Surviving the Apocalypse with the Young Miss - Chapter 47

Chapter 47: Compromise

Yue Yao didn’t hear Tong Xiangyu’s scream. Seeing the pool, she couldn’t help but quicken her final few steps. Dizzy and lightheaded, she dropped her pot and basin, desperate to scoop up water to drink, but she was stopped by Tong Xiangyu.

Tong Xiangyu saw that Yue Yao’s entire face had turned scarlet from the sun, while her lips were pale and peeling. She took out the last few wild fruits from the backpack and gave them to her. “Eat these, Yaoyao. The water isn’t drinkable.”

A terrible situation had arisen: the water source was contaminated and non-potable. Even worse was the realization that the mushroom soup they had boiled the night before had used water from the downstream flow of this very pool containing a corpse…

Tong Xiangyu was silent for a moment, then turned around and retched until the world spun.

But this was only the beginning.

The further upstream they went, the more mutilated corpses they found on the exposed rocky riverbed. Having been exposed to the scorching sun for only two days, some bodies were already dried out; others were impaled on branches. Some had broken bones and sunken skin covered in cadaveric spots, while others had rotted into heaps crawling with maggots and swarmed by flies.

Tong Xiangyu had seen scenes even more cruel and disgusting than this in Kecheng, so aside from the initial shock of seeing the one in the pool, she simply frowned and looked away whenever she saw more.

Yue Yao, however, had never seen such a thing. She vomited the whole way until she was eventually utterly exhausted.

Tong Xiangyu suddenly heard the clattering of pots and pans hitting the ground behind her. She looked back and found that Yue Yao had fainted. She hurriedly nudged Song Ge, who was carrying her: “Song Ge, Song Ge, stop! Yue Yao fainted.”

Song Ge didn’t stop, continuing forward.

“Song Ge?”

“What can I do if she fainted? You want me to carry two people by myself?”

Tong Xiangyu said, “Carry her instead. I can walk by myself.”

Song Ge said nothing and kept walking forward without pause.

Anxious, Tong Xiangyu watched Yue Yao lying motionless on the ground getting further and further away. She raised her voice and said, “Song Ge, don’t forget that Yue Yao still has to lead the way for us!”

Song Ge: “No need for a guide. Just follow the provincial road and we’ll find the next city.”

Tong Xiangyu paused, then asked, “Song Ge. Are you serious?”

Hearing the change in the young lady’s tone, Song Ge finally stopped. She set Tong Xiangyu down, turned around to face her, and said, “Two choices. If you want to save her, go save her, and I’ll go on alone. Second, put away your Bodhisattva heart and let’s hurry up.”

Tong Xiangyu grew frantic and argued loudly with her, “Why? Song Ge, you weren’t like this before!”

“I’ve always been like this,” Song Ge said, looking at her. “Did you not notice those corpses? Shriveled, corpse spots, bite marks… those bodies likely floated down from upstream, or the monsters are nearby.”

Tong Xiangyu was stunned with fear, her eyes quickly reddening. She looked back at Yue Yao, who hadn’t stood up again, and said with a sob, “But…”

Song Ge let out a long breath.

“There won’t be a next time.” Song Ge pointed to a shaded area ahead with a clear view and no movement. “Didn’t you say you could walk? Go over there and wait for me.”

After saying that, Song Ge turned back.

Song Ge slapped Yue Yao’s face hard. “Hey, wake up.”

Yue Yao managed to open her eyes.

Song Ge asked, “Can you still walk?”

“I… I can…” Yue Yao weakly tried to prop herself up, but her whole body felt as heavy as lead and wouldn’t move an inch.

Song Ge clicked her tongue, grabbed one of Yue Yao’s arms to drape around her neck, ignored the pot and basin, and supported Yue Yao through the scorching sun to the shade where Tong Xiangyu was waiting.

Tong Xiangyu watched Song Ge’s expression cautiously.

Song Ge didn’t look at her. She put Yue Yao on the ground and pulled at her own clothes to vent the heat. Seeing this, Tong Xiangyu immediately limped over and used her hands to fan her.

Song Ge glanced at her foot but said nothing.

After fanning Song Ge, Tong Xiangyu went to Yue Yao’s side, knelt down, and shook her gently. “Yaoyao, Yaoyao, are you okay?”

Yue Yao could hardly speak, her face as pale as paper. “I feel… so bad…”

Song Ge: “She has heatstroke.”

“What should we do then?” Tong Xiangyu looked back at Song Ge anxiously. “We don’t have any medicine for heatstroke.”

Song Ge said, “Gua Sha (Scraping).”

Tong Xiangyu was blank. “Gua Sha?”

Song Ge sighed and knelt beside Yue Yao. She pulled open Yue Yao’s collar with one hand and took out her folding combat knife with the other. Using the handle of the knife, she scraped along Yue Yao’s sweat-drenched shoulders and both sides of her neck. After just a few strokes, purple-red petechiae—the “sha”—appeared on the skin.

Song Ge expanded the scraping area. Soon, Yue Yao’s shoulders and neck were entirely purple-red. Seeing that enough “sha” had surfaced, Song Ge used Yue Yao’s clothes to wipe her knife clean, folded it, and sat to the side.

Tong Xiangyu watched from the side, heart thumping at the sight. When Yue Yao’s complexion seemed slightly better, she asked carefully, “Does it hurt, Yaoyao?”

Yue Yao shook her head weakly and looked toward Song Ge. Seeing that Yue Yao was okay, Tong Xiangyu hesitated before walking over to Song Ge’s side.

Song Ge didn’t look up.

Tong Xiangyu knelt down and fanned Song Ge, smiling apologetically. “Thank you for your hard work. Let’s rest here for a bit before moving on.”

Song Ge said, “This place won’t do. The rocks are big, the road is uneven, and the terrain is hard to run on.”

Tong Xiangyu argued, “Actually, I think the monsters might not be ‘alive’ anymore. It rained for so many days, and they don’t know how to hide; they definitely couldn’t survive it. Even if they are still ‘alive,’ didn’t you say their balance is terrible? In a place like this, they definitely couldn’t catch us.”

Song Ge pursed her lips, disagreeing: “No, keep moving.”

The sun was scorching, making one’s head spin. Song Ge felt a constant sense of unease because they had seen almost no corpses downstream, yet after only half a day of walking, they were seeing them everywhere—broken clothes, exposed bones, and stinking rotting flesh scattered across the riverbed.

Song Ge turned to look at the completely collapsed provincial road. The landslide section was at least two or three kilometers long, and at the center of the landslide was a towering mountain thick with trees. The place where the stones had tumbled down had been stripped bare, revealing a streak of yellowish earth. Not a trace remained of the half-month of torrential rain, only the widespread devastation left in its wake.

Song Ge said to keep moving, but they still rested for a while.

After the Gua Sha and the short rest, Yue Yao felt much better. Without the pot and basin to carry, walking was a lot easier. Song Ge looked at Tong Xiangyu, who was still limping.

Song Ge: “Don’t force it if you can’t walk.”

“I’m not forcing it,” Tong Xiangyu said. “I really feel much better.”

Song Ge didn’t believe her at first, until Tong Xiangyu lifted her pant leg. The ankle that had been swollen like a bun now only had a visible bruise; it indeed didn’t look so frightening anymore. So Song Ge dropped it and let her walk.

The air gradually filled with an unbearable stench. Further ahead, the river and fields were completely buried by the collapsed road, and the silhouettes of some cars could be seen within the debris.

Tong Xiangyu couldn’t walk anymore. Sweat kept flowing from her forehead into her eyes, but she didn’t even have the strength to raise her hand to wipe it away. She simply lifted her leaden feet by habit. She felt she could hold on a little longer, but her throat was so dry that even swallowing was difficult.

Yue Yao soon noticed Tong Xiangyu’s state and shouted in panic, “Song Ge! Yuyu seems to have heatstroke too!”

Song Ge, who was scouting ahead, turned back to see Tong Xiangyu already collapsing onto Yue Yao.

When Tong Xiangyu woke up, she found a sweet taste in her mouth. Her thirst and the heavy-headed, nauseous dizziness had vanished. She opened her eyes to see the dark starry sky, with the flickering light of a fire in her peripheral vision.

Tong Xiangyu propped herself up.

“Yuyu, you’re awake!” Yue Yao hurried to her side.

Tong Xiangyu glanced at her, then turned to look at Song Ge, who was sitting on the other side of the fire, neither speaking nor moving. For some reason, Tong Xiangyu’s nose felt stingy. “Song Ge…”

Song Ge’s thoughts were interrupted. She glanced at her. “Since you’re awake, eat something.”

Tong Xiangyu wondered what there was to eat, and then she saw a chicken mounted over the fire. She thought she was seeing things and blinked; the roasted chicken was still there.

“You fainted. Song Ge said you were severely dehydrated. She went up the mountain to find wild fruit and happened to catch a wild chicken as well.” Yue Yao explained.

Tong Xiangyu didn’t bother responding to her and looked at Song Ge across the fire again. She knew Song Ge was definitely angry because of the incident with Yue Yao in the afternoon, but she didn’t think she was wrong either, which was why she had forced herself to endure her discomfort without calling out to Song Ge. But seeing Song Ge ignore her now that she was awake made Tong Xiangyu feel incredibly aggrieved.

Tong Xiangyu felt that bringing Yue Yao along was a simple matter of convenience and didn’t understand why Song Ge was so opposed to it. However, if she had to choose between Song Ge and Yue Yao, she would of course choose Song Ge.

Song Ge took down the roasted chicken. It was nearly done, charred on the outside and tender on the inside, fragrant and dripping with oil. Song Ge tore off a drumstick, smelled it first, then took a bite and chewed slowly. After a moment passed with no ill effects, she swallowed and stood up to hand the drumstick to Tong Xiangyu.

Tong Xiangyu whispered her name: “Song Ge…”

Song Ge said, “Eat. You need strength if you’re going to keep throwing a tantrum with me.”

Tong Xiangyu’s eyes grew hot. “I’m not throwing a tantrum.”

“Then why didn’t you say something when you were unwell?”

Tong Xiangyu didn’t speak. With a soft blink, a string of tears rolled down. Song Ge stopped talking, stuffed the chicken leg into Tong Xiangyu’s hand, and told her to hold it. She walked back, tore off the other drumstick, and began to eat.

Tong Xiangyu lowered her eyes, tears falling one by one onto the roasted chicken leg. She could have given this leg to Yue Yao beside her, as she knew Song Ge wouldn’t proactively offer food to her, but her fingers tightened. In the end, Tong Xiangyu bit into the plain, unseasoned chicken meat while weeping.

Seeing Tong Xiangyu do this, Song Ge finally said to Yue Yao, “Come get some yourself.”

Yue Yao felt awkward and a bit flattered. She walked over and tore off a piece of meat from the hot chicken, then heard Song Ge speak again: “Once we reach the next city, stop following us.”

Yue Yao froze and looked at Song Ge in panic!

Song Ge said, “I didn’t want to save you that day; she made me save you. You gave us sweet potatoes, we saved you—we’re even. But since we’re even, I have no obligation to protect you anymore.”

Yue Yao stammered nervously, “I… I don’t need you to protect me. I can protect myself. I just want to follow you, otherwise I don’t know what to do…”

“You don’t know what to do?” Song Ge looked at her with a cold, expressionless face. “Your family is dead. If you don’t want to die, then stay alive.”

Yue Yao stood there stunned.

Song Ge said, “It would be best if there’s a rescue team in the next city. If not, find your own way out. Don’t follow us anymore.”

Helpless, Yue Yao looked back at Tong Xiangyu, hoping she would speak up for her. But Tong Xiangyu kept her head down, avoiding her gaze. Yue Yao understood then; she could guess that Song Ge was always the one making the decisions.

Yue Yao gripped the chicken bone in her hand and lowered her eyes. “I understand…” She looked back at Song Ge. “But regardless, thank you for saving me. That’s not something that can be made ‘even’ just by half a basin of dried sweet potatoes.”

Song Ge didn’t speak, but glanced at Tong Xiangyu and then withdrew her gaze.

The night was quiet. Song Ge sat by the fire, propping up her face to nap. Between traveling by day and keeping watch by night, she wasn’t made of iron and couldn’t hold out forever, so she squeezed in naps whenever she could.

The sound of a dry branch being stepped on echoed nearby. Song Ge opened her eyes instantly, alert, only to see Tong Xiangyu.

Tong Xiangyu sat down beside her. Song Ge closed her eyes again.

Tong Xiangyu reached out a finger and gently hooked Song Ge’s pinky. Song Ge withdrew her hand. Tong Xiangyu didn’t give up and hooked her again. This time Song Ge didn’t dodge, letting the bored young lady hold her pinky. She propped up her face and continued her nap, soon falling fast asleep.

When dawn broke, the three of them set out again. The collapsed section was nearly finished. They could already see the intact provincial road in the distance and the long line of private cars. Regardless, it was a good sign; even if there were no bicycles or electric scooters on the road, at least the ground was level and easier to walk on.

The scorching sun began to beat down at seven in the morning. Tong Xiangyu tied the cloth strip to her forehead as a sweatband to keep sweat from constantly stinging her eyes. After a night, her sprained ankle had mostly recovered. She followed closely behind Song Ge, not forgetting to bring Yue Yao along.

The pace was not fast, but not slow either.

Song Ge suddenly stopped. When she halted, the other two stopped as well. Song Ge looked toward a sound.

Tong Xiangyu asked, “What is it?”

“Shh,” Song Ge said. “Stay here. I’ll go check it out.”

Yue Yao felt a slight stir of joy at finally being part of the “you all” in Song Ge’s words, but was soon saddened by the thought of the upcoming separation. Still, the separation was a matter for later. Yue Yao stood guard by Tong Xiangyu to prevent her from following out of curiosity.

Song Ge returned after walking only a few meters. Tong Xiangyu asked what it was.

Song Ge: “Nothing.”

Tong Xiangyu looked in the direction Song Ge had come from but indeed saw nothing. The group continued forward, but after a short distance, Tong Xiangyu suddenly heard a faint movement too—like the cry of something. She turned her head again, searching carefully, and suddenly saw a small white head beside a giant boulder.

“A puppy!!” Tong Xiangyu’s eyes lit up, pointing toward it. “Song Ge, look! There’s a puppy!”

How could Song Ge not know? She had found it after walking only a few meters earlier—a scrawny white pet dog, very dirty with matted fur. The sound coming from the dog’s throat always made her feel uncomfortable. Fearing the young lady’s overflowing compassion, Song Ge had intentionally lied and said there was nothing.

Tong Xiangyu said, “Song Ge, Song Ge, let’s take it with us!”

Song Ge: “Why bring it? In this situation, you have the heart to raise a dog?”

“But if we have a puppy, you won’t have to work so hard keeping watch every night!” Tong Xiangyu said excitedly, already walking toward it.

Seeing the “Little Bodhisattva” ignoring advice again, Song Ge sighed and quickly followed.

Tong Xiangyu soon neared the puppy, but before she could do anything, something else caught her eye. She looked over, then pointed in great surprise at a small truck buried in the landslide not far away. Although she could only see a corner of its color, she recognized it: “Isn’t that a courier truck?!”

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