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The night was cold, and a chill swept through as Li Nan gradually regained consciousness after a brief mental blackout.
Above him hung a faint crescent moon, and the howling Autumn Wind around him sent a shiver down Li Nan's spine.
Li Nan raised his hand to touch his head, realizing that the blood had dried into crusts, and the wound at his temple had already healed.
"My hands and feet can actually move!" Li Nan felt a small thrill, but he was indifferent when he saw the cold corpse beneath him.
Li Nan tried to stand up but found that his body had been stiff for quite some time. Although his injuries had healed, his limbs still felt somewhat numb. He opened his eyes wide, slightly moved his brain's nerves, and then slowly began to recover.
Estimating the time, it should still be midnight, meaning Li Nan had only fainted for an hour or two.
Li Nan frowned, "I shouldn't have trusted strangers; this is a living lesson. Let's see if you dare not to listen in the future."
Lei Dafu's body had already stiffened, his face devoid of color, and the pool of blood on the ground had also congealed. Li Nan moved Lei Dafu's corpse and casually found a pit to throw it into, then muttered to himself, "You said you'd come back as a ghost to seek revenge; it seems your words were reversed!"
Under the gentle moonlight, Li Nan walked over to a wall and forcefully pulled out a rebar that was deeply embedded. He turned it around in his hand and walked away.
***********************************
The next morning, Mo Xiaohui woke up early. As she stepped out of the small house, her body inadvertently bumped into a bell, producing a continuous "ding ding" sound.
Hearing the bell, Li Nan immediately jumped out of the driver's seat of the truck. Seeing Mo Xiaohui, he smiled and asked, "How did you sleep last night?"
Mo Xiaohui stretched lazily, indicating that she felt good. However, upon seeing Li Nan's dark circles under his eyes, she countered with concern, "What happened last night? Why do your eyes look like you've been awake for so long?"
Li Nan smiled back, "Nothing much; just a little incident!"
At that moment, Li Dapeng also came out. "What little incident?"
Li Nan felt a bit happy seeing the three of them together again. "Last night, Lei Dafu left on his own, that's all there is to it!"
Li Dapeng's expression remained unchanged; he simply said "oh" and then told Li Nan, "Our food is running low, we need to replenish it. I know there's a river nearby, I want to see if I can catch some fish or shrimp."
Li Nan nodded and said, "Make sure to stay safe. Don't be reckless; shout out if you encounter any danger!"
Li Dapeng held two Binding Hooks in his hands, took down the bell from outside the house, and then ran out.
Mo Xiaohui leaned closer to Li Nan and quietly asked, "What exactly happened last night?"
Li Nan was taken aback. "Didn't I say? Lei Dafu just left!"
Mo Xiaohui replied, "You can't fool me!"
"Why?" Li Nan was puzzled; how could she know what happened last night?
Mo Xiaohui reached out and wiped Li Nan's face, then said, "The bloodstains haven't been cleaned up yet. How can I believe you?"
Li Nan awkwardly laughed. "I clearly washed it with water just now; how could there still be..."
"Never underestimate a woman's intuition. Our keen eyes can spot any monster or ghost!"
Seeing Mo Xiaohui being playful, Li Nan was even less willing to talk about what happened last night and could only vaguely say, "That person was dangerous, but it's fine now!"
Mo Xiaohui could roughly guess what had happened last night, so she simply said, "As long as it's something you did, I support you. Don't worry too much; this world has already become chaotic, and we need to change!"
Li Nan nodded. "It's fine now. I'm not too comfortable with Li Dapeng going alone; I'll go check on him!"
Mo Xiaohui nodded and watched the two men gradually walking away. A sense of happiness rose in her heart. "It would be nice if things could be like this in the future!"
Li Nan was not very willing to approach the construction site, so he took a detour. About five or six hundred meters away from the site was the Riverside that ran through Jiangbei City.
Li Dapeng had already rushed over, taken off his shoes, and rolled up his pants to start feeling around by the riverbank.
When Li Nan got closer, he found that the Riverside was even broader than he had imagined, with a water surface about twenty meters wide, shimmering under the sunlight, making it look quite magnificent!
Noticing someone behind him, Li Dapeng turned around and, upon seeing Li Nan, put down the Binding Hook in his hand and asked, "What are you looking at?"
"I don't know. I hadn't looked closely at the Riverside before. I always thought this big river nearby was nothing special, but now it seems quite spectacular!"
Li Dapeng did not understand Li Nan's meaning. "It's a pity it's just a river and not a field where crops can grow anytime; otherwise, we could live without worries!"
Li Nan smiled. "Where would such good things happen? Given the current situation, it's already great that we can take care of ourselves!"
As they spoke, Li Dapeng had already caught a River Crab by the water's edge, which was about two fingers wide and rather small.
"What does 'taking care of oneself' mean?" Li Dapeng asked as he held up a River Crab and stuffed it into his shirt pocket.
Seeing that there were catches by the water, Li Nan wanted to try as well. However, as soon as he stepped in, he sank into the mud.
Li Dapeng laughed. "This is a skill; you can't do it!"
Li Nan struggled hard to pull his foot out of the mud and said helplessly, "Taking care of oneself probably means living well on your own. There's also a saying that follows: 'to benefit the world,' but that's just an ancient person's fantasy; it's no different from daydreaming!"
Li Dapeng responded with an "oh," and then he had another catch in his hand. This time it was not a River Crab but a small crayfish.
"If only I had fishing line; otherwise, I could catch some big fish!"
Li Nan was not familiar with the Riverside and these little creatures in the river. He asked Li Dapeng, "Can these things be eaten?"
"Of course, although there's a bit less meat, it's enough to satisfy our hunger!" Li Dapeng looked at Li Nan as if he were an alien, while Li Nan explained, "I'm not really fond of these shelled aquatic creatures!"
Li Dapeng, who had been serious, suddenly broke into laughter and pulled a River Crab from his pocket, tossing it at Li Nan. Li Nan was standing in a muddy spot and immediately stumbled, falling to the ground and getting covered in mud.
Seeing Li Nan's embarrassment, Li Dapeng burst out laughing, "A big man afraid of River Crabs? You really are something..."
Li Nan, lying in the mud, didn't mind at all. "There really are people in this world who are most afraid of River Crabs, and I just happen to be one of them!"
Amidst their banter, Li Nan and Li Dapeng managed to catch quite a few River Crabs and some small crayfish together—probably about a pound. It wasn't a feast, but it would make for a nice appetizer.
Carrying their small haul back to the campsite by the truck, Mo Xiaohui saw the two men covered in mud and was puzzled about what had happened.
"What happened? Did you both fall into a mud pit?"
Li Nan tossed a handful of small river creatures onto the road and said, "We just went to catch these things. Did you really think we were still children at heart?"
At that moment, Li Dapeng couldn't help but chuckle.
Seeing this, Mo Xiaohui understood most of it and quickly said, "There's a water puddle over there; go wash up. You both look like mud men—you're too dirty!"
Mo Xiaohui bent down and picked up the small river creatures that Li Nan had thrown down with a small steel basin. She could cook plain rice because Li Nan had taught her how much water to use for how much rice and approximately how long to cook it. However, she had no idea how to deal with these lively creatures.
By this time, Li Dapeng had already cleaned off all the mud and took the steel basin from Mo Xiaohui's hands. He filled it with some clean water and waited for the creatures inside to bubble and spit out mud. Then he turned to the other two and said, "We don't have any seasonings, so let's just boil them in plain water. It may be bland, but it will fill us up!"
Li Nan nodded along with him, letting Li Dapeng take charge of the cooking. Meanwhile, Mo Xiaohui blushed; it seemed her cooking skills were no match for this twelve-year-old boy!
Li Nan patted Mo Xiaohui on the shoulder meaningfully, suggesting that the road ahead was long and she had heavy responsibilities.
Mo Xiaohui playfully retorted, "If you're not satisfied with my cooking, then you can cook for yourself from now on!"
Li Nan put on an expression that suggested he was not to be trifled with and immediately fled, while Mo Xiaohui quickly chased after him, shouting for a fight. At this moment, Li Dapeng shook his head and said, "Ah! These two kids!"
After more than ten minutes, Li Dapeng's White River Fresh was ready. When it was served, a delightful aroma wafted through the air, and Mo Xiaohui was already drooling.
Li Nan had a resistance to river fish and tried to ignore it, but he couldn't resist the temptation of the delicious food. Finally, gritting his teeth, he pounced on it.
"I didn't expect the river fish to taste so good!" Li Nan praised Li Dapeng's cooking skills, while Li Dapeng humbly replied, "It's nothing special; it's just that I haven't had fresh food in a long time!"
Li Nan nodded, "Li Dapeng is right!"
The three of them gathered around a small steel basin, enjoying this meal of river fish to their hearts' content, happiness evident on their faces.
At that moment, it seemed as if the three were truly a family: the tall man was the father, the woman was the mother, and the twelve-year-old boy was their child. What a happy family they were! Warm and harmonious—if only all of this weren't happening in a post-apocalyptic world!
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