In the early morning of the second day, the sunlight drove the wandering carrion wolves back to their lair, but it also brought howling winds and fist-sized pebbles.
From the mine to the west, there was an endless Gobi desert. The fiery red rocks were blown by wind and sand into stone pillars full of holes. Looking around, one could only see a few plants that were low and full of sharp thorns, and the branches and leaves contained highly poisonous sand wattle. Rock scorpions and giant-bellied black wasps are deadly threats, but the greatest danger was the absence of water, not even sewage filled with radiation.
When the rock scorpions were hiding in the crevices of the rocks to avoid the sun, the boy appeared on the edge of the Gobi. He wrapped his whole body tightly in a black felt blanket, holding a small child in his bandaged hand, who was also covered with a black blanket.
In the compound eyes of the rock scorpion, two figures, one big and one small, walked slowly towards the depths of the Gobi, holding hands with each other. Suddenly a gust of wind blew, and the blanket on the child's head was lifted, and a piece of pale gray silk-like long hair spilled out. Under the reflection of the sun, it swayed thousands of points of dazzling brilliance.
The young man stopped in his tracks, carefully combed her long hair, covered her with the blanket again, then took her hand and continued to walk deep into the Gobi.
After walking like this for a whole week, they finally found the cave that Old Hans mentioned, and also found the mutated leech. The boy placed the girl in the cave, and then walked alone to the lair of the fire-breathing ants under cover of night.
It was not until the evening of the third day that the boy struggled to come back. The little girl sat quietly at the entrance of the cave and waited for his return.
She didn't know how long she had sat there.
On that night, using her small snow-white teeth and with all her strength, the little girl frowned and bit the bluish-white flesh of the fire-breathing ants which was as tough as a piece of rubber. The ant meat was tough and fishy, but she tried her best to chew and swallow every bit, even licking off the juice on her fingers.
In the depths of the cave, the young man was hiding in the darkness, cleaning up the interlaced wounds on his body where the bones could be seen.
The mutated leech that had sucked up the blood lazily climbed out of the porcelain bowl, slipped soundlessly into the gleaming sewage pool, and dived into the depths of the pool, leaving half a bowl of clear water in the bowl.
It would take three days for the boy to go to the lair of fire-breathing ants. So the life of the boy, the girl, and the leech was repeated in a circle of three days over and over again.
__________________
Three years later, the leech died.
No matter what changed, the sun would always rise.
The boy and the girl stood side by side at the entrance of the cave. The strong wind blew the tattered blankets on their bodies, tearing a piece of wadding from it from time to time.
"We have to go to the settlement." The young man's voice was always so gentle and calm, and the faint magnetism revealed was deeper and wider.
The girl had now grown to the boy's chest. She leaned against the boy, wrapped the blanket tightly around her body, and said softly, "I'm afraid."
"Don't be afraid. I will protect you." The boy's voice was firm, revealing unwavering determination, but only he himself would know how much confidence he had.
The boy took four carefully selected forelimbs of fire-breathing ants.
Old Hans once said that this thing should sell at a good price in the settlement, and a good price meant food and clean water. The experience in the mines told him that he should not bring too many things that could be sold at a good price, otherwise, he would be in trouble.
The boy walked in front, and the girl held his hem, and the two of them walked together towards the desolate and hopeless front.