Chapter 71

Chapter 71

Li Si huddled in the deepest part of the rock crevice, clutching his head as his mind reeled.

“Brother San, are we going to die here? I don’t want to die yet.”

Li Si’s voice was thick and nasal.

It would have been better if he had kept silent. The moment he spoke, the despair in the group grew even heavier.

Zhu Laosan touched the gash on his face. The blood had frozen into a hard, icy scab, and he could no longer feel anything when his fingers brushed it.

He had no confidence either. They had encountered one desperate situation after another on this journey and survived them all. Were they truly going to die in this forest?

“Don’t say such discouraging things. None of us will die. The Xiao Family made it this far partly because of our strength and partly because of luck.”

At the crucial moment, Xiao Che tried to bolster everyone’s spirits.

If the last spark of determination in their hearts went out, then they truly would have no chance of survival.

At the very least, he had to keep their confidence alive and give them a reason to hold on. Perhaps an opportunity would appear.

Xiao Jingmo agreed. “That’s right. Don’t give up, everyone. We fought hard to make it this far, and this won’t be where our journey ends. If we hold on, a way out may appear.”

With encouragement from Xiao Che and his son, the mood among the group improved slightly.

Old Madam Xiao and Madam Liu sat surrounded by the others. They looked haggard but forced themselves to remain alert. They absolutely could not fall asleep now. If they did, they might never wake again.

Jin Bao gently tugged Xiao Che’s clothes.

“Daddy, there’s white mist over there. It looks so warm.”

Jin Bao pointed toward the northeast, though no one could tell which direction was which while trapped in the forest.

Xiao Jingmo sat beside Xiao Che. At Jin Bao’s words, he fell into thought. A moment later, delight filled his eyes.

“Father, there may be a hot spring over there. I read in a book that some mountain ranges are rich in minerals and can form hot springs. If we find one, at least we won’t freeze to death.”

There were bound to be wild vegetables near a hot spring as well. They might even solve their food problem.

Xiao Jingmo looked expectantly at Xiao Che, waiting for his decision.

Xiao Che surveyed their surroundings, unable to decide.

In weather like this, there was no guarantee they could find the hot spring-or that these people could survive long enough to reach it.

Everyone was injured, and their strength was almost completely spent. Finding the hot spring would surely require walking a considerable distance.

Xiao Che hesitated. Going out might offer them one path to survival. Staying here meant certain death.

“Daddy, there are big white camels over there too. They have bells around their necks. Their fur is whiter than snow, and their eyes are so bright. Baby likes them.”

Jin Bao described what she saw in simple words, but Xiao Che could not make sense of it.

Xiao Jingmo grew excited beside him.

“Father, Jin Bao must be talking about Snow Camels. I read about them in a book. They’re extremely rare, and legend says only those fated to meet them ever will. They’re the guardian spirits of this forest. If we truly find the Snow Camels, everyone will be saved.”

There was no time to lose. Xiao Che knew that if they delayed any longer, they would miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

But bringing everyone along would inevitably slow them down.

He decided at once. “Hao’er, stay here and help the officers look after everyone. Your Second Brother and I will search for a way out.”

Xiao Che sat at the outermost edge of the group, and no one else had noticed his conversation with Jin Bao.

Finding the Snow Camels and bringing them back to save the others was their only option now.

“No, Husband! You can’t go. It’s too dangerous outside. We should wait until the snow stops…”

Pei Wanqing panicked the moment she heard his plan.

In weather like this, if he lost his way in the forest, he would never return. They would not even find his body.

If they were going to die, then they should die together.

Pei Wanqing gripped Xiao Che’s arm tightly and refused to let him leave.

At the sight, Xiao Jingmo leaned close and whispered a few words in Pei Wanqing’s ear.

Delight flashed in her eyes, and she released Xiao Che.

“Then be careful. I’ll take good care of Mother.”

Xiao Che gently pulled Pei Wanqing into his arms and kissed her forehead. “I’m leaving everything to you, Madam. I promise I’ll find the Snow Camels and bring them back to save everyone.”

Tears instantly welled in Pei Wanqing’s eyes. She nodded, her eyes red. “You must come back alive, Husband. I’ll wait for you.”

Xiao Che exchanged a few more words with Zhu Laosan. “Officer, my second son once read in a book that there might be a hot spring here. We’re going to look for it. If we find one, we’ll come back for everyone, and then we’ll all be saved.”

Zhu Laosan thought their chances were slim, but he agreed with Xiao Che’s plan. Staying here meant waiting for death. If someone was willing to venture out and search for a way to survive, it would at least give everyone hope.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of the old madam and everyone else. We’ll wait for your good news.”

Xiao Che, Xiao Jingmo, and Jin Bao left together, their figures quickly vanishing into the wind and snow.

“My good girl, which way should we go?”

Xiao Che stared at the white forest. Visibility was extremely poor, and the ground beneath their feet was fraught with danger. A single wrong step could send them tumbling down the mountain.

He and Xiao Jingmo each carried a stick to probe the path ahead.

Xiao Che walked in front with Xiao Jingmo close behind. A rope connected the two of them so they would not become separated.

Jin Bao nestled inside Xiao Che’s clothes, facing him. A tiger-skin hat covered her head, and Xiao Che protected her so well that no trace of the storm could reach her.

“Daddy, Baby can see a really big, thick tree with three branches. There are two other big trees next to it, making a circle. There’s a big rock inside the circle.”

Jin Bao turned her head, then pointed northeast. “Daddy, go that way.”

Xiao Che committed her words to memory.

The trees Jin Bao described had very distinctive features. They should serve as a landmark along the way. Once he saw them, he would know they were still headed in the right direction.

Following Jin Bao’s directions, father and son walked for another hour. Their underclothes were soaked through, while their scarves were covered in ice.

After eating some jerky and toasted flatbread that morning, none of them had taken another sip of water. Exhausted and starving, their steps grew heavier and heavier.

Only sheer perseverance kept Xiao Jingmo moving mechanically forward. He could collapse at any moment.

Xiao Che glanced back at him from time to time, afraid his son might freeze to death behind him.

Xiao Che did not know how much farther they had to go, and his confidence continued to wane. Just then, Jin Bao pointed ahead and shouted excitedly, “Daddy, the trees! Look!”

Xiao Che narrowed his eyes but could not see anything. Gritting his teeth, he hurried forward a few steps. The sudden pull knocked Xiao Jingmo down behind him. Xiao Jingmo rolled down the slope and yanked Xiao Che off balance.

Xiao Che’s foot slipped, and he began sliding down after him.

He swung his stick wildly until it struck a nearby tree. Turning it sideways, he braced it against the trunk and clung tightly to the wood with both hands, finally stopping his fall.

“Mo’er! Are you all right?”

Xiao Che roared down the slope, but no answer came even after a long moment.

His heart sank. Straining with both arms, he managed to pull himself against a tree, then reached for the rope around his waist.

The rope felt far too light, and panic rose in him.

When he pulled it back, he discovered it had snapped in the middle.

Xiao Che quickly untied the rope from his waist and prepared to follow the trail down the slope.

But the marks Xiao Jingmo had left in the snow were covered almost instantly by a fresh layer of white. One gust of wind swept away every trace.

“Mo’er!”

Xiao Che shouted anxiously, but the wind scattered his voice the moment it left his mouth. The sound could not travel far at all.

“Second Brother… Daddy, Baby sees Second Brother! He’s over there.”

Following the direction of Jin Bao’s finger, Xiao Che scrambled down on all fours. About ten feet away, he found Xiao Jingmo buried in a hollow of snow with only half his face exposed.

Xiao Jingmo’s eyes were tightly shut, his face was blue-purple, and his exposed skin had nearly frozen into ice.

“Mo’er, wake up! You can’t sleep. Wake up!”

Xiao Che kept breathing warm air onto Xiao Jingmo’s face and rubbed it vigorously with both hands.

It took him a long time to dig Xiao Jingmo out of the hollow.

The skin on Xiao Che’s hands had nearly peeled away.

Seeing Xiao Jingmo lying there without a trace of life, Jin Bao burst into tears inside Xiao Che’s clothes. “Second Brother, don’t sleep! Baby doesn’t want Second Brother to sleep. Wake up, Second Brother!”

Perhaps he sensed her cries, because Xiao Jingmo slowly opened his eyes.

“He’s awake! Second Brother is awake!”

Jin Bao’s tears turned to laughter.

Xiao Che hoisted Xiao Jingmo onto his back while Jin Bao guided the way.

After walking for another quarter hour, Xiao Che finally reached the three trees Jin Bao had described.

But he saw no sign of the hot spring she had mentioned.

“My good girl, do we need to keep going?”

Jin Bao shook her head. “Baby doesn’t know. Baby can’t see it anymore.”

Despair swallowed Xiao Che whole.

With one son on his back and his daughter in his arms, he had endured endless hardships to reach this place, only for Jin Bao, the last hope of the entire family, to lose sight of the path. What was he supposed to do now?

Suddenly, Xiao Jingmo’s nose twitched as he lay on his father’s back.

He smelled the faint odor of rotten eggs.