Xiaoying pulled Xiaogao and looked at the latter eagerly.
There was both happiness and worry in his eyes.
Fortunately, Xiao Gao was not able to undergo the extremely dangerous fire test. What I was worried about was that he would not give up.
"Believe me!"
Xiao Gao held his sister's little hand hard and said, "I will definitely become a fire bearer!"
In this world shrouded in darkness, only by becoming a fire bearer can we have the ability to protect ourselves.
Only then can you control your own destiny!
Xiao Gao is not afraid of death, he is afraid that after he dies, no one will be able to take care of Xiao Ying.
For Xiaoying, he doesn't care no matter how big the risk is.
And there was always a voice in Xiao Gao's heart, asking him to change himself and his life!
"But the priest just said it."
Xiaoying pursed her lips: "You have to kill a nightmare beast to participate in the fire sacrifice trial."
The Nightmare Beast is the greatest threat to the human race. In addition to dying of illness and old age, most of the people living in the Land of Eternal Night have died under the claws of the Nightmare Beast.
Hunters who hunt nightmare beasts are the most dangerous profession in the village!
If you want to hunt the Nightmare Beast, you must join a hunting team.
The problem is that with Xiao Gao's age and strength, the hunting team won't want him.
"I'm going to find Uncle Qiu."
Xiao Gao has already thought of a solution: "Ask him for help!"
Uncle Qiu is a hunter of the Dashi Village hunting team. He used to be very close to Xiaoying's father. After the latter passed away, it was only with Uncle Qiu's help that the two children managed to survive.
Xiao Gao took Xiao Ying to Uncle Qiu's house.
When he knocked on the door and saw Uncle Qiu, he knelt down without thinking and kowtowed to the latter three times.
I knocked my forehead till it was black and bloody!
"Xiao Gao!"
Uncle Qiu quickly helped him up: "What are you doing!"
The tall man gritted his teeth and said, "Is there nothing to eat? I still have a few pieces of sweet potatoes and a piece of dried pork here. You and Xiaoying can take them back."
He thought Xiao Gao was here to beg for food.
Xiao Gao noticed that his wife was standing behind Uncle Qiu. The skinny woman looked very ugly.
Although Uncle Qiu is a senior hunter in the hunting team, the hunting team only goes out once every three or four days. Whether they can hunt the Nightmare Beast depends on luck. It is normal to come back empty-handed.
There are a lot of sweet potatoes grown around the village, but it is not enough to feed the village's more than 1,000 people.
Uncle Qiu also has three children at home, and his life is already very stressful. It is really difficult to support Xiao Gao and Xiao Ying.
"No!"
Xiao Gao shook his head: "Uncle Qiu, I want to join the hunting team."
"What?"
Uncle Qiu was immediately shocked and suspected that there was something wrong with Xiao Gao's brain: "How old are you, what nonsense are you talking about!"
"I'm serious."
However, it is useless no matter how serious Xiao Gao is. Uncle Qiu firmly disagrees with him joining the hunting team.
Firstly, the rules do not allow it, and secondly, Xiaogao joining the hunting team will only become a burden, and other hunters will not agree.
In the end, Xiao Gao could only take the two pieces of sweet potatoes and half a piece of dried meat that Uncle Qiu forced him to go home with Xiao Ying.
Xiaoying was very happy with this result.
She skillfully lit the fire, peeled half a sweet potato, added a few slices of dried meat to the pot, added water and mixed it with dried wild vegetables, and cooked a pot of chowder soup for dinner.
"Brother, eat more."
Xiaoying spooned most of the pot of chowder to Xiaogao, leaving only half a bowl for herself.
In the past, Xiao Gao would definitely give some to his sister.
But today he did the same thing again and ate everything in one go.
After dinner, the two lay down on the hard wooden bed and fell asleep hugging each other.
Just like those days in the past.
Xiaoying soon fell into sleep and slept deeply.
But just after she fell asleep, Xiao Gao opened his eyes and stared at his sister nestled in his arms.
He reached out and touched Xiaoying's face gently, and the latter murmured: "Brother."
There was tenderness in Xiao Gao's eyes, and then he became extremely firm.
He carefully pulled away from his body, quietly got out of bed, and pulled out a wooden box from under the bed.
Contained here are the relics left by Xiaoying's father.
It is also the only property the two children have.
Xiao Gao was equipped with a dagger, a short knife, and a bag of fire powder.
He took one last look at his sister who was still lying on the bed, turned around and left this small home.
Uncle Qiu's refusal did not dispel Xiao Gao's determination. Since he could not join the hunting team, he would go it alone!
Although he was not a native of Dashi Village, Xiao Gao was still very familiar with the terrain and environment of the village. Using the light emitted by the sacrificial fire on the central altar, he secretly reached the outskirts of the village.
Dashi Village is located next to a river and is surrounded by stone walls to prevent the invasion of nightmare beasts.
But this kind of defense is only for the outside but not for the inside, so it is not difficult for Xiao Gao to sneak out.
He chose a big tree next to the wall and climbed up, then climbed over the stone wall and jumped outside.
As soon as his feet landed on the ground, Xiao Gao couldn't help but shiver.
There are two worlds inside and outside the stone wall.
Inside the wall, there are not only the lighting, warmth and protection of the sacrificial fire, but also the guards of priests, fire bearers and hunters. Unless they encounter an unstoppable disaster, most of the villagers are still safe.
And outside the wall is the paradise of nightmare beasts.
Xiao Gao, who had no hunting experience, went out to hunt the beast alone, which was tantamount to pulling teeth from the tiger's mouth!
Xiao Gao also knew that his behavior was reckless and irrational, but he had no other choice.
The teenage boy tried his best to suppress his inner fear and walked step by step towards the unknown wilderness.
The Land of Eternal Night is not completely dark. Although darkness covers the earth all the time, there are also some luminous plants and insects that allow people to barely see the surrounding environment clearly.
Xiao Gao did not dare to stray too far from the village. He walked upstream along the river bank to see if he could encounter a lone nightmare beast.
The ignorant are also fearless.
Perhaps Xiao Gao had good luck today, or perhaps his prayers to his ancestors had taken effect. He had just walked a few hundred steps when he saw a dire wolf drinking water by the river not far ahead.
Nightmare wolf!
A kind of fear originating from the soul suddenly struck Xiao Gao's heart, making his legs tremble and he almost couldn't hold the short knife in his hand.
The nightmare wolf is a very common nightmare beast in the land of eternal night. It often wanders around the village in groups, so Xiao Gao is not unfamiliar with this kind of nightmare beast at all.
But it is definitely not the prey that Xiao Gao wants to encounter - a small nightmare beast such as a nightmare rabbit or a nightmare rat.
The nightmare wolf is very cunning and cruel!
And at the same time that Xiao Gao saw the nightmare wolf, the nightmare wolf noticed it.
It suddenly raised its head and looked at Xiao Gao. A pair of wolf eyes were like dancing will-o'-the-wisps, shining with greed and bloodthirsty!