Chapter 001: Life or Death

  New book uploaded

  In the Tianyuan years, there was a severe drought throughout the country, with no rain for several months.

  The azure sky above, the scorching sun hangs high, not a wisp of cloud can be seen. Between heaven and earth, it is dull and silent, without the chirping of insects or birds, without the hustle and bustle of human voices, everything is quiet and still.

  A winding small river, with a dry and cracked riverbed, revealing crisscrossing large mouths, just like an open bloody basin devouring lives.

  There is a village by the small river, with only about ten households, but it's all desolate. All the villagers have fled, and the livestock such as pigs, cows, and sheep were either taken away by their owners or eaten by them, or simply died of thirst and starvation.

  The scorching sun was baking the small village, as if it were going to roast the village and the land beneath it.

  Suddenly, from a house near the village entrance came a rustling sound. A moment later, a head popped out of the window. It was a young boy with a pale complexion and disheveled hair that was dirty. His whole body looked lifeless, but his pair of black eyes were still bright and clear. Even in such desperate circumstances, his eyes remained sparkling.

  The young man named Li Wenjun was a local, his father was an ordinary craftsman, and his mother did laundry for people. They had brothers and sisters. Originally, they lived a plain life, and during the holidays, they could still eat some meat. However, this time the severe drought lasted so long that human survival became a problem, and their family was no exception.

  After exhausting the food stored at home and being unable to draw water from the well in the town, they set out on the road of escape with the people in the town. There were too many refugees, and there were many brothers and sisters in the family. Father and mother took care of this one, but not that one, and as a result, Li Wenjun and his family got separated at some point.

  Li Wenjun relied on a strong will to survive and the desire to reunite with his family, as well as a cowhide water bag. After being separated from his family, he persisted for half a month. During this period, when he was hungry, he peeled tree bark and ate grass roots; when he was thirsty, he drank water. When there was no more water, he drank his own urine. But even the urine became less and less as time went on.

  A few days ago, Li Wenjun found this village near the river. He endured hunger and searched the village, and unexpectedly found half a black, stone-hard pancake. With this half-pancake, he persisted for several more days.

  There will always be a time when the cake is finished, and what makes Li Wenjun more unbearable than hunger is thirst. The scorching air breathed into his nostrils was like sucking a thread of fire into his lungs, bringing a burning sensation that made people hard to bear.

  The bark and roots around the village that can fill hunger have all been pulled out. The villagers in the whole village have also escaped, if it weren't for Li Wenjun being here, this would be a deserted village. In a year of severe drought, this is a very normal thing.

  Li Wenjun instinctively knew that he couldn't stay in the village any longer, staying would only lead to a dead end, and only by leaving this place could he find a way out, a very slim chance of survival.

  The sun was too toxic, Li Wenjun didn't dare to go out. Walking under the sun would consume a lot of his physical strength, and more importantly, it would cause a large amount of water in his body to evaporate. At this point, he couldn't afford to lose either his physical strength or water.

  All he can do is wait! Wait until the sun sets and the weather cools down, then step into that world outside without a single drop of water.

  Waiting is impossible, it would only make him endure the torture of hunger and thirst, and he couldn't help but drink the last bit of water in his canteen. Without this mouthful of water, he really had nothing to do but wait for death.

  Li Wenjun lay down again in the shaded area, closed his eyes and forced himself to sleep. As soon as he closed his eyes, the surroundings became eerily quiet, with the only sound being his breathing.

  The sound of heavy breathing was accompanied by a heart-wrenching and lung-splitting noise, which sent chills down one's spine when heard.

  Hunger, thirst, physical weakness, longing for loved ones, fear of death, endless loneliness, scorching air... countless negative states surrounded him, making it hard for him to fall asleep.

  After a long time, Li Wenjun reopened his eyes. Outside, the sun had already set, and the afterglow of the sunset spilled over the earth, as if bidding farewell to the youth for the last time.

  Li Wenjun didn't dare go out immediately. The sun setting doesn't mean it's cooler outside, he still had to wait a while longer.

  After waiting for about an hour, the sky completely darkened, and a crescent moon hung in the air with no strength.

  Li Wenjun tidied up his few treasures: a cowhide water bag, a jujube wood club, a torch, and a flint, as well as a bundle of clean clothes wrapped in a cloth. This was all he had.

  The cowhide water bag was what he brought out from home. The jujube wood mallet was also what he brought out from home, it was a tool his mother used to wash clothes, two feet long and as thick as an arm. The wrapped quilt and clothes were also brought out from home, all of which were already dirty and broken. The torches and flint stones were found by him in this temporary village.

  Taking advantage of the hazy moonlight, Li Wenjun walked out of the village entrance. He didn't dare to light a torch either, he didn't dare to let himself be a bit wasteful. Fortunately, there was a moon, and he could barely see the road clearly.

  Li Wenjun had been thinking continuously for two or three days, and the biggest problem he faced was the lack of water and food. Water was the most lethal shortage. As long as he could find a source of water, there might be wild plants around it, so he would also solve the problems of water and food at the same time.

  Li Wenjun decided to walk along the riverbed, after all, this was once a river, and who knows, in some place with low terrain, there might still be some water left.

  This was Li Wenjun's way of survival, as for whether he could find water or not, he had no choice but to force himself to believe that he would definitely be able to find some.

  Along the riverbed, Li Wenjun walked with one foot deep and one foot shallow. His body was weak and lacking in strength, but relying on a strong will to survive, he gritted his teeth and persisted for more than half the night.

  However, for most of the night, he didn't gain anything, let alone water, not even a single blade of grass. The weather was so dry that the grass was either eaten by humans or livestock, or had withered and died. The dry withered grass, Li Wenjun didn't dare to eat, it was hard to swallow, not to mention indigestible, it would only worsen his miserable situation.

  As the sky was about to brighten up, Li Wenjun couldn't help but feel anxious. Based on his experience, he judged that tomorrow would likely be another scorching hot day, and if he were to be exposed to the sun for a whole day, he wouldn't die but would at least lose a layer of skin.

  He hastily rushed up the river embankment, looking around everywhere, hoping to find a place similar to the village he had just left, where he could escape the scorching sun. However, what made him disappointed was that this was just a desolate wilderness, let alone villages, not even a single thatched hut was in sight.

  Li Wenjun's gaze returned with a hint of disappointment, but suddenly, a faint green hue burst into his line of sight. His spirits lifted involuntarily as he hastened to take a closer look. There, on the riverbed, was a patch of reeds. The green hue had emanated from that very patch of reeds.

  Li Wenjun didn't have time to think much, he spread his legs and rushed forward, rushing into the reeds.

  This reed marsh is not small, about half an acre in size. The reeds are intertwined with each other, and most of them have withered away. There's a small patch of reeds that have fallen to the ground, and that's where the green color comes from.

  Li Wenjun lifted up a handful of reeds and was delighted to find that the soil was still damp, with a hint more moisture than the land beside it.

  Li Wenjun was overjoyed, he hastily found a tree branch and started digging. Not long after, he dug up more than ten reeds. He didn't bother to clean the mud off the reeds, and threw them into his mouth along with the dirt.

  With one bite, the bitter yet slightly sweet liquid from the reed root squeezed out, and Li Wenjun seemed to have tasted the most delicious food under the heavens, closing his eyes in enjoyment.

  He ate two, Li Wenjun didn't dare to eat anymore, he couldn't guarantee that he would have such good luck in the future and be able to dig up cattail roots again. He opened his water bag and stuffed all the cattail roots into it, so as to minimize the loss of moisture on the cattail roots.

  Li Wenjun carefully checked the soil he had just dug again, making sure there were no more water-filled reeds. He then ran to the south bank of the river and lay down on the inner side of the embankment, preparing to avoid the scorching sun that was about to rise.

  With these tens of reeds, Li Wenjun miraculously held on for another three days. By this time, he had left the village where he once landed hundreds of miles away. But how much water and nutrients could the reed roots provide him? His body became increasingly weak.

  After another sunset, Li Wenjun opened the water bag and found that there was only one last reed root left inside, along with a final mouthful of water. He once again faced the danger of running out of food and water.

  Li Wenjun could only continue along the riverbed, searching for water sources. If he couldn't repeat his good luck, he really wouldn't be able to hold on anymore.

  Li Wenjun put the last reed root into his mouth, chewing it carefully. He wanted to chew every fiber of the reed root, absorb every drop of water contained in it, and bring out all its value.

  After eating the reeds, Li Wenjun picked up the water bag and a pungent smell of urine came out. He thought for a moment and then stuffed the water bag back in. The last mouthful of water left inside could not be used until the very end.

  With a strong shake of his spirit, Li Wenjun once again set foot on the faint road to survival.

  The moon hanging in the sky has approached a full circle, and it will be the 15th day of the lunar month in a few days. I wonder if my parents and siblings are reunited together, whether they have ever thought of him?

  He shook his head fiercely and forced himself not to have any weak emotions, which would do him no good.