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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Fifty-Eight: Untitled 3
Unknowingly, Jiang He and his group had been staying at Luci's Farmhouse for several days. The initial tension and vigilance gradually relaxed over time, as Bai Yudong and the others had yet to arrive, and the Pursuers seemed to have vanished.
Every day, Zhuzi and the others would venture through the woods to the roadside at dawn and dusk, hoping to find any signs of their companions or enemies. However, a week passed in the blink of an eye, and they found nothing.
The Farmhouse had two floors, with bedrooms and a study prepared for everyone’s use. The food that Jiang He and the others brought back from the county was also plentiful. In short, life during these days could be summed up in two simple words: happiness.
The potential enemies had not shown up, with only a few Zombies occasionally wandering out from the woods. Xiaomi and Xiao Wei stood guard for several days; aside from keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings, they could only sit on the roof and doze off, which was quite boring.
A couple of days ago, Zhuzi and his group discovered some Zombie corpses in the woods near the highway, all with penetrating wounds. This discovery excited them for a while. Several Soldiers unanimously believed these were the bodies left behind by the White Company Commander during their retreat. They followed the trail for quite some distance but ultimately found that the footprints had lingered in the woods for a long time before disappearing at the edge of the highway.
When Zhuzi returned to the Farmhouse to briefly describe their findings to everyone, they could not reach a consensus on what it meant.
Ming Junwei argued that these could not be traces left by Bai Yudong and his group. Cao Liang, identifying himself as an Outdoor Coach, concluded that those footprints belonged to one person and appeared to have moved very slowly, not like someone in a hurry to escape.
Though reluctant, Zhuzi accepted their reasoning, feeling that any remaining hope he had was completely shattered. The only thing puzzling everyone was who those footprints belonged to if they were not from their own people. Fortunately, the location where the footprints appeared was quite far from the village. After several days of vigilance without any incidents occurring, they gradually let down their guard.
Wheat's health was improving; after resting in bed for two more days, she could finally get up. She was surprised to find new faces in the courtyard but quickly warmed up to everyone due to her youthful nature.
That night, everyone returned to their rooms to rest. Jiang He and Ming Junwei stayed awake, sitting silently across from each other in the living room.
On the day they returned from the county town, Jiang He recounted what An Zheng had told him earlier, tentatively seeking their opinions.
"Is that all he said?" Ming Junwei did not seem overly surprised. "It seems Dr. An must have some channels; it's just that..."
"Just what?" In truth, Jiang He had not taken An Zheng's words seriously before; he thought Dr. An might have come up with those ideas due to excessive pressure.
"Do you remember? Back at the camp, Dr. An was quite close with Old Bai and seemed to have reached some sort of understanding on certain matters."
"What does this mean? Does it imply that the White Company Commander has some sort of safe passage or something?"
"No, I can't really guess the specifics, but Dr. An doesn't seem to be an ordinary doctor."
Song Yao, who had been driving the whole time and had not intervened in their discussion, finally asked, "If it were possible, would you go?"
Neither Jiang He nor Ming Junwei responded, each lost in their own thoughts.
After a moment of silence between them, Ming Junwei extinguished the last cigarette and quietly asked, "What do you think?"
Jiang He shrugged helplessly and replied, "I tried to ask once, but Sister An doesn't seem keen on discussing it. She keeps dodging the topic."
"What’s your take on it?"
"I think things are pretty good as they are." Jiang He's expression was sincere as he squatted on the sofa, twirling his fingers around the candle flame, casting circles of shadows on the wall. "We have food and drink, and while we don't know what Old Bai's situation is, the Pursuers haven't shown up either. There's really no need for us to be running around anymore, right?"
"I'll think about it some more. Tomorrow I'll talk to Dr. An," Ming Junwei said as he leaned back on the sofa, rubbing his face vigorously, clearly at a loss.
Both sighed deeply in frustration, extinguished the candle, and returned to their respective rooms.
Song Yao was still awake when Jiang He came back and sat up.
"Not sleepy?" Jiang He ruffled her hair and rolled into bed, stretching comfortably. "I wish I could wake up naturally every day."
"Lazybones," Song Yao murmured as she leaned against his shoulder. "How did your discussion go?"
"No conclusion. I feel like Brother Ming is still considering staying; he just has some doubts about Sister An's words." Jiang He rested his arms behind his head and stared at the dark ceiling. "I'm just curious—do you think there's really nothing going on abroad?"
"Who knows? We have no idea what other cities are like," Song Yao sighed softly. "I'll follow your lead; you all decide. If we don’t leave… we can do a lot of things."
Jiang He leaned closer to her with a mischievous grin and asked, "For example?"
"Go away," Song Yao shot him a glare before turning away. After a moment of thought, she said, "There are other houses in the village; we can tidy them up. We don't all have to squeeze into this one room. Remember that cornfield we saw the night we arrived? Even though the corn is gone now, we can plant something else."
Jiang He tilted his head, imagining the pastoral life Song Yao described, holding her warm body and gradually drifting into sleep.
In his dreams, the sunlight was blinding. Everyone was busy along the field paths, each wearing jackets and carrying hoes, facing Loess with their backs to the sky...
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
The next morning, led by Bai Yudong, Caroline's small team re-entered the forest. Wu Wentao and his group had searched for several days without results and were chased back by their own people.
Bai Yudong fulfilled his promise; after Wu Wentao and his group of Pursuers returned, he agreed to take them to retrieve the materials. Kenny's words from a few days ago seemed to have struck a chord with him. He had been lying in bed in a daze for days, not knowing what he was thinking. The night before, Kenny had insisted on entering the mountains the next day, and Old Bai had agreed without a second thought.
The journey was uneventful; these few had entered this forest multiple times before and were familiar with the path. They reached the campsite ruins in no time. The trip went smoothly; aside from the coolness in the air, nothing else unusual occurred—not even many encounters with Zombies. The entire forest felt as if no one had ever set foot in it, eerily quiet.
The water at the campsite had receded, leaving behind a muddy swamp. A thick layer of silt covered the collapsed back wall, and green moss clung to the walls of the concrete coffin-like structures.
The team waded through the mud as they approached a damp house under Bai Yudong's lead.
Standing still, Bai Yudong surveyed his surroundings. The familiar yet strange scene made his chest feel tight. A foul stench wafted from a row of collapsed concrete buildings across from him, where some human limbs could be vaguely seen among the ruins. Old Bai knew those were comrades who hadn’t managed to escape in time. He dared not look longer, feeling that those swollen bodies, waterlogged and lying quietly beneath bricks and mud, were silently mourning their fate.
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