I reluctantly opened my eyes and saw black and gray stone walls.
Well, we are still in the cave, the torches are still burning, but there is no fog at all.
Where are Ellie and Lan Yue?
I turned around and looked, but there was no one around me.
What's going on? Are they out looking for food and water?
I remember Lan Yue had a high fever. Will it be cured so soon?
I'm wondering.
Tap tap tap, footsteps sounded outside, and a graceful girl appeared at the entrance of the cave. This woman was wearing a student uniform, just like the fairy walking out of the painting.
"Xiaolian, why are you here!"
I was shocked when I saw the familiar figure, and shouted in a hoarse voice.
"Xiao Dao, you're awake!" Xiao Lian exclaimed and ran towards me.
"You have been unconscious for several days, drink some water quickly!"
She was holding a bowl of water in her hand. It seemed that she had just gone out to find water for me.
"Hey!" I sat up.
Xiaolian supported me and handed the water to my mouth.
"Gudu, Gudu!"
I drank it all in one breath, and burped. I had never felt that spring water was so refreshing. It was like a tonic that helped me recover.
"Xiaolian, when did you get here?" I asked, holding Xiaolian's hand.
"I, how did I get here?" Xiaolian suddenly panicked.
"I don't know either. I was very worried after you left. One night I dreamed that you were in danger.
"When I woke up, I was in the cave. You kept talking nonsense and were in a coma. I have been boiling water and cooking for you for the past two days..."
Xiaolian's eyes didn't look at me at all, and she kept talking to herself.
"You, what's wrong with you?" The Xiaolian in front of me was very strange to me. I suddenly realized something was wrong and asked hurriedly.
"I'm fine, oh! You're awake, it's time for me to go!" Xiaolian said mechanically.
Then she stood up and walked out.
"Xiaolian, Xiaolian..." I grabbed her hand.
But the body that had just woken up was very weak and could not catch her at all.
Xiaolian didn't look back. Our hands slowly separated, and I tried my best to hold them.
"Brother, be gentle, be gentle."
A girl's voice came to my ears.
"Brother, what's wrong with you? Wake up quickly?"
Then there was crying again. This sound was so familiar!
Ellie!
My head buzzed and I opened my eyes.
It was still the same cave and torch... Just like in the dream, the mist disappeared without a trace.
I was half leaning on Ellie's arms. She was feeding me water with one hand, and I was squeezing the other hand tightly.
"Oops! Are you awake? Let go, it hurts so much." Ellie shouted.
"What's going on? I seem to be having a nightmare?"
I quickly let go of Ellie's hand, sat up and said.
"Don't have nightmares anymore. You always call me Xiaolian, Xiaolian. Do you miss my sister-in-law?" Aili put down the water bottle and rubbed her palms.
Just now, she boiled the water and poured some water into Lan Yue according to my instructions. Seeing that Lan Yue was breathing very steadily, she sat next to me and waited for me to wake up.
It was estimated that more than an hour later, Ellie came over and called me. Seeing that my lips were chapped, she gave me some water.
But after shouting for a long time, not only did I not wake up, but I suddenly grabbed her hand and kept calling Xiaolian's name.
"Ah, it's okay. I've been a little nervous these past two days and had a terrible dream."
Only then did I fully wake up. It was all caused by this miasma. No matter how poisonous the ghost was, I couldn't stop myself in my sleep.
I took the water bottle from Ellie, took two more sips of hot water and asked, "Where did you get all this water?"
"Where did the water come from? I saw that the miasma had completely dissipated, so I ran all the way back from the river to get it back.
"How is it? Your sister is amazing, right?"
Ellie smiled proudly and said, "Give me the bottle and I'll get some water!"
I nodded. Since the miasma has dissipated, there should be no danger.
After Ellie came back, I boiled the water, and I took two more sips, and then started to check on Lan Yue, who was still sleeping on the kang.
Now that her body was not so hot, I gave her two more injections. I turned my head and asked Aili to wipe Lan Yue's chest, back, palms, and soles of her feet with hot water.
After a while, Lan Yue also woke up. Her body was still a little weak, but her mental state was much better than before.
"Xiao Dao, what's going on outside? Is it dawn yet?" Lan Yue asked in a low voice.
"The miasma is gone, we're safe, it's almost midnight," I replied.
"Ah, that's good. I wonder what happened to the others? I never imagined that my dad would lead a life like this. It's so dangerous!"
Lan Yue, who had just woken up, began to worry about Professor Lan and the others again.
"Don't worry, they are fine. How do you feel?" I comforted.
"It's okay, I'm just feeling weak and a little hungry. Is there anything to eat?" Lan Yue swallowed her saliva and asked.
When she said this, Ellie and I suddenly felt as uncomfortable as burning in our stomachs.
"Just wait, I'll get something to eat!" I told Ellie to watch over the blue moon and walk out of the cave alone.
There weren't many edible things in the miasma forest. After searching for a long time, I dug out edible plant roots on the shore, and picked some non-toxic mushrooms under a dense bush.
I cleaned these things, took them back and put them on skewers and roasted them on the fire.
The three of them were barely half full, and the rest filled up with water to temporarily stop their stomachs from growling.
It was already past midnight.
I whittled a lot of wooden sticks with a short evil-proofing knife, found some vines and made a simple wooden door with the help of Ellie. I kicked away the chopsticks used to set up the formation at the entrance of the hole and made a new trap commonly used by hunters.
Ellie patted the sawdust on her body and complained to me: "You can obviously set up a formation to block ghosts, why don't you use it and make it a trap?"
I explained to her that whether it is an exorcism doctor or a Taoist warlock, anyone who sets up a formation must rely on Feng Shui luck to support it, and every time he performs it, he will consume a lot of energy and blood.
Moreover, if no evil spirit appears after the formation is completed, the formation will be ineffective after a quarter of an hour, so in addition to mastering the timing when setting up the formation, it cannot be used easily.
It was a special situation just now. I had to waste my energy and blood, otherwise I wouldn't be so weak.
Ellie, who knew the truth, was very discouraged. She had always been interested in this mysterious formation, but now that she knew it required such harsh conditions, she felt it would be better to practice more musketry to get it faster.
Nearly more than an hour passed after all this fussing.
"Okay, Brother Xiaodao, Sister Yue and I are going to bed. Where are you lying down? You're not allowed to sneak over and act like a pervert at night?"
Ellie regained her boldness and boldness like a foreign girl, and teased me with a smile.
The two girls immediately occupied a good position and fell asleep hugging each other.
I persisted at the entrance of the cave for a while, but I was too sleepy!
Damn it, life or death is up to you, do whatever you want!
I threw all the remaining wood into the stove, checked the wooden door and the trap, climbed up to the other side of the earthen kang, and instantly fell into a deep sleep.
…
The wood in the stove had long since burned out, and the temperature in the cave began to drop.
I'm about to wake up from my deep sleep.
Snap, snap, snap!
Three crisp gunshots rang out in the forest.
