No one needed her to scold them. Whether they were full or not, no one wanted to stay there any longer. No one knew if that unknown 'great power' would kill them and turn their corpses into weapons.

“Let’s go too.” Li Changzhou stood up.

After borrowing a light, the eight men left the tavern. As soon as they stepped out the door, their eyes were stung by the sight of pure white.

The weather was clear, the earth was covered in white, and the cold was biting.

Following the snow path plowed out by those who had gone before, the group arrived at the stables.

The horses' backs were covered in snow, and several horses outside the stable had long icicles trailing from their muzzles.

The horse, craving the lingering warmth and moisture of the stable after lying down for so long, resisted Li Changzhou and his companions like an enemy. However, thanks to the old man and his men's superb horse-training skills, it eventually got up reluctantly.

Andy was assigned to be at the very front by the old man, responsible for clearing the way.

The group once again formed a straight line and moved forward through the world of white snow.

Riding on horseback is like sitting in a boat in the snow, with your whole body floating on the white snow.

“Captain,” the old man followed behind Li Changzhou, “I will discipline Andy. Please forgive his impulsiveness just now.”

"I will protect you, but you'd better remember that your lives are ultimately your own."

The old man nodded silently.

Putting aside what happened before, the old man continued, "Now there are at least three holders of the 'Great Power' heading to the Abyss, including the captain, and the situation is becoming increasingly dangerous."

"Don't worry," Li Changzhou said. "None of those who fought in the tavern today were my match."

As punishment, Andy walked at the front all morning. During this time, everyone had to stop every hour to collect branches to start a fire, otherwise the horse would die and people's legs would be completely ruined.

At noon, everyone decided to take a good rest to replenish their food and energy.

This time, it wasn't just a simple fire; they built a proper-looking large fire pit, with people sitting and horses crouching, each person leaning against their own horse. The eight people and eight horses surrounded the fire pit like bricks.

Andy was trembling all over, his eyelashes and eyebrows were covered with thick frost, and his scarf and hat brim were covered with snow from walking through the woods and brushing against the branches.

Tali sprinkled seasoning into the melted snow water, and it smelled like pepper.

Each of the eight men and eight horses had a cup. In addition, the men ate horse meat bought from the tavern, while the horses ate corn kernels.

Yang Qinglan held the kettle in both hands, drinking the scalding hot water, but her feet were still icy cold.

After taking a few sips, she felt her abdomen warm up slightly.

She sighed, looked up at the sky, and murmured, "The trees and the sky are frozen."

They were in the forest, and the world was indeed as clean and silent as if it were dead.

Tali was somewhat surprised to discover that the lone traveler who had joined them at the last minute was a woman, and that her voice was so pleasant.

The old man suspected that she was the one who controlled the corpses; otherwise, how could a woman with such a pleasant voice dare to go to the abyss alone?

Besides, the corpse did indeed show Andy mercy in the tavern earlier—by exchanging injuries for injuries. For someone with such perfect combat skills, it seemed more like a way to 'force him to retreat' than to kill him.

He chewed on the horse meat, drank hot water sprinkled with seasoning, and peered at Li Changzhou's expression—the captain didn't seem surprised. Could it be that the two of them had already formed an alliance last night?

Li Changzhou noticed his gaze, but didn't pay it any mind.

He leaned lazily against the undulating belly of the horse and said to Yang Qinglan, "William Shakespeare once said, 'No longer afraid of the harsh winter.'"

"Let Shakespeare try it himself," Yang Qinglan said dismissively.

"Ha ha!"

The weather was really, really cold. Even when I was only half a meter away from the roaring campfire, my breath was still white.

After their bodies had recovered somewhat, Yett, Berts, and the others became more interested and started talking about the combat skills of the corpses in the tavern. Their tone was full of admiration and fear. Although Andy was almost killed, he admitted that he was no match for them at all.

After resting for an hour, the group continued their journey, this time with Shi Quan leading the way.

"At our current speed, we should reach the edge of the abyss before sunset, rest there for the night, and then descend at dawn the next day." The old man spread out the map tube and compared it with the surrounding environment.

"Tell everyone again what we need to pay attention to." Li Changzhou said this mainly because he and Yang Qinglan needed it.

“Alright.” The old man nodded, then raised his voice, “Once we reach the Abyss, the most important thing is that the fire must never go out! The cold, the darkness, the ice corpses, and the ice souls all need the flame to dispel them!”

"Secondly, do not look into the abyss; your eyes must never look down!"

“Finally,” he paused, “if anyone dies, burn their body immediately.”

After saying that, the old man shouted again, "Andy, Tali, Stonefist, this is the first time for the three of you to go down into the abyss. Remember, don't think about what you can gain. Leaving alive is the greatest gain for a newcomer, understand?"

"Understood!" Stone Fist replied loudly.

"I understand," Tali replied, trying her best.

"Andy?!" the old man shouted as he turned around.

Andy pursed his lips: "I understand even if you don't say it."

"You'd better do that." The old man looked at him intently.

Not long after we set off, a blizzard struck.

A fierce wind howled, and snowflakes filled the sky and earth once more. Strangely, the sun still hung in the sky, only obscured by a hazy gray.

Shi Quan, led by Ta Xue, could barely move. He dismounted and tried to lead the horse forward, but the strong wind made it impossible for him to take another step.

The cold wind howled, and the ice and snow stung.

Everyone gritted their teeth, bowed deeply to the raging wind and blizzard, and tried to control their trembling jaws.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!