The fish soup was finally boiling.
I excitedly lifted my head, ready to call Suo Tian, but he suddenly covered my mouth.
Before I could react, he pointed toward the nearby grass, signaling me to stay quiet.
I nodded to show I understood.
I quickly drew my dagger as well and followed Suo Tian, who was already moving toward that area.
The tall grass was trembling slightly, and from deep within came a rustling sound—as if something was approaching us.
As for what it was… you didn’t need a genius to figure that out.
I listened carefully for a moment and whispered to Suo Tian, “Should we avoid it first?”
He tilted his head, listened for a few seconds, then shook his head.
“Not many of them. We can deal with it.”
Hearing that, I finally felt relieved.
I tightened my grip on my dagger and stared at the grass.
The rustling grew closer and closer; whatever was inside was almost upon us.
A few seconds later, when the first walker emerged in front of us, I stepped forward—only to freeze the moment I saw its face clearly.
Suo Tian saw my reaction and didn’t hesitate.
He rushed forward and cut it down with one strike, then dragged me back two steps.
Immediately after, several more walkers emerged from the grass.
This time, I didn’t dare zone out.
I cooperated with Suo Tian, and together we quickly took them down.
A few walkers should have been enough to leave me panting for breath.
The reason it felt so easy today wasn’t because Suo Tian was next to me… but because—
Every single one of those walkers was a little child around two or three years old.
They were all as small as Tingyun and Xiao Hu—tiny toddlers with rotting bodies, their little faces stiff and decayed.
They were easy to deal with.
After making sure no more were coming, Suo Tian grabbed my arm and pulled my dazed self back toward the fire.
Sitting on the ground, I couldn’t take my eyes off those tiny bodies lying not far away—scattered across the ground, pitiful beyond words.
I naturally have strong maternal instincts.
Anything involving children always tugs at my heart.
These little walkers were about the same age as Xiao Hu and Tingyun… and maybe because I subconsciously connected them, looking at their decomposed small bodies now… I felt nothing but heartache.
Suo Tian extinguished the campfire and set the pot of fish soup aside.
After spacing out for a moment, I stood up and helped him carry the pot and utensils back into the cabin.
Faced with the bodies of those little ones… even if that pot contained dragon meat, I wouldn’t have been able to stomach a single bite.
It was already quite dark.
After going inside, Suo Tian bolted the door from within.
The two of us sat at the wooden table and slowly drank our bowls of fish soup.
The soup tasted just as good as I had expected—delicious.
We didn’t finish all the fish; half a pot of fish meat remained.
At least we finally got our fill.
The rest would serve as breakfast the next morning.
After eating, the sky finally turned completely dark.
The cabin had no windows—only a door.
Before going to sleep, I pushed the table against the door as a barricade, then climbed onto the bed to rest.
The bed wasn’t big.
With Suo Tian lying beside me, I had to curl up in his arms just to make sure I wouldn’t fall off.
Honestly, after the exhaustion of the past few days, all I wanted was to sprawl out on my own and sleep with my limbs stretched in every direction.
But compared to that, curling up in Suo Tian’s arms actually felt… nicer.
It seemed like ever since we entered that little town, I’d never again had a moment to lie quietly and peacefully with him like this.
The surroundings were silent.
Lying together in this cabin felt safe.
Facing the darkness, it didn’t take long before my thoughts grew hazy.
Slowly slipping into sleep, I had a dream—absurd and surreal, yet warm and heart-soothing.
In the dream, there was a vast sea of fragrant flowers, and a group of children with bright, joyful smiles were running freely through it, laughing and playing.
I followed just beside them, playing games with them, laughing with them, messing around with them.
I was so, so happy.
After playing with them for a long, long time, I got a little tired.
They, however, showed no sign of fatigue.
When I plopped down onto the ground, they all giggled and gathered around me.
I wrapped my arms around two of them and started singing a children’s song with them.
But right after we finished singing, one of the children, who had been laughing only a moment ago, suddenly pouted and burst into tears.
The moment he cried, every child around him began crying as well.
Their crying was loud, sharp—carrying a strange, indescribable eeriness and terror.
Covering my ears, I stared at them as they wailed with all their might; the happiness from before evaporated instantly.
Then one of the children must have noticed my fear.
With tears streaming down his little face, he looked up at me and said, “Big sister, thank you for playing with us. We don’t have parents. Being able to play with you… makes us really happy.”
I hadn’t even begun to process how a two- or three-year-old could speak so clearly when the other children’s overlapping “thank you” drowned everything out.
One voice after another, the chorus of “thank you” layered strangely on top of itself, becoming a continuous echo.
My thoughts turned hazy again under the weight of those repeating voices.
The darkness in front of my eyes deepened…
When I opened my eyes again, daylight had already arrived.
The door was closed.
The room was still dim, with only a bit of light seeping through a square ventilation opening above and the crack under the door.
Suo Tian was already up, sitting on a stool and wrapping his own wound.
I lay still for a few seconds while my mind reset, then abruptly sat up, rushed to his side, and helped him finish wrapping the bandage.
After that, I scratched my head and flopped back onto the bed.
No matter what, I needed another nap.
Suo Tian glanced at me thoughtfully, then asked, “What did you dream about last night?”
I blinked at him in confusion. “Dream?” I searched my mind carefully.
I had definitely dreamt about something… but I couldn’t remember a single detail.
After staring at me for two more seconds, Suo Tian said quietly, “Some things are destined. If you can’t change them, you can only accept them.”
I didn’t understand why he suddenly said something like that.
I could only stare at him, puzzled.
After a while, he waved a hand. “Go back to sleep.”
……
In the end, I didn’t get that nap.
Last night’s sleep was too deep, and no matter how long I lay there, I couldn’t fall back asleep.
With no other choice, I got up to prepare breakfast.
I reheated the leftover piece of fish from yesterday.
While waiting for the water to boil, Suo Tian and I went to the stream to catch two more fish.
After all, we still had two days of travel ahead.
Who knew if we’d run into such a lucky spot again?
Better to prepare extra food, just in case.
We couldn’t pick more vegetables.
After a whole night, those corpses had attracted swarms of insects, making that place impossible to approach.
After catching the fish, we returned, ate breakfast, cleaned the remaining fish, wrapped them in a plastic bag we found in the cabin, and packed them into the backpack.
Then we boiled another pot of hot water.
After everything was ready, Suo Tian and I set off once again.
Having rested well, my stamina was much better today.
Throughout the entire morning, I didn’t feel the urge to stop and rest every now and then like I usually did.
Instead, my steps were full of energy, practically bounding forward.
Even Suo Tian shot me several appreciative glances.
We walked like this the whole day.
By nightfall, luck was not with us like the night before, so Suo Tian and I climbed up a tree again and made do by resting on a tree trunk.
To be honest, I really dislike resting on tree branches.
Once I climb up, I can barely sleep at all.
I’m afraid that if I fall asleep and lose awareness, I might roll over and accidentally fall off and break my leg…
Suo Tian didn’t seem to share my worries.
Once he got up the tree, he leaned against the trunk, and unless something happened during the night, he basically wouldn’t move at all.
I was extremely jealous.
This skill is definitely one of the survival abilities I must learn someday.
When daylight broke again, I was more excited than usual.
It meant that today, Suo Tian and I would finally be able to walk out of this damned forest.
Just thinking about leaving this dark, humid place made me want to scream with joy.
Of course, screaming was out of the question—we still had to keep moving.
We walked continuously for another whole morning.
Around noon, after pushing through a dense patch of forest, we saw from afar the faint outlines of several houses.
Even though I couldn’t yell, I still raised both arms and hopped in place for a while to vent the excitement inside me.
Once out of the forest, we were still a few km away from the distant small town, with small groves and farmland scattered across the area in between.
But after following Suo Tian forward for only a short distance—right after we passed a small wooded path—my excitement vanished instantly.
I deflated…
Beyond the trees was a large cemetery.
Although the country has promoted cremation for many years, many people in rural areas still insist on burying their dead.
They’ll even spend money and pull strings to ensure their loved ones can rest in the earth.
It’s a common thing.
While passing through the graveyard, I noticed a few of the smaller pits had been dug open but not filled back in.
It surprised me.
I stared a little longer and even spotted faint traces of blood near the unfilled pits.
Suo Tian had clearly noticed too.
After a quick glance, he explained, “When the accident first happened, some children probably died from infection and turned before burial. They didn’t have time to put them in the ground.”
I nodded, then glanced again at the pits and asked, “Could it be those few small walkers we ran into the other day?”
Suo Tian shook his head, unsure.
Letting out a heavy sigh, I walked quickly past the graveyard with him.
During that time, he held my hand tightly, not letting go, probably worried I was scared.
We walked a little farther.
Now the road was lined with proper fields, with a few walkers wandering in the distance.
As we were about to approach the town, Suo Tian reminded me, “Stay alert.”
— The end of the Chapter–
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