Chapter 8, Fireflies

"Forget it, I'll keep it for myself. Here, money is just a piece of worthless paper." Yunduan stuffed the bills back into the wallet.

In the dream, the mountains shake and the earth trembles

Returning to the "Stone House," Charlotte placed the grass cage containing fireflies on the stone table. The originally pitch-black space was instantly enveloped in a faint blue light, making objects dimly visible. She lay sideways on the stone bed cushioned with leaves, joyfully gazing at the grass cage, exchanging a few casual words with the clouds. In the end, she unknowingly drifted into a deep slumber.

In the next moment, Charlotte, still immersed in her dreams, was forcefully awakened by the clouds.

The sky gradually darkens, and the moon slowly rises, casting a pure light over the entire countryside. In the distance, some plants in the grass are glowing, as if countless stars are suspended among them. Occasionally, a gust of wind passes by, causing the grass blades to sway, scattering a ground of starlight.

Outside the dream, the "stone house" trembles gently

Strangely, this firefly was somewhat different from those she had seen in the normal world. Its body was round and smooth, adorned with many translucent blue dots, resembling a glowing sapphire. It looked very cute, prompting Charlotte to instinctively reach out her hand, wanting to catch it and take it home to keep.

"Wait a moment, I will accompany you." Yun Duan, feeling somewhat uneasy, quickly set down what was in his hands and hurried to catch up with He Tushu.

"Don't follow me!" Charlotte wanted to be alone for a while. Hearing his footsteps, she turned back in annoyance: "I'm just going to take care of something. Do you want to come along?"

"It sounds easy to say, but it's very difficult to do!" Especially when thinking about the grasshopper legs for dinner, Charlotte lost all her enthusiasm. In the days to come, would she really have to eat this to fill her stomach every day? She dropped the half-finished grass basket in her hands and stood up to walk away.

"Just take a stroll around here, I will be back soon." Charlotte did not look back.

The eyes are too large, giving an eerie impression, yet there is a hint of gentle curiosity in the gaze. It is evident that this is a creature of wisdom, likely one of the indigenous inhabitants of this place. However, it is excessively large; apart from the eyes and half of the nose, the rest of the body is obscured by the stone wall, making it impossible to discern the full details.

The cloud suddenly came to a halt, but upon seeing the bright moonlight, a mischievous smile appeared on Charlotte's face, prompting her to take a couple of steps forward and smile, "Do you need some tissue?"

If it were in the past, Charlotte would have been overjoyed to see such a dreamlike night scene, but now she has no interest in admiring the view. Instead, she keeps her head down, sitting in front of the "stone house" and weaving a grass basket by the faint moonlight

Bring it here! Charlotte is not foolish; she can certainly see that he is deliberately embarrassing himself. Without hesitation, she extends her hand, turning the tables on him, refusing to believe that in this desolate countryside, he could possibly produce any paper.

What is it! I was just casually asking, if you don't want to answer, that's fine, but why say something that puts someone in an awkward position? Charlotte, feeling irritated, turned and walked into the grass, casually picking some glowing grass leaves, yet her mind was still occupied with thoughts of the girl in the photo who looked extremely familiar.

Charlotte's embarrassment: "There is grass everywhere, what do we need paper for!"

"An earthquake?" Charlotte, still dazed, got up and was about to run outside, but was pulled back by Yun. He leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Don't make a sound, someone is coming."

However, Charlotte bit her lip and said, "I really want to catch a few to bring back for lighting."

Don't move

Yun Duan glanced at her arm, which was cut by the grass blades, and said leisurely: "I am just being kind!"

At that moment, a hand reached out from behind Charlotte, tightly gripping her wrist. She was so startled that she almost screamed. Turning around, she saw that it was Yunduan, who had somehow followed her. She let out a sigh of relief and, still shaken, said: "Why are you sneaking up behind me? Scaring someone can be deadly!"

But where can we go after leaving here? Xia Hetushucomcom felt somewhat lost in his heart. He raised his eyes to look at Yunduan, who was sitting beside him, calmly whittling a branch with a Swiss Army knife. Yunduan appeared completely at ease, which made Xia feel a bit more at peace. He softly asked, "Why do you look completely unconcerned?"

Upon visual inspection, that stack of banknotes consists of at least ten sheets

Unhurriedly, Yun Daan reached into his pocket and took out his wallet. After opening it, he casually pulled out a small stack of hundred-yuan bills and handed them to her, saying, "Is this enough?"

It seemed as if Yun Duan had not heard, slowly putting the wallet back into his pants pocket before raising his head to look at her and saying: "Aren't you going to take care of your business? Why are you still standing here?"

The cloud shook its head and quickly pulled her to the stone wall beside the door. Just as the two of them stood against the wall, a pair of enormous eyes appeared outside the stone door, slightly squinting, resembling the shape of a crescent moon. The pupils within the eye sockets were constantly moving back and forth, seemingly assessing the situation inside the "stone house".

"This bug doesn't look like a firefly; I wonder if it is poisonous." Yun Duan ignored her question, examined the bug for a moment, and shook her head, saying, "Even if it were a firefly, it's best not to catch it. That is a carnivorous insect that secretes a paralyzing liquid, which is very dangerous"

Where are you going? The cloud stands up and follows.

"Why think so much?" A gentle smile like water spread across the face in the clouds: "Just consider it a trip. At https://www.hetushu.com, one can see different landscapes and taste various delicacies, naturally leading to a relaxed mood.

Xialuo never expected that he would take out money to use as toilet paper, and they were all brand new, crisp bills! How extravagant and shameless! She said with a dark expression: "I don't have the courage to desecrate Chairman Mao, so I might as well grab some grass to make do..." Goodness, has she lost her mind, babbling nonsense? Clearly, she didn't intend to relieve herself...

Then let's make a grass funnel. Yun Duan said as he pulled a large handful of grass leaves from the side, rolling them into a pointed, funnel shape. He slowly approached the insect, and then, with lightning speed, used a Swiss Army knife to swiftly push it into the funnel, pinching the funnel's opening to prevent it from escaping again

The cloud said that this place is unsafe, and those children might come to play again, so they must leave as soon as it gets light. She had better prepare two large backpacks in advance to store their belongings. In their current state of having nothing, they cannot afford to discard anything that can be utilized.

As Charlotte lost her train of thought, she unknowingly wandered far away. Suddenly, she noticed a blue glowing point, about the size of a fist, floating towards her, which startled her greatly. Just as she was about to turn and run, she discovered that the glowing point had landed on a blade of grass not far from her. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a firefly.

However gentle his gaze may be, he is still a colossal being capable of crushing them like ants! To say he is not afraid would be a lie. Charlotte inhaled sharply, clenching his fists tightly to suppress the tremors in his body. Turning to look at the cloud above, he saw that it too was frowning, gripping the Swiss Army knife tightly in hand. Though standing still and silent, it seemed ready to charge into battle at any moment.

Big brother! You clearly possess an elegant and refined appearance, gentle as jade, how could you utter such distasteful and explicit words? Thinking back to how I foolishly stood here discussing this topic with him for half a day, I truly wish I could dig a time portal to go back. However, when I lowered my head and saw him stuffing money into the cloud, I caught a glimpse of a photo of a girl with a radiant smile tucked in his wallet, and I couldn't help but ask: "Is this your girlfriend? She is really beautiful, though she looks a bit familiar..."

She really feels like she has seen her somewhere before, but she just can't recall. Logically speaking, a girl as beautiful as this should not be easily forgotten

What is there to be afraid of? It wasn't until Charlotte saw the grass curtain hanging on the door of the "stone house" being lifted by a gigantic hand, allowing a beam of early morning sunlight to spill in and illuminate the entire space, that she recalled her surroundings. She couldn't help but tightly grasp the arm of the person beside her and whispered anxiously, "We won't be caught, will we?"

The night was not as dark as Charlotte had imagined