Outside of Time

In addition to the necessities for survival, the most important thing in a scavenger camp is meat.

Because the restricted area is nearby, scavengers visit it every day, so edible meat is sold at many stalls in the camp.

So after hearing that Xu Qing wanted to eat snakes, Lei Dui's wrinkled face showed a hearty smile.

He understood that the reason why the other party said eating snakes was because the words he said at the beginning had obviously been firmly remembered in the heart of the child in front of him.

So he stopped Xu Qing from going out to buy meat.

"Those people in the camp are all cunning. You don't know much about the exotic animals in the restricted area. You can be easily deceived and if there is a case of forced buying and selling, it's better for me to do it." Captain Lei said and stood up.

Hearing the words "buy by force and sell by force", Xu Qing subconsciously touched his iron sign, thought about it and said seriously.

"They won't."

Captain Lei glanced at the iron sign, laughed dumbly, and walked out of the yard without speaking.

Looking at Team Lei's figure, Xu Qing thought for a while, went to the side room, carefully cleaned the pots and bowls inside, wiped the table, and finally prepared three sets of dishes and chopsticks and placed them on it, looking at the extra Xu Qing suddenly understood something about the pair of bowls and chopsticks.

"That is a person who will never come." Lei Dui's words once appeared in his mind, and in silence he placed the third set of bowls and chopsticks next to Lei Dui's bowls and chopsticks.

The same goes for chairs.

After doing this, Xu Qing turned back and looked at the yard outside the door. It was already dusk, the wind was blowing a bit cold, and there seemed to be some snowflakes inside.

In the season at the end of March, for the eastern part of Nanhuang Continent, although the earth is warming up and everything is recovering, winter seems to be unwilling to give up. It will occasionally sprinkle snowflakes, trying to tell everything that it has not left yet.

At this moment, snowflakes were swaying under the gray sky, blown down by the wind.

It seems that it fell from the sky to the earth, spreading across the earth, and at the same time, it was melted rapidly by the ground temperature.

All that can be seen in the end is mud all over the ground.

No matter how noble a place you come from, no matter how clean you are, in this human world, you still have to mix with the mud and blend in, regardless of each other.

I don’t know if the wind contains snow, making it colder, or if the snow infects the wind, making it colder.

At this moment, Xu Qing felt a little cold when it blew across the earth, the camp, and the bamboo courtyard houses.

Although he is a monk, the fear of cold accumulated in his memory for many years still makes him feel a little uncomfortable in the cold.

Until in this cold wind, he saw a staggering figure, walking from a distance against the wind and snow, and pushed open the door of the yard. The moment the figure was revealed, a voice with laughter broke through the wind and snow and came in.

"Kid, you are in for a treat today. Look what I bought. This is a red flower snake. The meat of this snake is excellent. I will show it to you later."

Captain Lei carried a snake carcass and walked into the side room with long strides.

After noticing the cleanliness of the side room, the placement of tables, chairs, and bowls and chopsticks, especially after seeing the two sets side by side, Captain Lei showed a smile on his wrinkled face and looked deeply at Xu Qing. One glance.

"Want to learn how to burn snakes?" Lei Dui asked.

"I want to." Xu Qing's eyes lit up. He was eager for all the knowledge he didn't know, especially the snake Lei Dui burned, which was delicious.

Captain Lei smiled and called Xu Qing to his side, introducing and making at the same time.

"This snake, according to theory, needs to be beheaded and tailed off, but what those people don't know is that the snake's tail must be removed because it has an excretion port. But as long as the snake head is treated with poison, it can affect the taste of the whole snake meat. Plays the role of freshness. ”

Captain Lei was very happy when he talked about cooking.

Xu Qing was also listening attentively, watching Team Lei clean the snake, peel the skin and take out the internal organs and other debris, then chop it into pieces and put them aside.

"Child, you have to remember that whether the meat has an aftertaste in your mouth depends on the soup."

With that said, Captain Lei started to make soup in a casserole. He also put a lot of medicinal materials into the soup, and finally threw the snake head into it.

After doing this, as the fragrance overflowed, Xu Qing swallowed his saliva. Captain Lei looked at him, laughed, took out the cleaned pot, and started stir-frying the snake meat.

In an instant, as the crackling sound echoed, bursts of rich fragrance hit the face with heat waves, filling the entire side room and drifting out at the same time.

It seemed that all the coldness had been dispelled, causing Xu Qing to make an uncontrollable growling sound in his stomach. Looking at the tumbling snake meat, his eyes were a little straight.

Soon, as Captain Lei was cooking, he put the fried snake meat into the casserole, lowered the lid, and looked at Xu Qing.

"Have you learned it?"

Xu Qing stared at the casserole and nodded vigorously. He had seen the whole process and thought it was not difficult.

Captain Lei smiled slightly, and when he left the side room and returned, he held two wine bottles in his hands. One was thrown to Xu Qing, and the other was held by himself. After taking a sip, he sighed in admiration.

"There is no shortage of meat in the camp, but this wine is a rarity."

Xu Qing picked up the jug and looked at the turbid liquid inside. He had never drank wine.

As Lei Dui said, this is a rare thing that cannot be found in the slums. Only the big shots in the city can taste it.

But seeing Captain Lei's expression of enjoyment after drinking, Xu Qing put it to his mouth hesitantly. After taking a sip, he frowned slightly and felt that the mouthful was spicy, but he still swallowed it.

A stream of heat emerged directly from his throat, flowed down his esophagus into his stomach, exploded violently, spread throughout his body, and turned into a stream of breath that poured into his mouth, causing him to open his mouth and spit out a breath of alcohol.

"It doesn't taste good." Xu Qing looked at Captain Lei.

Captain Lei laughed when he heard this, pointed at Xu Qing, and spoke with a smile.

"You are still too young to appreciate the taste of wine. When you grow up, you will definitely like it."

As Captain Lei said, he was about to take the wine bottle from Xu Qing's hand, but Xu Qing dodged it.

"I'll try again." Xu Qing said seriously and took another sip. Although his brows were still furrowed, he got used to the strange taste.

Not long after, under Captain Lei's good-natured ridicule for Xu Qing's drinking, the snake meat was ready.

When he brought the casserole and opened the lid, the aroma spread directly. Xu Qing's Adam's apple moved involuntarily. He put down the wine bottle. After the Lei team picked up a piece first, Xu Qing immediately poked out a piece with chopsticks and placed it on the table. Swallowing in big mouthfuls.

He still couldn't get rid of the habit of gobbling down food.

Just like this, in the wind and snow outside, an old man and a young man were drinking wine and eating meat in the house, and a sense of warmth spread.

Looking at Xu Qing holding the chopsticks in an awkward posture, Captain Lei's eyes revealed softness and he murmured in his heart.

"He is a child after all. It's a pity...to live in this cruel world."

At this moment, the wind and snow outside were blowing. Because there were gaps in the structure of the house, they still got in and fell on Xu Qing. Although he was sweating from eating, he still resisted the cold wind slightly. shrank down.

This subtle move fell into Captain Lei's eyes. He was thoughtful and said nothing.

After a while, Xu Qing imitated Lei Dui and took another sip of wine. After spitting out the alcohol, he looked at the old man in front of him who had brought him out of the ruined city and placed him here, and suddenly spoke.

"Your injury..."

"It doesn't matter. I've survived all these years. How can I die so easily? It's okay."

Xu Qing was silent. He originally wanted to ask Team Thunder about the destruction of his foundation, but he remembered the scene in the penalty area and ultimately did not speak.

The meal lasted for a long time until Captain Lei drank the wine bottle in his hand. He stood up and returned to the house with his eyes a little hazy.

Looking at his figure, Xu Qing clearly felt that Lei Dui had a previous momentum, which seemed to have dissipated with the return of the penalty area.

Xu Qing was silent. After a while, he stood up, cleared the dining table, washed the pots and dishes and put them away neatly, and then returned to his house.

Sitting on the bed, he looked up at the wind and snow outside the window, shrank down, and took out Captain Blood Shadow's leather bag that he picked up in the restricted area.

Although there were no pills inside, there were a lot of spirit coins and a lot of miscellaneous items. Xu Qing checked them.

Finally, he took out a black glove. This glove didn't look like leather, but had a metallic feel.

After trying it, Xu Qing found that this thing was very tough and had good protective power, so he put it on and punched it a few times. He felt that it was pretty good, so he took it off, closed his eyes, meditated, and began to breathe.

A night of silence.

At dawn, the wind and snow were still falling, but it had slowed down a lot. It was just the cold night that allowed the snowflakes to last for some time after they fell to the ground.

So when Xu Qing walked out of the house, he saw traces of snow on the ground.

Xu Qing tightened his clothes, glanced at Captain Lei's residence, and walked out of the yard. He felt that he should do something, such as buying some white pills for Captain Lei.

So after walking out, Xu Qing stepped on the snow, and with a crunching sound, he walked towards the grocery store.

When passing by Master Bai's team tent, Xu Qing heard the faint sound of boys and girls reading from inside the tent. The sound made him stop in his tracks and cast an envious glance.

After taking it back for a while, Xu Qing turned around silently and walked towards the grocery store.

As she approached, from a distance, Xu Qing saw the little girl who was vigorously cleaning the snow marks outside the grocery store. Her clothes were a little thin, her little hands were red from the cold, and there were bursts of mist coming from her mouth.

After not seeing each other for several days, the little girl seemed to have adapted to the life in the camp. Although she was very tired, she cleaned very seriously.

Even though the snow was still falling, she still cleaned. Only the scar on her face that ruined her face was somewhat visible in the morning sun.

When Xu Qing approached, the little girl noticed something. When she looked up and saw Xu Qing, her eyes lit up and a happy smile appeared on her face.

"Morning."

"Morning..." Xu Qing was a little uncomfortable with this kind of greeting, nodded and looked into the grocery store.

Perhaps because it was just dawn, or perhaps because of the weather, there was no one inside, and the store owner was not there either.

"Whatever you want to buy, I'll get it for you." The little girl said with a smile.

"Bai Dan." Xu Qing looked at the little girl.

Hearing this, the little girl leaned the broom in her hand against the wall. After leading Xu Qing into the store, she ran behind the counter and rummaged around. She quickly took out a few leather bags, opened them, looked at them, and put them back. .

After a while, she took out another one and handed it to Xu Qing.

"The owner stipulates that you can only sell five items a day, so you can't sell more." The little girl felt a little apologetically and looked at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing understood. After taking the leather bag, he opened it and scanned it, his eyes slightly solidified.

He noticed that the quality of the white pills in the leather bag was much better than what he had bought before. There were even three pills in it that had no green color at all, and there was still a faint medicinal fragrance coming out.

Thinking of the little girl's previous actions, Xu Qing raised his head and looked over.

"It's nothing, it's within my authority." The little girl blinked and said with a smile.

Xu Qing took a deep look at the little girl.

"Thanks."

"No need to thank you for this little thing. I still want to thank you. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid I wouldn't be alive now."

The little girl had a bright smile and seemed to have light in her eyes. After she finished speaking, she seemed to have thought of something and spoke in a low voice while sending Xu Qing out.

"I heard from my boss yesterday that during this period, many young people in the camp have disappeared in the restricted area. And judging from his expression, it seems that it is not caused by the danger of the restricted area itself, but more like man-made... You Pay attention to yourself."

The little girl had concern in her eyes. This kind of look made Xu Qing a little uncomfortable. He took a few steps back, nodded, thanked her and left.

Not far away, Xu Qing turned around and looked at the little girl continuing to clear the snow, looking at the scars on her face under the sun.

He suddenly thought of what Team Lei had said about the temple complex in the restricted area, and there was a stone that could eliminate scars.

"If you have a chance, go find one for her." Xu Qing murmured in her heart, turned and left.

As the young man walked away, a trail of snow appeared on the road, and the wind and snow behind him... got even bigger.