Stealing Pens: Travelers from the End of the World

Being ignored, Zhang Qiling stared at his empty hand in a daze for a moment, then he grabbed the hand that was hanging by his side and clenched into a fist.

Qin Yuchen was sorting out his emotions while thinking about how to start the conversation.

He knew what this small place meant, so this question kept lingering in his mind since he stepped in here.

If I introduce him by name directly, it seems very impolite. What is the appropriate name for him at his age?

Just when he was puzzled, his hand was tightly held by the person next to him.

Suddenly, Qin Yuchen felt relieved, and the tension in his heart miraculously disappeared.

Finally I decided to introduce myself directly.

Qin Yuchen raised his lips slightly, bowed to the flowers, and said softly: "Hello, my name is Qin Yuchen."

……

"I was thinking I wouldn't go into that room in the temple."

After leaving the sea of ​​flowers, the road ahead became more difficult to walk on.

Qin Yuchen and Zhang Qiling were walking in a narrow snowy valley, leading their horses. He looked at the hill ahead that they needed to climb and said,

"I didn't expect to meet you directly."

Zhang Qiling glanced at Tan Yuchen after hearing this.

“I considered it at the time.”

He stepped onto a rock, thinking about where to take the next step. When he received the gaze, he smiled and said,

"But I don't know how to deal with this kind of thing, so I gave up."

"I know."

Zhang Qiling understood what Qin Yuchen meant, and was not surprised by Qin Yuchen's various behaviors, whether it was in the temple or the hand he did not hold just now.

So at this time, he will express his thoughts more directly.

"But it's still a bit of a pity." Qin Yuchen changed the subject, stomped the snow under his feet, clapped his hands and continued walking forward.

"?" Zhang Qiling was puzzled.

"It's a pity that I can't take you to see them."

He seemed to have thought of something, and his tone was unusually calm.

"They don't have graves, and they're not here."

Memories that had been there for many years suddenly appeared in his mind without warning, and Qin Yuchen felt a rare sense of nostalgia.

The blurry figure gradually became clear, and he seemed to have returned to the days when he was hiding.

He was a burden at that time, and he knew this from the moment he was born.

But those two figures never gave up.

Even when death comes.

"..."

Zhang Qiling understood the incoherent words, but he didn't know what to say for a moment.

The usual methods of comfort were not applicable now, so he seemed a little at a loss after hearing this.

"Let me tell you something." After they climbed over the hill and came to the mountainside of the snowy mountain, Qin Yuchen explained, "So it's not that I won't take you with me."

"Yeah." Zhang Qiling was silent for a moment, took out a candy from his pocket and handed it over, "Eat candy."

"Okay." Qin Yuchen looked at Zhang Qiling for a few seconds, chuckled softly, took the candy, unwrapped it and put it in his mouth.

The conversation ended here. As the sky gradually darkened, the two men quickened their pace and found a suitable place to camp halfway up the mountain.

They set up the tent, had a simple dinner, and went to bed early without any intention of seeing the scenery.

The next day

The two packed up their things and continued on their journey.

They went around the mountainside, over the snowy mountains, and arrived at a valley, following the river all the way up.

We traveled non-stop for many days.

Zhang Qiling and Qin Yuchen stood on the top of a low snow-capped mountain, looking at a lake surrounded by several snow-capped mountains not far away.

The lake looked very large. From where they were standing now to the top of the mountain on the other side of the lake, the shortest distance would probably take a long time to walk.

Qin Yuchen swept away the snow on the rocks, sat down to rest, and asked, "Are we almost there?"

"Yeah." Zhang Qiling nodded, took out the kettle and drank some water, raised his hand and pointed to the other side of the lake and said,

"Cross this lake and enter the valley ahead."

"Walk directly on the lake?" Qin Yuchen asked.

Zhang Qiling: "Go around it."

After leaving the lake, Qin Yuchen walked for another two days before he finally saw the valley that Zhang Qiling had mentioned.

Some vegetation began to appear around them. Although most of it was buried in the snow, it still soothed the two men's eyes to a great extent.

Not only that, there are signs of human habitation not far from this valley.

However, the village had long been deserted, leaving behind only some house frames and polished stone tools.

Qin Yuchen kicked away a small pile of snow and found a plastic bag covered by the snow.

He squatted down, pulled out a dagger and pushed the plastic bag aside.

It contained some food waste, some fruit cores that were not seriously rotten, and some canned food.

Qin Yuchen looked in several places near the plastic bag and indeed saw traces of fire.

The first thing he thought of was the group of people in the hotel. He didn't expect that they were actually able to walk so far.

"Let's go." Zhang Qiling watched the whole process from behind Qin Yuchen and obviously had thought of it as well.

"Okay." Qin Yuchen responded, stood up and wiped the dagger clean.

"With the amount of food, those two groups must be cooperating."

"Yeah." Zhang Qiling jumped onto the horse and waited until Qin Yuchen sat down before continuing to walk deeper into the mountain.

"Who knows?" Qin Yuchen said again, and he and Zhang Qiling sped up.