The Flood Controller's Wife

Chapter 18: Into the woods

*Welcome to Chapter 18. For the lot of you who have been supporting the story. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude. Thank you for taking the time to read, thank you for your encouraging words and votes. I may not have time to reply to all of them so I am writing this short message to thank you all my loyal readers! Without you this would not be possible. This story was much more challenging to put together compared to my other stories so far. For every chapter that was churned out, I learned to be a better writer so hopefully the writing will improve as time goes by. Nevertheless, the learning journey continues. thank you for sticking with me through with my occasional grammatical errors, typos and other shortcomings in the story, mostly thank you for waiting patiently for a new update. Since updates have been slower, I try to write longer chapters. Without further ado-Please enjoy!

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Chapter 18

Outside the cave, the sky was overcast. The weather was damp and cold. Weiying was deep in thought. There was no time for sorrow. If the water channel could be blocked. There might have been more places that were also blocked off.

Zichen received news that Prince Chen had gone to Changsa to set up forces there. Changsa was to the north of Longxi. The river flows from the higher ground and pooled at Longxi. It was also believed that the refugees who had lost their homes would flee north. It was a safer route compared to going southbound that might have been flooded as well. Shushe reluctantly tagged along since he was left with no choice and for now, going along with these two daozhang would ensure his safety. They trekked down the woods and headed towards the town. It was also located on higher ground that would be safe from flood.

Weiying thought that Zichen's background was not so simple since he seemed to know many happenings in the kingdom and was actively engaged in the affairs of the kingdom. He wondered why he had to hide his identity. Nevertheless, Weiying decided to follow him for it was the most plausible option he had at the moment. His father might have gone there with the other refugees as well.

The rain had stopped and inside the woods was eerily quiet save for the crackling of leaves cracking beneath their footwear as they walk. Judging from the time they left the cave and the distance they had trekked, it was supposed to be midday. The three were walking in the woods obscured by the forest canopy. Underneath the tall trees, it felt like dusk. The weather still damp and cold. Spots of light entered the forest floor through the gaps in the leaves on the forest canopy. It wasn't much to light up the place. They heard a rustling of the leaves nearby. Weiying's eyes perked up and raced to the bushes toward the noise. Turning the clearing, Weiying saw a familiar brown mane munching on the patch of grass below. It was his horse that he had left behind.

"Hanxue its you!"

The brown horse was gifted to him by Lanzhan. The horse was the descendant of a famous imperial warhorse of the highest pedigree. When it arrived, they came in a pair. Lanzhan had the other pair called "Fengxue". Hanxue had speed, agility and was smarter than most horses. When he saw Weiying, he immediately looked up and began to stroke his head on Weiying's arm.

"Good boy! You waited for me."

The horse gave a snort and Weiying stroked his head with his palm. His two other companion soon caught up and witnessed their untimely reunion. Hanxue glanced at the two men and stepped forward towards them. For a moment, Weiying was worried he might turn aggresive. Hanxue would turn aggresive when provoked or if he did not like someone. However, Hanxue stopped in front of Zichen. To Weiying's astonishment, he stepped forward and greeted Zichen the same way he did with Weiying. The scene made his heart thump for a moment. He had the sudden urge to lift up the silver mask off his face. His fingers moved swiftly toward the silver mask, his heart longing to peel it off and find out the face behind it. Zichen, trained well to be alert of his surroundings, caught Weiying's hand in a firm grip just as quickly caught as if silently warning him to back off. He had no choice but to comply, a wave of complex emotions stirred inside him.