After a long time, the tide of blackbirds dispersed and finally saw the light of day again.
Gu Shengchao and Ding Ying threw away the wheelbarrows they were holding, only to realize that all they were holding were a few pieces of wood, and the other parts of the wheelbarrows had been knocked away by the blackbirds. Dozens of blackbird carcasses were scattered around him. Judging from their bloody appearance, it was obvious that they died from the impact. Both of their fingers were injured to varying degrees. Fortunately, they were just skin injuries and not serious.
The two of them did not dare to stay longer, so Gu Shengchao carried Ding Ying on his back to the inn where there were guest rooms just now. The door of the inn was closed. After Gu Shengchao knocked on the door, someone answered inside: "Stop knocking. The guest rooms are already full. Why don't you look elsewhere?"
"The woodshed is fine too. We'll stay here for one night and we'll give you as much money as you need." Ding Ying made up her mind this time and would no longer care about the price.
The waiter at the door replied: "Not to mention the firewood shed, even the dog kennel has people sleeping in it. There is really no room. I'm sorry to you two."
The situation just now was too terrifying. Gu Shengchao begged: "Let's do this. We can rent together and see who is willing to let us live in. We will pay for it."
The clerk told them: "No need to waste time. Everything you can think of has already been done. According to previous years' experience, the blackbirds just started are just the beginning, and a large number of blackbirds will definitely come by sunset. Instead of wasting time here, It’s better to try your luck elsewhere quickly.”
The ancient sage looked at the sun. It was about an hour before sunset. He looked around at the closed doors of every house and ran out of the city with Ding Ying on his back.
"Where are you going?" Ding Ying was confused.
Gu Shengchao explained: "There is no hiding place in the city. The only safe place now is to rush to the mountains before sunset. You and I can hide in any stone crack."
Ding Ying couldn't walk, so she had to let Gu Shengchao carry her towards the mountain.
Watching the mountain is tiring, and people are no exception. Half an hour passed, and we were still some distance away from the mountain. Looking back at Luo Ya Bay, we saw that it had long since turned into a small dot and was thrown into the distance.
The ancient sage was sweating profusely, his body was soaked with sweat, and his breathing became rapid.
Ding Ying couldn't bear it, "Brother Gu, please let me down and run away alone. Don't worry about me. I won't blame you."
"No, I'm a man of my word. Since I promised to send you back to Qixing Cliff, how can I break my promise?" Although Gu Shengchao struggled, he still moved forward faster.
Next to the ditch, a female goat kept bumping against the lamb and ran forward. The lamb screamed "baa baa" and stopped to rest from time to time. The ewe looked up into the distance and made an uneasy sound. She poked the lamb's butt hard with her sharp horns. The lamb was in pain and had to run forward. The ewe jumped over the lamb several times and led the way.
The two sheep were obviously faster than Gu Shengchao, and soon they fell behind.
Gu Shengchao discerned the direction and was about to run towards the mountain col nearest to him, looking for a place to hide. The lamb seemed to think the same way and deviated from the direction of the ewe's leadership. The ewe was anxious and blocked the lamb with her body to force it to change direction.
The lamb was naughty. It shook its head and screamed while digging the ground with its front hooves to vent its dissatisfaction with the ewe. The ewe looked warily toward the setting sun again, then squeezed the lamb to force it forward another time.
The ancient sage noticed something strange. He knew that animals' perception abilities under certain conditions were far beyond those of ordinary people. Could it be that the ewe knew that the blackbirds were coming and wanted to lead her lambs to a safe place? Thinking of this, Gu Shengchao also changed direction and ran after the ewe.
Turning around the cliff, there is a steep cliff ahead, which is straight and towering. It is not the kind of rocky and rugged landform that can hide people. The sparse trees are not likely to stop a simple attack of the blackbird tide.
"Look!" Ding Ying pointed into the distance, her voice a little frightened.
Gu Shengchao turned his head and looked around. The afterglow of the setting sun had dissipated, and a black line crossed over the top of the mountain and crossed here. It was so dark that he could not see clearly behind it. The sky darkened instantly, as if an invisible hand was drawing a huge curtain between heaven and earth.
The naughty lamb just now seemed to know the danger, and followed the ewe desperately towards the unobstructed cliff. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared into the dense grass under the cliff.
There are caves.
Gu Shengchao couldn't help being surprised. He ran with Ding Ying on his back and came to the foot of the cliff. Gu Shengchao gently put Ding Ying down.
The flock of black birds was already approaching. One black bird had no time to dodge and hit Gu Shengchao's right shoulder. He almost fell down with an "ouch!" Gu Shengchao had no time to care about the wound. He quickly pushed aside the grass to reveal the hole inside. The opening is not big enough for only one person to huddle in.
Without thinking, Gu Shengchao crawled backwards using his hands and feet and pulled Ding Ying in smoothly. He began to feel the rock pressing on his back, and he did not dare to raise his head. He stepped back about five or six feet, and the pressure disappeared. Then he tried to slowly raise his head, feeling as if he was in a cave.
I couldn't see my fingers, and could only hear the uneasy "bleeping" of the lamb beside me.
Gu Sheng pressed hard on her and heard her groan, and asked quickly: "What's wrong with you?"
"It doesn't matter, the wound hit the stone just now, just be gentle." Ding Ying replied, her voice trembling.
Gu Shengchao slowly backed away, careful of Ding Ying coming in. Since he couldn't see anything, he was not sure whether Ding Ying came in or not.
"Let me go." Ding Ying breathed heavily and said quickly, not sure if it was because she was timid or nervous.
Gu Shengchao quickly let go, and a moment later, a flame ignited from Ding Ying's hand. Ding Ying held up the fire folder in her hand and lit up the cave. She was afraid, and her face was full of fear, as if she was about to cry. The fire gave her courage, otherwise she would have shed tears.
By the light of the fire, the two of them could roughly see what the cave looked like.
It is about three people tall, more than two feet deep, and more than ten feet wide. The upper dome slopes back, and the innermost part is a vertical smooth cliff. The entire cave was empty except for the two people and the goat mother and her son. The two sheep were frightened when they saw the fire, so they hid under the cliff behind and huddled together. The ewe protected the lamb inside.
Gu Shengchao helped Ding Ying stay away from the cave entrance, sit up against the rock, and discussed: "We don't know how long we will have to hide here. There is no danger here. Let's extinguish the fire for now. We should keep it for later use." Late."
Ding Ying agreed and put out the fire. Gu Shengchao was afraid of bumping into her, so he moved aside. The cave fell into endless darkness again, except for the occasional bleating of the lamb, and the sound of Ding Ying's heavy breathing.
About a cup of tea time, Ding Ying's breathing became more and more rapid, and she rekindled the fire, illuminating her restless face.
"What's wrong?" Gu Shengchao asked with concern.
Ding Ying cried with a sad face: "It's so dark inside, I can't see anything. I'm scared, I'm really scared."
Gu Shengchao enlightened her: "The firewood cannot last long. It will be bad when it burns out and encounters an emergency. It is better to wait for emergency use. Tomorrow I will find an opportunity to pick up more dry firewood. You can burn it however you want. How do you like?" ?”
Ding Ying also understood what Gu Shengchao said was reasonable. She nodded and turned her face away, not daring to look at Gu Shengchao. She shyly muttered: "Otherwise, if you are next to me, I will be really scared."
"Okay!" Gu Shengchao sat down next to Ding Ying, and then she turned off the fire. Ding Ying was a little reserved at first, keeping a distant distance from Gu Shengchao. After a little time, fear finally defeated the last shyness in her heart, and she leaned on Gu Shengchao's shoulders and arms, so that she felt at ease.
"Does the wound on your leg stop hurting?" Gu Shengchao asked, breaking the silence.
Ding Ying replied: "It doesn't hurt if I don't move. It's much better now."
"That's good, how about I go to the cave entrance now to see what's going on?"
"don't want."
As soon as Gu Shengchao finished speaking, Ding Ying firmly objected. She also felt that she was being abrupt, so she smiled awkwardly and said, "Well, anyway, there are so many blackbirds covering the sky that they won't leave for a while. Let's go out tomorrow morning!"
"Okay!" Gu Shengchao replied helplessly. He knew that Ding Ying was afraid of the dark, and felt more at ease with someone to rely on, so he stayed where he was.
The two of them chatted wordlessly, and in the end they didn't know what to say, so they just sat side by side, shoulder to shoulder. Not long after, Ding Ying slipped down and fell asleep on Gu Shengchao's lap. Gu Shengchao was also tired and fell asleep leaning against the rock.
In a haze, Ding Ying woke up, confused and unsure of where she was. She touched it with her hand and seemed to have caught something she shouldn't have. Suddenly she realized that she was resting on Gu Shengchao's lap and she suddenly moved away. Fortunately, it was a dark cave, otherwise it would have been worse if others could see the blushing cheeks due to embarrassment.
Gu Shengchao also woke up with a start. He rubbed his eyes and looked around, and was surprised to find a glimmer of light at the entrance of the cave.
"I'm going to take a look." Gu Shengchao crawled over and pushed aside the grass. It was already dawn, and there were many blackbird corpses piled up at the entrance of the cave that died after hitting the cliff last night. This black bird has a black body, is larger and fatter than an ordinary crow, has a sharp and curved beak, and has a curly tail. It is indeed no ordinary crow.
The ancient sage got out and looked up at the sky. Blackbirds were flying in groups from time to time. Compared with the terrifying scene last night, it was nothing worth mentioning. A mother goat and her calf were grazing not far away, and the ewe was still alert, guarding against unknown risks. Gu Shengchao climbed back into the cave, carefully dragged Ding Ying out, and sat beside the grass at the entrance of the cave to bask in the sun.
Fortunately, Ding Ying brought a small water bag with her. Gu Shengchao went to the nearby river to fill it with water and brought it back. He also picked up a lot of dry firewood and piled it into the cave. After some preparations were made, he was also hungry, so he lit a bonfire at the entrance of the cave and roasted blackbird meat with Ding Ying to satisfy his hunger. He also threw some dead blackbirds into the cave for emergencies. In my spare time, I pulled out some more grass and put it back into the hole.
Ding Ying laughed at him: "What are you doing? Do you want us to eat grass to satisfy our hunger?"
Gu Shengchao pointed to the goat mother and child, "There are still them, they may be of use."
Ding Ying pursed her lips and smiled silently.
Gu Shengchao selected two more suitable tree branches and asked Ding Ying to use them as crutches under her armpits. There was no problem in walking slowly alone.
Near noon, the ewe suddenly ran over with her lamb and got into the hole without looking back.
Gu Shengchao and the other two looked up and saw something different this time. Countless black birds were circling and gathering from all directions, gathering in layers in the sky, pressing down like dark clouds. With the experience last time, the two of them did not panic. The ancient sage was still the first to advance, and then they backed up and dragged Ding Ying back to the cave.
The two lit a fire in the cave. In the flickering light of the fire, Ding Ying was no longer afraid and sat quietly aside. The ancient sage used his dagger to cut off the black bird's meat into small pieces. The fat flowed into the fire, and the firewood burned more vigorously and longer.
The goat mother and her son were afraid of the fire and did not dare to go out. Their climbing nature made them push up the smooth cliff behind them, stopping at the top of the cave and stepping nervously on the cliff with their hooves.
Gu Shengchao grabbed a handful of grass and threw it up, "Don't be afraid, we won't hurt you."
There was a "boom", and a rock rolled down. A stone fell into the burning fire, and the fire splashed everywhere.
Gu Shengchao was worried about Ding Ying's safety and hurriedly picked her up and hid away. The two goats were also frightened, jumped down and huddled in the corner.
The two of them looked up and saw a cave entrance suddenly appearing on the cliff near the top of the cave. The two people looked at each other and said in unison:
"what is that?"
