Chapter 71: The Road of Exile, Part 13

Page 1

After all, they were strangers. Before figuring out where the other party came from, Shi Xianyu dared not reveal too much. She didn’t take out any fruit or vegetables, nor did she invite Ye Liuyun into her camper to rest.

Yet, Ye Liuyun still caught sight of the tomato plant placed in front of the window.

Her heart was shaken to its core!

She couldn’t help but suspect that Shi Xianyu was a runaway Mother from one of the oases—after all, in this world, aside from the Mothers collected by the Lords, who else could possibly have the privilege of eating fresh fruit?

Looking again at the little girl on the camper, Ye Liuyun became even more convinced of her suspicions.

A runaway Mother had even brought her child along! And it was a girl! This was a major crime—a case big enough to warrant the pursuit of the entire oasis!

But the other party was her savior. How could she repay kindness with betrayal?

...No, Mother was the precious property of all humanity; if she ignored this and let the Mother die outside, wouldn’t her sin grow even deeper?

For a moment, Ye Liuyun’s morality and reason tugged back and forth, leaving her expression painfully conflicted.

Shi Xianyu was unaware of the turmoil in the other’s heart. Wanting to probe for information, she picked up the map and asked Ye Liuyun, “Where did you come from? I’ve actually been searching for an oasis, but I’m not sure if this road is the right way...”

Ye Liuyun glanced at it and immediately exclaimed in surprise, “Ah?”

“What is it?” Shi Xianyu was puzzled. “Did I take the wrong road?”

Ye Liuyun looked at her, at a loss for words. “You didn’t just take the wrong road—the map itself is wrong. The maps circulated between the major oases are revised every three years. The one in your hand must be at least nine years old.”

“Ah...I didn’t expect that,” Shi Xianyu admitted.

Ye Liuyun sighed, then added, “But you’re lucky—you avoided the route with the Kros insect monsters. You stumbled onto the right path by accident.”

“Kros...insect monsters?” Shi Xianyu blinked, curiosity filling her gaze. “What are those?”

Ye Liuyun: “…”

She massaged her temples, baffled. Why did everyone she met recently seem to know nothing about the Kros insect monsters?

The Kros monsters were a nightmare known across the continent!

It was like telling a child a story about the wolf coming, only to have the child ask: What’s a wolf?

Absurd!

Shi Xianyu saw her rubbing her head without speaking and assumed she was still feeling unwell. She put away the map and said, “I’ll go get you some more water.”

“Oh, is that really necessary…” Ye Liuyun licked her cracked lips, glancing at the basin the lizard was drinking from. “Just a little…not too much…”

“It’s fine, don’t be shy.”

Page 2

Shi Xianyu returned to the camper, brought out a folding table and two folding chairs, set them up before Ye Liuyun, then went back inside for a white kettle.

Lu Li followed behind, helping her by arranging a sugar jar and several glass cups on the table.

Ye Liuyun: “…”

There was really no need to make it look like a picnic.

Shi Xianyu poured Ye Liuyun a cup of water, picked up a pair of tweezers, and asked, “How many cubes of sugar would you like?”

Ye Liuyun pressed her dry lips together. “Then…two, please?”

Shi Xianyu added two cubes to the cup and handed it to her, saying kindly, “Drink something sweet; it should help you recover faster.”

Ye Liuyun resisted the urge to gulp it down, sipping slowly…

And then, she stiffened.

What…what was this taste? There was no muddy stench, no stale odor; her tongue felt as though bathed in spring water, her mouth inhaled the scent of grass. Where did this refreshingly cool, subtly sweet sensation come from?

Ah!

A taste from paradise!

Suddenly, she felt the urge to cry.

This cup of water was a hundred times better than the drinking water exchanged at the trading post! A thousand times! A…hundred million times!

“May I ask…what water is this?” Ye Liuyun’s eyes burned with barely restrained excitement as she asked Shi Xianyu.

“Mung bean water,” Shi Xianyu answered straightforwardly. “It cools you down and relieves heat. Since you’ve been under the sun for so long, it’s the best thing for you.”

So it’s mung beans…

Ye Liuyun was full of emotion. She had once, during a mission, helped an oasis lord transport a batch of mung beans—they were a costly luxury. Even at her wealthiest, she’d only ever traded for sweet potatoes and similar foods.

She looked at Shi Xianyu with complicated feelings, sincerely advising, “You’re a Mother, aren’t you? I don’t know what happened, but I suggest you return to your original oasis as soon as possible. Like this, with a child and so much supplies, it’s really too unsafe.”

Shi Xianyu asked, “Mother? What’s a Mother?”

Ye Liuyun responded, “You’re not? If you’re not a Mother, where did you get all these precious supplies?”

Shi Xianyu was bewildered.

Had the world’s resources become so scarce? She thought hiding the watermelon, tomatoes, cucumbers, and oranges was enough, but who knew even mung beans had become a rarity?

How should she explain?

Page 3

“Well…actually, I lost my memory,” Shi Xianyu pressed her lips together, choosing her words carefully. “When I woke up, I was in this vehicle, with no recollection of anything. So I don’t know what you mean by Mother—could you tell me about it?”

Ye Liuyun: “…”

What…is…going…on?!

Is amnesia trending these days???

Ye Liuyun couldn’t hold back and asked suspiciously, “You lost your memory too?!”

Shi Xianyu: “…too?”

Ye Liuyun pointed at one of the three men lying on the ground. “Him. We woke him up halfway; he said he lost his memory and insisted on going to Qinghe Oasis to find a little girl. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have encountered the thorn python and nearly lost our lives. Qinghe Oasis has been dry for years—there’s no way anyone could live there!”

As she spoke, her gaze landed on Lu Li beside Shi Xianyu, and her tongue froze.

A…little girl?

“Where are you from?” Ye Liuyun asked cautiously.

Shi Xianyu looked suspiciously at the man on the ground. “I think…Qinghe Oasis?”

Ye Liuyun immediately pointed forcefully at the man. “Do you know him?”

—The man’s face was half fierce, half handsome, like a blend of demon and paladin. Even in a coma, looking at that face was deeply unsettling.

Shi Xianyu frowned and asked Lu Li in a low voice, “Xiao Li, do you know him?”

Lu Li gently shook her head.

Ye Liuyun couldn’t help but mutter, “One wants to go to Qinghe to find a little girl, one brings a little girl out of Qinghe—this is too much of a coincidence…”

Most importantly, both claimed amnesia.

If they didn’t both sound so genuine, Ye Liuyun would have suspected they were conspiring to fool her.

She tilted her head back and drank a mouthful of sweet mung bean water, muttering, “Hopefully the little girl he’s looking for is your daughter. Otherwise, once he wakes up, he’ll force us to take him to Qinghe Oasis again. That guy is too strong—we three together aren’t his match…”

But for now, he was still unconscious. Otherwise…

Ye Liuyun glanced at Lin Yuan lying on the ground, suddenly tempted to take drastic action.