Due to the robbers and his sudden fall into a coma, Ren Xiaosu returned a little later than usual. When he saw that the sky was about to turn dark, he knew it would be extremely dangerous to bring his prey through town at this time of the day.
During the day, people from the stronghold would still come out to maintain order. But at night, those people would return to the stronghold.
Of course, the people from the stronghold were not doing this out of good intentions. They were just worried that the chaos in town would affect the work of the refugees.
"Yo, Ren Xiaosu, you've got quite a haul today!"
When Ren Xiaosu ran into town carrying the cauldron, someone greeted him. That person's face was so dark that it looked like he had never washed his face since he was born.
A lot of people in town were like this. In order to exchange for food, they would go to the nearby coal mines to mine for coal. The coal would be transported into the stronghold, and the workers would be able to get just enough black bread or potatoes to survive.
It wasn't just the mining of coal. All the dirty and tiring work in the stronghold would be done by people from outside the stronghold.
There was a quota for the well water in town. There was only so much water every day, so no one could get more than that. There were no clean water sources nearby, or rather, clean water sources were too dangerous as wild animals would gather there to drink it. Therefore, everyone in town was so dirty that no one could see their faces clearly. Ren Xiaosu was no exception.
However, Ren Xiaosu never went to mine for coal. He had his own way of surviving.
At this moment, Ren Xiaosu did not respond to someone who greeted him. He just wanted to get back to his shack as soon as possible.
As Ren Xiaosu passed by the small road in town, he saw the towering stronghold walls not too far away. When he looked up, it felt like he could not see the end of the sky. It was an oppressive feeling.
There weren't many earthen and stone buildings in town. Most of them were shacks.
Ren Xiaosu, who had been quite relaxed, suddenly became vigilant after he entered town. He even drew a bone knife from his waist. The atmosphere on the street became heavy. It was as though there were some dangers hidden in those shacks. But when Ren Xiaosu drew his bone knife, the restless people calmed down.
The first thing Ren Xiaosu learned while living here was not to trust anyone … except Yan Liuyuan.
Whispers came from the shacks by the road. "Ren Xiaosu actually caught another prey."
"How is that prey? It's just a sparrow."
"This is different from the sparrows in the old textbooks. I'm guessing eagles from before the Cataclysm were around this size," Gao Peng said.
"Don't provoke him." A voice ended the whispers. It sounded like someone knew something about Ren Xiaosu's past.
Ren Xiaosu lifted the curtain of his house. The warmth inside made his body feel less stiff.
Yan Liuyuan, who was sitting in the shack doing his homework, looked up and saw Ren Xiaosu returning. He was pleasantly surprised. "Did you kill a sparrow?"
"Why didn't you light the kerosene lamp?" Ren Xiaosu asked with a frown.
Yan Liuyuan was not usually well-behaved, at least not in front of people other than Ren Xiaosu. But in front of Ren Xiaosu, his "elder brother", he was surprisingly docile. "I want to save some fuel for the family."
"What if I become nearsighted?" Ren Xiaosu put the sparrow down.
Yan Liuyuan's eyes lit up and he said, "The teacher at school said that glasses existed before The Cataclysm. He also said that they actually exist now as well. But since we're in the stronghold, we don't have to worry even if we're nearsighted."
Ren Xiaosu was dismissive of such a statement. "I've seen people carry that thing you're talking about. It's just that in this wilderness, entrusting one's vision to something that can fall at any time is tantamount to suicide. Don't listen to your teacher's nonsense. Some of your teacher's words aren't necessarily right. "
"Oh …" Yan Liuyuan nodded. "Then why did you send me to school?"
Ren Xiaosu choked for a moment. "Why do you have so much to say?"
"When can I go hunting with you?" Yan Liuyuan asked.
"You're only 14 years old. Why would you want to learn how to hunt? If you go to school and learn, you won't have to hunt anymore. "Ren Xiaosu said," Wouldn't it be better to learn how to do accounting, physics, and chemistry than to hunt? "
"But you're only 17 years old." Yan Liuyuan was unconvinced.
In this era, even the most barbaric people knew the importance of knowledge.
This was also the reason why the teachers could survive in town. No matter what happened in town, the teachers would always be the safest. No one would dare to do anything to them.
However, the tuition was expensive. Otherwise, Ren Xiaosu would have liked to listen to the teacher himself.
Ren Xiaosu set up the pot and skillfully dissected the sparrow. "What did the teacher teach today? You can only eat some of the internal organs of this sparrow. The rest will have to be sold tomorrow. "
"You're injured?" Yan Liuyuan frowned when he saw the wound on Ren Xiaosu's thumb and forefinger. It was bleeding profusely as the sparrow pecked at it.
The pot was placed on a stick. The fire in the shack illuminated Ren Xiaosu's face. "It's just a minor injury."
The shack fell silent. After a while, Ren Xiaosu scooped out the sparrow's internal organs from the pot and handed them to Yan Liuyuan. "Eat it."
Yan Liuyuan's eyes suddenly reddened. "I'm not eating it. You eat it. You need to recuperate."
"I'll just drink some soup." Ren Xiaosu said, "I still have some rye bread here."
"I'm not eating it. This isn't a minor injury at all. A few days ago, I saw someone in town die from infection from a small wound. We don't have any medicine here," Yan Liuyuan said stubbornly, tears almost streaming down his face.
Slap!
Ren Xiaosu suddenly slapped Yan Liuyuan's face without warning and said, "Remember, you and I can't cry in this world. This world doesn't believe in tears."
Ren Xiaosu continued, "Look at the people around us. What if someone rushes in and stabs me to death in the middle of the night if you don't eat your fill? I want you to go to school because I don't want you to only know how to hunt like me. You have a special ability, so as long as you study hard, you won't have to go out into the wilderness to make a living like me. I want you to go to school because I don't want you to become as barbaric as them! "
Yan Liuyuan suddenly took the sparrow's internal organs from Ren Xiaosu and wolfed them down. His tears did not fall in the end. He had to learn to be as strong as Ren Xiaosu.
"Ahem, when you're done, get a clean cloth to bandage my wound," Ren Xiaosu said.
"OK," Yan Liuyuan agreed.
"You're usually so mischievous when you're outside, but why are you acting like a punching bag when you're back home?" Ren Xiaosu sighed and said, "Did anything happen in town today?"
"By the way," Yan Liuyuan said as he looked for a clean cloth, "a group of people came out of the stronghold and said they're looking for a guide who can lead the way to Stronghold 112. They want to go straight through the Jing Mountains."
"Go to Stronghold 112?" Ren Xiaosu was stunned and frowned. "And they're insisting on going through the Jing Mountains?"
"Do you think they'll look for you? Everyone in town knows you're familiar with the outside world." Yan Liuyuan blinked and said, "I heard they're a band and singer from Stronghold 113 who were invited to perform at Stronghold 112. I haven't seen the singer before."
"I'm not going." Ren Xiaosu shook his head. "Whoever wants to go to the Jing Mountains can go. You should avoid them. There's something strange about this group of people. "
At this moment, Ren Xiaosu was feeling a little conflicted. What kind of world was this? There were even people who specialized in singing and bands? Just what was it like in the stronghold?
Ren Xiaosu suddenly felt a little yearning.
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