The night watchman changed two rounds. The caravan's assembly post sounded. Winter pinched the whistle made of metal and made a shrill sound, and the people sleeping in the shed were shouted one by one.

After all, the camp was only a temporary place to stay, and the caravan only rested at the spider camp for one night before starting the second day's journey.

Garcia was woken up by the whistle to find himself lying on his side on the rocks in front of the camp's stove, Sean's shabby trench coat covering him, and the corner of his clothes pressed against his waist.

Garcia, who had just woken up, was still immersed in his dream, he rubbed his sleepy eyes, grabbed the collar of his trench coat and yawned a lot, only to find that he was covered with clothes belonging to Old Man Sean.

"Overcoat ......"

Garcia then remembered that he was walking on the trade road, and lifted his coat and jumped off the stone.

The men of the caravan staggered around, rolled up the sleeping grass and bundled it back to the trailer, the pot in front of the camp had somehow recooked the fish porridge left over from the previous night with water, and there were still a few people's meals in the steaming pot, and it was estimated that there were some people who got up late like Garcia.

Sean wore a rough undershirt, withered and shriveled muscles peeking out of the sleeves of the undershirt.

He sat in front of the electric stove and shook the rocker in a circle to keep the porridge warm.

From Garcia's point of view, he saw the back of a seated man slowly shaking the joystick, deepening the shadows and the light on his body in the faint light around him.

The old man eventually grew old.

Garcia sighed lightly, and walked behind the old man with the shabby coat that had begun to be draped on him at some point.

"Mr. Sean, your coat."

Suddenly, the words from behind made Sean stunned, and then he saw a hand holding a folded coat on the ground on his right hand.

"Thank you."

Garcia said lightly.

He didn't put the coat back on the old man's body, according to the old man's character, this would make him feel unhappy, and he felt that he was an old man.

So as he walked over, he gently folded his coat and laid it flat on the ground.

"Did you sleep well?"

Sean glanced at the coat that was lying next to him and continued to shake the joystick.

"Thanks to you."

Garcia smiled, "Is the porridge in the pot for me?" ”

"For two, I'll clean it up when you're done."

Sean said, shaking his head.

The bowl was on the trailer that filled the water on the east side, and the person who had eaten the porridge yesterday brought it to wash the dishes and put them on the board of the trailer by the way.

The thick pottery bowls of different sizes did not choose the head, so I took one casually and drank the porridge that was not hot or cold in two or three sips.

"Do you hear me, the sound of water in the distance?"

The old man suddenly said this.

"What?"

Garcia was stunned.

"Listen carefully."

The old man took the empty bowl from Garcia's hand and began to clean it up.

The decorator sat on the ground with a wink, chewing on the old man's meaning, then tilted his head and began to listen intently to the sounds around him.

The sound of conversation, the sound of footsteps, the sound of tidying up, and, if you listen closely, you can hear the sound of the water.

"The sound of water?"

Garcia frowned, "What's wrong, it's normal." ”

"It wasn't that loud last night."

Sean wiped the rim of the pot with a coarse cloth dipped in water.

…… There is no room for delay, and on the slopes, no one knows what will happen in the next second, even in the safer camping areas and trade routes.

Therefore, if you can reach the settlement in the trade route one minute earlier, you should try to arrive one minute earlier.

In the early morning of that day, after only about half an hour, the men mustered up all the lights on the four carriages, and the caravan was on its way again.

Stone slopes, stone walls, stone pillars, stone forests.

Straight or turning, forking or smooth.

People who are slow or fast, up or down, fast or slow, up or down.

The stone walls and stone pillars on both sides of the trailer are covered with a layer of cold white light under the illumination of the light, dragging a few long shadows, and the outlines are also in the distance, and the height can be seen dimly.

Garcia watched as the silhouette of high or low, far or near, slowly faded away, disappearing into the darkness where the light could not shine, like a tooth that appeared and disappeared into the darkness.

If you look closely, each tooth leading to the gap between the teeth has a deep or shallow redstone fork mark on it.

"In the days when trade routes were not yet opened, every year, every month, people died on the slopes."

Mr. Sean walked at the front of the line on crutches, and occasionally glanced at his old friend's eyes wandering off the pillars on both sides, and his expression was in a trance for a long time, and he sighed softly and said something to bring Garcia back to his senses.

"Ah......h

Garcia came back to his senses, but he didn't know how to respond, or maybe he hadn't fully come back to his senses, and said without thinking, "Didn't the leader at that time save them?" ”

As soon as the words came out, Garcia realized that something was wrong, and he wanted to slap himself in the mouth - where is there any other team leader?

The caravan in the town has been Old Man Sean since fifty-four years ago, and he ...... to say, "Because the leader is gone." ”

Sean turned his head away, unable to see his expression, only hearing the breezy words.

However, anyone can hear the bitterness in these words.

"None of my fathers, nor my father's previous team leaders, were ...... for more than two years"

“…… You know, a lot of times, if you take the wrong fork or go deep down the slope, the whole caravan is gone. ”

The old man's steps were as usual, as if he was telling a story that had nothing to do with him, but Garcia didn't know what to say for a while, so he just followed the old man in a daze, but his figure was staggering.

Seeing that Garcia didn't speak, the old man didn't ask, so he simply talked about himself.

"See the scratches on the red stones, deep or shallow? A mark is a bitter past, a person who has gone the wrong way and can't come back. ”

"The shallow ones are ordinary people or professionals like the men in the towing team behind, and the deep ones are the team leaders......"

"Because the team leader is gone."

Garcia's heart seemed to be stuffed with a lot of heavy things in an instant, and the light words of Old Man Sean a few minutes ago hit his heart again.

The corners of his mouth were bitter, and he wanted to speak, but he couldn't speak as if he had stitches.

And Sean is like opening a chatterbox, pouring out of his stomach.

"They have experienced far more dangers and difficulties than we do now, and every time the trade route is widened and diverted, it is based on the sacrifices of the team leaders and team members......

“…… In the past fifty-four years, I have seen countless forks in the road where the lights shine and I can see their bones - hollowed out skeletons, broken skeletons, or even no skeletons, the only thing I can see is the relics scattered on the ground - a sword, a pocket watch, and, if lucky, a suicide note......"

“…… However, the suicide note is also full of stupid words telling future generations not to follow their own path and to develop and innovate, and they are all cute and ridiculous people......"

“…… I also left a suicide note a long time ago, but I never needed it, because my father's generation had actually determined the general direction of the trade route......"

“…… I, Sean Alimmo, have only done it in 54 years...... In fact, it is just following the trade routes they have opened up, walking over and over again......"

“…… They fought to the death for the benefit of the town and pioneering, but I, who have been living with my team......"

When the old man said this, he suddenly paused, but only for a second or two, and began to continue walking forward, sighing, even with his back to him, Garcia could feel the old man's haggardness.

“…… They're the heroes, and I'm not...... I'm just a veteran of carrying out orders......"

No, Garcia shook his head, Sean you shouldn't think so.

He wanted to pat the old man on the shoulder and tell him loudly that you are also a hero of the town, and that you have done no less for the town than your predecessors...... However, this shot is never able to reach out, the etiquette of the juniors to the elders, the respect for the elders, no matter how familiar the two sides are, they can't do the same kind of hooking shoulders and scolding each other like themselves and their peers.

Garcia could only silently follow the back and silently say in his heart, "...... They're heroes, and so are you......"

…… The words on the pocket watch walked more than half a circle, and the caravan gradually heard the sound of water getting closer and closer.

Mr. Sean had given everyone a hand-drawn map of the trade route before he set out, and at this time, he was obviously close to the area of the Sourceless River marked on the map.

A river that flows from the depths of the slope that no one has ever walked towards, and no one has succeeded in reaching its source, so he simply called it the river of no source.

Although the river has no source, it is not powerless, and from a long distance, in the fork of the road, you can hear the turbulent waves crashing against the stones.

"The Originless River has arrived?"

Garcia frowned.

"No, old man, isn't there still half an hour's way according to your map?"

"That's why I called you."

Sean frowned and jotted down another note in his notebook.

"The river has been diverted. And...... If I'm not mistaken, after last night's passing, this river ...... It's even more biased. ”