But now, there is no other way.
Que Qiu walked step by step towards the camel, selecting the weakest one. He sighed, stroked the camel’s neck, and softly said, "I’m sorry."
Just as Que Qiu raised the dagger, a clear "ding~" sounded. Instinctively, Que Qiu lifted his head to look in the direction of the sand ridge. This sound was the unique bell of a camel caravan. Could it be that they’ve encountered other people?
He lowered his hand, ran a few steps forward, and saw a black-haired woman in a white long dress sitting sideways on the lead camel about a hundred meters away. Her beauty almost took one’s breath away. She seemed completely unbothered by the scorching sun. The fierce sand of just a moment ago seemed like an obedient pet beside her. A gentle breeze playfully lifted her hair, and with a faint smile, she slowly approached, followed by about thirty camels, all of excellent breed, much larger than the ordinary domestic camels found by the Bureau of Culture. Their backs were loaded with packs of supplies.
Que Qiu waved his arms vigorously, using the unique call of camel caravans to attract the attention of the suddenly appearing woman in the desert.
The woman and her camel caravan quickly reached Que Qiu, and a water pouch was thrown into Que Qiu’s arms.
"I guess you ran into some trouble?" The girl propped her chin with her left hand resting on the camel’s hump, looking at Que Qiu.
Que Qiu felt that no adjective could describe the woman’s beauty. She was simply too beautiful to be human! In the vast sea of sand, she was like a pearl embedded atop it, showing no signs of a murky aura.
Who is she? Why is she alone in the desert?
Que Qiu nodded and said, "Yes, we encountered a sandstorm. Our camels are lost. We have no water, and an elderly man’s condition is very poor."
"I have some. Let’s go rescue him first." The girl nodded, gently raised her hand, and a camel ran to Que Qiu’s side.
"Thank you." Que Qiu mounted the camel and rode towards Professor Wu.
Que Qiu asked people to help take down the water and quickly opened the water pouch given by the girl to feed Professor Wu some water.
"Thank heaven, where did the water come from? Have our camels come back?" Cheng Luo asked.
"No, we met a woman, it’s her camels. She saved Professor Wu," Que Qiu explained.
As if rejuvenated by the source of life, the previously semi-conscious Professor Wu slowly opened his eyes.
After pouring water into cups, they handed a cup to Cheng Luo, who gave more water to Professor Wu.
After a short rest, Professor Wu was able to sit up.
Que Qiu drank some water from the pouch himself, his gaze fixed on another camel caravan that had stopped not far from theirs.
They had already circled around the sand ridge, appearing on their side.
The black-haired girl in white, her boots stepping on the sand, led the lead camel slowly towards them.
"It’s her camels, and it was this young lady who generously gave water to save Professor Wu," Que Qiu said.
Everyone gathered around to express their gratitude, amazed by the presence of such a beautiful woman.
"Thank you so much, miss!" everyone thanked the woman profusely, each taking their turn.
The woman waved her hand with a smile, "You’re welcome, just call me Tianmiao."
"Tianmiao? What a beautiful name," a male teacher praised. "We’re really grateful. If we hadn’t met you, we truly don’t know what would have happened."
By now much recovered, Professor Wu also supported himself to come over and thanked Tianmiao for the water, saying it saved his life.
Que Qiu also expressed his gratitude to Tianmiao, knowing he would have had to kill a camel if she hadn’t appeared in time. Yet in his heart, he felt a sense of doubt. A woman alone in the vast desert, and so beautiful, not like a human being at all.
Is this normal?