Although it was too far away to see clearly, Song Ning still managed to see it.
There's a village ahead.
I don't know if I can get there before dark.
Now, whenever the two village chiefs see Song Ning take out her binoculars, they stare at her longingly.
Song Ning walked over and whispered, "If I'm not mistaken, there should be a village ahead."
Upon hearing this, the two village chiefs immediately perked up.
They had traveled at least several hundred miles along the way, and they hadn't seen a single house, let alone a village.
Village Chief Luo was overjoyed and immediately urged everyone to quicken their pace, for once they reached the village, they had something to look forward to.
This was the fastest they had ever walked that day; everyone was full of energy.
Just as the sun was about to set, we finally saw the village that Song Ning had mentioned.
The group laughed like children, eager to rush inside.
However, Song Ning still kept a watchful eye.
The village does look like a village, but there's nobody outside, and it's very quiet inside.
"Don't go in yet. Let's send a few people to check the situation first."
Gao Tiedan and his group took the lead, carrying sticks as they went inside.
There was probably no one in the houses ahead, so Gao Tiedan and his team searched house by house until they could no longer see any people outside.
They went inside for a long time, but no one came out.
Just as Song Ning and the others were starting to get anxious, Gao Tiedan finally came out with a few people, along with some villagers.
She was a kind-looking old woman.
Gao Tiedan was a little excited: "Village chief, Er Ya, there are people in the village, quite a few of them."
The old woman stepped forward and greeted them: "You must have all fled from over there, right? If you don't mind, please come in and rest."
This is the only village they've encountered on their journey, and there are still living people inside. How could they not be excited?
They all jumped out of the car immediately, waiting for the village chief's order to enter the village.
The two village chiefs did not make a decision immediately, but turned to Song Ning and asked, "Er Ya, what do you think?"
The old woman, seeing that the decision was being made by the young girl in front of her, continued, "The world is not good these days, and quite a few people have been coming to stay here recently. We won't let you stay for free; just give you some food and water."
Upon hearing this, Song Ning felt slightly relieved. An equal exchange was the most reassuring thing. If the old woman didn't want anything, she really wouldn't dare to go in.
Relieved, Song Ning said to the village chief, "Then let's rest here tonight and talk about the rest tomorrow."
Song Ning stepped forward and said with a smile, "There are many of us, so we take up a lot of space. Thank you for your help."
The old woman waved her hand: "No need to trouble yourself. Our village looks big, but many people have left. Only we are left, and we make a living by traveling back and forth to escape the disaster."
"The place has already become like this, why don't you leave?"
“Sigh, although this place has also been affected by the disaster, it is the place where we have lived our whole lives. At least we have a place to live. If we had fled, we might have lost our lives on the way. We are all getting old, and we want to live as long as we can. We don’t want to go through any trouble.”
Song Ning nodded, agreeing that it made sense; there were still passersby in the village, so perhaps that was a solution.
With a large group of them, the village quickly became lively once they entered.
There are still a dozen or so people in the village, and they all came out to greet them very warmly when they saw them come in.
Just as the old woman said, they were all elderly people.
Although these houses are no longer inhabited, they are kept very clean, probably so that passersby can have a place to rest.
There are plenty of houses in the village, enough for one family to live in each house.
The villagers originally wanted to persuade them to live separately, which would be more comfortable, but Song Ning refused.
After all, it's someone else's village, so it's better for everyone to live together. That way, it'll be more convenient if anything happens.
Song Ning looked around and left the courtyard. He felt that the place was gloomy, but after all, this was a place where many people had died on the way to escape.
She didn't know if it was because she saw so many dead people on the street, but she always felt like she could smell the stench of death, which made her uncomfortable.
I walked around the yard and could still hear the old woman next door talking; it sounded like she was getting ready to cook.
As darkness fell, Song Ning wanted to wander around the village. She had originally planned to ask Li Xingwang to accompany her, but when she thought about how cowardly Li Xingwang would become at night, she gave up the idea.
During the day, Li Xingwang was fearless; as soon as the lights were turned off, even the rats were bolder than him.
If they go out together, not only will she have to protect her and give her courage, but she'll also have to look after another person.
Because of this, Li Xingwang was often scolded by Aunt Zhao, but he was afraid of this thing and there was nothing he could do.
Zhou Ling'an, who was standing to the side, wanted to speak, but he opened his mouth and couldn't say anything.
The last time their two families had a very unpleasant argument, and although his father still talked and interacted with Er Ya as usual, he felt uneasy.
If he had been more resolute last time, his mother and Song Erya wouldn't have fallen out.
Having made up his mind, he was about to step forward and speak: "Er Ya..."
Song Ning looked at Gao Tiedan: "Brother Tiedan, come with me for a while."
Song Ning turned to Zhou Ling'an: "Is there something you need?"
Zhou Ling'an lowered his head awkwardly: "No, it's nothing."
Gao Tiedan got up without saying a word, grabbed his knife, and followed Song Ning.
"Er Ya, what are you doing out in the dark?"
"We're going to be spending the night here, so we'd better be careful."
Gao Tiedan thought Er Ya made sense: "Then let's get a torch."
"No need, and I won't go far."
The two came out of the courtyard and walked around the area. There was a moon tonight, and they could see the road clearly.
The two walked along without anything unusual, except when they passed the gate of a house, they vaguely heard some noise coming from inside.
Song Ning listened for a while, and it sounded like someone was banging on the door, but she only heard a few bangs and then there was no more.
Song Ning didn't think much of it; places where people live are bound to have some noise.
The two took a detour, intending to circle back from behind the house.
There's no one outside now, and the dozen or so people in the village are all living together, not going back to their homes even though they have them.
Gao Tiedan frowned: "These people are really having a tough time. Such a big village and only a few of them are left, and they're all elderly. How long can they hold on?"
"Live one day at a time." In this kind of world, let alone the elderly, even the young are just taking it one step at a time.
The two continued walking back until they reached a small mound of earth, where they could still see the light from the houses below.
The neighborhood is quite quiet, there's nothing wrong, she's probably just being paranoid.
"Let's go back."
The two walked down the hillside by moonlight, and as soon as they took a step, a crisp "crack" sound came from under their feet.
Song Ning stopped and asked Gao Tiedan, "Brother Tiedan, did you hear anything?"
Gao Tiedan looked around: "No, there isn't any."
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