Chapter Forty-Three: Sitting Around the Campfire Cold as Frost

  "It's really... cold!"

  The cold wind blows across the desolate Gobi, the sunset has long since retreated to its nest, and the bright moonlight seems to be not a clear glow, but a bone-piercing chill.

  In a short period of time, he experienced the difference between being under the scorching hot iron and entering an ice cellar.

  On the Gobi Desert, in the vast expanse of yellow sand, I have experienced the extreme temperature difference between day and night.

  He walked all the way, and what he saw most were those withered poplar trees without a single leaf.

  These poplar trees stand alone, east one and west one, completely unable to give people a sense of vitality, especially at night, feeling more like they are weakly stretching out their hands towards the sky, struggling in the mud.

  "No wonder some people freeze to death."

  Ning Feng walked while rubbing his hands together. This was still due to his robust physique, and the triple-changing law robe on his body had a certain warming effect; otherwise, it was hard to imagine how cold he would be.

  The night gradually deepened.

  Walking in the night Gobi, feeling the biting cold wind, Ning Feng couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

  "In the past three days, the demon hasn't caused any trouble, probably because of Master's influence."

  "That old Korean man must have died before then."

  "Master will send me to Ganlu Town, I suppose it's discovered and shocked that demon. But if I can't find the demon and solve it in a short time, and someone else dies because of it..."

  Ning Feng thought of this, and his heart felt a chill, even colder than the biting wind outside.

  "...is all my responsibility!"

  Some things, when they don't concern you, are just topics of conversation. Talking about conquering demons and monsters is easy and pleasant, but if you put these burdens on your shoulders, you'll find that the weight of "responsibility" isn't so easily shouldered.

  "The demon is alive today because of me."

  "Whether it's for the people of Ganlu Town or to live up to Master's expectations, I'll make sure you don't see tomorrow!"

  Ning Feng was furious, especially when he thought of the little girls in Ganlu Town who were like Da Ya, losing their loved ones, freezing to death or drying up into corpses. He felt that he couldn't bear it.

  "The question now is: what kind of monster is it? And where is it?"

  The wind blows aimlessly in all directions that seem to have been trodden by people, along the places that must be passed through when entering and leaving the town.

  The night wind blew over and hit his body, but it had a warm feeling.

  "Huh? Warmth?"

  Ning Feng's heart stirred slightly as he gazed in the direction of the wind.

  There, in the dark of night, a firelight flickers.

  "It's a bonfire, there is someone."

  Ning Feng was overjoyed, but it wasn't because he had found a place to start a fire - although he was really cold. The main reason was that after walking for a whole night, he hadn't seen even a ghost of a shadow, and now there were people he could ask questions.

  He walked quickly towards the bonfire.

  In the night, on the vast Gobi Desert, just ride straight across and you'll be fine, no need to worry about getting lost.

  After a while, in the distance, there was only a place with a red glow, and it finally appeared completely in front of Ning Feng.

  It was a medium-sized bonfire, surrounded by seven or eight people, each either rubbing their hands, silently warming themselves by the fire, or shrinking their bodies closer to the fire.

  A group of people sat around the bonfire, with two or three empty seats left.

  Seeing the scene in front of him, Ning Feng's footsteps slowed down slightly.

  Something's off.

  He thought of what the townspeople had said before and became vigilant, taking a step back.

  As he walked, Ning Feng concentrated his mind and observed carefully.

  Seven or eight people sat around the bonfire, all with pale complexions, white with a hint of green, and black showing through the green. Their whole bodies were emitting cold air, as if they were about to freeze into ice.

  In the Gobi Desert at night, it's normal to be this cold. To say that before I arrived, Ningfeng who was walking against the wind wasn't doing much better either.

  "It's still weird."

  Ning Feng muttered to himself, found an empty seat and sat down.

  As he sat down, he waved his hand and said: "It's a bit cold today, may I borrow a spot to warm up by the fire, don't mind do you?"

  "Of course, I will also go pick up firewood."

  Everyone was silent, but no one drove him away either.

  "Alright..." Ning Feng suddenly realized where the problem lay as soon as he spoke.

  From his appearance to taking a seat, no one raised their head to look at him or said a word, which was quite strange.

  If it were an ordinary person who had been frozen to death in the cold wind, they would probably sit down and not think too much about it. But Ning Feng was different, he immediately noticed something strange.

  One breath, two breaths, three breaths...

  More than ten breaths of time passed, Ning Feng was still rubbing his hands and warming himself by the fire, his eyes scanning back and forth over the seven or eight people in front of him.

  Finally, his gaze fell on a young man on the left side, who was closest to him.

  The young man's eyes were dull and cold, hunched over with his hands constantly rubbing together, but unable to bring any warmth.

  Compared with others, his complexion was not so bad. When Ning Feng sat down, his eyeballs seemed to have moved a little.

  More importantly, in this face, Ning Feng vaguely saw the shadow of Han Da, who was carrying his father's corpse and rushing into the town with a loud cry.

  "He is Han Er!"

  Ning Feng had about 80-90% confidence, so he quietly moved closer to him.

  Within three to five feet, Ning Feng could feel the chill emanating from Han Er's body, as if he were not a living person, but a block of ice.

  "Wahahaha, I'm saved, I'm saved. Guanyin Bodhisattva has saved me from freezing to death."

  No need to guess what Ning Feng said, a loud and clear voice came from afar.

  Just as Ning Feng was about to speak, he saw a figure like a galloping horse, bringing up clouds of smoke and dust on the Gobi Desert, rushing to the bonfire, and sitting down in the position he had just moved out of, next to him.

  "Symbol!"

  Ning Feng's eyes narrowed slightly, the distance between them was too close, at first glance he saw that when the man sat down, a talisman flew up from behind him and fell to the ground, turning into ashes.

  That man sat down, shivering all over with cold, muttering curses under his breath at the damned weather, while he casually picked up the firewood prepared beside him and threw it into the bonfire.

  "Boom!" The flames shot up a bit higher, and the crowd sitting in a circle involuntarily leaned in.

  "Why isn't anyone saying anything?"

  That person seemed to feel warmer and asked strangely.

  He was a scrawny little man, about five feet tall, with a goatee and beady eyes that made him look like he wasn't a good person.

  Such a person, if he were to walk in the streets, as soon as you see him, you would instinctively cover your wallet, afraid that if you're not careful, he'll steal it from you.

  "My surname is Shu, alias Bailin, and I am Shu Bailin."

  "Gentlemen, let's be polite."

  Shu Bailin clasped his fists in all directions, exerting himself to stick out his chest, but the impression he gave was still that of a scoundrel, and people still suspected him of wanting to steal their wallets.

  Ning Feng glanced at him, if not for sitting close by, seeing the talisman that had floated down, he might have thought this was just a useless old rogue, a sly thief.

  It's strange to say, he originally wanted to talk to Shu Bairong for a few words, the words were already on his lips, but suddenly felt bored and cold all over, lazy and didn't want to speak.

  A moment of silence, no one spoke beside the campfire.

  Shu Bailin didn't feel embarrassed at all, and chattered on and on about how the town was in an uproar, with chickens flying and dogs jumping around, and how they couldn't stay there any longer and were preparing to move to a new place, and how the weather here in the Gobi Desert was deadly, and that next time she'd rather die than come back again.

  At some point, he too fell silent, wordlessly drawing closer to the bonfire, his whole body trembling, his face pale, and lost interest in speaking.

  A group of people sat silently around a bonfire, with only the crackling sound of the flames breaking the silence.

  "It's so cold by the campfire, isn't it even colder outside?"

  Ning Feng felt his consciousness was a bit dull, as if he was about to fall asleep. He quickly thought of an excuse and desperately thought:

  "This temperature, if we go out without a bonfire, I'm afraid even I won't be able to hold on, let alone Han Er."

  "How can it be so cold?"

  Ning Feng subconsciously stretched out his hand, wanting to add firewood to the bonfire, but his hand touched nothing. It turned out that all the prepared firewood next to the bonfire had been cleaned up by Shu Bailin.

  Remembering the poplar tree forest he passed by earlier, Ning Feng took a deep breath and slowly stood up.

  "Hey brother, come with me to gather some firewood."

  Ning Feng stretched out his hand and shook Han Er on the side loudly saying.

  Han Er's eyes rolled around, seemingly a bit dazed and unable to make out what others were saying.

  Ning Feng didn't wait for his response, stretched out her hand and pulled him up by the arm, and the two of them headed towards a nearby poplar forest.

  Throughout the whole process, except for Shu Bairong who seemed to want to get up and follow, but immediately shrank back, feeling cold again, and moved closer to the bonfire, everyone else had no reaction.

  It seems like a statue of people made of ice.

  "So cold, so cold, so cold..."

  The cold wind blew against Er Gouzi, feeling an endless chill that kept drilling into his bones, so cold he couldn't bear it.

  "There must be something wrong, there's definitely a problem, what is it?!"

  "How can I stand this cold?"

  The wind was calm and serene, but in his heart, there was a voice shouting loudly, wanting to echo across the entire Gobi Desert.

  Han Er walked and walked, as if he had loosened up his body, and his eyes sparkled with a few more sparks of vitality. He muttered to himself: "Pick up firewood, pick up firewood, it's so cold."

  Poplar forest is next door, withered branches stretch out like claws, as if countless grasping towards the sky, expressing endless unwillingness.

  In a short time, the two of them easily picked up an armful of withered branches each.

  Ning Feng looked at Han Er, wanting to tell him about his family situation, wanting to take him away like this, but for some reason, he felt an indescribable chill creeping into his body, and suddenly had an overwhelming desire to return to the bonfire.

  "He's so out of it, he might not even follow me. Look at Han Er, a withered branch seems more important to him than his own father, completely forgetting the purpose of coming out."

  "Moreover, if we can't solve the problem and let that demon go like this, even if we save Han Er, more people will still die. No, I must find out the reason and the true identity of the demon."

  Ning Feng touched the golden emblem on his chest, fearing that even he himself couldn't distinguish whether he really thought so or was yielding to his longing for warmth and finding an excuse to return to the bonfire.

  "It's so cold!"

  Both of them had their feet frozen and stumbled as they turned back.

  "Huh?"

  "There is one more person."

  Not far away, Ning Feng found himself beside Shu Bailin, and another person was sitting there.

  A robust man with a long beard, carrying a long knife on his back, dressed as a typical Gobi Desert swordsman.

  He was laughing loudly and talking incessantly, with a large wine bag in his hand, passing it around to everyone by the bonfire.

  Even if it's just a whiff of wine aroma, it can make people feel its intensity and imagine the warmth in their belly.

  Shu Bailin was like Ning Feng from a moment ago, with a mouth like a chicken's buttocks, which had closed up, and let the bearded big man speak there, silently roasting the fire by himself.

  The Great Han calls himself Old Knife Handle, a knife guest who has been traveling back and forth on this plateau for many years. The night road is cold, seeing the bonfire coming to disturb.

  Ning Feng returned and after sitting down, he got these messages from Lao Dao's own mouth.

  He and Han Er, Shu Bailin and Lao Daozi added firewood to the bonfire one after another, and the flames licked up as high as a person, but everyone still felt cold.

  A wave of coldness, like a tidal wave, surged forward, as if it wanted to push everyone into the deepest part of the sea.

  Can't sleep!

  Ning Feng bit his tongue and sat up straight, using tremendous willpower to complete a simple visualization exercise that was usually effortless for him.

  Nine deaths, mental state.

  It is also what my heart delights in; even if I were to die nine times, I would still not regret it.

  Ning Feng reopened his eyes, and there was a faint trace of blood flowing from the corner of his mouth. It was the blood that flowed out after biting his tongue.

  His eyes were clearer than ever before.

  "We have to leave!"

  "If I stay any longer, my willpower will weaken and I won't dare leave, can't bear to leave."

  Ning Feng finally found where the problem lay.

  Everyone by the bonfire was like being woken up on a cold winter morning, and no matter what, they didn't have enough willpower to throw off their covers and go out.

  What awaits them is freezing to death.

  "No wonder they say there's a circle of death from freezing and scorching, it's exactly this situation right in front of us."

  "A moment's indulgence in warmth, and then there is no courage to leave."

  Ning Feng's gaze swept over, not mentioning those who had been sitting by the bonfire for a long time, even he and Shu Bailin, Lao Dao Ba Zi, all looked dull and numb, without saying a word.

  "Those people might have already frozen to death."

  Ning Feng looked at the crowd, who from his appearance to now, hadn't even blinked, mechanically roasting and rubbing their hands, and slowly shook his head.

  "Go!"

  He stumbled up, grabbed Han Er's arm and shouted loudly again: "No way, it's too cold, must be not enough firewood."

  "Lao Shu, Lao Daozi, let's go pick up firewood together. The two of us can't pick too much."

  Upon hearing his words, their faces turned pale. The previously talkative Old Dao and Shu Baili both hesitated and looked over, seemingly reluctant to leave the warmth of the bonfire.

  "Don't pick it up, it will be cold!"

  Ning Feng spat out the last four words.

  These four words seemed to hit something, and the two of them helped each other up.

  As soon as they stood up, they were exposed to the howling cold wind, and all four of them shivered, their bones chilled to the marrow.

  "Go!"

  "It's just next door, I'll be right back."

  Ning Feng shouted loudly and pulled Han Er, followed by Shu Bailin and Lao Daozi, the four of them stumbled towards the Poplar Forest.