Chapter 192: Hard to Kill

Chapter 192: Chapter 192: Hard to Kill

"Didn’t I already say that everyone on the bus is basically fine? With my uncle there, they’ll definitely be okay. The only way they wouldn’t be is if they don’t trust my uncle to save them and refuse to leave the bus." Seeing that her words failed to have the intended reassuring effect, Gu Nuan Nuan grew a little frustrated and muttered to herself.

Sigh—

’How could I have forgotten that adults are always skeptical of what kids say? They never take it seriously. So my good intentions just made things worse, didn’t they?’

"Someone’s coming up!" an unknown voice shouted. Almost instantly, everyone dashed to the cliff’s edge with surprising agility. Even Mr. Lu, Lu Jianrong, whose knees had been too weak to stand moments before, ran faster than anyone.

"How is it? What’s the situation down there?" A chaotic babble erupted as everyone scrambled to ask. Lu Jianrong’s voice was the loudest and most urgent, sounding even more frantic than Shao Qingyang.

"Aside from one woman who stubbornly refused to leave the bus, insisting on guarding her luggage, and ended up falling with it—we don’t know if she’s dead or alive—everyone else is fine. No one’s even seriously injured! At most, they just have a few scrapes. It’s a bona fide miracle."

One of the three rescuers who had climbed down the cliff—the one who came up specifically to deliver the news—wiped the sweat from his brow. He didn’t seem to find the intense crowd strange at all. In a tone of utter admiration, he said, "It’s all thanks to someone who got down there ahead of us and moved everyone from the bus onto a small ledge. I heard the woman who fell could have been saved too. A real shame. No matter how much they pleaded with her, she wouldn’t let go of her precious luggage."

"Are you serious? Other than that one woman, everyone else is really okay? Especially the elderly and the children?"

Lu Jianrong was overcome with joy. He excitedly grabbed the rescue worker and pressed him again. When the man gave a somewhat bewildered nod, Lu Jianrong suddenly burst into loud laughter. "I knew it! Old Shao has always been lucky! It was the same back in the old days. Whenever he led us to... deliver materials and medicine, he’d always turn a bad situation into a good one. Tsk, his luck is so good it’s impossible not to be jealous. Hahaha... Like they say, surviving a great disaster brings great fortune later!"

The rescuer was no fool; he understood the situation immediately. Glancing at the crowd and seeing the palpable relief on everyone’s faces, he figured there must be some very important people among the survivors. He grinned and chimed in, "That’s right! Surviving a great disaster brings great fortune later!"

In high spirits, Lu Jianrong clapped the man on the shoulder. Now that his legs weren’t weak anymore, his curiosity surfaced. "Who’s this incredible person who saved so many people in one go?"

"A man in his forties. You wouldn’t believe it, sir. He’s incredibly skilled and unbelievably brave. He risked his life to save all those people on a cliff so steep it makes you dizzy just to look down... and he did it with just two grass ropes!" The rescuer recounted what he’d witnessed with great animation.

"That man is this child’s uncle. He’s been down there for hours rescuing people, and he hasn’t even had lunch. He must be exhausted by now. So, the top priority is to get him brought up safely. After that, you can figure out how to bring the others up one by one. And the woman who fell to the bottom of the cliff... you need to send someone to check on her. It’s possible she can still be saved."

Knowing his father and little nephew were fine, Shao Qingyang immediately calmed down. He glanced gently at Gu Nuan Nuan, patted her little head, and stated his thoughts.

His words galvanized the group. They immediately began to methodically discuss and organize various rescue plans.

Everyone bustled about. Even Xiao Li and Lu Jianrong found ways to help. Only Gu Nuan Nuan remained. She looked at her little arms and legs and sensibly retreated to a corner, knowing she’d only be in the way.

Watching everyone else work while she did nothing was pretty boring. Overcome with boredom, Gu Nuan Nuan couldn’t resist calling out to Cao Cao. ’How’s that woman doing?’

’Huh? She’s actually not dead?’ Cao Cao replied quickly.

’What?’ Gu Nuan Nuan was speechless. ’You’ve got to be kidding me. How could she survive a fall from that high? Is this what they mean when they say only the good die young?’

’Master, should I... intervene?’ Seeing its master’s displeasure, Cao Cao also felt unhappy. It was practically rubbing its hands together, raring to go.

’Don’t,’ Gu Nuan Nuan replied without a moment’s hesitation. Then, within their mental space, her consciousness addressed Cao Cao with uncharacteristic severity. ’You put those thoughts away right now. Never think like that again. Let’s not even get into the big principles, like how this isn’t the Cultivation World, and how we’re in a society with laws that we have to follow. Let’s just talk about having a basic moral line. Your master has no desire to become a homicidal maniac who takes lives on a whim. And I don’t want you to become one, either.’

’Master... does that mean even if someone threatens us, we can’t...’ Cao Cao was baffled. Thinking of the little trick it had pulled earlier, a chill ran through it, and it subconsciously argued back.

’That’s different. If our lives are genuinely in danger, or if we’re dealing with a truly evil person who will only bring suffering to more people by living, then there’s no need to hold back if we have the power to make them disappear. But this woman is not the same. We can’t just kill her because her values are different from ours or because she says nasty things.’

Gu Nuan Nuan sighed. She felt like she was trying to straighten out a wayward child, trying to reshape Cao Cao’s values. She patiently explained, ’There have to be basic principles. She may be detestable, but not enough to be worth dirtying our hands over. We can’t let ourselves slowly turn into monsters who treat human life as if it were worthless.’

’Master—’

Cao Cao lowered its main stalk, a sob in its voice as it confessed nervously, ’Earlier... I secretly drained all the remaining Plant Essence and life force from those two trees... Master, you won’t blame me, will you?’

Gu Nuan Nuan was silent. ’...’ ’So that’s why those two trees snapped so cleanly.’

’Master, I was wrong...’ Cao Cao was so anxious it felt like it was about to weep Plant Essence.

’You did nothing wrong. You did a good job.’ Gu Nuan Nuan mentally soothed the guilt-ridden Cao Cao. ’How could taking back what belongs to you be wrong?’

’Master?’ Cao Cao was confused. ’But didn’t you say...’

’You did a great job,’ Gu Nuan Nuan interrupted, giving it a look of firm approval.

Cao Cao was silent. ’...’ ’Humans are so hard to understand.’