Chapter 24: Urgent Need for Warm Clothing

"Ah!"

Cao'er was so frightened that she curled up directly into Zhao Yue'e's arms. It was hard to tell whether it was Cao'er shaking violently or Zhao Yue'e who was terrified out of her wits.

"Is... is that the eyes of a snow ghost?" Zhao Yue'e trembled all over.

Su Yanwen immediately became vigilant as well, his brows furrowed, staring fixedly toward the entrance of the cave. Outside, it was already pitch black, and the temperature was gradually dropping. Su Yanwen did not believe in the existence of snow ghosts, but he knew that in the face of natural disasters, wild animals also knew to find a safe place to hide. This cave was undoubtedly the best choice nearby.

"Woo-woo-woo-woo..." The growling continued.

"Daddy, find Daddy..." Cao'er was truly terrified, and she instinctively cried out these words. Unknowingly, the father who once filled her with bone-deep fear had become the strongest mountain she could rely on.

Those eyes remained not far from the cave entrance. It seemed wary of the campfire inside and did not come in.

Su Yanwen spread the sheepskin vest on the ground. "You hold the child and make do for the night."

The temperature was extremely low. Zhao Yue'e huddled with the child on the sheepskin, then beckoned to Su Yanwen. With a face full of shyness, she said, "Husband, you have worked hard all day, take a rest for a while! I... I will watch the fire."

Su Yanwen sat by the campfire and shook his head at her. In truth, he also wanted to sleep on the soft sheepskin, but he knew that doing so was incredibly dangerous. If the campfire were to go out, the wild animals outside could rush in at any moment, and they would become their prey. Perhaps they really would live on this great mountain for the rest of their lives, but it would not be under these circumstances; it would be a new beginning.

In the middle of the night, those glowing green eyes continued to pace at a distance from the cave. After a night of wind and snow, as the sky began to brighten, a black figure was seen moving away. Su Yanwen was surprised to find that he had actually crossed paths with this figure before—it was the black wolf he had encountered that night during the storm. It was entirely pitch-black, with not a single stray hair of a different color. The wolf seemed to sense Su Yanwen's gaze, glanced back once, and continued on its way.

When the sky was fully bright, many footprints could be seen outside. They were all of the same shape—those of the wolf. It was unclear whether the wolf had been pacing outside, ready to attack at any moment, or if it was precisely because of the wolf's presence that no other animals had dared to approach. Jiang Beifang (Su Yanwen) remained puzzled; wolves were always pack animals, so why was there only one?

After the settling of the night, the water in the pool had once again become crystal clear. A large school of fish swam leisurely within it. These schools maintained the most primitive way of life; without the interference of anglers, they remained foolish and easy to catch. However, Su Yanwen could not catch fish every day. Furthermore, fish caught in that manner could not survive and could only be stored as frozen fish. This had a major drawback: as soon as spring arrived, everything would rot. It seemed he still needed to bring back some dog meat.

"Daddy."

With a soft, sweet call, Cao'er walked out of the cave. Her small face was flushed red, and in just one night, several new chilblains had appeared on her skin. "Daddy, Mommy is being shy. She's a little milk pig today, I can't wake her up." Cao'er said with a dazed, playful smile.

"Can't wake her up?" Su Yanwen felt a jolt of alarm. He had been too focused on watching the wolf earlier to notice Zhao Yue'e. Zhao Yue'e was always a diligent person who rose before dawn every day; how could she possibly be sleeping in under such harsh conditions?

Su Yanwen rushed inside. Zhao Yue'e had wrapped the entire sheepskin vest around Cao'er to keep her warm, while she herself lay on the cold ground, frozen stiff as an icicle.

"Yue'e!" Su Yanwen called her name, hurriedly rubbing her hands and face. He quickly brought her close to the campfire to help warm her body. Cao'er also leaned near the fire, stamping her feet continuously to keep her body temperature up.

After a long while, Zhao Yue'e slowly opened her eyes. She parted her lips, her teeth chattering so hard they clattered together. "Cold... so cold."

"How could you be this cold?" Su Yanwen was astonished. When they climbed the mountain, he had clearly seen everyone wearing thick cotton-padded jackets. Although the jackets were worn out, they were warm enough to prevent freezing to death. Moreover, the clothes Zhao Yue'e was wearing were the thickest among the three of them.

"Mommy said Daddy has to hunt, so you're colder than us," Cao'er said, patting the thick cotton jacket on Zhao Yue'e. "So Mommy put all the cotton from inside her own clothes into yours. She went to the riverside and found lots of reed catkins to stuff them thick... But... Mommy didn't stuff mine thick."

"What?" Su Yanwen felt as if he had been struck by lightning. When he gave his outer coat to Zhao Yue'e, he had only wanted her to be a bit warmer. He had wondered why it felt warmer than before when she washed it and gave it back to him. He had assumed it was because it was cleaner and free of dirt, but it turned out she had added new stuffing. Looking closely, there was indeed a newly sewn seam along the hem of Zhao Yue'e's jacket. When pulled apart, it was filled entirely with reed catkins.

Su Yanwen felt a heart-wrenching sorrow. Even though he had been such a scoundrel, his wife still loved him with her very life. After all, everyone knew that while reed catkins looked fluffy and soft like cotton, they provided no warmth at all. In the memories of the older generation, many had frozen to death exactly like this.

"Daddy, Mommy is so cold. Can I give my clothes to Mommy?" Cao'er's eyes brimmed with tears.

Su Yanwen shook his head, his tone firm. "No. There's only so much cotton; passing it back and forth won't keep anyone warm. The temperature in the mountains is much colder than below, and the coldest days haven't even arrived yet. What will we do then? No one needs to give up their cotton; I will make sure everyone stays warm."

Su Yanwen wrapped the sheepskin vest around Zhao Yue'e. He picked up his hunting knife and said to Cao'er, "Be a good girl, Cao'er. Stay here and watch the fire; don't let it go out. Daddy is going to set some traps."

Cao'er nodded heavily. Her bright eyes looked at Su Yanwen, and she nodded again. "Yes." Just as she answered, a drop of snot ran down her nose and froze into a tiny icicle.

Worried about his wife and daughter, Su Yanwen dared not go too far, observing only the nearby area. With no starving villagers coming up the mountain, the resources were quite abundant. Beside the water pool was a thicket of shrubs, where berries and moss grew in patches. This place was truly excellent; not only was it close to a water source, but the terrain was also quite open, with plenty of shrubs and unknown mushrooms.

Su Yanwen continued walking forward.

"Quack, quack, quack..."

A sound similar to a duck's call echoed. Seemingly startled by the movement, a group of grayish-brown ducks took flight, flapping their wings from the surface of the water. Were those ducks? No... there was a significant difference from ordinary ducks. They were simply too alert; without waiting for Su Yanwen to get close, they had already flown away without a trace.

Su Yanwen still held onto hope and headed toward the spot where the ducks had just flown off...