Nora was very familiar with the packaging of the milk carton. It looked exactly like the brands of milk sold back at her shop in her previous life. Could it be that it had also traversed through time with her?
Becoming a bit daring, Nora closed her eyes and thought, "I want an egg."
Sure enough, an egg appeared.
Potato!
A potato appeared in her hand.
Bun!
Nothing appeared in her hand.
Chicken meat!
Sure enough, the chicken meat appeared as well.
With a thought from Nora, everything was put back, and she nodded in satisfaction. It seemed she had finally figured it out. It appeared that only the items from her shop could be summoned, those not from her shop couldn't be summoned.
Could it be that her small restaurant has also stuck along?
Not too eager to find the answer, the moment Nora thought about it, she saw her restaurant in her mind, almost exactly as it was before the time travel. Everything was still there.
Most importantly, all the items in the restaurant's kitchen were functional.
If that was the case, it seemed like she was gifted with a portable space!
Not having the luxury to ponder too much, Nora quickly pulled out the bamboo cylinder for holding water from her carry bag. Avoiding Bash's eyes, she quickly tore open the milk carton and poured it into the bamboo cylinder.
"Zaza, quickly drink it, you won't be hungry after you do," urged Zelda, handing over a bamboo tube.
Eagerly, Zaza pressed her lips to the tube and started gulping down the liquid. In no time, she had finished the entire box of milk, even belching contentedly at the end.
Using a bamboo basket as a shield, Zelda brought the bamboo tube to her space dimension to clean it thoroughly. She then refilled it with clear water and handed it back.
"Bash, give me your bamboo tube. Mom will pour some water for you. The journey isn't safe. Once we get somewhere safe, I'll find something for you to eat."
At three years old, Zaza didn't remember much. But Bash was different, being a lot smarter than most kids. If she were to give him milk, he would surely be suspicious.
However, Zelda had underestimated Bash's cleverness. He had figured out a long time ago that Zelda hadn't brought any water, but he remained obedient, handing over his bamboo tube without any questions.
Earlier, while they were on the run, Zelda had not felt thirsty but with her nerves now beginning to calm, she realized her lips were cracked with dehydration.
They each took turns to drink water from the bamboo tube. Since the start of their exodus, it had been a long time since they had the luxury to drink water like this.
Old Jacob's family, who lived in Thornhill village, was unified. When they had to flee, the village chief led all the villagers. They decided to travel during the day, rest at night, and pause every hundred miles for a half-day break.
If anyone got lost, the entire village would wait for three days at the next rest stop. If the lost person could not be found in these three days, they would cease to wait and move on.
At this point, Old Jacob's family realized that Zelda and the two children were missing, and they were desperately looking for them.
"Mom, let me go look for my sister-in-law. I'm the oldest in the family and have a good health condition. I'm sure I'll manage to find her and the kids," Jacob Eero volunteered.
Jacob Lysanders and Orson didn't have the chance to refuse when Asher had already taken Jacob Eero away in the afternoon. The pair didn't come back until the evening when it started to get dark, leading Jacob Lysanders and Orson to drop their heads in disappointment.
"Aunt, Eero and I have searched along the way we came and found no one who has seen them," Asher was also quite helpless.
Throughout the night, the people of the old Jacob family slept restlessly, with Nora and the two children constantly on their minds.
Although no one mentioned it, they all understood that perhaps the two children had already become victims of the disaster.
On the other side, the night had fallen, but Nora and Bash did not stop their footsteps and chased the team tirelessly.
As a person who crossed through time, Nora was not familiar with the topography here. Luckily, Bash remembered the way they came. Along the way, it was Bash who was navigating. Nora could only identify the way based on the original owner's memory.
When the sun had completely set, Nora took out two cooked corn cobs from her bag and gave one to Bash.
"Eat first. You should restore your energy before we continue," Nora said.
Seeing the food, Bash's eyes lit up. He happily took the corn in his hands, it was still warm!
"Where did you get this?" Bash nervously looked at Nora.
"I found it from a dead person. Eat it fast before someone discovers this," Nora made up an excuse.
Food from a dead body should have been cold a long time ago, right?
Even though Bash knew that Nora was not telling the truth, he did not ask further. He quickly finished the corn and swallowed it.
"What about my sister?" Bash was worried that Nora might forget about Zaza and purposely asked.
"I saved some for Zaza. She just drank water and fell asleep. Let's not wake her up yet," Nora said.
While saying this, she dug a hole in the ground and buried the two corn cobs, then she led the two kids to continue walking.
In a short while, a burst of light suddenly appeared ahead. Instinctively, Nora pulled Bash to hide.
Sure enough, the figures revealed were people dressed in the style of the Martial, both men and women.
These folks were stronger than the average refugees. Some of them held torches in their hands, marching their way and rummaging through the bodies of the dead.
"But brother, there is still a living one here." A woman's voice echoed.
"Just kill him directly. It's a disaster year, keeping him alive is of no use." The voice of the leading man sounded devoid of emotions as if he was discussing something utterly ordinary.
"Bash, let's take a different path," Nora spoke whisperingly to Bash, clutching his hand.
Bash nodded. "Mother, there's a mountain half an hour to the west. I know the way."
Nora took out more water from her space, and after a brief rest, they avoided these people and headed west.
After they had been walking for a while, Nora realized that her previous feelings of fatigue had somehow disappeared. Looking at Bash, although he was just a child, he didn't seem tired at all.
Could it be that this water was not ordinary water?