At noon, the sun hung high overhead, so blazing that it was hard to even open one’s eyes beneath it.
Both Lin Zhiyue and Lin Yan had pieces of white cotton cloth draped over their heads. They had no straw hats, so this was the best they could do. Without protection, their skin would surely blister after prolonged exposure.
There were umbrellas in the apartment inside the space—
But there was no way they dared take them out openly.
Even these strips of white cloth had taken Lin Zhiyue considerable effort to find. It was incredibly difficult to locate modern items that could be used without seeming suspicious.
“Let’s rest up ahead for a while,” Lin Yan said softly, heart aching as he looked at his daughter’s exhausted expression.
That entire morning, she had only allowed him to carry her briefly. The rest of the time, she stubbornly insisted on walking herself, never even pausing midway.
Beyond the official road lay another patch of woodland, smaller than the one where they had rested the previous night.
The trees were even more withered here. Very few still possessed lush branches or healthy foliage.
Father and daughter found a tree and sat directly in its shade.
Their clothes were already filthy beyond repair anyway, so there was no point fussing over appearances.
Closing her eyes, Lin Zhiyue searched through the thatched hut with her consciousness.
Two packs of Oreo cookies appeared in her hands.
Cookies paired with spring water were enough for now. The spring water itself also helped stave off hunger. The road ahead was still long, so they needed to conserve supplies.
Truthfully, Lin Zhiyue had always eaten very little, and Lin Yan was much the same.
Back when the family had still been well-off, they ate three meals a day.
Later, because of the expenses from treating her illness, they reduced it to two meals daily.
And after several days fleeing famine, their stomachs had shrunk from hunger even more.
“Dad, these are called cookies. You shouldn’t eat too much while traveling. If you’re too full, you get sleepy easily, and walking too fast can make your stomach hurt.”
Lin Yan patted her head and laughed.
“My daughter really did study books. You know so much.”
The two quietly ate their cookies and wiped their mouths afterward.
There was no helping it.
People occasionally still passed by the roadside. Although they were sitting a little farther away, they still had to remain cautious.
Just as father and daughter were using their wooden bowls to drink water, a large group of people suddenly appeared on the official road in the distance.
Lin Yan quickly stuffed the water pouch back into the bundle and watched them carefully.
This looked to be an entire village traveling together.
There were elderly people, women, children, youths, and sturdy adults among them—a complete mix of all kinds of people.
The sturdy man leading the group surveyed the surroundings and asked the people behind him something.
Moments later—
“Rest here! Rest here!” his loud voice echoed faintly through the air.
Very quickly, the group skillfully left the official road and spread through the woods searching for suitable resting places.
Some noticed Lin Yan and his daughter, glanced at them briefly, but said nothing before continuing their search.
Once they found good spots, they loudly called for their family members to gather over.
After observing for a while, Lin Yan concluded that this village’s atmosphere seemed fairly decent. Most of the people’s eyes still looked clear and rational.
“Mom! Over here! Let’s stay here!”
Nearby, a little boy around seven or eight years old shouted excitedly not far from Lin Zhiyue.
In the distance, a woman rummaged through a handcart for a bundle before helping an elderly lady walk over.
Another man remained beside the cart, likely guarding it.
After watching for a while and seeing nothing unusual happen, Lin Zhiyue continued taking out wooden bowls from the bundle.
These bowls had also come from her apartment.
They were extremely practical—lightweight, difficult to break, and one of the few items she could openly use without suspicion.
“Mom, I’m sooo thirsty,” the little boy whined while tugging at his mother’s sleeve and secretly glancing toward Lin Zhiyue.
“You still have enough energy to shout that loudly, so you’re obviously not that thirsty,” the woman replied, shaking his hand off.
“Go on, get over there.”
The elderly grandmother seated on the ground beckoned gently.
“Zhuzi, come rest by Grandma for a bit. We’ll drink water later on the road, alright?”
“I don’t want to!”
The little boy immediately ran over and squatted about a meter away from Lin Zhiyue and her father.
Lin Zhiyue watched the child crouch there like a frog, elbows resting on his knees, both hands cupping his cheeks as he stared directly at her with wide eyes.
Unable to hold back her amusement, she lightly poked Lin Yan’s arm and whispered,
“Dad, his name is Zhuzi.”
Father and daughter exchanged glances.
Silently, Lin Yan pulled out the water pouch again and poured a small amount into a wooden bowl for Lin Zhiyue.
Mm-hm. Children really were easier for children to approach.
“Here, you can drink this.”
Lin Zhiyue looked at Zhuzi with innocent bright eyes, the corners of her lips curving upward slightly.
Zhuzi looked at her, then at the bowl, before glancing back at his mother.
Finally, he shuffled forward, took the bowl, and gulped down the water eagerly.
“Zhuzi!”
The shout startled him so badly that his hands shook and the bowl nearly dropped.
After hurriedly finishing the water, he quickly returned the bowl to Lin Zhiyue.
“Thank you, big sister!”
Then he turned and ran back toward his mother.
“Dad, he called me big sister?”
Lin Zhiyue turned back in confusion.
“Don’t I look convincing enough? I’m clearly dressed like a little boy.”
Lin Yan smiled helplessly as he looked at his daughter’s face.
Her beauty simply could not be hidden by a few fake freckles.
At that moment, the woman approached with Zhuzi beside her.
Looking somewhat embarrassed, she said to Lin Yan,
“Ah… brother, I’m really sorry. Water’s so precious these days, and we just…”
“It’s alright, Auntie. I could tell this big brother was really thirsty. We only have a little water too—if anything, I’ll just drink one less mouthful later,” Lin Zhiyue hurriedly cut in.
This kind of situation was better handled by a child.
“And besides,” she continued quickly, “my dad and I got separated from our family. Could we maybe travel with your group for a while?”
“Of course! Ah, what’s the big deal? This road doesn’t belong to anyone.”
The woman seemed relieved to have a chance to repay the favor of that bowl of water and immediately agreed.
“I’ll go talk to my husband. Later you two can walk beside our family.”
After saying that, she led the boy back toward the official road and spoke with the man beside the handcart.
Before long, she returned alone and cheerfully said to Lin Yan and his daughter,
“It’s settled. In times like these, it really isn’t safe for just you father and son to travel alone.”
“Thank you, sister-in-law,” Lin Yan replied gratefully.
“No need to be polite. I’ll head back now.”
Once the woman left, Lin Zhiyue quickly tugged Lin Yan back beneath the tree and whispered,
“Dad, keep watch. I’m going behind that rock to take out some food.”
She had already noticed a large boulder several meters away, perfectly positioned to hide her entire body.
“Be careful,” Lin Yan instructed worriedly as he looked toward the rock.
Lin Zhiyue walked behind it, glanced around carefully, and flashed into the space.
Inside, she rushed into the kitchen and took over a dozen eggs and a bag of semi-prepared steamed buns from the refrigerator.
She set up a steamer: boiling eggs below while steaming buns above.
Then she found a hot-water bag and filled it completely with purified water from the dispenser.
After thinking for a moment, she grabbed several mandarin oranges and walked to the spring.
She peeled one experimentally and dropped the segments into the spring water. When they floated instead of sinking, she peeled several more and tossed them in as well.
By the time she finished, the eggs and buns were ready.
She wrapped them in gauze cloth.
Outside, Lin Yan had kept his attention fixed on the rock the entire time.
At last, he saw his daughter’s little head peek out and knew she was done.
He quickly hurried over and looked at the things she brought out.
“Dad, I don’t have one of the water pouches from this world, so this is a hot-water bag from our place. See if it can still be used.”
Lin Zhiyue held up the strange-looking bag.
Lin Yan examined it briefly before nodding.
“Later, Dad will tear off a strip of cloth from my clothes and wrap it around it.”
As he spoke, he packed the hot-water bag together with the eggs and steamed buns into the bundle.
At that moment, a loud voice echoed from the distance:
“Everyone pack up! Time to get moving again!”