[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-endless-winter-my-camp-infinitely-upgrades":3,"chapter-endless-winter-my-camp-infinitely-upgrades-endless-winter-my-camp-infinitely-upgrades-chapter-444":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Endless Winter: My Camp Infinitely Upgrades",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2266870,4425,"Chapter 444: Encounter and Gratitude, a Quiet Move, Trial and Opportunity","endless-winter-my-camp-infinitely-upgrades-chapter-444",444,"\u003Cp>In the 297th year of Cai Qiu, the fifteenth day of the second month, nightfall\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qinghuacheng, Hong family’s guest quarters, side courtyard\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Tiejiang strode in from outside, his face heavy with worry, and saw a burly figure practicing spear drills in the courtyard—his expression instantly brightened with relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tiechuan, your body’s recovered?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man practicing turned his head, revealing a face of unspeakable horror.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Half his lower jaw had been sheared away; seven or eight long, jagged scars, like giant centipedes, crisscrossed his face—some slanting from his left eyebrow through his nose to his right cheek; others rising from his left ear to his forehead; several more across his mouth… the sight was grotesque.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mmm…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only his face—when Hu Tiechuan instinctively opened his mouth to speak, he revealed only a stub of tongue left. He stammered a few sounds, realized he could no longer speak, and instead nodded with a smile, signaling his injuries were no longer an issue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet even his smile looked chilling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Tiejiang did not despise him, but seeing his brother’s monstrous face, a deep, burning hatred flared in his pupils—he clenched his fists slightly, then immediately relaxed them, forcing a casual laugh: “That’s excellent. In a couple days, let’s go together to thank my lord.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Tiechuan nodded, stepped forward, gently tugged his brother’s arm, and shook his head softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The brothers shared perfect understanding; though Hu Tiechuan said nothing, Hu Tiejiang instantly grasped his meaning. His forced calm vanished—he tightened again, the hatred in his eyes flaring once more, only slowly suppressed after long silence. He spoke in a low voice: “Don’t worry, Brother won’t act rashly. I thought the Zhang family only controlled Chihu Ridge, maybe ruling that backwater. I never imagined they had influence even here in Qinghuacheng—this is all my fault for dragging you into this…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, regret filled Hu Tiejiang’s face. His guilt was crushing—his voice trembled slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their years-long dream of escaping their low status had shattered the moment they entered Qinghuacheng’s jurisdiction on the seventeenth of last month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…………\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Tiejiang hailed from Chihu Ridge, a village in central Changqing Valley, one of five hamlets in the region—his own, Huwei Village, among them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though orphaned young, both he and his brother possessed decent cultivation talent, coupled with a ruthless will to survive—they broke through to Cold-Resisting Level early, and upon reaching it, immediately registered as low-status in Qinghuacheng, taking up laborer work hauling goods around Chihu Ridge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Laborers were among the lowliest trades; their work was not illegal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Life had been steady, uneventful—enough to sustain them. But everything changed after they married.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their wives, Fang Jing and Wang Qing, were servants of Zhang Yiqing, the village head. The marriages themselves had been arranged by Zhang Yiqing—back then, both brothers were considered village talents; low-status men marrying servants, neither side dishonored the other, and both families were delighted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The trouble began when each brother had children.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cai Qiu’s six-tier status system was hereditary: parents’ status determined children’s status—at least until age fifteen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under this rule, their five children could only inherit slave or low-status registration. How could they accept that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hardworking and resourceful, with strong hunting skills, they had saved enough over the past few years. They boldly approached Zhang Yiqing, proposing to free their wives’ status.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yiqing agreed readily, promising: since they were from the same village, if the brothers hunted for him free for two years, he’d hand over Fang Jing and Wang Qing’s slave registrations without a single coin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when the two years ended, everything turned sour—Zhang Yiqing reneged. Furious and certain of their moral ground, with enough money saved, the brothers took bold action: they stole their wives’ status documents, planning to escape to Qinghuacheng first, make it irreversible, then deal with the consequences.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was when their dream of freedom shattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Traveling from Huwei Village to Qinghuacheng, they saw no pursuit from Zhang Yiqing—they’d even dared to hope he hadn’t noticed, or had noticed too late, too far behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only upon entering Qinghuacheng did they realize: Zhang Yiqing had never intended to chase. He’d already prepared everything within the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the seventeenth of last month, Hu Tiejiang had planned to take his family to the jurisdiction office himself for registration clearance. But his brother Hu Tiechuan volunteered, rushing ahead of him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Helpless, Hu Tiejiang could only hide and watch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What he saw shattered him: the moment Hu Tiechuan entered, the entire family was seized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Tiejiang was frantic. After discreet inquiries, he learned the Zhang family of Chihu Ridge held considerable power even in Qinghuacheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yiping, captain of Enforcement Squad Five, was Zhang Yiqing’s own cousin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he heard this, his heart collapsed. Despair flooded him—not only had his dream of freedom died, but now his brother’s and family’s lives were in peril.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In desperation, he grasped at the only straw he knew: Hong Yu, the man whispered about throughout Qinghuacheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So on the twenty-fifth of last month, cornered by Zhang Yiping’s men, he ran for his life to Hong’s mansion, begging Hong Yu to remember their brief journey together and save them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t just madness—it was pure delusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Tiejiang had no real hope. He doubted Hong Yu even remembered him—and even if he did, given Hong Yu’s current status in the city, he’d never deign to help.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the outcome far exceeded his expectations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Yu didn’t come—but his four disciples did.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as Su Jing and his three siblings arrived, the Enforcement Squad released the entire family without question. After nine days of investigation, they even concluded Zhang Yiqing was in the wrong—and ten days later, they delivered Fang Jing and Wang Qing’s slave registration documents to Hong’s mansion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They handed them directly to Hu Tiejiang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>………………\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Recalling how Zhang Yiping had placed his wife’s slave documents into his hands ten days ago—with that abject, groveling expression—Hu Tiejiang’s fury didn’t dim. It burned hotter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially seeing his brother’s mangled face, remembering how his tongue had been cut out alive in prison, leaving him mute—his breath grew heavy, his hatred deeper, fiercer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During those days in custody, not only Hu Tiechuan suffered unspeakable torture—his wives Fang Jing and Wang Qing endured the same. Even their infants, barely a year old, froze to death in prison after Enforcement Squad confiscated their winter gear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every one of these blood debts—no matter how many times the Enforcement Squad members begged, even if Qinghuacheng’s Chengzhu Cai Yunzhou himself came to beg forgiveness—could never erase Hu Tiejiang’s hatred.\u003C\u002Fp>",1091,"2026-06-19T20:30:17.581Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","39d1c61fa274eaa8142bef2de5117d8c397e03c14b23ee11e7cd1ea19dbe0de8","endless-winter-my-camp-infinitely-upgrades-chapter-445","endless-winter-my-camp-infinitely-upgrades-chapter-443",521,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fendless-winter-my-camp-infinitely-upgrades-cover.jpg"]