At this, both Yunsheng and Chunxing’s eyes immediately lit up.
Ye Qing suddenly changed her tone.
“I can share the persimmons with you, but I have one condition.”
“What condition? Tell us!” Yunsheng quickly looked up and asked anxiously.
“As long as we can do it, we’ll agree!” Chunxing also nodded vigorously, afraid she might change her mind.
Ye Qing pointed at a nearby hawthorn tree.
“See that hawthorn tree over there? I picked quite a lot just now, but there are still many left.”
“You help me pick the rest—pick them all clean, and choose the good ones. In return, I’ll give you half of the persimmons. How about it?”
This was a good deal.
The hawthorn tree was heavily loaded with fruit. It would be too much work for her alone, so it was perfect to have two free laborers help.
Besides, persimmons needed to ripen before eating anyway. The hard ones were useless for now, so she might as well do them a favor.
Yunsheng froze for a moment, clearly not expecting such a condition. He had assumed she would make some outrageous demand.
“Okay! Okay! We agree!” he quickly nodded, afraid she would change her mind. “We’ll pick them clean for you!”
Chunxing also brightened up, tears turning into a smile.
“Really? You’re really willing to give us persimmons?”
“Of course!” Ye Qing rolled her eyes at her. “I keep my word. But let me make this clear first—if you try to slack off or have any other ideas, don’t blame me for turning hostile.”
Her sharp tone made Yunsheng’s heart skip a beat. He quickly nodded.
“We wouldn’t dare! Absolutely not!”
He could tell this young man, though not old, was definitely someone not to be provoked.
“Alright, then get to work!”
Ye Qing pointed toward the hawthorn trees.
“You go pick hawthorns, I’ll pick persimmons here. Division of labor. Remember—only red, unrotten ones. Don’t take the bad ones!”
“Got it!” Chunxing, now too excited to cry, wiped her tears and ran off.
“Yunsheng ge! Hurry!”
Yunsheng cupped his hands toward Ye Qing in thanks and followed quickly.
Ye Qing watched their backs and muttered inwardly,
“These two really change faces faster than flipping a book.”
Still, she kept working, picking the soft persimmons and storing them in her space, which kept everything fresh indefinitely.
Soon, Chunxing’s voice echoed from afar.
“Brother Yunsheng! There are so many hawthorns here! They’re so red and look delicious!”
“Be careful! Don’t get pricked!” Yunsheng’s voice followed.
Ye Qing couldn’t help but curl her lips slightly.
In this wilderness, unexpectedly finding two living people—and even some free labor—wasn’t too bad.
But…
Her gaze flickered.
She had heard Chunxing mention that their group included elderly people and children.
Why would such a large group be in this deep mountain forest?
Where did they come from?
A trace of caution quietly rose in her heart.
In a famine year, human hearts were unpredictable. Who knew whether these people were good or bad?
She shook her head and stopped thinking about it.
If trouble came, she would deal with it.
She had space, food reserves, and skills—she wasn’t afraid.
With that thought, her movements became even faster.
Soon, Yunsheng and Chunxing returned carrying two baskets of hawthorns. Their faces were covered in dirt, and Chunxing even had several small puncture wounds from thorns, but she didn’t care at all.
“We’re done! Look! All the good ones!”
Ye Qing inspected them. The hawthorns were all bright red with no rotten ones.
“Not bad. You did well.”
She pointed at the pile of soft persimmons.
“That’s your share.”
Yunsheng looked at the pile of golden persimmons, his eyes full of gratitude.
“Thank you, little brother! We can never repay this kindness!”
“Enough of the formalities,” Ye Qing waved it off. “Take your things and leave. This mountain isn’t safe. Go back to your group.”
She didn’t want any further entanglement.
Yunsheng understood and nodded quickly.
“Alright! We’ll take our leave then! Little brother, you stay safe too!”
He and Chunxing each picked up a basket and started walking away. After a few steps, Chunxing turned back and waved.
“Hey! Will we meet again?”
Ye Qing simply waved back without answering.
Whether they met again—leave it to fate.
But before they had taken even five steps, the sky suddenly darkened.
Not the kind of darkness before rain—but like a giant black cloth had been draped over the heavens.
Ye Qing froze and looked up.
And what she saw made her entire body stiffen.
Countless dark shapes pressed in from the horizon, flying low and fast, producing a deafening “buzzing” sound—like thousands of bees flapping at once, or someone grinding a saw beside her ear.
“What… what is that?” she asked instinctively.
Yunsheng’s face turned pale, even worse than when he had seen bandits.
“Locusts…” his voice trembled. “It’s over… this is the third wave!”
“Third wave?” Ye Qing frowned.
“Yes!” Yunsheng stamped his foot in panic.
“Ever since the drought began, this is already the third locust plague! The first two waves wiped out all the crops. Many villages we passed are completely empty—everyone fled!”
While he spoke, the swarm had already reached overhead.
Ye Qing could even see their translucent wings, swollen abdomens, and constantly moving mandibles.
They swept across the ground like a black wind.
Grass along the roadside vanished instantly upon contact.
Leaves were stripped off trees in seconds, leaving bare branches.
Even the faint green hidden in stone cracks was devoured clean.
Ye Qing felt a chill crawl over her scalp.
In two lifetimes combined, she had never seen anything this terrifying.
Remembering a cave she had noticed earlier that morning, she immediately ran toward it.
Yunsheng also realized there was no time to return to their group and hurriedly pulled Chunxing to follow her.
“Do you know a place to hide nearby? Can you take us with you?” Yunsheng shouted, fear evident in his voice. “If we’re late, it’ll be too late!”
All Ye Qing could hear was the deafening wingbeats of the locusts.
She glanced back.
What had just been lush green bushes moments ago had turned into dead branches. Even the ground was now covered with a thick layer of locust carcasses, crushed and crackling under the advancing swarm.
This was no natural disaster.
It was an invading army.