Chapter 70
Chapter 70
After abandoning their carriages, the Xiao Family passed through Heishantun, the last place where they could replenish their supplies. They rested in the settlement for a day, then prepared to cross Black Bear Ridge on foot.
Before setting out, Xiao Che questioned the elders in the settlement.
They told him there was a narrow trail through Black Bear Ridge. Following it would take them across the ridge and to a tributary of the Huntong River in five days.
The sky was clear when they departed, and the mountain forest was lush with greenery.
Their first two days went smoothly. Following the elders’ directions, they found the trail, which proved far easier than climbing directly over Black Bear Ridge.
Birdsong and the fragrance of flowers accompanied them along the way. Cool breezes drifted through the forest, and streams occasionally burbled nearby. Little squirrels and monkeys darted through the trees from time to time, making Jin Bao and Xiao Jingyu squeal with excitement.
The journey was easy and pleasant. Old Madam Xiao and Madam Liu were elderly, so they rode horses led by Xiao Jingmo and Xiao Jinghao. Neither found the trip particularly tiring.
At one point, Li Si even scoffed, “Everyone says crossing Black Bear Ridge means almost certain death, but this trail is perfectly easy to walk. It seems rumors really can’t be trusted.”
But at noon on the third day, the weather abruptly turned strange.
Heavy leaden clouds spread across what had been a clear sky. Not a breath of wind stirred among the trees, and even the birds fell silent.
The forest sank into a deathly hush. The air was stifling, and the thick, earthy scent of soil hung among the trees.
“Daddy, snow. Everything is white, and Baby can’t see the road. The wind is really strong too.”
Jin Bao sat astride Xiao Che’s neck while he led a horse with one hand.
Without warning, she pointed at the sky and anxiously patted Xiao Che’s head.
Xiao Che looked up. The sky was gloomy, but no snow was falling. It looked more like rain was on the way.
Besides, it was only the middle of the eighth month. How could it possibly snow?
But Jin Bao’s warnings had never been wrong. Could it truly be about to snow?
The only one among them familiar with Black Bear Ridge was Zhu Laosan.
Xiao Che quickened his pace to catch up with him.
“Officer, you’ve traveled this way before. Does it ever snow here in the eighth month?”
Zhu Laosan vaguely remembered hearing a local woodcutter mention it once.
“I heard the locals say that the usual snow doesn’t arrive until the end of the ninth month. But if it snows in the eighth month, people will die.”
“An eighth-month White-Haired Blizzard is also called the Forest Ghost Maze or the White-Hair Howl. It’s extremely dangerous. Anyone caught in one either freezes to death or gets trapped in the forest and starves. Visibility drops to less than ten paces.”
Xiao Che’s heart jolted. Was that not almost exactly what Jin Bao had just described?
White everywhere, the road impossible to see, and powerful winds-that was a White-Haired Blizzard!
Xiao Che’s expression changed drastically, dread churning in his heart. In weather like that, all the skill in the world would be useless. No one would hear them, no matter how desperately they called for help.
“Mo’er, take out the rope we brought. Tie everyone together.”
Xiao Jingmo did not understand.
“Father, what do we need the rope for?”
“It might snow. There’s no time to explain. Hurry and tie the rope around everyone’s waist so no one gets separated later.”
Xiao Jingmo glanced at Jin Bao and guessed that his little sister must have given some kind of warning. Without wasting time, he and Xiao Jinghao took out the rope.
Xiao Che turned to Zhu Laosan again. “Officer, is there a cave nearby? We should move as close to one as possible.”
Zhu Laosan stared at him in surprise. “Are we really about to be hit by a White-Haired Blizzard?”
“It’s very possible. Look at the sky. Something is wrong. And haven’t you noticed how rapidly the temperature is dropping?”
No sooner had Xiao Che pointed it out than everyone felt the chill seeping into their bodies and crawling up their spines.
Pei Wanqing hurriedly pulled out the fur coats, scarves, and hats she had made for everyone.
After a long flurry of activity, everyone was finally bundled up from head to toe. Even the horses were tethered to trees.
Zhu Laosan looked at the sky and thought Xiao Che might be exaggerating.
“This doesn’t look like it’s about to-”
Before he could finish, a gale suddenly tore through the forest, nearly making it impossible to keep their eyes open.
A mournful howl like the roar of some colossal beast rolled across the sky. An even fiercer wind swept out of the northern woods immediately afterward.
The wind twisted into whirling funnels that hugged the ground, sweeping up dead leaves, dry branches, and stones before hurling them straight at the group.
Zhu Laosan was unlucky enough to have a branch slash his cheek, opening a deep gash. The blood had barely begun to flow before the wind smeared it across his face.
Soon, the gale brought heavy snow with it. These were not the soft flakes of winter, but fine, hard grains of ice driven sideways and diagonally by the wind as they battered people and animals alike.
Visibility instantly dropped below ten paces, then below five within seconds. It was almost impossible to open one’s eyes in the storm.
Their ears filled with the sharp crackle of icy grains striking fur coats and everything else in the forest.
The temperature plummeted, freezing their breath in the air.
The White-Haired Blizzard had arrived without the slightest warning.
No one could remain upright. The women and children swayed in the wind, saved only by the rope they had prepared in advance to link everyone together.
Even so, Lin Fengchun was the first to fall.
He had only just begun to recover, and the wounds on his body had barely scabbed over.
In weather like this, he could not keep his feet at all.
The wind knocked him to the ground, nearly dragging Xiao Jingmo and Xiao Jinghao down with him.
“Brother Junzheng, how are you? Are you all right?”
Xiao Jingmo bellowed at the top of his lungs.
Junzheng was Lin Fengchun’s courtesy name. To keep others from recognizing him, the Xiao Family all addressed him as Junzheng. Nanny Chen had even sewn him a special face covering that concealed most of his features.
Xiao Jingmo’s voice was swallowed by the gale almost instantly.
He had no choice but to follow the rope and inch toward Lin Fengchun.
When Xiao Jingmo moved, everyone else had to move with him. They could not see one another and could only use the rope around their waists to judge which way to go.
The ground beneath them was pitted and uneven. Old Madam Xiao was the second to fall.
Pei Wanqing and Madam Liu went down next.
Lu Shuangshuang had already tied Xiao Jingyu to her back. No matter how terrible the weather became, she would not panic as long as her son was beside her.
Xiao Che had stuffed Jin Bao completely inside his roomy padded robe and tightened a sash around his waist. Pressed securely against him with only her little head showing, Jin Bao would neither freeze nor get lost.
None of them had ever encountered weather like this, and no one knew how long it would last.
The temperature continued to drop.
If they could not find a cave soon, they would probably freeze to death in the forest even if no one went missing.
Worse still, the tethered horses tore through their reins and began running blindly in every direction.
Two of them stepped onto beds of leaves that concealed deep pits beneath.
One horse broke its leg on the spot and released a shrill, agonized whinny.
The supplies on their backs scattered across the ground.
Despair covered Li Si’s face.
“It’s over. It’s all over. We’ve really been trapped in a Ghost Loop. We’re all going to die here.”
Xiao Che looked up at the sky and saw only a chaotic expanse of gray. When he surveyed the forest, all he saw was endless white, and all he heard was the roaring wind.
They had no landmark to guide them in any direction.
“Daddy, go that way.”
Just as Xiao Che desperately searched for a solution, the little figure inside his robe stretched out two small hands, tugged at his lapel, and pointed in one direction.
Xiao Che lowered his head. It was Jin Bao.
With Jin Bao showing him the way, Xiao Che finally felt some certainty return.
He acted at once, gathering everyone together. They held hands and supported one another as they pressed into the wind, taking three steps forward only to slide two steps back.
A short stretch of ground took them half an hour to cross.
“There’s a boulder ahead. Hold on a little longer, everyone.”
The rock blocked much of the wind and snow, making the air calmer and the view a little clearer.
One side of the boulder curved inward, leaving a narrow crevice where the group could shelter from the wind for the time being.
Xiao Jingmo untied the ropes around everyone, and they all collapsed to the ground without the slightest concern for appearances.
But most of the group had suffered injuries.
Lin Fengchun had twisted his ankle, while Old Madam Xiao had scraped the skin from her hands and legs.
Madam Liu had struck her head and raised a huge lump, and both her elbows and knees were covered in bruises.
Pei Wanqing had a cut across her palm. Li Si had hit his head on a rock, and no one knew how serious the injury was.
The gash on Zhu Laosan’s face had already frozen over.
Xiao Che and his two sons were unhurt. Lu Shuangshuang and Nanny Chen had suffered only minor scrapes.
Lu Shuangshuang wanted to bandage everyone, but she had no medicinal herbs at hand. The horses had vanished, their supplies were scattered in the forest, and no one dared venture out to search for them.
Xiao Jingmo tried to light the dry twigs beneath the crevice with a fire striker, but the flame would not catch at all.
They had been hurrying along that morning and had not eaten lunch.
Now they were cold and hungry, with the savage wind howling in their ears. All they could do was huddle together for warmth.
Even so, they had no food and no supplies to ward off the cold. Their hope of survival seemed desperately thin, and as the temperature continued to fall, despair spread through the group.