After lunch and resting for a while, Yoshikawa and his wife told their daughter a few words, greeted their daughter's companions, and then prepared to drive away.
As she sat in the passenger seat, Mrs. Yoshikawa tied her seat belt and said to her daughter who was coming to see her off: "Three days later, my dad and I will come to pick you up again."
"I see."
"Since Hongzi brought three friends over here, don't just stare at one of them and ignore the others."
Hongzi curled her lips and said the same thing: "I understand..."
Mrs. Yoshikawa stared at her daughter for a while, and suddenly sighed softly.
"I can see that Zong Gujun is also in a difficult situation - Mom!"
The voice suddenly lifted, and Yoshikawa and his daughter inside and outside the car were shocked. Then they saw her hurriedly untied her seat belt and get out of the car, and quickly faced her grandmother who was walking towards her carrying a pile of vegetables.
"Didn't I say I don't need it... It's true, I'm going to pick vegetables when it's so hot at noon..."
In the scorching sun, Hongzi was waiting by the car door, but the father in the car waved his hand and asked her to go back to the house.
"Mom said that, those words are still the same. If you can listen to it, just look at Hongzi himself - go in, don't be on the sun here."
She pursed her lips, nodded again, and ran back to the door.
Unlocked the seat belt, Yoshikawa's father got out of the car.
"mom……"
After a while, Yoshikawa and his wife put on vegetables, returned to the car, asked Hongko to take care of her grandmother, and then drove away.
The other three of them rested on the edge of the other side. They helped their grandmother back to the room and sat down. When Hongzi passed by, Akane Kirino was throwing up and down the popsicle that won the prize.
The old electric fan shook her head back and forth. She stuck it in front of the electric fan for a while, and Zong Gu quickly turned around and shouted hot.
Hongzi got up again, sat beside him, and soon lay down on the floor again.
"It's so hot now, let's go out later."
"It's not the hottest time of the day." Looking at her half-hanging calf, Zong Gu looked at the sky again. Just two days after the typhoon left, the scorching heat came back, and the momentum became even stronger.
"But it doesn't have any effect by the stream," said Akane Kirino. "There are many trees on both sides and they can't get sunbathing."
Zong Gu turned his head and looked at her, "It seems you really want to go out."
"Hehe, it's okay. Go and come back early."
She said this, and Hongzi had no objection. She went to the refrigerator in the kitchen to take a few bottles of water, greeted her grandmother and went out.
"Run!"
Akane Kirino was like a vampire who couldn't stand the sun. After going out, she ran away until she ran under the shade of the tree.
Zong Gu and the other two quickly followed, and she ran to the next shade again. This was repeated until they came to the stream with shade.
"It's cooler to walk from the water." Akane Kirino had a sudden whim.
"Then you don't want to find the source even if you go dark." Zong Gu had no objection. He came to the countryside to escape the summer heat and passed the time everywhere, but he was afraid that she would not give up until she found the source.
"That's right..." Akane Kirino had to give up this idea, "Let's talk about it when you come back."
The countryside is vast and sparsely populated, and there are not many people. It is hard to get the heat in the afternoon, and you can’t see half a trace. On the small road by the mottled stream, there are only four of them in front and behind.
Akane Kirino walked in front, holding a thin branch that "if the score is 10, you can give eight points" in his hand, and waved it casually, "After speaking, there seems to be no young people in the village, and I haven't seen a single child."
"Because there is nothing here," said Hongzi. "Everyone who can go out has gone out. Sometimes people will come back during the summer vacation, but it is basically concentrated during the Ullambana festival."
Akane Kirino nodded, expressed her understanding, and asked again: "Will Hongzi come here again during the Ullambana festival?"
"It depends on the situation. Whether or not you come back is all decided by your mother."
"That's how..."
The Ullamban Festival is a day to worship ancestors and is an important festival second only to New Year's Day. Many people will return to their hometown to visit relatives at this time. Zong Gu followed behind and listened, but he had no thoughts in his heart. His hometown was too far away.
“…”
A touch of chill squeezed into his palms, he turned his head and looked up at him.
"Do you want to go back and have a look?" she whispered.
“…”
Zong Gu opened his mouth, "Sentai?"
"Um."
He was a little hesitant, a little confused, and a little at a loss. He was stuck in his throat, making him speechless.
The two of them will have a long journey next, and Chao Wuling does not urge him to hold his hand until he is suddenly clenched at some point.
"Let's go back to the Children's Welfare Home." Soya swallowed the hesitation and hesitation, but it was not completely swallowed. "I'll talk about other places then."
"Um."
He nodded at Wuling and handed over the water bottle in his hand.
Unscrew the lid and gave it to her, and Zong Gu also opened the water bottle and took a sip.
"ah."
Akane Kirino suddenly shouted.
"What's wrong."
"Look ahead."
Zong Gu looked forward and found a tributary next to the river channel, only one or two meters wide, but the amount of water was equal to the main stream.
Akane Kirino waved her branches and announced to the team members: "We have arrived at the first save point."
"What did you say suddenly?"
"Ah, a bald NPC appeared in front of the tributary!"
The middle-aged man carrying a hoe next to the tributary may not be able to understand the meaning of "NPC", but he is extremely sensitive to "bald". He turned his head and looked over, and opened his mouth and shouted something he couldn't understand, with a bad tone.
"Run!"
Akane Kiriyo ran away when she got into trouble, but she didn't forget to pull Hongzi. Zong Gu didn't plan to run with her, but the bald middle-aged man refused to give in and shouted at him a few more words.
"What the hell are you talking about..."
Soya was a little confused, Kirino Akane turned around and shouted, "Run quickly!"
He had no choice but to pull Chao Wuling to follow him.
After running for a minute or two, leaving the intersection of the two streams, Akane Kirino stopped - Hongzi couldn't run anymore.
"Ha ha……"
She gasped and rested for a while before she could say a complete sentence, "What are you running..."
"Oh." Akane Kirino felt a little embarrassed, "I didn't expect him to hear it."
Hongzi shook her head, Zong Gu took the water bottle from her and opened it to her.
"Thanks……"
She took two sips and wiped her lips again.
"What was that person saying just now, was it in the local dialect?"
"Well. That's the dialect of my grandmother's house, and I can only understand a little bit."
"What do those few words mean just now?" Zong Gu asked again.
Hongzi was a little helpless, "The only thing I can understand is the stinky brat, bastard and so on."
Akane Kirino laughed.
Zong Gu shook his head, "Is he the one I know?"
"It's almost the same. There are not many people in the village, and I can always see them." Hongzi said, "but I haven't said much."
"He won't go to Hongzi's grandmother's house to wait for us, right?" Akane Kirino suddenly felt a little worried.
Zong Gu glanced at her, "You go back later."
“…”
She pouted, twisted her body, waved the branches in her hand, and looked elsewhere.
"It's okay." Hongzi smiled.
After a short rest, the four of them continued to explore along the stream.
Intimidated by Soya, Kirino Akane was honest for a while and even lost the eight-point branch. However, she returned to her original state before she walked too far, and a smile appeared on her face.
"Songgu's hair seems to be growing again. Do you want to try a bald head?"
"In no mood."
"I'll help you with my hair next time..."
"Next time I'll go to the store to cut it."
Walking towards the mountain, the terrain slowly rises, and the river gradually converges, becoming about the same width as the tributary just now.
The closer you get to the foot of the mountain, the more wild the stream is. The water flows are turbulent, the rocks are distributed, and trees and grass are overgrown on both sides. If you walk for a long time, you will not see a place where you can go.
Hongzi told them that there was a small pool at the foot of the mountain in front, and the road afterwards was not easy to walk, and she explored the farthest place, which was there.
Two or three minutes later, Zong Gu saw several huge rocks. A few steps forward, a small pool surrounded by green leaves and huge rocks came into view.
There are dense stones in the pond with strange shapes. The stream water surges down from the upper reaches and falls into a small pool three or four meters long and wide, with white waves clattering.
"Wow……"
Akane Kirino seemed to like this place very much, and she didn't even want to go over and disturb her for a while, just stood by the water.
Hongzi walked to one of the huge rocks, tried the temperature of the surface with her hands, and then sat on it, "It's not bad."
"Uh-huh!"
Taking off his shoes, Zong Gu walked into the pool on the rocks, leaning against a huge rock beside the water, half leaning on and half sitting, looking around.
The gentle terrain suddenly rises here. In front of it is the Qili Mountain Road, with dense trees around it, and it is deep and shallow in the sun. When I came here, the road became narrower and narrower, and I could no longer see any traces of human activities here, as if I was
Before they knew it, they had crossed the dividing line between society and nature.
The pool water ripples, the deep part is nearly two meters, and the upper half falls in the sun, like a transparent emerald.
"Songya, you go back first." Akane Kirino suddenly said.
He looked over and she looked at the pool: "I want to take off all my clothes and swim for a while."
“…Don’t say stupid things.”
Akane Kirino bulged her mouth, then took off her shoes and walked into the water. She slowly walked deeper until the cold stream water reached her thighs and was about to soak her hot pants.
"It's so cold..." She stood for a while, pulled the water with her hands, and looked at Hongzi again, "How far is the source?"
Hongzi was stunned, then shook her head, "I don't know."
Akane Kirino seemed a little confused, "Do we have to find the source?"
"You are the one who wants to explore the source, you should ask yourself." Zong Gu understood that she wanted to stop here.
"Zonggu, give me a coin."
"What are you doing?"
She made the move to toss a coin, "let fate decide."
“…”
Sonoya took out a fifty-yen coin, but was afraid that she wouldn't be able to take it, so she didn't give it to her.
"I'll be the spokesperson of fate. Let's talk about it, which side is to continue exploring the source, and which side is to stay here?"
Akane Kirino hesitated for a while, "Well... the digital noodles will continue, and the chrysanthemum noodles will remain."
"good."
Zong Gu threw it up, opened his palm again, and steadily caught the falling coins.
"Digital surface." He lowered his palm so that she could also see the choice of fate in her palm.
“…”
Akane Kirino glared at him: "This is Soya's fate, it doesn't count. Give me the coins."
Zong Gu smiled, then looked at her about to be submerged thigh, "Come here yourself."
Crazy-
Akane Kirinowaddled back a few steps, walked around him, and took the coins in his hand.
"Is it still the same?" asked Zong Gu.
"Same!"
She threw it up and grabbed it as soon as the coin of fate stopped rising.
I opened my hand again and saw that it was still a digital surface.
Akane Kirino took a deep breath, expressionless: "I have interfered with fate, this time it doesn't count."
Zong Gu just nodded without saying a word.
"One more..." Before throwing the coin, she added, "This is the last time."
I don't know if it's for him or for myself.
The fingers were pressing, and the spinning coins flew high up under the gaze of the four people, until the highest point, and then fell without any obstacles.
thump.
The coin fell into the water, fell straight down, lying at the bottom of the water half of its calf, freezing the result of the last choice.
Akane Kirino squatted down and quickly saw the upward side of the coin and finally convinced him.
"Woo... fate is really ruthless."
Or digital surface.
Zong Gu looked down at her, "Fate is not irresistible."
He glanced at Wuling and then looked at the coin that was looming under the water.
Akane Kirino raised her head, the collar of the short-sleeved T-shirt naturally hangs down, and the snow neck was white and tender, and the little black in the middle was the four-leaf clover pendant he gave him.
"But I also want to know what the source of the stream looks like, is it water that emerges from the ground, or is there a pool above it... I want to see it with my own eyes."
“…”
Zong Gu looked away, "Whatever you want."
Back to the shore and put on his shoes, he took the coins stained with water, and looked through the round hole in the middle toward a stream of runoff above the small pool.
"When we can't see obvious surface water flow, or there is no way to go, we will come back, how about it?"
Akane Kirino was stunned and nodded immediately.
"Um!"
When we set out again, the terrain suddenly climbed, and the path by the stream became difficult to walk. The person who led the way in front became Zonggu.
Weeds on both sides were overgrown, no one was cleaning them, scratching or thorning, which made her calves itchy. Akane Kirino began to regret throwing away the eight-point branch. Now even if a branch that only two-point three-point branch appeared in front of her, she was willing to pick it up. Get up and hold it in your hands so that the unforgettable tension in your heart will calm down a little.
"There won't be snakes on the mountain, right?" Hongzi behind her suddenly spoke and suddenly said her panic.
"Of course there are snakes in this season," Soya said, "I just don't know where it will appear."
As soon as he heard a snake, Hongzi stopped immediately, "What should I do if I meet a poisonous snake?"
After taking two steps, he stopped and looked back at them: "It seems that there are no hospitals nearby. If you are bitten by a poisonous snake, you will have to wait to die."
"It's too dangerous, let's go back."
When he said this, Akane Kirino felt a little relaxed. Not only because he could avoid the potential danger he had imagined, but also because he could return to the small pool just now.
Zong Gu looked at her: "Don't you explore the source?"
"The weeds here are so dense that they have no place to put their feet... Yes, we have no way out!" It was easier for Akane Kirino to find a reasonable reason, "This is not a giving up, but now is not the right time to explore.
, Let's come back in winter - the snakes were hibernating at that time."
"I won't come."
Zong Gu shook his head and announced: "Let's go back the same way."
Akane Kirino became the leader of the return journey. Within a few minutes of departure, the few people walked not far and soon returned to the pool.
“What time is it now?”
"About one." Soya didn't look at the time, and made a judgment based on his feelings. "We have only been out for about half an hour."
"Then it's still a long time before the sun goes down."
"Um."
“Um…”
Akane Kirino suddenly began to fold her hair, then took out her cell phone from her pocket, and stuffed it into his hand.
"Help me take it."
Zong Gu was stunned for a moment, then reacted: "Hey..."
"I am coming!"
She ran to the water, looked at the shallow water at her feet and stopped again, slowly walked to a slightly deeper place, and shouted again:
"I am coming!"
thump!
She pounced forward and slept into the pool, diving under the water for a few seconds before she could get out of the water again. The white T-shirt on her upper body was completely wet, revealing the faint blue bra inside.
"Anime..."
Hongzi opened her mouth and couldn't say anything else.
The hair that was swaggering at the bottom of the water spread out as soon as it wandered. Akane Kirino shook her long wet hair and smiled at her in the water: "Does Hongzi have a hair rope?"
"No……"
After wiping the water from her face, she raised her hand and tied her long hair behind her head, "Where is Zong Gu?"
“There are two shoelaces.”
"don't want."
Zong Gu looked around and said, "Just just tie your hair."
"Then you don't have shoelaces, it's so ugly."
Holding her hair tied up, Akane Kirino took two steps in the water, and her feet suddenly slipped. Her body was unbalanced, and she quickly let go, but she still rushed into the water, and her long black hair was dispersed again.
"Like the female corpse floating down from upstream..."
She was busy flapping and didn't hear anything. Hongzi turned around and glared at him.
"Don't look at it randomly."
Zonggu understood what she was saying, "Then I can only go back."
“…that won’t work either.”
Hongzi took off her glasses and asked him to hold them, "I want to go down and play for a while, too."
Zong Gu took it, "I will be scolded by the adults."
"I don't know, my grandma loves me very much."
Instead of jumping into the water like Akane Kirino, she walked to a place almost knee-deep and sat down slowly.
"Ahhh... the water is so cold..."
Akane Kirino swam over, grabbed her calf in the water, stabilizing her body, "It's very cool."
"Tungye——"
She turned around and Zong Gu held a dogtail grass in his hand.
"Tie your hair with this."
The girl laughed, "What, this is not as good as shoelaces..."
But after laughing, she didn't refuse. She took the slender weeds, removed the "dog tail" at the top, and handed it to Hongzi.
She sat up from the water, tied her long hair, and Hongzi wrapped her weeds and tied her a pretty solid bun.
thump!
After jumping into the depths and swimming in the bottom of the water for more than half a minute, Akane Kirino floated back to the water, and the knot behind her head was still stable, and she was very satisfied.