Hearing this, Li Mai curled her lips slightly. She glanced at Li Shu, whose gaze trembled, and replied,
“I plan to live in the mountains. The environment in Lingnan is not as good as here. It is not worth the effort.”
No matter how she thought about it, Li Qiao had never expected her eldest sister to suggest that they separate.
She did not want that. She did not want to be parted from the sister who had always taken care of her.
She immediately said, “Eldest Sister, I don’t want to be separated from you. Since the uncles in the village are unwilling to take us along, I will go into the mountains with you. Anyway, Father used to stay in the mountains for ten days or even half a month before coming back. I will live in the mountains too.”
Li Qiao’s thin little face was filled with determination, radiating a bright, resolute glow.
Li Shu, who had been kneeling on the ground, slowly stood up as well. He had also thought things through. Even if they managed to catch up now, the two of them, being children, would not receive any protection from the villagers.
It would be better to rely on themselves. Just as Li Mai had said, they could survive by entering the mountains.
He had already learned hunting skills from his father before. Living in the mountains should not be too difficult.
Moreover, with the person before him accompanying them, there was no better option anyway.
Li Shu forced his stiff lips to move, suppressing the choking dryness in his throat. A faint glimmer of hope appeared in his dim eyes as he cautiously asked,
“Can… can you take us with you into the mountains?”
Their reactions were exactly as Li Mai had expected, so she did not object to bringing them along.
Li Mai nodded, then asked another question.
“How far is it from here to the county?”
“Nearly twenty kilometers. When Father used to go to the county, a round trip would take four hours.”
Although Li Shu did not understand why Li Mai was asking, they were now bound together, so he still shared what he knew.
“Four hours.”
Li Mai estimated her own speed. Even using her ability, it would take at least two hours.
Back in the apocalypse, she had learned valuable lessons from others.
When the apocalypse first began, order had collapsed. As long as one dared to seize opportunities and act, one could obtain endless supplies and live a life of abundance.
In her view, war was similar to the early stage of the apocalypse.
Especially since she had learned from the man earlier that the wealthy families in the county had already fled, the number of people remaining would be very small.
This meant it was time for her, Li Mai, to make her move.
However, Li Mai also understood another reality. Most food in the Immortal Realm tasted better when cooked, and she did not have that skill.
Her gaze unconsciously shifted toward Li Qiao. It had to be said, bringing Li Qiao along did have its uses.
Noticing the strange look from her eldest sister, Li Qiao instinctively hugged her arms and asked,
“Eldest Sister, what is it?”
“Since we are leaving this place and moving into the deep mountains, there are many things that need to be prepared, especially food. Li Qiao, make all the edible food at home into dried rations, so we won’t have to waste time cooking after entering the mountains. As for you, Li Shu…”
The drawn-out tone made Li Shu immediately understand. He quickly said,
“I will sort out everything in the house that can be used in the mountains. We will take it all with us, so life will not be inconvenient.”
Hearing this, Li Qiao thought for a moment and raised her eyelids to look at Li Shu.
She stared until his expression became unnatural, then shifted her gaze and replied,
“Do as you said. Make breakfast first, I’m hungry.”
“Okay, okay!”
Li Qiao nodded repeatedly and immediately turned to start working.
Although their family had previously only eaten two meals a day, when she heard her eldest sister give an order-like instruction to make breakfast, she responded without hesitation.
At the same time, Li Shu also began organizing their belongings.
Out of place with the two of them, Li Mai remained leisurely, continuing to eat the freshly dug kudzu roots. They were crisp, sweet, and juicy. She bit off large chunks, swallowing even the residue before taking the next bite.
Before long, she had already eaten a tenth of the kudzu roots dug that morning.
By the time breakfast was ready, nearly half of them had disappeared.
Li Qiao did not notice, but Li Shu showed a look of surprise. At the same time, he felt a bit more confident that the three of them could survive in the deep mountains.
After breakfast, Li Mai did not forget the kudzu roots she had not finished digging earlier. She grabbed the hoe and set out again.
Li Shu had wanted to persuade her, to say that if she dug too many, the three of them would not be able to carry them all up the mountain.
But thinking of Li Mai’s peculiar temperament, he slowly closed his mouth without saying a word.
Watching her departing figure, he stayed behind to organize everything he thought might be useful and prepared to bring it into the mountains.
By the time dinner came, everything had been prepared.
Taking advantage of Li Mai being in a relatively good mood after eating, Li Shu spoke,
“The dried rations and everything we can use have all been prepared. When should we go up the mountain? Would it be better to go now, while it is dark?”
Li Shu spoke with his heart tightly strung, not daring to look directly at Li Mai’s face.
“We will go at dawn tomorrow. Tonight, I have something to do.”
Reluctantly putting down her chopsticks, Li Mai glanced at the sky. Her thoughts were already active, imagining what useful things she could bring back.
But her cheerful tone did not reassure Li Shu. Instead, it made him instantly tense. He asked nervously,
“Where are you going?”
“To the county.”
“What are you going to the county for?” Li Qiao asked in confusion.
“To get some things. Didn’t you say a few days ago that we are running low on salt?”
Although Li Mai did not understand cooking, she knew the importance of salt.
She also did not know how long the enemy would occupy the area or how long there would be a gap in their supply replenishment. Some essential materials had to be prepared in one go.
With residents fleeing now, this was her best opportunity.
Every word she said was reasonable, but to Li Shu, it sounded painful.
A sense of inevitability rose in his heart. After all, who would willingly take along two burdens while fleeing for their lives?
Li Mai believed she had arranged everything properly. Seeing that it was getting late, she prepared to set off.
Before leaving, she did not forget to bring a few kudzu roots as rations for the road.
Watching her figure gradually disappear into the night, Li Shu felt his heart sink into an abyss.
He struggled to control his collapsing emotions, slowly raised his head, looked at Li Mai, and asked in a choked voice,
“Will you come back?”
“Before dawn.”
Li Mai left behind those simple four words, and her figure quickly vanished from their sight.
Li Qiao glanced at her second brother in confusion and asked,
“Eldest Sister will definitely come back. Second Brother, why did you say that?”
Hearing this, Li Shu turned to look at his innocent younger sister and forced a bitter smile.
“Let’s wash and bundle all the kudzu roots we dug. We need to take them up the mountain tomorrow.”
At this moment, in his eyes, these kudzu roots were the fallback that Li Mai had left for the two of them, and they needed to be organized quickly.
As Li Mai hurried along the road, she had no idea that the food she had painstakingly gathered was already being regarded by others as their possessions.
Following the only road in the village, and based on the direction Li Shu had pointed out, she headed toward the county.
Breathing in the fresh air along the way, she felt strength fill her entire body. She moved faster and faster, reaching a low city wall in less than an hour.
Although Li Mai could not read, based on her experience, this should be the county.
Perhaps because news of the war had already spread, the city wall, which should have been heavily guarded, was completely deserted.
Li Mai easily crossed over the wall and entered the county. The city at night was not as quiet as she had imagined. Sounds echoed everywhere, signaling the unrest before war.
Although this increased the risk of exposure, it also made things more convenient for her.
As long as she observed which houses were silent, she knew no one was inside.
At the same time, based on the standards of wealthy households, the larger the house, the more things it contained.
As soon as Li Mai stepped into a street lined with grand mansions, she sprinted forward, leaped over a wall, and entered a courtyard.
Looking at the ornate and luxurious residence, she could hardly believe that such a scene, which existed only in books, had appeared before her.
After her initial shock, she finally acknowledged something she had been deliberately ignoring.
This was not some Immortal Realm at all, but an ancient world with far less advanced technology.
However, compared to the brutal struggles of the apocalypse and its harsh living conditions, this technologically backward ancient world was still an exceptionally good environment for survival. Calling it an “Immortal Realm” was not much of an exaggeration.
After a brief look around, Li Mai searched until she finally found the kitchen.
To her disappointment, all the fine grains she had eaten when she first arrived were gone. Only two forgotten jars of pickled vegetables remained on the ground.
Unwilling to leave empty-handed, she tore a few pieces of cloth, tied up the jars, leaped over the wall, and moved to another residence.
In a short time, she had cleared out half the street.
The weight of the food on her back had nearly reached her maximum limit, but thinking that there was still more food left uncollected, she was reluctant to leave so easily.
However, what Li Mai did not expect was that she was not the only one who had come to pick through the belongings of wealthy households.
She had not concealed her footsteps at all. As soon as she approached the kitchen, the people inside noticed her.
Wen Daqiang and Wen Erqiang immediately gripped the sabers at their waists, standing on either side behind the door, ready to strike as soon as someone entered.
But what they did not expect was that Li Mai had already heard their movements from outside.
Sensing the two breaths behind the door, she kicked it open directly, sending both men crashing to the ground along with it.
“Bang!”
A loud noise echoed through the courtyard, but the already deserted street meant no one paid any attention.
“Pah, pah, pah!”
Wen Daqiang and Wen Erqiang accidentally inhaled the dust stirred up by the falling door and hurriedly spat it out.
The sudden disturbance obscured their vision. When they finally opened their eyes, they saw a young girl who was not even half their size.
When they noticed the bundle behind her, twice the size of her body, their thoughts immediately stirred. They exchanged a glance and quickly stood up.
Blinded by greed, Wen Daqiang instinctively ignored what had just happened. He sized Li Mai up from head to toe.
His earlier anger instantly turned into a smile, and a lewd gleam appeared in his eyes. Grinning widely, he spoke as if granting a favor,
“Heh, little girl, as long as you hand over what’s behind you and keep us company for a while, the two of us will let you go.”
“We’ll let you go after we’re done, understand?” Wen Erqiang added.
Ever since Li Mai had been able to carry out missions independently, this was the first time she had encountered someone daring to steal her things.
She raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Alright.”
“Hahaha!”
The two men immediately burst into smug laughter.
Because Li Mai stood in the shadows, they did not notice the look in her eyes.
Wen Erqiang still felt his elder brother’s laughter echoing in his ears when, in the next instant, a flash of silver streaked before his eyes, blinding him. Immediately after, a warm liquid splashed across his face, carrying the unmistakable scent of blood.