When the sun rose on the second day, Luo Zheng stood on a hill in the wilderness, scanning the horizon, secretly relieved that he had stopped for the night. Traveling day and night had severely drained his strength, his stomach was empty, but all around, there was nothing but snow. He couldn't see anything edible. Once again, Luo Zheng used the sun to check his direction and then, dragging his weary body, he continued heading east through the snow-covered ground.
An hour passed, then two, and Luo Zheng felt as though his will was about to crumble. Hunger was one reason, but ahead, the silence of the vast expanse of snow offered no hope. Alone, without anyone to talk to or a companion to encourage him, despair was setting in.
Luo Zheng seriously considered giving up. He was too tired, too hungry, and his body was numb with cold. He didn't want to move, preferring to lie down and be done with everything—forever lie down and think of nothing. Cursed be the cold days, the cursed Snowfield, the cursed Wolf King, Luo Zheng thought bitterly as Lan Xue unexpectedly ca to mind.
"Lan Xue doesn't know I'm still alive; she must be looking for the Wolf King to seek revenge by now. No, I must get out as soon as possible to stop all this. Lan Xue, consud by rage and seeking vengeance, will lose her basic judgent; her fighting ability would be greatly reduced, and she would certainly die. No, I can't let that happen." Luo Zheng shouted in his heart. Suddenly, a huge surge of energy filled his body, spreading through his muscles and bones, and his whole being radiated with a powerful vitality. Luo Zheng, dragging his exhausted body, continued on his journey with a determined gaze.
Another hour passed, and Luo Zheng saw a hillside covered with trees. The trees were blanketed with white snow, seemingly lifeless, but it was a glimr of light for him; where there were trees, there would be other creatures, and therefore food. Overjoyed, Luo Zheng hurried over, crawling and scrambling up the hill.
Reaching the forest, Luo Zheng's bloodshot eyes searched around as the hunting skills he had learned surfaced in his mind. Ten minutes passed with no success, prompting him to press on, his eyes filled with anxiety and longing. Half an hour later, there was still nothing.
Faced with the harsh reality, Luo Zheng was on the verge of despair. Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly spotted a trail of footprints in the snow near a slope of shrubs. Elated, he followed the footprints to the thicket and pushed through to discover a dish-shaped nest in a rock crevice, filled with dry grass and housing three ptarmigans.
Seeing the ptarmigans, Luo Zheng was overjoyed and pounced like a starving wolf, completely disregarding the shrubs before him. Faced with the hope of survival, he summoned what little strength he had left and reached under the ptarmigans, grabbing the feet of two birds. The remaining ptarmigan panicked, trying to fly away, but Luo Zheng's free hand swiftly caught it by the wing, and he let out an excited howl.
His voice, carrying the hope of life, traveled a great distance, causing snow to flurry down from the trembling branches. Luo Zheng looked at the ptarmigans in his hands, noting their earth-brown plumage patterned with dark brown notches, their white throats, brown-gray heads, and necks, and the large white patches on their wings. They had grown in this rarely trodden high-mountain snowfield; they must be sothing great.
Driven by the desire to live, Luo Zheng could not concern himself with the details. He tore off a few vines and tied the feet of two ptarmigans together before tossing them to the ground. He picked up the third one and snapped its neck, guzzling the blood into his stomach with a ferocity like that of a blood-drinking, hair-munching beast. His mouth and body were covered in fresh blood.
After finishing the blood, Luo Zheng tore open the ptarmigan's skin, revealing the tender flesh beneath. For survival, for the sake of life, Luo Zheng had no care left, like a starving wolf, he opened his mouth wide. His mouth still full of lingering chicken blood, he bit into the tender at without hesitation, as if it were the most delicious food in the world.
Because the snow chicken lived on the Snowfield and fed solely on wild plants including stems, roots, leaves, and buds, sotis also ingesting insects and small invertebrates, the at was tender and fresh. Luo Zheng, who was extrely hungry, devoured several big bites before suddenly realizing that it tasted quite good, and he couldn't help but feel his appetite increase, continuing to gorge himself.
After about fifteen minutes, Luo Zheng had nearly finished all the tender at on the surface of the snow chicken. As for the organs, he didn't dare to eat them for fear of poisoning. Having eaten one snow chicken and feeling half-full, his body temperature began to rise. Looking at the remaining two snow chickens, he couldn't help but feel relieved and started to rest on the spot.
With food in his stomach, Luo Zheng's strength gradually returned. After a while, he felt better and picked up the two snow chickens to continue on his journey. These were his reserve food for the coming days. In the freezing weather, Luo Zheng did not dare to kill them and risk them becoming too hard to eat, so he carried them with him.
Luo Zheng moved along the outskirts of the mountain forest, advancing through the gorge, and this trek lasted for most of the day until the sun set. Still, it was nothing but a vast expanse of snow ahead, but with two snow chickens in hand, Luo Zheng was not too worried. His body was suffering terribly from the cold, with more and larger frostbite wounds. He knew he wouldn't survive if he didn't leave this damned Snowfield soon. Driven by the desperation to live, Luo Zheng did not dare to stop for a mont, enduring the pain with gritted teeth.
Night fell, and the moon ca out. Luo Zheng was so tired that he hated not being able to lie down and sleep imdiately. His complexion was sallow, his eyes sunken, the whole person looking utterly exhausted. Crossing hill after hill, traversing one ridge after another, fording nurous valleys, Luo Zheng himself didn't know how far he had walked. The only thought in his mind was to keep moving, never stopping for an instant.
When sleepy, he washed his face with snow to stimulate his brain nerves and remain alert. When tired, he slowed down to let his body rest gradually, just never allowing himself to stop. Luo Zheng was very clear that only by letting himself enter a state beyond his own control, numbly pushing forward, and walking chanically could he hold on. As soon as he stopped, he'd be overwheld by soreness, fatigue, and frostbite, and he'd collapse.
"If the revolutionary forefathers could cross the snowy mountains, why can't I?" Luo Zheng ntally cheered himself on, persisting with clenched teeth and continuing to walk. As the depth of the snow lessened, his pace gradually increased. Under the moonlight, seeing the snow only reaching the soles of his feet filled him with great joy, and his determined gaze was full of the hope of life.
An entire night passed quickly as Luo Zheng persevered with gritted teeth. Once a person has faith and hope, ti flies. The next morning, as the sun rose again, Luo Zheng stood on an open hillside, looking far off into the distance. The snow ahead was even shallower, with many places revealing the natural state of the mountains, and on the flat wilderness, so brown rocks were exposed, with green grass growing underneath them.
"Howl!" Seeing this scene, Luo Zheng let out an exuberant howl of joy. Filled with the hope of life, he finally saw hope. He believed that in a couple more days, he should reach areas where people lived, right?
"Eh? What's that?" In his excitent, Luo Zheng's peripheral vision suddenly spotted a silhouette not far away, resembling a body covered by the snow, and he hurried over.
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