Ming Na closed her eyes tightly and buried her head in her grandfather's arms. The strong wind howled in her ears like ghosts and wolves, the sand flowed around her feet, and grass roots, mud, gravel and other objects hit her body, head, and whole body. It stung, and the rock she used as a windshield was crumbling, as if it would be blown away by the wind in the next second. She held her grandfather's arm tightly, praying constantly in her heart that this storm would pass quickly.
God seemed to hear her inner cry. After a while, the wind gradually became quieter, and slowly, the world returned to peace.
Ming Na carefully opened her eyes, raised her head slightly, glanced at the surroundings, and then whispered: "Grandpa, the wind seems to have stopped." Xiao Tianjian's shoulders moved, and he also raised his head, his whole body shaking. , falling piles of sand.
Ming Na saw that her grandfather was covered in yellow, like a sand man, and she couldn't help laughing so hard that her whole body trembled. As a result, a lot of sand fell off her body. It turned out that she herself was not that strong. , is also a little mud man. The grandfather and grandson looked at each other and burst into laughter. The power of nature cannot be underestimated. After the disaster, they all seemed to be in a particularly good mood.
It was only when Xiao Tianjian laughed so hard that he realized that his back was hurting, and he couldn't help but take a breath.
"I thought it would be blown away by the wind." Ming Na muttered to herself, and suddenly noticed something strange about her grandfather, and hurriedly said, "What's wrong? Is grandpa injured?" Turning behind Xiao Tianjian, she saw that he was dirty There were faint blood marks on the back of Xi's clothes.
"It's just a scratch on the skin and flesh caused by the gravel blown over. It doesn't matter. While there is no wind now, let's hurry up to the mountain wall and talk about it. Otherwise, if the wind comes again later, we may not be able to bear it again. Once." Xiao Tianjian didn't take the injury seriously and just urged his granddaughter to leave quickly.
Although Ming Na was worried about her grandfather's injury, she didn't bother after he said it didn't matter. Only now did she notice that the horse was missing.
After the desert experienced the storm, the originally undulating sand dunes completely changed, and the foothills where the grandfather and grandson were now were now full of sand and rocks. Without the horses, the two children, one big and one small, could only walk on their feet. After walking for only one kilometer, their shoes were scratched by gravel. Mingna also fell down, but fortunately she only broke her skin.
Turning around the mountain wall, the situation was completely different. This mountain wall is actually a protruding part of the mountain range. It is like turning a corner. The area about half a kilometer wide at the foot of the mountain behind it has not been blown by the wind and sand. It is no longer full of yellow sand, but patches of it. There are dry mud and stones of different sizes, and the hillside is a bit more green, with sparse weeds growing there. Although there are no trees, in the dusk, sea buckthorn and cacti can be vaguely seen in the distance.
Xiao Tianjian found a flat ground and began to take off his shirt. The blood from the wound on his back condensed and stained the clothes. He tore it off with gritted teeth, but instead tore open the healed wound. He kept inhaling in pain.
Ming Na felt distressed and kept circling around her grandfather, but she didn't know how to help. After being reminded by her grandfather, she suddenly gathered the water element and used the water ball technique to clean his wound, and then quickly applied a hemostatic agent. Seeing that the blood from the wound gradually stopped, she felt depressed. The hemostatic agent made by the old magician Sennett can make her injuries completely scarred overnight, and even the scars will be gone the next day. The effect is quick and effective. But what she did was just barely able to stop the bleeding. If she applied a little more force, the wound would open again. It was really useless. It seems she still needs to work harder.
Seeing that his granddaughter seemed sad, Xiao Tianjian advised: "It's okay, it's really just a flesh wound. It will be fine in two days. Xiao Mingna doesn't have to worry." Mingna nodded, didn't say anything, just helped her grandfather put on a clean dress. clothes.
Xiao Tianjian felt much more comfortable, but unfortunately his hair and face were still dirty. Looking ahead, the desert is still endless, but if they still walk along the foot of the mountain, they can reach Encore City by walking almost the same distance as when they came. It's a pity that the horse is gone, and they can only walk on two legs. The horse originally carried five days of food and water for their grandparents and grandchildren, but now it is gone. Only the storage in the ring is left, which is probably only enough for two or three days. He couldn't help but regret that he was too careless and should have put all the food and water bags in the ring.
However, he did not expect to encounter such a severe desert storm. Although he had experienced it once or twice before, the extent and duration were far worse than this time, so he did not pay attention to it. Now, he even had some doubts. Did Frido let them go this way on purpose? The purpose is to let them die in the storm.
It seems that I still need to teach that kid a lesson.
Mingna didn't know what was going on in her grandfather's mind, but after learning about the predicament the two of them were in, she thought about it and patted her grandfather on the back with great pride and said, "No problem! We were in the snowy mountains and Nuojia has already come here, are you still afraid of the desert? You will definitely get out smoothly!"
Xiao Tianjian grinned, moved his body slightly, and smiled: "Yes, you have gone through so many hardships and obstacles, are you still afraid of this small desert?"
The grandfather and grandson rested for a while, ate something and regained their strength. At dawn, they set foot on the southbound road again and continued moving forward.
Without horses and enough water, even if Ming Na could use the water polo technique, their living conditions would still be much worse than before. Whenever they encounter plants such as cacti on the road, they will cut down a few and store them as a precaution. In order to reduce water evaporation, they move at night or on cloudy days as much as possible.
Sometimes, when they are on their way at night, in order to overcome the physiological desire to sleep, they will focus on the stars in the night sky. In the deserted wilderness, the starry sky is also a good way for them to relieve their boredom.
Ming Na will tell her grandfather what she heard about the stars and the moon from her mother, Winnie and Marshall, and Xiao Tianjian will also pass on the knowledge of constellations he knows to his granddaughter. Sometimes, some of the constellations he mentioned could not be found in the sky. When Minna asked, he would fall silent, and it would take a while before he would change the topic. Minna didn't understand why her grandfather was silent and was often confused.
One night, Mingna discovered that several stars in the sky looked like a big spoon when they were connected together, so she told her grandfather as an interesting thing. Xiao Tianjian was silent for a long time, and then whispered: "This is the Big Dipper. The end of the spoon handle points to another star, called Polaris, which points to the north."
Ming Na looked up at the stars and tilted her head: "But the handle of the spoon is obviously pointing to the west?"
Xiao Tianjian smiled lowly: "Yes, here, it points to the west... and the spoon is twice as big as what you see on the earth..."
"Earth?" Minna heard an unfamiliar term, "What is that place? Where is it?"
"In a place far, far away, it is a planet, just like the planet we are on now, but it is bigger than here, and the gravity is heavier than here. There are many, many countries... There is a country called China , is a country with a long ancient civilization, where...my home is..."
Ming Na's eyes widened: "Isn't Grandpa's home in the Yalor Forest?" Or should we say the Eastern Continent? But grandpa seemed to have said last time that his home was not there.
Xiao Tianjian chuckled: "Yaro Forest is just the first place I settled after coming to this world. My real home... is in a small city in northern China..." He slowed down and fell into memories: " I remember... it was a three-bedroom house that was allocated by my parents' work unit. It had a separate bathroom and kitchen, and a small balcony. It was pretty good at the time. My parents both worked in state-owned enterprises, and although my family was not wealthy, , but I have had enough food and clothing since I was a child. I was in poor health when I was a child, so my parents sent me to my grandfather’s house in the countryside and asked me to learn martial arts from my neighbor’s uncle. I didn’t return to the city until I graduated from elementary school..."
Mingna asked in confusion: "Grandpa, what is a state-owned enterprise? What is a primary school?" Why can't she understand so many words at all
But Xiao Tianjian did not answer her words, and still recalled his past: "When I first entered junior high school, I was always playful, and my father would beat me at every turn. But in fact, he often worried about me and couldn't sleep all night. My mother never Instead of scolding me, he always tried his best to make me delicious food. I was not sensible at that time and would only make them sad. It was not until I entered high school that I started to study hard. When I was admitted to college, they were all very happy. I cried. But I didn’t know how to understand them. In college, I would just hang out with my friends, play games, and watch movies. I never thought about the future. After graduation, I couldn’t find a job, and I refused to accept the insult, so I shamelessly returned home. At home, my parents gave me a favor and allowed me to work as a clerk. I thought it was hard work, so I went to other provinces to work. I finally became a bodyguard with the skills I learned when I was young. I received a monthly salary of several thousand yuan, and the company included food. I had a dormitory and a bonus. What I wanted was to spend the money and get a beautiful girlfriend, but I never thought about letting my parents enjoy the happiness..."
"Grandpa, I don't understand..."
"I'm really unfilial, aren't I?" Xiao Tianjian stopped walking forward, with tears in his eyes, "If I had known that I would disappear from that world... If I could go back, I would... definitely be filial to them... "
"Grandpa..." Ming Na looked at Xiao Tianjian's tears in surprise. In her impression, grandpa almost never cried. Why? Is it because of grandpa’s parents
"You don't understand, right?" Xiao Tianjian raised his sleeves to wipe his tears, turned to look at his little granddaughter, with a wry smile on his lips, "It doesn't matter, not only do you not understand, no one in this world can understand at all! What's going on here? People are completely different from me. They don’t understand what I think, and I don’t understand what they think. Sometimes I really go crazy. I tried to find myself a partner, but I couldn’t find one! I don’t understand you. Why doesn’t grandma Meili want to come with me? I don’t understand why Mirabell thinks about her family in everything. I don’t understand why Fnoya always puts on such an air. I don’t understand why Ziya still spends all her time when she is rich and powerful. I want to find a rich and powerful man to rely on!"
He took a few quick breaths before continuing to murmur: "I don't understand the thoughts of those ministers and nobles. They can gain huge benefits by listening to me, but they are willing to give up and kick me away; I don't understand that Weisha obviously can gain huge benefits by listening to me. There is oil and iron ore, why do the people here refuse to exploit it, but go to gamble and rob it? I don't understand... Why is such a shrewd man like the underground Duke stupid enough to trust his nephew... He is still half of me Confidant... There are so many things I don't understand, but people in this world can't understand me either. I'm really... so lonely..."
Ming Na's nose felt sore when she heard it. She really couldn't understand her grandfather's words at all, but from his tone, she could tell that he was feeling sad now. She couldn't help but hugged his arm, with tears in her eyes: "Grandpa, don't be sad, Mingna will be with you, as well as dad, mom, grandma Mirabell, uncle, aunt, brother Bevan, Sister Beryl, Sister Manda, and Xiaola and his mother...we will all be with you, you won't be lonely, really..."
Xiao Tianjian touched his granddaughter's head and said with a wry smile: "Silly boy, this is different. What grandpa wants...is someone who can truly understand me. If he can't go back to reunite with my family, at least...get another one..." He looked up Looking at the starry sky, "I don't know how I came here. It seemed that there was an explosion. When I opened my eyes, I was in the Yarrow Forest. I traveled all over the continent, hoping to find a way back, and followed the magic I have made good friends with the teachers and hope that they can develop a method of teleporting to other planets... Unfortunately, it is still a delusion after all..."
He took a deep breath and sighed slowly: "It's ridiculous. I have been here for more than thirty years, but I still hope that this is just a dream. Maybe when I wake up tomorrow, I will find that I have just been in a coma in the hospital for a few days. I I have enjoyed everything here, fame, wealth, status, beauty, power... But in my heart, I hope that I am still the clerk who receives a salary of two to three thousand yuan a month. I can go home to spend time with my parents in the evening and follow my parents on the weekends. Friends go to Internet cafes, find a gentle and virtuous wife to have children in two years, and become a baby daddy... When I was young, I just thought this kind of life was boring, but now, I would rather live such a life than live in It will continue to be lonely here..."
He squatted down, buried his head and choked. Mingna sniffed and squatted with him. Thinking of the ways adults comforted her when she cried, she reached out and patted her grandfather's back gently, whispering: "Don't cry, be good, don't cry..."
I don’t know how long it took, when the starry sky gradually became brighter and the sun shone through the mountain back into the desert in the distance, Xiao Tianjian finally raised his head, with no traces of tears on his face: "Grandpa actually cried, isn't it embarrassing? Mingna, don’t laugh at me, okay?”
Mingna nodded solemnly: "Okay." Then she added: "Grandpa, don't be sad. When you are in a bad mood, you will always be in a state of panic." !?br>
Xiao Tianjian smiled, touched his granddaughter's head, and looked forward: "The sentimental time is over, but the road still has to go on. Let's set off."
Ming Na nodded in agreement and continued to move forward with her grandfather.
The food was gradually running out, with only two scones left. Minna had escaped because she didn't like to eat them and didn't put them on the horse. Xiao Tianjian knew that he had to find a way to find food.
Fortunately, they walked along the edge of the desert. Here, he could find venomous snakes, scorpions, sandworms, and occasionally a bird or two flying by. Cacti and grass roots were all things that could be eaten. Since the child's intestines and stomach were delicate and Ming Na had just been poisoned, Xiao Tianjian was cruel and gave all the scones to his granddaughter. At most, he let her eat some sandworms, roasted birds or cactus, and all the viper grass roots were kept. himself.
Although the poisonous creatures had been treated before eating, Xiao Tianjian was still slightly poisoned due to the limitations of the materials. His tongue was numb, his fingers were stiff, and his eyes began to lose sight. He could only rely on his eyesight. Na showed him the way. In order to prevent the child from going in the wrong direction, he had to teach her some simple desert survival skills.
Minna felt tired and hungry. She hadn't eaten enough for two days in a row. Grandpa was walking slower and slower. She was dragging her hard, but she knew she couldn't give up. If she gave up, what would grandpa do? He is the hero of the whole continent. Although he can cry, he cannot starve to death in the desert because he doesn't have enough to eat. What's more, without her grandfather, she doesn't know how to go home. She wants to go back to see her parents. Just like her grandfather misses his parents, she also misses her family.
With this belief, Mingna dragged her grandpa for an unknown distance. Her throat was so dry that it was about to catch fire, and the sun above her head was about to bake her into charcoal, but she couldn't stop. Grandpa was like this now. , I don’t know how many more days I can hold on, so I’ll leave if I can.
Although Xiao Tianjian's mind was a little fuzzy, he was still clear in his heart. He knew that his little granddaughter was working hard, so he set aside the water for her to drink. He was counting the days in his mind, it should be almost there.
In the afternoon when they were completely out of food, they finally met the first living person they saw after entering the desert. This is a small caravan from an oasis south of Weisha, and is planning to go to Anchor City to purchase goods. Some of them were traveling together, so they enthusiastically took in Xiao Tianjian and Ming Na, brought them food and water, and happily accepted a bag of gold coins as a reward.
Xiao Tianjian was lying on the large carriage used to transport goods, half asleep and half awake, enjoying a rare rest. Ming Na stretched out her feet and sat next to her. The large blisters on her feet were causing burning pain, but compared to the pain she felt when walking, she was undoubtedly much more comfortable now. She drank water in small sips and ate the dry scones. Although the taste was not as good as what Frido gave her, at this moment, it was extremely delicious.
Someone climbed onto the carriage where they were, and a hoarse and low voice came in: "Child, do you want me to see it?"
Ming Na curiously stretched out her hand to lift the curtain, only to see a terrifying face, with pale skin, a smooth head, no eyebrows, red eyes, a flat nose, and two nostrils, one big and one small, that could not be closed. His mouth revealed uneven yellow teeth. When this face smiles, even if the sun is shining outside, an uncontrollable chill rises in people's hearts.
Ming Na took a deep breath and immediately stepped back in fright. Xiao Tianjian heard the sound and opened his eyes. When he saw the face, a sharp light shot out of his eyes: "Tom Riddle! Why are you here?!"
(Do you feel like April Fool’s Day?)