If there are other cities, does that mean this isn't the 'City of the Abyss'?
No, no, the little girl dismissed her doubts.
The ticket mentioned that if you get separated from the maintainer of the rest stop in 'Abyss City', you can use the ticket to find him.
So this is the 'City of the Abyss'. The red dots split from one into several, representing the locations of Du Jun, Liu Juan, and the others.
Moreover, she had been traveling for at least four days and four nights, including when she sped up while driving, and had not seen any trace of other cities along the way.
Cheng Shuang deliberately avoided the crowd and observed for a while, knowing that entering the city required checking identification.
She twirled her fingers, looking at the small red dot on the ticket that was almost there. After hesitating for a moment, she turned her gaze and spotted three young children, each carrying a bamboo basket on their shoulder and another in their hand, walking quickly over.
Cheng Shuang thought for a moment, then pinched a piece of candy and tossed it over. Because one of the three children was a six or seven-year-old boy who was not very big, he lagged behind and was hit on the head by the candy. He touched his head, bent down to pick up the candy, unwrapped it, smelled it, and then curiously licked it. Immediately, his eyes showed joy.
He quickly stuffed the candy into his mouth, looked around, and spotted a young lady waving at him from behind a tree.
"Brother, Brother Tian!" The little boy turned around and called out to the two eleven or twelve-year-old boys who were walking forward.
They all turned around, their faces full of impatience. "What now? We told you not to come, but you insisted!"
"Exactly! It's taken so long to get to the city, the eggs are practically hatched by now!"
"Hehe, I have candy!" The boy didn't care about being lectured at all. He stuck out his tongue mischievously and showed them the candy. In the short moment when the two of them paused, he quickly put the candy back into his mouth and smacked his lips while shaking his head.
His cocky attitude made the two older kids swing their fists and rush back to spank him.
The boy, carrying a bamboo basket in one hand and covering his bottom with the other, turned and ran behind the tree where Cheng Shuang was, pointing at her without any politeness, "She has candy, she gave me candy!"
Cheng Shuang held the double-sword business card that Liao Yuewei had given her behind her right hand, her fingers holding it between her fingers, but a harmless smile appeared on her face as she slowly walked out from behind the tree.
The two young men stopped in their tracks. She was beautifully dressed, the fabric light and airy, made of a rare fine gauze. The style was neither common nor particularly strange or unusual; perhaps she was some kind of unconventional young lady. But she had no servants or attendants, yet she was willing to associate with them, these lowly people. Could she have some ulterior motive?
They exchanged a glance. One of them, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, grabbed the boy who was getting closer to Cheng Shuang, while the other, who was rather frail and refined, stepped forward cautiously and asked, "May I ask what brings you here, Miss?"
Oh dear, what should I do if she doesn't speak in a refined or literary way?
The little girl held the business card, smiled in a friendly manner, then silently pointed to the city gate, revealing a few beautifully packaged candies with her left hand.
The three of them immediately brightened up, their eyes fixed on the candy.
"You mean, if we accompany you into town, you'll give us the candy?"
His tone was full of probing.
Cheng Shuang frowned in distress, looked at the frail but fair-skinned and tender-looking boy opposite her, pointed to the bamboo basket on his arm, and pretended to have lost something.
The boy clapped his hands in a jeering manner, saying gloatingly, "Oh, you must have gotten lost from your family. Serves you right, you always running around like that!"
The little girl made a face at him. This kid's mouth is so annoying!
"City Udon, if you want to get beaten up, then keep going!" the boy with thick eyebrows and big eyes sneered.
The boy pouted, not to be outdone, "Cheng Wuchun, don't take advantage of being my older brother to lecture me. I'm not young anymore!"
"Yes, you're not young, but you're skinny, so beat the calluses out and they'll behave!"
Seeing that Cheng Wuchun was about to make a move, Cheng Wudong immediately put on a mournful face and said, "I won't say anything!"
On the other side, the frail-looking boy stepped forward and bowed, explaining apologetically to Cheng Shuang, "My younger brother is unruly; please don't take offense!"
Cheng Shuang: No, no, I was hoping you'd tell me more so I could learn more about this new world!
She smiled, pointed to their baskets, indicating that she had nothing of value, and then looked towards the city gate.
"Oh, you forgot your travel permit." The frail young man chuckled and slapped his forehead, then said decisively and clearly, "We'll take you in, but you have to give us half of the candy first."
Cheng Shuang nodded in acceptance. As she handed over half of the candy, she accidentally touched the frail boy's palm. Her heart skipped a beat; it was very cold, like mountain stream water, chillingly cold.
She wasn't particularly robust, and her hands and feet were never very warm, but not to the extent that he was.
The little girl, being cunning, secretly walked up to Cheng Wudong and slipped a piece of candy into his hand.
The boy, being held by the back of his neck by his brother, noticed Cheng Shuang's approach and turned his head to roll his eyes at her dramatically.
Cheng Wudong's hands weren't very warm either, about the same as hers. Was it because she was younger?
Her gaze fell on Cheng Wuchun, the oldest of the three children, and he was clearly in good health.
Cheng Wuchun looked back, thinking she was asking when they would enter the city, and nodded loudly, "Let's go!"
If there was any difference among the four children, it was probably that Cheng Shuang's clothes were much neater and nicer, unlike the three teenagers, whose clothes, though clean and unpatched, were just ordinary coarse cloth short shirts and trousers.
What's remarkable is that, although they are not wealthy, their skin is not rough. Perhaps it's because they are young. Except for Cheng Wuchun, who has a wheatish complexion, the other two have fair and tender skin.
Cheng Shuang glanced at the 'glass dome' above the sky. Even if it could bring light, it couldn't compare to ultraviolet rays. Perhaps that was the reason why they couldn't get tanned.
Then she looked at the approaching city guards.
Sure enough, their skin wasn't exactly healthy, but it didn't look like the weathered appearance of someone who had been wandering far from home for a long time.
The little girl didn't know why she was paying attention to this. She scratched her cheek, grabbed the bamboo basket that Cheng Wudong had dragged to the ground, and hugged it to her arms. When she saw the three people turn to look at her, she smiled, her eyes crinkling with innocent harmlessness.
Cheng Wudong was naturally happy not to have to carry anything, and even clamored for Cheng Shuang to go all the way and help him carry the bamboo basket as well. However, his two older brothers knocked him on the head twice, and he became completely obedient.
Upon reaching the city gate, the little girl showed no fear, standing beside the frail boy. After showing the soldiers her travel permit, she followed the group into the city.
It turns out that all you need is a road sign!
Cheng Shuang's gaze was fixed on Cheng Wuchun's trouser pocket, but the boy noticed it very keenly and suddenly turned his head to look.
The little girl deliberately looked up blankly, thus ignoring her footing, tripped, and fell towards him.
It's hot!
Before Cheng Wuchun could push her, Cheng Shuang quickly stood up straight.
Is she overthinking it?
The little girl gave him an apologetic gesture, but before the boy could speak, his younger brother started yelling, "Oh, brother, you're blushing! Haha, you're blushing! You want to get married, don't you! Oh, you're so young, what are you thinking! Getting married is like getting a tiger, and she'll call you an idiot all the time!"
Cheng Shuang: ...
Cheng Wuchun: ...
That annoying brat!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
