The cave

It was still early. Li Muran and Meat Tower Chen each took a Corpse Crystal and began absorbing it. Nan Shao had intended to do the same, but when he saw Zhang Yi heading toward the hill behind them with Yangyang on his back, he found himself following.

"I'm getting familiar with the terrain, so we'll be better prepared if anything unexpected happens," Zhang Yi explained when he saw him follow.

Nan Shao understood the reasoning, of course. He had done the same before, always sending people to scout the surroundings whenever they arrived somewhere new, lest they panic when danger struck and find themselves trapped. But ever since meeting Zhang Yi, he had realized he had grown lazy, unwilling to use his brain at all, simply doing whatever the other man said. He knew this was partly because Zhang Yi arranged everything so thoroughly, but also because he had become somewhat disheartened and listless. Yet he had not given up completely, because he still wanted to improve his ability.

"No flowers' fragrance, no trees' height..." After they had walked a while, Zhang Ruiyang suddenly began singing. His childish voice broke the silence of their journey. Though he repeated that one line over and over and sang so far off-key he had strayed all the way to the Pacific Ocean, his voice was full of joy.

"Sounds lovely." Holding back a laugh, Nan Shao looked at the little fellow absorbed in singing on Zhang Yi's back and thought the song suited the setting quite well.

Zhang Ruiyang giggled and buried his face against his father's back, a little embarrassed, but soon raised his head again and declared proudly, "Grandma taught me!"

"Grandma's amazing." Nan Shao continued to flatter him. It had been a long time since he had heard a song so steeped in memories of an earlier era. Hearing it at a time like this inevitably left him feeling a little wistful.

"Of course! Grandma can sing lots and lots of lovely songs, and cut out lots and lots of pretty flowers..." Zhang Ruiyang began swaying his little body, not knowing the first thing about modesty, especially when it came to his beloved grandma.

Zhang Yi reached back and smacked his bottom. "Keep squirming and you can get down and walk."

"Okay!" The boy was at an age when he loved to move around. The suggestion suited him perfectly, and he wriggled, trying to slide down to the ground.

Zhang Yi's expression darkened. He glanced at his son's shoes, with his big toes poking out, knowing that the soles had already worn thin. Walking along these mountain paths would surely hurt his feet terribly. Seeing this, Nan Shao hurriedly reached over, picked the boy up, and hoisted him onto his shoulders. "Sit on my shoulders instead."

"Uncle Pumpkin is so nice!" The boy's attention was immediately diverted. He wrapped his little hands around Nan Shao's head, bent down, and planted a smacking kiss on his forehead. He clearly loved being up so high, especially since Nan Shao's hands and steps were steady, making it exciting without being frightening, unlike the constant jostling on Zhang Yi's back.

"It's not... Pumpkin..." Nan Shao sighed, powerless to correct him.

Zhang Yi chuckled.

Chapter 23: The cave

The hill behind them was not particularly high, but when they reached the top, they discovered more mountains beyond it, range upon range. Had the trees not withered, there would have been lush green stretching to the horizon. Now, however, all they could see was lifeless brown and black.

"Looks like we don't have to worry about zombies coming from this direction," Zhang Yi said, narrowing his eyes as he considered what lay that way. Then realization dawned. "The Jingnan Natural Scenic Area should be farther over there. It was hot when the apocalypse struck, so there must have been quite a few people vacationing there."

Nan Shao did not give it much thought. Playing with Zhang Ruiyang, he answered absently, then suddenly pointed toward a hollow in the hillside. "Look, there's a cave over there. Want to take a look?"

"Yes, yes! Daddy, let's go into the cave!" Sitting on Nan Shao's shoulders, Zhang Ruiyang immediately grew excited and began bouncing.

"Don't move! You'll fall!" Nan Shao hurriedly grabbed the squirming child, breaking into a sweat from the fright.

Zhang Ruiyang immediately settled down, but still gazed pleadingly at Zhang Yi, his eyes, darker and brighter in the sunlight, brimming with anticipation.

"Let's go. But we can only look from outside." Zhang Yi softened under that gaze, and since he genuinely wanted to know how deep the cave was, he relented.

Zhang Ruiyang cheered and planted another smacking kiss on Nan Shao. Nan Shao did not know whether to laugh or cry, though he had to admit he rather enjoyed it.

The way to the cave was difficult, covered with shrubs and thorny thickets, as well as stunted beeches and ring-cupped oaks, with no sign of a path at all. Even the cave had only been exposed because the plants had withered and fallen flat. It took the three of them considerable effort to reach it. Zhang Ruiyang had the easiest time. His little face was bright red from the sun, but he remained just as energetic, occasionally remembering to belt out a line of "Sister Liu, your words are far too unfair," or "A chicken in my left hand, a duck in my right." By the end, even Zhang Yi could no longer keep a straight face. Since leaving prison, he had never seen the little fellow this excited, much less had the pleasure of hearing such hilarious howling. As for Nan Shao, his stomach already hurt from holding back his laughter, and he had set the boy down. The child remained oblivious, looking at them in utter confusion, probably wondering why he was no longer being praised when he was trying so hard. But the cave soon captured his attention, leaving him no time to concern himself with the two adults' strange expressions.

The cave was small, its entrance only wide enough for two people to enter side by side. Inside, it sloped downward, with gravel covering the ground. Looking in from the entrance, they could only see that the space widened a dozen or so meters down. What lay beyond was indistinct, as the light could not reach it and it gradually faded into darkness.

"All right, we can't go in without a flashlight." Zhang Yi held on to the boy, who was craning his neck at the entrance and itching to venture inside, and coaxed him.

Zhang Ruiyang had only been curious and wanted to see what a cave looked like. Now that he had seen how dark it was inside, he was actually a little scared. Hearing Zhang Yi's words, he immediately said, "Okay," answering as quickly as could be.

Thorny bushes surrounded the cave, leaving nothing to play with, and less than two minutes later, the three turned back. On the return trip, Zhang Ruiyang was less energetic than before and lay drowsily on Nan Shao's back. Zhang Yi took off his shirt and draped it over the boy's head to block some of the sunlight. This was the shirt he wore when he was not out fighting zombies. It smelled strongly of sweat, mingled with Zhang Yi's own distinctive scent, but carried none of the putrid stench of zombies. As it drifted into Nan Shao's nose, it made him dizzy for a moment.