Big Stone Camp

If the timing was not right, Xia Hong would have truly praised Xia Chuan a couple of times.

He had originally worried that his younger brother was young and lacked composure, but he never expected him to be so witty.

Judging from the expressions on the faces of Wang Ming and the other three.

There should only be the four of them who had come over tonight.

Xia Hong narrowed his eyes slightly, staring around at the four of them, and finally fixed his gaze on the Great Saber in Wang Ming's hand, considering whether he should keep the four of them here.

He dared to come out tonight because he naturally had something to rely on.

Little did he know that this scrutinizing posture of Xia Hong's appeared to Wang Ming as though he was considering whether or not to go and notify Xia Ding to come over.

With three people of such a young age fighting for their lives, he, Wang Ming, was not afraid.

However, if they could not be taken down within a short time or if one of them let slip away and truly called those people under Xia Ding over, that would result in a situation where only one side could survive.

No, if Xia Ding really brought a dozen or so people from the Lumbering Realm over.

Even with this Great Saber, the four of them would be on a road to certain death tonight.

Wang Ming pondered for a moment in his mind and quickly made a decision.

"Two worthy nephews, there is no need for this. We will just leave the Crystal Fruits behind and head off, and from now on we will never trespass into Great Xia's territory again. Farewell!"

Once Wang Ming made his decision, he did not hesitate any longer, beckoning his companions to drop the harvested Crystal Fruits onto the ground, calling out a farewell, and quickly retreating with the three others toward the west without looking back.

Xia Hong watched the four walk far away until they completely vanished, waiting a moment longer before turning his head back and giving Xia Chuan a thumbs-up.

"Good lad, you've got what it takes!"

Xia Chuan let out a chuckle and said, "We definitely couldn't win a fight, so we could only use a tiger's skin as a banner to scare them off."

Upon hearing this, Xia Hong raised his brows slightly, but did not say anything.

To have a direct conflict with Big Stone Camp at present was clearly unwise.

It had already been more than a month since Xia Ding and the Lumber Team had met with disaster, and having not appeared around Redwood Ridge for such a long time, the people at Big Stone Camp must have already discovered it.

Otherwise, they would not have dared to cross boundaries and pillage so blatantly.

If even more time passed, it was hard to guarantee they would not guess something else.

During the previous three times Xia Hong encountered them, there were over seven people in their group, which was why he could only endure it.

Yet tonight the opponents only brought four people, and there were no archers.

Such a fine opportunity was naturally not one Xia Hong would let pass.

He believed that after experiencing this ordeal, the people from Big Stone Camp should not run so rampantly for some time to come.

"We still need to think of a way to have Yue Feng and the others make a breakthrough as soon as possible. This kind of bluffing can only be used once or twice at most, and using it too much will expose us instead."

Xia Chuan and Yuan Cheng had already hoisted the Crystal Fruits from the ground onto their backs, and sensing that they weighed over a thousand catties, smiles instantly broke out across their faces.

Going out for the very first time and obtaining this harvest was indeed something worth rejoicing over.

"Alright, you two remember the location of the third Ice Vast Tree. Next, follow me to cut down trees, and tonight the both of you will chop down one tree each to take back."

The two hurriedly acknowledged the order and closely followed behind Xia Hong.

East of Redwood Ridge, on the northern side of the earthen slope where Great Xia Camp was located, stood a straight, small mountain about a hundred meters high.

The small mountain was shaped like an upright tower, measuring about fifty to sixty meters in length horizontally. Its peak was entirely covered by white snow, and only the tree branches extending outward in the middle were pressed down by snowflakes, while the rest of the mountain body consisted of pitch-black stones.

Those stones were not only black, but their surfaces were also coated with a thick layer of crystals, clearly frozen over through the long erosion of piercing coldness.

A long rattan vine hung down the eastern side of the mountain body.

At this moment, four figures were rapidly climbing upward along the vine.

Despite being over a hundred meters high, the four moved very quickly and reached the mountain peak in just a few minutes.

The mountain peak was a platform fifty meters wide, devoid of a single tree.

After arriving at the summit, the four walked straight toward the center, shoving aside a patch of snow-covered ground, and a five-meter-wide square wooden board instantly came into view.

The person in the lead lifted the wooden board with familiar ease, revealing a tunnel entrance three meters in diameter beneath it, from which a flicker of firelight instantly emerged.

The four leaped into the cave in succession, and the last person to go down casually pulled the wooden board along, covering the cave entrance once again.

Beneath the opening lay a super-large square space over thirty meters in diameter.

Furthermore, this space spanned a full thirty to forty meters from the ceiling to the floor, with the middle section partitioned into an upper and lower layer using logs and stones.

In the stony ground section, a bonfire over two meters high was burning.

Three to four hundred people surrounded the bonfire, chatting and laughing.

There were also a handful of young children frolicking nearby.

The mental state and vitality of the people here were clearly much better than those over at Great Xia.

The moment the four jumped down, a person in the crowd immediately stepped forward to welcome them with a smile.

However, upon approaching and seeing that the four were empty-handed, that person immediately wore a puzzled expression.

"Old Wang, how come you returned empty-handed?"

"Bad luck, don't ask. Where's the boss? I have something to tell him."

"Practicing archery on the lower level."

"Good, we'll head down first."

Wang Ming gave a couple of perfunctory replies before hurrying toward the eastern side of the cave.

The eastern stone wall sloped slightly downward toward the base, and Wang Ming walked along the descending slope, quickly reaching the bottom level of the cave.

The lower level was similar in size to the upper space, likewise lit by a bonfire, though smaller than the one above.

Two people sat beside the bonfire, facing a wooden board on the wall, holding bows and shooting arrows.

"Boss, there's a situation over at Redwood Ridge."

Hearing Wang Ming's words, the two simultaneously lowered their bows and turned their heads to look at him.

Both men appeared to be in middle age and possessed comparable builds—lean and with palms full of calluses from gripping bows.

Not only their builds, but even their facial features bore a seventy-percent resemblance.

However, the man on the left had a horizontal scar about an inch long across his face, which, combined with his fierce expression and slightly darkened complexion, made him look full of killing intent.

The one on the right was a third fairer than the former, and his facial features were also very benign.

Wang Ming walked directly toward the man on the right.

Clearly, the boss he referred to was this one on the right.

Seeing Wang Ming approach, the man narrowed his eyes slightly and asked in a poised tone:

"What situation?"

"We went to the outer perimeter to pick Crystal Fruits earlier and ran into three people from Great Xia."

"Old Ding?"

"No, it's his two sons."

Upon hearing Wang Ming's reply, Shi Qing was stunned at first, then revealed an incredulous expression, and asked again: "Old Ding's two sons, are you sure?"

Wang Ming pondered for a moment, nodded, and said with a certain tone: "Certain. I saw both of those lads clearly; they look very much like Old Ding, and their ages match too. They are definitely his sons."

"How old could his two sons possibly be? With just those thirteen people in Great Xia, where would they get extra Frost Beast Meat to let his two sons cultivate?"

Shi Dong, who had remained silent all this while, let out an exclamation of surprise.

Yet as soon as he finished speaking, he turned his head and realized that his eldest brother Shi Qing's expression had turned somewhat unsightly.

Although Shi Dong had a fiery temperament, he was not stupid and instantly realized the crux of the matter.

"Big brother, are you suspecting that the last snow mane was ultimately picked up by Old Ding and the others for a bargain?"

Wang Ming gave his own forehead a fierce slap and said with sudden realization, "Right, it must be like that! Those thirteen people over at Great Xia are far weaker than us; over the years, they could only rely on luck to scavenge some Frost Beast corpses, and that's barely enough for their own cultivation—where would they have any extra Frost Beast Meat for two sons? It has to be that snow mane."

The three reached a consensus, and their expressions instantly turned incomparably unsightly.

The last time they hunted that snow mane, they paid the price of three lives in total, among whom the one wielding the saber was even Shi Qing's third younger brother, Shi Kong.

In the end, they still had to flee in panic and return empty-handed.

Now, learning that Great Xia Camp had picked up a bargain, one could well imagine their mood.

It was not merely picking up a bargain; it was even highly probable that when they were hunting and killing that snow mane last time, the people from Great Xia Camp had been hiding in the shadows all along.

Only after they fled did those people come out to reap the gains.

"How dare they play such underhanded tricks behind our backs? In a few days when we go to Redwood Ridge, I will lead the team personally. I want to see just what kind of strength Great Xia has now."

Shi Qing spoke in a grim tone, his originally benign visage instantly sinking much lower.

Shi Dong and Wang Ming beside him burned with even more uncontainable rage on their faces.