Ancient Doomsday Traveler

Chapter 48 Before Departure

"Do you think...that village is credible?"

Unable to find the answer, Lin Xiu simply passed the question on to Yao Rongrong.

Yao Rongrong remained silent for a long time, then said, "Who knows?"

Lin Xiu sighed and said, "I'm sorry I didn't cook tonight. Just have some dry food and get some rest."

Those two might have accomplices. It's no longer safe in these mountains. Tomorrow morning, whether we want to go to that village or continue north, we should leave as soon as possible.

"Okay, sure."

Yao Rongrong thought Lin Xiu's words made sense, nodded, and said.

Lin Xiu took one last look at the lonely grave outside the dilapidated temple in the mountains, and then returned to the temple with Yao Rongrong.

The two of them simply ate the dried rice they had salvaged from the dead bodies that day, and drank some water.

Yao Rongrong said, "Sir, you should go to sleep. I don't know if it's safe tonight. Perhaps I should keep watch."

Lin Xiu did not refuse and said, "You can keep watch for the first half of the night. We are leaving tomorrow. If you keep watch alone all night, you will be listless and unable to travel tomorrow."

My half-baked sword is no match for the ways of the world these days; I'll have to rely on you, my heroine, for everything along the way.

Yao Rongrong gave Lin Xiu a deep look, then suddenly laughed and said, "Why bother with this, sir? You might find that Lijiaji is a good place to settle down tomorrow, and once you get there, you'll part ways with me."

"By then, sir, you won't need to rely on me anymore."

Lin Xiu glanced at Yao Rongrong but didn't say anything. He went into the dilapidated temple, covered himself with his bedding, and closed his eyes.

But he had something on his mind, and he tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep no matter what.

His mind was in such a mess that he initially thought it was related to the little girl in the new grave outside the dilapidated temple. But as he tossed and turned, his thoughts gradually became clearer, and he discovered that what he felt most was fear of tomorrow.

Fear breeds thoughts, and confused thoughts lead to insomnia.

Lin Xiu didn't know how long he had been lying in bed when he suddenly heard Yao Rongrong's voice from the doorway: "Sir, are you asleep?"

Lin Xiu immediately opened his eyes and said, "No, what's wrong? Want to hear me tell a story?"

Yao Rongrong sat on the high, rotten wooden threshold, turned her back to Lin Xiu, shook her head, and said, "I won't listen to the storyteller tonight."

I just wanted to say... I wanted to say... I actually think there's nothing wrong there.

Lin Xiu lay on his side in bed, watching Yao Rongrong's back without saying a word.

The moon was quite round tonight, and the moonlight poured in from outside the door, clear and bright, making Yao Rongrong's silhouette sitting on the threshold appear even darker, and somewhat lonely.

Yao Rongrong continued, "I hid outside Lijiaji for an entire afternoon and saw clearly what the scholar looked like and what the villagers looked like."

The village official had never practiced cultivation, nor had most of the villagers, but those who followed the official possessed some strength.

The scholar was all alone and had never practiced cultivation; there was no doubt about that.

He posed no threat whatsoever to Lijiaji; the village didn't need to resort to any tricks when facing him.

Since the scholar was able to leave the village unharmed, it proves that the village is indeed nothing special; at the very least, they are very restrained when it comes to attacking people. We can go there and take a look.

"It's just that my private message made me say I didn't know."

Lin Xiu blinked.

Yao Rongrong suddenly became anxious: "It's just that your donkey and donkey cart are so useful, sir, that we're almost reluctant to part with them."

Lin Xiu sighed, "Really? I thought you were reluctant to part with the 'Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils' I mentioned and the food I cooked."

Yao Rongrong seemed to laugh, but she had her back to Lin Xiu, so Lin Xiu couldn't see her expression: "Of course, there are other reasons as well."

But when you're out in the world, these are minor matters. If you can't finish listening to all the stories, so be it; if you can't eat delicious food, as long as you have something to fill your stomach, that's fine.

The most important thing is that the donkey and its cart can help me get some supplies. They are so useful that I really can't bear to part with them...

Lin Xiu: "..."

Yao Rongrong said, "Sir, go to sleep. Tomorrow morning, we'll go to that village and take a look. If it's truly a peaceful place to live, I'll congratulate you properly."

Lin Xiu naturally understood what she meant; she was telling him that he didn't need to change shifts that night.

If they reach Lijiaji, they won't need to leave for several days; they might even need to stay in the village for a while. She can rest then, so there's no need for Lin Xiu to wake up in the middle of the night to take over the night watch.

How could Lin Xiu be so selfish as to sleep through the entire night?

Around midnight, he naturally woke up and got up to tell Yao Rongrong to go to sleep.

Yao Rongrong laughed and said it wasn't necessary, but Lin Xiu insisted on changing shifts and ordered Yao Rongrong to go back to bed.

Yao Rongrong turned her head and looked up to see Lin Xiu's serious expression. She was stunned for a moment, and for some reason, she obediently went back and crawled into bed.

She glanced at Lin Xiu from under the covers and saw that Lin Xiu, like her, was sitting on the rotten wooden threshold, blocking out the clear moonlight, and had his eyes closed.

The fact that they had all passed away peacefully brought a sigh of relief to both Lin Xiu and Yao Rongrong.

No one came to this dilapidated temple. I don't know if it was because there were only two villains during the day and no other accomplices, or if the two hadn't returned home all night and the other accomplices hadn't been alerted.

The moon was setting, disappearing into the western sky, becoming white and without light, while the red sun was rising in the east, dazzlingly bright.

Lin Xiu turned around and saw that Yao Rongrong had not yet woken up, so he got up, stretched, and started cooking.

This morning might be the last meal I'll have with this woman, so I can't let her eat dry rations again.

The rice is cooked, the wild vegetables are blanched, and then stir-fried with smoked meat. This mixture is then placed on top of the rice, and a non-mainstream rice bowl meal is ready.

Yao Rongrong had already woken up, but she didn't disturb Lin Xiu from behind.

She ran over to the donkey and stared at him for a long time. Every time the donkey shook his head, she would shake her head too, which made the donkey quite angry. He glared at her hard, and she glared back at him.

Yao Rongrong only let the donkey go after Lin Xiu had finished cooking.

This wild vegetable and smoked pork rice bowl was quite to Yao Rongrong's liking, and she fulfilled her previous wish by eating it right there in the pot.

After finishing their meal and cleaning up, the two sent the donkey outside, then pushed the donkey cart out, hung it on the donkey, and set off down the mountain.

As they descended the mountain, Yao Rongrong led the way, guiding Lin Xiu and Donkey Brother straight towards Lijiaji.

The daylight was perfect, and the warm sunlight overhead seemed to foreshadow a smooth road ahead.

"Let's go, sir. If this is indeed a safe and comfortable place to live, how will you thank me?"

Yao Rongrong said to Lin Xiu with a smile.