Chapter 118: Oasis

  "Damn it!"

  Yang Yu Xi cursed out of nowhere, the thick tornado seemed to blow away the last bit of moisture in his body. He narrowed his eyes to confirm that the little boy had disappeared from view before hastily finding a hiding spot to hide.

  Sandstorms are common in the desert, and the timing is unpredictable. The terrain of the desert often changes completely after a sandstorm, becoming unrecognizable from before. Those who are not mentally strong will quickly collapse and become trapped to death here.

  This was the third sandstorm Yang Yuxi had encountered in the desert, the first one had caused him to lose a full water bag and the second one had gotten him lost.

  Two hours later, the sandstorm finally subsided gradually.

  The desert here is flat and even, as if it had been pressed down by a god with an iron.

  "Boom!"

  A patch of smooth desert stirred slightly, and then a figure emerged from the sand.

  Endless yellow sand poured down from his hands, back, shoulders, head and every part of his body.

  "Finally, it's over."

  Yang Yu Xi shook her head, shaking off the remaining yellow sand on her head. Then she rubbed it a few more times with her hands before narrowing her eyes to re-examine her surroundings.

  At this sight, Yang Yu Xi's face turned bitter as if she had swallowed a bitter melon.

  "Okay, completely lost again..."

  The whirlwind of yellow sand on the top has also subsided, and the scorching sun is again baking the earth.

  Yang Yu Xi felt his throat was so dry it seemed like fire was about to spew out, and he couldn't help but think of that little boy from before.

  "Damn it!"

  He cursed again, these two words were the most spoken by him in the past three months.

  Yang Yu Xi laboriously used his tongue to lick his dry, cracked lips, the saliva on his tongue was already insufficient to moisten his lips.

  The lack of water in his body was constantly reminding him that if he continued like this, he would probably end up lying forever in the yellow sand like countless other adventurers.

  "What kind of joke is this? How can you fall in a place like this?"

  Yang Yu Xi gritted his teeth and raised his head, his unwilling gaze staring at the sun in the sky for a moment, only to look away with dizzy eyes.

  Then he tightly closed his eyes, reopened them, and with an unyielding vitality in his eyes, he fixed on a direction and darted out.

  ……………………………

  "Grandpa, grandpa, I'm back!"

  In the depths of the desert, in an oasis, green trees surrounded a small village.

  The door of the wooden house at the village head was roughly knocked open.

  An old man on a crudely made wooden bed struggled with his tightly closed eyes, then slowly opened them to reveal a small head with a sly yet smiling expression.

  An old man's eyes showed a hint of joy, his lips moved slightly.

  "You little scamp, why are you back so early today?" The tone was stern, but it was all wrapped up in a bundle of doting affection.

  "Heh heh," the little boy rubbed his nose, then suddenly held out his right hand from behind his back, his tone indescribably excited, "Grandpa look!"

  A water bag hangs in the little boy's hand, with a few drops of crystal clear water lingering at the mouth of the bag.

  Through the crystal clear water droplets, I suddenly saw the old man's dry and cracked lips.

  Unlike Yang Yu Xi's dry lips, Yang Yu Xi was short-term dehydration, while the old man's lip color and facial complexion looked like long-term dehydration.

  Although living in an oasis, why is there still a lack of water?

  The old man's eyes lit up the moment he saw the water bag, then seemed to think of something and turned his gaze to the little boy, saying somewhat sternly: "Where did you get this water bag from?"

  The little boy hesitated for a moment, scratching his shiny head: "From... from the forest...". The little boy seemed to be afraid of Grandpa and didn't dare look him straight in the eye when he said this.

  The old man saw this and his heart had already made a decision. The severity in his tone was no longer pretended: "Speak, did you go to the desert again and rob someone's water bag?!"

  The little boy's raised hands drooped down, his two hands hung together, his head bowed down, staring at the two toes that poked out of his tattered shoes, the two toes fidgeting restlessly.

  In front of the old man, the little boy didn't have a bit of his previous demeanor in front of Yang Yu Xi.

  "Take it back to its owner at once!" The old man's tone was firm and decisive.

  The little boy didn't say anything but just wouldn't budge.

  "You, are you still not listening?" The old man's dry, cracked lips parted slightly, his tone also rising somewhat. The prolonged dehydration made the old man's lips ache with every movement, and as his tone rose, his weak body began to pant slightly.

  "Listen, Dong Er listens......" The little boy obviously became anxious when he heard the old man's wheezing sound and hastily responded.

  "Then why don't you send it back to them?" The old man's tone dropped again.

  "But, however..." Dong Er trailed off, wanting to speak but stopping herself.

  "But what?"

  With a thud, Dong'er knelt in front of the old man's bed, his overly large eyes filled with tears, and he shouted with all his might: "Grandpa hasn't had water for three days!"

  The old man was taken aback.

  Dong Er's eyes were blurry with tears, and the tears fell from the corners of his eyes like broken pearls. His big eyes seemed to make even his tears bigger than others'.

  "Grandpa hasn't had water for three days, and there's not a drop of water at home... the last bit of water was given to Dong'er to drink... but Grandpa needs water too, Grandpa is already sick, Dong'er doesn't want Grandpa to get sicker, Dong'er wants Grandpa to play with him..."

  The old man's eyes drooped, as if even his white eyebrows had fallen, his turbid eyes gazing at the grandson kneeling in front of the bed. Endless sorrow surged from the depths of his weathered soul, constantly squeezing out between the wrinkles on his forehead, finally gathering into two tears that burst forth from his old eyes.

  *sigh*...

  The old man let out a deep sigh.

  At this time, a soft footsteps came from outside the old wooden house, and a pair of delicate shoes stepped in.

  These feet, these shoes, and this backward village don't match at all.

  "Hmm?" Dong Er turned around with some vigilance, then a joyful expression surged onto her face. She hastily stood up and wrapped her arms around the person who came in, looking like she was very affectionate towards them.

  "Sister, sister, come and persuade grandfather for me."

  A girl walked in from outside the door.

  The girl was beautiful and had a faint noble quality about her. Her face lit up as Winter spoke, illuminated by the sunlight streaming into the room.

  It was Zhou Yuxiao, who had a brief encounter with Yang Yuxi several years ago. After not seeing each other for several years, the young girl had grown into a beautiful woman, slender waist and long legs, wearing a black purple dress that concealed her graceful curves. Her long hair was simply tied up on her head due to the desert heat, with a wooden hairpin inserted in it.

  I don't know why she would appear here.

  Zhou Yu Xiao walked into the house, and behind her was a follower, which was a cat. No, it was a white cat riding on a big dog. The white cat had an arrogant gaze, while the black-and-white dog hung its head low, its tail wagging listlessly from side to side. Wait, there seemed to be something stuck on the dog's tail - it was a light gray mouse. The mouse clung tightly to the dog's tail with all four limbs as the tail swung back and forth.

  Zhou Yuxiao saw Dong Er, a smile appeared on her face, then she saw that Dong Er's face was actually covered in tears, she was somewhat surprised, while leaning forward to wipe away his tears, she softly asked: "What's wrong with Dong Er?"

  Dong Er opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but then turned back to look at the old man, seemingly afraid that the old man would get angry.

  The old man leaned against the bed rail, his eyes staring straight through the small window at the green trees outside, lost in thought, completely unaware of Zhou Yu's arrival.

  Dong Er thought for a moment, then motioned for Zhou Yu Xiao to lean in closer with his ear.

  Zhou Yuxiao leaned Linglong's ear close to Donger's mouth, and Donger quickly told her what had happened.

  As soon as she finished speaking, Zhou Yuxiao also understood the situation. She smiled warmly at Dong'er, like an older sister from next door, and said: "Dong'er, go play with Xiaohua for now, give the water bag to sis."

  Dong Er looked at Zhou Yu Xiao's crescent moon-like eyes for a moment, nodded, and handed the water bag to Zhou Yu Xiao. He bent down, picked up the white cat on the black dog's back, and the white cat let out a soft "meow" as it gazed at Dong Er with narrowed eyes, its gaze seeming to measure him like a king on his throne. Then, it allowed itself to be carried out of the house by him.

  The black dog wagged its tail and followed out of the house, the little mouse turned around to look at Zhou Yu Xiao for a moment, then grasped tighter with all four limbs, swaying up and down before disappearing outside.

  Zhou Yuxiao gently swayed the water bag in her hand, then walked lightly towards the old man's bed.

  ……………………………

  The sun in the desert seems to have shifted slightly westward, and the sky is about to darken.

  The temperature difference between day and night in the desert is extremely large. Yang Yuxi had to find a sand dune or an oasis to settle down before dark.

  The water in his body was really depleted, and Yang Yu Xi's vision of the scene in front of him was a bit blurry, which was the result of severe dehydration.

  "Huh?" Yang Yu Xi was taken aback, as if he had seen an oasis.

  "Am I going to hallucinate from dehydration or something!?!" Yang Yu Xi muttered to herself, blinking hard, only to find that the oasis was actually real.

  "Haha!"

  Yang Yu Xi suddenly burst out laughing like an idiot, and he, who was originally very tired, actually jumped three feet high!

  However, he also felt that the burning sensation in his throat had intensified several times, and for a moment, his thirst for water was unbearable.

  "Whoosh!"

  He pounced on the oasis in the distance like a hungry tiger.

  ……………………………

  "I wonder if Rainy Sister can persuade Grandpa...” Dong Er sat in front of the old tree root at the village head, which had been stored for hundreds of years, listlessly poking at the wild grass by her feet.

  "Rustle..."

  The mud beside Dong Er's leg began to stir, as if a giant snake was stirring within. The mud was raised in a circle, and then a light gray little head poked out of the ground, shaking off the dirt on its head, with a thieving gaze looking around.

  "Huh?"

  Dong Er slightly furrowed his brow, but it wasn't because of the little mouse. Rather, it was due to the yellow sand flying everywhere in the distance. According to his experience, this meant something was rapidly approaching.

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