Chapter 224 You Really Came Back for Us

Chapter 224: Chapter 224 You Really Came Back for Us

His voice echoed through the spaces between the fallen stones, but no answer came.

He called again, louder this time, and when the silence continued, he turned towards Ling Xuan with a look she recognized all too well. Stefan had spent hours imagining what might have happened to the children, and now that they had reached what appeared to be the end of their trail, he was struggling not to believe the worst.

Ling Xuan knelt beside him and examined the gap. The opening was too narrow for either of them to pass through, but there was enough space for sound to travel, and she could feel a faint movement of air against her fingers.

"Can you teleport us to the other side?" Ling Xuan asked.

Stefan shook his head. "I can’t teleport to a place I have not seen yet..."

"Hmmm. Move the smaller stones along this side," she told Stefan, indicating the section closest to the wall. "Leave the larger pieces alone until we can see how they’re supported."

Stefan immediately began working, using both hands to remove loose fragments while Ling Xuan shifted the heavier stones that could be moved safely. Dust rose around them, coating their clothes and irritating their throats, but neither stopped except to check whether the rubble above had shifted.

Inside the farming space, Laurel watched the opening widen little by little. She remembered Tina crying because she wanted to accompany her on the expedition, remembered how stubbornly the child had defended her before the Wayne family, and remembered the small hands that had once clung to her without hesitation. The possibility that Tina might be lying injured only a few meters away made Laurel want to seize control and tear through the rubble herself, yet she knew Ling Xuan was better suited to the task, especially with the ceiling threatening to collapse again.

’Please be alive,’ Laurel whispered, unable to keep the thought from escaping.

Ling Xuan felt the plea and continued working without answering, carefully easing another stone free before placing it aside.

A faint sound came from beyond the blockage.

Both of them stopped. Stefan leaned closer to the opening, his expression changing as he strained to listen. "Tina? Jack? Can you hear me?"

For several seconds there was only silence, and Stefan looked as though he might begin calling again when a weak cough reached them from the other side.

His shoulders stiffened.

Ling Xuan immediately lowered herself beside the opening, listening carefully until another faint sound followed. It was difficult to distinguish through the rubble, but there was no mistaking that it was the voice of a little girl.

"Tina," Ling Xuan called, keeping her voice steady as she leaned towards the gap. "It’s Aunty Laurel. If you can hear me, answer."

A long moment passed before a small, hoarse voice finally reached them.

"Aunty... Laurel?"

Laurel’s relief surged through their shared body so suddenly that Ling Xuan’s fingers tightened against the stone. For an instant, the image of Tina from Laurel’s nightmare returned with painful clarity, but this time the child was answering them rather than disappearing beyond their reach.

Stefan closed his eyes briefly before leaning towards the gap again. "Tina, it’s Stefan. We’re here with Aunty Laurel, and we’re going to get you out. Are you hurt?"

Tina tried to answer, but her voice broke into a weak cough before she managed to speak again. "My knee hurts... and my head..."

Ling Xuan examined the opening once more, measuring how much stone still separated them. "Don’t try to come towards us yet, Tina. The rocks are unstable, and we need to make a safe opening first."

There was a faint rustling sound from the other side, followed by Tina’s frightened voice. "Aunty Laurel... Jack is here too."

Stefan immediately leaned closer. "Is Jack awake, Tina? Can he talk to you?"

Tina did not answer straightaway, and when she finally spoke, her voice trembled badly enough that Ling Xuan could hear her struggling not to cry.

"He covered me when the roof fell," Tina whispered. "There was so much noise, and something hit us. I don’t know how long I slept, but when I woke up, Jack was still lying there." Her breathing became uneven as she continued. "I tried calling him, Aunty Laurel. I shook his arm, but he won’t wake up."

Stefan’s expression changed, his relief for Tina immediately overshadowed by fear for Jack. He glanced towards the opening, then towards the rubble above it, clearly calculating how quickly they could remove enough stone to reach the boy.

Ling Xuan remained focused on Tina’s voice. "Listen carefully, Tina. Is Jack lying beside you, or is he underneath any of the fallen rocks?"

"He’s beside me," Tina answered after a moment, sounding uncertain as she looked around in the darkness. "There are rocks everywhere, but I don’t think they’re on him."

"Good." Ling Xuan shifted closer to the opening while Stefan resumed clearing the smaller stones. "Stay beside him and don’t move the rubble yourself. We’re going to open a path, and when we reach you, I’ll look at Jack."

Tina made a small sound of agreement, but after a few seconds her voice returned, quieter and filled with the fear she had been holding back. "Aunty Laurel... you really came back for us."

Laurel could no longer keep her emotions contained. She remembered the child’s frightened face from her dream and the terrible helplessness of reaching towards Tina without being able to touch her, and now that Tina was only a few meters away, hearing those words hurt almost as much as the relief.

Ling Xuan paused with one hand against the stone. She had never been comfortable with the kind of attachment Laurel offered so freely, and even now she could not find an answer that would satisfy everything the child seemed to be asking. Nevertheless, when she spoke, her voice was quieter than before.

"Of course I came, Tina. Now be a good girl and wait for me."

On the other side of the rubble, Tina began crying softly, but this time she was trying to keep herself quiet so she could hear the sound of the stones being moved.

Ling Xuan exchanged a glance with Stefan, then returned her attention to the opening. The next few pieces would require more care because the weight above them had shifted, and she knew they could not afford another collapse with the children trapped so close.

"Hold the flashlight here," she instructed Stefan, pointing towards the narrow space beneath the largest slab. "I need to see what is supporting it before we move anything else."