The sun was shining brightly in the sky and the earth seemed to be illuminated in a pale white. Even though there was a forest next to me, I still couldn't feel any coolness. It felt like there was a fire burning in front of me and the air was distorted.
The once fertile land has now turned into sand that falls apart at the touch.
Wu Yan leaned against the tree trunk, his lips black and cracked, slowly chewing a piece of hay, his eyes numbly looking into the distance.
The woman sat beside him, holding her half-grown child, but they were silent, like three wooden figures.
In order to save energy, they haven't spoken for a long time.
I even forgot how to speak.
Cao'er's mother quietly walked up to them, and the whole family turned their eyes stiffly to her.
She ignored him and just leaned over to whisper in the man's ear.
Wu Yan, who originally had a dull look in his eyes, suddenly had bright eyes. He opened his mouth in disbelief, but after opening and closing his lips several times, he could only make a hoarse "ah" sound.
Wu Yan had not spoken for a long time in order to save energy. When he suddenly opened his mouth, he actually forgot what to say.
Cao'er Niang emphasized again in a low voice: "Tonight at dusk, follow me into the woods."
After seeing Wu Yan nod, Cao'er's mother hid behind a tree and waited for a moment before walking towards another family under the cover of the tree trunk.
The mother and daughter acted separately, without saying a word or taking out any food, but even if it was just empty talk, these people couldn't help but believe it.
Ye Zhou, who had been hiding in the woods, heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Cao'er and her daughter stop their actions and sit together waiting for dusk to come.
He tried his best not to look at the other refugees. If he looked at them for a little longer, his sympathy would quickly take over. If he looked a few more times, his rationality would be suppressed.
Time passed slowly, and every minute and every second seemed to be infinitely stretched.
Ye Zhou drank half a bottle of water in the afternoon, but he was still very thirsty, and his lips were so dry that they were about to crack.
The refugees have managed to survive until now despite lack of water and food. This is truly something that cannot be described by just the word "tenacity".
The sky gradually darkened and the temperature seemed to drop by a few degrees, but the drop was not so obvious that the wind blowing from the woods was hot.
The more the wind blows, the hotter it seems to get.
Slowly, someone staggered towards the woods.
The other refugees didn't give them the slightest look.
Cao'er and her mother led the way in front, and Ye Zhou finally saw the employees who were going to work in the supermarket up close.
They also saw Ye Zhou.
Ye Zhou had a cold face, trying hard to pretend to be aloof and aloof. He did not speak to the refugees, but just nodded slightly to Cao'er Niang, then turned around and walked into the depths of the woods.
A group of refugees were left in panic, looking at Cao'er Niang as if for help.
Wu Yan's voice was hoarse, and he had to stop to rest after saying a few words: "Immortal... don't you like us?"
Cao'er continued, "If the immortal didn't drive you away, that means he likes you!"
Cao'er's mother glared at her, stretched out her hand and pinched her arm, then turned to the refugees and said, "The immortal is merciful, but he is not your biological mother or father. Why do you still need the immortal to care about you?"
Everyone in the group shook their heads.
The group consisted of eight adult men, six elderly people, four women, six children aged between five and ten, and one baby.
They supported each other and moved forward with difficulty.
Although it was already night, we still had to walk a distance before we could rest.
It was completely dark, and the refugees stopped where they were at the moment it got dark. They could not see clearly at dusk and had to rely on each other to support and pull forward. Now they were completely "blind" and could not even see the people around them.
At this moment, a white light suddenly appeared not far away.
Like a long-lasting lightning.
Someone let out a brief scream, and Cao'er's mother immediately yelled, "This is an immortal's trick! Stop it!"
The refugees looked ahead in fear.
The light was not from fire, but it illuminated the area as bright as day.
The power of a high-intensity flashlight is not comparable to that of an ordinary flashlight. It was the first time for Ye Zhou to use it, and he was shocked when he turned it on. If the sky hadn't been dark, it would have been no different from daytime.
He led the way in front, while Cao'er, her mother and the refugees walked slowly behind.
After walking for two or three hours, Ye Zhou finally stopped.
He turned around and waved to Cao'er Niang who was walking in front of the refugees.
Ye Zhou felt that Cao'er's mother was older and more experienced, and could be more reliable than a young girl like Cao'er.
Cao'er's mother ran over with great insight.
"Master Immortal, please give your orders." Cao'er's mother lowered her head. Although she was thin, she spoke fluently and energetically.
Ye Zhou whispered, "Just rest here. You distribute the food to them. Each family can only get one bottle of water and one bag of biscuits."
Cao'er's mother took the backpack from her hand and said, "I save it."
Ye Zhou nodded and watched her walk over.
On the way back, Ye Zhou planned to stay away from the crowd.
This is the only way to maintain the identity he has set for himself.
"You sit down first." Cao'er's mother returned to the crowd. She turned around and told Cao'er, "Go pick up some firewood to make a fire, and pile up some stones to prevent the grass next to it from burning."
Cao'er responded.
She was used to listening to her mother. When her father was alive, her mother was the one who made the final decision on all matters big and small at home.
Now that dad is gone, I have to listen to mom even more.
After Cao'er's mother asked the refugees to sit down, she took out the mineral water from her backpack and handed it to the men in each family to see how they planned to divide it.
Several men were holding water bottles. They looked at the transparent bottle in amazement, with a circle of blue "paper" wrapped in the middle.
It was not the straw paper they commonly used, nor was it the rice paper used by landlords. It felt smooth to the touch, but it was not oil paper.
This is not the kind of paper that can be found in the human world.
Cao'er's mother took the bottle of water from Wu Yan's dazed hand, unscrewed the cap in front of everyone, and handed it back: "See? This is how you open the fairy water."
She tore open the package of compressed biscuits again: "This stuff is filling, one piece is enough for each person."
Wu Yan took the biscuit handed to him by Cao'er's mother and immediately put it into his mouth. He didn't seem to feel it was dry. He chewed it into pieces and swallowed it without even tasting anything.
But it feels so good to have food in your mouth.
Wu Yan closed his eyes. The moment the food entered his mouth, tears came out of his eyes, but the tears were too little and did not fall even when he closed his eyes.
The woman bit off a piece of the biscuit, chewed it carefully, and then fed it to the child in her arms.
The child was comforted, ate some and slowly fell asleep.
Sitting around the fire, the refugees snuggled up to each other, the firelight flickered gently, and the elderly and children soon fell asleep. A little food was enough to soothe their bodies and spirits and let them fall asleep in exhaustion.
The young men and women did not sleep.
"I'll keep watch." Wu Yan ate the last piece of biscuit. Although he only ate two pieces, he felt that he was a little full.
The other man coughed, drank a mouthful of water carefully and said, "I'll do it if you're tired."
The men quickly assigned the order of vigil.
But they still didn't sleep, but couldn't help but look not far away.
There was also a small fire burning not far away.
You don’t need to think to know that the “person” sitting by the fire is an immortal.
Cao'er's mother also sat with the refugees. She stirred the fire and noticed that people were looking at the fire not far away. She whispered, "The immortal master has great magical powers. He knows everything. Don't have any thoughts that you shouldn't have. I'm doing this for your own good."
Cao'er also echoed: "The immortal even knows what we are thinking!"
Ever since the immortal told her to eat once when she just felt hungry, she thought the immortal knew everything.
Cao'er found that her mother did not stop her from continuing to talk, so she said excitedly: "The fairy master can make anything happen! He can turn a boulder into a house with a breath of fairy air, and can create a fairy lamp with a touch of his hand."
The refugees were illiterate and had not received any education. As they listened to Cao'er talking, their eyes became brighter and brighter.
A woman whispered, "Is the Immortal going to take us to practice?"
Who doesn’t want to stay young and immortal?
Cao'er's mother's face changed, she said "Pooh" and cursed: "You are worthy?!"
The woman was startled and shrank behind her man. Her man did not dare to face Cao'er's mother. Although he did not move, he only dared to look at the fire with his head down.
Cao'er's mother sneered, "Who are we? Don't take yourself too seriously!"
"The immortal saved our lives, that's the immortal's mercy, cultivation? The emperor hasn't even become an immortal yet, how can it be our turn?"
"I'm telling you, if any of you dare to do something that makes the immortal angry and gets me into trouble, then none of us will have a good life!"
The refugees immediately said, "No, no, absolutely not."
Cao'er's mother then snorted coldly and stopped talking.
Although she knew that the immortal was compassionate and willing to save people, she was also certain that the immortal was not a god without temper.
From childhood to adulthood, the gods described by storytellers have divine nature. If they are loved, they are given life; if they are hated, they are desired to die.
Raising your hand can save the world, but raising your hand can kill everyone.
When the immortal is angry, it will bring huge waves that will flood the mountains, rivers and farmlands.
It will also cause floods to break through embankments and destroy homes.
Cao'er's mother believed that the immortal master must be such a god.
She just wanted to please him and didn't want or dare to offend him.
Of course, she was also afraid that others would offend her. The people in front of her were all the same as her. If these people offended the immortal, she would definitely be implicated.
Ye Zhou, who was sitting by the fire, was eating a meal, and he was also eating compressed biscuits.
Today’s compressed biscuits are made very well. Not only do they come in a variety of flavors, but they are also not as dry as before.
I should have brought some peach cakes with me.
Ye Zhou took a sip of water.
There is not enough room for so many people in the staff dormitory, so I guess they can only sleep in the warehouse.
Fortunately, there is no goods in the warehouse now, so there is enough space for so many people to sleep in it, and there is still a lot of space left.
The warehouse also has central air conditioning and windows, so it won’t be stuffy.
Ye Zhou leaned against the tree trunk and looked up at the night sky. There was no industrial pollution, and no clouds blocking the starry sky, but Ye Zhou did not feel it was beautiful at all.
At this time, the supermarket should be busy with business.
He would work as a waiter, serving customers with a smile on his face, and although he was tired, he was happy and proud to be able to earn money.
I spent a lot of effort to open the supermarket and owed such a huge loan, but it was moved here before it even opened.
Once you get here, you still have to try every possible way to act mysterious, and then there will be a lot of troubles to deal with.
I don’t know what my parents are doing now. The speed of time in my world is different from here.
He didn't know when he fell asleep.
But he seemed to have not fallen into deep sleep, and any movement would wake him up.
When the sun rose, he woke up immediately.
·
It took him and Cao'er and her daughter five days to come here, but it only took them three days to go back.
Maybe it was because he didn’t use a flashlight before, but used it on the way back.
When he went out, he couldn't be sure if there was anyone outside, but on the way back he was sure that there was no one deep in the woods.
Although they were in a hurry, the "employees" were in much better condition than when they were sitting outside the woods.
When they arrived at the supermarket, Ye Zhou appeared in front of them for the first time at close range.
When he was traveling before, he kept a distance from the refugees and walked alone in front.
Ye Zhou breathed a sigh of relief when he walked to the entrance of the supermarket, but when he turned around, he was startled by the scene in front of him.
——Although it wasn’t the first time he was scared.
Everyone knelt before him.
This group of ragged people had their foreheads pressed tightly against the ground, prostrating themselves as if they were kneeling before gods and Buddhas. Their shoulder blades seemed to be about to break through their tattered clothes, which was heartbreaking to see.
Although he did not come here on his own initiative, nor did he save anyone on his own initiative.
But he probably...did some good things after all, right?
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