Chapter 132: Returning Home on a Snowy Night

The weather is getting colder and colder, the snow is getting thicker and thicker, and the wind blows up snow grit that makes everyone's eyes ache. Without gloves, without earmuffs, their snot has already frozen into ice, and they no longer know if their hands are hot or cold; in any case, they have already lost all sensation and cannot even manage to move them, just numbly pushing the handcarts down the mountain.

Suddenly, at the position of the lead cart, the snow fell away with a *whoosh*, and the cart hung in mid-air. The people behind pulled, but it kept sliding down. Baifeng hurriedly told them to let go—did they not want their lives anymore?

Once they let go, the cart slid forward a bit and then fell straight down. Looking by the light of the torches, it was a water-eroded hole—the kind that was originally just a rat hole, but rain poured in, and since there was an exit at the lower position, the whole hole became something like a water pipe, getting washed larger and larger over the years, though it was not very deep.

The grass around the hole was too long and there were dwarf thorn bushes, and the accumulated snow was too thick for them to see the hole, but even if they fell in here, they wouldn't be killed by the fall, unless they were so unlucky that their lives were meant to end and it was possible to die here.

Moreover, this was also one of their landmarks; arriving here meant they were already very close to the tribe. Although their route was slightly off, they only needed to correct the direction a little. Baifeng estimated that at the current speed, they could arrive in two hours.

The appearance of this familiar hole also encouraged everyone, and Baifeng also let out a sigh of relief. Everyone adjusted their moods and pushed the carts with even more effort; everyone finally felt that the road ahead was not so ignorant and confusing.

Everyone was panting, and they finally arrived on the plain. The snow was thicker here, but there was no need to worry about taking the wrong path or the road being blocked by something. The tribe's city wall was right before their eyes, and the Soldiers patrolling on the city wall were still there. Bright firelight could be seen in the fortresses on the wall; if they didn't roast by the fire, they would definitely freeze to death on the wall top.

Seeing the firelight on the Wasteland, the Soldiers also knew that the Tribal Chief and the others must be returning, so the hearts that had been hanging in their chests were finally put down. Although hunting elephants was dangerous, they were not too worried; after all, hunting was a coexistence of danger and opportunity, and it was normal for people to die during hunting, and not many people would die.

But this sudden heavy snow made everyone panic. Humans have no way to compare with Nature; such a casual snowfall could cause a tribe without a shelter, without enough animal skins, and without collected firewood to perish rapidly, and many wild beasts would likely not be able to survive it either.

Even if they knew the people on the Wasteland were their tribesmen, the necessary signals had to be given; this was a must. So they blew the Bamboo Whistle hard. Under the howling of the gale, the sound of the whistle could not travel far at all. In the ears of Baifeng and the others, there was only the sound of the wind and the panting of their tribesmen; they had no idea that the Soldiers on the city wall had sent a signal.

That Soldier did not receive a response, so he took a deep breath of cold air and continued to blow hard. After a few times, the Whistle had already been frozen solid by the hot air, and it would not sound, so he changed to another Whistle and continued to blow.

Getting closer and closer, Baifeng could also hear the sound of the whistle, but at this time, stopping to take out the whistle and then blowing hard was indeed a matter that required great courage, because he felt that as long as he stopped, he would never be able to walk again.

All of them had been traveling since yesterday afternoon until now, almost morning. Except for eating one meal, they had not stopped for a single moment, and the snow was so thick that it was even more difficult to walk.

But not responding would not do either. Baifeng let go of the handcart, let others push, and his own feet did not stop. He pushed the lead cart, which was also to tread a path for the tribesmen, because the few of them pushing the lead cart were the strongest people in the entire tribe, and this kind of thing had to be done by them.

Baifeng stumbled, reaching into his collar to grope for his Bamboo Whistle. He felt that his body temperature was already low enough; as soon as the collar was pulled slightly, the wind poured straight inside, and Baifeng even had the feeling that he was about to die immediately.

With difficulty, he took out the whistle and began to blow it weakly. After blowing hard a few times, he really couldn't blow anymore, so he held it in his mouth and blew it intermittently with his breathing. The city gate was right in front of him. Just as Baifeng was about to blow hard one more time, the city gate was opened.

The moment the patrolling people saw the torches and judged that it was their tribesmen, someone immediately went to notify everyone. Everyone was on tenterhooks, fearing that the Soldiers would not be able to return, so they were all too anxious to sleep.

They originally thought about everyone going together to help, but because the wind was too urgent, even though there was a cover on the city gate, it was now blown with a very thick layer of snow, which blocked the city gate and prevented it from opening.

They felt that the longer the tribesmen stayed outside, the more dangerous it would be, so even without anyone commanding, they all consciously picked up tools to clear the snow. Those who could not squeeze in to shovel snow swept the snow along the way clean.

By the time they cleared everything and the city gate could be opened, as soon as it opened, Baifeng and the others had already arrived at the entrance.

Everyone rushed up, scrambling to push the handcarts that had already lost their wheels. Although it was strange, no one asked; being able to bring everyone back safely was the most important thing.

Once the carts were taken over by others, many tribesmen collapsed directly, unable to walk anymore, so more people came to carry these collapsed people back. Most people were helped back.

The few people at the lead cart were even more tired. Now everything was supported by a single obsession. Baifeng really wanted to collapse immediately, then be sent by the tribesmen into his warm room, and then sleep soundly. Of course, it would be better if he could drink a mouthful of thick meat soup first.

However, he was not qualified to collapse. He was the Tribal Chief; no matter what, he had to hold on. Of the four people at the lead cart, not one collapsed. Now that there were no carts, and there was no accumulated snow on the swept road for the time being, they walked back relying on their own willpower, only thinking about returning to their rooms and lying down quickly.

Baifeng's house was relatively far, so he was the one who walked the most tiredly. He now had no strength left to open his mouth to speak, so when the tribesmen asked about some things, he acted as if he hadn't heard them.

But this did not matter; as long as the Tribal Chief returned safely, they would not panic with the backbone present.

Baifeng walked toward the room, swaying with every step. Sui had already run out to greet him. She supported Baifeng's arm, and Baifeng's legs immediately went soft and he was completely out of strength. However, Sui still understood Baifeng; even for a strong man like Baifeng, Sui still propped him up to walk and did not let him fall to the ground.

Once inside the room, Sui threw Baifeng onto the bed. Because the temperature difference was too great, Baifeng soon felt his hands and face itching, but he told himself not to scratch under any circumstances.

As for the others, Baifeng did not need to worry about them scratching themselves, because most of them had already collapsed at the city gate and were probably sleeping soundly by now. Furthermore, Baifeng's brain was already a mess, and he couldn't remember at all whether the tribesmen would scratch their hands now.