The rope around her neck tightened bit by bit, squeezing out the air she inhaled. Xiu Xiu couldn't break free or make a sound. Her vision went black in waves.
Crack!
The standing vase beside her was suddenly smashed by her flailing arm. The rope around her neck suddenly loosened.
A rush of fresh air instantly flooded into her nostrils.
Xiu Xiu slumped to the ground, her eyes half - closed. She barely saw a tall, thin shadow flip over the wall and disappear.
"Xiu Xiu!"
She heard Xie Ling's panicked shout in her ear. Xiu Xiu took a deep breath and gathered her strength. "A Ling, we can't stay here any longer. Let's go quickly."
The marks on her neck must have been very obvious, because Xie Ling's eyes were fixed on her neck, and his eyes slowly turned red.
"Okay."
They had watched the world fall into chaos gradually. They were still young and had no ability to change this troubled world.
Even Yaohua, who was in the middle of it all, couldn't help but feel a sense of desolation.
Before nightfall, Xie Ling had packed their things. They went up the mountain together and hid in the dug - out cellar.
The cellar was stocked with a lot of things for the winter. Xiu Xiu had spent many days digging it out bit by bit. Yaohua had participated in the process. Even an outsider like her could imagine how hard Xiu Xiu had worked to survive, not to mention Xie Ling.
"A Ling, I've already sent someone to deliver a letter. When my father and brother come back, we'll go back."
"Okay."
Since just now, Xie Ling had been very obedient.
"I'll do whatever you say."
Xiu Xiu smiled again. "You must be tired. Go and rest quickly."
Just as she was about to turn around to tidy up the things, someone grabbed her hand.
"Xiu Xiu, you don't have to do everything by yourself. I won't act recklessly," Xie Ling said, clenching his fists slightly and then slowly relaxing them. "Let me do these things from now on."
In the past year, Xiu Xiu had long been used to taking on all the responsibilities alone. Her father and brother had been missing, and she didn't dare to think about the worst - case scenario. She could only numb herself with trivial matters.
This girl was strong and tenacious. Yaohua admired her very much.
Putting herself in Xiu Xiu's shoes, Yaohua thought she might not be able to do as well.
Since that day, there seemed to be a little change in the way the two got along.
Yaohua couldn't tell exactly what the change was. She just felt that her presence was very redundant.
Winter passed and spring came, but the mountains were still bare. None of the seeds Xiu Xiu had planted germinated. Xie Ling dug up the soil and saw that the seeds were black and moldy; they had already died.
"I did plant them exactly as the book said," the two of them said, looking at each other in front of the seeds.
"Could it be a seasonal issue?" Xie Ling asked cautiously.
Xiu Xiu shook her head. The food was running out. If this continued, they would starve to death.
"Do we need to fertilize the soil?" Xie Ling scratched his chin. He was good at wielding swords and guns, but he knew nothing about these things.
"I've already fertilized it," Xiu Xiu said, looking troubled. Only Yaohua knew that it was because of the great disaster; the land had been polluted. No matter how hard they thought or how many methods they tried, they couldn't grow any food.
"Maybe it's the problem with the land," Xie Ling thought hard and finally got to the point.
The land problem was beyond their ability to solve. They had no choice but to abandon the idea of growing food.
"The animals on the mountain have all mutated," Xiu Xiu said seriously. "The prey we hunt is poisonous and can't be eaten."
The food they had would last for at most half a year.
Due to the lack of food, the outside world was in a complete mess. One day, they even saw someone publicly slaughtering a living person on the street.
They were their own kind!
"Maybe we should go south?" Xie Ling cautiously put forward the suggestion.
Now, people in the city had formed groups. Those who were disliked or were alone and weak were often used as human sacrifices and killed at will.
The two of them were outnumbered. If this continued, they would surely attract the attention of those people.
It was said that the south was fertile and suitable for planting.
But Xiu Xiu had been staying here just to wait for her father and brother. Would she agree?
"Okay," unexpectedly, Xiu Xiu agreed. "But to go south, we have to pass through the city."
This meant that they might be caught and used as human sacrifices.
So this matter was temporarily put on hold.
A few days later, just as dawn broke, a sharp scream came from outside. Then, a strong smell of blood wafted into the cellar.
Xiu Xiu was sitting on the bed, her fingers trembling and her heart pounding.
Even Yaohua hadn't expected that people would do such a thing just to survive.
"Hey, why is there a hole here?"
At first, when Xiu Xiu dug the cellar, she had chosen a place overgrown with weeds, which was not easy to find. Now, the plants had withered and no new ones had grown. So the location of the cellar was easily discovered.
Xie Ling held a knife and quietly approached the hole. There was something blocking the view, so the people outside couldn't see what was inside. If someone really tried to come in, Xie Ling would strike.
"This is a desolate place. There are holes everywhere. What's so strange about it? Hurry back. Otherwise, they'll think we're hiding something!"
The sound of footsteps gradually faded away. Xiu Xiu's palms were sweating in her clenched fists.
It wasn't until there was absolutely no sound outside that the tense atmosphere in the cellar relaxed.
"This place will soon be discovered," Xie Ling said, coming closer.
Going south was now a must.
They packed their luggage and sneaked into the city after dark.
Everything went smoothly until they reached the city gate. Even Yaohua couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief for them.
However, just as they were trying to climb over the city wall, a fire suddenly lit up not far away.
"Someone is trying to escape!"
"Quick, chase them!"
Xie Ling quickly grabbed the rope and tried to pull Xiu Xiu up.
The rope tightened gradually. Suddenly, it snapped in Xiu Xiu's hand.
Xie Ling's pupils shrank. He quickly jumped off the city wall.
Xiu Xiu fell hard, and the pain made tears stream down her face. She saw Xie Ling standing in front of her, and many people surrounded them with torches.
"So it's the young master of the Xie family," someone murmured. "And that one is the daughter of General Song, right?"
"In this day and age, who cares? The rule in the city is that no one is allowed to escape. They've broken the rule, so they should be slaughtered in public!"
Cold sweat broke out on Xiu Xiu's forehead again. She wasn't very brave. At this moment, she was using all her strength to control her panic.
Yaohua could feel her heart pounding and also sense her guilt for dragging Xie Ling into this.
"General Song is defending the country on the front line. If he knew you were treating Xiu Xiu like this, he would never let you go!" Xie Ling protected Xiu Xiu behind him, not allowing anyone to touch her.
"Defending the country? Hahaha, stop joking. The city lord has already received the news. On the day the meteorite fell, General Song's army was fighting the enemy. They've all been wiped out!"