Chapter 39 Grassland Market - 4 The rain is getting heavier...
The rain gradually intensified, and Lu Yi soon returned carrying buckets of water and glass jars, his head covered with a hood and his clothes soaked through.
Kai unfolded the solar panels to serve as a rain shelter for Tang Bufan. Tang Bufan moved a camping chair and sat outside. In front of him was a small fire with an old bucket on top. He was making charcoal.
Making charcoal with an iron bucket is relatively simple. Fill the bucket with wood, cover it with a lid, leaving a small gap for ventilation, and then burn a fire underneath. The high temperature will cause the wood inside the bucket to carbonize under oxygen-deficient conditions, turning it into charcoal.
"It's raining." Lu Yi put the buckets and glass jars back on the RV, both amused and exasperated. "I've been carrying water back and forth all morning."
"I didn't chop much firewood either," Tang Bufan complained, with a large stack of firewood he had chopped next to his feet.
"Didn't I tell you to stay in the car and knit?" Lu Yi bent down to move firewood.
"Children shouldn't meddle in adults' affairs." Tang Bufan knew his place; how could he possibly listen to him obediently? If he waited for him to come back, the two of them would be out of firewood.
Lu Yi's lips curled up, neither angry nor amused.
Tang Bufan has always been adept at applying double standards.
After moving the firewood, Lu Yi asked Tang Bufan to hand over the iron bucket to him.
"Teacher, go take a shower while the rain is still plentiful." Lu Yi said, picking up the axe from the ground: "Give me the bucket, I'll chop some more firewood."
Tang Bufan glanced at the pattering rain, stood up, and folded up his chair: "This charcoal is almost burned out. Let's head out and replenish our firewood when we encounter other forests later."
Tang Bufan wanted to get to the market as soon as possible; his body couldn't take it anymore.
“Okay.” Lu Yi waited until Tang Bufan carried the folding chair into the car before waving at the camera outside the RV. Kai Ge then slowly put away the solar panels that were used to protect against the rain.
The rain extinguished the fire, and the iron bucket gradually cooled down. Lu Yi opened the lid and looked inside. Tang Bufan had done a good job burning the firewood; it was already charred, black and brittle.
The orc boy then picked up the iron bucket in the rain, stomped out the last spark with his military boots, and returned to the RV.
Kai closed the metal car door, started the engine in the rain, and slowly drove down the damp hillside.
"Take a shower first." Tang Bufan had already taken out a change of clothes for Lu Yi, looking at him who was soaking wet: "Otherwise, the water will be everywhere in the car."
His feet were covered in mud.
Seeing that the rain was heavy and wouldn't stop anytime soon, and that the RV wouldn't run out of water, Lu nodded. Just as he was taking his clothes to go into the bathroom, the RV suddenly slid down, startling both of them.
Lu Yi quickly regained his balance and reached out to grab Tang Bufan's waist, only to find that Tang's hands were already gripping the car window.
Both of them looked outside and saw that the RV's wheels had slipped due to the mud on the slope, but Kai had managed to stabilize the vehicle.
"Teacher, you wash first." Lu Yi felt this wouldn't do: "I'll get out of the car and help Kai Ge cross this slope."
"Be careful." Tang Bufan frowned, but did not stop him, also feeling that the RV was in danger of overturning downhill.
Lu Yi smiled at him, indicating that he understood, put his hood back on, jumped out of the vehicle, and left. Tang Bufan went to the driver's seat and watched for a while. He saw Lu Yi in his beast form walking in front of the RV, leaning to the side and using one hand to support the front of the vehicle to help Kai Ge control the speed downhill. He was quite capable of doing so, so Tang Bufan felt relieved.
Once the RV had descended the hillside and returned to flat ground, Tang Bufan took his clothes and went into the bathroom.
Although the rain meant no sun, it had one huge advantage: the RV was well-watered. Tang Bufan and Lu Yi took the opportunity to clean the interior of the RV and even took a luxurious shower that night.
Apart from constantly burning oil, there were no other problems. The two of them started rinsing their mouths and washing their faces every morning and evening.
"It would be so great if our RV were nuclear-powered," Tang Bufan remarked, sitting with Lu Yi by the door of the RV.
It was drizzling outside, and Kai was driving slowly with the car door open.
As they went further east, the geology became softer, and the roads from a thousand years ago had long since disappeared. Wherever the RV went, it was all muddy, desolate roads. Tang Bufan and Lu Yi couldn't get out of the vehicle to camp, so they simply used the iron bucket in the RV to make a fire.
“Nuclear batteries are difficult to develop; the raw materials are too hard to collect. The Federation can only produce a few nuclear-powered vehicles each year.” Lu Yi sat on a small stool, and a bit of rain-laden wind blew in through the open car door, making him feel quite comfortable.
Tang Bufan had already put on a thin sweater, but Lu Yi was still wearing a vest, his two strong, long arms exposed, feeling that the temperature was just right.
"Next time we run into Anderson, shall we take his motorcycle apart?" Tang Bufan joked, sitting on a small stool opposite Lu Yi.
“The nuclear battery in his motorcycle is too small for our RV; the voltage probably won’t be enough.” Lu Yi smiled, just like his AI bracelet also has a nuclear battery, but its starting voltage is too low to power other devices.
Upon hearing this, Tang Bufan felt a pang of regret, which dispelled his plan to trick Anderson. He then asked curiously, "We haven't seen Anderson for so long. Has he already separated from us?"
“No, it’s nearby.” Lu Yi said, flipping the meat skewers that were grilling on the iron drum over.
Tang Bufan was stunned, his hands tucked inside his loose sweater between his legs, looking at him strangely: "How did you know?"
“He knew we were going to the East District, and the RV could only travel on flat ground, so the route was easy to guess.” Lu Yi finished speaking and told Tang Bufan, “And that day when I was fetching water from the mountain stream, I smelled his scent. He was still walking ahead of us.”
Tang Bufan immediately sat up straight on the small stool and looked out of the open car door. Kai Ge was driving slowly through the mud, and outside was a vast wilderness and ruins. In the distance, there was a broken high-voltage power line tower, covered with rust and plants.
Tang Bufan was quite surprised: "This person didn't come to bother us."
"I guess they don't want to see me." Lu Yi smiled with a hint of bitterness.
Tang Bufan paused for a moment before speaking, "But didn't he mentor you before?"
"I did bring it along..."
"He told me he changed your diaper."
Lu Yi froze, the slightly damp wind ruffling his bangs, a blush rising on his handsome face: "No way..."
Tang Bufan then asked, "How old is he this year?"
He didn't know Anderson's age yet, but he looked quite young.
Lu Yi sat on a small stool and calculated: "30."
“That means he’s 13 years older than you.” Tang Bufan felt that Anderson wasn’t lying to him: “He probably really did change your diapers.”
"..." Lu Yi's expression immediately became twisted.
Tang Bufan was still pondering: "I've changed your diapers and taken care of you for several years, I think maybe..."
"Stop talking." Lu Yi was extremely embarrassed. He picked up the grilled meat skewers from the iron bucket and handed them to Tang Bufan, his cheeks flushed. "That happened more than ten years ago."
"It can be used to appeal to emotions!" Tang Bufan said seriously, reaching out to take the meat skewer.
Their fingertips touched, and Lu Yi suddenly grabbed Tang Bufan's hand, frowning as she held it tightly: "Why are your hands so cold?"
There was almost no temperature.
"...Haven't we always been like this?" Tang Bufan withdrew his hand, hiding it in his sleeve to conceal his embarrassment.
Lu Yi tried to touch Tang Bufan's body again, but Tang Bufan dodged her.
"Grill your meat, don't touch me." Tang Bufan muttered while holding the meat skewers, leaving the orc boy speechless.
Suddenly, he was the one being kissed and hugged, and now he's being accused of touching people inappropriately. Helpless, Lu Yixiao could only look up at the driver's seat.
"Brother Kai, close the car door halfway."
"Okay, Lu Yi."
The rain lasted for two more days, then stopped, but the sky remained overcast and the roads were still muddy.
Tang Bufan is from the South and doesn't know if autumn in the North is always this gloomy, or if it's because of the apocalypse.
During the trip, the RV had a minor accident. The front wheel got stuck in a mud pit. Kai Ge spun the tires at high speed, splashing mud and water everywhere, but they couldn't get out. Lu Yi, in his beast form, tried to push the RV from behind, but they still couldn't get it out.
After discussing it, Lu Yi went to the nearby wilderness and caught more than twenty stray dogs. He tied them to the front of the vehicle with ropes, and then dragged over a wild buffalo to tie to it as well. When Kai Ge blared his horn, the stray dogs and buffalo were all startled and ran forward. Lu Yi then pushed from behind, and that's how they managed to get the RV out of the mud pit.
Lu Yi untied the ropes and released the pack of wild dogs and buffalo. Tang Bufan watched from the car and saw Lu Yi stretching his arm in exhaustion. He felt guilty and distressed.
Without Lu Yi, he would never have made it this far. Tang Bufan knew perfectly well that Lu Yi had probably died in that desert two months ago, his body wrapped in tattered black cloth, curled up on the floor of the RV, swelling, rotting, turning into water, and becoming bones.
He owes Lu Yi more than just a life.
After driving east and then north for a few days, the view gradually opened up, the mud disappeared, the land began to turn into yellow-green grassland, and signs of life increased.
They also encountered orcs.
Most of them were disheveled, low-ranking orcs, wrapped in tattered clothes. Occasionally, a few were dressed relatively cleanly, riding horses or driving simple carriages, all carrying loads of goods.
The whole scene looked like an old photograph taken during the Qing Dynasty: unmaintained ground, ragged people going to the market, everyone's hair was messy, and their dirty faces were covered in frost, even the children.
The world is colorful, but it looks gray and gloomy.
It was obvious that the orcs were also going to that grassland market to buy or exchange some things before winter. When they saw the RV, they were very surprised and moved away, and showed admiration to the one that landed.
Tang Bufan hid inside the carriage. He covered his face with a black cloth again and drew the curtains of the RV. He was human, and a wanted criminal in the East District. He couldn't let anyone see him.
In the past, when Tang Bufan, Wolf Uncle, and Eberon went to the market, they always hid in the car the whole time. The most embarrassing time was when he locked himself in the toilet because an orc tried to smash the window and steal his things.
Of course, the orc who tried to rob them was eventually driven away by Wolf Uncle. Mid-level orcs are basically big shots outside; high-level orcs are too rare to encounter.
“Teacher, you don’t need to hide.” Seeing that Tang Bufan had covered his face with a black cloth, Lu Yi beckoned him to the driver’s seat: “I am a high-level beastman, you can boldly follow me.”
"But there are so many orcs in the market..." Tang Bufan felt uneasy: "Orcs are different from poisoners, and I can't be carrying a gun..."
“You can take a gun.” Lu Yi interrupted him. He had originally planned to let Tang Bufan take a gun. Many of the low-level orcs were uneducated and there were many desperados. It would be safer for them to take a gun.
Tang Bufan was slightly taken aback, then hesitated for a moment before taking a pistol from the weapon case and tucking it into his waistband.
He mentally prepared himself and slowly emerged from the darkness.
"Let's switch seats," Tang Bufan said to Lu Yi, his face still covered. "You sit in the driver's seat."
It would arouse suspicion if a human were to sit in the driver's seat, and Lu Yi, as a high-ranking beastman, would also be the subject of gossip.
Lu Yi did not delay, switched seats with Tang Bufan, and took over driving the RV from Kai Ge.
"Teacher, have you ever killed an orc?" Lu Yi asked Tang Bufan while driving.
Tang Bufan felt a slight tightness in his chest, and after a while, he answered in a low voice, "Just Uncle Wolf and Eberron..."
But he had seen Wolf Uncle kill other orcs before, also near the market.
“Some orcs are even more despicable than poisoners,” Lu Yi said to him. “Don’t hesitate to shoot just because they have thoughts. Killing them might save others.”
Lu Yi believed in Tang Bufan's ability to judge good and evil, which is why he said those things to him.
Tang Bufan felt a little strange; it seemed like the teacher-student relationship between the two had been reversed.
"Have you killed orcs?" Tang Bufan asked him, his dark eyes peeking out from under the cloth strip.
“Hmm.” Lu Yi hesitated for a moment before telling him, “I started making judgments when I was 10 years old. For some extremely heinous cases that required public execution, my father would let me take the gun myself.”
Tang Bufan was stunned and stared at him with wide eyes.
"Ten years old...isn't that too early?" Tang Bufan wasn't against the death penalty, but he felt that executing a 10-year-old child was just too much.
“It’s not too early for me.” Lu Yiwen said calmly, “My great-grandfather executed a beastman who had insulted a pregnant woman to death when he was only five years old. Our family’s children begin to adapt to this kind of thing at a very young age.”
Lu Yi spoke casually, but Tang Bufan felt a tightness in his chest. For a 21st-century human like him, such a thing was unimaginable.
No, perhaps it's just that those living in the new China take it for granted that the world is benevolent... Even in the 21st century, some regions of Africa and the Middle East are chaotic.
Ultimately, war is the norm in human history. Tang Bufan sighed, took out his pistol, and began loading bullets.
Lu Yi drove the RV, and the two finally arrived at the grassland market at one o'clock in the afternoon.
The two men looked around from the driver's cab and saw hundreds of dilapidated tents standing on the vast, withered grassland, where people were bustling about, and the bleak autumn wind made the tents rustle.
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