On the night of Taihe and Mountain Wind's arrival, the wind outside grew stronger. Snow filled the sky and even the guards outside the cave couldn't handle it anymore. Zheng Luo had no choice but to call them in and take turns guarding the entrance. Otherwise, they would freeze to death outside. Even if they didn't freeze to death, they would be buried in the snow.
But now, outside the cave, unless all the snow was swept away, the surrounding snow was like a thick wall, blocking all sight. One had to stand on high ground and sweep away the snow that blocked one's vision before one could see further.
Shao Xuan stood on top, braving the wind and snow to look around. Between heaven and earth, everything was white. The strange rocky terrain was no longer rugged. It was drowned in a sea of white. At first glance, it looked like flat ground.
Shao Xuan tried to use a straw rope to perform divination. He wanted to read the weather, as well as the chilling sense of danger that he couldn't understand. None of his attempts worked.
He looked around. As far as he could see, there was no one else. Fox and Shen did not seem like they wanted to come out.
After entering the cave, they moved the rocks back to their original positions.
Many of the Yanjiao warriors looked at Shao Xuan, hoping to hear good news from Shao Xuan. It was because of Shao Xuan that they weren't as miserable as Taihe and Mountain Wind.
To their disappointment, Shao Xuan shook his head silently.
The cave grew quieter. At first, there were still people complaining and cursing the Fox and Shen tribesmen. But now, all their complaints were gone. They only hoped that this weather would end soon.
Wu Zhan and some of the Taihe tribesmen knew each other. They were all elites of the younger generation. When the Taihe tribesmen arrived, they gathered to talk about their experiences. Now, no one was talking. Those who could sleep slept to reduce their energy consumption. Those who couldn't sleep just stared blankly.
Hearing chewing sounds beside him, Wu Zhan kicked him. "What are you chewing?"
"Grass."
"Give me some."
Taihe tribe's Fei Ang handed over half a stalk of grass. They would often carry some herbs with them, even if they didn't have much medicinal value. They would chew on these herbs for fun when they were bored and could calm their minds.
When he handed it over, Fei Ang asked, "Your elders don't seem to have brought any good news."
"There will be." Wu Zhan didn't say anything. He took the grass and chewed on it. It tasted bitter. He didn't know why the Taihe people liked to chew on this stuff.
There was bound to be one. Everyone thought so. However, as the days passed, their hearts grew heavier and heavier.
Every day, when they woke up or went out to pee, they would be shocked by the changes outside. It was as if there was no limit, and they didn't know where the limit was.
This kind of change made people panic.
If this continued, would the forest they lived in become a land of ice and snow? The thoughts of the younger warriors began to wander aimlessly.
It was one thing for them to be in the Land of Ice and Snow. Some of the tall mountains were covered in ice and snow all year round. However, they had never seen a place with such thick snow. This was an ordinary flat ground, and the snow was still falling. There were a few short pauses in the middle, but this trend showed no signs of stopping.
"What should we do?"
The three chiefs gathered together. Even though they had fire crystals in their hands, the current situation put them in a difficult position. Their initial excitement from digging up fire crystals had gradually died down.
They definitely had to fight the Fox and Shen people. They had to come all this way and pay such a high price. Everyone was frustrated. However, this frustration was suppressed by the changes in the weather.
They fell silent with bitter expressions. The burden on their shoulders was heavy, and they were under immense pressure. They didn't know what would happen to them, or if their tribe was safe.
"If we knew this would happen, we wouldn't have come even if we had to give up the mines," said the Mountain Wind chief in a low voice.
"But who would have expected such a huge change? Even the Fox and Shen tribesmen underestimated this change. "The Taihe chief sighed helplessly. Who wouldn't regret it at a time like this?
Seeing that Shao Xuan did not speak, walking back to the rock he had been sitting on for the past few days to continue 'spacing out', the three chiefs couldn't help but feel disappointed.
The other two chiefs already knew that Yanjiao could avoid the change in weather because of Shao Xuan. They had no one who could predict the weather so they could only place their hopes on Shao Xuan. Good news or bad news, as long as they knew what was going to happen next, they would feel more at ease and be prepared.
"Sigh!" Zheng Luo couldn't take it anymore. Whenever he was free, he liked to think. He stretched his stiff limbs, then jumped into the fire crystal pit and continued digging.
The other two chiefs looked at each other, then got up to stretch their shoulders and jumped in as well. Let's dig. They would be more depressed if they stayed here quietly.
Their progress was much slower now. The deeper they went, the harder the rocks became. Many of their digging tools were broken. Although they dug out more than ten fire crystals, they were small and not enough to go around. Everyone absorbed a little, and it also gave the warriors a boost of energy.
Shao Xuan sat on the converted salt rock and carefully felt the changes around him.
Sound?
He could hear the three chiefs digging in the pit next to him. Everyone's breathing could be heard clearly.
Further away, there were whispers in the cave. Some were talking in their sleep, some were snoring. He could even feel that many people were spacing out in the dark with their eyes wide open.
There was also the sound of wind blowing in through the vent.
What else was there?
There was also the sound of someone's heartbeat. Shao Xuan could almost hear the sound of his blood flowing in his body.
Thump thump!
The sound of the heartbeat made Shao Xuan's eyebrows twitch.
The sound of a heartbeat?
The sound was very soft, but it felt very powerful. It seemed to echo in the rock, with a lingering sound.
His own heartbeat?
No, not his own, not the people around him, and definitely not the other soldiers in the cave!
Who was it?
Whose heartbeat?
Shao Xuan wanted to listen again to confirm, but after waiting for a while, he did not hear the sound again.
Shao Xuan felt that he was very close to the answer, but he still felt like he was missing something. Just a little bit more.
Just as Shao Xuan thought that the sound would not appear again, he heard it again.
Thump thump!
It was still the same strong heartbeat as before, high in the front and low in the back. After listening carefully, Shao Xuan noticed that the last heartbeat was slightly louder than the previous one, but he wasn't sure if it was real.
There was indeed a heartbeat, but it did not sound like a human's. It seemed to be very far away, but also very close. He could not be sure. It was not loud, but he could clearly hear the sound coming from the rock layer.
"Chief, do you hear something?" Shao Xuan asked.
Zheng Luo, who was digging in the fire crystals, paused. "Sound?"
The other people in the pit also stopped what they were doing and listened carefully.
"No." They all shook their heads.
"It's gone now, just now," Shao Xuan said.
Hearing Shao Xuan's words, the others in the pit stopped digging and focused on listening to all the sounds in the cave.
"What kind of sound was it?" The cave was too noisy, they had to figure it out.
"A heartbeat. It was not loud, but it felt very strong. It seemed to come from the rock layer, and there was an echo, "Shao Xuan said carefully.
That was even more puzzling. How could there be such a sound?
The people in the pit were all patient. Their patience had been tested countless times during the hunt, so they were quite patient. However, after they stopped all their movements and listened carefully, they still did not hear Shao Xuan's voice.
Zheng Luo was about to speak when Shao Xuan suddenly said, "There was another sound, did you hear it?"
The three chiefs looked at each other, seeing the confusion in each other's eyes. It was clear that they did not hear it.
When he looked at Duo Kang and the others, he saw that they were equally confused.
"You really heard it?" Zheng Luo asked again.
"I heard it three times," Shao Xuan said confidently.
Now the three chiefs were not calm. It was not that they did not want to believe Shao Xuan, it was just that they really did not hear the sound Shao Xuan was talking about. The Taihe and Mountain Wind chiefs did not dare compare to Shao Xuan in predicting the weather. After all, Shao Xuan's predictions had been proven correct. However, they were confident in their hearing. It was not like they could not hear anything.
The other two chiefs were skeptical but Zheng Luo believed him. Shao Xuan was different from the others in many ways. The shamaness also believed in Shao Xuan. Therefore, Zheng Luo's expression was serious. "If there really was such a sound, Shao Xuan, what do you think it was?"
"I don't know. But the source of that sound is something I've always been wary of. "Shao Xuan spoke his mind.
Zheng Luo threw down the tools in his hand and climbed out of the hole. He said to Duo Kang, "Inform the others to be alert."
Duo Kang did not waste time. He threw down the tools and ran away. His voice could be heard shouting as he ran.
Seeing Zheng Luo like this, the other two chiefs were still suspicious. However, since the Yanjiao people were acting like this, they followed suit.
The originally silent cave suddenly burst into an uproar because no one knew what was going on. Stay alert? Was some kind of danger coming?
"Shao Xuan, continue listening. Let us know if you find anything." Zheng Luo sat down beside Shao Xuan. He no longer cared about the fire crystals. They were important but compared to the number of people in the team, it was secondary.
The other two chiefs each carried a piece of salt and sat beside Shao Xuan. They wanted to see what this young Yanjiao Elder had heard.
At the same time, in the Fox tribe's cave on the other side of the mine.
The Fox chief woke up after a nap and ran over to check on the progress of the fire crystals.
"How's it going?" asked the chief.
The supervisor beside the hole pointed at the basket by his feet. There were not many more crystals. The Fox chief frowned.
It was getting slower and slower. He was dissatisfied with the efficiency. However, the deeper they went, the more crystals there were. They could only wait patiently.
"Continue. Don't let me find out who's slacking off!"
"Yes, sir!"
At the bottom of the hole, one of the Fox tribe's warriors dug with his shovel. He heard a clang and thought he had hit rock again. There was no more salt here, only rocks and soil. He had hit hard rocks a few times these few days but this time, his tool was badly damaged.
"Shit!" Looking at the deformed copper shovel, the warrior threw the shovel in his hand away, picked up a few new tools, and continued to dig.
"I want to see what kind of rock this is!"
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