Chapter 114

  They walked for almost an entire morning, and the further they went, the lower the temperature dropped. The cold wind howled, and it was a struggle to take every step. If not for Qing Xia's leather jacket, the two of them would have probably frozen to death already. Qing Xia buried her head in Chu Li's neck, her body almost completely numb from the cold. And if she was feeling this way while being carried on Chu Li's back, one could only imagine how Chu Li was faring.

  Chu Li wore a large white hat, with sharp facial features that seemed to be carved by a knife. His eyes were calm and quiet, his lips tightly pursed, and he walked forward step by step with Qing Xia on his back, without any expression of pain or fatigue.

  Qing Xia raised her head, only to see a vast expanse of whiteness in front of her. Layers of snow waves howled and danced in mid-air. Suddenly, she felt a sense of alarm. She leaned into Chu Li's ear and shouted loudly: "Chu Li! Put me down!"

  Chu Li remained still as a mountain, as if he hadn't heard her speaking at all. Qing Xia felt a surge of annoyance and suddenly stretched out her hand to fiercely pinch Chu Li's ear, shouting loudly: "Bastard! Put me down!"

  Chu's eyebrows rose in anger, and he thought to himself that as the great Emperor of Southern Chu, how could he be toyed with like a child. He stretched out his hand and pushed away Qing Xia's hand, saying in a low voice: "What do you want to do?"

  Qing Xia jumped down, and as soon as her feet touched the ground, she suddenly felt a sharp pain, and her body involuntarily leaned to one side. Chu Li quickly supported her shoulder with his hand and said angrily: "What's wrong with you? Do you think I want to carry you?"

  Qing Xia's anger surged upon hearing this, and he said angrily: "Who needs you to carry us! Get up!" He endured the pain and walked a few steps forward, grabbed the big yellow thing on the ground, and pointed at its head with force, saying: "Are you a pig brain or what? It's so cold here, do you want to freeze us to death?"

  The big yellow eyes were misty, and the two front paws stretched out to hold its head, as if afraid that Qing Xia would hit it. The pitiful appearance seemed to say: You two are quarreling, what does it have to do with me?

  Qing Xia furiously threw it to the ground, looked around, and saw that the terrain had narrowed slightly, with a width of over 10 meters. The two sides were all steep ice cliffs, and the cold air lingered on top. Qing Xia had experienced countless dangers in her life, so she didn't panic at this moment. She raised her head to look into the distance, only to see the sky filled with raging winds, and layers of white fog in the distance, as if a massive snowstorm was gathering.

  "Those who don't want to die come and help."

  Just as she took a step, Da Huang suddenly bit down on her pant leg again, sticking out his pink tongue and licking his lips up and down, looking like he was hungry and wanted to eat something. Qing Xia's anger rose from the soles of her feet, and with one kick, she sent Da Huang tumbling onto his back, then quickly pulled out a dagger and began busily scraping away at the hard ice all around them.

  According to Qing Xia's estimate, the temperature here has already dropped to around minus 50 or 60 degrees Celsius. Now it's still daytime, but once night falls, the temperature will only get even colder. Even if the two of them wore a lot of clothes, it would be impossible for them to survive such a cold night. The two daggers Qing Xia had were given to her by Qin Zhiyan during the Yanzi Camp. They were exquisitely crafted and could be considered masterpieces. Even modern Swiss-made digital military knives couldn't compare to them. Cutting through iron like mud, and cutting off hair with a single blow, using them to cut open these ice blocks was child's play.

  Under Chu Li's suspicious gaze, Qing Xia cut out a large rectangular ice brick. Although it was snowy here, there were large piles of withered grass and wood on both sides, probably because this place was narrow and the strong wind blew them from afar and accumulated them. Qing Xia made use of local materials to start a fire and began to melt snow water. As the weather got darker and darker, she had to hurry up. She chose a place that was sheltered from the wind, poured some water on it, stacked ice blocks on top, poured more water, and then stacked more ice blocks. The front continued to stack, while the back continued to freeze, and soon a frozen solid ice house began to take shape.

  Chu Li only now seemed to have grasped the situation, previously arguing with Qing Xia and not helping out beforehand. Now, his face showed some embarrassment. Seeing Qing Xia struggling to move a huge block of ice, he hastily stepped forward two steps, about to take it over. But unexpectedly, Qing Xia's eyes widened, and she coldly said: "The emperor of our country has said, 'Do it yourself, and you will have enough food and clothing.' If you want to take advantage of an easy opportunity, there is no door!"

  Chu Li bumped into a big nail, her face didn't look very good, she coldly hummed and stood aside with her hands raised, and unexpectedly really didn't go to help her.

  Qing Xia fiercely glared at him and hastily finished building the roof of the ice house. Due to the urgency, the ice house she built was very short, and one couldn't stand up inside it. In preparation for the strong winds and heavy snow that could arrive at any moment, Qing Xia didn't even leave a door, only leaving a small opening at the bottom, just large enough for one person to crawl through.

  Qing Xia himself first drilled in, laid out the beast skin that had been torn down, and then drilled back out.

  The big yellow dog saw the house was built, very novel and circled around, suddenly lifted its tail and barked loudly, excitedly rushed in with a rustling sound.

  The sky had gradually darkened, and the distant wind was howling. Qing Xia, who had been on military campaigns in the wilderness for many years, was extremely sensitive to changes in the weather. She knew that a big snowstorm might be coming, and she felt a little worried, forgetting about her anger. She went forward and pulled Chu Li, who had been standing like a stick on one side, saying: "Hurry up, let's go inside."

  "I'm not going."

  Qing Xia was taken aback, as if she had heard a hallucination, and frowned, saying: "What did you say?"

  "I'd rather work with my own hands and have a decent life than pick up someone else's leftovers."

  A surge of anger suddenly rose from the bottom of his heart, Qing Xia pushed Chu Li's shoulder heavily and said angrily: "Then do you plan to stand here like this?"

  "Hmph!" Chu Li coldly snorted and said in a low voice: "None of your business!"

  "Good!" Qing Xia shouted loudly, pointing at Chu Li's nose and scolding him on tiptoes: "You're something! You're awesome!"

  He finished speaking, turned around and squatted down, then suddenly crawled in from the gap. After that, he used animal hide to block the entrance and sat on it, panting heavily with anger.

  Ice is a good insulator, the ice house is airtight and can effectively prevent air from flowing. So the temperature inside the ice house is now around minus ten degrees Celsius, and there is no wind, which makes it naturally warm like midsummer compared to outside. Da Huang ran around excitedly, suddenly pounced on Qing Xia who was sitting on the ground, stretched out his small tongue to lick Qing Xia's hand, and rubbed his fluffy little head against Qing Xia's body.

  Qing Xia's mood was not good, she roughly pulled it to one side, only to hear the wind outside getting louder and louder, but the fire in her heart was burning more and more. Actually, it wasn't a very long time, but she felt like it had been a day and night, finally she couldn't sit still anymore, suddenly stood up, and crawled out through the opening.

  In a sheltered spot at the corner of the glacier, Chuli was sitting there starting a fire. However, with such strong winds, even in this sheltered spot, his fire was struggling to stay alight and looked like it would be extinguished at any moment. When the big storm came, it would be strange if he didn't lose his life. Qing Xia walked over, her anger evident on her face. Chuli clearly heard Qing Xia's voice but pretended not to hear, turning his body away and refusing to look in her direction.

  Qing Xia kicked Chu Li's waist with one foot and shouted: "Do you want to die?!"

  In an instant, Chu Li was like a snake that had been bitten, suddenly jumping up from the ground, his facial features distorted and his veins bulging, where was the majesty of the great emperor? Furiously yelling at Qing Xia: "I think you're looking for death!"

  A strong wind howled, in such a treacherous environment, the two still had the leisure to have a big argument, Qing Xia shouted angrily: "Are you going in or not?"

  "I won't go in!"

  "Fine! Fine! I won't let you in!" Qing Xia was furious, looked around and suddenly kicked Chu Li's pitiful fire with one foot.

  Chu Li had gone to great lengths to build this fire, and now seeing it like this, how could she not be furious? She clenched her fist and raised it in mid-air, saying: "Are you looking for trouble?"

  The words had barely fallen when a loud crash was heard, and a heavy fist slammed into Chu Li's jaw. Qing Xia jumped up and took the initiative to grab Chu Li's arm with a small grappling hand, then pressed down, grabbing his pants leg. With another loud crash, Chu Li was instantly thrown to the ground by Qing Xia.

  Qing Xia's Judo skills were incredibly impressive, and Chu Li was thrown to the ground with a thud, his head hitting the ice so hard that he saw stars and couldn't tell east from west. Qing Xia grabbed his pant leg and dragged him towards the ice house. Luckily, the ground was very slippery, and before long, she had pulled Chu Li all the way to the front of the ice house, where she stuffed his head into a small opening like a wooden puppet.

  "Big yellow! Pull it in!"

  Qing Xia shouted loudly, and the flattering person inside finally found an opportunity to show his loyalty. He bit down on Chu Li's collar and, with Qing Xia pushing and pulling, quickly pulled him in.

  The poor Nan Chudai has fallen to the point of crawling through dog holes, Chu Li's anger is overwhelming and sweeping across the sky. Just as he managed to crawl out from the ground, Qing Xia had already used an ice block to seal the entrance and turned around. Enemies meeting face to face, their eyes reddened with rage, Da Huang let out a whimper and retreated to a corner, wisely keeping a distance from the battlefield as the two engaged in a fierce battle.

  Just as the two were about to come to blows, a loud clap of thunder boomed outside, and in an instant, it seemed as if the entire sky and earth were shaking with rage. The ice house trembled violently, and countless ice shards fell on the faces of the two people. The howling wind was like a herd of wild cows gone mad, as if thousands of horses and soldiers were galloping together, crazily shouting and wailing. The sky and earth seemed to be turned upside down, with eerie cries and wolf-like howls. Even through the thick ice, the sound could be heard clearly by the two people. The roof of the house creaked and crackled loudly, obviously due to the storm blowing up countless chunks of ice that smashed against the ice house. If it weren't for Qing Xia's sturdy construction, which had merged with the frozen earth, it would have been blown away long ago.

  The faces of the two turned pale in an instant, and under such a natural force, human power seemed so small. If the two had entered a step later, they might have been blown away by this terrible gust of wind. Thinking of this, they couldn't help but look at each other, and indeed saw a hint of fear in each other's eyes. Neither spoke again, sitting silently in the ice house with thick cushions, waiting for the storm to pass.

  Outside, the wind howled, but in this small space, it was warm and cozy. The temperature had already risen to minus three or four degrees, which wasn't normal, but compared to outside, it was much better. Chu Li couldn't help but feel a little regretful as he secretly glanced at Qing Xia, seeing that her fingers were cracked and split in several places. Yesterday, she had searched for him by digging through snow piles one by one, and her hands had already been frozen. Just now, while building this hut, it seemed to have worsened again. He wanted to ask if she was in pain, but he couldn't bring himself to say it out loud. Chu Li thought for a moment, then suddenly felt something warm in his pocket. He took it out and saw that it was a piece of roasted meat, which he had worked hard to cook earlier and was still hot.

  "Hmm..." Nan Chu Da Huang cleared his throat unnaturally, and saw that Qing Xia didn't even glance at him, her eyebrows slowly furrowing. He comforted himself many times in his heart! Silently thinking that a good man doesn't fight with a woman, he suddenly threw the thing in his hand into her arms.

  With a whoosh, a piece of warm roasted meat landed in Qing Xia's hands. Qing Xia was slightly stunned, then tilted her head and looked up at Chu Li sitting across from her with a slanted gaze. But to her surprise, Nan Chu Da Huang seemed as if he had nothing to do with this matter, his expression cold and unfathomable, his eyes closed without even blinking an eyelid.

  Outside, the wind howled and churned, cold winds ravaging the earth. Qing Xia held onto the piece of roasted meat that was still emitting heat, the stubborn ice on her face slowly melting away. After thinking carefully for a moment, she also felt that the two adults were acting like children, pouting at each other. The more she thought about it, the funnier it became, and she couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  Qing Xia's laughter was like warm spring light, instantly dispelling the chill in the room. The man with his eyes closed slowly curled up the corners of his mouth, his smile gradually expanding until he could no longer maintain his dignified demeanor and burst out laughing.

  The Ice Age is over, the alarm has been lifted, and the big yellow hiding in the corner suddenly let out a loud cry and ran out happily. Who knew that the piece it was standing on had no rug? Its feet slipped, and it fell to the ground with a thud, its four legs splayed out in all directions.

  Chu Li and Qing Xia burst out laughing together, their smiles filled with malicious glee.

  Qing Xia tore off a piece of meat and stuffed it into her mouth, chewing for a moment before feeling the freshness fill her mouth. After thinking for a bit, she crawled over to Chu Li's side, sat down shoulder-to-shoulder with him, tore off a large piece of lean meat, and handed it to his mouth, nudging him with her shoulder as she called out: "Hey."

  The two of them were quarreling and fighting, but now the rain has passed and the sky is clear. The atmosphere is harmonious, Chu Li smiled and lowered her head, opening her mouth to eat it down. This time, neither of them felt any discomfort, instead they gained a deeper bond as comrades who had been through thick and thin together.

  "Woof woof!" Da Huang suddenly twisted his round and chubby head, his four small paws jumping up and down on the ground, barking loudly at Qing Xia who was looking up at him with her neck stretched out.

  Qing Xia was in a good mood at this time, and didn't want to starve the only original inhabitant who knew the way. He tore off a piece of meat and threw it towards the creature. Da Huang used all his strength but couldn't jump very high, and the meat still fell to the ground. The creature ran over to eat it, then called out to Qing Xia again.

  "You should do it like this." Qing Xia made a gesture of gratitude with her hands, saying "This is thank you, showing politeness."

  Dahuang was indeed clever, and immediately used its two hind legs to stand up. However, it was too fat, and its short legs couldn't touch the ground, so it could only make a gesture of gratitude in mid-air. Qingxia and Chuli burst out laughing at the sight, rolling around on the ground. In such a desperate situation, in such a harsh environment, two adults and a small animal of unknown species managed to find joy in their misery, and were actually quite happy.

  This day was what northerners called the coldest days of the year, also known as the "Three Nines Ice Symbol". In this deep and dark valley, a powerful storm that wouldn't appear on land for hundreds of years had begun to brew. The icy temperature dropped to minus 70 or 80 degrees, making it impossible for any living thing to survive in such an environment. But in the midst of the storm's path, within a small narrow ice hut, came waves of hearty laughter from deep within someone's chest.