Chapter 201: Setting Out (Part 3)

After entering the tributary, because they were traveling upstream, their speed slowed down significantly; unlike following the Dahe downstream where it was all downhill or flat ice and relatively easy, traveling against the current was actually walking uphill, which was quite strenuous.

However, reaching the tributary also meant that they were getting closer and closer to the territory of the Jiangbenshi. After traveling for another two days, Baifeng had already seen a flat-topped mountain standing in the distance; that mountain must be the volcano.

The tribespeople of the Jiangbenshi also saw that mountain. Perhaps due to longing for their homeland, they each exerted all their strength to sprint in that direction. Although their current status was that of Slaves, it seemed that upon seeing their home, they had forgotten their present situation.

At this time, Baifeng also reminded his own tribespeople to be extra vigilant, as this was the time when danger was most likely to occur.

The closer they got to that mountain, the higher the temperature became. Not only was there no more Snow, but even the ice in the river became thinner and thinner. They dared not continue walking on the ice, so they went ashore and proceeded on foot. At this point, the Sleds became a burden, so they had no choice but to abandon the Sleds on the bank; however, these places were desolate and uninhabited, so there was no fear of them being stolen by anyone.

Most of the supplies on the Sleds were carried by the people of the Jiangbenshi; only the Weapons and the majority of the Dry Rations were carried by the people of Baifeng's tribe. This way, there was no fear that the people of the Jiangbenshi would suddenly turn against them and attack.

And the fact was, ever since the people of the Jiangbenshi arrived in their own territory, their minds had become active, and they had been looking for an opportunity to escape or even kill the people of Baifeng's tribe in return. However, the gleaming Changdao in the hands of Baifeng's tribespeople, as well as the Strong Crossbow, were constantly reminding them that they had no chance, and that if they ran away, they would only face death.

After not walking for much longer, they saw scattered thatched huts and wooden Tent frames, only now they were dilapidated and broken, telling of the suffering they had once endured. When the people of the Jiangbenshi saw this scene, they could not help but be struck to the heart, as if they were experiencing the despair of their tribe being wiped out all over again, and they all began to cry.

Seeing this situation, Baifeng found it difficult to stop them, but the people of the Jiangbenshi seemed to cry endlessly, throwing their things on the ground and refusing to get up. If this continued, they would likely waste a lot of time, so Baifeng had no choice but to use words to threaten them into continuing the journey. After some relief, the people of the Jiangbenshi finally put away their sorrowful emotions and continued to move forward.

Their former houses were a good place to set up camp, but the spring they spoke of that never cooled—the hot spring—was still two days away. Therefore, they put the things that did not need to be carried into the rooms here and traveled light toward that hot spring.

The people of Baifeng's tribe carried the Weapons, and the people of the Jiangbenshi carried the hemp sacks for holding the Sulfur. All the Dry Rations were carried by the people of Baifeng's tribe; even if someone wanted to escape, they had to consider whether they would have anything to eat after escaping and whether they would starve to death outside.

The further they went, the stronger the foul smell in the air became. Baifeng had prepared for this in advance; his tribespeople had taken out Masks made of two layers of Hemp Cloth with Charcoal sandwiched in between, soaked in water. He did not know if this would be effective, but this was the limit of the protection Baifeng could provide.

It was just that it was very stifling after putting them on, and the tribespeople were unwilling to wear them, but seeing their Tribal Chief wearing one like this, they did not dare to take them off. As for the people of the Jiangbenshi, they did not have any, because they often walked here and were used to the smell; they did not consider things like poisoning, as in their view, this was the breath that the Fire God should have.

Sulfur could already be seen scattered along the road, but they did not pick it up, choosing instead to go directly to the hot spring to find the large deposits; otherwise, picking it up now would mean having to carry it there and back, which would be a waste of effort.

After camping for one night, the next day they arrived at the hot spring under the volcano. It was constantly emitting hot steam and carrying poisonous gas. Baifeng was truly very afraid, so he could only try his best to avoid those thick clouds of mist. Now he even regretted coming here.

Fortunately, the color of the spring water was normal, and the mist rising from it was also white. If it were any other color, Baifeng would definitely have fled at the first opportunity and would never come here to mine Sulfur again in the future.

Time was very tight, and Baifeng did not dare to stay too long. Fortunately, the Sulfur here was in continuous patches, basically all in chunks the size of a human head. Baifeng told them to hurry up and fill the bags, and to run once they were finished; he also started digging himself.

Not only was there Sulfur, but most of the ground here was composed of black basalt, and there were some green rock bodies on the basalt. Baifeng curiously knocked on them, and unexpectedly, on some of the green stones, there was even Peridot.

Many of the Peridot were of good quality, and the chunks were quite large, but in this era, they did not have much use, and even in later generations, they were not particularly valuable gemstones.

However, they did look very beautiful, so Baifeng picked out some Peridot with good quality, large size, and high transparency to collect; there would be no problem with making some ornaments or the like when he returned.

The people of the Jiangbenshi each carried two large hemp sacks. In addition to carrying them for themselves, they also had to carry a portion for their tribespeople; these were the tasks given to them. Of course, Baifeng could not say that it was mandatory for everyone to have one bag; as long as the quantity was about right, that was enough.

After the bags were full, Baifeng called for them to hurry and flee the area. However, what Baifeng did not expect was that those people of the Jiangbenshi actually put down their bags, knelt on the ground, kissed the earth, and kowtowed several times fiercely before standing up.

Let's just assume they were worshipping the Fire God; Baifeng did not want to offend their faith. If these things violated a taboo, they might just dive headfirst into the spring water, which would be bad, and Baifeng's efforts would go down the drain.

Fortunately, after they stood up, they immediately carried their things and followed Baifeng, without lingering any longer.

Because they carried too much Sulfur on the return trip, their speed was much slower. It took them several days of walking to reach the place where they had left the Sleds.

Baifeng calculated the time; it was already the middle of the third nine-day period of winter. They had to hurry back to the tribe before the Dahe thawed, otherwise their Sleds would be useless again, so they had to speed up their journey.

The return trip was also relatively smooth, just quite strenuous; after all, it was traveling against the current.

The amount of Sulfur harvested this time, Baifeng estimated, would be more than enough for him to use for several years, even if he fought several wars, it would be completely sufficient, and he would not risk coming here to mine Sulfur next year.