Under the night sky, heavy snow fell endlessly.
Zhao Xiaobao felt as if she were floating in the air. She could see everyone, but they couldn’t see her. Terrified by the sudden disaster, she cried loudly, calling for her parents. She didn’t understand what was happening—what was an “earth dragon turning”? Why would a dragon turn?
She saw rocks from the back mountain sliding down, smashing countless trees. The village houses collapsed in the blink of an eye. Some people were covered in blood, some knelt on the ground crying. Chickens, ducks, geese, and dogs that had escaped disaster ran wildly in all directions. Some people dug frantically through rubble to find buried family members, while others stared blankly at the bodies of their loved ones.
Finally, Zhao Xiaobao saw her own home. Just a moment ago, her parents and older brothers and sisters-in-law had been talking about generous gifts for returning visits. In the blink of an eye, her father was struck in the back by a falling beam. Her mother cried out the brothers’ names, telling them to hurry and save their father.
Her eldest, second, and third brothers reacted quickly. The moment the ground shook, they woke up, grabbed their still-sleeping wives, and ran outside. The nephews were slower—some froze for a moment, and that moment cost them dearly. Fengzi and Xi’er were instantly buried under a collapsing mud wall. Xiao Wu, Guzi, and A Deng were struck by falling tiles, their heads bleeding as they cried for their parents and grandparents. They didn’t even think of running, frantically trying to move the stones and dirt burying their younger brothers.
The eldest and second brothers rushed to save their father, while the third went to rescue Fengzi and Xi’er. The sisters-in-law cried until they nearly fainted. The scene descended into chaos—
“Fengzi and Xi’er… are gone…”
Zhao Sandi knelt on the ground, holding Zhao Feng and Zhao Xi, whom he had dug out from the ruins. He stared blankly toward his elder brothers, who were still trying to save their father. His voice was barely audible.
Cold snowflakes fell onto their necks, chilling them to the bone. A heart-wrenching wail echoed through the heavens.
“My sons—!!!”
Sun collapsed stiffly to the ground.
…
“Waaah…”
A loud cry suddenly came from the main room. Wang Shi, who had been keeping watch all night, quickly reached out and picked up her daughter, unable to hide the worry on her face as she soothed her repeatedly: “Don’t cry, don’t cry. Xiaobao, don’t cry. Mother is here.”
“What’s wrong? Why is she crying like this?” Old Man Zhao came closer with an oil lamp. Seeing his youngest daughter’s swollen eyes from crying, his heart felt like it was being squeezed.
No one knew what had happened. Just a moment ago, the child had been happily eating pork cracklings, and the next moment she suddenly fainted without any warning. The entire family had been so frightened that their legs went weak, and they were ready to rush her to the town doctor.
Fortunately, the third son’s wife was careful and noticed that Xiaobao was only asleep. Only then did everyone calm down.
But the calm didn’t last long. Soon, she started crying uncontrollably. At first, tears flowed silently, then she began wailing loudly. No matter how they called her, they couldn’t wake her. No one knew what terrible dream she was having—her little face was filled with fear and helplessness, as if she were trapped in a nightmare.
“This can’t go on. I need to think of something,” Old Man Zhao muttered as he slipped on his cotton shoes and got out of bed. He rummaged through chests and cupboards for incense and paper offerings. He planned to burn them to the gods and ask what was going on. Had the child been summoned to the heavens for questioning? If she had done something wrong in the mortal world, a few words would suffice—there was no need to punish her.
“What are you doing in the middle of the night?” Wang Shi, already irritated, grew even more annoyed at his actions. “Do you think the gods don’t sleep like you?”
“Oh, time in the heavens is different from ours. For all we know, they might be having lunch right now. I just want some peace of mind—don’t worry about me,” Old Man Zhao muttered as he took the incense and paper offerings outside.
The door wasn’t fully closed. With her sharp eyesight, Wang Shi saw flickering candlelight outside the courtyard through the window. The old man was mumbling something to himself.
Perhaps the method really had some effect. The Zhao Xiaobao in her arms, who had been crying nonstop, suddenly opened her eyes.
“Mother!”
“Mother is here.” Wang Shi’s face lit up with joy. She instinctively rocked her arms, gently swaying her daughter. “Xiaobao, don’t be afraid. Mother is here.”
The dim candlelight illuminated the side of her face, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes filled with warmth and love—completely unlike the despair in the dream.
Zhao Xiaobao pouted, then suddenly burst into loud crying again. “Waaah—!”
Her piercing cries shattered the night, waking the people in the neighboring rooms. She cried so hard she began to hiccup, her short legs kicking wildly under the blanket, as if trying to break free from something.
“Mother, Mother! It turned—the dragon turned! The house collapsed, Father was crushed by a beam… wuwu… Father is dead!”
Old Man Zhao had just stepped into the room when he heard his daughter say he was dead. His expression immediately changed, and he said anxiously, “Xiaobao, what did you dream about? What dragon would turn? I’ve never heard of such a thing! Our village only has snakes—where would a dragon come from? Don’t say such nonsense—your father is perfectly fine!”
But Wang Shi’s face changed drastically. The house collapsed? A dragon turning? A dragon… an earth dragon turning?
Her heart suddenly pounded. An indescribable panic swept through her whole body. She grabbed a blanket and wrapped it tightly around Zhao Xiaobao, too anxious to even put on shoes. Holding her daughter, she rushed outside.
“Old man, run!!!”
Old Man Zhao hadn’t fully reacted yet, but he instinctively followed her out.
“Eldest! Second! Third! Wake up! Don’t stay inside—bring your wives out quickly—!”
“Zhao Wu, Zhao Gu, Zhao Feng, Zhao Deng, Zhao Xi…”
Just as her voice fell, the earth suddenly roared. A dizzying sensation of the world spinning followed. The mountains howled, the ground churned, birds and beasts from the back mountain fled in terror, and massive rocks crashed down.
The ground began to shake violently. Wang Shi felt her head spin, her legs almost unable to stand. Her face turned pale. Steadying herself with Old Man Zhao’s support, she clutched Zhao Xiaobao and dashed forward.
The moment they reached the courtyard, the main house behind them collapsed with a thunderous crash.
Wang Shi turned deathly pale, her legs weak, her arms tightening around Zhao Xiaobao.
“Old man…”
“I—I’m here. It’s okay,” Old Man Zhao stammered. Sweat the size of beans rolled down his face. His legs trembled as he quickly looked toward the rooms of the five boys, only to see them rushing out like a string of agile cats, shouting loudly.
“Grandpa! What’s happening?!”
“Grandma, Grandma! What’s going on? It’s so scary—I’m going to die of fright!”
“I almost got hit—good thing I ran fast!”
Wu, Gu, Feng, Deng, and Xi shouted as they ran behind Wang Shi, their faces still full of shock. They had no idea what had happened—one moment they were sleeping, and the next they were dragged out by their brothers.
Houses collapsed before their eyes. The ground shook. Panicked cries echoed throughout the village.
Zhao Dashan had already woken up when his little sister started crying. He had intended to check the main room, but the moment the disaster struck, he grabbed his sleeping wife and ran outside. Zhao Ertian, always a light sleeper, reacted almost as quickly, carrying his wife out right after.
Only Zhao Sandi, who had always been a heavy sleeper, didn’t wake up until tiles hit his face. His wife pinched him hard to wake him up, and he finally stumbled out, his face bruised from being grabbed.
“Father, Mother, are you alright?!” the three brothers asked immediately.
Wang Shi shook her head. Holding the stunned Zhao Xiaobao, she stood silently in the courtyard.
She had watched her home collapse before her eyes. In just a few blinks, the house they had lived in for a lifetime had turned into ruins.
The sky was dark. Snow fell endlessly. The tremors lasted for a long time. From afar, desperate cries echoed through the village.
Old Man Zhao swallowed hard. Moving his stiff neck, he spoke with difficulty, “Third stays to look after the house. Eldest and second come with me to the village to rescue people.”
At this moment, nothing else mattered—not the chickens and ducks crushed to death, not the money and clothes buried in the house, not even the lard they had just made yesterday. Nothing was more important than lives.
He took a deep breath and looked at his wife. Wang Shi nodded. They didn’t need words—years of understanding were enough.
In the face of nature’s power, humans were so small.
Wang Shi took a deep breath and directed Zhao Dashan to dig through the ruins for supplies—rice, flour, grain, oil—whatever they could recover. The dead chickens and ducks should be collected quickly; they were still edible. Fortunately, one pig had already been sold and the other slaughtered. The pork being buried wasn’t a big issue—it had already been cured, and could be washed and used.
The grains were somewhat damaged, but most were still fine inside sacks. The flour, however, was ruined, mixed with dirt and debris. The jars of lard were all broken; the lard hadn’t fully solidified and was likely unusable. Fragile items like eggs and soy sauce couldn’t be saved. Only the coarse salt might be partially salvaged.
Then there was the most important thing—the money box…
She subconsciously tightened her hold on her daughter, calculating their belongings in her mind.
She said softly to her three daughters-in-law, who were still trembling in shock, “Go dig out the clothes and blankets. Be careful not to let them get wet from the snow. It’s freezing now—we can’t let anyone fall ill.”
“Mm!” Zhu nodded, her legs still weak as she went with the others to dig through the ruins.
“You children, don’t run around. Stay here properly,” Wang Shi instructed her grandsons.
But Zhao Wu and the others couldn’t stay still. They kept looking toward the village, worry showing on their faces. “Grandma, can we go help rescue people? We’re worried about our friends…”
“A Deng and Xi stay. Xiao Wu, take Guzi and Fengzi to help in the village—but be careful,” Wang Shi arranged after a moment’s thought. The older ones were strong enough to help move beams and stones. Saving one more person was one more chance—it all depended on fate.
Zhao Wu’s face lit up, and he was about to run off.
“Help the clan first,” Wang Shi added after a pause. People had their priorities—at critical moments, family came first.
“Mm!” Zhao Wu nodded vigorously and ran off with his brothers toward Zhao Erlai’s house. There were degrees of closeness in the village—he wanted to check on Erlai first.
This year’s heavy snow had lasted for a long time, and there had been no sunlight for days. Even washing clothes meant waiting five or six days for them to dry, often leaving a sour smell. If cotton clothes got wet now, wearing them would surely lead to illness.
Wang Shi suddenly remembered something the elders had told her when she was young. Many years ago, there had been a massive earthquake spanning two provinces. The central city suffered countless casualties, and surrounding cities were also devastated.
Countless people were crushed by collapsed houses. The authorities were severely understaffed, and many who could have survived never received rescue, remaining buried under rubble forever.
That wasn’t even the worst part. Disasters spared no one, rich or poor. Some unaffected poor people took the opportunity to loot wealthy households, making fortunes from others’ suffering.
The authorities were overwhelmed, barely able to keep up. They even had to send troops to suppress chaos, leaving even fewer people for rescue. Bodies remained buried underground for so long that they rotted and were eaten by rats.
In the end, an even more terrifying epidemic spread.
The city was sealed. People were killed. Bodies were burned…
With no other solution, the authorities eventually ordered that both infected and uninfected people be locked inside the city. Amid raging flames, it became a living hell.
At the thought of this, Wang Shi shivered violently.