Logically, there's only one Range Rover on Weishan Island, so finding a person is tough but finding a car should be easy, right?
Sure enough, soone soon discovered that Range Rover in Shiliang Village on the northern slope of Shiliang Mountain. Tong Guangsheng was not in the car. So speculated he might have gone up the mountain, but Wang Jinwu thought it unlikely as they hadn't found any footprints leading up the mountain. Nevertheless, they still sent so people to search on the mountain.
Upon hearing the news, Xu Chunliang also decided to ascend from the southern slope. Although the mountain's elevation was not high, its dense forestation combined with the rain made it difficult to find soone. Another pair of hands ant more strength.
As Xu Chunliang was getting ready to head up the mountain, i Ru Xue called, asking him about Tong Guangsheng's situation. Once Xu Chunliang explained, she imdiately expressed her intent to co and help.
Xu Chunliang initially wanted to dissuade her from taking on the hardship, but i Ru Xue insisted on eting him at the mountain's southern entrance.
When Xu Chunliang arrived at the mountain entrance, i Ru Xue had already arrived with several people from the town governnt. She understood that more people ant more chances, and Tong Guangsheng was not only a respected hero but also a spiritual symbol of Weishan Island. If anything happened to him, it would have a significant impact locally.
Xu Chunliang's group had eight people. Zhang Haitao had brought all the security personnel, along with a wolfhound. However, this particular wolfhound, lacking professional training, was of limited use.
It was already 5:30 PM, and the sky was darkening. Everyone decided to ascend imdiately. There were two routes up the mountain's southern slope; Xu Chunliang let Zhang Haitao's team choose one while he joined i Ru Xue's group.
i Ru Xue instructed Li Mingliang, the director of the petitions office, to give one of the walkie-talkies to Zhang Haitao for easier communication, as mobile signals on the mountain were unstable and often unavailable.
As the search and rescue operation began, Zhang Yiben from the publicity departnt accidentally sprained his ankle, grimacing in pain. Xu Chunliang quickly checked him out; his bones were fine, but climbing was impossible for now. After so discussion, they decided that Li Mingliang and another staff mber would first escort Zhang Yiben down the mountain.
This left only i Ru Xue and Xu Chunliang in their group. Initially, Li Mingliang suggested that i Ru Xue should go down too, but she insisted on staying. In fact, sending her down wasn't appropriate, as Zhang Yiben couldn't walk; it took two n to alternately carry him down. That guy was more of a hindrance than a help.
After regrouping and setting off again, Xu Chunliang contacted Zhang Haitao, who also hadn't found anything on his side. He then called Wang Jinwu, who had climbed halfway up the northern slope but still hadn't found any trace of Tong Guangsheng. He believed it was unlikely Tong Guangsheng had gone up the mountain.
As Xu Chunliang hung up, night had already fallen. i Ru Xue turned on a flashlight, her bright beam piercing through the drizzle, with the fine autumn rain tracing a white path within the light beam.
Xu Chunliang reminded her to watch her step.
i Ru Xue said, "President Tong doesn't strike as soone who's troubled. Why would he suddenly leave without a word?"
Xu Chunliang replied, "Perhaps he wanted so quiet ti alone."
i Ru Xue said, "A reunion between father and son isn't supposed to be a joyful occasion?"
Xu Chunliang said, "Joy mingled with sadness, the inner turmoil is greater."
He called out loudly, "Uncle Tong!"
Xu Chunliang's voice was scattered by the mountain wind; he sighed inwardly. It had been months since he'd resud training, but progress was slow. His inner strength wouldn't advance anyti soon, yet fortunately, there weren't many experts in this era.
Suddenly, i Ru Xue grasped his arm, pointing behind them. Xu Chunliang turned to see a dark figure rapidly approaching their position, appearing from a distance like a beast traversing the woods. Upon closer inspection, it seed like a person, moving at such a high speed that it gave the illusion of encountering a wild animal.
i Ru Xue directed the flashlight toward the shadow; the person shielded their eyes from the light and said in a deep voice, "It's !"
Xu Chunliang never expected the newcor to be Shu Yuanhang. Shu Yuanhang must have co to Shiliang Mountain to search for his father, Tong Guangsheng, which implied that Tong Guangsheng still held a place in his heart.
i Ru Xue had never seen Shu Yuanhang before. Her first impression was that he must have extensive experience with outdoor activities; otherwise, he couldn't climb so quickly.
Shu Yuanhang quickly caught up with them without any intention of stopping. After glancing at Xu Chunliang, he continued forward without even a greeting, soon leaving them behind once more.
If it weren't for taking care of i Ru Xue, Xu Chunliang could have kept pace with Shu Yuanhang, but it wasn't necessary now.
i Ru Xue whispered, "Is he President Tong's son?"
Xu Chunliang nodded, always feeling that this guy exuded sothing strange. According to Wang Jinwu, Tong Guangsheng's sudden departure was caused by this guy, probably having overheard their argunt.
Around 7:00 PM, all search and rescue mbers gathered at the mountaintop and found nothing; no one had spotted any sign of Tong Guangsheng. Down in Shiliang Village, those searching nearby also drew a blank.
Xu Chunliang didn't find Shu Yuanhang among the crowd. He asked Wang Jinwu, who got irritated as soon as Shu Yuanhang was ntioned, telling Xu Chunliang he hadn't seen him. If he ca, it proved he had so humanity left.
The group discussed it on site and decided to descend along their original paths while continuing the search along the way. Given the current situation, Tong Guangsheng was probably not on the mountain, otherwise, he would have heard the commotion unless he was hiding sowhere and didn't want to be found.
The path on the southern slope is relatively steep. Xu Chunliang suggested that i Ru Xue join the main group and take the northern route, but i Ru Xue insisted on sticking with him. On their way back, they tried to search areas they hadn't passed before. When they arrived at Horse Hoof Spring, they took a short rest. i Ru Xue noticed footprints nearby. Earlier, they had passed to the left of Horse Hoof Spring, about ten ters away, and since there was no one around, they didn't check the area, and certainly didn't notice the footprints.
These footprints were certainly not theirs, as they hadn't gone this way, and Zhang Haitao and the others hadn't taken this route either. Besides, they were in a larger group, but here there were only two sets of footprints, likely belonging to two people.
One set of footprints had a distinctive feature, with one foot print deeper than the other. Xu Chunliang judged that the person likely had a foot problem, leading to uneven prints. The deep print was the right foot, and the shallow one was the left, which matched Tong Guangsheng's disability.
i Ru Xue pointed to the other set of footprints and said, "These are Shu Yuanhang's. I just noticed his footprints."
Xu Chunliang nodded. This ant that Shu Yuanhang must have also discovered Tong Guangsheng's footprints.
The two of them followed the footprints forward. After about twenty ters, the footprints disappeared into the grass. A few steps further ahead, there was a steep slope. Xu Chunliang, seeing the dangerous terrain, wanted i Ru Xue to wait in place.
i Ru Xue said, "Are you comfortable leaving here alone?" Then, she felt a bit embarrassed, as if she was being coquettish with him.
Xu Chunliang said, "It's too steep, and the terrain below is unclear."
At this mont, he faintly heard soone calling for help. i Ru Xue heard it too, and both of them listened closely. The sound seed to be coming from below; it was a man's voice calling for help.
Xu Chunliang reminded i Ru Xue to be careful. They descended the steep slope, and the shouting beca clearer. i Ru Xue pointed her flashlight in the direction of the voice and switched it to flashing mode.
Before long, a similar response ca from below. i Ru Xue said, "It should be just below us." She took a step forward, her foot slipped, and she lost her balance instantly. With a cry, a strong hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
i Ru Xue fell into a broad embrace. Xu Chunliang had been watching her closely and acted imdiately when he saw her in trouble.
i Ru Xue was startled, then realized she was held tightly in Xu Chunliang's arms. Although both were wearing climbing suits, she couldn't control her pounding heartbeat.
Xu Chunliang looked into her eyes.
i Ru Xue shyly said, "Let go!"
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
Only after Xu Chunliang made sure she was steady did he let her go. He shone the flashlight ahead, and less than two ters away was a break. Had he not caught i Ru Xue in ti, she might have fallen directly.
i Ru Xue softly said, "Thank you!"
Xu Chunliang said, "Words are just empty promises. Write an IOU later!"
i Ru Xue spat, "You're still trying to hold responsible?"
Xu Chunliang carefully approached the edge of the break. Using the beam of light to look down, there was a cliff below. As he peered down, a beam of light shone up and hit Xu Chunliang's face.
Blinded by the light in front of his eyes, Xu Chunliang couldn't help but shout, "Tilt it a little, you're blinding ."
Shu Yuanhang's voice ca from below, "It's . I found him. He's alive, but his head is injured and he's unconscious. We need to get him up quickly, but I can't do it alone."
Xu Chunliang shone his flashlight downward and vaguely saw a figure about ten ters deep. This place was called Erdaoya, where the geographic feature was a cliff below a cliff.
He instructed i Ru Xue to call for help. i Ru Xue picked up the walkie-talkie, but it had taken water and wasn't functioning. Additionally, this area happened to be a dead zone for cellphone signals.
Xu Chunliang checked his phone to find the sa situation. He sighed and told i Ru Xue to wait where she was while he climbed down first to check the situation.
i Ru Xue was a bit anxious. "Be careful!" Xu Chunliang said, "No problem, just look for a signal nearby but don't go far."
Worried about him, i Ru Xue watched as Xu Chunliang climbed down along the rock face until he landed safely, and she finally sighed in relief.
The cliff was about fifteen ters high, almost at a ninety-degree angle, but the overall climbing difficulty wasn't great, mainly because there were plenty of places on the cliff face to hold onto.
Once Xu Chunliang reached the bottom, he found the two of them not far off, situated in the flat area between the first and second cliffs.
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