“You’ve asked this question so many times.” She wasn’t doing much better; the words ‘tired and annoyed’ were clearly written on her face. “We should be in the Great Wilderness, I guess.”
“To the north of Mount Yun is the land of great joy, but what about to the east, west, and south?” Xu Xian’en asked. If all directions lead to wilderness, then where would there be any joy? Who knows which wilderness they are currently heading towards?
“How would I know? I’ve only read the travelogues, not researched the book!” Xu Xian’en pouted. Oh heavens, how she wished to rid herself of the bundle on her shoulder. The temperature here was bizarre; it was hot enough to fry people during the day and cold enough to freeze them at night. Every morning she was awakened by Han Peng’s kisses, and then he’d say how he always enjoyed holding her while they slept.
“What should we do then? If all directions lead to wilderness, how can we reach the magical land you spoke of?” He looked at the bag, “Even if we ration our food, if we can’t find a place with food, we’ll have to eat the can lids. And how will the little bit of water we have be enough?”
At the mention of water, Han Peng’s dry lips couldn’t help but twitch. To conserve water, they could only allow themselves one mouthful a day, for no one knew when they would find the next water source, or where it would be. Now they could only pray to the heavens for a bit of luck, hoping to reach a place with people before they died of hunger or thirst.
“Think of something, maybe we’ll accidentally find water!” Xu Xian’en said optimistically. “If there’s no water here, how can these plants grow so lushly?”
“It rains, but we’ve just been unlucky enough not to encounter it,” he said, giving her a wry glance.
“Can’t you be a bit more optimistic?” She nudged him. “It’s because there’s water here that these flowers can bloom so beautifully.”
“I can’t; you were like this when you first arrived too, needing me to lead you even on the road.” He looked at her with mock exasperation.
