Sure enough, as my cousin said, after leaving the town, the group began to walk the mountain road.

When Shen Jiumei heard that she was going to walk dozens of miles of mountain roads, she felt sorry for her younger brother, so she carried two people's packages on her back. Yes, Shen Qiubao is empty-handed, as long as he follows.

"Qiu Bao, are you tired?" After walking for half an hour, my cousin stopped and asked with concern.

Shen Qiubao shook his head: "I'm not tired." The mountain road we walked out of the village was much more difficult than that. At that time, he was carrying a rabbit skin mattress on his back.

"Alright, let's move on. "A blue-gray cliff appeared not far ahead. Uncle Cousin pointed there, "When we get to the bottom of that cliff, let's rest." After the cliff, the road behind will get steeper and steeper. ”

He's trying to be as nice to his two kids as he can – and he's really ashamed to think about what he's going to do today.

Alas, there is no way around it. Who called him just a pariah, and there were old and young, and there was a big family pointing to him to eat and live!

So, all he can do is take care of the children as much as possible for now.

The road in the mountains is like this, looking closer, walking crying. The blue-gray cliff looked not far away, but they walked for more than a quarter of an hour before they came to it.

At this time, Shen Qiubao discovered that behind the cliffs were endless mountains. The sun has not yet come out, and the morning mist is shrouded in the mountains, and the mountain road is completely invisible.

Uncle Cousin handed over a cowhide bladder and beckoned the two of them to drink: "Don't drink too much at a time, just take a sip." When you are in a hurry, you should avoid pouring too much water. "Well, teach as many practical lessons as you can to the children.

Shen Jiumei also knows this. However, she didn't say anything, and took Qiu Bao to do what she said.

The three of them sat for less than half an hour, and then hurried on their way.

After climbing over the cliffs, the mountain road under your feet suddenly narrowed, not as smooth as before. Almost every quarter of an hour, Uncle Cousin would stop and let the two of them take a sip of water and take a break.

After noon, they came out of a pine forest and came to a small hillside. When my cousin heard the sound of running water, he raised the shriveled cowhide water bladder and said happily, "There must be a water source nearby." I'll go fetch some water, and you can rest here and don't wander around. ”

"Hey. Shen Jiumei nodded in response.

"Remember, don't wander around. Uncle Cousin confessed again, and then walked to the bottom of the slope.

After walking on the mountain road for most of the day, Shen Qiubao was actually very tired. He couldn't wait to find a flat rock nearby and sit down.

"Are you hungry, do you want to eat some dry food?" Shen Jiumei walked over and asked. When you are in a hurry, you tend to get hungry the farther you go, and you need to eat more and more frequently to replenish your strength.

"Hmm. Shen Qiubao swallowed his saliva and asked expectantly, "I don't know what my aunt and grandmother have prepared for us." "At noon, during a break, my cousin handed them two white flour cakes. So, they haven't used the dry food in their parcels yet.

"It's probably a white flour cake, too. Shen Jiumei sat down cross-legged beside him, untied a small package from his back, and opened it on his lap.

This package was clearly for her. There was a plain white dress inside, as well as a large oiled paper bag and a small white cloth bag.

The little cloth bag was no bigger than half of her fist. When she opened it, she saw a string of a hundred coins and two small pieces of broken silver.

"Wow, that's a lot of money!" Qiu Bao exclaimed.

Shen Jiumei put the small bag away and looked around alertly. It was silent, except for a few insect chirps in the grass.

She glanced at Qiu Bao, raised her eyebrows and admonished: "When walking outside, remember not to show your wealth." When you shout like this, you are clearly telling others to rob you. ”

Shen Qiubao stuck out his tongue, and was very unconvinced: Obviously, you opened the small package and cashed out the money by yourself......

Stuffing the small bag under her clothes and hiding it, Shen Jiumei opened the much larger oiled paper bag again. There are four white flour cakes inside.

"It's really a white flour cake!" Shen Qiubao exclaimed.

Shen Jiumei was speechless, picked up a piece of cake, tore off a small half and handed it to him.

"Why only give such a little?" Qiu Bao said no. I don't know how many times better the situation now than when they came out of the village. My aunt and grandmother prepared enough food for them. There were four flatbreads in that bag!

Shen Jiumei snorted: "If you eat too much, you won't be able to walk in the future! Do you still want to rush to the county seat today?"

So that's it...... Shen Qiubao took the small half of the cake stupidly.

Shen Jiumei re-tied the package and carefully tied it back on her back - it was the first time in her life that she saw so much money, could she not be careful?

"Ninth sister, aren't you hungry?" asked Shen Qiubao curiously.

"It's fine. When I'm hungry, I'll eat. You leave me alone. Shen Jiumei responded. Dad told her before that when she went out, she had to eat some dry food. Because of the changes outside, no one knows if something will happen next. Only when you have food in your hands can you have the confidence to act.

However, Qiu Bao was still young and hungry, and besides, when she arrived in the county seat, Qiu Bao had to take the apprenticeship exam and needed to conserve her physical strength, so she could save her own rations, but she could not save Qiu Bao.

"Oh. Qiu Bao didn't doubt it, and ate the small half of the cake in his hand in three or two bites.

Seeing this, Shen Jiumei explained some matters to him softly. For example, when you arrive in the county seat, don't run around; when taking the apprenticeship exam, be smart, listen to your cousin's instructions, and pay attention to how others take the exam; and don't make money in front of others...... Wait a minute.

Shen Qiubao listened very carefully and responded to them one by one.

When Shen Jiumei emptied all the words in her stomach, her mouth was dry. Only then did she realize that a long time had passed.

"Hey, why hasn't my cousin come back yet?" A sense of foreboding welled up in her heart, and she stood up and craned her neck to look at the bottom of the slope.

Shen Qiubao also stood up and looked over together: "Could it be that Uncle Cousin is lost?" As a mountain baby, he has known since he was a child that it is common to get lost in the mountains.

"No!" Shen Jiumei twisted her eyebrows, "Listen to the sound of water, the water source is not very far." "She has been running in the mountains with her father since she was nine years old and has learned a lot of skills. For example, if you hear the sound of water, you can roughly determine the direction and direction of the water source. In her experience, her cousin went down this dirt slope and walked half a mile northwest to get water.

The time they spent talking, with the strength of their cousin's feet, was enough to hit two or three times.

"That'...... Could it be that he has encountered wild things?" Shen Qiubao's heart tugged, "Sister, why don't we go and find my cousin?" He was very worried.

"No...... There are no wild things. I didn't hear any movement of wild animals. Shen Jiumei bit her lip, "Uncle Cousin said that he wanted us to wait for him here." Let's wait. ”

"What if my cousin doesn't see the road clearly, falls and gets injured, and can't come back by himself?" Shen Qiubao said with great persuasion.

Shen Jiumei didn't say anything, just stared stubbornly at the bottom of the slope.

Shen Qiubao is small, so she can't help her, so she can only wait together.

Time passed slowly, but Uncle Cousin did not show up for a long time.

"Ninth Sister!" Shen Qiubao finally waited to the limit. The sun has shifted quite a bit. They won't be able to make it!

Shen Jiumei shook her body and sat down weakly on the stone.

"Ninth sister, what's wrong with you?" Shen Qiubao was startled and hurriedly held the person up.

"Qiu Bao......" Shen Jiumei looked at him in a daze, for a long time, and said, "Uncle Cousin may never come back." ”

"Why?" Shen Qiubao only felt that the sky was about to fall, and he was so anxious that tears rolled in his eyes.

"Because my aunt and cousin are afraid of the immortal rune soldiers!" Shen Jiumei replied word by word. All along, she was worried in her heart - if her aunt and cousin were afraid of the immortal rune soldiers and didn't dare to take in their sister and brother, what would she do?

However, these days, my aunt and cousin did not show the slightest fear at all, she felt ashamed in addition to gratitude, and gradually let go of the worries in her heart.

Now it seems that my aunt and cousin are obviously afraid. So, they lied to their two siblings. said that taking Qiu Bao to the largest martial arts hall in the county to test for apprenticeship was actually to trick their sister and brother into the mountains and leave them to fend for themselves in the barren mountains and mountains.

Shen Qiubao was still young, and he didn't fully understand the twists and turns here for a while. He held back his tears and looked up at his eldest sister helplessly and puzzled.

Mom and Dad are gone. There are some things that Qiu Bao must know! Shen Jiumei took his hand, broke the matter, and told him little by little, and at the end, she concluded: "So, Uncle Cousin deliberately threw us here and walked away by himself." Even if we wait here for a thousand years, we can't wait for my cousin. ”

Shen Qiubao was smarter than she expected. He snorted, wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, and said, "So, even if the ninth sister remembers the way, she can't take Qiu Bao back to find her aunt, right?"

"Hmm. You're quite right. We couldn't go back again. Shen Jiumei nodded in agreement. Now, she knows that for her aunt and cousin, their siblings are a big problem. If they go back, they are likely to cause great trouble to their aunts and cousins. Therefore, the latter did not dare to take in their sister and brother.

Shen Qiubao's heart was left at a loss: "That...... Where am I going to learn martial arts?" "It's a lie to take the apprenticeship exam!" He can't go to the county seat......

As for being thrown into the mountains, he was not afraid at all. He is a mountain baby, born in the mountains, grown in the mountains, and has a natural affinity for the mountains. What's more, there is also a ninth sister by his side.

"We can't stay here. Shen Jiumei clenched her fists firmly, "Find someone first, and ask for the way to the county seat." Although Uncle Cousin deceived them, he also pointed out a clear way for them - there is a martial arts hall in the county seat, and they can learn martial arts. If you want to take revenge, Qiu Bao must first find a martial arts hall to practice martial arts!

"Okay!" Shen Qiubao understood and nodded vigorously. My cousin didn't dare to take them there, so they went to find them themselves.

Then a new question arose—how could they get out of the mountains?

In this regard, Shen Jiumei already had an idea: "If we go down in the direction of the water, we will definitely be able to get out of the mountains." Out of the mountains, there will be people's homes!"

"Really?" Shen Qiubao's eyes lit up.

"Of course it's true!" Shen Jiumei smiled proudly, "Can there be any mistakes in the method that my father taught me?"

So, the sister and brother held hands and continued on their way.

When the two of them were far away, the figure disappeared into the depths of the dense forest, and the cousin walked out from behind a rock. He sighed apologetically, and turned to the road he had come from—the two children were more sensible, smarter, and more capable than he had imagined.

That's right, walking along the water flow is indeed the way out of the mountain.

He is a coward, and he can't do the righteousness in the play, so he can only wish his sister and brother a safe journey from the bottom of his heart.