Chapter 2425: I Am Li Chun
"Why are the numbers on this jumping around?" The Painting Woman leaned in to look.
"Jumping numbers mean there's a problem." Xu Huo put the device away. "The magnetic field here is chaotic, with multiple forces interfering with each other. Those figures that suddenly appear might just be our imagination."
The Painting Woman squeezed the doll hanging on her backpack and asked again, "When will we find a place where people live?"
"Let's walk a bit further," Xu Huo said. "If we haven't found anything by dark, we'll find a spot here to rest."
The Location Item was too big, but the small cabin was sufficient.
The two continued forward, and it took a full hour before they saw buildings. Unlike the information found on Under Dimension, these structures were all built from wood—individual log cabins standing independently, interspersed with large trees. Though there were gaps between the houses, one could still see the neighbors by lifting their head.
The houses were hidden in the mist and hard to make out clearly, but the light shining through the windows indicated that people lived here.
Xu Huo slowed down, deliberately making some noise as he approached the cabins. Soon, figures appeared at the windows of the two nearest cabins. The people inside didn't open the windows but peered out through iron grilles and curtains.
It wasn't just these few households that knew someone had arrived. As they moved, people in cabins hundreds of meters away also began to stir.
No one spoke, and no communication devices were used, but by the time Xu Huo approached the first house, everyone in the area knew strangers had come.
"I'll knock on the door!" The Painting Woman happily ran over. The person inside, holding a knife and a wooden stick, actually responded immediately. "Who is it?"
"It's me!" The Painting Woman amplified her communicator's voice.
"Who are you?" The person inside asked again.
"I am Li Chun!" The Painting Woman answered again.
The person inside fell silent for a moment, then abandoned normal communication procedures and said directly, "You two leave. We don't welcome outsiders here!"
The Painting Woman touched the door panel, then imitated a TV drama by curling her index finger and knocking. She turned back to Xu Huo, hinting that the door panel wasn't thick.
"You'd better leave now!" The person inside sounded panicked, raising their voice. "Don't think about forcing your way in. We have hunting rifles!"
There were no hunting rifles behind the door, but they were on their way. Several tall young people had already emerged from different directions, their silhouettes faintly visible.
"We're not bad people." Xu Huo slipped a 020 District banknote through the door crack. "My sister and I got lost while traveling nearby. We wandered here without realizing it and wanted to find a place to stay."
The person inside picked up the money. After a few quick exchanges of glances, the door cracked open. A woman looked them over from head to toe through the gap, pausing especially on their feet, then opened the door to let them in.
As the door opened, the young people who had approached also stopped in their tracks.
The woman waved her hand outward as she closed the door, and the young people dispersed back to where they came from.
Inside the house were a middle-aged couple and an elderly woman, with two children hidden in the inner room. Though they had been let in, the people in the house hadn't fully relaxed, their eyes fixed tightly on them.
Xu Huo took some pre-packed bread and dried meat from his travel bag. "It's getting dark, and the woods are full of snakes and insects. Lucky we found this place... Don't worry, my sister and I aren't bad people. We'll only stay one night and leave tomorrow morning. Could we trade some of this food for some hot soup and water?"
Compared to money, the people in the house were clearly more tempted by the food. The elderly woman nodded, and the middle-aged couple took the food and went to boil water.
"Young man, have some tea." The elderly woman poured them water and said, "Put your bags down and rest. The woods are cold and damp. The fire's just been lit, so come warm yourselves."
She reached out and pinched the Painting Woman's wrist. "So cold. Go warm up by the fire."
The Painting Woman looked at her in confusion, then at Xu Huo, as if she didn't understand this way of greeting.
"My sister can't speak," Xu Huo said as he thanked her and pushed the Painting Woman toward the fireplace.
The middle-aged couple soon brought out a pot of meat soup. Because it had been boiled too long, the soup had turned into a paste, with a few mushrooms and some common forest moss floating in it. It didn't look great, but the aroma was rich.
"We've already had dinner. This is what's left. Don't mind it." The elderly woman kindly ladled them bowls of soup and handed them over.
The Painting Woman's palate had been spoiled. She tapped on her communicator and turned up the volume. "This doesn't look good at all."
The middle-aged couple had been silent since sitting down by the fire. In fact, apart from the two sentences they spoke before opening the door, they hadn't said a word since. Faced with the Painting Woman's pickiness, the man lowered his head without reacting, while the woman looked a bit uneasy, opening her mouth as if to say something but ultimately staying quiet.
"It's inconvenient to come and go in the mountain forest, and ingredients aren't abundant. If you really can't eat it, just drink more tea," the elderly woman said with a smile.
Xu Huo wasn't picky. He took a sip of the soup and nodded. "It actually tastes pretty good."
The Painting Woman stared suspiciously at her bowl, reluctantly took a taste, found it surprisingly decent, and asked the woman for a second bowl.
The woman, as if affirmed, happily refilled it and even went into the room to get a wool sweater for her to wear.
"Ma'am, I couldn't find this place on any map. Why do you live here?" After eating, Xu Huo chatted with the family. "I see you're using whatever's available locally for food and shelter. It doesn't seem very convenient."
The elderly woman chewed the tea leaves she had swallowed and said slowly, "The outside world changes too fast. We can't keep up. Living here is fine—we're self-sufficient."
"That's true. The ingredients are all natural, and the soup is especially fresh—something the outside can't compare to," Xu Huo agreed. "We got lost near here. Which direction leads to the nearest city?"
"We've been out for days, and our communicator can't reach anyone outside. We want to get word to our family as soon as possible. Plus, we're running low on food and need to find supplies."
The elderly woman shook her head. "That would take several days of walking. But don't worry—there are a few more households along the way. If you get hungry or thirsty, you can ask them for something to eat or drink."
"I see." Xu Huo nodded reassuringly. Seeing the woman about to take the pots and dishes to wash, he quickly stood up to help.
"No, no, you young people wouldn't know how to do this kind of work..." The woman quickly refused, but Xu Huo laughed heartily. "I cook for myself at home too. There's nothing I can't handle."
To prove he really could, he rolled up his sleeves and started washing the dishes, chatting with the woman about all the preparations he and his sister had made for their trip, only to abandon most of their gear and travel light after getting lost. Mid-sentence, he suddenly paused. "Is a neighbor coming over?"