Shen Xiaoyu already understood the world around her and knew what her parents meant when they spoke, but she hadn’t expected them to actually massacre the village. Did that mean her parents were also...?
This year, she was thirteen years old, fully grown, and even her brother was already ten. Growing up by the seaside, they were naturally skilled swimmers. Original content can be found at novel·fire.net
According to the plan their parents had before they left, they intended to find a deserted island to live on for a while, waiting for the situation to calm down before returning.
After all, they had a boat and could go anywhere, but in the end, their family of four didn’t reunite. Only the two siblings managed to escape.
When it was dark, they couldn’t see anything. Xiaoyu, being smart, conserved her energy. She and her brother lay down to rest, covered with blankets and actually fell asleep despite the wind over the sea.
The next day, the siblings continued paddling, searching for traces of the deserted island. There were indeed a few islands nearby, but those weren’t part of their parents’ plan. They feared that in the event of a disaster, other fishermen might also seek refuge there. If everyone went, it wouldn’t be a safe place anymore, so they aimed for an island further away.
As they passed the farthest island they used to visit while sailing, there were no more deserted islands to find, only dark rocky reefs. The siblings drifted at sea, eating dry food prepared by their parents when hungry and drinking water when thirsty.
The day went smoothly, and though the sun was scorching, the weather held up and they had provisions, so they stayed safe.
Unexpectedly, at night, a sudden downpour struck, accompanied by strong winds and big waves, thunder and lightning mixing together. Even a single wave made the siblings’ hearts leap into their throats.
They held each other tightly, trying to leave their fate to the heavens, as their small boat could shatter at any moment in the raging tempest.
When they woke again, Tangyuan arrived, but Shen Xiaozhe had gone. Could it be through the protection of their parents that their boat, miraculously unscathed, was blown onto a deserted island?
Indeed, when Tangyuan awoke and adjusted to the light, she found their boat wedged between rocks, and right in front of her location was an island, its size reasonably large. Her brother was lying beside her, his body burning hot. When she touched herself, she was also feverish.
Now she understood that the fever was because of the previous night’s storm; under such unfortunate circumstances, she had lost her brother, Shen Xiaozhe.
Although Xiaoyu was exhausted, she knew that after drifting at sea for two days and one night, finding land was fortuitous amidst their misfortune.
Perhaps, this place would become their new home for survival.
Shen Ze was still feverish, and exposure to the sun could lead to dehydration. He needed to be moved to a cool and ventilated place as soon as possible.
Xiaoyu carefully disembarked from the boat, securing it to the rocks with a rope. Then, with great effort, she carried her brother off the boat, step by step transferring him from the boat to the higher ground of the coast and found a relatively flat, shaded spot.
She then returned to the boat to move everything onto the shore. During this process, Shen Ze woke up, surprised at their location.
"Sis, did we find the deserted island?" His voice was hoarse and dry.
"Yeah, we found it. Rest for now, you have a fever," she responded.
"No need, I can stand. I’ll help you. We still need to pull up the boat. How can you do it alone?"
The boat was critical for their escape and couldn’t be lost. So, the siblings gritted their teeth, pushed the boat to a part of the shore free from obstacles, one pushing, the other pulling upward. It took nearly half an hour to finally drag the boat to where Shen Ze had rested and tie it securely to a large tree. To prevent it from being blown away by the wind, they particularly fixed the boat between two trees and backed it with a large stone. This way, even if the tide rose, they wouldn’t fear it being swept away by the waves.
Afterward, despite their wet clothes, they lay exhausted on the beach, gasping for air.