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墨書 Inktalez
After a whole night of tossing and turning, Ye Xiaohan finally found a moment to rest just as dawn was breaking.
Almost the instant she leaned against the mountain wall, her consciousness gave way completely, and she fell into a deep sleep.
In this dream, she was enveloped by vast expanses of dark clouds, thick and soft, making it nearly impossible for Ye Xiaohan to wake up.
However, the human body is too fragile to allow such indulgence.
As sunlight streamed into the cave and gradually moved across Ye Xiaohan's body with the passage of time, she eventually stirred from her deep slumber.
Rubbing her still sore eyes, Ye Xiaohan reached out toward the direction where the boy had been.
But her hand met only emptiness, jolting her fully awake.
Turning her head, she saw that the boy was no longer in his previous spot; only scattered pieces of clothing remained on the ground, along with bloodstains and remnants of medicine smeared everywhere, proving that she hadn’t merely imagined him.
What had happened last night was all too real.
Ye Xiaohan pushed herself up against the mountain wall and stepped outside the cave, squinting at the sun.
It was summer now; daylight arrived early, and though the sun was bright, it wasn’t too hot yet. It wasn’t very late in the morning either.
Ye Xiaohan scanned her surroundings but found no sign of the boy.
“Where is he? Just came back from the brink of death, and he’s already running off? Is he trying to get himself killed?”
Out of a sense of responsibility as a doctor, Ye Xiaohan was very angry at the boy for not taking care of himself properly.
After her anger subsided, she realized there was a more serious problem. Without the boy to guide her, she had no idea if she could find her way out of this forest!
“Hero! Hero, where are you? Are you still there?” Ye Xiaohan cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted a few times. Aside from startling a few birds, there was no response.
Could he have really sneaked away?
Ye Xiaohan cursed the boy in her heart. That ungrateful wretch! After staying up all night taking care of him, he just left her behind and ran off!
It wasn’t like she wanted anything from him; she just wanted to get out of the forest.
“Not even willing to show me the way. How infuriating! I’m still your savior!” Ye Xiaohan angrily flipped off the empty air. “And I saved you twice!”
There was no choice; with the navigation device gone, she had to find a way back home on her own.
Using the position of the sun, Ye Xiaohan figured out which direction was north, but it didn’t help much.
Knowing which way was north didn’t tell her where the city was located.
As expected, practical experience proved invaluable. Knowledge learned from books was not easy to apply without real-world practice.
With a sigh, Ye Xiaohan resigned herself to burying the campfire with dirt to prevent any stray embers from causing an accidental fire.
Then she simply cleaned the cave, unsure if it would be of any use, but considered it a way to tidy up the scene.
If those Black-Clad Masked Figures or the people sent by Liu Susu tracked her here, she hoped it might disrupt their judgment.
Ye Xiaohan, feeling helpless, had no choice but to pick a direction and head down the mountain. No matter what, she would figure things out once she reached the bottom.
Not long after Ye Xiaohan left, there was a faint rustling in the forest. Then, a frail figure emerged from the trees, holding a makeshift bag made of tattered cloth that was bulging with something inside.
This person was the boy whom Ye Xiaohan thought had secretly slipped away from her.
The boy was dressed in nothing but a ragged undergarment. His face was somewhat pale, yet his eyes remained as calm and indifferent as before.
He looked at the fire pit buried in dirt and then at the traces of cleaning in the cave, guessing that Ye Xiaohan had woken up and left on her own.
He showed no reaction, simply sitting down slowly and opening the tattered bag he had been holding.
Inside were several greenish fruits that appeared unripe but fresh, already giving off a sweet and sour sensation before even tasting them.
The fruits had been washed, with a few droplets of water still clinging to them.
The boy picked up one fruit and took a bite, then another bite.
With an expressionless face, he finished all the fruits.
Due to a misunderstanding, Ye Xiaohan had already left, missing out on a meager breakfast.
All the way down, her stomach growled incessantly. Since last night, she hadn't eaten anything. She needed to descend the mountain quickly; otherwise, her strength would plummet in this food-scarce environment.
She kept an eye out for anything edible along the way, but perhaps luck was not on her side—there were only leaves on the trees, no fruits in sight.
But she wasn't a koala; it would be too miserable to resort to eating leaves!
After walking for quite some time, she finally found something of value.
A stream—a clear stream. It was so clear that there was only water in it, not even a fish or shrimp.
At least there was water to drink. Ye Xiaohan hadn't had any since last night. Moreover, she had engaged in quite intense running for her life, sweating profusely and losing too much moisture; she felt like she could die of thirst.
After a satisfying drink, when Ye Xiaohan stood up, she felt like an unfilled jar, swaying slightly with the sound of water sloshing inside.
She patted her belly and thought how pitiful she truly was.
To avoid sinking into an even more pitiful state, Ye Xiaohan pressed her protesting stomach and steeled herself to continue down the path.
In fact, the terrain of the forest was relatively gentle, with no obvious elevation changes. She could only choose a direction to move forward and couldn't tell if she was actually heading downhill.
After walking for a while longer, the fatigue weighed heavily on her, stretching time out painfully. Ye Xiaohan couldn't remember how long she had been walking.
She simply felt too tired and wanted to sit down and rest for a while.
However, reason and experience told her that this was definitely not the time to rest. Once she took a break, her fatigue would only worsen, and she would lose all her energy.
If she delayed any longer, it would soon be dark.
She did not want to spend the night in the mountains!
Moreover, the situation down the mountain was still uncertain. What if there were no signs of life? She would have to walk back to the city on foot. She had no idea how far it was from here or if she could make it back before the city gates closed.
If she missed the closing of the gates, she would have to sleep outside them for the night. The next morning, she would be surrounded by townsfolk, a disheveled woman lying at the city gate.
Ye Xiaohan was startled by her own imagination, breaking out in a cold sweat. Suddenly, strength surged back into her body as she stood up, ready to move.
Just then, she heard sounds coming from ahead. Footsteps—more than one person!
Who could it be?
Were those Black-Clad Masked Figures chasing her again? What about that young man? Had he already met his end, or was it just her bad luck that they found her first?
Or perhaps Liu Susu had learned that she was safe and sent someone after her?
In any case, none of these possibilities were good. She needed to hide first.
However, those individuals were clearly well-trained and moved much faster than Ye Xiaohan had anticipated. She planned to hide in the dense forest and wait for them to pass, but just as she had run halfway, they spotted her.
"There's someone over there!" As soon as they saw Ye Xiaohan, their pace quickened, completely ignoring the thick trees in their way.
Ye Xiaohan noticed that all the faces were unfamiliar, and seeing their aggressive approach made her run even faster, putting all her strength into it.
Yet, even at her best, she wouldn't have been a match for these people. Now, weakened and exhausted, escape seemed impossible.
The group surrounded Ye Xiaohan. One of them pulled out a picture from his pocket and compared it to her, nodding in confirmation. "That's right, it's her!"
"Eleven, go notify the others!" The one who appeared to be the leader commanded his subordinates.
"Yes!" The subordinate quickly complied, stepping aside to pull out a bamboo whistle-like object and blew into it.
A sharp sound instantly pierced the silence of the mountain forest, and soon after, similar whistles echoed from afar.
Ye Xiaohan's heart raced; there were indeed more of them!
Had these people gone mad? Their relentless pursuit and elaborate efforts suggested they wouldn't stop until they had eliminated her completely.
She coldly observed them; their faces were not masked. If they weren't part of the Black-Clad Masked Figures, then were they sent by Liu Susu?
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