His efforts were futile, however.
The students had already scattered around and couldn’t hear the teachers’ instructions clearly amidst all the chaos.
They had never experienced an earthquake before, so it was all the more difficult to calm them down.
The main thing in their minds there and then was to survive. They just wanted to run down the mountain and get to safety.
The crowd buzzed with frantic conversations, along with the occasional screams here and there.
In the face of all the panic, Principal Kongwas rapidly losing his composure. Fear was creeping into his heart, and his head was buzzing.
And then—
“Silence, everyone! Pay attention to what I say. We have nine teachers, and each of them will be leading a group down the mountain. We will start moving after the tremors stop.”
Yao Tang was perched on a boulder and called out in a calm voice. She was holding a tree branch with one hand, which she had waved around to get everybody’s attention.
The scene finally quieted down.
But it only lasted for a couple of seconds. As soon as Yao Tangfinished speaking, the crowd erupted into discussions again. Clearly, they weren’t keen on listening to her instructions.
Suddenly, a sharp crack was heard, and they all turned to see the branch in Yao Tang’s hands break in half.
“If you refuse to cooperate, then you must bear the consequences.”
This seemed to jolt everyone back to their senses. Even the teachers looked more sure of themselves.
Yao Tang made quick work of assigning everyone their tasks for asmoothand safe evacuation.
Her classmates all stood behind her, ready to do whatever she ordered.
Yao Tang remained calm and logical through it all, and it infected the crowd. They mustered a newfound strength within themselves and listened attentively.
At last, the ground stopped shaking. They followed Yao Tang’s instructions and headed to an open area before stopping for a brief rest.
Principal Kong took the opportunity to pullYao Tangaside along with the teachers to make some last-minute arrangements. They were still talking when the two teachers they had sent out to scout a feasible trail returned.
They brought bad news with them.
A landslide had destroyed the original trail that they had taken up the mountain.
The teacher in charge of communications also informed them that the signal had been cut off. They currently had no means of contacting a rescue team, or anyone outside the area, for that matter.
When the students heard this, their earlier panic returned at full force.
Another round of cries and wails rang out.
“Does that mean that we’re going to be trapped here forever?”
“What should we do? If I die here, my parents would be heartbroken.”
“If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have volunteered to participate in this stupid Master Teacher Oath Ceremony! What bad luck!”
“I’m scared! What’s going to happen to us?”
The more they talked about it, the more terrified they became.
But Yao Tangremained calm. The crowd’s emotions didn’t affect her at all. She crouched on the ground and scraped some of the loose soil around her feet. It revealed a gap in the ground.
Through them, she caught a glimpse of what was beneath.
Her face turned somber.
“Don’t worry, everyone,” Principal Kongcalled out. “I’m sure we will get through this safely as long as we work together.”
The teachers followed suit and reassured the students.
Even so, they knew deep down that they weren’t any less frightened than these poor kids.
They couldn’t even react as fast as the students had when the earthquake had first struck.
With the adults’ encouragement, some of the students took it upon themselves to follow their example and soothe their classmates.
Once they recovered their morale, a hush came over them.
They waited for Principal Kongto make a decision and issue further instructions, but the man only turned toYao Tang.
Unfazed, she stood up and began making her way in a certain direction.
“Follow me.”
Principal Kong snapped to attention and motioned for the students to follow her.
But fear and hesitation took over them again.
“This is no small matter,” a teacher whispered to his colleague. “If we follow her and something bad happens, who will take responsibility?”
The others nodded their heads in agreement. They would have readily complied with the principal’s directives, but why would he turn to Yao Tangfor advice?
How could he trust a high school girl so much that he was willing to put all of their lives at stake?