The three of them walked and stopped for more than ten days, passing through two abandoned towns along the way. If it were not for some tall buildings that were preserved, it would be impossible to imagine the prosperous scene before the disaster.
Ningxia estimated that they were still halfway there, and could only secretly thank God that they set out early, otherwise they would have caught up with the scorching sun and moon, and all three of them would have died in this endless dense forest.
“Wow!”
Ningxia followed Sangsang's gaze. The dense forest was almost at its end. Not far ahead, surprisingly, was a fairly open expanse of... grassland? Ningxia suddenly felt as if she had stepped into Kenya, the animal world from her vague memories on TV. It was outrageous.
She pulled out her compass and checked again, finally breathing a sigh of relief when she was sure she was on the right track. She found three straight wooden sticks, and the three of them emerged from the dense forest, carefully advancing while tapping the waist-high grass.
Even though he was so careful, Sangsang still accidentally fell into a hole in the ground.
"Sangsang!" Lin Yi reached out to pull her but failed and fell into the grass.
It was a hole half as high as a waist. No one knew whether it was a man-made hunting trap or the home of some small animal. It was leaning against a large rock and covered by thick grass. Sangsang missed a step and fell in.
Ningxia threw the mule rope to Lin Yi, took a lunge and scooped up Sangsang. The little girl seemed scared silly, she didn't say a word, and didn't even scream when she fell.
Lin Yi scrambled forward to check, his eyes red with anxiety. Sangsang finally reacted and hugged her brother's arm, "Brother, don't be afraid."
"Sangsang, does it hurt anywhere?"
Sangsang raised her eyes and looked at Ningxia, her round eyes full of pity. "My feet hurt."
Ningxia suppressed her worries, walked forward and lifted up her trouser legs that were tied up with socks, touched and pressed them, and asked her about them in detail. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief. It was just a sprain. In a short while, the thin ankle swelled up to twice its size and looked so pitiful.
If a bone is injured at this time, it will be more than just a trouble. Maomao once again took on the task of carrying Sangsang. Fortunately, despite the heavy load, Maomao was still willing to carry the little girl and was very docile.
With no shelter, Ningxia passed countless tracks left by large animals, her heart pounding. Fortunately, the grassland wasn't too large, so the two of them picked up their pace and finally crossed the entire grassland before dark. After walking a rugged mountain road, they returned to the dense forest.
Ningxia finally breathed a sigh of relief upon returning to her familiar surroundings. This dense forest was different from the ones they had walked through before. Previously, their journey had been arduous, with countless vines and thorns covering the forest. This forest, however, was dotted with tall, barrel-sized trees. The terrain was also much smoother. Although still overgrown with weeds, it was much better than the previous, rugged path.
From time to time, you can see one or two giant trees, so big that ten people can't hug them. Ningxia recognized them and said, "It's a white pine! How can it grow so big? How much would it be worth before the disaster?"
Ningxia randomly found a straight tree to stop at, picked up the machete, and cut the weeds neatly. Soon, a piece of land was cleared for the three of them to rest, and only then did they have time to treat the wound on Sangsang's foot.
Fortunately, she had changed a lot of medicines. A bottle of Chinese medicine oil the size of a palm was shockingly expensive. Ningxia poured a few drops into the palm of her hand, rubbed it to warm it up, and then gently massaged Sangsang.
The little girl grimaced in pain but didn't say a word, but Lin Yi looked like he was about to break. The energy and spirit he had finally gathered seemed to wilted away in an instant.
Finally, apply a layer of anti-inflammatory and analgesic powder and wrap it up to complete the procedure.
The water on him was only enough to drink tomorrow, so Ningxia didn't dare to use it to cook. He could only bury some cassavas under the fire and make do with dinner.
They had found this cassava on the road, not much; they only dug out about twenty fist-sized pieces, as it wasn't in season yet. The three of them devoured it ravenously, not even disliking the dry, unsweet cassava.
Sangsang had an accident with his foot, and Ningxia didn't dare to stay on the grassland any longer. She took them on the road at full speed. Ningxia didn't eat lunch at all, while the brother and sister finished the last two eggs that had been cooked in advance.
Ningxia looked at the two sleeping children. Their physical condition was visibly bad. Even if they were not hungry along the way, they were not much better than when they first met after traveling all the way. Ningxia frowned secretly. It seemed that they had to find a place to rest for two days. At least they had to wait until Sangsang's foot was healed before they could talk about setting off again.
The mule had enough food, so Ningxia drove it aside and ignored it. It was not afraid of people and lay down next to the three of them, stretching its neck to reach the fresh grass on the ground. After a long journey, the mule was not much better off than humans.
The lively firelight danced on Ningxia's face. She drooped her eyelids, not knowing what she was thinking. Until dawn, she pushed Lin Yi and fell down next to Sangsang. Lin Yi got up skillfully, dug out some cassavas and buried them in the fire.
This forest was surprisingly large. After walking for a whole morning, the only trees around us were still the familiar ones. Fortunately, the road was not difficult to walk on. We walked and stopped here and there, and finally in the evening, the trees around us gradually became sparse.
Ningxia shook the little water in the kettle. It would be best if they could find a water source before resting tonight, otherwise they would have to drink the water from the vines. Although it was convenient, it was possible that they would find bugs in the water. Ningxia thought of the past, and goose bumps quietly stood up on her arms.
"Xia Xia! Look!" Sangsang's vision was much wider from where she sat on Maomao. Ningxia knew they were finally leaving the forest.
Passing the last tree, a valley formed by the towering mountains on both sides appeared before their eyes, as if separated from the world behind them. Even Ningxia couldn't help but admire that this piece of heaven and earth seemed to be singled out and dyed emerald green, without a trace of other colors.
As I walked along, I felt like appreciating the beautiful scenery for the first time. The natural mountains were so tall that they reached the clouds. Trees of various shapes were looming on the mountains on both sides. The valley was littered with stones of various shapes. Ningxia picked up a few and looked at them. They were all smooth and round. This valley must have been a river before.
There are shallow puddles between the rocks, which must have dried up not long ago, otherwise it would be hard to explain why there are so few weeds and no trees in this valley. Such a wide valley seems to have been a big river in the past.
To their surprise, there was a small wooden house at the edge of the woods not far from them!
"Let's go!" The wooden house was in a dilapidated state, even in danger of collapse. There was a hole as big as a barrel on the front wooden wall, which was probably knocked open by some animal.
Ningxia went in first with a knife in hand to check it out. It was a rectangular room of less than 20 square meters. Fortunately, although there were drafts on all sides, the ceiling was still intact. There was some animal feces on the ground, but the overall layout of the room was not damaged.
There was an iron bed about 1.5 meters long under the square window above the inner wall. Ningxia walked forward and shook it hard. Although it was rusty, it did not affect its use. Ningxia picked up the stinking, dry and hard bedding on the bed and threw it out.
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