Under the Ice Wall

Ice cubes are very common here. Meng Qi didn't look for it, but just picked up a piece at his feet.

She will use this thing next to perform the so-called ice-inquiring ceremony.

The Ice Inquiry Ceremony is a way of asking questions of the gods that has been passed down by the Bingxi people since ancient times.

Unlike the ways of asking gods that ordinary people are familiar with, which require preparing special equipment in advance, bathing and changing clothes, etc., the Bingxi people only need simple ice cubes to complete it.

There is nothing special about the choice of ice cubes, any piece larger than the size of your palm will do.

The only explanation is that the person who performs the ice inquiry ceremony must be a priest of the tribe.

Meng Qi held the ice in both hands, and under the gaze of all the tribesmen, he first closed his eyes, and hummed something with his lips, as if he was communicating something.

Then she suddenly opened her eyes. Ding Can didn't know if it was an illusion, but she felt that the moment she opened her eyes, a light flashed in her eyes. It was really different from her previous state.

Meng Qi's voice only got louder as he continued to ask the questions he wanted to ask.

"God, please tell me, will it be safe for us to go to Fengyang Island?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she immediately let go of her hand and the ice fell to the ground.

Without applying any force, relying only on the most ordinary gravitational potential energy, the ice shattered into several pieces the moment it touched the ground.

Some of the tribesmen had already stepped forward impatiently to observe the results.

"Five, six, seven... seven! It's definitely going to be dangerous if we go out to sea."

The middle-aged man with gray hair on his temples was the closest. After counting, his eyes showed a bit of despair. He squatted down with his hands covering his face, looking unwilling to accept it.

There was almost a cry in his voice.

Gao Wenwen was confused. Looking at Yin Jiu, whose expression had also become serious, he asked in a low voice, "What's wrong with seven yuan? Is it a special number?"

Does it mean that if this number appears, you will be very unlucky?

Yin Jiu sighed, somewhat surprised at how he would speak like that: "Seven is an odd number, have you forgotten?"

After a brief explanation, the few of them understood the criteria used by the Bingxi tribe when judging the results of the ice inquiry ceremony.

The Bingxi people believe in gods and respect the existence of the Holy Gate. When they encounter some difficult decisions or other important decisions, they will let the gods decide by throwing ice.

As for the inference of the results of throwing ice, it depends on whether the ice will break when it falls to the ground and the number of fragments that appear after breaking.

There are three situations in total.

Once the ice cubes hit the ground and break, an odd number of them means that the person asking about the ice is being denied.

If the number of broken pieces is even, then the question of the ice inquirer is confirmed.

As for the last case, if the ice is too hard to break, it means that the god is unwilling to answer this question and it cannot be asked again.

Then everyone understood. No wonder the tribesmen reacted in that way just now and threw out an odd number, indicating that the gods denied the question raised by Meng Qi.

What this means is that they will encounter risks if they go to Fengyang Island.

The Bingxi people started to whisper to each other, and then the discussion gradually became louder. Something that would endanger their lives would happen, and no one could remain calm in the current situation.

In contrast, Meng Qi remained calm. Things weren't so bleak. She picked up another piece of ice and asked her next question: "Gods, can the Bingmi Tribe successfully reach Fengyang Island?"

This time, everyone's attention was focused on the ice in Meng Qi's palm. They watched the ice fall down. It even turned over at the moment it hit the ground, but it did not break.

The gods are unwilling to answer this question, or rather, they don’t know how to answer it.

There will be dangers, but it is uncertain whether you can arrive safely. Faced with such an ambiguous outcome, everyone has mixed feelings.

After two inquiries, there was no good news, and everyone felt that the road ahead was even more uncertain.

Going out to sea is inevitable, they cannot stay on the shore. Now they can only hope that the so-called danger can be easily resolved and there will not be heavy losses.

Meng Qi lowered his eyes and without hesitation, he immediately decided: "We can't stay here for long. After daybreak, we must leave immediately."

Fengyang Island is the only refuge for the Bingmi Tribe during the cold winter. Apart from arriving there as early as possible, she can't think of a better solution for the time being.

The clan leader nodded and said, "This is the only way for now. Everyone, rest here and gather your strength before setting off again."

The ground was cold and damp. Several people used their packages as cushions and huddled together, shoulder to shoulder. They were just pretending to doze and were not sleepy at all.

Gao Wenwen shrank his neck. Here, every time he breathed, there would be noticeable white smoke floating in the air.

He hugged his knees and asked, "What do you think of the results of Xun Bing?"

Not to mention others, he actually believes in the existence of gods. People living in areas with relatively poor technology are more likely to believe in gods.

When people are shrouded in poverty and have nowhere else to go, they can only place their hope on God.

Gao Wenwen grew up deep in the mountains and was influenced by the older generation, so he is very respectful of gods and ghosts. Therefore, he actually tends to believe Xun Bing's results.

"It's better to believe it than not to believe it, so it's better to be more cautious."

Xia Jialian looked at the tribesmen around him who had already started praying. It was obvious that everyone was beginning to worry about the threats they might face next and prayed for more protection.

In fact, even without his reminder, the others would not have ignored it.

Even if Xun Bing had just received a safe answer, no one would really let down their guard completely.

Shi Yan was holding a stone, sharpening the dagger in her hand. The system limited the number of times she could exchange items, so she didn't exchange a dagger as usual this time.

The knife was just found in the storage cabinet of the ice house.

This artificial cold weapon is obviously much rougher, and the blade is almost invisible. At best, it can only cut ordinary things. It is estimated that it can't even cut bones when cooking.

It's better than nothing, so Shi Yan still brought it with her and is now trying to make it sharper, hoping that it can help her in the next ocean voyage.

"Hopefully we can stay safe for a while."

From the time they entered the dungeon yesterday afternoon until their sleep was interrupted, they had not had a good rest. Shi Yan felt physically and mentally tired, and there was still too little time for everyone to relax.

At daybreak, the patriarch began to organize the team to march south.

Normally, all the daily affairs of the Bingxi tribe are decided by the tribe leader, and these are not matters that require the priests to worry about. At such times, it is natural for him to take the lead.

The garrison location is one or two kilometers away from the coastline. The time is low tide, which is suitable for moving large ships out.

Every spring when the large ship returns to the Ice Migrant Tribe from Fengyang Island, it is first dragged up and tied to the shore to prevent it from being corroded by being left in the sea for too long.

Despite this, the sea levels fluctuate unpredictably. In order to avoid unexpected situations, special tribesmen will come to check every half a month to a month, so that if there are any performance problems with the ship, they can be solved immediately.

Especially a few days ago, when it was predicted that the Holy Gate would close early, the patriarch had already notified people to come and inspect and repair the ship inside and out.

After walking for more than ten minutes, the group had already arrived near the ship.

Ding Can had to raise his head to see the entire ship clearly.

It can be seen that there are three floors above the cabin, and the extremely deep bottom of the cabin must have space to accommodate people.

There are nearly three hundred people in the Bingxi tribe, which is more than enough for them all to fit on the boat.

"The old people and children get on the boat first, and leave thirty men to push the boat!" the patriarch shouted loudly.

The sea is calm now, with only the waves faintly hitting the rocks and the occasional sound of hitting the rocks. It is the best time to go out to sea.

There is a platform on the side of the cabin near the bow.

The platform can rotate at the connection point, flip outward and rest on the beach, and be fixed in a slope shape, so that people can walk directly into the cabin from here.

Ding Can and other tribesmen boarded the boat along this passage. The last person to come up used a rope to pull up the platform and fixed it back to its original position.

The mudflats near the shore are relatively shallow, which ensures that when the boat is stored, it will not be at risk of sailing out to sea.

Similarly, it became difficult to go out to sea. Those who were still in the cabin at this moment untied all the ropes on the side of the ship and pushed the hull with their hands.

Xia Jialian and Gao Wenwen were classified as young and middle-aged laborers. It was not until they stood at the base of the cabin that they understood why their shoes were made of this waterproof and cold-proof material.

Otherwise, if it came into contact with sea water at this time and got soaked, the situation would be completely different.

Everyone pushed the boat following the shouts, and the young people gathered their strength on the wooden hull.

Gao Wenwen originally thought that it would be very difficult to push such a heavy boat, especially with so many people on board. Unexpectedly, with everyone working together, the boat was actually moving forward steadily.

Almost every push would allow him to move forward a small half step, probably because part of the ship was already in the sea.

But this feeling of relief did not last long, as he could no longer smile because the boat was pushed forward and he began to step on the water.

First there were the sensations of small puddles, and then I could clearly feel the water rising along the tops of my feet.

It didn't seep out, but through the waterproof layer, the coldness still passed through the fur shoes to the soles of the feet.

After just a few minutes, Gao Wenwen began to lose the feeling of his feet and was pushing forward almost entirely by willpower.

"Why do they have to suffer like this every year?" He almost squeezed out these words from between his teeth to complain to Xia Jialian. He couldn't stand living in such a place for a long time.

"Maybe it's because of faith." Xia Jialian's face was tense, and it was obvious that he was not feeling well at the moment.

The platform cannot be lowered after it is out of the water, so the last people to get on the boat have to climb directly onto the deck using ropes.

Some loops were reserved on the rope for stepping on. After confirming that the ship was no longer likely to run aground, everyone climbed up using their hands and feet.

The rope was soaked with sea water and a thin layer of ice formed almost the moment it came out of the water.

After Gao Wenwen climbed up, he was so tired that he fell on the ground with his legs up in the air, gasping for breath.