novelhk Chapter 229 Winter (2)
Chapter 229 Winter (2)
Lingweidou said: "We have encountered so many troubles, maybe the general is training us..."
No one had ever thought about this, and when they heard Ling Weidou say this, they were all stunned. With so many unpleasant things happening, could it be that the general was training us...
Wu Sheng said: "What kind of training is this? It's obvious that they want to kill us, the dog-born slaves from Jinyang City!"
Everyone remembered the strict military regulations of Bicheng and could only sigh. They dared not mention the plan of giving up their horses and returning to the camp alone.
As the weather got colder, the horses began to huddle together, whether they were eating grass or drinking water during the day or sleeping at night, the horses huddled together, making it even harder to distinguish between military horses and wild horses. Everyone looked at the densely packed horses and could do nothing but feel helpless.
Chu Xiaomu led the herding team to chase the horses around during the day, and they didn't feel the cold at all. At night, they dug some oil root grass and burned it to keep warm. But oil root grass was not common in this area, and they dug more and more every day, until even oil root grass was hard to find.
Fortunately, it was close to the Beast Mountain, and Chu Xiaomu arranged for people to go to the Beast Mountain to pick up some dry branches, firstly to use as firewood to cook food, secondly to use for heating at night, and thirdly to prepare for winter. Although it was a bit troublesome, it was the only way at the moment.
In addition, people had to be arranged to hunt chickens and rabbits to prevent food shortage during the winter; the rest of the people were responsible for harvesting wild grass for the horses to eat in case of emergency.
The climate on Baihua Island is mild, and there is not much difference between the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter. Therefore, Chu Xiaomu had no idea of storing food and firewood in the autumn for the winter. It was only when Yingdan, Lingweidou and others mentioned it that he hurriedly made arrangements.
There are many plants and dead trees and branches on the Beast Mountain. Although they don't have any suitable tools, everyone is a young man who has been accustomed to doing light and heavy work since childhood, so firewood is easy to obtain.
Chickens and rabbits are also very common on the grassland. The three of them can catch seven or eight every day. The ones they can't finish are smoked over a fire and made into jerky that is easy to carry. Yingdan has his own secret in making jerky, and everyone who eats his jerky praises it.
The Beast Mountain is steep and has many jagged rocks. From time to time, there are some strange cries of birds and beasts, which make people's scalps numb. It seems that there are some strange dangers hidden in the bushes behind the rocks. Chu Xiaomu and Zhou Weide once talked about encountering a tiger man in the mountains. They also said that if Shenma had not been there at the time, they might have been eaten by the tiger man. Therefore, everyone only dared to pick up dead firewood near the foot of the Beast Mountain, and did not dare to go too deep, for fear of encountering other ferocious beasts.
On this day, it was the turn of Chu Xiaomu, Yingdan and Ling Weidou to go to the Beast Mountain to collect firewood. While chatting on the way, they mentioned the encounter with the tiger man in the mountain again.
Lingweidou asked, "Little Mu brother, did you really eat the Muling fruit?"
Chu Xiaomu said: "The fruit looks very strange. The tiger man said it was a wood spirit fruit and he would not deceive us. He also said he wanted to eat us. Fortunately, Shenma was by our side, otherwise both my life and that of De'er brother would be in danger." When Shenma was mentioned, he suddenly remembered that he hadn't seen it for several days. He didn't know where it had hidden. He would have to look for it carefully when he returned.
Lingweidou asked again: "What does it taste like? Is it delicious? Is there any benefit from eating it?"
Chu Xiaomu smiled and said, "It tastes weird, I can't say whether it's delicious or not. I don't know what it's good for, but I still get hungry when I'm hungry."
Lingweidou made an "oh" sound, seeming quite envious.
Yingdan said: "Xiaomu, what I can't understand is why Shenma suddenly appeared to help us. In order to save people, he even brought you to the Beast Mountain."
Chu Xiaomu thought about it carefully and said, "I am also puzzled by this. I want to ask it one day when it is in a good mood... Unfortunately, it can't speak, and we can't understand horse language."
Yingdan murmured, "'A magical horse appears, and an extraordinary person is born'... What kind of extraordinary person will be born? Could it be... Could it be that you are that extraordinary person?" Seeing that the term magical horse could only be discussed with Chu Xiaomu, Yingdan had this idea a long time ago. Since there was no one, such as Zhang Hou and Wu Sheng, to interrupt her, she asked casually.
Chu Xiaomu smiled faintly and said: "Look, I can't even deal with a few wolves, how can I be an alien? Where in the world is there an alien who would lead his brothers to starve and freeze?" In fact, he had the same question in his mind as Yingdan, but his skills were low and he had no amazing achievements. This idea was ultimately wishful thinking.
Yingdan and Lingweidou also laughed. "The divine horse appeared, and the extraordinary person was born" was just a legend after all.
The three of them chatted while picking up dead wood in the forest. As noon approached, snow began to fall from the sky, slowly getting bigger and bigger, like a sky full of white wool.
Yingdan looked at the white sky and said, "I'm afraid the snow won't stop for a while, so we have to get down the mountain early. The snow has covered the road, and it would be bad if we lose our way."
Lingweidou said, "We should go back earlier. In our snowy country, this kind of snow often lasts for ten days or half a month. No one goes out at this time."
The three of them each picked up a bundle of dry firewood and had to go back to the horse herder's camp.
Almost a month had passed since the last time he was dragged into the spirit realm by the tiger, and then he rushed to the Nanding Army camp to ask the spirits for medicine but failed, but unexpectedly met a group of spirits willing to help him find medicine. Chu Xiaomu was always paying attention to whether there were any strange signs or revelations around him, but there were only leisurely military horses and wild grass and trees in the Biyuan Beast Mountain, and he did not find anything unusual.
The three men carried the dry firewood down the Beast Mountain. There were six military horses waiting at the foot of the mountain, three of which were their mounts, and the other three were used to help carry the firewood. Faced with the sudden heavy snow, the horses seemed a little anxious and kept turning in circles.
The camp was not too far from the Beast Mountain. It took nearly half an hour to get back on horseback. The sky was covered with snow. The horses had stopped eating grass and were huddled together to keep warm. Zhang Hou, Lin Zhen and seven others were huddled in a few small tents, which were surrounded by a blazing bonfire. It was quite comfortable.
Chu Xiaomu was so furious when he saw this that he jumped off his horse, picked up a spear, and quickly broke up the bonfire, then stomped it out with a few kicks.
Zhang Hou, Lin Zhen and others crawled out of the tent and saw Chu Xiaomu's angry look. They were all confused and didn't know what he was angry about. Zhou Weide was a little bolder and asked, "Stinky wood, are you crazy? What are you going to do?!"