Why it never ends

In the early morning of the next day, Hesta and Su Lei left the hut. The two walked through the forest in front of them according to the guidance of their companions.

But before parting, the girls approached mysteriously and said, if you encounter a cabin like last night in the woods, don't approach it.This incident aroused Hesta's great curiosity. She faintly felt as if she had heard about this incident somewhere, but she really couldn't remember where it was.

But the girls made up their minds to whet her appetite, no matter how much Si Lei asked, they just kept silent.The girls ran away with their luggage on their backs, and when they had run far away, they turned around and waved vigorously, shouting at Hesta and Su Lei: "Goodbye! We will meet later!"

After walking for about three hours, a road appeared in front of them—the two had already walked out of the forest.Although the process went smoothly, both of them couldn't help feeling a little regretful when they thought that they hadn't encountered a single cabin along the way.

Su Lei and Hesta sat on the side of the road for 10 to [-] minutes, and they met a truck pulling logs. The door opened, and a burly middle-aged man leaned out and asked them where they were going.

"We're here to find the garrison war monument in District [-]!" Su Lei replied.

"What stele..." The woman narrowed her eyes, "Can you say it again?"

"The War Monument of the [-]th District Garrison," Su Lei said slowly, "it should be at the southernmost point of Vyborg."

"I've never heard of it!" The middle-aged man pushed the car door open a little more, "But I'm also heading south, so I can give you a lift along the way, come up!"

On the way, Su Lei asked the driver about the forest hut again, but the driver was also very surprised and said he didn't understand.

"Aren't you a local?" Su Lei asked.

"I'm a local, and I've lived here for more than 40 years!" The driver said cheerfully, "But I'm really impressed by what you said. There are some dilapidated wooden houses in some forests, but we all I'm so embarrassed that I don't usually come close."

"Where are you taking us in a while?"

"New Viborg," the driver replied loudly, "it's a tavern. Anyway, if you want to know something, you must go there."

The truck drove for another two hours, from overcast to sunny.

When they got to the place, the driver entered the house with the two of them.This long journey made Su Lei wonder for a while whether he had come to the wrong place - it can only be said that Viborg is bigger than she imagined, much bigger.

The tavern is old, but tidy. The corners are full of packing boxes, and many small pieces of furniture are tied up with hemp rope, which looks like they are about to move.The only thing that hasn't been cleaned up is a photo wall. There are many photos taken by people in this tavern on the wall, some of which have been blurred due to age.

Hesta glanced over them, and finally landed on a group photo in front of him.It was a black-haired woman and a black-haired man. They were holding a baby, and their eyes were slit.

"Xu!" The driver shouted from the bar, "Xu!"

An elderly woman came out with a smile. The driver immediately pulled Hesta to his side and asked, "Do you know any monuments nearby? These two foreigners came here today to find the monuments. I don't know." Know what other monuments are in this place—"

"Defending the War Monument." Su Lei added softly from the side.

"Oh, it's right next to it." The boss replied, "You go out and walk west, there is a gentle slope, you can see it when you turn over."

The driver was startled: "...there really is a stele!"

"Would you like something to drink?" The boss asked with a smile, "There is food too."

"I want it, I want it, we're starving...really." Su Lei took the menu, "Can we leave the luggage with you later, we'll go out and have a look, and we'll pick it up when we come back."

"Row!"

The boss took Si Lei's suitcase and put it inside the bar.

……

At two o'clock in the afternoon, Su Lei and Hesta walked out of the tavern, and they walked slowly up the gentle slope mentioned by the boss, their steps slower than before.

This block is desolate and uninhabited. At first, there were some dilapidated houses on both sides of the road, but at the back there were only sparse weeds.The weather here is harsh. When I was in the shadow of the building, the wind made me shiver, but now I stood under the sun for a while, and the scorching sun made my skin ache.

Both of them tightened their hats, wishing they had forgotten to wear sunglasses.

Gradually, they came to the end of the gentle slope.

The gentle slope ends in a steep incline, and in the distance lies a large expanse of sunken land.There is no vegetation on the khaki ground, which is cracked under the scorching sun.In the middle of the scorched earth, a black broken stone stands there. Its fracture has long been grayed out by the wind and sand. Like an inconspicuous black soil slope.

"Okay, I see." Su Lei looked at Hesta, "Let's go back."

Hesta frowned. She looked around and found a place with a slightly gentler edge to go down.

"What are you doing, dangerous!"

"I'm going to take a look..." Hesta murmured in a low voice, "It's too far away."

Su Lei had no choice but to walk down with Hesta.Even though the monument was already within sight, the two walked under the scorching sun for more than half an hour from downhill to arrival.

Standing at the foot of the monument, Hesta looked at the huge monster in disbelief—she didn't see any inscriptions on the surface of the monument, whether it was upright or upside down, the exposed surface of the monument had been completely smoothed.

Su Lei looked at the stele, then at Hesta.Standing in front of such a stele, Hesta looked a little dazed.All of this is far from what she imagined... The monument that Liz had been thinking about back then no longer exists, and now there are only two huge stone skeletons standing here.

"Let's go." Su Lei whispered, "There is nothing left here."

It took a while for Hesta to realize, she followed Si Lei with her crutches on her back, and slowly turned back.

……

In the evening, a carriage drove slowly through the forest towards the lake.

A middle-aged man and a little girl were sitting in the carriage. The middle-aged man raised the curtain and looked out the window.There is no pedestrian on the path under the setting sun, only the old and new tombstones of forest rangers stand beside the road.

Suddenly, a light of fire came into the eyes of the middle-aged man - there seemed to be a bonfire on the shore of the lake in the distance.

The middle-aged man closed his eyes, and a distant singing voice floated to his ears, intermittent and unreal:

"...The name is Paka,"

"Fall to death in front of the bridge..."

"...the well in the backyard,"

"Can't I continue to follow Hesta?" The girl on the side suddenly said, "I want to continue to follow her."

The middle-aged man laughed, "Things on Boshanfu's side will also be very interesting, so don't worry about Hesta."

"But I wonder what she'll do next," answered the girl. "If she's in danger—"

"She will figure it out on her own." The middle-aged man replied.

The distant singing continued:
"daughter……"

"A daughter is about to be born..."

"If she's in danger she can't handle—"

"That's because she's unlucky," the middle-aged man smiled, "but everyone has to go through this."

The singing is gradually approaching, and the bonfire in the distance is brighter than before. The middle-aged man looks at the other side of the road—there are children playing around the bonfire. .

"... Hatchet!"

"……scissors!"

"……riverside!"

"……ashore!"

The children's songs rose up in a hurry, causing the accompanying dogs to bark wildly. These sounds mixed with laughter and cheers echoed over the lake,

The girl in the carriage was lost in thought.

"Is that right?"

"That's it." The middle-aged man replied softly.

The carriage passed by the camping crowd, and the middle-aged man lowered the curtains. She looked ahead and heard the clear singing of the children nearby:
"The sweet little daughter is crying,"

"The river dyed red is flowing,"

"Don't forget, sweet little girl,"

"Your name is Anna,"

"Your name is Anna."

——End of this volume——