The eggs hatched?
It had been a long time since the fat duck snatched the eggs. Compared to the eggs in the other nests, these eggs hatched much later.
They were from the same nest, but the fat duck snatched the eggs and took a long time to hatch. If this was a coincidence, then there were too many coincidences. But if the fat duck was not efficient at hatching the eggs, that was not the case either. Even if it was an amateur, the eggs would not have hatched so differently.
"I'll go take a look." Shao Xuan passed the things he was carrying to Zheng Luo and the rest. He pushed through the crowd and followed the person in charge of the duck shed.
"It's been snowing too much recently. We've been sweeping the snow at least three times a day. When it doesn't stop, we'll even sweep at night." The person leading the way sounded worried. "Many ducks have frozen to death this year."
The ducks that did not want to go near the tribe had indeed frozen to death. Even the older ducklings were not spared. Many ducks brought their ducklings into the duck shed to seek shelter.
Shao Xuan listened to the person in front of him talk about the recent happenings while observing the duck shed.
The other duck sheds around him were quiet. Only the occasional duck call could be heard, but it did not sound energetic.
When they arrived at the duck shed where the fat duck lived, the person leading the way did not enter. He pointed inside and stood at the door. He could not enter at all. If he pushed the door open, he would be attacked by the fat duck inside. He could only stand at the door and listen.
Indeed, there was a young voice coming from inside.
Shao Xuan pushed the door open and a murderous aura rushed towards him.
To prevent the cold wind from blowing in, Shao Xuan quickly closed the door behind him. He took out a glowing crystal and placed it beside him for light.
Seeing that it was Shao Xuan, the fat duck froze. It maintained its attacking posture but did not move. Its eyes darted around as if it did not expect Shao Xuan to come. It was still very wary of Shao Xuan.
Shao Xuan looked towards the duck nest. A few green balls of feathers were huddled there. They looked up at the light source but could not see Shao Xuan clearly. They only felt a foreign aura and panicked. But when they sensed the fat duck beside them, they quickly calmed down. Shao Xuan also noticed a small detail. When a duck stood up from its nest, its feet hooked onto a piece of hay. A piece of hay was cut in half.
It was the same foot as a fat duck's, but with a sharp hook.
Beside the fat duck were some eggs that had not hatched. They were still in the process of hatching. After all, these eggs were hatched at different times and hatched at different times.
Shao Xuan counted. There were about eight green balls of feathers. When he left the tribe for the salt mines, he counted thirty-one eggs. This meant that there were still twenty-three eggs that had not hatched.
He wondered if all of them would hatch successfully.
Thinking about it, Shao Xuan felt that it was strange.
None of the ducklings he saw before looked like this fat duck. Shao Xuan wondered if the fat duck's bloodline was too weak. Was that why the other ducklings did not look like it? Or were they cuckolded?
But now it seemed that the fat duck had planned this all along. It knew how to pick the eggs from the nest. And the ones it picked out all looked like it.
No wonder it did not care about the ducklings outside. Perhaps to it, only the ducklings here that looked like it were its own. It did not care about the others. Look at how tightly it protected these ducklings. Compared to the ones before, it was like heaven and earth.
In the natural world, anything that was not its own would be killed, just like a pride of lions. And now, this fat duck was using a similar strategy and attitude. Only those it picked out would be treated well. Everything else was meaningless.
Just as he was about to leave, Shao Xuan saw some strange marks on the ground. He took a closer look and realized that they were fish scales!
Using his special vision, Shao Xuan scanned the house. In the corner behind the duck nest, there was a thin layer of hay. There were some small fish and fruits under it.
This duck was well prepared.
After looking around, Shao Xuan came out of the duck shed.
"How is it? How many did you hatch? "The person in charge of the duck shed asked curiously.
"Eight hatched. The rest are still hatching."
"What do the ducklings look like?"
"Just like the fat duck."
The person in charge of the duck shed was even more curious. Unfortunately, he did not dare to go in.
"Don't worry. When the snow stops and winter is over, they will naturally come out," said Shao Xuan.
After leaving the duck shed, Shao Xuan was called to Zheng Luo's place on the mountain. He had a hot meal and went back to sleep. During this time, no one in the team had a good rest. Shao Xuan only slept for a day. The others slept for two days and two nights without waking up.
On the third day back at the tribe, although it was snowing heavily, the tribe still held a farewell ceremony. They built a barrier around the fire pit and cremated the warriors who had sacrificed themselves.
Survival meant endless wars and endless life and death. The people in the tribe had long been used to such farewells. Although their hearts were heavy, it was much better than what they had expected.
After the ceremony, Shao Xuan was called for a meeting.
This was the first time everyone had gathered for a meeting after returning from the salt flats.
After treatment and rest, Zheng Luo's injuries were better and he could walk now.
They had already told the shamaness and the higher-ups about what happened at the salt mines. There were happy and sad moments.
No one objected to losing the salt mines. Even if they did not see the king beast, they knew that with their current strength, they could not fight it. Giving up on the king beast and avoiding conflict was the best choice.
Fortunately, they brought back a lot of salt. Most importantly, they brought back fire crystals. This made everyone very excited. With these fire crystals, the tribe's warriors could strengthen and improve their strength. Especially those who were at a bottleneck. The fire crystals could solve their problems.
The Taihe tribe sent over some herbs. Some were effective for frostbite, some for disease prevention. After all, it was the first time they had encountered such weather. The warriors were more or less not used to it, especially the children, who fell sick easily.
The shamaness explained the various arrangements for this snow disaster. It was impossible to leave this place. In this kind of weather, it was impossible to leave. Moreover, they didn't know if other places would be better than here. They could only stay in the tribe and resist the weather.
The warriors chopped some firewood and stored it in the house to keep warm. Fortunately, they had a lot of animal hides so they did not have to worry about shelter. According to the Taihe people, some of the smaller tribes in the forest had already frozen to death. They did not know the details. In this weather, it was impossible to investigate.
After everything was settled, the higher-ups discussed Fox and Shen. When winter was over and the snow stopped, they would investigate and see how the people in the salt mines were doing. Mountain Wind wanted to start a war against Fox. They had tried to persuade Zheng Luo and Taihe to join but Zheng Luo did not agree immediately.
It wasn't just the Flaming Horns. Taihe and Mountain Wind were also thinking about the Fox and Shen tribes who were still at the mines. What was the situation like now?
At this moment, a massacre was taking place on the salt flats and snowy plains.
The beast king didn't care if those people were on the same side. It would do whatever it wanted. To it, it was the only one in this white land. It was its territory. All other creatures had to step aside.
It had only intended to do what it had done when it encountered the group of people before. It would roar twice, blow a few breaths, and knock its tail as a warning. However, it did not expect that this group of little things would dare to resist and even use force against it!
This was a challenge to the king beast. It was enraged.
People with animal skin bags full of salt and fire crystals were running for their lives in the thick layer of snow on the salt ground. Those who couldn't escape had already been frozen into ice, or had been sent flying. No one knew where they fell, but no one cared about them.
The Fox and Shen people were all running for their lives. They thought they would return with their bags full of loot after not seeing the king beast. They did not expect to meet it again!
The people who had been used as bait by the Fox chief had all been frozen into ice, cracked by the cold wind and scattered among the snow. Without the bait, the people from the two tribes who had not managed to escape were dwindling rapidly.
The leader of the Fox took his lover and sprinted through the snow. He did not have the time to look at the others. Those who could keep up with him, those who could not could only become a part of the snow. The Fox people had split into three teams, escaping in three different directions. He did not know how the other two teams were doing.
There were more than one thousand two hundred people from the Fox tribe. But now, there were only about three hundred left. They had not made it out of the salt flats and there were still the Shen people to share the firepower.
Thinking about the losses today, the Fox chief's heart bled. Not just the salt and fire crystals, they had lost a lot of people. It was enough to force him to step down. He did not even dare to imagine what would happen when he returned.
"It's all the Yanjiao's fault!" scolded the woman in the Fox chief's arms.
Yes, it was all the Yanjiao's fault.
If it weren't for the Flaming Horns, their plan would've been executed on time. Everything would've gone smoothly. The salt caves would've been destroyed and the teams from the other three tribes would've suffered from the cold. Then, they would've gone to the Shen salt caves and fought with the outsiders. The Fox tribe would've just been waiting to pick up the leftovers.
The king beast was an accident.
However, they had run so far but did not see any Yanjiao or Taihe or Mountain Wind corpses. Did they all escape?
He even purposely chose the path Yanjiao took but all he saw was a thin layer of snow. Other than that, there were no other traces.
No, they must have all been eaten. They must have!
Although he was more inclined to believe that the three tribes had all left, the Fox chief did not want to admit it.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. His eyes were bloodshot.
If they could escape this time, he would not let the Yanjiao people go. He would not let them go!
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