Each shout of reprimand was like a lash of a whip, striking the two of them again and again.
Yet it was pain mixed with satisfaction, because they quickly realized the effect of those scoldings.
Running no longer felt as difficult as it had at the beginning, and the strain on their bodies had eased.
Only, after running for so long, they were completely consumed by exhaustion, unable to muster even the slightest smile.
“You can stop now.”
The moment Li Mai’s voice rang out, the two of them felt as if they had heard heavenly music. Their lips tried desperately to curve upward on their stiff, cold faces.
Because their cheeks had been battered by the cold wind the entire time they ran, they had long since gone numb.
They felt extremely happy, but their mouths only twitched slightly, showing almost no change.
The instant the words were spoken, Li Qiao did not even care whether the ground was dirty. She dropped down and sat directly on it.
But before her body had even settled, Li Mai’s reprimand sounded again.
“You can’t sit! After training, you need to do a short period of recovery exercises. Otherwise, you won’t even be able to complete the second stage of training later. If you plan to give up now, then pretend I said nothing.”
As soon as those words fell, Li Shu immediately withdrew the hands he had braced against his knees. He straightened slightly and looked toward his eldest sister.
Li Qiao, who had just sat down, sprang back up at once, showing no sign of the weakness she had just displayed.
Compared to enduring a bit more training after hardship, or remaining powerless and dragging her eldest sister down every time, training was clearly the better choice.
Seeing that the two obeyed her instructions, Li Mai nodded in satisfaction.
Next, she guided them through stretching exercises to prevent muscle soreness.
After the training session, they ate breakfast and rested for a while.
Li Mai and Li Qiao used that time to work the fields, while Li Shu focused on weaving round bamboo trays.
Over the next few days, their routines were much the same as the first day. Li Shu and Li Qiao trained and did some work when they had time.
Li Mai, meanwhile, frequently went into the mountains to obtain the food they needed.
At the same time, there was another person in the deep mountains who, like her, spent most of his days in the forest, all to leave enough food for his wife and daughter.
That person was Liu Hu.
One day, Liu Hu unexpectedly caught a small wild boar in the mountains and returned home early in excitement.
“I’m back!”
“Hu-ge!”
“Father!”
Qu Xi and Liu Tingting quickly came out of the house, surprised to see Liu Hu’s smiling face.
Liu Tingting hurried over at once and asked,
“Father, why are you back so early today? Did you catch something big?”
As she spoke, she approached his side and immediately saw the wild boar placed below the steps.
It weighed about fifty jin. Blood flowed from its neck, staining most of its body, making it look somewhat gruesome.
Thinking of her mother, Liu Tingting quickly stood beside her father to block the view.
Liu Hu smiled at his thoughtful daughter and replied,
“I caught a small wild boar today. It must have gotten separated from its herd. The weight is decent, it should be enough for you and your mother to eat for quite a while.”
Qu Xi immediately caught the implication in his words and asked worriedly,
“Do you really have to leave right away?”
“Your medicine is almost gone. I have to go out and see what the situation is outside. I’ve already prepared enough food. The two of you should not go out, just stay near the house. I will definitely come back.”
Seeing that her husband had already made up his mind, Qu Xi could not say much more.
She immediately turned and walked toward the kitchen, speaking as she went,
“Since you’re leaving, I’ll prepare the food you’ll need on the boat. It’s been raining a lot lately, it’s not suitable to cook on the boat. We can only bring food that keeps well, like flatbreads and dried meat…”
Listening to his wife’s continuous muttering, Liu Hu could not help but reveal a tender, almost indulgent smile.
Seeing this, Liu Tingting shivered involuntarily.
While she felt happy about her parents’ loving relationship, she could not help but think to herself, how cloying.
At last, seeing that her mother had already disappeared into the kitchen while her father was still staring in that direction, she could not help but speak up,
“Father! Let’s handle the wild boar first.”
“Yes, yes!”
Only then did Liu Hu come back to his senses. He smiled awkwardly, a trace of warmth rising to his cheeks.
Because of his dark complexion, Liu Tingting did not notice.
When Liu Hu turned and saw the bloody scene of the wild boar, he could not help but say,
“You stand aside and watch. I’ll handle it.”
“Alright…”
Thinking she would be able to help, Liu Tingting could only stand to the side and watch, eventually taking charge of cleaning.
Meanwhile, from the kitchen came a continuous flow of enticing aromas.
After the family enjoyed a hearty meal of wild boar soup, the countdown to parting began.
Because of her young age, Liu Tingting was comforted by her parents and eventually could not resist sleep, drifting off.
Qu Xi, however, stayed by her husband’s side until the very last moment before departure.
Listening to the rain outside, she could not help but show worry. She folded and unfolded the straw raincoat in her hands again and again.
“Why don’t you wait a bit longer before going? The rain is so heavy, it’s not safe to travel by boat.”
“It’s fine. The boat has a canopy, and I’ll be going downstream, there won’t be any problem. Just stay at home and wait for me to bring the medicine back.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Hu immediately put on the raincoat and picked up his belongings, not giving himself any chance to hesitate.
The next moment, he turned and walked into the night, quickly disappearing into the heavy rain.
He had traveled this route by boat countless times. Even heavy rain could not slow him down. In less than a quarter of an hour, he had already boarded the boat and begun heading toward his destination.
Along the way, he passed by the valley where the three members of the Li family lived, and he took a long, deep look.
Then he increased the speed of his wooden boat and continued downstream.
In the valley he had just looked at, Li Mai did not sleep peacefully.
Ever since arriving in this different world, she had never dreamed of the apocalypse again, instead immersing herself in the comfort and ease of life in ancient times.
But tonight, she unexpectedly dreamed of fighting enemies in the apocalypse once more.
Ferocious mutated creatures charged at her relentlessly. She could only keep swinging the weapon in her hand, slashing again and again at a grotesque mass that resembled a ball of flesh, yet towered taller than a school building.
Endless blood poured from the wounds, yet it did nothing to slow the creature’s attacks.
As time passed, the energy within her body gradually drained away. Her face, already splattered with blood, became even paler.
In the end, Li Mai collapsed into a pool of blood.
A chilling cold spread from her back through her entire body. Even her blood seemed to freeze, as if signaling the arrival of death.
The overwhelming sense of reality made Li Mai feel a lingering desolation, as though her life in ancient times had only been a dream.
Because when she raised her hand, the sticky, cold sensation, reeking of blood, told her that this was real.