SOS

The drive back to the capital should have been uneventful except something happened that diverted An Ning's focus, which nearly had catastrophic consequences.

It had been raining the past three days and the two rivers that empty into the valley during rainy season overflowed. The flooding was not as severe as previous years but it was enough to cause severe damage in the small town that lived close to it, overflowing the embankments and causing some of the bridges to collapse.

One bridge collapsed just as An Ning's vehicle and that of the others crossed it. But it was unfortunate for the people who were crossing it on foot because they were halfway through it when the flood came and washed the bridge away in the blink of an eye.

The chaos that followed stopped the vehicles. Xiang Yu and his men, of course, ran to the rescue and managed to pull several people out of the water before they were washed away in the tide. The panic caused everyone to lose their minds, especially when the water finally broke through the walls and into the streets. Everyone ran to higher ground but the water was surging too fast and there was no escape.

It was then that An Ning remembered something. She pulled out several giant rafts out of the ring and threw it at her companions and at people screaming and crying as the water surged around their waists, just about ready to devour them in its depths.

Yi Hai and company pulled people on the rafts. Mu Xing and Xiang Yun took another raft and floated some ways ahead to help people to safety, the two of them trying to calm people down as they cried and screamed, clutching at the raft as if they had already died and escape was futile.

An Ning paddled her raft closer to were Xiang Yu and his men were trying to stay afloat while holding on to several people who were clutching at them in abject fear. Xiang Yu calmly helped them into the raft before following them on the boat and taking over as he paddled and pulled people out of the water.

The ensuing chaos was so bad An Ning didn't notice when the copy ring on her finger started glowing. At first it was a light glow then it started turning crimson red and then dark purple. Writings also started to appear along with the glow, as if something very unusual was happening inside the ring and whatever it was shared the same fear and panic of the people still trapped in the flood.

But An Ning didn't notice. Her eyes were on Xiang Yu as he furiously paddled the boat to where a group of people were clinging desperately on a dead tree branch.

The boat stopped and people were helped on board. The glow on the ring gradually dimmed, the writings disappeared but An Ning remained unaware of its mystic warning.