Chapter 970 Going to the Island
At the end of August, the ice field had just passed through the hottest season of the year, and the ice layer was not very thick in some places, so the ice wolves had to be very careful.
The young wolf king, though seemingly young, possessed extraordinary talents, including an exceptionally keen sense of danger.
It can sense when the ice beneath its feet begins to thin and react in time, either by changing course or slowing down.
Liao Chen and Xiao Heng took turns standing at the back to drive the sled, giving commands to the Ice Wolf and controlling the steering to maintain the stability of the sled.
Gu Jiao and Daoist Qingfeng also tried driving the sled.
Gu Jiao was going too fast; the sled was almost flying. The four of them voted to remove her from the race.
Master Qingfeng was terrible with directions. The group took a nap on the sled, and when they woke up, they found that Master Qingfeng, along with the Ice Wolf, had taken them all back to the border of Yan Kingdom.
Feng Wuxiu suffers from sled sickness; he vomits violently even while sitting, let alone stand up to drive the sled.
At the end of August, the ice field was hit by the first snowstorm of the year. They could not find a place to take shelter from the snow and could only struggle forward in the wind and snow.
The snowstorm at this time was not considered severe for the entire freezing period, but even so, everyone felt the difficulty of moving forward.
Xiao Heng and Gu Jiao both thought of Marquis Xuanping.
It was just a light snowfall in August, and with the help of the Icefield Wolves, they still had such a difficult journey. It's unimaginable what kind of extreme weather conditions Marquis Xuanping must have encountered to bring the purple grass and fruit out of the Icefield.
As evening approached, the snowstorm finally stopped. The group was almost frozen solid on the sled, and the dire wolves were so exhausted that they collapsed and could not take another step.
"Are you alright?" Xiao Heng asked Gu Jiao, who was in his arms.
"Hmm, it's alright." As soon as Gu Jiao spoke, she realized that she could no longer open her mouth and could only numbly utter inaccurate sounds.
Feng Wuxiu was also held in his brother's arms. It was a bit cold, but thankfully he didn't freeze to death.
The sled driver was Liao Chen.
He stood at the back of the sled, his whole body wrapped in thick leather, wearing a leather hat that covered his ears, his long eyelashes covered in frost, and the snow on his cheeks falling without melting, almost forming a cold mask.
"Hey." His lips were already frozen and unable to move, and he could only make muffled sounds from his mouth, "Niu Di Zi, Da Ga Sou (hand)."
He was wearing gloves, but they were completely frozen to the reins, and his fingers were completely stiff.
Although Master Qingfeng really wanted to kill him, it wasn't the right time to take advantage of someone in distress.
He moved his somewhat stiff body, walked over and used his dagger to pry open the ice on his gloves, then slowly injected a trace of internal energy to warm his fingertips.
He just used this method to protect Feng Wuxiu from the severe cold.
On the other side, Gu Jiao and Xiao Heng took firewood from the sled and lit a campfire in the snow.
"There's a fire! There's a fire!" Feng Wuxiu quickly came over, squatted down, and stretched out his hands to warm them by the fire.
Xiao Heng went to get some dry rations, and Gu Jiao skewered them and roasted them over a fire. Xiao Heng then took out some ice fish he had caught along the way to feed the ice wolves.
Gu Jiao sat in front of the fire, turned her head, and looked at him with her chin on her hand: "I never see you feeding the chickens, dogs, birds, or horses at home, but you're quite diligent in feeding the wolves."
"Achoo!" Feng Wuxiu sneezed loudly.
Gu Jiao reached out and touched his forehead.
"I'm fine, my nose is just itchy, is it here..." He sniffed, looking around, and then moved closer to Gu Jiao.
"What?" Gu Jiao looked at him strangely.
Feng Wuxiu asked, "Did you hide some food?"
"I didn't," Gu Jiao said seriously.
"Spicy food." He turned his head and sneezed loudly again. "I sneeze as soon as I smell spicy food... Achoo! Achoo!"
Gu Jiao lowered her head and saw that the little meat shop in her purse was indeed exposed.
Under Feng Wuxiu's dumbfounded gaze, she calmly hid the little meat jerky back inside.
“This isn’t enough to eat.” Liao Chen glanced at the dry steamed buns on the fire, then leisurely went to the nearby ice and chiseled a hole in it. He caught a few plump fish, cleaned them, and brought them back to the fire.
He sat down opposite Master Qingfeng and handed him a skewered fish: "Can you grill fish?"
"No," Master Qingfeng said indifferently.
"Your brother really doesn't know how?" Liao Chen asked Feng Wuxiu, who was sitting next to Qingfeng Daoist.
Feng Wuxiu nodded: "My brother can't do anything! He can't cook, and he can't sew!"
Liao Chen looked at Daoist Qingfeng with disbelief: "You can't cook, so how did you survive getting lost in the forest?"
Master Qingfeng said, "Eat wild fruit."
Liao Chen's lips twitched.
Liao Chen's culinary skills are comparable to Gu Jiao's. The fish he grills is fresh and tender, and when sprinkled with fine salt and spices, it is simply a delicacy.
Feng Wuxiu ate with great relish: "Brother Liaochen, your grilled fish is so delicious! It's even better than Tianxianglou's! When we get back to Shengdu... will I be able to eat your grilled fish again?"
Liao Chen chuckled and said, "If your brother doesn't kill me, I'd be happy to grill a few more fish for you."
Feng Wuxiu asked in confusion, "But why would my brother want to kill you?"
Liao Chen's lips curled into a smile: "Because—"
Master Qingfeng grabbed a fish and coldly stuffed it into Chen's mouth.
Liao Chen took a bite, held the grilled fish in his hand, and said with a smile, "Because I'm better than your brother, and your brother is jealous of me."
"Oh." Feng Wuxiu buried his head in eating fish, too busy to speak up for his brother.
Xiao Heng tore off the most tender part from the fish's belly and handed it to Gu Jiao.
Liao Chen smiled, picked up another grilled fish from the shelf, and handed it to Daoist Qingfeng with a half-smile: "Three-clean meat, you can eat it."
Master Qingfeng said calmly, "What kind of 'three-fold pure meat' do you monks eat?"
Feng Wuxiu puffed out his cheeks and said, "Brother, he said you can eat it!"
Master Qingfeng glared at him coldly. Whose brother are you, anyway?
...
The following day, the group continued their journey and, after three days, finally spotted the Dark Island atop the ice at nightfall on the third day of the ninth lunar month.
In the past few days, there have been several light snowfalls, and the temperature has dropped considerably compared to when we first set off. The ice layer has thickened, which is very beneficial for returning to the island.
The direwolf pulled the sled to the ferry crossing on Dark Night Island.
It was too late, and the ferry crossing was closed. The imposing iron fence, like a city gate, blocked their way.
The guards patrolling above the island spotted them, and the leader quickly asked warily, "Who goes there?"
Xiao Heng revealed the Dark Night Island token left behind by Chang Jing and said with a cold look in his eyes, "Xuanping Marquis's Residence, Xiao Heng."
The head guard asked, "Is this the young Marquis Zhaodu?"
Xiao Heng said, "That's right."
The head guard frowned cautiously: "How do I know if you're an imposter? You all wait here, I'll go report to the sect leader."
As soon as he finished speaking, a tall and strong figure descended from the sky, flew down from the island onto the sled, and swiftly picked up Xiao Heng and Gu Jiao, and went up to the island in a flash!
He simply turned his back to the guards with an imposing air.
All the guards: "???"
(End of this chapter)
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