Chapter 147

Chapter 147

The rain had stopped, and the chill in their bodies had subsided. But in its place came something even harder to endure.

Thirst and hunger.

Their throats were so dry they burned, and their mouths felt full of sand. Even swallowing hurt. Their stomachs cramped and spasmed, the gnawing emptiness threatening to consume them whole.

Qingshui spoke. “We need to find food, water… and clothes.”

“Should we leave now?” Ye Que asked.

Qingshui did not answer right away. She stood, moved aside the board blocking the entrance, and looked outside.

Everything was still gray and overcast. The sky had not cleared; the rain had merely stopped.

Qingshui stared at the sky with a frown.

It would rain again. This was only a brief respite. It would not be long before the rain returned.

But they could not remain trapped here forever. They had to use this break in the rain to get moving. Perhaps they could make it down the mountain and find somewhere else to shelter.

“Put out the fire.”

Ye Que and Wu Wujie immediately rose to extinguish it.

Hiss-white smoke billowed up, carrying the acrid smell of something scorched. The fire was out.

Qingshui pulled open the door. “Let’s go.”

The three of them stepped into the mud. The mountain trail was soft and slippery after the rain, and their feet sank deep with every step. They could only support one another as they inched downhill.

Wu Wujie held out a hand, and Ye Que grabbed it. Qingshui reached out next, and Wu Wujie took her hand. They were like three grasshoppers tied to the same string. None of them could let go, and none of them dared to.

With every step, they prayed that it would not start raining again. At least, not yet. It could rain after they found shelter, after they found food, after they had a chance to catch their breath.

Just not now.

They had no idea how long they had been walking when they crossed a slope and found a muddy path before them.

Compared to the route they had taken earlier, this path was practically intact. Its surface had been packed down by footsteps, and it climbed away to the right before disappearing into a distant mountain hollow.

At the path’s far end to the left stood several houses.

The three of them stopped and exchanged glances. Qingshui gave a hand signal. Ye Que and Wu Wujie nodded, then immediately followed her.

Their feet sank into the mud, forcing muck out around the edges of their shoes with wet squelches. Every sound wound their nerves tighter.

Qingshui glanced back.

The path was not long. From where they stood to the visible end was only a little over a hundred meters. Beyond that, it broke off and vanished beneath the wild grass.

Clearly, no one had used it in a long time.

This was a completely abandoned village.

There were only five or six houses, all old-fashioned adobe buildings. Some of the roofs had already collapsed, and the walls were thick with moss. There were no windows or doors, only dark, gaping openings.

Tangled branches grew wildly in front of the houses, mixed with all kinds of trash.

The rubbish had decayed beyond recognition. Several plastic bottles lay crooked in the mud, coated in such a thick layer of muck that their original colors could no longer be seen. A few scraps of cloth had rotted until only strands of fiber remained.

Most of the trash had already decomposed into the soil, mingling with dead branches and fallen leaves to form dark, shapeless clumps that were impossible to identify.

The three of them did not approach the houses immediately. Instead, they cautiously circled the entire area first.

There was no movement, no sign of Madmen, no fresh footprints, and no blood. Only after confirming that the area was safe for the time being did they return to the trash heap.

Qingshui’s gaze fell on a feed sack, the sturdy woven kind used to hold pig or chicken feed. It could have served as protection from the rain. The sack was half-buried in the mud, with one corner sticking out.

Qingshui grabbed that corner and tried to pull it free.

Riiip-

Before she could even lift it all the way, the sack tore in half.

Perhaps it had been abandoned for too long. The woven material had rotted through ages ago and had only barely retained its shape.

Qingshui stared silently at the torn scrap in her hand for two seconds. Then she tossed it aside and picked up the plastic bottles instead.

The bottles were empty, but they still had caps that could be screwed on tightly. At the very least, they could be used as containers.

She closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them again, she had made her decision.

There was nothing here. No food, no clean water, and no clothes they could wear. They could not afford to waste any more time.

“Let’s go,” she said decisively. “This place is empty. Don’t waste time here.”

Ye Que and Wu Wujie followed her out of the abandoned village without a word.

Wu Wujie glanced back and suggested in a low voice, “Weren’t there railroad tracks behind the village? We could try following them.”

“Maybe they’ll lead us to… somewhere people still live,” Ye Que said quietly.

“Then that’s what we’ll do. Remember, walk along the gravel beside the railbed. Don’t step on the rails; it’ll make too much noise. I’ll take the lead, Wu Wujie will bring up the rear, and Ye Que, you stay close between us.”

The tracks were almost completely buried in mud. They stretched out from behind the abandoned village, passed through a patch of low shrubs, and disappeared into the distance.

They had not been walking long when a small hill appeared ahead. It was not very tall, only a few dozen meters high.
But the vegetation on the hill was different from everywhere else. There were clear signs that it had been cut down, rather than broken naturally.

Qingshui’s heart skipped a beat. “Let’s take a look. Someone should be living nearby.”

They had only made it halfway up the hill when an almost imperceptible rustling pierced the deathly silence of the woods. A soft scraping sound came from the ground.

Qingshui froze. Her hands shot out to press down on Ye Que’s and Wu Wujie’s shoulders, and all three dropped into a crouch almost simultaneously, half-prone in the grass as they held their breath.

A Madman?

Qingshui stared fixedly at the withered yellow grass, listening as the sound gradually grew louder. It was a slow, wet slithering.

“Hiss… hiss…”

A faint breeze carrying a raw, fishy odor brushed past her nose. Qingshui slowly turned her head, and her pupils abruptly contracted.

A grayish-brown snake as thick as her wrist was crawling out of the bushes. It was almost the same color as the soil. Its head was slightly raised, its black eyes fixed on them.

Qingshui didn’t move, and neither of the others dared to. No one wanted to be bitten by a snake now. If it was venomous, a bite would be no different from a death sentence.

The snake seemed to sense something. Its head snapped toward her, and its tongue began flicking faster.

It was about to strike.

Qingshui’s muscles tensed. The instant the snake coiled to spring, she lunged forward and caught it precisely just behind the head.

The snake thrashed violently in her grip a few times before quickly going limp.

Qingshui crouched down, crushed its head with a rock, and swiftly cleaned it. Then she divided the raw snake meat between Ye Que and Wu Wujie.

The three of them walked on, chewing mechanically. Then the sight before them made all three stop chewing at once.

Below them lay a lush green patchwork of fields, each plot arranged in neat rows. There were no flowers, though, so they couldn’t tell what was growing there.

Several rows of houses stood scattered along the edge of the fields. They were old-fashioned too, but far more intact than the abandoned village they had passed earlier. These had doors and windows.

Where there were houses, there were supplies to scavenge.

Qingshui lowered her voice. “Let’s go. We need food, water, and clothes.”

Keeping low, the three of them slowly slid down the hill and approached the rows of houses.

A motorcycle was parked in one of the yards. Several pieces of clothing lay scattered beneath the eaves and across the ground, but they were soaked through with rainwater and unwearable.

Qingshui’s gaze lingered on the motorcycle before moving away. “Let’s check inside.”

The front door stood wide open, so they walked straight in.

The house was a mess, but it didn’t look as though Madmen had broken in. It looked more like the owners had left in a hurry. What truly made their hearts leap, however, was the food piled in one corner: pickled vegetables, cured meat, sweet potatoes, radishes…

They didn’t gorge themselves. They simply grabbed a few sweet potatoes and some shriveled radishes and began eating.

Qingshui went into the back room and started searching for warm clothing. Winter wasn’t far off, and the thickest things they had were sweaters, nowhere near enough to withstand the cold.

Worse still, after walking through the rain, their clothes had dried and been soaked again so many times that the chill had seeped all the way through them.

Ye Que followed her in and expertly reached under the bed. To her surprise, she actually dragged out a thick cotton quilt.

They also found several down jackets and padded coats. Once they had changed into the thick down jackets, warmth seeped through their skin, and all three let out long sighs of relief.

Qingshui suddenly remembered the motorcycle in the yard and began looking around. At last, she found a motorcycle helmet in the corner of the room.

It was black and a little worn, with a crack across the visor. But when she picked it up and tested its weight, it felt sturdy.

It would be extremely useful. It could protect her if a Madman tried to attack with its blood. After all, Madmen loved splashing blood into people’s faces.

The helmet gave them another layer of protection.

“Keep looking. See if there are any more helmets.”

They carefully searched several other houses with motorcycles parked in their yards. Unfortunately, they found no more helmets.

Ye Que discovered something else, though: two hooded protective suits. They were one-piece garments resembling raincoats, made from thick material. Each hood had a transparent visor that covered the entire face.

Ye Que said, “These are worn when spraying pesticide in orchards. I used one when I was little. My parents used to grow fruit trees.”

Wu Wujie brought over three mismatched weapons. “There’s an orchard nearby?”

She nodded. “There should be.”

Qingshui fastened a sickle to her waist, while Ye Que and Wu Wujie each carried a long, narrow, pointed shovel.

Qingshui watched as the other two put on the hooded protective suits and thought for a few seconds. Her stomach was full, but her mind felt hollow.

It wasn’t the kind of emptiness food could fill. After extreme exhaustion, the body needed sugar. Their bodies might be able to keep going, but their minds couldn’t.

“We need sugar,” she said. “Fruit would be ideal if we can find any.”

Ye Que and Wu Wujie walked over and stood beside her.

“But,” Qingshui continued, “stay alert. At the first sign that something is wrong, we retreat immediately.”