At this time, the middle-aged man and the young man began to make preparations. He took off a gunpowder and an ox horn filled with gunpowder from the wall, hung the hatchet on his waist. Then he took out a backpack from the back room and put a basket inside.
Pack rice cakes, a gourd filled with water, a roll of coarse cloth, and a rope. On the other side of the house, the young man also hung a hatchet and a large gourd filled with water on his waist.
What made Zuo Shaoqing a little strange was that the young man who had been silent all this time looked at her with a look of surprise or even happiness. He looked a little excited.
After everything was ready, the middle-aged man waved to Zuo Shaoqing and led the way out of the room.
Zuo Shaoqing picked up his backpack and followed them closely. They walked along the winding path towards Dalat Mountain.
It was almost evening. The winding path passed several similarly dilapidated houses. The ladies of those houses were preparing dinner. They put their hands on their foreheads and looked towards the middle-aged man. The middle-aged man just
I waved to them and walked directly in front of their door.[
When it was getting dark, they had already entered the tropical rain forest of Dalat Mountain.
The tropical rainforest is an unfathomable maze full of traps, making people unfamiliar with it feel frightened and uneasy.
It was just such a maze that the middle-aged father and his son led Zuo Shaoqing into. As soon as they entered the rain forest, they seemed to be entering darkness. Occasionally, through the branches above their heads, they could see fragments of the gradually darkening sky.
The middle-aged man didn't seem to mind the darkness. He chopped some dead branches with a hatchet, tied them into a torch, and walked ahead holding it high. The young man followed closely behind him. The young man looked back at Zuo Shaoqing from time to time, with a smile on his face.
A strange smile. Sometimes he would pull the branches out of the way for her, or point out the ridge under her feet. Occasionally, Zuo Shaoqing would find that his eyes would glance at her body, that kind of
Peeping, seduced eyes.
Looking at the rainforest at the edge of darkness and the dazzling torch, Zuo Shaoqing was very hesitant. She didn't know whether she should suggest that the middle-aged father and his son stop and rest until tomorrow. But then she thought, now is the best time.
Dangerous time. She guessed that by this time, the truck driver must have called the police. Lieutenant Colonel McCann might be confused for a while, but not for long. In the end, he would still send troops and police into Dalat Mountain to look for her, more likely
The answer is to kill her. Perhaps, crossing the Dalat Mountains earlier and crossing the border as soon as possible is the best choice for her.
At eleven o'clock in the middle of the night, the middle-aged people decided to camp. At this time, there was an eerie silence in the rain forest, and the moist moisture began to seep out from all the dark corners and spread over them.
The middle-aged man chose to camp under a huge banyan tree. Under the banyan tree, several wide roots stretched out from both sides like walls, wrapping them. The middle-aged man spread out a coarse cloth in this small open space. He gestured
Zuo Shaoqing was resting on this piece of coarse cloth. Zuo Shaoqing smiled and nodded to them, then sat down cross-legged on this piece of coarse cloth.
The middle-aged man lit a small fire under the plank. He took his son and sat down beside the fire, leaning against the plank. He waved to Zuo Shaoqing, gesturing for her to lie down and sleep.
Under the astonished gazes of the middle-aged father and son, Zuo Shaoqing pulled out the pistol from her waist, held it in her hand, and tucked it into her armpit. She smiled at them, and then lay down on the coarse cloth. A few minutes later,
She fell asleep.
Falling asleep in the darkness here is like sinking into an abyss.
Zuo Shaoqing was extremely happy to see his sister in this warm sleep. Her sister was lying face to face with her on the bed, and her big beautiful eyes were wandering around her face. Her sister said: "Sister, tell me
Are you telling the truth?" She replied: "You ask, I tell the truth." She saw her sister's mouth wide open and sinking into the darkness behind. There were many gray tiles sliding down around them. The sister watched.
She sank like an abyss and was about to slip into darkness. She jumped over and grabbed her cold hand. The two sisters hung in the air, staring at each other face to face. She vaguely heard her sister shouting: "
Yeah, it smells so good! Sister, I'm hungry, I'm hungry." After that, Xiaolong soup dumplings and duck meat from Xinjiekou, Nanjing, meat rice dumplings and rice noodles from Jinlan Bay were mixed together, floating in front of her eyes,
It exudes an alluring fragrance. It smells good! It smells really good!
Zuo Shaoqing slowly opened her eyes, and the surroundings were still in the dreamy gray mist. She saw a round thing shaking in front of her eyes in the hazy state. She was startled and almost pulled out her armpits.
pistol. Then, she saw a bright smiling face behind the round thing. The boy was looking at her with a smile.
She woke up completely. The gray morning mist was floating around her, and there were already birdsong in the rain forest. Dew dripped from the tall treetops, hitting her like stones. She
After a while, I realized that the round thing in front of me was a rice cake that had been roasted into a brown color.
She sat up. The boy was still smiling and brought a rice cake with a wooden stick in front of her. She smiled and nodded to the boy and took the rice cake. Only then did she really feel that her stomach was already rumbling.
He screamed.
The middle-aged man sat by the fire, smiled at Zuo Shaoqing, and continued to bake rice cakes on the fire.
Zuo Shaoqing took a bite of the rice cake. Although it was very hard, it had a very special fragrance. The young man handed her a water hyacinth and motioned for her to drink water. She pulled out the stopper on the gourd, raised her head and took a sip of water.
By then, she had already felt that all her energy had been restored.
After breakfast, the middle-aged father and his son led her on the road. They stepped over the fallen rotten wood, avoided the tree branches and snake-like vines blocking the sky, and walked forward quietly. The ground was thick with
The rotten leaves were soaked with water, making a chirping sound with every step they took. Zuo Shaoqing's shoes were already soaked. She felt that it would be better to walk barefoot like the father and son.
Towards noon, the terrain gradually rose. The middle-aged man stopped unexpectedly. He looked around with confusion on his face and listened intently, with a vague sense of vigilance and uneasiness in his eyes.
Zuo Shaoqing's nerves were also tense, and she looked around alertly. Then, she also smelled that there seemed to be a smell of freshly burned smoke in the rain forest. She understood that there might be someone nearby. She subconsciously leaned towards the tree
.[
The middle-aged man pointed to Zuo Shaoqing and whispered something while making gestures. Zuo Shaoqing gradually understood that the middle-aged man wanted to go to the front to take a look. If there was no problem in front, he would stretch out his big
Thumb. Then, you two, he pointed at Zuo Shaoqing and his son, then go over.
Zuo Shaoqing nodded to him, and at the same time pulled the young man to his side and leaned against the tree.
The young man leaned against her body, raising his head from time to time and looking at her face.
The middle-aged man walked forward cautiously with a backpack on his back and his gun on his shoulder.
Zuo Shaoqing carefully observed his surroundings, and then stared at the back of the middle-aged man through the branches, watching him climb a small hill. The middle-aged man stopped, as if he was observing something. He suddenly turned around
body, one hand waved vigorously towards Zuo Shaoqing, as if to warn her. But then, without any warning, both Zuo Shaoqing and the young man heard a gunshot in horror. The middle-aged man fell down.
Tumbled and fell down the hillside.
Zuo Shaoqing noticed that the boy next to her was trembling all over and was about to rush forward. His mouth had already opened and he was about to scream. She quickly held him in her arms and covered his mouth tightly.
The boy struggled hard in her arms. She immediately pushed him to the ground, fixed him with her arms and legs, and still covered his mouth tightly. After that, she dragged him, bit by bit
Back up, until you reach the thick grass.
She felt the boy crying in her arms, and his body was shaking all the time. He hugged her waist tightly, and his spasmodic hands grasped the flesh of her back. She pressed her face against the boy's tear-stained face.
on him, rubbing it, trying to comfort him.
A few minutes later, shouting and running sounds came from the direction where the middle-aged man fell to the ground. Zuo Shaoqing hugged the young man tightly and lay motionless in the grass. Although she couldn't see it, she knew it was the soldier who was chasing her.
Ten minutes later, some more footsteps sounded around them. Through the blades of grass, Zuo Shaoqing saw some soldiers running past her. Then, she saw a familiar face, that of Captain Aben.
She understood that the delivery trucks in White Rock Town did not confuse Lieutenant Colonel McCann. On the other hand, Captain Aben had indeed made great progress after several months of her training. He had actually judged the direction she was heading into the mountains.
, and even judged the route she was going to take. Thinking of this, Zuo Shaoqing flashed a self-deprecating sneer at the corner of his mouth. The so-called "carpenter wears shackles" probably refers to this.
The young man had calmed down a bit. His face was buried in Zuo Shaoqing's chest, and his arms hugged her waist tightly. She felt that her chest had been soaked by his tears. They lay motionless
In the grass, they did not leave the grass quietly until they were sure that the soldiers had left.
They observed the surroundings and cautiously walked to the place where the middle-aged man fell. There was still a stain of blood and many scattered footprints there. Apparently, the soldiers had carried the middle-aged man away.
Zuo Shaoqing looked back at the young man, looking at his sad face, and looking into his eyes. She patted his shoulder, pointed forward, then pointed back, and then looked at him with questioning eyes.
he.
The young man looked at her steadily, with some tears still in his sad eyes. He seemed to have understood what Zuo Shaoqing meant, whether to continue moving forward or go back. He hesitated briefly, and then pointed forward.
Zuo Shaoqing smiled and couldn't help holding him in his arms and stroking his back. The young man lowered his head and stood quietly. After a moment, he raised his head and stared at Zuo with his big black eyes.
Shaoqing then slowly struggled out of her arms. They didn't speak any more and continued walking westward.
It soon became dark. Knowing that there were soldiers nearby, they neither dared to light a torch nor a fire. They got into a dense bush and prepared to spend the night.
Zuo Shaoqing took out the spare rice cooker from her backpack and drank the water from the gourd with the boy. They quickly ate them all. Zuo Shaoqing felt that she had too little backup. Can she make it through tomorrow?
She had no idea about the border.
Zuo Shaoqing took out a piece of clothing from his backpack, spread it on the ground, and then pulled the boy to lie down on the clothing side by side.
