Huang Guo's body shook uncontrollably, and only after drinking three bowls of hot water did the chill within his body finally subside.
The pottery brought by the kind tribe truly was a good thing.
Huang Guo held the hot bowl in both hands, unable to stop herself from marveling.
Thinking back on the snowstorm outside and what they had just experienced, he touched his now warm palms, cheeks, and ears, which had been burning, and he couldn't help but feel a moment of heart-racing anxiety.
For a while, he thought he and the others might never return... but fortunately, her tribe had been lucky. Before freezing to death, they managed to return to the tribe.
Many people shared similar feelings of relief, even their leader.
However, the leader’s relief didn’t last long. When his gaze landed on the few prey in the cave, deep worry immediately replaced his relief.
Although they had caught quite a bit yesterday, everyone had eaten heartily last night and this morning, consuming most of what they had gathered.
Today, the hunting didn’t go well. The snowstorm and cold had interrupted their hunt, and they had little to show.
The tribe’s leader now regretted that decision.
Walking to the cave entrance, he looked outside through the crack. The snowstorm showed no signs of letting up.
Simply drinking hot water could not stave off hunger. After drinking a belly full of hot water, the people soon began to feel hungry again.
The tribe's leader did not immediately take out food for cooking but waited a little longer, letting everyone’s hunger grow. Only then did he take a small amount of food, pluck the fur off, roughly cut it with a stone knife, and throw it into the large pot to boil.
The food in the pot was less than a quarter of what they had this morning.
After most of the food was consumed as hot broth, the tribe’s leader sent everyone to rest, advising them not to move around unnecessarily.
It wasn’t because he was annoyed by the noise but because experience told him that this approach would minimize their food consumption.
He then lay at the back of the cave, resting, staring at the darkening sky outside and the snowstorm that showed no signs of abating, feeling a heavy sense of worry.
After watching for a while, he returned to the innermost part of the cave, lay down in his designated spot, and fell asleep.
As he drifted off, he hoped that the snowstorm would have stopped when he woke up in the morning, and the weather would be as clear as the day before.
The next day, the sky gradually brightened, and the snow had lightened a bit, though it continued to fall.
The few tents in the windbreak were covered with a thick layer of snow, making them look like bloated snow packages.
The shelters built for the deer, tied to a few trees, sagged under the weight of the thick snow.
Shang stepped out of the tent, grabbed a stick, and propped it underneath the shelter, pushing up the thick snow that had accumulated on top to prevent the four corners from collapsing.
He then fetched some forage and began feeding the deer.
Inside the tent, people continually added firewood to the fire, making the flames burn brighter as they began cooking food.
The food was thick and included some of the prey they had gathered along the way yesterday.
In such cold weather, they had to make sure to eat well.
After the meal, the snow had lessened considerably, with only a few flakes falling, and it looked like it might stop at any moment.
But it was still bitterly cold.
After eating, Shang and Mao discussed the situation for a while, and the group began packing up. They trudged through the now much thicker snow, slowly heading toward the tribe.
The leader of the Huang Guo tribe, who had been crouched by the cave entrance for a long time, finally saw that the heavy snowfall had stopped and couldn’t help but let out a long sigh of relief.
The snow has finally stopped!
He eagerly moved the stone slab blocking the cave entrance and crawled out.
However, as soon as the leader of the Huang Guo tribe stepped out, his joy quickly faded.
Because the ground outside had accumulated a thick layer of snow, much thicker than before it had melted.
If this trend continued, it would take long for this snow to melt.
After standing in the cold wind for a while, the leader of the Huang Guo tribe dejectedly turned around and returned to the cave, sealing the entrance again.
If the weather warms up quickly, the snow will easily melt, just like the day before yesterday…
After a moment of frustration, the leader of the Huang Guo tribe saw a glimmer of hope again, though it was rather faint.
By the afternoon, the overcast sky gradually started to brighten, and just before it got dark, the sun, which had not appeared all day, finally broke through.
Although it brought no warmth, the sight of the sun filled the leader and the others with joy.
The sun’s appearance meant that the weather would soon warm up!
Seeing this hope and knowing that last night's and this morning's food had been sparse, everyone was quite hungry. So, the leader of the Huang Guo tribe decided to take out more food than before as a small celebration.
However, Han Cheng wrapped in a thick tiger fur cloak and watched as people cleared the snow from the deer shelter, didn’t optimism.
The cold front had passed, and the end of the snowstorm signified that the meeting point of cold and warm air had already passed. What remained now was a strong, cold air mass.
If things went as expected, for the next few days, this cold air mass would cover the tribe and the surrounding land, and the temperature would only drop further, with no chance of warming up.
After dinner, Han Cheng instructed the tribe members to make the stoves hotter before going to bed that night and to cover themselves well with their clothes.
He also found another tiger pelt, turned it into a blanket, and had the shaman spread it on the bed to keep warm during the night.
Despite the fire burning in the cave, the cold still pressed in.
At night, many people were awakened by the cold, and the leader of the Huang Guo tribe had the fire stoked higher, which helped a bit.
If they could make it through the night tomorrow, once the sun came out, it would warm up…
The leader of the Huang Guo tribe, along with many of the tribe members, comforted themselves with these thoughts.
The next day, the sluggish sun finally showed its face, a small white patch hanging in the sky.
The people of the Huang Guo tribe couldn’t help but cheer, believing that warm weather would soon follow.
However, after cheering for a while, the tribe members fell silent. The sun, despite appearing, brought little warmth, and the temperature didn’t rise much. The snow showed no signs of melting either.
Looking at the small patch of yellowed ice on the ground, the leader of the Huang Guo tribe fell into a deep, uncomfortable thought.
His steaming urine had turned yellow and frozen shortly after, which wasn’t a common occurrence in the past…
When the still small and yellow sun began to set in the west, it disappeared from view, and dusk began to fall. Once again, the dreaded twilight arrived for the Huang Guo tribe.
At this point, the leader of the Huang Guo tribe had two times of day he dreaded most: twilight and dawn.
Because at these times, the already limited food in the tribe would shrink even more…