee and a slender build, while the other was burly and stout.
Just as the Village Chief was about to introduce them to Taohua, the man with the goatee stopped him.
He walked straight up to Taohua and asked with some amusement, “So you’re the woman who had the nightmare?”
“Yes!” Taohua glanced at the man in front of her, then quickly lowered her eyes again.
She felt this man was different from the villagers; he carried an imposing presence that made her somewhat uneasy.
But at that moment, a large, warm hand gently rested on her waist.
Immediately after, Qin Feng’s deep, pleasant voice sounded in her ear: “Don’t be afraid. Just answer truthfully.”
Qin Feng’s presence instantly gave Taohua all the courage she needed.
She raised her eyes again, her gaze firm as she nodded at the goateed man before her:
“Yes, it’s me. I’m a villager of Baiyun Village, and this is my husband. You must be the Zhubu sent by the County Magistrate, right? I dreamed that something happened to you all in the river, so I wanted to ask you to pause and not enter the water this afternoon.”
“Oh? I’ve never seen you before, yet you recognize me. So you saw me in your dream?”
“No!” Taohua shook her head. “In the dream, I didn’t see your face clearly, but I saw how respectfully Village Elder Grandpa treated you, so I assumed you must be the Zhubu.
Sir, I know you might find my words absurd. You only need to order a temporary halt. When you see the whirlpool, you’ll naturally believe me.”
“Superstitious nonsense!” Feng Zhubu was a scholar; he didn’t believe in such things. “Just because of a dream you had, we’re supposed to halt work for half a day? Do you know it’s about to snow? Once the river freezes, this work can’t be done!
If you have a nightmare today, and someone else has one tomorrow, and everyone comes here to cause trouble like you, how can this project continue? You’d better go home and prepare some good wine and dishes to wait for your man to come home for dinner tonight.”
“Magistrate Feng, you have to believe me!” Seeing the magistrate about to leave, Taohua immediately raised her voice. “In a moment, two birds will fly over there and start fighting. I’m really not talking nonsense.”
As soon as Taohua finished speaking, two birds indeed flew in from the direction she pointed.
But Magistrate Feng saw nothing unusual about it and said in a calm tone, “So what? What’s so strange about two birds fighting in the mountains?”
“Everyone, stop watching the commotion and get into the water quickly. You’ve already taken off your clothes—don’t let yourselves freeze for nothing.”
Seeing that the magistrate refused to believe her, Taohua turned and grabbed Qin Feng’s arm:
“Brother Qin, could you please not go? Maybe my dream was just a dream, but the feeling was so real. I don’t want you to go into the water. I don’t want you to face any danger!!”
Qin Feng didn’t quite believe it either. He reached out and patted Taohua’s head:
“I know you’re just worried about me, but don’t worry. I’ll be fine—there are so many people here. It’s cold by the river, so hurry back.”
“Brother Qin!!” Taohua clung tightly to Qin Feng’s arm, refusing to let go. “It’s okay if you don’t believe me. I find it hard to believe myself. But please, I’m begging you, just wait a little longer, okay?”
As soon as Taohua finished speaking, Sun Xiao Lan pointed at a tree and said, “They’re fighting, they’re fighting! Those two birds have started fighting!”
But by then, Magistrate Feng had already taken the lead and led the villagers into the river.
To prove that the ignorant woman Taohua was wrong, Magistrate Feng strode boldly ahead of everyone.
Suddenly, the river’s current accelerated, and a huge whirlpool formed in the water around Magistrate Feng.
The villagers following behind him saw this and immediately turned back, not daring to take another step forward.
Even the burly constable Magistrate Feng had brought along didn’t dare to wade recklessly ahead to rescue him.
The villagers grew frantic. Some shouted to fetch bamboo poles, others yelled for ropes. Chaos erupted in an instant.
Someone suddenly remembered Taohua and turned to shout, “Taohua, everything you said came true! What should we do now? Magistrate Feng is almost out of sight!”
“Yes, this is terrible!” The Village Chief was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. “Magistrate Feng absolutely cannot be harmed! Taohua, do you have any ideas?”
“I don’t! I told him not to go down!” Taohua was equally helpless.
“Brother Qin, what do you think…”
Taohua had intended to ask her husband, but when she turned around, Qin Feng was nowhere to be seen.
She looked around and spotted Qin Feng tying a rope around himself, with the other end secured to a large tree.
“Brother Qin!” Taohua immediately ran over. “Are you going into the water to rescue him?”
“Yes.”
“But the water is very dangerous right now!”
“I know.”
“…………” Taohua paused. “Alright. Then you must be careful, Brother Qin. I’ll stay here and watch the rope for you. If you manage to grab Magistrate Feng, just shout, and we’ll pull the rope back.”
Taohua had wanted to say how dangerous it was to go down, but she knew her Brother Qin would charge ahead without hesitation, just as he had when he jumped into the river to save her! Though she lacked the courage and ability to rescue anyone herself, she would support her man!
Qin Feng quickly waded to the center of the river, while the other villagers spontaneously grabbed hold of the rope.
The whirlpool at the river’s center was fierce, but without any hesitation, Qin Feng took a deep dive and plunged right in…