Dawn gradually illuminated the sky, and the small town on the horizon was now close at hand.
Wei Tianyang climbed over a dirt slope and followed the dirt road down to the entrance of the town, where a narrow concrete path extended from within the town and broke off just beyond the town's boundary.
He didn't see a bus stop by the roadside, but in front of the white houses at the entrance of the town, he spotted a blue wooden sign with the town's name: Jiaming Town.
Wei Tianyang followed the dirt road into the town, and a mixture of complex scents wafted into his nose—aside from the cool smell of food and household trash, there was also a strange medicinal odor.
If there was a pharmacy in the town, it wouldn't be surprising to smell the medicine. Wei Tianyang kept his right hand hidden in the sleeve of his hoodie, walking on the streets with a hint of restraint.
Along the roadside stood rows of five-story old residential buildings, with small shops and hardware stores operated by individual proprietors on the ground floor, and several outdated vans and cars parked by the curb.
It was now 5:30 in the morning, the doors and windows of every household were tightly shut, and the streets were deserted. Last night, he had drawn a great deal of energy from the blood of the official army, replenishing his spirit. Yet his stomach was still empty, and he was somewhat thirsty.
The blood energy could restore his physical strength and the damage to his right arm, but it couldn't replace food and water.
Having walked all night, even though his spirit was high, he was well aware of his physical condition. Right now, it was like he was running on an adrenaline rush—he needed to find something to eat and drink quickly and then rest for a while. If he pushed himself too hard, he might actually drop dead…
Wei Tianyang had no money on him, and at this moment, he could only think of sneaking into a house with an unsecured window or door to steal some food.
As he was thinking this, an elderly woman emerged from behind a blue, old-fashioned sedan parked at the road ahead.
She wore a beige coat and had a rosy complexion. Although she was of advanced age, she seemed to be in high spirits. Wei Tianyang looked at her, and two phrases sprung to mind: "vigorous despite old age" and "growing old is to be resisted."
Meanwhile, the elderly woman also looked towards Wei Tianyang, approaching him with a kindly smile on her face.
Since waking up, every living person Wei Tianyang had encountered had tried to kill him, which made him instinctively cautious.
"Young man? Are you lost?" The elderly woman approached him and asked cheerfully.
Wei Tianyang silently regarded her, uncertain of what to say.
In the moment of silence between them, the sound of a truck engine approached from the end of the street. Wei Tianyang turned toward the noise when suddenly the elderly woman grasped his right hand and pulled him towards the building.
He was somewhat bewildered, but soon found himself standing with the elderly woman at the entrance of the staircase.
At that moment, a green military truck rumbled past, the bed filled with armed officials, likely belonging to the same force as the group he encountered the night before.
After the military truck had gone, the elder stood at the entrance of the building, observing outside for a while longer before she seemed to relax.
She turned to Wei Tianyang and said, "There's a war going on now. They're rounding up able-bodied men everywhere. You're so young; don't get caught and have your life taken."
"A war… The civil war has really started…" Wei Tianyang murmured softly.
"You didn't know?" The elderly woman seemed surprised.
"I've been working away from home, just... returned." Wei Tianyang said, his lie lacking confidence.
The old woman appeared to sense his dishonesty, but asked with a smile, "With all the chaos out there, where did you work?"
He found himself at a loss for words when suddenly his stomach embarrassingly growled.
"Oh? I can see you're hungry. You must have had a tough journey, haven't you?" the elderly woman said.
Wei Tianyang offered an awkward smile.
"Let me make you something to eat, maybe you'd also like to get some sleep?" the elderly woman suggested.
Her voice was gentle, reminding Wei Tianyang of his mother.
"Grandma, I…" Wei Tianyang started to decline but the older woman took charge and led him upstairs.
One in front of the other, they went up to the second floor, where the door of a residence stood open, emitting a rich and sweet scent. Wei Tianyang had noticed this sweet smell at the entrance of the town—it was like sweet potatoes or sweet porridge.
When they reached the door, Wei Tianyang hesitated. He looked down at the travel shoes he had taken from a pile of the dead's belongings, covered in mud and ash, the original color of the shoes obscured and bloodstains still on the legs of his pants…
"Quite considerate of you, but don't worry, come in," the elderly woman said with a laugh.
He followed the elderly woman into the house, which was not very spacious. There was a narrow hallway at the entrance, with a shoe cabinet to the side and an oil painting hanging on the wall facing the doorway.
The hallway led to a small living room, with an open kitchen where the stove was placed right next to the dining table, steaming red sweet potatoes on the burner.
Indeed, red sweet potatoes.
The only bedroom was on the left of the living room, and out of politeness, Wei Tianyang didn't go over to look.
"You, a big young man, three sweet potatoes won't be enough, will they? I'll cook you a bowl of noodles. You sit first," the elderly woman said.
"It's not necessary... the sweet potatoes are enough for me," Wei Tianyang hurriedly replied.
But the old lady was adamant about cooking him noodles, just smiling and shaking her head as she opened the cabinet above the stove and took out a container of noodles.
Wei Tianyang felt it rude to object, so he sat down at the table, quietly waiting.
The elderly woman first brought the sweet potatoes over to him and then turned around to cook the noodles, Wei Tianyang prepared to stand up to help, but she stopped him.
Unable to resist the hunger in his belly, Wei Tianyang grabbed a sweet potato, not bothering to peel it, and started gnawing on it directly.
The sweet, slippery sweet potatoes melted in his mouth, chewed, then slid down his throat and into his stomach, the feeling of fullness and satiety they provided was exhilarating.
He quickly finished two sweet potatoes and had one left. He refrained from eating it since the elderly woman had previously said that she had prepared them for herself to eat.
Meanwhile, the water on the elderly woman's stove had boiled, and she dropped the noodles in, then went to the refrigerator to take out a tomato, which she began to cut on the cutting board.
Wei Tianyang smelled a strange odor; it was slightly bitter, mixed with the fresh sweetness of the tomato and the wheat aroma of the noodles in the boiling water, not so noticeable, maybe the bitterness of the tomato stalk?
Moments later, the elderly woman turned off the burner and brought a big bowl of tomato noodles to him, steaming hot, with a bit of vinegar added, smelling both fragrant and sour, very tempting.
Wei Tianyang had not been satisfied just now, he picked up the chopsticks, lifted some noodles, blew on them a few times, and started eating intently.
The elderly woman sat by his side and asked with a smile, "Are the noodles tasty?"
Wei Tianyang nodded, the hot noodles rushed into his stomach, warming his cold body, and he began to feel strength returning to his limbs.
"Where's your family? Where do they live?" the elderly woman asked again.
Wei Tianyang paused, thought for a moment, and replied, "There are five people in my family, all from Qiyang City."
"Oh, so they live nearby," said the elderly woman.
Nearby? Wei Tianyang felt a surge of joy; it turned out he wasn't too far from home. So Jiaming Town was just a small town around Qiyang City?
"You remind me of my grandson, he was about your age when he left," the elderly woman said.
"Where did he... go? Did he also go to work in another place?" Wei Tianyang put down his chopsticks.
"He's dead," the elderly woman said lightly.
"Did he... did he die because of the civil war?" Wei Tianyang asked cautiously.
The elderly woman shook her head, lifted her wrist to look at her watch, then glanced at Wei Tianyang.
"No, he died on the injection table because he wasn't as capable as you," the elderly woman said.
Wei Tianyang's whole body broke out in goosebumps.
He abruptly stood up, stepped back two steps, and stretched out his right hand, ready to transform his fingers into a Bone Knife.
However, the next second, he suddenly felt dizzy and weak all over, breaking into a cold sweat.
Gasping for air, he smelled the bitter scent again.
The noodles were poisoned...
The elderly woman stood up, glancing at her wristwatch while saying, "I put half a bottle in, and you still managed to eat half a bowl; that's impressive. You didn't mistake the medicine for vinegar, did you?"
"You... who are you..."
Wei Tianyang tried desperately to rush at her, but after just two steps, his legs gave out, and he collapsed to the floor.
Lying on his side, the scene in his eyes became a triple image; at that moment, two middle-aged men walked in from outside, carrying locks and stun guns in their hands.