“Quick, cover your mouths and noses with your sleeves!” Jiang Zhi shouted as she ran urgently.
Earlier, while fighting the fire, they had drenched their clothes with muddy water from a pit, which still provided some dampness—perfect for blocking the smoke.
Xu Errui and Xiao Man were already choking badly. Upon hearing the reminder, they immediately buried their faces in the crooks of their elbows. The wet cloth filtered the thick smoke, allowing them to catch their breath.
Stumbling out of the woods and away from the dense smoke, they looked up and saw torches lit in the Terraced Fields.
In the darkness, the light illuminated only a small area, but it was enough to guide Jiang Zhi and the other two.
Xiaoman’s grandparents, Nini, Qiaoyun, and the rest of the family were anxiously looking in their direction.
Holding torches, they couldn’t see the three who had already emerged from the woods. All they saw was the black smoke rising from the foot of the mountain and the flames leaping behind it.
By now, the sky had been stained a dark red, like the gates of hell flung open, instantly filling everyone with terror and despair.
What shattered them most was that the fire was advancing, yet those fighting it had not returned.
“Xiao Man! Er Rui, Er Rui’s mother!” The two elderly figures groped their way forward.
“Mother, Er Rui!” Qiaoyun cried out, her voice trembling with tears.
Nini had also woken up. She didn’t cry or fuss, only clutching her father’s bedding tightly, her clear eyes brimming with tears.
“Stay where you are, don’t run around—the fire is coming!” Jiang Zhi’s voice rang out.
Finally, Qiaoyun saw her family members running back from the darkness. Before she could ask anything, Jiang Zhi, panting, pressed her to the ground and turned to instruct the others: “Quick, everyone lie flat on the ground, cover your faces with your clothes. Er Rui, Xiao Man, do as I just said—there’s no time!”
The mountain wind, carrying smoke and dust, arrived in an instant, making even breathing sting the throat.
Xiao Man first pulled Xu Da Zhu down from the grain sack to lie flat on the ground, then urged his grandparents and Nini to do the same: “Aunt Jiang said that when the fire comes, we must press our faces against the dirt like this.”
Er Rui hugged his wife: “Qiaoyun, don’t be afraid. We’ve burned all the grass!”
Earlier, when setting the fire himself, he had felt nothing, foolishly oblivious. But now, seeing the torchlight reduced to a tiny orange dot in the thick, almost tangible black smoke, he was terrified. His hands trembled as he held Qiaoyun.
The shrill howl of the wind and the crackling sound of flames devouring the forest grew closer and closer.
Jiang Zhi lay flat on the ground, burying her face in the crook of her arm—a life-saving technique in fire situations.
Smoke and flames would sweep over the human body; the closer one stayed to the ground, the safer they were.
The area had already been cleared of dry grass, so the flames stopped as they approached the slope. Only thick smoke billowed upward, carried by the wind.
The fire then turned and spread along the slopes on both sides, continuing its rampage through the dry grass and trees.
In the Terraced Fields at the center of the thick smoke, the group felt the air grow still, followed by an unbearable wave of scorching heat sweeping over their heads.
At that moment, Xiaoman’s grandfather, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly rose and threw himself over his two grandsons and great-granddaughter, shielding them from the heat with his own body.
His wife of half a lifetime, almost instinctively, lay down beside him, covering the children’s exposed legs.
They shared a single thought: even if they burned to death, they must protect the children.
Not far away, Jiang Zhi remained quietly lying face down, her head buried. She didn’t even glance at what was happening beside her.
In a fire, it's not just the flames that harm people; the intense heat and thick smoke can scorch lung tissue. Surviving these few seconds means living through it safely.
As the eerie sounds drew nearer and the heatwave surged, Jiang Zhi closed her eyes, resigning herself to fate, when suddenly she felt a weight on her—Xu Errui's arm shielding her, his voice choked with tears as he whispered, "Mother, we should have left, gone with Village Chief Xiaotian and the others."
Jiang Zhi had no time to speak. The scorching air whipped her hair into disarray, filling her nose and mouth with dust.
Time seemed to freeze; those few seconds stretched into an eternity.
Finally, the heat passed, and the mountain breeze brought fresh, clean air.
In the darkness, everyone gasped for breath as if reborn, accompanied by muffled sobs—from Nini, Qiaoyun, Xiao Man, and Er Rui.
Lying on the ground, Jiang Zhi felt an indescribable strangeness in her heart.
Truth be told, after her elders passed away one by one, as an independent adult who had lived on her own for decades, she never felt lonely or isolated. Her life had been free and easy.
But going from having no one to hand her toilet paper to someone caring for and protecting her in a life-or-death situation—that was a stark contrast.
For the child who had called her "mother" for over ten days, she had always seen him as just another young colleague at work.
She knew Xu Errui was a filial son, but experiencing it firsthand was different. Now, she finally felt an unusual stirring of emotion.
Xu Errui shielded his wife with one arm and his mother with the other, crying out loudly, "Mother, Qiaoyun! We're alive! We didn't die!"
Xiaoman's Grandmother held Nini and wept, while Xiaoman's grandfather laughed through his tears.
In all his years, he had never heard of an entire family surviving a mountain fire unscathed.
When they relit the torches, they saw everyone covered in a thick layer of black ash. Crying and laughing, their faces were streaked with black and white, like painted opera masks.
Only Nini, sheltered beneath the adults, remained pale and clean.
They looked at one another, crying and then laughing again.
But to say everyone was unscathed wasn't entirely true—several people had their hair singed.
Especially Xiao Man, Er Rui, and Jiang Zhi, who had been fighting the fire. Their hair had been tangled by branches and burned unevenly, leaving it a chaotic mess.
Coupled with their wet clothes caked in mud and ash, they looked like madmen.
Jiang Zhi coughed a few times, spitting out a black phlegm full of dust, then said hoarsely, "We've survived the fire, but let's not wander off. Wait until daylight."
This time, everyone agreed in unison. The fire still burned not far above, with sparks flickering everywhere—it was no time to let their guard down.
As soon as they caught their breath, they hurried to check on the house.
Mountain fires were nothing to underestimate. Even though the dry grass in the woods had been cleared, the shack and kitchen Jiang Zhi's family had built with bark and dry grass were ignited by flying sparks, flames leaping out.
Fortunately, they arrived in time. Working together, they doused the fire with several ladles of water and tore down the newly ignited thatched roof, saving half the structure.
As for the main house where Jiang Zhi lived, its roof was made of stone slab tiles and remained completely untouched.
The chickens locked in the stone chicken coop, however, were terrified—one had already been trampled to death by the others.
After dealing with this, Jiang Zhi, Xiaoman's grandfather, Xiao Man, and Er Rui had no time to rest and immediately went to check on Xiao Man's house under the cliff.
At that time, Xiao Man's family had left in a hurry, only briefly dealing with the grain and clothing. What couldn't be taken was covered with the yellow mud prepared for building the kang.
They had expected to encounter the thatched roof on fire, but surprisingly, this place was quiet, with no trace of burning at all.
Because this shed was directly attached to the stone wall, it was usually cold and damp, and the mountain wind turned here.
Moreover, the surrounding withered grass had already been burned by the three of them, so the flames hadn't reached this spot.
Apart from a layer of ash covering the entire room, there was basically no significant damage.
Xiaoman's grandfather couldn't hide the joy on his face. Everyone was safe, and even the thatched shed was unharmed—truly a stroke of good fortune, with auspicious signs all around!