Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 106 High-rise Building Collapse
Zhou Zhao's breath hitched.

Even she never expected that the newly built Star-Picking Tower would collapse!

The Zhaixing Tower was built next to the Dongshui River. Now the entire tower has collapsed into the water, like a large ship sinking. It will bring up a huge whirlpool. What chance do those people in the awning boats that were hit and fell into the water along with the tower have?
Zhou Zhao's thoughts raced through her mind, but in the blink of an eye, she grabbed the Star Cake she hadn't yet tasted and reached out to grab Chu You across from her.

Chu You has no martial arts skills and can't swim, so she has to save her.

As she was thinking this, she felt a tightness around her waist. Su Changying had already grabbed her and was pulling her towards the window. If she flew out before the small building collapsed into the water, it would sink directly, making it difficult to save herself in the water.

"Go and rescue Min Zangzhi, Ah Huang stay close to me."

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he grabbed the stunned Chu You and flung her out the window.

The Star-Picking Tower collapsed very quickly, and screams echoed throughout the air.

Zhou Zhao felt a tremendous impact. The instant the small building touched the water, she flew out like a swift. She breathed a slight sigh of relief and glanced out of the corner of her eye, only to see the table in the elegant room fly out of the window and smash straight towards Liu Huang's head.

Zhou Zhao was terrified. Liu Huang was incredibly strong, but his lightness skill was only average. It was already a stretch for him to escape on his own, let alone be knocked unconscious...

Zhou Zhao's heart sank. With one arm around Chu You, she grabbed Liu Huang with the other and flung him forward. At that moment, it was too late to dodge, and the table slammed heavily into Zhou Zhao's arm.

Her expression changed, but she remained silent.

He grabbed Chu You and flew up. Before leaving, he saw a young woman sitting on her back by the window on the third floor. He stretched out his hand, which had been hurt by the fall, and reached out to grab her.

Just as she was about to reach the roof, Zhou Zhao felt a sudden tightness on her foot. A middle-aged, fat man in a brocade robe pounced on her, grabbed her ankle, and screamed.

Zhou Zhao felt a sudden weight on her body as the huge shadow of the small building behind her crashed down on her.

Another old man in the same room as the fat man seemed to be inspired by him. He gritted his teeth and lunged at Zhou Zhao's other leg.

However, his aim was poor, and he fell straight into the water with a splash.

Zhou Zhao's heart sank. She gritted her teeth and flew upwards. Suddenly, she felt her feet lighten. She floated up gently and placed Chu You and the frightened little girl on the main road in front of the Star-Picking Tower.

The area in front of the door was in complete chaos, with screams echoing everywhere, and onlookers gathered in layers upon layers.

Zhou Zhao turned around and saw Su Changying holding Min Cangzhi in one hand and the fat man who had been clinging to Zhou Zhao's leg in the other, gently floating down.

Liu Huang also had a child tucked under each arm. The two children's faces turned red, and they burst into tears as soon as they hit the ground, crying, "Brother, brother, hurry back and save our mother!"

Just then, with a loud bang, the entire Star-Picking Tower collapsed into the eastern water.

Another scream erupted from the crowd!
Zhou Zhao's expression changed. He couldn't bother to comfort Chu You and rushed into the water. Su Changying and Liu Huang immediately followed on either side.

“Zhou Zhao, don’t worry. You were worried about something happening to Zhaixing Tower, but today I deployed a lot of Northern Army troops around it. When the building collapsed, they were already rescuing people. Many people were rescued in time, including those on the first floor and the side facing the street.”

Zhou Zhao glanced out of the corner of his eye and indeed saw many people wearing Northern Army armor, who were already busy rescuing people.

She breathed a slight sigh of relief, took out the Starry Cake from her bosom, and stuffed it into Liu Huang's hand. "Ah Huang, put this in your coroner's box. You wait on the shore, and if anyone comes up, provide immediate assistance."

Liu Huang took the pastry and instantly understood Zhou Zhao's meaning. He stopped, carefully wrapped the pastry in oiled paper, put it in the box, locked it, and then shoved the box into Min Cangzhi's hands. Without saying a word, he ran wildly in the direction Zhou Zhao had jumped into the water. Others might not know, but didn't he know Zhou Zhao?

She would not abandon anyone, whether in Tianying City or in Chang'an.

Liu Huang took out a row of silver needles from his pocket and lay down by the water to stare at them.

Min Cangzhi, still shaken and clutching the box, stared blankly at Liu Huang's actions. Suddenly snapping out of his daze, he shouted, "Is there a doctor? If so, please come and rescue the people who have been pulled from the water!"

Thinking it over, he hurriedly called out, "I am Min Zangzhi from the Court of Justice. Do you know any skilled swimmers who can retrieve corpses from the water? I am willing to pay for their services."

As he spoke, he glanced solemnly at Chu You, who was still standing there in a daze.

Min Cangzhi pursed his lips, walked over, pulled Chu You to his carriage, and pushed her up.

Zhou Zhao took a deep breath and submerged into the water.

As she expected, the Star-Picking Tower crashed into the water, creating a huge whirlpool. Although entering the water at this time was extremely dangerous, Chang'an was in the north, and not to mention the young men, very few young women could swim, let alone the children.

They can't hold on for long; whether they survive or not depends on the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

The water was murky and full of debris, and the powerful suction made him feel dizzy. Zhou Zhao circulated his internal energy to calm himself down and reached into the water.

When the building collapsed earlier, many people, like the old man, jumped into the water, but they were all knocked unconscious when the building fell.

Zhou Zhao reached out and grabbed one hand, then pulled on another foot, and floated towards the surface of the water. After bringing the two people ashore, she saw Liu Huang take over and let out a long sigh of relief.

She wiped the water off her face, took a deep breath, and plunged back into the water.

As soon as she entered the water, she felt a warmth beside her as a large hand grabbed her collar. Zhou Zhao turned her head and met Su Changying's deep eyes, which were filled with worry.

Zhou Zhao nodded to him, and Su Changying let go of his hand, then together with Zhou Zhao, they ventured into the deep water.

Now, many skilled swimmers from the Northern Army are rescuing people in the shallow waters.

Su Changying was a better swimmer, and he quickly swam to the front and found two people. One of them was a woman who had already fainted, and the other was still struggling, but he had obviously swallowed a lot of water and couldn't hold his breath.

Zhou Zhao focused her gaze, wanting to follow and search for the person again, but Su Changying turned around and shook her head at her.

He stretched out his hand, gesturing for Zhou Zhao to lead his men up first.

Zhou Zhao pursed his lips, looking at Su Changying's irresistible gaze, and ultimately did not insist. He led the two of them toward the surface of the water. As soon as they reached the surface, the person who had been struggling immediately began to cough. He gasped for breath and shouted in a hoarse voice, "Zhou Zhao, you're on duty today, and you're still drinking."

Zhou Zhao shook the water off her head and then saw clearly that the little old man in front of her, whose head was bleeding from being hit by some heavy object, was none other than her drunken superior, Li Youdao.

"Lord Li, it's so good that you're still alive."

Li Youdao coughed a few more times, "Being hit by a wine jar won't kill me. But the old man is injured and will need to recuperate for a month. It's all up to you."

As he spoke, he coughed a few more times and looked towards the shore. "Is it really a good idea for you to let the King of Chu save people? He can pound water out of the water, but I'm worried that even if the person doesn't drown, he might pound them to death. Cough cough..."