A week later.
The group continued on their way. In two more days, they would be out of this desert.
Under the scorching sun, everyone’s lips had begun to crack, yet they dared not drink water. There wasn’t much left, and they still had to hold out for two days. No one dared drink much, this water had to last until they found a water source, and no one knew how long after leaving the desert it would take to find one. When truly thirsty, they only allowed themselves a tiny sip.
By this point, the adults’ conversations, the children’s crying, and the elders’ sighing had all ceased. The crowd was silent, everyone trudging forward wordlessly with heavy steps.
Just as everyone believed that after so many uneventful days they would surely make it safely out of the desert, danger crept up on them quietly…
As they walked, screams suddenly rose from the crowd. Ahead, people were visibly sinking into the sand.
Qi Yanxuan felt something wrong with the sand beneath her feet, and the instant before she began to sink, she activated her ability and escaped at extreme speed.
Looking at Shen Yanqing, Shen Yanshan, and the other villagers sinking before her, Qi Yanxuan immediately shouted: “Don’t move! The more you struggle, the faster you’ll sink. Slowly take off your backpacks stop carrying them. Be gentle, absolutely gentle!”
Some of the villagers from Kao Mountain Village walking in front had also been caught. Because they had traveled together for so long, and every time danger struck they had escaped by listening to Qi Yanxuan, the Kao Mountain Village villagers were quite obedient.
The people ahead also heard Qi Yanxuan’s shouts, but when people panic, not everyone can take in what others say. Some with poor composure, panicking and unable to process her words, kept struggling and sank deeper and deeper. Most people stopped struggling and, following Qi Yanxuan’s instructions, slowly removed their luggage.
Wails and terrified cries for help rose from the crowd. The oxen and donkeys, as if sensing their fate, raised their heads and brayed mournfully.
Qi Yanxuan took her backpack off her back, unzipped it, and reached inside, using the backpack as cover to pull out a bundle of rope.
Shen Yanqing had sunk quite deep. Qi Yanxuan untied the rope and threw it to him. “Brother Shen, grab the rope! I’ll pull you up!”
The rope landed right in front of Shen Yanqing. He grabbed it, and Qi Yanxuan pulled with all her strength, dragging him toward her.
Seeing this, the others also rummaged for their ropes and rescued people the way Qi Yanxuan did every household had brought some.
Youqing came over to help hold the rope, pulling together with Qi Yanxuan. Youfu and Youbao also came over with ropes and threw them to Shen Yanshan.
Youqing, Youfu, and Youbao were three brothers. Back in Kao Mountain Village, they had lived in a thatched hut not far from Shen Yanqing’s home. Their parents had died early, and the three brothers had grown up supporting each other. Because their family was poor, none of them had married yet. Youfu and Youbao were twins, nineteen years old, and the eldest brother Youqing was twenty-three.
With the three of them helping, Shen Yanqing and Shen Yanshan were quickly pulled up. Most of the other villagers were rescued as well, but the supplies that had sunk in were beyond saving.
Fortunately, they had originally arranged for the elderly, weak, women, and children to walk in the middle. Those who fell in had lost their own supplies, but they still had their parents’ and wives’ belongings, so they could just barely hold out until they left the desert. As for what to do after that, they could only take it one step at a time.
The scene now was one of rescued people gently sobbing in their families’ arms, while the relatives of those who had sunk into the quicksand knelt on the ground, covering their faces and weeping. For a moment, nothing could be heard but crying.
Shen Yanshan stepped forward with a smile to thank the Youqing brothers. “We really can’t thank you three brothers enough!”
“Uncle, you’re being far too polite. Our two families live so close together, and when we were kids you often had us over for meals. Such a small thing hardly deserves thanks.” The eldest, Youqing, scratched his head sheepishly.
Youfu and Youbao nodded along with expressions that said exactly the same.
Qi Yanxuan watched the way Youfu and Youbao nodded and found them a little adorably dopey, and couldn’t help wanting to laugh.
Shen Yanqing saw Qi Yanxuan smiling as he kept looking at the two across from them, and felt a pang of discomfort. At night this person slept nestled in his arms, but then turned around and smiled at others.
Qi Yanxuan noticed the person beside him watching him, and turning his head, caught Shen Yanqing’s resentful gaze. He found it amusing inside was he jealous?
While no one was paying attention, he reached out and tickled Shen Yanqing’s palm.
Shen Yanqing appeared expressionless, but his bright red ears gave him away.
Once everyone had calmed down, they continued on their way, skirting the quicksand area. Looking at the collapsed ground, the rescued people all shuddered at the memory.
Evening
Everyone began setting up camp to rest. Qi Yanxuan had finished pitching the tent and was hesitating over whether to take out a quilt when he saw Shen Yanqing come in carrying one.
“Where did that quilt come from?” Qi Yanxuan looked at Shen Yanqing in confusion.
“The village chief and Brother Dakui each brought one over.” Shen Yanqing said, setting the quilt down.
Seeing this, Qi Yanxuan took a military-style overcoat out of his backpack, spread it underneath, then unfolded the quilt and lay down inside.
Shen Yanqing watched Qi Yanxuan pull out a garment he’d never seen before but said nothing. He’d seen Qi Yanxuan take things out of that backpack many times along the way he’d long since noticed something off about it.
Qi Yanxuan of course knew he would notice, but he didn’t mind. If he wanted to use the things in his space, he couldn’t hide it forever anyway.
Still, he was gradually training Shen Yanqing’s tolerance it had to be done step by step. Otherwise, if he suddenly pulled out something bigger than the backpack, he was afraid the man wouldn’t be able to handle it psychologically.
Actually, he was overthinking it. Shen Yanqing’s tolerance was quite strong otherwise, back then, anyone else seeing someone dressed so strangely would never have been bold enough to pick him up and take him home.
Lying in the quilt, Qi Yanxuan saw that Shen Yanqing still hadn’t come over, so he lifted the covers and patted the spot beside him, looking at him. The meaning was obvious.
Shen Yanqing went over and lay down. Once he did, Qi Yanxuan naturally burrowed into his arms. “Big Brother Shen, this coat underneath is too small. We’ll have to sleep pressed close together.”
“Mm.” Shen Yanqing, ears red, wrapped his arms around Qi Yanxuan.
An incense stick’s time later
Seeing that Shen Yanqing had been lying there with his eyes closed for so long without any movement, Qi Yanxuan propped himself up and looked at him. Gazing at that handsome, sharply chiseled face, his eyes drifted unconsciously to the red lips.
As if bewitched, he leaned in and kissed them. Their lips met, and Shen Yanqing’s lashes trembled slightly.
He hadn’t actually been asleep at all. Feeling the warm touch on his lips, he could no longer suppress the emotions churning inside him. He opened his eyes, looked at the person on top of him kissing him, and reached up to pull him into his arms.
Qi Yanxuan felt the arm wrapped around him and opened his eyes in alarm. Their eyes met, and his pupils dilated slightly. Just as he was about to pull away, a hand pressed down on the back of his head, and in a dizzying swirl, he found their positions suddenly reversed.
A barrage of kisses rained down on his lips, leaving him gasping for breath. The moment he opened his mouth to catch some air, the other man seized the opportunity to deepen the kiss, and he could only surrender, sinking into it along with him…