The entire Qing’e Mountain echoed in the heavy rain with Dong Xuebing’s loud shout. The leaves rustled, birds chirped incessantly in the forest, and many wild animals let out unpleasant cries of despair. At this moment, even the thunder in the sky was overshadowed by Dong Xuebing’s voice. It was a scene that words could not describe, akin to a meteor crashing into Qing’e Mountain.
"Oh God, what a sound!"
The worst off were those on the mountain. Some covered their ears, some clutched their chests, and even the young rescue team members with the best physical condition were not doing much better. Some nearly stumbled and fell from the mountain, while the ones in the best condition were momentarily stunned before recovering.
Dong Xuebing felt satisfied. For safety's sake, he prepared to shout again.
He cleared his throat and was ready to yell again, but Chang Lin, covering his ears, and Meng Hanmei, the county office director who had just rushed up from the mountain, reacted quickly. The two were startled, feeling weak legs, and hurriedly rushed over.
“Secretary, don’t!” Chang Lin quickly grabbed him.
Meng Hanmei, still covering her ears, shouted, “Secretary Dong, please be gentle! We can’t take it!” She had just arrived, and upon hearing that Dong Xuebing and Zhang Dongfang had come up the mountain to assist with the rescue, she had thrown away her umbrella and changed into a raincoat to follow. As she reached halfway up the mountain, she had just heard Dong Xuebing asking everyone to be quiet and seemed about to shout himself, even using a loudspeaker. Meng Hanmei was as puzzled as everyone else, but the next second, she nearly fell down the mountain, almost having her eardrums shattered by that one shout. Meng Hanmei swore she had never heard a sound so loud in her life. She couldn't imagine how one person could produce such a powerful voice. Naturally, she didn’t dare let Dong Xuebing shout again. She didn’t know if the students and teachers would be able to hear him, but she figured it was unlikely anyone from their group would be able to walk down the mountain after that.
Dong Xuebing looked at them. “Just cover your ears.”
Chang Lin’s ear ringing eased slightly as he looked at him in awe and said, “No way. Covering my ears won’t help; that sound can’t be blocked at all!”
“County Mayor Zhang,” one of the staff hurriedly supported Zhang Dongfang, “Are you alright?”
Zhang Dongfang was drenched in sweat, clutching his chest and gasping for air, still feeling terrified, but he seemed not to hear what the others were saying. “What did you say?”
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Do you have your heart medication?”
“County Mayor Zhang, do you need to take your heart medication?”
Several people gathered around, concerned, speaking loudly so that Zhang Dongfang could hear.
After a moment, Zhang Dongfang’s ears began to feel better, and his heart was delicate, allowing him to rest on his side.
Many old cadres, journalists, and a few rescue team members also sat aside to rest, all experiencing varying degrees of discomfort.
There was no other choice.
Dong Xuebing’s shout was too unexpected.
No one was mentally prepared for this, so Dong Xuebing's sudden attack caught them off guard. It wasn’t their fault; even when holding a loudspeaker, they couldn’t shout that loud—the rain's noise was too loud. When they saw Dong Xuebing relying solely on his voice without a microphone, no one took it seriously. No one expected that Dong Xuebing could produce such a god-shattering sound.
Was this the legendary lion's roar?
When Dong Xuebing first arrived in Jiao Lin County, everyone had heard the rumors. It was said that he had kicked a minibus flying. Many people privately speculated that Secretary Dong must know martial arts, and with that incident, it wasn’t just martial arts anymore; it was downright extraordinary skill.
Seeing that everyone was still swaying around and hadn’t recovered, Dong Xuebing belatedly realized how damaging his shout had been, primarily upon noticing several older comrades turning pale and nearly having heart attacks. He felt a bit embarrassed. “How is everyone?”
“We’re fine for now.”
“Secretary, we’re okay.”
Everyone replied listlessly.
Dong Xuebing saw this wouldn’t do and immediately turned to a rescue worker, saying, “Use the walkie-talkie to tell the people below to send up a few more people with stretchers.”
“Got it.” The person went to make contact. “Calling, calling.”
After a long time, the walkie-talkie finally relayed a signal from the mountain below, “Received. What was that sound just now?”
The rescue worker was taken aback. “They heard it down below?”
The other person said, "Not only did we hear it, it practically frightened us! Are you sure it wasn’t a landslide? A lot of people over here have ringing in their ears."
The rescue worker broke into a sweat and quickly explained the situation.
Some rescue efforts were temporarily halted, and everyone nearby was resting, hoping to hear a response from the missing students and teachers. Hopefully, they’d follow the sound and come this way.
Meanwhile, the police received dozens of reports, primarily complaints about disturbances. People reported that someone nearby was screaming like a madman, disrupting work or afternoon naps. Some people were so frightened that an elderly person nearly had a heart attack.
The news quickly reached Chang Lin, the Party Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, halfway up the mountain.
Upon hearing this, Chang Lin was speechless and stood there silently for a while.
"What’s wrong, Director Chang?" Meng Hanmei asked.
Chang Lin took a deep breath and replied, "Many places have reported disturbances—all from that one shout from Secretary Dong just now. Reports came from Zhangkou Village and Nan Town."
Meng Hanmei exclaimed in surprise.
People nearby were also shocked by what they overheard.
Isn’t Zhangkou Village the village behind the mountain?
Nan Town is the town they passed through on the way to Qing'e Mountain—it’s not close!
Hearing it from such a distance made everyone break out in a cold sweat as they looked at Dong Xuebing with a changed expression.
“What kind of voice do you have?”
Luckily, Director Chang stopped him from shouting a second time! Otherwise, we would’ve died here first before rescuing the students and teachers!