Proofread by Peter Gong
“Are you sure you are going?” The voice of Wu Zhong was trembling. If he unlocked the door, maybe he would never see her again.
“I am sure, Mr. Wu. Please let me out or it will be too late.” Wu Zhong found it so hard to unlock the door with his hand shaking so violently. He made great efforts to put the key into the lock but he felt like a thousand pounds of weight in his hand. Was he going to send her away by himself? How could he?
Ma Tian’en patted the door inside frantically, “Let me out! Let me out! Please! There is going to be a tragic accident in the dam. I cannot stand by and do nothing. It is the life of my father. It is the life of Ma family.” Wu Zhong did not hesitate anymore and unlocked the door immediately.
Rushing out, Ma Tian’en embraced him fiercely and gave him a gentle kiss on his lips with her feet up. “I will be back. I am the best. Believe me.”
She ran to the water-gate as soon as she finished her words. Wu Zhong ran after her without thinking.
There came the flood!
The flood fell from the sky with an overwhelming and growling monument.
It was more violent than what people had expected. The flood was more ferocious and fierce than before. The moment sailors jumped into the river, they would be swept away. They could not even approach the flash-board.
No one wanted to die. If the crowd stood here at the start out of a ray of hope in their mind, now all that was left was fear. If they ran away now, maybe they would be saved in time.
Ma Chaoyang and Ma Chaorong were all shaking. They looked at each other, turned around and wanted to run away. As soon as they took the lead, the crowd immediately panicked and was ready to run after them.
“Who dare to run away!” There came a great roar. Guo qi walked over with a mourning dress that was stained with blood like a bloody coat. He trudged along at a firm pace like a monster that just crawled out of the hell, a kind of impressive force radiating from him.
“Who are we? We are dam keepers. Since we can enjoy what the land gives to us, we should be ready to die for this land at any time. It is an honor. There is no one in Ma family who runs away from the flood. Even if you leave and escape with your lives, will you feel at ease? If you are the descendants of Ma family, do not flee. Even if we have to die, we have to die right here.” Standing beside the river, Guo Qi stared at the flood and wanted to jump down. However, he was so weak that he almost fell down.
“We can’t leave!” Uncle Wu shouted and stood beside Guo Qi firmly.
“We do not leave, either.” The voice rang out in succession. Those who were ready to leave came back one after another. Ma Chaoyang and Ma Chaorong came back after they looked at each other.
Ma Tian’en and Wu Zhong were running here at a distance. Ma Tian’en ran ahead with Wu Zhong following behind.
“Who are willing to jump down to hang the steel hook? “Guo Qi asked.
“Me”. Ma Dacheng shouted.
“I will give you a hand.” It was Tian Fugui. In fact, he ran here the moment he knew that the valve of the second dam was not lifted successfully.
“Childe Tian, this is all about Ma family. You’d better not get into the water.” Guo Qi knew that he was a good friend of Tian’en and the householder of Tian family. Moreover, he never heard that he did well in swimming. If anything went wrong with him, the gains would not make up the losses.
“No matter Ma family or Tian family, we are all dam keepers. Whatever happens to the dam, all of the people by the river are the hapless victims.”
Finishing his words, Tian Fugui plunged into the water without hesitation, with Ma Dacheng following behind. A wave hit them and they almost lost their strength. The valve was close at hand, but it was so far when they tried to swim to reach it. Although Tian Fugui tried his best, he was pushed back by the wave. Suddenly, his calf was cramping up. “Sorry, Tian’en. I have done all I could.” Tian Fugui thought while he was swept down by the water. Ma Dacheng wanted to pull him, but he himself was beaten by the waves and almost sank to the bottom of river. Thus, he turned around and swam towards the valve. At that moment, a hand took hold of Tian Fugui. Through the dense rain and waves, Tian Fugui saw Ma Tian’en pushing himself towards the shore.
Two boatmen who were good swimmers also jumped into the water. Pushing Tian Fugui towards the two, Ma Tian’en shouted, “What a fool!”. Then she turned around and swam to the water-gate. Unable to resist the waves, Ma Dacheng was swept down by the water and was pulled back to the shore.
Everyone focused on the little figure of Ma Tian’en. Wu Zhong stood on the shore and it seemed that he was almost washed away by the flood. However, he just stared without hesitation as if there was nothing in the world but the figure that was fighting with the flood.
The only idea in the mind of Ma Tian’en was to hang the steel hook on the steel ring. Finally, she swam to the water-gate. With one hand on the valve, she reached her hand to hang the steel ring successfully!
A cheer went up from the crowd. The valve could be lifted to release the floodwater as long as Ma Tian’en came back.
Ma Tian’en turned around and waved to the shore, signifying her success and that the valve could be lifted. At that moment, a huge wave came out. Completely exhausted because of hanging steel hook, Ma Tian’en was swept into the water by the wave. The flood was more violent now and was going to roll up on the shore and sweep the villages. No one could save her now. There was no reason for any further delay. If the flood washed up on the shore, everyone would be washed away. Some boatmen intended to rescue Ma Tian’en but were stopped by others because it was too late.
“Mr. Wu, take good care of yourself. Have a wife and children and spend a happy life with your family.” Ma Tian’en muttered. Not fighting against the flood any more, Ma Tian’en dived under the water like a fish.
Guo Qi firmly raised his hands and a dozen boatmen lifted the valve together. The floodwater, like pouring from the Milky Way, was endless, slashing, roaring, and rushing out from the lifted valve. In an instant, the figure could no longer be seen.
Standing on the shore, Wu Zhong saw, smiled and cried, with tears streaming down his face. “I know what you are thinking about, so I let you go. Even though I know maybe we won’t see each other anymore once we separate.”
The girl who was proud, bright and brilliant would never come back.
Guo Qi was in tears, too. He had never cherished or taken care of his sister. And she went away. She was so pure and kind but was washed away by the flood, leaving him, the dark and cowardly one, alive. What he would enjoy should be the life of her sister.
“I will keep the Ma family safe, my sister.”
Concubine Zhao was reciting and chanting the scriptures as if there were no rain and wind outside. She was praying for her son, for Ma Tian’en and for the Ma family.
Standing in front of the door, Madam Ma wore the mourning dress with hairs simply pulled up. She was so thin and weak that she was likely to fall down at any time. Although the rain fell on her head and thunder and lightning struck, she just stood there without movement.
No one knew how long it lasted. Led by two young men, a group of people came over from afar. They came close gradually.
Wu Zhong and Guo Qi walked up to Madam Ma. Madam Ma looked at them and looked behind them. “Where is my Tian’en?” She muttered.
Wu Zhong and Guo Qi knelt down at the same time and bowed deeply to Madam Ma, with people behind kneeling down as well. Although the rain poured down, they kept on kowtowing as if they were unaware of the rain.
“Madam, Tian’en was washed away by the flood. I’ll find her. I am willing to take care of you.” Wu Zhong stood up and wanted to support Madam Ma.
At that time, Guo Qi stood up and shouted without hesitation, “Mother, how ungrateful I was! I will take care of you in the future.”
“And we… we are all willing to…”
Looking at the crowd, Madam Ma wanted to say something. But the moment she raised her hand, she fainted.
The flood receded and the capital was safe and peaceful again. The daughter of Ma family, Ma Tian’en, jumped into the water, opened the valve so as to keep people safe and secure. The imperial court rebuilt the temple of dragon King. The princess of dragon King, with Ma Tian’en as a prototype, would be worshiped for generations.
In the seventh year of the Jia Jing period of Ming dynasty, Wu Zhong, held out against the dissenting views and took charge of the repairing and renovation of Tonghui River. He shifted the wharf from Zhangjiawan to the north of Tongzhou city and only kept the five water-gates and two dams, with others abandoned. Wu Zhong took measures to allow vessels and vehicles to move in the same way. The boats that transported rice would not need to pass the valve. Tribute rice would be carried manually to the boats upstream and then be transported to the upper valve successively. Moreover, great advancements had been made on the management of valves. After the renovation, Tonghui River had been used for transporting tribute rice for years and became the economic lifeline of the country. Actually, it only took six months and three thousand taels to dredge Tonghui River.
Standing on the Datong bridge, Wu Zhong whispered gently, “I suppose it’s what you want.”