To the Start of a New World

2.8

They rested until Hong Sheng was steady on his feet. Once they started moving, there was no more freedom to talk. They had to be as quiet and subtle as possible. Yu Qiu led the way, and they crept along the side of the mountain toward the east.

Just as Yu Qiu said, there weren't any zombies in the immediate area. The fog kept Hong Sheng from seeing further than a few meters, so all he could rely on was his hearing.

Yu Qiu checked the walls of the mountain every so often, pointing out where she had made marks to indicate her progress. She must have walked along the mountain at least two or three times, looping around without being able to find a way out.

The forest was eerie and quiet. There wasn't a single sound—no birds, no animals. Even the grass seemed still. Each landing of their footsteps and pounding of their hearts felt like a beacon to any zombies in the area, and with each meter of progress they made, Hong Sheng waited to hear the snarl of a zombie.

Up ahead, the mountainside became less even. Hong Sheng panted, his entire body strained as he levered himself up and down ledges. In his state and with all of the fog, it was difficult to navigate around the uneven footing and the trees growing out of the mountainside. After some time, Yu Qiu turned back to Hong Sheng and motioned that they were about halfway there.

No matter how far they went, there weren't any sounds of fighting. Hong Sheng had noted this carefully. If Lu Hao wasn't fighting, then he must be searching, or otherwise occupied. There was one thing pressing on Hong Sheng's mind: why hadn't Lu Hao found Hong Sheng and Yu Qiu yet?

Lu Hao could sense a heartbeat from kilometers away. If he went in search of Yu Qiu, just why was Lu Hao now nowhere to be seen, while Hong Sheng was actually the one who found her first?

Something must have happened. But there was not enough evidence to extrapolate what, exactly, that was. Therefore, all Hong Sheng could do was keep himself alive and keep moving forward.

Yu Qiu paused in front of him. With a worried look, she signaled two fingers—two zombies were in the area. Hong Sheng felt his breath constrict. He nodded to her. He would have to be very careful, and move slowly. Yu Qiu agilely climbed a rock, her lightness letting her easily cross. Hong Sheng followed after.

They were climbing over a ravine. Below Hong Sheng's feet, past the leaves of the saplings and bushes blocking his view, was a dark canyon with uneven stones that showed that this place used to be a river. It was now dried up and overgrown with plants. Hong Sheng used all of his focus to pull himself up on the rocks, trying to keep his grip as firm as possible. If he fell from here...

Hong Sheng was so careful, he didn't expect for Yu Qiu to be the one to suddenly stifle a scream as she slipped. Her foot slid across a patch of moss. Hong Sheng's eyes blew wide; he instinctively reached out to try and steady her. But his body wasn't strong enough, and the two of them fell.

Hong Sheng gasped and woke on the ground, his heart frantically beating out of his chest. His entire body felt like it had been smashed by hammers. He had blacked out when he hit the ground. His fingers twitched. He needed to move... needed to check what happened... Yet the pain was so strong that when he tried to get up, he felt like he was in a dream: his motions were a thousand times slower than in reality.

He was at the bottom of the ravine. There was blood on the ground—his hands, arms, and face had scraped the rock and bled. Hong Sheng looked around blearily. He was in the shadowy entrance of a cave hidden at the end of the ravine. The entrance was blocked by vines and leaves, making it difficult to know there was a cave here. Hong Sheng turned his head to look behind him, and blinked. Yu Qiu was sitting just a short distance away, her entire body shaking, her hands over her mouth as she looked with blank eyes at the foggy entrance of the cave.