Chapter 314: Rescue

By the time the sea eagle had finished eating, the hunt over there was also about done.

Yun Jiao stood on the Humpback Whale’s back and started heading back.

A sea eagle circled overhead, following her.

Clearly, it had understood her.

The corners of Yun Jiao’s mouth tilted up.

When she found Vice Commander Lin’s boat again, she was surprised to see they were pulling people from the water.

"Vice Commander, it’s Little Yun Jiao! Yun Jiao’s here with the whales!"

By then, most of the people had already jumped into the sea to rescue others.

Yun Jiao looked from a distance and saw quite a few people. ’What a commotion,’ she thought.

"Yun Jiao, hurry and help with the rescue!"

Vice Commander Lin shouted, too busy to worry about anything else. He hadn’t expected a passenger ship to have capsized over here.

Many people were bobbing in the sea, waiting to be rescued.

Yun Jiao whistled, and the killer whales, dolphins, and Humpback Whales all rushed to help.

Yun Jiao also dove headfirst into the sea.

Only after entering the water did she see that some people had already sunk to the seabed.

’The odds are against them,’ she mused grimly.

She directed the large creatures to bring the bodies to the surface.

Most of the survivors were clinging to floating debris to stay afloat.

Some had been scattered by the waves and had drifted far away.

The sea eagle flew farther and had a clearer view from the sky, calling out to Yun Jiao from time to time.

With the Humpback Whales, the rescue was much easier.

The local soldiers dragged the weak and unconscious onto the backs of the Humpback Whales.

The large ship they were on was too high; they’d have to climb a rope ladder, which was difficult while carrying someone.

Those who still had strength, ignoring how shocking the scene was, swam for their lives to climb onto the killer whales’ backs and then joined the rescue effort.

After about four hours of frantic work, they had finally rescued everyone they could find.

Yun Jiao hauled the last person onto a whale’s back, and someone immediately rushed forward to perform first aid.

Whether they would live or not depended on if they were still breathing after the emergency treatment.

She was exhausted and just flopped down, lying spread-eagled on a Humpback Whale’s back.

All the Humpback Whales had people on their backs—some local, some foreign. The mix of different languages was a chaotic symphony.

After a short rest, Yun Jiao went to find Vice Commander Lin.

"Can I go back now?"

Vice Commander Lin was also panting with exhaustion.

"Yes, everyone’s been rescued. Let’s go."

Yun Jiao sat cross-legged, looked at the people, and muttered, "Are they all here on vacation?"

Vice Commander Lin glanced at them. "Yes. A group of rich young masters and misses from the harbor brought their foreign friends out to sea for fun. Their boat was blown over here by last night’s typhoon and hit a reef."

Yun Jiao just said "Oh" and didn’t pay much more attention. All she wanted was to go home; she was afraid her parents were worried.

She had been too busy to send a message back.

"You’ll have your creatures follow behind the boat, then?"

Vice Commander Lin patted Yun Jiao’s soaking wet hair and had someone on the boat toss down a dry towel to wrap the child in.

"You’ve worked hard."

Yun Jiao nodded, admitting frankly, "I am a little tired."

They had to get these people ashore and settled first.

Vice Commander Lin’s boat led the way, with Yun Jiao and her whales following behind.

After reaching the shore and seeing the people off, Yun Jiao said goodbye to Vice Commander Lin and turned to dive back into the sea.

Vice Commander Lin reached out to stop her...

He had been about to offer her a ride home.

After a moment, Vice Commander Lin chuckled. "That kid."

"Take everyone to the hospital first. I’m going back to the base to report this."

"Yes, sir!"

It was almost dark when Yun Jiao got home. She thought the docks would be empty by now, but she was surprised to see the beams of many flashlights in the distance.

Listening closely, she could even hear people calling Yun Jiao’s name.

A flicker of confusion crossed Yun Jiao’s eyes.

But it didn’t slow her swim toward the shore.

"Dad."

Yun Jiao’s voice was young and didn’t stand out among the other sounds.

"I’m here."

Rising from the sea, Yun Jiao had only taken a few steps before Yun Linhai rushed over and swept her into a hug.

"You scared us to death! You scared us to death!"

"WAHH... Sister, why are you only just getting back now!"

Yun Xiaowu and the others ran over, bursting into tears the moment they saw her.

They clung to Yun Jiao like a long-lost treasure.

Yun Jiao knew she had made them worry again.

She hugged Yun Linhai tightly. "I’m sorry, Dad. I made you worry."

"She’s found! Yun Jiao is back!"

"Quick, call the boats back from the sea!"

Many villagers gathered around, eagerly asking Yun Jiao if she was hurt, if she was cold, if she was hungry.

Yun Jiao had always been popular in the village because she was pretty, but never to this extent.

Their concern seemed genuine. For some reason, Yun Jiao’s heart felt a little wistful, but also very warm.

"Dad, the fish! My fish."

She pointed to a spot not far away.

Everyone followed her finger and gasped. Whoa, what a huge fish.

"It’s a tuna! A huge one!"

Someone immediately said, "You guys go on ahead. We’ll help carry this fish to your house."

Yun Wang said, "Bring it to my place to freeze. Brother Lin Hai, you can just come get it from me tomorrow whenever you want."

They definitely weren’t going to sell the fish today, so the best thing to do was to freeze it with ice.

Yun Wang was a fishmonger; he had the proper equipment.

"Alright, let’s take the fish to Ah Wang’s place first."

Everyone marveled as they lifted the fish.

"Jiaojiao is really something else. She went to rescue people and find a boat, and still managed to bring back such a huge fish."

"Isn’t that the truth? Several of our village’s adults combined aren’t as capable as she is."

"No wonder Yun Linhai’s family dotes on her so much. If she were mine, I’d dote on her too."

At that moment, everyone truly believed from the bottom of their hearts that Yun Jiao was a lucky star.

They were envious of the tuna she brought back, but there was no greed or jealousy.

She had the skill, so she deserved it.

By the time the boats that had gone out to search for Yun Jiao returned, night had completely fallen.

Yun Jiao was exhausted today and fell asleep right on her dad’s shoulder.

Seeing this, the people around her spontaneously quieted down.

The beams from their flashlights converged, lighting the path home.

Yun Jiao was fast asleep, so her mom helped her change her clothes.

She slept all the way until about eight o’clock the next morning.

After breakfast, the house grew lively.

Many people came to their home, bringing gifts like eggs, sugar, and flour.

Yun Tao’s wife, her two children in tow, was so emotional she almost knelt before Yun Jiao, thanking her profusely.

Yun Linhai and the others quickly pulled her up.

"You mustn’t, you mustn’t! Jiaojiao is still young, you can’t kneel to her."

Yun Tao’s wife clutched a chicken, trying with all her might to press it into their hands.

"Please, you must take this chicken. Thank you, Yun Jiao. You saved our family."

Her gratitude was sincere.

Yun Jiao couldn’t quite describe how she felt at that moment—happy, but also a little flustered.