At Feng Shan’s command, the tribal Fire Seed began to slowly change.
The flas shot upward and shrank, gradually converging into a thick, bright column of fire shaped like a blazing torch. This was its most balanced state.
anwhile, in Feng Shan’s mind, the light of the Fire Seed extended outward like a surging tide, spreading rapidly in all directions with unstoppable montum.
The areas shrouded in darkness were instantly devoured by the brilliant light, revealing the true face of the river beach.
The area illuminated by the Fire Seed, originally only about the size of half a basketball court, had now expanded tenfold.
Under the fire’s light, the thick snow on the Glacial River Beach thinned and disappeared at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Droplets of water gathered into trickling streams, andering across the barren soil.
The once-barren and dry ground gradually beca moist and soft, as if slowly awakening in the warmth of the light.
Following the Fire Seed in his mind, Feng Shan walked to the edge of the light and placed a stone as a marker, though a marker wasn’t really necessary.
The boundary line of the lted snow clearly showed the general area.
In the near future, another patch of green would appear on the Glacial River Beach.
Next, Feng Shan had Nash, who was kneeling on the ground, stand up. The two of them then scattered vegetable seeds onto the soil where the snow had lted.
They didn’t make a planting plan because planning was useless here.
The vegetable patch they had cleared out last ti was now overgrown with moss. The seedlings had sprouted, but they were difficult to find.
Just then, a clear eagle’s cry echoed from the sky.
Feng Shan looked up.
It was a familiar face.
The White Feathered Eagle was circling above their heads. Clutching a plump wild rabbit, it slowly landed on the moss.
The White Feathered Eagle let out a squawk. Dragging the rabbit with one claw, it flapped its wings, half-hopping and half-flying over to Feng Shan. It dropped the rabbit, tilted its head, and its small, dark eyes glinted with an eager-to-please look.
Feng Shan laughed.
This had to be Prince’s handiwork.
’Look how scared he made this poor eagle. It’s paying protection money the mont it sees .’
"I’ll take it."
The White Feathered Eagle squawked again, flapped its wings, and took off. It landed on the stones of the fire pit, closed its eyes, and basked in the warmth from the Fire Seed.
The two n continued sowing seeds.
They scattered vegetable seeds all over the soil newly expanded by the Fire Seed. They also gathered so berries from the mossy vegetation, as this patch of moss was the only place on the Tundra to get fruit. Afterward, the two returned to camp along the lted Snow River Valley.
...
The days passed one by one. Life on the Tundra was monotonous and simple.
Here, ti seed to lose its aning. There was no urban clamor or prosperity, only the silent earth and the pure sky.
As the weather grew colder, all living things withered and froze.
Gathering firewood, preparing food, and clearing snow from the camp beca the three most important parts of Feng Shan’s daily routine.
In his spare ti, he would tan animal hides with Nash, try out a few new recipes, go to the Glacial River Beach to check on the vegetables, patch up newly discovered drafts on the bus, and hunt to improve their als. He would also add so Soul Power to the Fire Seed.
In this simple, repetitive life, Feng Shan found inner peace and contentnt.
An unexpected text ssage disrupted Feng Shan’s peaceful life.
The 2017 Alaska Indigenous Elders and Youth Conference was to be held at the Fairbanks Natural History Museum, and it invited Feng Shan to attend as a special guest.
The conference was scheduled for October 15th, the following Monday.
’How did an Indigenous People’s conference find ?’
’And how did they get my satellite phone number?’
Feng Shan thought it over and over, and the culprit behind the scenes could only be Frank.
Only he would pull sothing like this.
Ever since that old bastard threw a fit at the camp last ti, he hadn’t replied to any texts and wouldn’t answer any calls, as if he had vanished into thin air.
Now, he sends a random text ssage out of the blue, and not even from his own number.
’Should I go or not?’
In the end, Feng Shan decided to check it out. Aside from his overly chaotic personal life, Frank was reliable when it ca to getting things done. Since he had gone to the trouble of getting him an invitation, there must have been a good reason for it.
Besides, the camp’s fuel supply needed to be replenished.
Although living on the Far North Tundra was basically free, there were so things that nature couldn’t provide.
The chainsaw in the shed was sitting on the tool cabinet, covered in a thick layer of dust, because it had run out of fuel.
’I can’t just keep chopping down trees with an axe in this freezing weather.’
After deciding to attend, Feng Shan replied to the unknown number to confirm his attendance. It wasn’t like Frank would pick up if he called anyway. Then, he grabbed a sledgehamr and stepped out of the bus.
Nash was already waiting outside, holding a crowbar. On his back, a wicker basket was filled with various tools.
"You brought all the tools?" Feng Shan asked.
Nash nodded.
"Let’s go."
Without another word, Feng Shan grabbed a rope hanging in the woodshed and started the day’s work.
Every trip to and from the Glacial River Beach required crossing the frozen surface of the lt River, and no one could be sure of the conditions beneath the ice.
Sotis, a turbulent current would be hidden under a surface as calm as a mirror, making it difficult to detect. You could take one step and be dragged into a hole in the ice with the next.
Other tis, a seemingly thick layer of ice might have been eroded from within by the water, riddled with holes. The slightest misstep could trigger a collapse.
Since lighting the Fire Seed on the river beach, the two of them had crossed the ice frequently. It was only a matter of ti before one of them slipped up.
So, Feng Shan decided to carve a mountain path in the lted Snow Valley.
The plan was to start from the mountain range on the side closer to the camp and build a path one hundred ters long and one ter wide, positioned two ters above the lt River’s bed.
The amount of work seed simple, but the job itself was anything but easy.
The rock in the river valley was incredibly hard. Each swing of the hamr only chipped off a few small fragnts.
CLANG! CLANG!
After a few swings, the rock only produced a few sparks. Not much stone had broken off.
Frustrated, Feng Shan threw down the sledgehamr. Staring at the hard rock before him, he complained, "With just the two of us, this will take us forever."
’I figured since I didn’t have much to do lately, I’d carve out the path and treat it as a workout.’
’Thinking about it now, I must have been bored out of my mind.’
’Just looking for pointless hardship.’
Nash said nothing. He silently picked up the sledgehamr and started whaling on the rock. CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! His results were even worse than Feng Shan’s; at least Feng Shan could get a few sparks.
"Stop. It’s useless. We can’t break this rock," Feng Shan said, stopping Nash. His thoughts weighed two options: using Witchcraft or hiring people.
Using the Mountain Opening Witchcraft would consu a great deal of Soul Power. He didn’t have much Soul Power to begin with, and he needed to save it for the tribal Fire Seed. He couldn’t afford to waste it.
Hiring people was much simpler. As long as he was willing to spend money, finding an engineering team wouldn’t be hard. He still had over ten million in the bank; it wasn’t like he was saving it to raise a family.
At this thought, Feng Shan imdiately pulled out his satellite phone and called White Glove Tom. That old geezer might just be a pilot, but Feng Shan knew from the ti Tom smuggled a specin out of the country for Zhang Kai that he was very well-connected.
After a few rings, the call connected. "Hey, Kai... Feng! What can the humble Tom do for you?"
"Do you know any engineering teams? The kind that can blast mountains."
"Blast mountains? Buddy, are you planning to blow up Beheading Cliff to build a palace?"
"A palace my ass. I need to blast a path in the lted Snow River Valley. Do you know anyone or not?"
"Yeah, of course! Give five minutes."
The call ended. Five minutes later, the phone rang right on ti.
A deep voice was on the other end.
"Hello, this is Zack from the Aleut Corporation. Tom tells you need an engineering team that handles blasting."
...
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