Tin Aino slowly turned around and explained to Yang Fan, "In the desert, the direction of the wind is uncertain. With such a strong wind, some of the sand dunes will change shape, and some will even move. If we don't have something to determine the direction, we won't even be able to find the way we came from."
Yang Fan thought for a moment, then pointed behind him and said, "I remember we came down from this side. Should we go back in this direction tomorrow?"
Tin Aino said in a low voice, "Always … That's just in your imagination. You don't even know if you are walking in a straight line. Maybe after walking for a day, when you are exhausted, you will come back here again."
Yang Fan patted his forehead and said as if he realized something, "Oh … Is this the so-called 'ghosts hit the wall'?"
Tin Aino did not speak, but silently turned around and said faintly, "My camel originally carried a lot of food."
Hearing this, Yang Fan looked at her anxious face and suddenly remembered the tragic childhood she told him about. A skinny girl, walking in the wilderness full of starvation, suffering the abandonment of her family, dying by the roadside in fear, becoming food for wolves, wild dogs, and other refugees.
Yang Fan did not know that there were psychological diseases like hunger phobia and hunger sequelae in the world, but he suddenly understood why Tin Aino was so afraid and anxious. He wanted to comfort Tin Aino, but he did not know what to say. Yang Fan looked up at the gray sky. Yang Fan only hoped that there would be a sun tomorrow.
The sun meant the hope of survival!
…
"Ah Nu, look, there is a tree stump here. Are we going to get out soon?"
Yang Fan found a lonely tree trunk on the sandy ground and immediately rushed over with joy.
"It's hard to say!"
Tin Aino also rushed over and bent down to take a look. The joy on his face disappeared and he said, "This is a poplar tree. As the old saying goes, 'Hu Yang lives for a thousand years without dying, dies for a thousand years without falling, falls for a thousand years without decaying for a thousand years, falls for a thousand years without decaying for a thousand years. Who knows when this half of the tree stump will be.'
Tin Aino bent down and observed the tree stump carefully. He touched the side that was relatively smooth and had fewer cracks and uneven bumps. He said, "This side should be facing the south. Let's go this way!"
Yang Fan did not ask her about the reason behind it. Along the way, he already knew that Tin Aino knew far more about survival in the desert than he did, so he had no objections.
Tin Aino knocked a handful of the trunk from the stump and held it in his hand. Every now and then he would turn his head to look at the stump to make sure that he was not going astray. When the stump was completely out of sight and could not be seen again, he would thrust the splinter in his hand into the sand. Along the way, she used all the signs that she could use. She made a mark every time she walked to make sure that she was walking in a straight line.
This was their seventh day in the desert.
Unfortunately, the weather had not been good for the past few days. It was either stormy or cloudy. One of the two horses had already frozen to death on the second day they entered the desert. The other horse had neither fodder to feed nor anything to keep out the cold. It had been suffering from diarrhea since the day before yesterday and was extremely tired.
The storm that day was particularly fierce. The two of them could not stand still and could not see anything more than five steps away.
Yang Fan supported the Tian Ai Nu as they searched for a place to hide from the wind. When they finally arrived at a sandy valley, the half-dead horse suddenly broke free from Yang Fan's hand and disappeared into the vast sea of sand. Yang Fan was not sure if the sand hurt its eyes, but the half-dead horse suddenly broke free from Yang Fan's hand and quickly disappeared into the vast sea of sand.
The horse that had died earlier, Tin Aino had gathered some horse meat and carried it on the horse's back. He was prepared to use it as food in case of an emergency, but it disappeared along with the horse. Fortunately, there was wine and dried meat in the bag. In order to avoid being cold and hard when eating, Yang Fan kept them in his arms. These became their only food.
Of the two bags of wine, no matter how much they saved, they were only left with half a bag. Although the alcohol content of the wine was not high, it still had the effect of keeping out the cold. Relying on this wine, they could easily overcome the cold of the winter night. One could imagine how difficult it would be to live after they finished drinking the wine.
The dried meat was almost finished. Although Tin Aino could still maintain her calm during the journey, the fear of hunger from her childhood had affected her greatly. Seeing that there was less and less food, the fear that had been deeply engraved in her heart since she was young could not go away. It made her extremely anxious.
The winter night in the desert was too cold. The two wrapped themselves in everything that could keep out the cold, but it was useless. After losing the war horse, they had to hug each other tightly at night when they slept, trying their best not to expose their bodies to the biting cold. It was when they were hugging each other tightly that Yang Fan felt that she could not really fall asleep.
Although she was forcibly suppressed by her strong will, the fear of hunger deep in her heart brought back the nightmarish memories of her childhood. She was constantly worried about the moment when they ran out of food. Perhaps when that moment came, her spirit would completely collapse. Yang Fan could see the fear hidden in the depths of her eyes.
Such a journey in the desert, even with the company of a beautiful girl, was definitely not comfortable or romantic. Along the way, there was always an endless sea of sand. It was a kind of fear that made people despair. Even Yang Fan, who had always been optimistic, began to despair. He did not know how big the sea of sand was, nor did he know if they could get out of it.
But as long as they could still walk, they must persevere. He was a man, and he could not show a broken expression at this time. Although Tin Aino had more experience than him in this desert, Yang Fan knew that he was now the support of Tin Aino's spirit. If he also collapsed, the tight string in Tin Aino's heart would immediately break.
The two of them walked step by step in the boundless desert.
Gradually, the sky darkened again. The two figures walking alone disappeared into the rolling sand dunes in the distance …
…
The endless storm came again. This was the tenth day of their journey in the desert.
Food and water had all been used up. The two were hungry and tired. Although the cold winter made the consumption of water not so fast, the feeling of hunger and thirst was still very strong. Yang Fan felt that his throat was so dry that it was about to smoke. His lips were already like cracked dry tree bark.
Tin Aino's situation was even worse than his. These days, she had been in fear and worry. Every time she ate, she was like a meticulous housewife. The distribution of food and water was accurate to an unimaginable degree. Even so, the dried meat and water were all eaten up. When there was no more water in the bag and the last piece of dried meat was eaten, Yang Fan saw the endless fear in the bottom of her eyes finally appear.
"The wind will not stop. Let's continue on our way. Fortunately, the wind is right now. If we walk faster, we won't … cough cough, get our eyes blinded."
Yang Fan said to her with difficulty. His parched throat seemed to be filled with gravel. Every time he spoke, it would hurt.
Tin Aino sat on the ground, holding the empty bag in a daze.
Yang Fan frowned and said, "Ah Nu, let's go! While we still have strength … "
"We can't go. The food has been eaten up. We will die here. Starve to death … starve to death here …"
Not only was Tin Aino's voice trembling, even her body was trembling. Her entire body and mind were immersed in endless fear. The various tragedies that she had personally witnessed in her childhood, all kinds of unforgettable fear that had been buried in her heart had all emerged at this moment.
Yang Fan frowned. He knew why Tin Aino was afraid. But he could not imagine, nor could he imagine, how much trauma Tin Aino had suffered in her childhood. He could not understand the helplessness and extreme fear that Tin Aino was showing.
At that moment, Tian Ai Nu felt like she had returned to her tragic childhood. It was as if she had become a hungry, helpless, weak little girl who was abandoned by her family and coveted by countless people like food. She was surrounded by endless fear.
"Ah Nu!"
"We can't go. We will starve to death. We will all starve to death …"
Tin Aino did not seem to hear what he was saying. She only muttered to herself. Yang Fan frowned and suddenly dragged her up. Tin Aino looked at him in surprise. Yang Fan shouted, "Go! Continue to go forward! Maybe we can get out of here soon. I don't believe that this desert has no end. Go! Continue to go! "
Tin Aino was like a helpless child. She was dragged forward step by step.
The wind was getting stronger and stronger. In just a moment, the two of them were swept into the rolling yellow sand. They could no longer see their figures …
They did not know how long they had been walking. In the middle, they stopped to sleep in each other's arms. They did not know how long they had slept. When they continued on their endless journey, the wind seemed to have lessened. But the two of them were so hungry and thirsty that they could not move a single step.
"It's useless. We will starve to death here …"
Tin Aino's originally lively eyes became dull. The only thing she could repeat was this sentence. The only thought that lingered in her mind was' starving to death '. Yang Fan did not have the strength to refute her. He was like a moving zombie. He used his strong will to force his feet to move forward and backward.
Apart from hunger and cold, the thick robes that were supposed to be able to block the wind and cold were no longer able to keep them warm. This was because their bodies were no longer emitting much heat. The extreme cold seemed to be able to seep into their bones. Yang Fan felt that his body was frozen stiff. Tian Ai Nu was not the only one who was in despair. Even he himself was in despair.
Suddenly, Yang Fan's legs went soft. He fell head first onto the sand dune. Tin Aino, who was being dragged by him, also fell down. The two of them rolled down the sand dune to the bottom. Yang Fan struggled to stand up. But he only managed to kneel on one leg. His vision went black and he fell back onto the sand.
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