On the north side of the stone forest, two girls sat facing each other in front of a campfire, not saying a word.
They had cried for a long time and had little tears left to shed.
The wind was strong at night, and they could no longer hear Ice Sister's voice from the south side.
In the depths of the night, endless loneliness and despair shrouded their hearts.
"Qian Qian, do you think Lu Zhe and Yao Yao...won't come back?"
Qian Qian nodded listlessly, "I...don't know."
"He promised me...It's all my fault, I shouldn't have said those things when he left..." She sniffed twice more.
Qian Qian shook her head, "Don't blame yourself Class Monitor, didn't you say to be brave earlier, Lu Zhe and Yao Yao will come back?"
Ning Shu sighed, it was easy to advise others but when it came to herself, who could let go in just a few words?
"I felt very hopeless before, but when I think calmly, maybe they really are still alive. Let's make lotus lanterns!"
"What is that?"
"Also called floating lanterns, lanterns that float away when placed in water."
"What's the point of making that thing? It's like making an offering to deceased relatives..." Ning Shu was about to refuse but then sat up straight as she had an idea.
"That's right, we can observe the direction of water flow with this lantern, and also expand the signal range for Ice Sister to see us too!"
Qian Qian nodded, "That's right!"
Ning Shu's eyes lit up, "Anyway we don't know what to do now, so let's make this. Maybe it can really help Lu Zhe find his way back! Do you know how?"
Lin Qian Qian thought for a moment, "We need something buoyant for the base, candles that can burn steadily for a while, and canopies to shield the flames from the wind."
Ning Shu pondered, "There are plenty of things that can provide buoyancy, like wood, bamboo, bottles and foam. For steady burning we have resin, bear fat candles. As for the canopies...where can we get those..."
Qian Qian took out two pairs of stockings from her bag, "Use Guo Er's stockings!"
"What a great idea...Wait, why do you have Guo Er's stockings?"
"Uh...she can't wear them anymore anyway and didn't want them. I felt it would be too wasteful to throw them away so I kept them."
Ning Shu nodded, "Then we really can make lotus lanterns!"
On the other side of the stone forest.
Tang Xiaoguo was tied to a tree, sadly humming My Sadness Flows Like a River.
Just then, a 50 cm long lizard crawled over and perched nearby on a rock, seeming to listen to her hum.
Normally she would have screamed in fright but today, she just looked at it lifelessly.
"Do you understand my sorrow? No, no one can understand the pain of losing your beloved! And you're not human, you're Godzilla..."
The lizard tilted its head, as if it really understood her words.
"My dear boy has left, I don't know if he's dead or alive. I want to follow him but the other woman who loves him tied me up. Little Godzilla, don't you think I'm the most pitiful woman in the world?"
The lizard actually nodded.
Tang Xiaoguo felt a little comforted, "I didn't expect there would be a lizard in this world that understands me. Alright, help me chew through these ropes so I can go find Lu Zhe."
The lizard didn't move.
Just then, another lizard appeared and climbed onto the first lizard's back. The two lizards started doing some unusual movements.
Tang Xiaoguo was fuming, "Ahhhhh, go show your love somewhere else, I don't want to live anymore!"
Just then, Shen Bing returned, swinging a trench shovel which smacked the top lizard unconscious. The bottom lizard saw trouble ahead and scurried away into a crevice.
Tang Xiaoguo stared wide-eyed and shouted, "Awesome job Ice Sis!"
Shen Bing threw down the shovel, and sliced off the lizard's head with a paratrooper knife, hanging its body on a small tree as protein reserve.
She was expressionless, her actions swift and efficient.
"I found a route but it's too long a detour. We'll rest here tonight and I'll take you to meet up with Little Ning and Qian Qian tomorrow. Take what supplies you can carry, leave what you can't. "
With that she started organizing their things.
"What about Lu Zhe?"
Shen Bing froze, her lips trembling slightly.
After a long pause, tears welled up in her eyes but she wiped them away before they could fall, seeming to want to say something but only managing to utter three words:
"Don't mention him."
After a while, she went over to Tang Xiaoguo, "I'll untie you now but you must promise not to jump into the sea, okay?"
Tang Xiaoguo sniffed twice, "Jumping into the sea is useless anyway, I just get washed back each time."
"Don't dash yourself on the rocks either."
"That's too painful. I think hanging is good, Ice Sis you like Lu Zhe too right? Let's hang ourselves together..."
Shen Bing sighed, "Guo Er, Lu Zhe loved you the most, he definitely wouldn't want to see anything happen to you! If he came back alive and found you gone, can you imagine how heartbroken he'd be?"
Tang Xiaoguo said, "Ice Sis, how likely do you think it is that Lu Zhe is alive?"
"I don't know." She replied, untying Tang Xiaoguo's ropes.
Tang Xiaoguo gazed towards the sea, her grief plain to see.
"Do you think my dear Lu Zhe and Yao Yao drifted to a nearby island, and lit a big fire that they're watching us from over the sea, like those eyes!"
Shen Bing shook her head, thinking Tang Xiaoguo was speaking nonsense.
She carried an armful of firewood from the woods and dumped it on the sand, taking out a Matchlock-style fire starter to drill for fire.
"Hey Ice Sis, how can there be eyes on the sea? Is it a monster?"
"Don't talk nonsense, how can there be eyes on the sea?"
"Right there!"
Shen Bing looked up dubiously and vaguely made out two bright spots on the sea's surface.
"There really are!"
Shen Bing immediately put down her things and rushed to the beach.
Sure enough, there was a pair of glowing eyes on the sea!