Chapter 6
The first day of pursuit yielded no results, and even the expected broken limbs were not seen. When everyone was exhausted, they had to stop and rest. Taking the opportunity to get food and water, Old Miles came to Rong Yuan. Hei Feng took a look and said nothing.
These days, whenever he had the chance, Old Miles would always get close to Rong Yuan, and his diligence made his friends a little confused. Through Old Miles, Rong Yuan also got to know more about Red Prison Star.
Over the years, the Red Prison Star has become much different from the original concept. It is no longer a place for criminals to be exiled. Almost half of the prisoners exiled to the Red Prison Star every year are not the big villains with numerous crimes, but the losers in political struggles, the abandoned children in the family's power struggle, the merchants who are oppressed, the innocent people who offended the powerful, the victims of gang competition... etc. Most of the wanderers like Heifeng who wandered in the wilderness actually had such origins. The real villains could quickly gain a foothold after coming to the Prison Star and go to the central city to make a good living.
For example, Black Wind's wife, the brown-haired woman Mary, was originally the daughter of a small businessman. Because of her beauty, a powerful son set up a trap to force her, but was injured in an important part of the body during Mary's resistance. Under the wrath of the powerful, the small businessman went bankrupt and was framed for a serious crime, and the whole family was exiled to the Red Prison Star. Mary was caught by the prisoners here as soon as she landed, and was given as a gift to a big shot in the central city. After being tortured, she was thrown into the wilderness with many corpses when she was dying. By chance, she was saved by Black Wind, who had just arrived at the Red Prison Star. Although Black Wind was also a criminal, he was a thief with a code of conduct. He felt pity for Mary and took good care of her. Not long after, the two formed a husband-and-wife relationship, which was extremely rare in this place, and had two sons.
Originally, disappearance and death were common things here. Even if they were relatives, they would only grieve for a while, hold a simple ritual funeral, and then go on with their lives. This time, the reason why they mobilized a large number of troops to go deep into the underground mine to search was not only because of Heifeng's usual character and kindness, but more importantly, Ye Zi and Xiao Shitou, two children who were born and raised on Prison Star and grew up under their care, were their common hope and the softest part of their hearts that could not be violated.
The group was more or less dissatisfied with the fact that Old Miles gradually revealed their true situation to Rong Yuan, who was still unsure whether to join. However, seeing that Hei Feng remained silent, they suppressed their emotions and did not show them.
Would Heifeng question Old Miles's actions? Of course not!
To be honest, when he first decided to catch up, Heifeng had completely forgotten about Rong Yuan. But until now, he was getting increasingly anxious and refused to give up, even risking the lives of his brothers, because he still held a glimmer of hope for Rong Yuan who had caught up with him.
If this person is willing to help them, is it possible... is it possible to save his sons?
On the third day, the pursuit was still fruitless, and only occasionally some fresh traces of fighting could be found on the mine tunnels on both sides. When they stopped to rest again, Heifeng raised his head and drank a sip of water, and couldn't help but cast his eyes in the direction of Rongyuan with hidden expectations, conveying a silent plea. However, this time, he was stunned immediately after taking a look.
Black Wind looked around blankly, but didn't find the person he wanted to see. His lips trembled, and after a long while, he finally grabbed Old Miles and asked in a desperate voice, "Where is he? Where did he go?"
His question was rambling, but everyone understood immediately and looked around, only to find that Rong Yuan had disappeared at some point. They hadn't heard any sound of fighting, so it was obvious that he had left on his own.
Everyone's faces turned pale immediately - they only carried a small amount of food with them, and most of the supplies and equipment were on Rong Yuan.
——Could it be that they all misjudged the person and were tricked by that guy?
"That gentleman said he was leaving for a while, so we should continue on our way and ignore him." At this time, the girl Da Yu suddenly said, "He gave this to me when he left."
She raised the thing in her arms, which was the storage bag that Rong Yuan carried with him. It contained not only the shabby supplies they prepared, but also many things Rong Yuan brought in from the outside world. These days, Rong Yuan has been able to take out clean water and delicious food from it, and everyone was very envious and curious about how much was in it, but no one was ignorant enough to ask.
Such a priceless thing could be left behind casually, and the other party's disappearance obviously did not carry any malicious intent. So, why did he leave suddenly?
Looking at the storage bag that was so close, in the flickering firelight, everyone exchanged glances silently, and could see the naked desire and restraint in each other's eyes.
Ye Zi was lying on the ground, breathing hard. Behind him, a half-human-tall black beetle corpse was standing with its six claws facing the sky, its slender antennae still trembling slightly, and sticky green liquid was gushing everywhere, emitting a strong stench.
The boy was only ten years old. In the outside world, most children of his age would still be lying in their parents' arms, acting cute and coquettish, and even their studies were mainly based on their interests and play. But he was already a little warrior.
His messy black hair stood up stubbornly, his dark eyes seemed to be burning with flames, his waist was thin and his back was straight, there was not a trace of excess fat on his lean body, and in his calloused hands he was tightly holding a waist knife, but the blade had been broken in two.
He looked very miserable at this time, blood mixed with mud, making his body muddy, and even his appearance could not be seen clearly. There was a long wound on his back that was deep enough to see the bone, and a piece of black beetle mouthparts was stuck in his shoulder. One of his legs was twisted and deformed, obviously broken.
The boy was gasping for breath in pain, his eyes were red. In order to survive, he had been subjected to all kinds of harsh training since he was a child, but he had never been injured so seriously. In the prison planet where there was a lack of medical care and medicine, even the smallest injury could lead to death. He was so seriously injured and had lost a lot of blood, it could be said that he was doomed.
Ye Zi knew this, but he didn't feel much fear. In his eyes, there was only a stronger desire to fight and a more resolute belief.
——He hasn’t rescued Little Stone yet.
Ye Zi gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, and crawled forward step by step, dragging her broken leg.
——He wants to rescue Little Stone!
Behind him, deep red blood spread and gradually seeped into the soil.
Scenes flashed through my mind, one after another, all of them were images of small stones.
The soft, fragile little thing, drooling and showing a silly smile; walking barefoot, swaying, and immediately stretching out his arms for a hug when he saw him; clumsily grabbing his little wooden sword and waving it around, making a humming and hawing sound from his mouth, and tripping over himself if he wasn't careful.
So ridiculous...
So cute.
There was a rustling sound coming from deep in the mines. It was a creature from the darkness, attracted by the smell of blood.
[I'm not afraid.] Ye Zi closed her eyes and thought to herself.
Something had come behind him and pressed his shoulders. When death came, it was not as scary as he had imagined. Instead, he felt a warm sensation. Even the wound didn't hurt anymore, just a little itchy.
It feels like returning to my mother's arms, warm and safe.
The sounds of the predators in the dark also disappeared, and the surroundings were quiet, but not scary.
Ye Zi was drowsy, and suddenly, a smiling face flashed through her mind.
"Little Stone!" Ye Zi screamed and suddenly opened his eyes.
In the darkness, a hand fell on his head and rubbed it. Someone said, "You did a good job. Go to sleep peacefully, and I will take care of the rest."
The sound was like the sound of jade hitting each other, very pleasant and strange. But somehow, Ye Zi believed him. The boy was immediately relieved, and before he could even see the man clearly, the weakness from blood loss and the exhaustion from days of pursuit overwhelmed him, and he instantly fell into a deep and sweet sleep.
Looking at the boy who had fallen asleep, Rong Yuan withdrew his hand. At this time, except for a large amount of blood on the boy's body, there was no wound. He was sleeping soundly, and he smacked his lips unconsciously. Rong Yuan took out the kettle and put it next to his dry lips. Even in his sleep, Ye Zi gulped down the water in the kettle in one breath. When Rong Yuan tried to take the kettle back, Ye Zi bit the spout of the kettle. His body bounced as if he had been electrocuted, and one hand tightly grasped the kettle and refused to let go.
Rong Yuan smiled and simply left the kettle to him. As the pulling force was gone, the boy relaxed his brows with relief and fell asleep with the empty kettle in his arms.
Rong Yuan stood up, his smile faded, and he glanced sideways into the darkness. Something in the dark seemed to be startled, and it rustled away quickly. Soon there was not even an ant within a hundred meters.
He closed his eyes and fully expanded his perception. In his mind, a 3D map of the mine quickly took shape...
The intricate mine tunnels, large and small mine caves, the broken tools and bones left to this day, the various creatures that hunt and are hunted, Heifeng and others who are searching here with torches, and the black beetle that is quickly moving away with a little boy in its mouth.
Rong Yuan opened his eyes, his gaze was as sharp as lightning, as if piercing through the thick soil and stones, looking in a certain direction.
