Survival Match (Thirteen)

She handed the Safety Bell to the Burly Man, her head hanging in defeat. He glanced at Jiang Hao and the others again. "Still not leaving? Do you want me to take you out with them?"

Jiang Hao rubbed his nose sheepishly and called out, "We're going, we're going! Back to the match!"

The seven scattered at once. Only after they reached a spot out of the guardian's sight did they discover that Yang Qingliu was quite a character herself-she had actually brought the Snow Wolf's corpse along.

Embarrassed by everyone's strange looks, Yang Qingliu gave an awkward smile and offered a feeble explanation. "Well, I don't really have any welcome gifts for you. This is food I finally managed to hunt down. I hope you don't mind."

Chen Xiaolin said, "Not at all, not at all! We're out of ammunition and provisions ourselves. This Snow Wolf will feed everyone for several days."

Wen Ruxue stepped forward and took Yang Qingliu's hands, her heart aching for her. "Just look at your face. You're a girl, yet you charged in even though you knew you couldn't beat them. You're the one who suffered for it. Let me heal you."

"Thank you!"

It had been so long since Yang Qingliu had felt anyone's concern that her eyes reddened. Apart from Jiang Hao, she didn't know any of them, yet they had given her a warmth she hadn't felt in ages, especially the gentle girl before her.

As Wen Ruxue treated her, she asked, "We still don't know your name. We're all students at the War Academy. I'm Wen Ruxue, and she's Gongsun Qianxun."

After everyone had been introduced, Yang Qingliu introduced herself as well. "I'm Yang Qingliu. I came from the Fourth Competition Zone."

At that, she suddenly fell silent. These new teammates all came from the War Academy, making her own humble origins stand out even more. Never mind entering an academy-she could barely read a handful of characters. She was a country girl through and through. Her looks couldn't compare with Wen Ruxue's or Gongsun Qianxun's either. At most, she was just a little cute.

At last, Chen Xiaolin found an opportunity to speak, but his excitement made him stammer. "Hello, I'm Chen Xiaolin. I... I'm really happy to meet you. I, uh, I have a support-type beast pet. Seeing you take on their whole team by yourself just now... you're very brave. Really!"

His burning gaze made Yang Qingliu terribly embarrassed. She murmured a timid thank-you. That expression, that voice-she seemed nothing like the girl who had stood her ground against those people earlier!

Chen Xiaolin wanted to keep chatting her up, but Jiang Hao couldn't bear to watch any longer. He quickly sent him to clean the Snow Wolf, then gathered some dry firewood and lit a fire.

Soon, Chen Xiaolin returned carrying the cleaned Snow Wolf. He also held a beast crystal of no particularly high quality, only mid-grade, along with a Snow Wolf Pelt. He placed both in Yang Qingliu's hands.

Looking at the beast crystal in her hand, she couldn't help asking in confusion, "Aren't we supposed to give the spoils to the captain to divide equally?"

Chen Xiaolin explained eagerly, "You hunted this prey yourself, so of course it belongs to you. We only divide things according to contribution when we hunt them together. Besides, we're already benefiting from your efforts. We won't have to go to bed hungry tonight."

Yang Qingliu quietly breathed a sigh of relief. She had finally found a group she belonged to. Not only did these people accept her, they had no intention of pocketing her spoils either. It was wonderful.

Everyone slipped into their tasks with practiced ease. Chubby and Gongsun Qianxun handled patrols and lookout duty, while Song Jie took Chen Xiaolin out hunting again. Jiang Hao prepared and roasted the Snow Wolf meat.

Yang Qingliu realized she didn't know what to do next. She stood beside the fire, looking helplessly at Jiang Hao, hoping that, as captain, he would find her something to do so she wouldn't have to stand there awkwardly.

Just then, Wen Ruxue came over and took her hand. "Let's pitch everyone's tents. I noticed how small your backpack was earlier. Didn't you bring a tent?"

Yang Qingliu blushed. In the years since running away from home, she had lived a life of hiding here and there, long accustomed to using the sky as her blanket and the earth as her bed. Besides, she had spent every bit of money she earned on strengthening her beast pet. How could she have any left to buy a tent? Being able to eat her fill was good enough.

The observant Wen Ruxue immediately noticed her embarrassment and smiled softly. "Then sleep with me. It's terribly cold at night. Even with a sleeping bag, I wake up from the cold several times a night."

Thinking of the two more months she would have to spend in this world of ice and snow, Yang Qingliu didn't refuse.

As evening approached, the temperature dropped sharply.

Song Jie and Chen Xiaolin returned empty-handed. Their failure to find any prey made the Snow Wolf meat all the more precious, and everyone did their best to curb their appetites until they found their next meal.

Jiang Hao handed out the grilled meat skewers. Each person received only a few ounces of meat.

"Bear with it a little longer, everyone. Once we reach the Frozen Canyon, you can eat your fill."

Tasting such delicious grilled meat for the first time, Yang Qingliu nearly bit her own tongue. It was the first time she had tasted salt since entering the tournament.

As she ate, tears began falling, drop after drop. Thinking of all the hardships she had endured along the way, she knew that only she could truly understand the bitter and sweet of it.

No one tried to talk her out of crying. Wen Ruxue silently handed her a tissue. Yang Qingliu looked up and met the faint smile at the corners of her lips.

There would always be someone who came with gentleness to heal you. Keep striving forward, and do not let that meeting go to waste.

Jiang Hao's six-person team became seven. Their new member, Yang Qingliu, was about the same age as Wen Ruxue and Gongsun Qianxun, but she was clearly much more mature than either of them. Whatever needed doing, she rushed to do it. Nor did she think being a woman entitled her to special treatment. Precisely because she treasured this, she tried her hardest to prove her worth.

For example, taking turns on night watch had originally been the responsibility of Jiang Hao and the other three men. Yet Yang Qingliu got up well before dawn to relieve Jiang Hao and Chubby from the second watch, claiming it would let them catch a little more sleep.

Unable to dissuade her, the two could only crawl back into their tents.

That wasn't all. Gathering dry firewood, patrolling, hunting-she rushed to do everything. She simply couldn't sit still, as though she had an inexhaustible supply of energy.

It was now the fortieth day of the beast pet tournament third stage.

By then, Jiang Hao and the others had reached halfway up Wuji Peak. With every step, they sank into snow almost to their knees. That wasn't even the hardest part. Snow was still swirling down, mixed with bitter winds that struck their faces with the pain of blades scraping bone.

Three days had passed since they finished the last of the Snow Wolf meat. They hadn't caught a single animal during that time, and all seven had gone hungry for three full days.

When starving people could no longer obtain enough energy to keep their bodies functioning normally, weakness and other symptoms would follow. Once the energy stored in their muscles was exhausted as well, they would begin wasting away. Then they would have no choice but to withdraw from the match.

They could only support one another and inch upward. Now they suddenly discovered that being fat had its advantages. Chubby was the only one of the seven whose strength remained intact. Though he had slimmed down considerably too, his abundant fat reserves were enough to sustain his essential physical exertion. With his tough, cold-resistant beast pet, Brown Bear, he and his beast had taken on almost all the backpacks.

As Jiang Hao struggled to pull his legs from the snow, he encouraged them. "Hold on for one more day, everyone. We're not far from the Frozen Canyon now. Once we get there, we'll have plenty of Snow Rabbits and Snow Wolves to eat. I'll roast a whole wolf for each of you!"

Jiang Hao said, "Don't keep staring at the snow. It can easily cause snow blindness. Take turns closing your eyes to rest, and let the person in front guide you."

Snow blindness was photokeratitis, an inflammation caused primarily by ultraviolet damage to the cornea and conjunctival epithelium. It was characterized by red, swollen eyelids, conjunctival congestion and swelling, and severe pain and a sensation of something in the eyes. Symptoms included light sensitivity, tearing, and an inability to open the eyes, with blurred vision during an episode. It was a form of altitude sickness.

Jiang Hao said, "We've made it this far. We're only one step away from victory. Hold on, everyone. Victory belongs to us!"

In truth, Jiang Hao didn't want to waste words either, since talking also consumed energy. But he had no choice. At a time like this, encouragement was the only option.

"I... I can't walk anymore!"

Finally, Wen Ruxue, whose constitution was the weakest, struggled to speak. Her face was paler than the snow beneath their feet, her little face covered in clammy sweat. Her lips had turned purple from the cold, and her whole body trembled uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry."

I'm dragging everyone down. The words stuck in her throat like a fishbone, but before she could say them, Yang Qingliu crouched down.

"Ruxue, get on. I'll carry you!"

"No... you're already exhausted. I can't burden you too."

"What are you saying? We're teammates, so we should support one another. You can't give up."

One insisted on carrying her, while the other refused. Letting this argument drag on would do them no good.

Jiang Hao said, "Ruxue, your constitution is weaker. We can take turns carrying you, so you mustn't talk about giving up. Our team can't do without you, understand? Be good and listen."

At that moment, Jiang Hao's voice seemed to carry magic, leaving Wen Ruxue unable to do anything but obey. Once she lay on Yang Qingliu's back, she tenderly wiped away the sweat seeping from her skin. Despite the extremely low temperature in this world of ice and snow, leaving that sweat unwiped could easily chill someone and give them a cold.

"Thank you!"

Time passed, second by second. Just as everyone approached the brink of collapse, Chubby, who was at the front, suddenly pointed into the distance and shouted, "Look! We're here! We finally made it to the Frozen Canyon!"

"Jiang Hao, we made it!" Chubby scrambled and stumbled over to Jiang Hao, then excitedly pulled him to the front.

Beyond the ridge lay a vast canyon, with small icebergs rising throughout it. The canyon held not only snow and icebergs, but also a wondrous plant: iceberg snow lotus.

Iceberg snow lotus was the Snow Rabbits' favorite food. Almost all the Snow Rabbits in the Wuji Mountains gathered here to feed. Naturally, the Snow Wolves, which enjoyed preying on Snow Rabbits, were drawn here as well. Though Snow Wolves and Frost Snow Wolves belonged to the same family, they were different species. Frost Snow Wolves were descendants of the Frost Giant Wolf, and their bloodline was far nobler than that of ordinary Snow Wolves.