A traffic accident caused by an out-of-control truck had involved twenty-three vehicles. The people in the cars that took the hardest hits had died almost instantly.
More cars had been caught in the collisions. Those who could get out had escaped on their own, but some people had passed out inside and needed someone to rescue them.
The police had yet to arrive. No one knew when a secondary explosion might happen, so no one dared rush forward to help.
Two young men saw Qu Nanzhu struggling to rescue people alone and felt inspired to step forward and lend a hand, helping him carry people out and hand them over to the kindhearted bystanders on the perimeter.
No one knew why this frail-looking youth could always locate cars that still had people inside so quickly and accurately.
Huo Sili had been knocked unconscious by a violent impact. As soon as he regained some awareness, he understood what had happened to him.
His experience of being targeted from time to time made him instinctively start analyzing who had done it.
Only a second later did it occur to him that he needed to find a way to survive first.
Up front, the driver lay in his seat with blood flowing from his forehead. Huo Sili reached out to feel his neck and breathed a sigh of relief when he confirmed that the man was still alive.
He tried to push open the crumpled, twisted door. The automatic sliding door that was so convenient in everyday life had become an immense hindrance now.
The window controls were broken too. Looking at the opening in the shattered glass, Huo Sili hesitated for only a second before raising his hand to grab it.
But another hand reached over faster than his.
A pleasant youthful voice accompanied it. "Come here. The door's jammed. Pry it open."
Huo Sili had no time to wonder who he was addressing in such a blunt, commanding tone.
The next second, the door trapping him was pried open by an inhuman force.
Only one youth stood outside the car. There was no second person for him to have been talking to.
Huo Sili looked up at the youth from where he sat, while the other's gaze lingered on him for only a second before moving away.
"He's awake."
"Mm, he probably saw."
"It's fine. He was going to find out anyway."
Who was he talking to? There was clearly no one in the direction he was looking.
Huo Sili thought the crash had probably left him hallucinating.
At last, the youth turned his attention to him.
A clean, beautiful hand reached inside and braced against the front passenger seat's backrest. The youth poked half his head in and asked, "How are you doing? Can you get out?"
Huo Sili's dry throat worked before he found the strength to speak. "My legs. They're stuck."
At that, Qu Nanzhu looked toward the man's lower body. The driver's seat was pinning his legs down. Qu Nanzhu tried pushing it, but it did not move.
The air reeked of blood and gasoline. Qu Nanzhu promptly pulled back and went around to the other side of the car. Unsurprisingly, the driver's door would not open either.
Having already done it once, the big ghost stepped forward without waiting for Qu Nanzhu to speak, pried the door off, and flung it far away.
Qu Nanzhu first dragged the driver out and worked with the two young men to carry him somewhere safe.
Then he turned back to rescue the man whose legs were trapped.
In the brief time Qu Nanzhu had been gone, the little ghost had already lifted away the seat pinning Huo Sili's legs.
Watching the seat rise into the air on its own, Huo Sili showed none of his immense shock on his face.
One of the rules of self-discipline for the head of the Huo family-remain as steady as a mountain in any situation; only then could one handle anything without alarm.
When Qu Nanzhu returned, he saw the big ghost snickering and gave him a questioning look. The big ghost pointed at the man inside the car and said, "He's just pretending. Acting all calm."
Qu Nanzhu smiled too when he heard that, and the smile stayed on his face until Huo Sili saw him.
Quite inappropriately, Huo Sili thought that this youth with gauze wrapped around his head had a beautiful smile.
With the seat out of the way, Qu Nanzhu carried the man out in one piece.
The man was nearly a head taller than him. He looked thin but was far from light. Qu Nanzhu had not yet had time to train his new body, and just carrying him that short distance out of the car required him to set the man down and catch his breath three times.
The big ghost laughed at the sight. "Little noob."
Qu Nanzhu: "..."
Huo Sili actually wanted to laugh too, but that seemed impolite, and the timing was wrong. After all, he was the one being rescued.
Only after the few people trapped deepest inside had been rescued did the police cars and ambulances arrive.
Only seven or eight minutes had actually passed, but with the big ghost and the two young men helping, Qu Nanzhu had been able to rescue people faster.
The firefighters arrived at the scene, and the devastation before them inevitably filled them with foreboding. Sure enough, just as they hurried out of their vehicles and grabbed their equipment to fight the fire, a deafening boom rang out-a secondary explosion.
The hearts of all the public service personnel at the scene sank. The truck had been transporting furniture, and flames coiled around it, burning unchecked.
When the other people at the scene saw the ambulances arrive, they immediately got up and shouted, "Over here! Hurry, save them!"
Xu Chenguang looked over. Six or seven injured people lay scattered on the ground, while others stood unsteadily nearby. People moved among them, stopping their bleeding and cleaning their wounds.
He was the captain of the fire crew responding to the call. Realizing what had happened, he immediately walked over and asked, "You rescued everyone?"
A young woman crouching on the ground told him, "It wasn't us. It was a boy with gauze wrapped around his head. I don't know whether all the unconscious people were rescued."
After hearing that, Xu Chenguang's eyes filled with gratitude and shock. "Where is he?"
The girl pointed in the direction Qu Nanzhu had left. "He left. He said he had something urgent and needed to head back first."
Xu Chenguang looked in the direction she pointed, disappointment crossing his face.
Inside, however, he was still excited. What an outstanding young man of the new era, doing good without leaving his name!
Just then, a middle-aged man walked over and waved his phone at Xu Chenguang. "I filmed it just now. Want to see?"
Xu Chenguang nodded without hesitation and took the phone. On the screen, the youth and the other adults were dragging injured people out.
The youth looked somewhat frail. The footage was taken from too far away to make out his features clearly, but he seemed very good-looking.
Xu Chenguang wanted to see him in person even more.
But Qu Nanzhu really was in a hurry to get home. After rescuing everyone, he hastily hailed another taxi and arrived downstairs from his rented apartment thirteen minutes later.
His lunch had spilled, so he could only buy a tub of instant noodles at the convenience store downstairs. He also helped himself to some hot water to prepare it before carrying it upstairs.
Inside the apartment, layers of golden light enveloped the branch. Ghosts wandered around it, occasionally trying to break through the golden light.
A pair of intact hands reached in; two mangled arms came back out.
Seeing Qu Nanzhu return, the dozen or so ghosts drifted away reluctantly.
Qu Nanzhu ignored them and smiled at Xiao Zhu inside the branch. "I'm back from doing a good deed."
With that, he sent another wisp of merit into the branch. He did not give it all, since Xiao Zhu's soul could not withstand too much.
"Let me take a look at you." As he spoke, Qu Nanzhu cupped the leaves in his hands and examined the situation inside.
Nourished by a steady flow of spiritual energy, Xiao Zhu's features had become clearly visible. In appearance, the two were identical.
He still needed soul-nourishing jade. Once he had it, along with Qu Nanzhu using merit to heal him, Xiao Zhu would recover completely within two years at most.
The chain collision caused by an out-of-control truck on Tianqi Road had already begun attracting attention online.
By the time the news reporters arrived at the scene, the fire had been brought under control, and interviews were now underway.
Xu Chenguang's resolute, upright face appeared on the livestream.
"Everyone had already been rescued when we arrived. That was very fortunate, because a secondary explosion occurred before we could begin rescue operations. We're extremely grateful to the brave people who rescued them! Especially the youth who directed the effort. But we must still emphasize that if you encounter a traffic accident like this in the future, you should wait for professionals to arrive to avoid further accidents."
The reporter quickly picked up on the key point in his words and asked, "Where is the youth you mentioned?"
Xu Chenguang shook his head, his gaze open and frank. "I didn't see him. He'd already left by the time we arrived. I'd like to ask that young man to contact us if he sees this report. The country and society will express their gratitude and encouragement!"
The reporter was briefly disappointed. After asking a few more questions, she turned to interview other people at the scene who had witnessed the entire incident, hoping to find out who the youth was.
She was not disappointed. Not only had people seen him, but someone had even recorded a video.