Chapter 70: The Second Road of Exile 12

The off-road vehicle had rolled onto its side, leaving only the driver’s side door exposed above the sand. Shi Xianyu first tried the driver’s door; it opened. Standing on tiptoe, she climbed up and saw three men and one woman inside, all with their eyes closed and utterly motionless—it was impossible to tell if they were alive or dead.

She returned to the RV, fetched a bowl of water, hurried back, and splashed some onto the faces of the four people. The woman was the first to react, but only managed a slight movement of her lips before lapsing back into unconsciousness.

The woman was seated in the back; the rear door was locked and Shi Xianyu couldn’t open it. If she wanted to get them out, she’d have to drag out the burly, bearded man in the driver’s seat first. If the vehicle were upright, she might have managed it, but with the car on its side, she and those inside were nearly at a right angle to each other—it was like standing at the mouth of a well, trying to haul people up from below. For Shi Xianyu, slight of limb as she was, it was nearly impossible.

Though eating tiger-jiao meat had made her much stronger, bearing the full weight of a muscular man was still a stretch.

Now what?

If only she could flip the off-road vehicle back upright.

She climbed down and tried to tug at the chassis, but it didn’t budge. Instinctively, she glanced at the giant lizard nearby, which was slurping down “noodles” with relish. With that massive body, if it were willing to help, flipping the vehicle should be no challenge at all.

Shi Xianyu tentatively rapped on the car body, the knocking echoing through the sand, and watched the lizard’s reaction.

Nothing.

The giant lizard continued slurping, completely absorbed in the joy of devouring its meal, oblivious to everything else.

Shi Xianyu frowned in frustration. It wasn’t a dog; its intelligence was clearly lacking, impossible to command—it only knew how to eat… Wait! Only knew how to eat?

A spark flashed in her mind—she had an idea!

Since the lizard loved to eat, perhaps she could lure it into helping with food.

She dashed back to the RV, grabbed a handful of crispy dates from the refrigerator, and, summoning her courage, brought one to the lizard, placing it right in front of its nose.

The lizard was enjoying its feast of snakes, but the sudden whiff of fresh fruit caught its attention. It turned its head, flicked out its tongue, and swallowed the date in an instant.

Shi Xianyu produced another date, this time placing it beneath the off-road vehicle instead of right in front of the lizard.

The giant lizard lumbered over, seized the tiny date in its huge jaws, and crunched it down noisily, clearly unable to resist the sweet fruit.

For the third date, Shi Xianyu dug a shallow pit in the sand beneath the vehicle, placed the date inside, and covered it with a thin layer of sand.

The lizard stared, puzzled by this unnecessary complication. It reached out a claw, dug the date out, and ate it.

Shi Xianyu repeated the process, and again the lizard dug up the date and ate.

She continued, repeating this seven or eight times until the lizard became accustomed to searching for crispy dates hidden in the sand. Then, she dug an empty pit, covered it with sand, and left no date inside.

The lizard, now conditioned, dug through the sand, then dug again and again, increasingly confused by the absence of its treat. With a dazed look in its eyes, it resembled a dog that had buried a bone and couldn’t find it—unwilling to accept reality, it could only keep digging. The more it dug, the deeper the hole became.

At last, with a heavy thud, the off-road vehicle was flipped upright by the lizard’s brute force!

“Success!” Shi Xianyu was so delighted she nearly lost her composure, convinced more than ever of her own cleverness. She patted the giant lizard’s broad snout in gratitude and poured the rest of the crispy dates into its mouth.

“Well done!” she praised.

She hurried around to the other side of the vehicle, opened the doors, and dragged the passengers out one by one, laying them side by side in the shade next to the RV. She extended the awning to shield them from the sun.

If she’d spread a few mats beneath them, they would have looked like four corpses awaiting burial.

The sight made Shi Xianyu’s heart race with anxiety.

She wasn’t a doctor, nor did she have much experience caring for others. For now, all she could do was give them water and try to cool them down—the rest was up to fate.

…

Ye Liuyun was the first to awaken.

Opening her eyes, she saw countless bubbles refracting a cascade of rainbow colors in the sunlight, drifting near and far, making her body feel weightless and airy.

She must be dead, she thought. Only in death could one experience such hallucinations—music, bubbles—could this be heaven?

Ye Liuyun sat up, clutching her head. Her throat burned like fire, and her head was swimming.

The discomfort gradually anchored her back to reality, making her realize she was still alive. So what had she just seen?

Her gaze followed the iridescent bubbles until she noticed an RV. Sitting at its door was a little girl, blowing bubbles.

Everything appeared perfectly ordinary, yet an uncanny strangeness lingered. In all her years, she’d never seen such a spotless, unarmored vehicle, nor encountered a little girl alone in the wilderness.

Looking around, her heart nearly stopped.

—The giant, spotted lizard!

She was lying right next to it!

The hulking creature was sprawled beside her like a massive boulder, a menacing red flower blooming atop its back—a sight that had struck terror into countless souls.

Why? Why was the giant spotted lizard here?

Ye Liuyun’s eyes widened in horror. If she hadn’t been so weak, she would have screamed on the spot. It never occurred to her that the lizard was only here because it, too, wanted to avoid the sun and needed the shade of the awning.

“Oh… you’re awake.” Shi Xianyu emerged from the RV, glancing at Ye Liuyun, then at the lizard, and sighed helplessly. “I’m glad you woke up. It refuses to leave; there’s nothing I can do.”

Ye Liuyun’s face went from pale to green, then back to white. Her voice trembled, “You mean… it won’t leave? It’s targeting me?”

Shi Xianyu blinked in confusion, unsure why she’d think that.

“Why don’t you have some water first and try to calm down,” Shi Xianyu suggested gently, fetching a glass of water from the RV and handing it to her. “I’ve already given your companions some as well—not much, but I hope it helps.”

“Thank you…” Ye Liuyun took the cup and drank it in two gulps, hardly pausing for courtesy—her thirst was overwhelming.

But the glass was small and delicate; it was empty almost instantly, and she was still parched.

Still, water was precious out here. For a stranger to share any at all was already an extraordinary kindness; she couldn’t bring herself to ask for more.

Feeling a touch of regret, Ye Liuyun set the cup down and looked up—only to see the giant spotted lizard squinting at her.

A chill ran down her spine.

What did it want? Was it about to attack?

Just then, Shi Xianyu came down from the RV carrying a basin half-full of water. She placed it in front of the lizard and sighed, “Here, this is yours. Stop staring at her cup.”

The lizard withdrew its gaze, lowered its massive head, and slowly drank from the basin.

Ye Liuyun was speechless.