LSLFBW: Chapter 144

In the middle of the square, piles of bonfires were covered by heavy snow with only small sections of black charcoal visible. This indicated that a grand sacrificial ceremony had been held there yesterday.

On the main road in the center of the tribe, ten carts were already in place. These carts were different from the bone-wheeled carts usually used by the tribe.

More than two months had passed since the first snowfall, and the world outside the tribe was already covered with a thick layer of snow. At this time, the original thin bone wheels on the cart had become a burden, easily getting stuck in the snow.

The carts in the tribe had been simply modified. Instead of wheels, these carts were fitted with wide wooden planks and railings had been added around the sides, making the carts look more like sleds from Earth.

One by one, rattan baskets were fixed between the railings, filled with animal skins and food. It suggested that this group would be away for a long time.

Yang Luo placed a finger between Qi Bai’s brows. “The Beast God will protect you.”

Qi Bai’s face was pale from the cold, only his nose and lips were red. After receiving Yang Luo’s blessing, Qi Bai pulled up the hood of his cloak and climbed onto the sled pulled by Lang Ze.

Hou Yan instructed, “No matter how many stones you obtain, you must return to the tribe in ten days. If I don’t see you, I will lead a hunting party to search for you.”

Logically speaking, Lang Ze was leading more than thirty tribe members as the captain. Such a mining team shouldn’t be too much of a concern even in winter. However, they were heading to the Crimson Mountains, the place where hundreds of wild bulls had been crushed to death. No one could guarantee that the Beast God wouldn’t be angry again.

Therefore, during the ironware sacrificial ceremony, Yang Luo performed a separate ceremony, obtaining instructions for the Black Mountain Tribe that they couldn’t stay in the Crimson Mountains for more than ten days.

Regardless of whether the Beast God had really given instructions to the Black Mountain Tribe or not, Qi Bai readily agreed to the ten day deadline given by Yang Luo. He nodded and said, “We will definitely return on time.”

The sky was just beginning to lighten, with a few lonely clouds drifting across the horizon. The snow-covered ground shimmered with a pale blue halo beneath the sky.

Silence reigned except for the shadows on the snow that followed the procession forward.

Qi Bai covered his mouth with his animal skin scarf and turned to look behind him. The procession in the snow was quite impressive, especially the sheds pulled by wolf-shape and canine-shaped horned beastmen at the front. Their imposing presence far surpassed that of the bull-shaped and horse-shaped beastmen behind them, as such sleds were originally designed for sled dogs.

The Crimson Mountains were a full day’s journey from the tribe. The ten carts had undergone one rest stop since setting off, changing the horned beastmen pulling them before continuing the journey.

The weather was relatively clear during the day, but after nightfall, it started to snow. Fortunately, the snowfall wasn’t heavy. If one focused their attention, one could easily spot the shadows of the cart ahead.

The next morning, as golden rays of dawn rose from the horizon, the mining team arrived at their destination.

Qi Bai was looking up at the exposed, crimson mountainside when Xi Zhou jumped off the cart beside him and pulled a stone axe from a rattan basket. “Bao Bai, shall we go straight up the mountain and chisel the red stones?”

Lang Ze transformed into human form. Qi Bai handed him a fur coat while shaking his head. “Let’s try not to touch the stones on the mountain. We will see if there are any we need from the fallen rocks on the ground first.”

Qi Bai didn’t know the situation here after the last earthquake. Judging from the fact that a large portion of the Crimson Mountains had slid down during the earthquake, the mountain’s stability was highly questionable.

Add the thick snow on the ridge and an avalanche could easily cause disaster.

Anyway, these tones were all from the same mountain. Qi Bai had picked up the stones he brought back to the tribe from the foot of the mountain last time, so mining the rocks on the ground was obviously safer.

The only problem was that the large rocks on the ground were buried under the snow. In order to mine them, it was necessary to clear the snow first.

Lang Ze agreed. “Okay, let’s begin now.”

Apart from a few horned beastmen who traveled all night and stayed on the cart to rest, everyone else took their tools and headed towards the rocks.

Only Qi Bai and Niu Xi remained in the snow, the only two sub-beastmen on this expedition. However, they played a crucial role in the group: sorting the ores.

Qi Bai and Niu Xi were somewhat novices, but they had participated in the entire iron-making process. In terms of knowledge about iron ore, no one in the group had more authority than them.

However, now wasn’t their time to shine. They had a more important task. It was to build a temporary camp for thirty people before nightfall.

Setting up camp in the snow was very different from usual.

Qi Bai’s dark eyes scanned the surroundings before he finally pointed to a tree that was three or four meters tall. He discussed it with Niu Xi. “What do you think about that tree?”

Niu Xi looked carefully before loudly proclaiming to Qi Bai, “I think it is good.”

The tree they had chosen was intended to serve as a central support post for their temporary campsite. The area around the tree Qi Bai had chosen was relatively open and the terrain was relatively flat, making it a good place to pitch a tent.

The snow on the ground was at least half a meter deep, a lot of it freshly fallen snow. The soft snow made it easy to sink it, making each step difficult.

Qi Bai and Niu Xi took out the stone shovels they had prepared beforehand from their rattan basket and laboriously lifted their feet out of the snow to approach the tree they had chosen.

Qi Bai first kicked the trunk to shake off the snow from the branches before the two of them started working with the stone shovels.

Not far away, Lang Kuang finally started working and he asked Lang Ze, “Should I find a few people to go and help them?”

Lang Ze smiled as he looked at the figure carrying a stone shovel and working like a spinning top. He shook his head. “We just need to focus on our own work.”

Qi Bai and Niu Xi first cleared a clean, flat area around the tree trunk. As the snow was shoveled away, a clearing gradually formed, enclosed by a snow wall. Finally, they tied one end of the animal skins they brought from the cart to the tree trunk and pressed the other end against the cleared snow wall.

Qi Bai planted the shovel in the ground. He was sweating from the work, but his feet were freezing. He said, “This tent should be enough for everyone to stay together.”

Niu Xi plopped down on the snow, his elbows sinking into the snow. “That’s enough. It is warmer when everyone lives together.”

Qi Bai told him, “Don’t lie on the snow. Go inside the tent.”

Shoveling snow was much more tiring than shoveling mud. Both of them were exhausted. However, Niu Xi couldn’t just lie there in the snow with a sweaty forehead. If he caught a cold, Qi Bai’s rudimentary medical skills might not be enough to handle it.

Niu Xi sniffed, got up and casually brushed the snow off himself. Everyone was busy and he couldn’t be the only one slacking off. “I’ll go get the things from the cart.” Then he started running towards the cart with crab-like steps.

Qi Bai smiled, picked up the shovel and started clearing the snow outside the tent. Walking like this was too tiring. Qi Bai planned to clear a path along the tent entrance for everyone to walk on.

After the miners secured the rattan baskets filled with iron ore to the cart, they were all stunned by the tent that Qi Bai and Niu Xi had made. None of them had ever seen a tent that resembled a yurt before.

Niu Cheng said with a wide open mouth, “This isn’t a tent. It is a snow house.”

Niu Xi heard the noise and lifted the animal skin curtains. “Come in quickly, the meat soup is ready.”

The group entered the tent. The roof was made of animal skin, but light filtered through the snow walls beneath, making the tent quite bright.

In the middle of the tent, a clay pot was bubbling with meat soup. Beside it was a fire where Qi Bai was patiently turning skewers of roasting meat.

Niu Cheng had ventured out in such cold weather and had prepared himself for freezing and hunger. He never expected to be greeted by such a warm tent that even had their animal skins neatly laid out on the ground.

Niu Xi waved the bamboo tube in front of Niu Cheng. “Don’t you want some meat broth? This was made by Bao Bai. You don’t usually get to eat such delicious broth.”

Niu Cheng quickly took it and smiled at Niu Xi. He sat on his animal skin with the bamboo tube, blew on the steam and took a big gulp of the hot broth.

This broth was unlike anything he had ever tasted before. It stung a bit at first, but that pain quickly transformed into a flavor he had never experienced before. Most remarkably, after the hot broth went down his throat, it seemed to move through his stomach to his limbs, warming him completely.

No wonder Niu Xi said that type of meat broth wasn’t something they could usually drink.

It wasn’t just Niu Cheng. Several horned beastmen from the Silver Moon Tribe also looked at Qi Bai in amazement.

“I added ginger to the soup and a special seasoning,” Qi Bai said as he took out a small animal skin bag containing the seasoning. He passed it around for everyone to see.

This spice tasted somewhat like pepper on Earth, with a slightly spicy flavor. Adding it to the broth could mask the gamey smell of the meat, but more importantly, drinking a bowl of such hot soup could warm them up from head to toe.

Lang Pu took a pinch of the spices from the animal skin bag, smelled it and couldn’t help sneezing. “I’ve seen this herb before. It hurts your mouth when you eat it directly.”

Lang Kuang also took a look. However, he had already seen Lang Pu sneeze so he didn’t smell it. He only nodded and said, “I’ve seen it too. They are plants that even insects don’t like to eat, yet they taste so good in meat broth.”

Qi Bai smiled. “I’ve found many more plants with strange flavors like this. I’ll cook them for everyone to try these next few days and see if there are any you like.”

Ma Song exclaimed in delight, “That’s wonderful!”

Snow started to fall again outside the tent, the snowflakes making a rustling sound as they landed on the tent roof.

Lang Ze sat awkwardly beside Qi Bai, biting heavily into the roasted meat Qi Bai handed him.

Qi Bai was already his partner. This food was originally meant for him alone, but since Qi Bai had already promised everyone, he couldn’t say anything else.

‘Next time, I will let everyone prepare their own food,’ Lang Ze thought sullenly.