Chapter Two: Cooperation? Betrayal!
Chen Qing opened his eyes, and the spider web on the tilted Buddha statue gradually became clearer.
A fire was burning in the temple, very close to her, and she felt an unusual warmth on her left side. Chen Qing struggled to sit up, supporting her upper body with her hands; her prominent double chin almost made it hard for her to breathe.
"Sister, you're awake?" Pei Xuan was sitting by the fire roasting something. When he saw Chen Qing wake up, his eyes shone like stars in the sky. He rushed over, and Chen Qing finally saw that he was roasting pancakes.
Chen Qing stared intently at Pei Xuan. The male protagonist in the book was only fourteen or fifteen years old. The long famine made him look younger than his actual age. His clothes were thin and his body was dirty, but you could still tell that he had a good-looking face.
"Sister, I've bandaged your wound. These cakes are what I found on those bad guys. Would you like some?"
Pei Xuan presented the cake to Chen Qing like a treasure, making him look even more like a dog.
Chen Qing lowered her eyes, thought for a moment, and then took the cake.
The gun was still there, and the corpse in the temple was still there. She wasn't dreaming; she had truly traveled to a dangerous world.
Why didn't Pei Xuan kill her? No, that's not right. Chen Qing was so eager to kill Pei Xuan that she put the two of them in opposing positions. In reality, from Pei Xuan's perspective, the story hadn't even begun. Chen Qing had actually saved his life in a moment of crisis, making her a dangerous and powerful person.
In chaotic times, such people are definitely worth keeping around to cling to powerful figures for survival.
No wonder he was trying so hard to please her.
Chen Qing figured out the oddities involved and began to think about how to deal with Pei Xuan—should he kill him?
Having never killed anyone in her past life, Chen Qing felt no guilt after killing four people. Killing another one, even if it meant future trouble, was no big deal to her.
But……
"Awoo!"
The howling of wild dogs mingled with the cold wind outside, and the gale nearly tore through the windows of the dilapidated temple, making one wonder if those wild dogs might break in and devour them tonight.
Forget it, let's keep Pei Xuan here for now. If the wild dogs really get in, we can use him to buy some time.
Moreover, she has a leg injury and can't exchange for healing medicine from the system for the time being, so she still needs a lackey.
Thinking of this, Chen Qing raised his head and gave Pei Xuan a gentle smile: "I remember you, you were also captured by them, right?"
Pei Xuan's eyes dimmed for a moment. He sat down opposite Chen Qing, hugged his knees, and murmured, "Sister, they killed my grandfather. Thank you for avenging me. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't have survived either..."
Chen Qing was stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting that Pei Xuan's arrest had such a tragic background.
She doesn't read novels that carefully.
"No need to thank me. I was just protecting myself. These thugs are dead. What about you? What are your plans?"
Pei Xuan smiled bitterly and said helplessly, "I've been an orphan since I was a child. My grandfather took me in. Now that he's gone, I have nowhere to go. There are refugees everywhere, and I..."
Chen Qing took a bite of the pancake. The pancake had been sitting for who knows how long; it was as hard as a rock, and even after being roasted over a fire, it didn't get much better.
No wonder these scumbags would rather eat human flesh than eat bread.
Sigh, what kind of world is this?
"Sister, is anyone still at your home?"
"Yes," Chen Qing said expressionlessly.
She understood that Pei Xuan wanted to cling to her. Although the original owner's family was scum, they at least had money and food. If she could go back, life would definitely be better than fleeing the famine on her own.
"That's so nice of you, sister. You still have your family. Where are they?"
"They just got lost temporarily."
"Sister, you're injured now, how about I go with you to find your family tomorrow?" Pei Xuan looked innocent and harmless, blinking his eyes at Chen Qing.
Chen Qing chuckled, seeing through his little scheme, but didn't expose him, and readily agreed: "Okay, then thank you very much."
"You're welcome. Sister saved my life; it's only right."
Pei Xuan's well-behaved and sensible manner is really endearing. If Chen Qing hadn't been reminded of her damned ex-husband Shao Yang when she saw him, she probably would have treated him the same way the original owner did.
But Chen Qing would never fall into the same trap twice.
The food was hard to swallow. Chen Qing had never eaten anything so bad in his two lives combined. It was not only irritating to his throat, but also had a sweaty and musty smell.
Pei Xuan, who was standing to the side, was eating with great relish.
Chen Qing closed her eyes and summoned the system. The store was filled with a dazzling array of goods, but unfortunately, she couldn't redeem any of them.
She checked the wound; Pei Xuan had bandaged it with wood ash, which could stop the bleeding in a short time. However, the weather was cold now, and if it wasn't treated promptly, it could lead to frostbite, suppuration, or ulceration.
Not eating is considered a way to lose weight.
Stray dogs cautiously approached outside, seemingly afraid of the firelight or something else; they lingered outside but didn't venture in.
After Pei Xuan finished eating the pancake, Chen Qing instructed him, "The danger hasn't passed yet. Find something usable and block the doors and windows as much as possible."
“Okay, sister. I checked the things in the temple while you were asleep. These Buddha statues are made of clay, so I can move them!”
Pei Xuan was very perceptive and proactive. As soon as Chen Qing gave the order, he immediately got to work, laboriously pushing the table where the Buddha statue was placed to the vicinity of the doors and windows. Then he collected all the usable straw and broken planks in the house and put them by the fire.
After the four refugees died, Pei Xuan found three pancakes on their bodies. That night, the two of them ate half of one, leaving two and a half. They placed them where Chen Qing could see and touch them.
Pei Xuan was like a diligent little bee; he did whatever Chen Qing told him to do.
After an hour of work, the dilapidated temple finally had some defensive capabilities.
The doors and windows were blocked by Buddha statues, and the drafty areas were covered with relatively intact wooden planks. Even the corpses of those people were put to use; their clothes were stripped down to their underwear, and the bloodstains were covered with wood ash. The corpses were also used to block the door.
Chen Qing was unable to move, so Pei Xuan did everything for him.
After doing all this, he was panting heavily and plopped down by the fire not far from Chen Qing. Even in the dead of winter, there were beads of sweat on his forehead.
"Here, have this too," Chen Qing said, tossing the pancake she couldn't finish to Pei Xuan like feeding a dog.
Pei Xuan quickly picked up the cake, dusted it off, and asked with concern, "Sister, aren't you going to eat it?"
Chen Qing shook her head, "I can't eat it, you eat it."
Pei Xuan seemed to remember something and looked at the corpse blocking the door.
Chen Qing's expression changed. "Don't overthink it. I'm just not hungry. You've been working a lot, so I'm saving some food for you."
"Sister, are you trying to save this for me to eat?" Pei Xuan's eyes lit up again.
"Mmm," Chen Qing replied hastily, "You eat quickly."
If she can just get through today without eating, she might lose weight tomorrow and be able to exchange it for human food.
As the room gradually warmed up, Chen Qing, exhausted both physically and mentally, agreed with Pei Xuan to take turns keeping watch at night, and then drifted off to sleep.
"I'm so hungry..."
Chen Qing was awakened by hunger, his internal organs screaming for food.
The sky was already bright. Pei Xuan sat facing the door, nodding his head like a chick pecking at rice, still holding the wood-chopping knife in his arms.
As soon as Chen Qing moved, it aggravated the injury on her leg, and she couldn't help but gasp. Pei Xuan immediately woke up, turned around and called out, "Sister! You're awake?"
Chen Qing's throat was parched, and she felt alternating waves of heat and cold, making her shiver uncontrollably. In a trembling voice, she asked, "Why didn't you wake me up?"
Pei Xuan lowered his head and whispered, "Sister's injuries are too serious. I saw that she was sleeping soundly, so I didn't wake you. It's okay, I can protect sister too!"
He looked up at Chen Qing, a bright smile on his face and unwavering determination in his eyes.
It must be said that Chen Qing wavered for a moment.
Help me up.
Pei Xuan immediately ran over and struggled to help Chen Qing sit up. His face was flushed; he probably hadn't been this tired even when he was moving corpses yesterday.
Chen Qing's mind was spinning. "Are the stray dogs still outside?"
"right……"
"It seems we can't get out anytime soon, we can only wait for an opportunity," Chen Qing calmly analyzed. She had a gun, but only seven free bullets a day. She didn't know how many stray dogs there were. Perhaps she could start hiding in the temple and shooting the stray dogs from today.
“But we don’t have much food or water…” Pei Xuan said with difficulty.
"Two pancakes, how many days will that last you? As for water, try to collect some snow today. Once the snow melts, there will be water, right?"
That being said, they had no containers and could only eat snow dry. Whether it was dirty or not was another matter. Chen Qing's weak body had a fever, and it was unknown whether he could make it through.
Chen Qing's leg injury was very painful; she couldn't even stand up. Should she exchange for medicine first?
Chen Qing opened the online store, only to find that despite being so hungry, she hadn't lost a single ounce!
"System!" Chen Qing shouted through gritted teeth, "What's going on? Why hasn't the weight dropped at all? Did you make a calculation error?"
[That's impossible. This system has a rigorous and precise weighing method. The host's physical condition is extremely poor, and their metabolic rate is far worse than that of an average person.]
Chen Qing realized that it was the original owner's stepmother who had drugged him!
What a vicious effect of this medicine!
Chen Qing was so angry he wanted to kill someone.
Unable to exchange for anything, her only remaining hope lies in the hidden gun. She must kill the wild dogs to escape the dilapidated temple, find herbs, and find a doctor…
She can't die here!
"Help me up," Chen Qing instructed Pei Xuan.
"Sister, your injury hasn't healed yet..."
"hurry up!"
Pei Xuan could not disobey Chen Qing's orders, so he had no choice but to help her up. Chen Qing bit her lip tightly, enduring the pain, and did not utter a sound even though cold sweat was pouring down her back.
Pei Xuan acted as a crutch, helping Chen Qing to the bedside. She pulled out a wooden board, and cold wind immediately rushed in through the gap. Chen Qing looked out through the gap.
Outside, all was silent. The weather was gloomy, and the ground was covered with white snow. From a distance, the stray dogs looked like clusters of black dots, glancing towards the dilapidated temple from time to time.
"one two three……"
Chen Qing carefully counted the number of stray dogs. She stood there for an unknown amount of time, her body almost freezing over, before she finally counted them all: "There are nine stray dogs in total."
Fortunately, if she can kill seven of them, the remaining two will definitely scatter and are not a threat.
However, Chen Qing's gaze swept over the obedient Pei Xuan beside him.
She always needs to keep a bullet for herself, doesn't she?
“I have a task for you,” Chen Qing said slowly, shifting his weight off Pei Xuan and supporting himself on the table as he spoke. “I’ll find a way to kill those beasts in a bit. Can you open the door beforehand and go out to collect some snow?”
Pei Xuan bit his lower lip and said firmly, "Okay!"
"Okay, let's divide the work and cooperate."
After Chen Qing finished speaking, he stopped looking at him, leaned against the table, raised his pistol, and aimed it at the bloodthirsty beasts outside the window.
Pei Xuan pulled the corpse blocking the door aside and moved the table.
"Whoosh!" The bullet pierced the air, its whistling sound carrying it past the wild dog's head.
One stray dog fell to the ground, and the others panicked and became alert. They looked around but couldn't pinpoint their target. The next second, one stray dog pounced and tore at its dead companion's body, followed closely by the others.
“Great,” Chen Qing murmured, “A group of wild dogs is easier to kill than a scattered one.”
She raised her hand again, and out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Pei Xuan had already opened the door. Taking advantage of the chaos among the wild dogs, he quickly wrapped a large pile of snow in his clothes and brought it into the house.
His appearance didn't attract the attention of the stray dogs. Seeing that Pei Xuan was alright, Chen Qing felt relieved and focused on killing the dogs—one, two, four…
With bullets running out and more and more wild dogs dying, the animals finally realized something was wrong, tucked their tails between their legs and tried to flee, while others stood on high places and barked at the dilapidated temple.
"Alright, hurry up and close the door and come back." Chen Qing instructed, but no one answered. She turned around and saw that there was no one behind her. The door was half blocked by the table, leaving only a gap big enough for one person to squeeze through.
Well done, worthy of being the "male lead".
Chen Qing gritted her teeth and sneered, "Fine, she's better off alone!"
Gritting his teeth, he went over, pushed the table to block the door, and put the wooden board back to block the draft.
Chen Qing returned to the fire and added some more firewood.
After doing all this, her face was deathly pale, her eyes were vacant and lifeless.
Something seemed to be flowing through her legs, but she was too weak to move.
Will she die? Will she return to her original world after she dies? Probably not. She'll probably be smashed to pieces. That damned man Shaoyang will probably be too eager to cremate her and elope with another woman.
He fainted and woke up, then fainted again shortly after waking up. The sky went from light to dark and then back to light. The good news was that the number of stray dogs outside had decreased, and Chen Qing was temporarily safe. The bad news was that the injury on Chen Qing's leg was getting worse.
After not drinking a drop of water for more than a day, Chen Qing finally lost two pounds.
"System, please find a suitable healing medicine for my current condition."
Chen Qing's lips were pale, and her lips were dry and sticky.
Fortunately, communicating with the system doesn't require speaking.
Soon, Chen Qing's balance was reduced to zero, and a bottle of healing medicine suddenly appeared in her hand.
The jade bottle was no longer than a middle finger and had no markings. Chen Qing opened the stopper and poured the medicine directly into his mouth. The cool liquid slid down his throat, and the fatigue and pain in his body seemed to lessen considerably.
Chen Qing fell into a deep sleep again.
She didn't know how much time had passed when she seemed to hear voices outside.
"Father, Mother! Look! There's a dilapidated temple up ahead! We finally have a place to stay today!"
"Poor Jiao'er, she has never suffered like this before. Now that she has found refuge in the wilderness, she is happy!"
"That little beast wasn't lying to us after all!"
That voice, that name... why does it sound so familiar?
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