Seeing that it was these four people who had appeared, Duo Kang was stunned. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief and looked again.
"Chief, why did you come out from below?" Duo Kang laughed dryly and put away his axe.
The others did not dare to fight the three chiefs and one elder so they put away their axes just as quickly as Duo Kang. But they were still confused. Didn't the chief go outside? Why did he come out from below?
Duo Kang found someone to throw a rope and Shao Xuan and the others climbed out of the hole one by one.
Zheng Luo explained the reason briefly and then sat down on a rock not far away, panting. Although they were relatively strong, they had never stopped digging from the 'tunnel' down here. They were also afraid that the king beast would come back if they were too slow. They were so tense that they finally relaxed.
Duo Kang's eyes lit up. "That means if we can't leave, we can jump down here every day to dig for fire crystals?"
"That's right."
"Chief, you rest first. I'll continue digging!" Duo Kang rubbed his hands. The king beast was less afraid now. The fire crystals were more attractive.
"Don't bring too many people. Be alert. Come back if you notice anything wrong. Don't be greedy." Zheng Luo reminded. "Also, clean up the dirt in the tunnel."
There was a lot of dirt in the 'tunnel' because of their digging. If the king beast entered the tunnel again, they wondered if it would be angry at the dirt. They shuddered at the thought of the Fox's salt cave. It was too tragic. Not a single person on the upper and lower floors could avoid it.
"Got it!" Duo Kang called a few people over. They put on their equipment and slid down the rope.
The other two tribes had the same idea. They would not miss this opportunity. They grabbed the rope and slid down too.
"Shao Xuan, when can we leave?" Zheng Luo asked.
"I don't know. Wait." Shao Xuan took out a rope, planning to do another divination.
He wanted to know about the king beast but the divination failed. After so many times of divination, Shao Xuan had already gained experience. Generally speaking, it was very difficult for him to divine people or beasts that were far more powerful than him. Therefore, after failing once, Shao Xuan tried to divine the weather again.
Although there was still no clear conclusion, the results of the divination told Shao Xuan that the weather here would get worse.
"We'll leave in two days," Shao Xuan said.
"Two days later?" Zheng Luo frowned. "Why?" It wasn't that he didn't trust Shao Xuan, he just wanted to know the reason.
"In two days, the snow should stop temporarily. When it starts again, it won't be like this." Shao Xuan told him the results of the divination. The knot did not tell him what would happen in the future, but it did hint that the best time to leave was in two days, when the snow would stop.
The Taihe and Mountain Wind chiefs took note of Shao Xuan's words. They thought about it and made plans.
In the past, the Mountain Wind people did not have a good impression of the Yanjiao tribe. They only thought that they were strong and rude. But now it seemed that the Yanjiao people were not bad, especially that Shao Xuan.
"Then let's prepare in advance. Tell the people in the cave that we'll leave in two days," the Taihe chief said.
Since they had decided to leave in two days, the matter of digging for fire crystals was even more urgent.
After a good rest, the three leaders continued to dig in the pit. The people in the salt cave also urged them to hurry up and dig out the salt mine. They only had two days, so they had to dig as much as they could.
In the past, they had only dug out as much as was needed in the salt cave. They wouldn't dig out too much as it would be useless if there was too much. They wouldn't sell all of it either. What they sold was only a small part of it. That was why they had only dug out two levels of the salt cave in the past few hundred years. Fortunately, they had only dug out two levels. If they had continued digging, there would be no more salt. If they had dug out fire crystals in advance and provoked the king beast in advance, the people guarding here would have been wiped out long ago.
After a few days of idling, the warriors of the three tribes felt much better now that they had work to do. They did not have to think too much about it every day.
Whether it was the salt from the top of the cave or the bottom of the cave, they brought all the salt with them. This might be their last time here. No one wanted to be arrogant in the territory of a king beast. If they had known, they would have left long ago.
Logically speaking, this was Yanjiao's salt cave. The Taihe and Mountain Wind people should not be digging here. But their cave had not been cleared out yet and time was tight. Plus, Zheng Luo felt that this would be their last time digging here. Since they were partners, they might as well dig in the same cave. There was a lot of salt left anyway. If they finished in two days, it would be just right. If they came back later, the Taihe and Mountain Wind people would help Yanjiao get another cave.
Just like that, some people dug for salt while others dug for fire crystals. The division of labor was divided into different areas. There were people outside the cave observing and guarding. Once they noticed the king beast's movements, they would quickly retreat.
The king beast appeared around noon on the second day. It only wandered around for a while before leaving. It did not come to the salt cave.
The people who went into the tunnel to dig for fire crystals met Fox's people as they dug. Both sides met in the tunnel and almost clashed swords. Especially Mountain Wind's people, they looked at each other with fire in their eyes. When enemies meet, their eyes were especially red. Just as they were about to fight, someone above warned, "The king beast has appeared!"
With a whoosh, both sides ran back to their respective caves. The Fox people ran towards the Fox cave while the other side ran towards the Flaming Horn cave. After running back for a while, they realized that the king beast was only wandering around. They relaxed and continued digging. But this time, they did not meet the Fox people again.
The Mountain Wind chief, Lanmu, told them to ignore the Fox people for now. Revenge must be taken but the tribe's matters were more important. They did not have much time.
…
"Chief, what do we do?"
In the Fox cave, a Fox warrior asked the silent Fox chief with a dark expression.
They were hiding in the Shen tribe's salt cave. When they heard the king beast's roar, they knew that things were not going well in their cave. While they were glad, they were also sad. They knew that the situation here was terrible. After the king beast left, they hid for a while before coming back. To their surprise, all they saw was a cave full of ice men. There was no sign of life at all.
When they came to the fire crystal pit, they saw traces of people digging. There were also traces in the tunnel below the pit. They walked along the tunnel and heard the sound of digging. When they looked over, they saw people from the three tribes.
Clearly, the fire crystals that they worked so hard to dig out were all stolen by the three tribes in Yanjiao!
"Why didn't the king beast roar at Yanjiao's cave?!" A Fox warrior complained.
But they knew that the Fox and Shen tribesmen were the first to provoke the king beast. Especially the miners. Not only did they touch the king beast, they even pried off its scales! Even though it was only a small piece, it was still an affront. Perhaps that was why the king beast went to the cave and roared, killing everyone in the cave.
In terms of regret, the one who regretted it the most was the Fox chief. They had quarreled with the Shen tribe at the Shen tribe's cave and almost broke off relations with them. The only reason the Shen chief held himself back was because they were not as smart as the Fox people. If they wanted to leave this place safely, they had to rely on the Fox people.
What should they do?
No one knew.
"Since we can't think of anything, why don't we pay attention to the Mountain Wind?" The woman standing next to the Fox leader thought for a moment and said, "If we fight the King Beast head-on, we won't be able to win. Look at the people frozen to death in the cave. But what if we have bait?"
The Fox chief's eyes flashed. "You mean, we should let them attract the king beast's attention while we escape?"
"That's right."
"That's a good idea. But I'm not satisfied with those fire crystals! " No one was willing to give up those crystals. They were so close. Wouldn't it be a waste if they didn't dig?
Hence, the Fox and Shen tribesmen discussed again. They decided to dig for the crystals first, then find a chance to trick the Yanjiao people. Then they could escape.
It was a good plan, but just as they were digging for fire crystals, the people who were watching the Flaming Horn cave came to report that the people there had left the cave.
"Left?" There were so many crystals down there. The king beast never left. Why did they leave?
"The snow has stopped, the wind has stopped too. Maybe they decided to use this chance to leave." The Shen chief hesitated. Should they leave too? But there were so many crystals down there and they hadn't dug out much yet. What they dug out in one day was more than what they had dug for so long.
They couldn't bear to leave.
"Then … let's dig for a few more days?" The Fox chief suggested but his mind was racing. Even without the Flaming Horns as bait, there were still others. Once they dug up the fire crystals, all they had to do was push the others out.
Hence, when the three Yanjiao tribes left, the Fox and Shen tribesmen did not follow. Instead, they continued to dig. The people the Fox invited over with salt knew about the existence of the crystals. Even if they were asked to leave now, they wouldn't be willing. Their minds were filled with the crystals.
Looking at the people whose minds were filled with the crystals, the Fox chief exchanged a look with the woman beside him. The corners of his mouth curled up. People who had lost their minds were the easiest to manipulate. They were the best bait.
At this moment, the Yanjiao tribesmen, Taihe and Mountain Wind walked out of the cave, heading towards the white ground.
The snow on the ground leveled by the king beast was six to seven meters thick. It was taller than the houses they lived in.
And now, they were struggling to move forward in this snowy land.
"Will we meet a king beast?" asked Duo Kang.
"I don't think so … right?" Shao Xuan wasn't sure either. Hopefully, they weren't that unlucky.
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