As the sun set and the night descended, all the commotion was suddenly swallowed by the darkness, and everything inside and outside the tribe fell silent.
This was one of the great advantages of the primitive era.
Without the lighting facilities that illuminated the night as brightly as day, people of this time were destined to be unable to work day and night as those in later generations did.
All one had to do was lie on the heated bed and sleep soundly without singing too many primitive tunes, ensuring ample sleep.
However, this did not include Han Cheng.
He lay wide awake in the darkness, constantly pondering how to solve the Kongming lantern issue.
He considered stone, pottery, bone, leather, wood, and other materials multiple times, only to find that none could replace metal wire.
This realization left his mind in a chaotic state, making him increasingly anxious.
After an unknown amount of time had passed, Han Cheng became even more restless.
Insomnia had always been an extremely uncomfortable ordeal.
After tossing and turning in bed for a while, unable to sleep, and feeling uncomfortable, Han Cheng gave up resisting.
It was clear that trying to sleep peacefully on his own wouldn’t work; he needed a sedative.
Otherwise, this night and the following day would be ruined.
After making this decision, Han Cheng felt around the heated bed.
Using the fire pit's dim red glow, he picked up a dry grass stem that would ignite easily, slightly opened the nearly sealed opening of the heated bed, and poked the long grass stem inside, pressing it against the hidden embers.
After waiting for a moment, with the rising smoke, a flame appeared.
Han Cheng removed the burning grass stem and lit the oil lamp on the earthen platform.
The room immediately brightened considerably.
He extinguished the burning grass stem and quickly sealed the fire pit, leaving only a tiny gap.
The fire inside the heated bed had grown significantly in just a short time.
This wouldn’t do; it would get too hot to sleep before long.
After completing these tasks, Han Cheng, feeling a bit cold from the chill, quickly got onto the heated bed and burrowed into the warm quilt.
With the preliminary work done, it was time for him to take the sedative.
After warming his hands, he touched Bai Xue, who was sleeping beside him, gently shaking her.
After a few soft murmurs in her sleep, Bai Xue Mei opened her drowsy eyes.
Han Cheng smiled and scooted closer to her.
Having long been accustomed to such things, Bai Xue said nothing. After propping herself up on her arms, she leaned down and began to feed Han Cheng the sedative.
There was no hesitation, displaying the straightforward style of a primitive person.
Taking the sedative was undoubtedly comfortable, as evidenced by the mischievous smile on Han Cheng's face while looking at Bai Xue.
The process of administering the sedative took a bit long.
It was only when Bai Xue’s cheeks began to feel somewhat numb and stiff that it finally ended.
Although Han Cheng took the sedative, in the end, Bai Xue ingested something.
Regardless, the effect was surprisingly good.
As soon as the feeding ended, Han Cheng felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him.
He gently pinched Bai Xue’s face, and despite his fatigue, he got up to blow out the lamp.
The hemp twine wick leaned against the edge of the oil lamp bowl, quietly burning, the orange flame flickering slightly in the breeze Han Cheng created.
Just as Han Cheng was about to blow it out, he inhaled deeply, holding his breath in his chest without immediately exhaling.
His gaze was fixed on the burning wick, appearing somewhat dazed.
After this stillness, an uncontrollable joy surged in his heart.
This silence lasted about thirty to forty seconds before Han Cheng finally exhaled the stale air.
The flame flickered once, and without any further resistance, it extinguished.
Han Cheng groped his way back to the heated bed, burrowing into the quilt. Reaching out to hold Bai Xue's hand, he pulled her closer to himself, which made him feel even more energized.
However, this excitement differed from the earlier, aimless agitation; it came with relief and ease from finding a solution.
After Bai Xue had fed him another dose of the sedative, Han Cheng soon fell asleep after lying there and contemplating for a while.
The following day, Han Cheng got busy, starting to implement the solution he had come up with in a flash of inspiration the night before.
First, he searched the pile of clay bowls for a few small ones that were thinner and lighter than the others.
Then he began drilling holes in the rim of the bowls, making a total of four, arranged in a cross shape, with two holes facing each other.
Next, he found four thin leather strips to thread through these holes.
After completing this, he tied the other ends of the four strips to the frame of the Kongming lantern.
Since all four strips were the same length, the clay bowl could be positioned directly in the center beneath the Kongming lantern.
The people, including Shitou and the others, were highly invested in the Kongming lantern.
So, the previous day, after returning with the collected pine resin, they melted it in a small bowl under Han Cheng's guidance, using a piece of bamboo to apply it to the frame of the Kongming lantern before covering it with snakeskin.
By today, everything was ready, and the snakeskin tightly adhered.
Han Cheng placed a hemp cloth soaked in pine resin into the drilled clay bowl.
Shitou, trembling with excitement, held the Kongming lantern slightly larger than those commonly seen in later generations while straightening the leather strips.
Han Cheng then extended a burning stick towards the clay bowl.
The resin-soaked hemp cloth ignited quickly, and within moments, it had caught fire, producing a puff of smoke.
Because the opening left under the Kongming lantern was much larger than the bowl, which was positioned relatively close to the lantern, the four strips tied to the rim of the bowl formed an obtuse angle of over 140 degrees.
As a result, apart from the connection points at the bowl's rim, the rest of the strips moved further away from the bowl, avoiding the flame's direct reach.
Heat rises, and cold descends; he remembered this quite well, as he had always scored high in comprehensive exams.
As the flame continued to burn, the heat caused the airflow beneath the Kongming lantern to rise, filling the lantern with warm air.
After waiting for a moment, Han Cheng spoke.
Shitou was worried that the lantern they had spent half a day making yesterday would fall and be burned by the fire if he let go.
However, since the Divine Child had said so, after a brief hesitation, he let go...