As it turned out, things unfolded just as Cheng Zongyang had predicted.
Just as the fire reached its peak intensity, threatening to consume the entire forest, the sky suddenly grew dark.
Dark clouds gathered, plunging the world into near-total darkness. Moments later, a clap of thunder tore across the sky, and a torrential downpour came cascading down.
The suddenness of it far exceeded the expectations of Cheng Zongyang and the others.
As the downpour met the mountain fire, steam billowed up, and the blaze began to be suppressed.
The animals, sensing a chance at survival, grew lively. They stopped pressing toward the center and began to spread out, as if eager to feel the baptism of the long-awaited rain.
The rain fell harder and harder, as if releasing two years of pent-up moisture. The flames were gradually extinguished, leaving behind nothing but scorched trees and a landscape of utter devastation.
Watching the relentless downpour, Zhou Hanchang grinned from ear to ear.
