Heading out to find stone

Lu Heng sprinted all the way back to the cave, pulled the stone door shut behind him, and hurriedly hauled his stockpiled wood out of his Storage Slot. He stacked it crosswise against the door, bracing it firmly and sealing every gap. The wood blocked out most of the wind and snow outside, along with the faint, distant sounds of footsteps, dulling the noise.

Only after he finished did his taut body fully relax. Aching and exhausted, he dragged himself to the bed of dry grass and collapsed onto it. With the door securely sealed by thick timber, the anxiety hanging over him finally dispersed, and he let out a long breath of white mist.

He reached to his waist, drew the Bronze Hunting Blade, and set it within reach. Then he took out his hand crossbow and counted his bolts. Only a handful lay quietly in the quiver; his reserves were nearly exhausted.

Staring at the sharp blade, Lu Heng silently weighed his options. He could no longer afford to waste crossbow bolts. If the Cold Stiffs really broke through the barriers at the entrance, this Bronze Hunting Blade would be all he could rely on. He would have to fight them at close quarters with his still-unpracticed saber technique.

After lying there for a while, Lu Heng raised his arm to inspect the graze. The wound was not particularly deep, but threads of cold burrowed through his flesh, freezing his entire arm stiff. He pushed himself up and left the sleeping area, piled dry wood in the center of the cave, and lit a campfire. Orange-red firelight slowly spread, and warmth gradually dispelled the cave's bone-chilling cold.

Finding an open spot not far from the fire, Lu Heng sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began practicing the Basic Breath Cultivation Method. After the repeated struggles that day, he understood his own lack of strength all the more clearly. He had to seize every moment to consolidate and build up his strength.

His long, steady breathing had barely continued for a while when dull thuds came from the entrance. The Cold Stiffs were repeatedly ramming the stone door barricaded with timber.

The muffled pounding continued without pause, but Lu Heng did not even lift his eyelids. His breathing rhythm remained entirely undisturbed. He knew the heavy timber braced the entrance firmly shut. This group of stiff creatures with their restricted movements could never breach the defenses on their own. If they really did batter their way in one day, it would be an inescapable death trap. There was no need to distract himself worrying about it now.

After completing one breathing cycle, Lu Heng did not stop. Steadying himself, he practiced several more rounds of the Basic Breath Cultivation Method in succession.

A gentle, warm current circulated through his limbs and body, repeatedly washing over the graze on his arm. Much of the icy chill that had been burrowing through his flesh toward his bones dispersed. His arm no longer felt stiff and heavy, and the wound's piercing cold pain eased considerably, leaving only a slight soreness in the flesh at the surface.

The campfire burned quietly in the center of the cave, the dry wood occasionally crackling with tiny sparks. Warm yellow light spread over the rough, uneven rock walls, casting broad, shifting shadows and slightly easing the cold that filled the cave.

Outside, the wind howled, carrying loose snow, and a dull impact sounded every so often. The Cold Stiffs mechanically rammed the wooden door sealing the entrance again and again. It trembled slightly, but the timber behind it remained firmly wedged across the entrance, not moving an inch.

Lu Heng sat cross-legged beside the fire, closed his eyes, and recalled the struggles in the woods that day.

His Flowing Water Saber Technique was still unpracticed, with openings everywhere in his deflections and transitions. He had made it back alive entirely because his leather armor had absorbed the blows and his hunting blade was sharp. The Cold Stiffs could only look straight ahead and could not raise their heads-a weakness he could make good use of in future battles. For now, his practical combat skills were still far from adequate and needed much more honing.

After an unknown stretch of time, the sky turned completely black, and night enveloped the entire mountain forest.

The impacts outside gradually grew less frequent, until only a few faint scratches remained. After a long while, everything fell silent. Presumably, the stiff creatures could not locate any trace of him inside the cave and had slowly dispersed.

Lu Heng moved to the bed and lay down, placing the Bronze Hunting Blade across a spot he could reach with one hand. He left half a pile of dry wood on the campfire to keep providing warmth. Not daring to sleep deeply, he only dozed, his ears constantly alert for sounds from the entrance.

He tossed and turned through the night. When he opened his eyes again, daylight had arrived.

He got up, walked to a gap in the stone at the entrance, and looked outside. Heavy snow had fallen all night, covering the ground in a thick white layer. Huge snowflakes were still drifting down incessantly, and it looked as though the snowfall would only grow heavier.

Worry weighed on Lu Heng's heart.

As the snow continued to deepen, going out would only become increasingly difficult. More importantly, no one could say whether the Cold Stiffs would expand their search area. If he simply stayed in the cave and waited passively, sooner or later he would end up besieged.

Reinforcing and upgrading the Shelter required only stone, but his current stock was nowhere near enough.

He had to take the initiative and go out before the blizzard reached its fiercest, gathering enough stone to strengthen the entrance's defenses. He could not just sit and wait to die.

He pushed aside the stone blocking the door to open a gap and looked out. The entire forest was blanketed in thick snow.

Every tree, near and far, was covered in pure white snow, its high and low contours blending together. Everywhere he looked was the same white, making it impossible to distinguish the areas he had visited yesterday. Every part of the scenery looked identical.

Lu Heng felt a headache coming on.

It was not that he could not tell north from south or east from west; he simply could not identify specific locations. Every part of the snowy forest looked alike. Once he went far enough, it would be easy to lose his way, and the consequences of being trapped in the wind and snow were unthinkable.

After considering it briefly, he decided to leave marks on the tree trunks along the way.

Traces on the ground would be filled in almost instantly by fresh snowfall and would not last at all. Carving marks high on the trunks would be more reliable.

Drawing the Bronze Hunting Blade, he raised his hand and made a shallow notch fairly high on each tree trunk he passed. The instant the blade cut through the bark, the trunk shook from the impact, sending thick snow tumbling from the branches in great sheets.

Freezing clumps of snow showered down over his head, coating his hair and shoulders layer after layer. In no time, a thick cap of white snow had accumulated on his head, and cold crept down his collar onto his neck.

Lu Heng brushed the snow from his face and continued forward, stopping to carve a notch every so often. He deliberately left the marks high enough that, however deep the snow became, he would still be able to clearly identify his route back and eliminate the risk of getting lost.

Leaving tree markers along the way, Lu Heng worked out the Dry River's general direction from memory and steadily made his way forward.

Snow buried most of the ground, concealing uneven roots and loose stones beneath it. The surface looked soft, but underneath it was extremely slippery. He deliberately planted each step firmly, pressing through the thick snow with his foot to test the ground below, not daring to step recklessly. The slightest lapse made his feet slip. Several times, his body lurched sharply, nearly sending him plunging into a snowbank. Startled, he instinctively gripped the Bronze Hunting Blade at his waist to steady himself.

Cold wind constantly drove loose snow into his face, and drifting flakes often blurred his vision. He could only keep his eyes on the notches he had left on the tree trunks ahead, following the marks toward the Dry River.

The farther he went, the more the ground sloped gently downward and the deeper the snow grew, rising past his ankles. Every step took considerable effort. He kept the appearance of the bare, dead trees along the Dry River's banks firmly in mind. They were among the few somewhat recognizable landmarks in the entire snowy landscape. As long as he reached the river channel, he would be able to find stones scattered out in the open.

After walking for a short while, he finally saw a stretch of crooked, dead tree trunks ahead. It was precisely the dry river channel he remembered. Snow had completely filled the riverbed, leaving only the faint outline of a long depression. Exposed rocks lay scattered along its edges-the very stone he had come to find.