Chapter 47

In the second half of the night, with his knees spread apart and him captive to sensual pleasure, the juice once again took on a sleepy effect. Pei Huai felt sleepy and kicked the person on him twice in a daze.

Then he raised his arms to shield his face, rejecting the other's endless kisses. Xiang Mingqi failed several times and had to finish quickly.

Just as he was about to slip into sleep, he felt someone carry him to bed, hold him, and then clean him from head to toe. A down quilt was spread over him, and at the same time, a warm touch against his back hit him. This only made him sleepier.

"Brother, good night." He blocked the kiss with his palm again.

Pei Huai fell asleep soon after. In the heavy rain, he sank deeper and deeper into the water.

The rain poured down like a torrent, destroying the shacks along the way. The two flaps of my raincoat, folded down, barely covered my knees. After just a few steps, my calves were covered in mud. Water droplets splattered against the plastic sheeting and then into my eyes, a painful sensation.

The distance was gray, the air thick with the smell of earth. Every breath I took caused me to cough for a long time. Visibility was extremely low.

The boy wrapped his hood tightly around his neck, stumbling along the dirt road to a cornfield, each step leaving a mud puddle.

He stood on tiptoe to peer around. Between two taller stalks, a man in his fifties or sixties, led a yellow ox and scooped out muddy water with a basin. The ditch was overflowing, nearly reaching the top of his rain boots.

"Uncle Yan, where is my brother? It's been several days, and there is still no news?" The young man bent down and shouted several times before he was heard.

The man called Uncle Yan wiped his face and pointed in the direction of the mountain: "He hasn't come back yet. Alas, the rain is too heavy, and the search and rescue team said they can't go into the mountains now." Seeing the young man squatting and jumping onto the ridge of the field, ready to trek into the mountains, Uncle Yan quickly grabbed his arm and said, "Ah Huai, you want to go up?"

Pei Huai nodded, tiny drops of water trickling down from between his eyelashes and dangling from the top of his nose, looking as if he was about to fall. The rain continued unabated, and the water level at his feet continued to rise higher and higher.

"No, that's not possible. It's too dangerous." Uncle Yan immediately shook his head. "How can a twelve-year-old like you go to a place like that? Let the adults go."

"But my brother is still in the mountains."

"That has to wait until the rain stops. The adults will definitely be able to go into the mountains soon. Ah Huai, don't think too much. Go sit in your uncle's room first. I'll call your second uncle to accompany you later."

Uncle Yan had no children, but he had watched him grow up. So whenever he passed by after school, the old man wouldn't even bother tying the towel around his neck, but would pick two fresh corns and ask him to take them home to try.

He patted the boy on the back and handed him the rope that was tied to the ox's nose ring. "Help me get the ox into the shed and lock it up. It's windy and rainy today, so don't hang around outside for too long to avoid any accidents."

Pei Huai took the straw rope hesitantly and looked at the hills in the distance.

Uncle Yan was right. Most of the structures on the mountainside where the landslide occurred had already collapsed. He couldn't get in, and he estimated that a second landslide could occur at any time. So the best solution right now was to wait for the rain to subside.

At this moment, a loud thunder suddenly struck the low clouds nearby, and with a loud bang, the mountain began to loosen again.

The cow was nervous, pawing anxiously with its hind legs a few times, desperately licking the water stains on Pei Huai's hands. Pei Huai squinted his eyes and glanced at the loose point in the distance, noting that rocks and mud almost covered the entire mountainside. It was getting closer and closer to the campsite.

Pei Huai swallowed, took a deep breath, then pushed the cow's head to the side and touched its cheek soothingly.

"Uncle, I have to go." He pushed aside the corn stalks on both sides. "If we wait any longer, the whole mountain will collapse. Auntie is still at home with a fever. I have to go in and find my brother."

"Hey, Ah Huai, Ah Huai—!" Uncle Yan was so frightened that he threw the plastic bucket away. He leaned on a wooden stick, stuck it into the mud, and hunched over to catch the corner of his clothes.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed. I could only watch the young man, as tall and straight as a pine tree, running alone into the boundless fog under the heavy rain.

The path inside the mountain was difficult to navigate, and the flashlight's limitations were significant. As we entered the mountain, the range of the light gradually decreased. As we climbed up the mountainside, we sank with every step, and it took us ages to pull our legs out of the mud.

He stamped on the stone to make sure it was stable, leaned over to grab an exposed tree root, and used the momentum to climb up the ten-foot slope to reach the campsite.

It was a mess, and I didn't need to look any further. The campground happened to be on a steep cliff, and when the rocks and soil rushed down, the mud flow was like a tsunami, completely burying five or six tents, leaving nothing behind.

Around the campfire, there were still a few backpacks that hadn't been taken away. It seemed they had fled in a hurry. Pei Huai looked around but couldn't find Yu Mingrui's things.

The soft soil is affected by stress and is currently loosening in only one direction. So there is still a small part of the mountain road that can be walked on, but I don’t know how long it will last in this weather.

As he descended, the fault lines on the mountainside became increasingly complex. The uneven slopes demanded both strength and balance. He sat on the edge of the cliff, gazing at the vast height difference between his feet and the ground. Gritting his teeth, he tried to climb down, but lost his grip on the flashlight and fell.

Plop.

There was a dull thud, as if it had fallen onto a soft piece of plastic. It wasn't mud, just a similar color. Pei Huai instinctively knew it was plastic. He broke off two or three branches, poked them under the sheet, and pried it upwards. The contents underneath were revealed. His scalp suddenly went numb.

——It’s human skin.

There was someone buried beneath the soil. His breathing was shaky, his nails digging into his flesh, his nerves so tense his eardrums throbbed. His wrist trembled.

He mustered up his courage and uncovered the cloth covering the body, but the moment he saw the face clearly, an instinctive sob escaped from his throat.

His original appearance was no longer visible, but judging by his clothing, he didn't look like Yu Mingrui. Pei Huai's throat gulped hard, and he looked away in fear. At this moment, his heart, already in his throat, beat even faster. He hurried away from the cliff and shouted into the depths of the forest.

"Yu Mingrui—Yu Mingrui, is anyone there?"

Pei Huai climbed uphill, checking for footprints along the way, but unfortunately most of them were washed away by the rain.

It was not until he left the campsite and shouted until his throat was dry and parched that he noticed many drag-like marks on the muddy ground in front of him, bordering the river beach.

Just as I was feeling strange, I heard a rustling sound in the bushes from the nearby ridge.

Pei Huai looked up and saw a figure in a black raincoat, waving his hand through the bushes and standing on a rock upstream, staring at him. The man was quite burly, with prominent biceps. And in his hand...

Before he could see clearly, something wet suddenly grabbed his calf and pulled him backwards, causing him to roll down the mud slope.

Unable to speak, Pei Huai crossed his hands behind his head. The thing desperately dragged him into a hollow log. The back half of the log was buried in the soil, facing the riverbank. The hole above was covered with moss, and the inside was cold and damp.

A pair of trembling little hands covered his mouth tightly.

"Don't, don't make any sound, uh..."

It was a child. Terrified, crying and hiccuping. Pei Huai squeezed the boy's cold, stiff hand, calmed himself, and crouched quietly in the small space made of wood and mud. Although it was cramped, it was more than enough for two children.

He heard the snap of branches being stepped on.

Not far away, right where he was originally standing.

The movements were so fast. However, judging by the figure just now, the other party should be an adult. But why would an adult appear in a place like this?

The search and rescue team hadn't entered the mountains yet, so perhaps he was looking for his family. Pei Huai considered each possibility, then ruled them out. However, as the sound approached, an unpleasant, thrashing noise followed, as if a heavy object were rubbing against the ground.

He heard a voice.

"Hello." The hoarse male voice called out in the rain, "Where are you, little kitty? Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you. Your black eyes are like those of a cute gyrfalcon. No, they seem even more attractive than the little animals... Can you come and see me? Just one side, cute little kitty."

Pei Huai didn't move, just stared at the black rubber shoes that came from the blind spot.

It looked very old, and the user's stride was not steady, giving people a feeling of exhaustion. When the two rain boots were flush, the strange man turned around and threw down the heavy object he had been holding.

thump.

A face swollen from blisters appeared at the entrance of the cave, with its neck lifelessly tilted. It was so close that its breath could hit his face.

Pei Huai broke out in a cold sweat. He tried to move back, but the moment he moved, he could clearly feel the child beside him trembling violently, making a "ho, ho" sound in his trachea, which was getting louder and louder. He quickly covered the child's mouth with his hand and shook his head at him.

He recognized the face at the entrance of the cave.

The child was a member of the expedition team, a recent junior high student. But now, his head had been smashed by a blunt object, and he was dragged along, his brains and blood spilling onto the ground. His eyes were still wide open, bloodshot.

With a tug, the lifeless face tossed and turned, leaving behind scraps of skin on the muddy ground as the footsteps gradually receded.

Only after the sound disappeared and there was no sign of returning did Pei Huai let go of his hand and looked at the boy curled up under his arm.

It's a shame I can't see his face clearly. The child is completely filthy, his cotton coat is soaked through and covered in mud.

"Big brother, are you here to take me home? I, I, I, I want to go back. I'll go with you. Let's go down the mountain now, okay?" The boy didn't dare to speak loudly and leaned against him tremblingly. "That man killed, killed people. I even saw him eating someone's arm." He couldn't stop crying when he said this. "Brother, I want to go home. I really, really want to go home..."

Pei Huai knew that he was extremely nervous, so he had to comfort him and let him tell him what happened here first.

The child lowered his head and sobbed for a while, and after a long time, he slowly calmed down.

He said that when they first went to the mountains to play, they never thought they would encounter a landslide.

The rock formation wasn't close to them at first, but the incident happened suddenly, and several people were swept in. They all ran to help, but found a very hidden cave halfway up the mountain near the accident site.

Apparently, due to a landslide, all the branches used to cover the entrance to the cave were washed away.

And deep in the cave, a person was sitting curled up.

A terrifyingly strong man was gnawing at something. They looked closely and saw it was a severed arm. He tore off a piece of flesh and began to devour it.

The children who witnessed this scene were so frightened that they trampled on each other and fled in panic. The man also threw his arms and chased after them. His agility was so agile that it was a bit scary.

The boy said that he was running last and tripped over a tree root in panic. Before he could get up, he saw the boy running at the end being grabbed by the hair by the man and his throat was cut open.

He was so frightened that he grabbed his backpack and ran and crawled around like a headless fly. Then, he found this hollow wood.

But he never expected that during the week he waited for rescue, his food and water would run out. Even more terrifying was that every once in a while, the man would drag the corpse across the riverbank.

He had been forced to witness the murder and dismemberment of his friends, and even now, with his eyes closed, he could still picture how they died.

The boy cried and said he felt like he was going crazy. He wanted to run away, but if he left his shelter he would be caught and brutally killed.

"Go find the search and rescue team. They will protect you." Pei Huai pointed him in a direction and hugged him comfortingly, "I can't go with you. I have to find my brother. My brother is not among those people you just mentioned. I think he must still be alive."

The boy suddenly hugged him and threw himself on his chest: "Brother, don't go. Don't go, please." He hugged him and refused to let go, "No one wants me, no one cares whether I live or die. No, I don't want you to leave..."

"I'm so cold, please, I don't want to be alone. Whenever I close my eyes, I see their tragic dead faces. Brother, please, please."

Pei Huai knew that he couldn't delay any longer and had to find Yu Mingrui as soon as possible, but he couldn't refuse the poor child in front of him. He was terrified. He was so scared that everything around him could kill him.

Just as Pei Huai sighed and hugged the other person softly, the hollow wood suddenly shook, as if a heavy object had hit the bark directly above it.

A joyful male voice was heard overhead.

"Let me guess. Will Kitty be here?"

A hand reached into the hole.