On the mountain, Zheng Luo looked up at the sky.
"It's snowing earlier than expected this year."
In the past, the tribe would have a small hunting event around this time. Even if it was snowing earlier, it wouldn't be so heavy.
Duo Kang and the others were worried too. "It's fine if it's just a light snow but I'm afraid there'll be a snowstorm at the salt mines."
It would be too difficult to fight in such bad weather.
As they spoke, a warrior hurried over. "Chief, the shamaness said the weather might be different this year. She wants you all to be prepared."
Zheng Luo and the others paled. What they were worried about might actually happen. Since the shamaness said so, the chances were high. This time, they might really encounter a snowstorm. It might even be worse.
"What else did the shamaness say?" asked Zheng Luo.
The warrior's expression was grim too, his voice heavy. "She didn't say much. She just wants us to be prepared for the worst."
The shamaness had flipped through many records but none of them were as strange as this year. The snow had come too early and the change in weather made her uneasy.
Prepare for the worst …
What else could there be other than a snowstorm?
No matter what, even if there was a snowstorm, their mission would proceed without delay.
Three days later.
Snow was still falling from the sky. Although it wasn't heavy and the ground was not white, it was still troublesome to travel through the forest.
Wearing boots made of animal hide and tied tightly with animal tendons, Shao Xuan brought his equipment to the meeting point.
This time, Zheng Luo was personally leading the team. He would bring nearly a thousand people with him, which was close to a quarter of the tribe's population. Among these thousand people, most of them were intermediate totemic warriors. The proportion of beginner totemic warriors was not large. They were considered elites. According to Shao Xuan's knowledge, the largest tribe in the forest only had about five thousand people. There weren't any larger tribes. In the early days, even the six strongest tribes didn't have that many people. They only expanded after they left the forest.
A team of a thousand people was considered a high-level operation in the tribe.
After discussing with Taihe and Shan Feng, they decided to send a thousand people each to the salt mines in three groups. The first thing they had to do was take back their salt mines, then deal with the Fox and Shen tribesmen.
Every tribe that was stationed in the salt mines was definitely more familiar with the territory they were in charge of than others. They had even set up some small traps and so on. It was easier to take back the original territory first, and the chances of success were also higher.
When the team left, the fat green duck heard the commotion and came out of the duck shed. It peeked out and only retracted its head when it saw the team leave. It looked at the thirty-one eggs in its nest.
One of the eggs moved, and the fat duck was stunned. It approached the egg and gently pushed it with its beak. Then, it gathered the other eggs and hatched them again. It seemed to be in a good mood. The weather was so cold, and it was snowing outside. It didn't need to go out in the cold to look for food. Someone would naturally send food over. It only needed to stay here and focus on hatching the eggs. What a nice place.
Shao Xuan didn't know what the duck was thinking. He followed the team in one direction. They parted ways with the Taihe tribesmen for a while. The Taihe tribe would take another route. The Yanjiao team was heading in a direction Shao Xuan had never taken before.
Tao Zheng said there were many mountains in this direction. He, Wu Zhan and Feng had followed the team to guard the mines for a period of time. Those who could join the team and had such experience were all specially groomed by the tribe. They knew more secrets than others.
"It's snowing. It's even harder to walk," Wu Zhan complained.
Everyone hoped that the snow would stop for a while. It had never snowed for so long before. Many people were not used to it.
And this was just the beginning.
The salt mines were not close to the tribe. Usually, it would take four to five days to get there. But because of the weather, it took even longer.
On the fourth day after leaving the tribe, the snow showed no signs of stopping. In fact, it was getting heavier. The ground was starting to turn white.
Zheng Luo looked at the sky and exhaled. "Hurry up. Let's rest in the cave first."
It was already the fourth day and they still hadn't reached the place where it used to take three days.
There was a cave in the mountains ahead that Yanjiao's team used every time they went out or came back. It was used to rest. But there were too many people this time. The cave was very crowded.
They started a fire and set up a pot. They went to collect some snow to cook and put some grains in the pot. There were golden grains brought back from King City and Purple Gold Thousand Grain Gold harvested from the tribe. Everyone brought jerky.
There weren't enough bowls. The warriors went to look for leaves from an evergreen plant. Each leaf was wide and thick, about the size of two palms. After plucking them, they rolled them up and folded the bottom to make bowls.
Tired from the journey and shivering from the cold, the warriors ate porridge with jerky. They warmed up quite a bit. With food to replenish their bodies, their fatigue was relieved.
The fragrance of the grains made people salivate. More importantly, after drinking it, the warmth that rose in the body and the rapid recovery of physical strength made everyone understand that the grains that they drank were not the ordinary grains that they had exchanged for in Anba City. Just a little bit was enough to make them feel warm all over.
The warriors huddled together and laughed. But Zheng Luo and the others were very worried. Thinking about what the shaman said, their hearts sank.
"It's even colder." Duo Kang sighed.
Even when they went hunting in winter, they had never encountered such a sudden drop in temperature. They didn't feel anything in the morning but when they arrived at the cave in the afternoon, they were all shivering.
Yanjiao people were already resistant to the cold. If they were still so cold wearing animal skins, the weather must be strange.
"Why is it like this?" Guang Yi was also confused.
When things were abnormal, people couldn't help but wonder why this happened.
Abnormal occurrences were always accompanied by other things. It was like an omen.
Shao Xuan took out a straw rope from his pocket and started tying knots. The others didn't understand Shao Xuan's actions but Zheng Luo did. Before they left, the shaman had told Zheng Luo to listen to Shao Xuan if there were any abnormal occurrences.
When he finished tying the knot, Zheng Luo quickly walked over and asked in a low voice, "How is it?" He didn't dare speak too loudly. The change in the weather already made some of the warriors uneasy. If something else happened, it would affect everyone's mood.
Shao Xuan paused and looked at the knot in his hand. He almost didn't succeed this time.
"We better leave early tomorrow morning and get to the salt mine in two days. Otherwise, we'll be delayed and it'll be worse for us," Shao Xuan said.
"Get to the salt mine in two days?" This wasn't a problem. Zheng Luo thought it was possible but why two days?
"What will happen in two days?" Zheng Luo asked.
Shao Xuan shook his head. "I'm not sure. I only know it won't be good. If we get to the salt mine, we'll try to take it down as soon as possible. "
Shao Xuan had a bad feeling. He always trusted his instincts. If even his divination was unstable, it wouldn't be a small matter.
Duo Kang hated the Fox and Shen tribesmen to death. They should've stayed in their tribes in this strange weather. Why did they have to cause trouble?! If he met any of them, he would show no mercy!
As night fell, the wind outside blew even more fiercely, and the snowflakes scattered with the wind. The white coverage on the ground was getting wider and wider. When they first entered the cave, there were still many exposed rocks outside. Now, they were also covered by the white snow.
The temperature was still dropping.
Zheng Luo had people move a few large rocks over to block the wind but it was still uncomfortable near the entrance.
Shao Xuan switched places with the warriors there. Because of the wind, there was no fire at the entrance. It was much colder than inside the cave. However, Shao Xuan had experienced this kind of weather before. Back then, before they had returned to the old haunt, they had experienced endless snowstorms every winter.
Shao Xuan's actions left a better impression on the others in the cave: The elder was really a good person.
He didn't even know he was labeled a good person. He leaned against the cave wall, deep in thought. When he heard the commotion, he saw Zheng Luo, Duo Kang and the rest. Tao Zheng, Wu Zhan and the rest had swapped places too.
"Shao Xuan, I heard you've experienced this kind of weather before?" Duo Kang asked.
Shao Xuan smiled. "Before the tribe returned to the old land, it snowed all the way until the end of the season. The snow there could even cover the houses."
"Don't you feel cold?" Wu Zhan asked. They were about the same age as Shao Xuan but their experiences were completely different from Shao Xuan's. They didn't know much about the other tribe.
"It's cold but we're used to it." Shao Xuan remembered when he was still in the cave near the foot of the mountain. During the winter, he used to sleep on hay and old animal skins. He wasn't used to it when he first came to this world but after a while, he got used to it.
"Did you hear that? It's just a little bit of trouble and you're all cowering! "Duo Kang glared at Tao Zheng and the others.
"But the situation here is different. I've never seen such a big change. The battle for the salt mine this time might be a little difficult," Shao Xuan said.
The others fell silent. They knew the weather was abnormal and there might be an unexpected disaster. However, they still had to do what they had to do. They were just unlucky to have encountered it.
The next day, Zheng Luo led the team to the salt mine.
Compared to the night, the temperature was a little higher. There was less snow and the sky was brighter. Everything seemed to be going well. However, Shao Xuan felt that this was just the beginning of a bigger change.
They walked harder and in the afternoon, they arrived at a salt flat.
This wasn't where the salt mine was. To reach the salt mine, they had to pass through this salt flat.
Above the salt ground, there were many colors. The snow falling from the sky did not cover the colors of the salt ground.
"Those are salt flowers. They're different from the salt in the mines and salt lakes. The salt flowers here can't be eaten."
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