Chapter 22: Found the Main Culprit

Xia Hong’s approach to the logging team was unlike any before, though built on abundant resources, those in the camp who didn’t understand had no care for that.

They simply assumed Xia Hong had ability—and was utterly selfless.

Since that night when the cold beast meat was distributed, everyone in the camp, upon seeing Xia Hong, displayed fervent expressions and respectfully called out “Leader.”

Respect, admiration—even, without exaggeration, nearing the devotion of a believer.

Xia Hong would never foolishly stop them; this was a special environment, a special circumstance.

Years of hiding in shadows, without sunlight, with insufficient food, clothes barely covering their bodies—extreme despair was still inadequate to describe the humans’ plight in the camp.

In such a world, giving them something to cling to in their hearts was not a bad thing.

After all, once they had something to rely on, hope naturally arose.

Of course, all of this depended on sufficient cold beast meat.

After deducting seventy jin, divided in a 3-5-2 ratio, Xia Hong received one hundred and twenty jin of cold beast meat; at his current cultivation pace, this meat would last barely half a month.

Yue Feng and the other four each received one hundred and twenty jin; Xia Hong had calculated that even this amount would not be enough for them to break through.

Thus, there was still a shortfall in cold beast meat—the hunting could not stop.

Fortunately, as long as no accidents occurred, the small torches would never run out.

“Wood collection must not cease; as long as the small torches keep flowing, hunting is merely a matter of probability. If you encounter a strong one, don’t rush in—just ensure each time you lure a cold beast, you’ll eventually reap rewards.”

After distributing the cold beast meat, everyone gathered around the bonfire to roast it.

Soon, the entire cave filled with the scent of meat; those in the camp who hadn’t eaten it in a long time—or had never tasted it at all—wore expressions of rapture.

Watching the satisfied expressions on their faces, Xia Hong felt something inside him gently stirred.

A meal of meat, in his past life, was the simplest thing imaginable.

But here, it had become their greatest wish.

In his past life, stricken with ALS, he had once loathed the world, blamed it for its injustice, and ultimately chosen to end himself.

He thought it unfair—what of these people in the Great Xia Camp?

What of other humans living in this terrifying winter world?

Did they think it fair?

Who were these people living in shadows supposed to blame?

“Perhaps… I was brought to this world so that I could do something for them…”

………………

Even as the Great Xia Camp rejoiced.

Outside Redwood Ridge, Shi Qing led twelve men of the Big Stone Logging Team, searching repeatedly across Great Xia’s territory, their expressions growing darker by the moment.

“Three days straight, not a single hair found—does Old Ding’s crew not need to go out for food?”

Shi Dong, quick-tempered, had searched several rounds with no results and was growing impatient.

Wang Ming, gripping a large knife beside him, furrowed his brow, then glanced toward the eastern side of Redwood Ridge before turning to Shi Qing:

“Big Brother, what if we head toward the earth mound?”

The moment Wang Ming spoke, all fell silent.

Even Shi Qing did not answer immediately—he sank into thought.

For weak camps like theirs, a silent rule was universally upheld.

That is, they must remain hidden from one another.

Human nature under resource scarcity is terrifyingly extreme.

In the early days, dozens of camps had existed around Redwood Ridge.

When food was plentiful, nothing happened.

But once they could no longer obtain crystal fruit or other food, when all hope was lost—

Humans… were not inedible.

And only those at the Logging Realm could move freely at night; a single Logging Realm man intruding into another camp would inevitably breed suspicion.

Thus, the weaker the camp, the more hidden they became.

Of course, Big Stone, being neighbors with Great Xia, knew roughly where the other camp lay—even if not precisely.

But if, as Wang Ming suggested, they now ventured to the earth mound and pinpointed Great Xia’s location—

The grudge between them would become immense.

It might even spiral, unintentionally, into a fight to the death.

“No need. Old Ding helped us before. I never intended to truly harm him—just teach him a lesson, so he’ll think twice before scheming again.”

Shi Qing shook his head, rejecting Wang Ming’s suggestion.

As fellow small camps, though competition existed, in truth, they were all merely struggling to survive.

The snow-maned beast had been taken by Great Xia—he was angry, of course.

But objectively, they had not directly harmed them.

Besides, when they once lacked manpower for hunting, Xia Ding had lent a hand.

Making a scene would be unnecessary.

“Hey, over there—someone’s moving. Is that Old Ding?”

While lost in thought, Shi Dong suddenly pointed into the dense forest interior.

Shi Qing and the others followed his gaze.

Indeed, over a dozen figures were slowly approaching from deep within the forest.

Shi Qing, an archer with sharp eyesight, quickly counted thirteen.

Great Xia’s logging team, including Xia Ding, numbered exactly thirteen.

After closely examining the leader’s build, Shi Qing immediately confirmed it.

“It’s Old Ding. Finally found him. Come, follow me!”

They had found the main culprit.

Shi Dong, Wang Ming, and the other ten immediately followed behind Shi Qing.

Indeed—it was Xia Ding.

Seeing the leader was truly Xia Ding, the deaths of their three brothers and the theft of the snow-maned beast surged into the minds of Big Stone Camp’s members—all erupted in fury.

“Old Ding, after all these years as neighbors, you dare scheme against me!”

Unlike Shi Qing’s relatively polite rebuke, Shi Dong and Wang Ming were blunt—even excessive.

“Xia Ding, how much of that snow-maned beast’s meat is left? Hand it all over—or don’t blame my bow for not recognizing you.”

“We lost three brothers, and you didn’t even say a word before taking the snow-maned beast. Today, if you don’t give an explanation, you won’t leave.”

Yet, after the three finished speaking, neither Xia Ding nor his twelve followers reacted at all.

They simply stared blankly at them.

After a long while, Xia Ding’s face slowly twisted into a smile.

But to the men of Big Stone Camp, the smile was deeply unnatural.

It was a normal smile—yet somehow, it looked like a person with poorly coordinated features forcing it out.

Shi Qing frowned, still silent, when his younger brother Shi Dong, unable to contain himself, stepped forward two paces and roared:

“Laugh your ass off, you deaf bastard?”

Even as he was cursed, Xia Ding’s group remained utterly unresponsive.

Seeing Xia Ding’s stiff expression and the twelve logging team members standing in the shadows, Shi Qing instinctively sensed something was wrong.

Ssssshh…

A sharp sound, like a silver needle slicing through air, suddenly rang out.

Shi Qing’s face turned pale—he leapt backward, nocked an arrow, and shouted to the group:

“Something’s wrong—fall back now!”

But it was too late.

The three slowest to retreat suddenly froze, standing motionless.

Upon closer look, their pupils were dilated, each forehead bore a tiny red dot.

From within the dot, blood slowly seeped out.

Three corpses collapsed silently.

Shi Qing and the others wore expressions of horror.

(End of Chapter)