That night, the young girl’s brows were furrowed as she used her snow white little teeth to tear at the clear white flaming ant flesh that was as hard as rubber. The ant flesh was both tough and smelly, but she earnestly chewed and swallowed. Even the liquid sticking to her fingers was licked clean.
Within the depths of the cave, the youth began to deal with his wounds under the cover of darkness. The injuries were so deep that even his bones could be seen.
The mutated leech that had sucked enough fresh blood crawled out from the porcelain bowl and soundlessly slid into the sewage pond flickering with green light. It submerged itself into the pond, and left behind was half a bowl of clear water.
A single trip to the flaming ant’s nest required three days. As a result, the youth, little girl, and leech’s lives would revolve around these three days. The process was like a cycle, returning back to the start every three days.
Three years later, the leech died.
Once again, regardless of any change, the sun would always rise again.
The youth and little girl stood shoulder to shoulder at the cave entrance. The strong winds blew through their tattered blankets, and from time to time, a piece of cloth would fall off.
“We should find another place to live.” The youth’s voice was always gentle yet decisive. The voice’s previous enticement had now become much greater.
The girl had now grown up to the young man’s chest. She leaned against the young man’s body and wrapped the blanket tightly around her body. In a soft voice, she muttered, “I’m scared.”
“Don’t be scared. I will protect you.” The young man’s voice was firm and resolute. As for how much confidence he really had, only he himself knew.
The young man brought with him four flaming ant forelimbs that he carefully selected. Old Hans had previously said that items like these would sell for good prices in inhabited areas, and good prices implied that they would have food and clean water to drink. He had learned from his experiences in the mines that items of value couldn’t be carried in excess, or else it would bring problems.