Sayaka, after discovering that her beloved had vanished, immediately scanned her surroundings, thinking, "Could Lord Yue Hengyi be able to move now and has found a place to rest?"
Suddenly, Sayaka had a premonition. She quickly looked up and saw a night owl carrying a slender figure towards the distance. If not for the moonlight shining down at that moment, it would have been difficult to see clearly.
"Stop! Give him back to me! Give him back!" Seeing this scene, Sayaka panicked. She immediately unleashed her power and chased after them.
Sayaka could not accept the fact that her beloved had left her, especially being snatched away by a mutated bird. Night owls, or owls in general, are fierce carnivorous birds. To be precise, they are owls that can see the ground clearly at night and are adept at catching mice and rabbits. They are meat-eaters, not weak fruit-eaters.
Sayaka's greatest fear was that Yue Hengyi would be eaten. She hadn't expected that in the time it took her to deal with a scumbag, Yue Hengyi would be captured. The speed was so great that Sayaka couldn't react.
For Sayaka, it had only been a minute since she last looked at Yue Hengyi, but in that single minute, Yue Hengyi was taken.
Sayaka had already obtained Yue Hengyi, both his person and his heart. Yue Hengyi had even agreed to go and live in a secluded place together, to have their own world. She thought they would live happily ever after, but now her wish had fallen through.
Unfortunately, no matter how Sayaka chased the owl, she couldn't catch up. Her speed on the ground was always inferior to that of flight, and Sayaka also had to consider the terrain.
In the end, Sayaka watched the owl's figure grow further and further away, and she felt on the verge of collapse, as if something she had already obtained had now disappeared.
Soon, the owl had flown far away with Yue Hengyi, heading west. No matter how Sayaka pursued, her speed was too slow at this moment, and she couldn't catch up.
However, Sayaka did not give up. She continued to move in the direction the owl had flown. She would not give up the chase and would not rest until she found Yue Hengyi.
In the dead of night, many people were captured, numbering in the thousands. However, among the more than a million people who had escaped Yan Jing City, this number was not significant. It was not as bad as the casualties during the day. This was also the thought of ordinary people: unlucky people might not be themselves. Escaping at night might not lead to capture. Conversely, if they stayed, there was no hope of defeating the mutated birds in the short term.
Those who were captured, however, had only a dead end.
...
In the early morning, a family in the Taihang Mountains went out. However, this family consisted only of a father and son; there were no other family members.
The father was named Xue Li, and the son was named Xue Wenming. Since the doomsday arrived, the father and son had been living in the mountains.
As Xue Li walked, he said to his son, "Let's go, let's go. I heard there are many mutated birds in the mountains recently. This is our chance to get rich. We'll bring back a few hundred pounds of meat, and I'll get you a wife. Also, if there's plenty of meat, I'll find you a new mother."
Xue Li and Xue Wenming carried hunting rifles on their backs, appearing to be hunters preparing to go out hunting.
Xue Wenming rolled his eyes at his father and said indignantly, "The broadcast said that Siberian migratory birds have flown south recently, numbering in the tens of millions. What if we're surrounded by accident? Wouldn't we die without a burial place? Besides, there's nothing left in the mountains. I really don't know what you're thinking."
To his son's lack of understanding, Xue Wenming said seriously, "Son, living in the mountains is the safest. Plant a few acres of land for food, hunt for meat, and exchange surplus grain for supplies. This is much better than being in the city. If you stay in the city, you'll just be robbed by others."
"Robbed? You're overthinking it. People in the city are civilized. I've never seen any robberies before," Xue Wenming disagreed with his father's words, thinking that since it was the end of the world, they should stay in the city and huddle together for warmth.
Xue Li smiled, patted his son's head, and said, "You're still too young. In the city, robberies don't require swords and spears; they can be done with a piece of paper and a pen. You're still young, you won't understand, but you will when you're older."
The father and son walked in the mountains. They knew the danger of mutated birds, but as hunters, how could they fear the strength of their prey? If they really did that, it would be putting the cart before the horse.
As they walked, Xue Li said, "Actually, our ancestors had a renowned name, Xue Rengui. We are descendants of Xue Rengui. Back then, our ancestor had no money and lived by shooting geese. Therefore, his skills should not be wasted by us. We should also hunt. If there are wild geese, we shoot wild geese; if there are swans, we shoot swans."
Although Xue Wenming was young, he was not foolish. He said impatiently, "Stop repeating the plots from historical novels. Even if our ancestor was Xue Rengui, we should be descendants of officials, not hunters. Besides, Xue Rengui hunted with a bow and arrow, while we use hunting rifles. Where are our skills?"
While the father and son were bickering and talking, Xue Li suddenly raised his hunting rifle, aimed at the sky, pulled the trigger, and fired.
"Bang." The bullet left the barrel. Xue Li knew he had hit it.
Xue Wenming stared blankly at his father, surprised that his father had suddenly fired. What had he seen?
"What are you doing? You scared me to death!" Xue Wenming said.
Xue Li said with a solemn expression, "I saw a mutated bird weighing at least three hundred pounds. I've hit its wing! It won't be able to fly much further. Let's chase it. Three hundred pounds of meat is enough to get you a wife."
After speaking, Xue Li chased in the direction where he had seen the large bird fly. The trees in the mountains had all shed their leaves. The Taihang Mountains were mostly gray as far as the eye could see, and there was a lot of blood on the ground, left by the bird.
"I'm only thirteen, I don't need a wife. I think you want to find a stepmother for me, don't you? Who would be willing to come and live in this poor mountain with you?" Xue Wenming said disdainfully.
Xue Li continued to chase, saying, "You're still young. When you're in your prime, you'll have to find women yourself. As for now, as long as you have money, beauties will flock to you. You'll understand later."
In this era, the world was in chaos. Human trafficking had become commonplace. This was a historical tradition. When families were poor, they would try to sell their children, or even their wives. Such disasters had not occurred for nearly a hundred years, but now, when people struggled to survive, selling family members became natural.
The father and son chased after it. Three hundred pounds of meat was too important. Once a bird's wing was injured, it could only wait for death.
However, after chasing for four days, they were almost out of the Taihang Mountain range, and the father and son hadn't seen any trace of the owl. The bloodstains on the ground had also disappeared. At this point, both of them were dejected, having wasted four days in vain and getting nothing in the end.
If they had stayed near their home hunting during these four days, given the recent number of birds in the Taihang Mountains, they would have already made a fortune. But now, they had gained nothing.
"Alas, let's prepare to return. Continuing the search is meaningless," Xue Li decided to give up and go home to catch ordinary mutated birds. Large birds were not so easy to catch.
However, at this moment, Xue Wenming saw a figure in the distance and quickly said, "Dad, look over there. Is that a person?"
Xue Li looked in the direction his son pointed and indeed saw a dark figure. He quickly chased after it and, upon closer inspection, found it to be a young girl, about fourteen or fifteen years old. She was wearing faded clothes, but they were still relatively clean.
"What do you want?" the girl exclaimed. "My husband is nearby. If you dare to do anything, I'll call for help."
At this moment, seeing two strangers appear, the girl was already very worried, fearing that she might be treated roughly.
Xue Wenming quickly said, "Sister, don't be afraid. We just want to ask if you've seen a large injured bird, one that seemed to be carrying something in its claws."
The girl shook her head and said, "I haven't seen it."
Upon receiving this answer, Xue Li and Xue Wenming could only shake their heads helplessly and prepared to leave. As they left, Xue Li couldn't help but criticize his son, "Look at her, only fourteen or fifteen years old, and she's already married. You still say you're young. When I earn enough money from hunting, I'll find you a wife first."
Xue Li was stimulated at this moment. He and his son could not remain bachelors any longer; they had to find a companion as soon as possible.
After walking a distance, Xue Wenming whispered, "Dad, don't be fooled by this sister's words. I observed that she has several bloodstained clothes in her hands. Those definitely don't belong to her. Then there's only one answer: she's not a good person. She might be a lure, and there are others hidden behind her. If you're deceived by her weak appearance, you'll suffer a great loss."
Xue Li was surprised by his son's words and quickly looked back. He saw the girl standing in her original spot. Indeed, she was holding some bloodstained clothes, slowly hiding them behind her, but they had already been seen.
Xue Li finally realized, and a chill ran down his spine. He thought, "As expected, they're not simple. People who can live in the Taihang Mountains are not to be trifled with. They're trying to set a trap for me."
After being reminded by his son, Xue Li finally understood that he couldn't underestimate anyone in the Taihang Mountains.
Fearing an ambush, the father and son quickly moved away.
The girl finally breathed a sigh of relief and secretly rejoiced, thinking, "Fortunately, these two people had no ill intentions, otherwise, I would have been in real danger."
The girl soon returned home. Her home was actually a temple on a mountain. The temple was large but sparsely populated. No one came to worship there anymore. The deep mountain temple was also very quiet, with almost nothing visiting except for mutated beasts. Moreover, this was a temple of the Guanyin who grants children.
The girl had already thrown away the bloodstained clothes and returned to the temple to take care of her unconscious husband.
"Guanyin Bodhisattva, thank you for granting me a husband. I will burn incense for you often from now on, but please, please bless him to overcome this difficulty. I kowtow here." The girl knelt before the statue and kowtowed repeatedly.
Her so-called husband had actually fallen from the sky a few days ago.
That day, the girl was kneeling and praying in the Guanyin Hall. She had lost all her relatives and had been living in the deep mountains for two years. She could support herself, but she had no one by her side. So, she prayed to Guanyin, "Guanyin Bodhisattva, please grant me a husband."
Then, a miracle happened. A person covered in blood fell from the sky, piercing the roof and landing on the ground. He was still breathing!