Chapter 11 Wilderness

After driving forward for a while, the country road also came to an end. Du Xiaosheng drove the car into the loess soil, which was full of potholes and swaying from side to side. We bumped all the way, and our stomachs were almost in our throats.

Du Xiaosheng saw that I looked bad and kept asking me if I was okay and if I wanted to stop and rest for a while. I wanted to end this tomb-seeing trip as soon as possible, so I waved my hand and said it was okay, I had to hurry.

Zhou Linli was probably shaken quite a bit, so he rarely calmed down and closed his mouth tightly without speaking. I gave him a few friendly words of concern, but he didn't respond. I turned my head to look at the scenery outside the window to relieve the pain of the bumps.

This place is no longer uninhabited. Sometimes there will be a mineral water bottle on the ground, as well as black charcoal residue and oil stains left by barbecues. Later, the traces left by these humans became fewer and fewer. As Du Xiaosheng said "We're here" like the sound of nature, the car slowly stopped. Zhou Linli might have endured it all the way, but finally couldn't stand it any more. He opened the door and vomited. Fang Yuze was so frightened that he quickly stepped aside to avoid being caught. Vomit splattered.

My tolerance is relatively strong, at least I didn't spit it out, not to mention Du Xiaosheng, who had a smile on his face, as if nothing happened. He had visited the tomb before and might have experienced a worse environment than this.

I took a bottle of mineral water from the car to Zhou Linli. He took it and poured it into his mouth and spit it out without even having time to say thank you. The frequency was so fast that I worried that he would choke. By the time Zhou Linli got himself ready, Du Xiaosheng was already carrying large and small bags of equipment in one hand, and holding Fang Yuze's arm with the other hand to set off.

Because the terrain is too harsh and there are many protruding rocks here, it is easy to scratch the chassis of the car. We had to park the car here and walk the rest of the way.

Zhou Linli's fat face turned green when he heard that he was about to walk. He stared blankly at the hill dozens of kilometers away. People from such big families almost always drive everywhere, and rarely walk. At that time, not to mention that now we have to walk dozens of kilometers continuously. Unlike poor people like us, those who want a car cannot afford a car, and those who can afford a car cannot afford gas. In the end, we save what we can and rarely drive out. .

Maybe he really couldn't bear it, so Zhou Linli asked pitifully: "Can't we really go by car?"

Du Xiaosheng reluctantly gave him a lesson on the dangers of driving in such hard rocky areas. Zhou Linli finally nodded in understanding and agreed to walk with us.

The sky is very blue, there is less pollution in the suburbs, and there are so many green plants that it is difficult to live without fresh air. Occasionally, there are a few birds chirping, which is very pleasant. I took a deep breath and suddenly felt refreshed.

From here we can only see the hills to the west, which is our destination. Up the mountains we will reach Hebei Province. In all other directions, there was nothing but weeds and no trees. The possibility of encountering wild animals is very small, so don't worry too much about danger.

We walked all the way, and in order to take care of Zhou Linli, a rich young man, Du Xiaosheng and Fang Yuze shared two large bags of equipment. The bag is not very heavy. It contains some measuring tools, tents, fuel and other necessary supplies, so it is easy to carry, which can relieve Zhou Linli's physical burden.

I also carry a bag myself, which contains some personal items and small equipment. It is more convenient to put these things in my own bag. What's more, my current situation is very special. Not only is it my first time in the wilderness, but I also have to guard against the people around me. Thinking of the result of Old Man Ye telling my fortune, I felt uncomfortable.

At first we could still chat and walk, but as time went on, the atmosphere became a bit silent. The sky was getting dark, and there were a few sunset clouds floating above my head, which were dyed bright red. It reminded me of a text called Huoshaoyun that I learned in elementary school. The sky is also red, as if a piece of red glass is placed in front of my eyes.

This kind of beautiful scenery cannot be seen in the city. Zhou Linli ran to the front of the team, his face was shiny, and he kept taking pictures with his mobile phone excitedly. He also praised him from time to time, and asked Fang Yuze to take a few personal photos of him. According to. I secretly glanced at his mobile phone. Fatty Zhou’s photography skills were pretty good. His mobile phone with low pixels could take photos that rivaled those of professional photography equipment.

There are no wild beasts here, but there are quite a few bugs in the grass. It may have just rained a few days ago, so the ground is wet. You can hear a "pop" after walking a few steps, and you can tell what you are stepping on without looking. A hard-shelled bug. I was a little curious, so I squatted on the ground and dug around, and found that they were all snails and white soft insects, but no poisonous insects. We are all grown men and are not afraid of these bugs. Except that Fang Yuze, a cultural person who wears glasses, would find it a bit disgusting.

We were about to reach the foot of the mountain, and the sunset also set on the other side of the mountain. When the last ray of sunshine disappeared, Zhou Linli put away his mobile phone, turned around and waved to us, indicating that we should hurry over. Seeing Zhou Linli in high spirits, I secretly breathed a sigh of relief. I thought he would be very tired, but I didn't expect that as soon as I diverted my attention, he felt a lot more relaxed.

I suddenly realized that the current situation was a bit like Du Xiaosheng and I were taking our two children for an outing.

Zhou Linli only left us with a figure, and only a vague outline could be seen in the gloomy darkness. As I got closer, I could gradually see his smiling face. I suddenly found something lying next to his neck. It was green and could not be seen clearly from too far away. When we got closer, we saw it was a small snake! I suddenly became furious, and regardless of whether Zhou Linli could see it or not, I pointed at my shoulder to gesture to him.

Zhou Linli didn't understand gestures, so naturally he didn't understand what I meant. He shouted to us with a playful smile: "Come here quickly! Mr. Chen, why are you always pointing at your shoulder? If you can't think of it, will you stab yourself to death with a finger?"

This shout startled me, for fear of irritating the snake. I stared at the snake carefully. It was quite well-behaved and motionless.

I was still wondering just now. Zhou Linli wasn't wearing very thick clothes, so why didn't he even know there was a snake lying on his body? Only now did we realize that it was not actually on Zhou Linli's shoulders, but wrapped around the branches behind Zhou Linli. From our perspective, it is easy to think that it was lying on Zhou Linli's shoulders.

I was immediately shocked. This was a bamboo-jointed green tree that I often saw in Wuling Mountain when I was young. Bamboo-leaf green is a natural enemy of our hunters. If you see it, you have to take a detour. There is no other reason. The green bamboo snake is bright green, but it is a venomous snake. We did not expect to encounter snakes when we came out, so we did not bring detoxifying serum and herbs. If it was taken a bite, it would probably be hopeless.

Fang Yuze also saw the snake and was so frightened that his face turned pale and he couldn't say a word. His expression startled Zhou Linli, and he shouted: "Little Qu Yuan, do I look that scary? Did I scare you like this?"

Little Qu Yuan was the nickname given to Fang Yuze by Zhou Linli. "Fang Yuze" happened to have the same pronunciation as the first three characters of the sentence "Fang and Ze Qi are mixed" in Qu Yuan's "Li Sao", so he was jokingly called Little Qu Yuan.

Du Xiaosheng, who was walking at the end, apparently also discovered the snake. He made a silent gesture to Zhou Linli, and touched around his body with his other hand, and took out a shiny saber.

I know this knife. I bought this for 10 yuan at a street stall a few years ago. Men like to collect military knives and lighters. But later, when I got lost in the world, I realized that this knife was actually a low-quality product, so I threw it in the basement. Somehow Du Xiaosheng found him out.

Du Xiaosheng held the handle of the knife, as if he was looking for a feel. Zhou Linli on the other side was also a smart man. Seeing that our expressions were abnormal, he stood stiffly and did not dare to speak. I stared blankly at the snake, only to feel the wind tighten in my ears, and a knife flew out against my ear. I was so frightened that I immediately ducked aside.

I turned my head, and Du Xiaosheng was looking at me apologetically. He was the one who threw the knife. Seeing him so innocent, I can't get angry even if I have a temper. I'm just a little dissatisfied with him. Don't show off if you're not good at skills. What if I hurt someone? I almost became a victim of his men, but Du Xiaosheng didn't feel like an unreliable person to me.

My reaction was very fast. It only took a few seconds from when I felt the wind to turning around to look at Du Xiaosheng. I heard Zhou Linli yell "Ah", and I turned my head back again, worried that Du Xiaosheng's knife would hit him. It hurts Zhou Linli. If something happens to him here, it will be hard for me to explain to his family.

Seeing the scene in front of me, I realized that I had been worrying too much, and I couldn't help but admire Du Xiaosheng a little more. Zhou Linli seemed to be frightened. There was an apparently dead snake curled up on the branch next to him. The snake's mouth was half open. A saber was inserted from the mouth, and then came out from the back, piercing it deeply. On the branches. The sticky snake blood did not splash out, but stuck firmly to the branches.

I have always regarded the fair-skinned Du Xiaosheng as a frail man, but I didn't expect him to be able to play with a knife. If his attack just now was not blind, then his skills seem to be quite high. As for the knife that was put against my ear... it was probably because he was deliberately entertaining me as a boss. He doesn't know that I am a person who will retaliate against others, and this kid will suffer the consequences after he goes back.

When we ran over, I saw that it wasn't that there was no blood. There was snake blood splattered on Zhou Linli's neck, which made me feel sick. He might have been really frightened, and he didn't move for a long time. I have some doubts that he might be frightened into psychosis.

Zhou Linli, who didn't know what was going on, suddenly knelt down, hugged my leg, and said with a cry: "Chen... Mr. Chen, I will give you whatever you want. If we have something to say, please don't use the knife, okay?" ?I don’t know where I offended you. I am guilty and apologize. If you ask for money, I will give it to you. Can you please forgive me? I will never talk so much nonsense again..."

I obviously felt that my face turned dark. This fat man thought that we were tricked into kidnapping him in the wilderness... I quickly winked at Du Xiaosheng and asked him to explain a few words. Unexpectedly, this kid pretended not to see me. He looked at the snake corpse thoughtfully.