Chapter 8: The Ice Palace (2)

  Qin Zhong found a long staircase in the cave, and on this very long staircase, there was no feeling of dampness or slipperiness due to poor ventilation inside the cave. Instead, all the walls of the cave were warm, so all the roads had a very dry and refreshing feel. I don't know if it's related to the hot spring seen at the tombstone earlier, but if it is true, then there should be a hot spring or living water in this big mountain.

  "Follow closely, let's set off." Qin Zhong said, leading Yingzi and Guo Dafu down the cave, after several turns, they reached another entrance. Looking out from this entrance, they had already descended to a lower level, which not only made Qin Zhong and his companions feel a wave of joy but also saw hope in descending the mountain.

  Three people descended consecutively from the seventh or eighth floor of the cave entrance, and when they looked down again, it seemed that there was no more cave entrance to descend. However, the cave entrance in front of them seemed to still have a downward path, but it was unknown where this downward path would lead to.

  "Boss, there's no exit down below. If we keep going down, won't we get lost?" Guo Dafu asked doubtfully.

  Qin Zhong thought for a moment: "I think it shouldn't be, we'd better keep going than waiting to die here."

  "Brother Qin, what did you mean by that? Are we just waiting for death here?" Na Yingzi asked straightforwardly.

  Qin Zhong nodded: "We're waiting here, there's only one dead end, our food is almost gone, if we don't go out to find some food back, it's over. If it's water, we can stretch out our hands, grab some snow on the wall and put it in our mouths to quench our thirst, but what about something to eat?"

  Qin Zhong stopped here and went down to the cave with his head bowed. Along the way, he didn't see anything unusual, but on the originally warm wall, there was a sudden burst of cold wind blowing over, which caught Qin Zhong's attention.

  It was supposed to be a warm and cozy journey all the way, but why is it not that kind of dry wind here, but rather such a cold wind, and this chill makes people feel slightly piercing.

  It's also because of the ventilation in the cave that we can feel what the environment is like deep inside: "It's actually cold in there? Are we almost out?"

  Qin Zhong couldn't help but feel excited, as long as they got down the mountain, they would have a way out of this mountainous area. Moreover, Qin Zhong had observed the starry sky in that Yingzi tribe, so they could easily find their way back to the tribe. As long as they returned to the tribe, they would have found hope for survival.

  Qin Zhong had said that he was mentally prepared for this trip, but encountering such a situation was something he had never thought of.

  "Boss, I feel like I saw some light."

  "Nonsense, the flashlight is also shining, don't tell me you just saw it." Qin Zhong turned his head to look at Guo Dafu, curled his lips and continued walking forward.

  Guo Dafu rubbed his head, with a look of astonishment on his face. Yingzi was giggling beside him. Then Guo Dafu rubbed his eyes again and looked carefully ahead, only to find that Qin Zhong and Yingzi had already turned the corner and were walking towards the depths.

  "Older brother, wait for me a moment, I really did see the light, why don't you believe me? I..." Guo Dafu walked while speaking, and when he turned around the corner, he found Qin Zhong and Yingzi seemed to be frozen in place. But when he lifted his head to look forward, he was stunned, his jaw dropped so low it could have dragged on the ground.

  Qin Zhong and Yingzi were silent for half a day, not saying a word. After about ten or more minutes, Qin Zhong was suddenly chilled by the cool air from the cave and spoke up: "What place is this?"

  Qin Zhong's words trailed off for a long time, and Yingzi also broke free from the quiet atmosphere: "How did it become like this here?"

  At this moment, in Qin Zhong's eyes, the entire surface of the ice block was crystal clear and transparent, with a cold air that seemed to be surging and moving. What was even more strange was that the ice block emitted a colorful glow from somewhere, and on its surface, there was a huge door carved out by someone using an ice chisel, which looked like it belonged to a palace based on its size.

  On both sides of the gate, there were two ice sculptures that looked like two people. One person held a flag in his hand and wore very primitive clothes. Every part of their bodies was carved vividly. The male figure on the left was sturdy, with clear muscle lines on his body. His strong biceps and chest muscles showed off his masculine vigor. He tightly grasped a giant python with one hand, while using the other hand to pin down the python's body wrapped around him with the flag.

  And the woman on the right, with her full and plump curves, her double breasts enough to make many women envious, while the short cheongsam that wrapped around her lower body seemed unable to hold her high and round buttocks; and in her hand, she tightly grasped a pair of sharp claws belonging to a lone horned eagle, while the flag in her left hand was precisely placed at the eagle's throat.

  "Yingzi, do you know what place this is?" Qin Zhong asked in a continuous seeking tone.

  Yingzi's head shook like a rattle drum, but after looking at the two stone statues, he seemed to remember something: "Qinzhong brother, I think I've heard of these two people."

  "Go on and say it then!"

  "I heard Grandpa tell a legend that our nation was born in a bear cave very early on, but later two evil beasts broke into the tribe from somewhere. These two evil beasts seem to be the ones in the two sculptures, one is a double-headed giant python, which our people call 'sin', and the other is the single-horned evil eagle, which our people call 'destruction'."

  Qin Zhong suddenly remembered that his grandfather's notes also mentioned a similar story, saying that the reason why shamans had a high status in the legend of female chastity was because they had helped them through a very difficult time.

  "So you're saying these two are the shamans your tribe reveres?"

  "Right, Grandfather said that the reason why the Shaman are our heroes is that they knew the true nature of these two evil creatures before we did, and took them down."

  Qin Zhong nodded, he leaned forward to the two giant ice sculptures, and gently touched the icy body with his hand. Due to his body temperature, it seemed like his hand had stuck to the ice, but just as he was about to pull his hand back, he suddenly felt a warmth emanating from within the sculpture, a gentle flow of heat spreading out from inside the icy body.

  Qin Zhong was shocked, such a temperature is fundamentally not in line with science. If the temperature continues like this, then this ice body should have melted long ago. How can it still exist here? Does this ice body have even more magical characteristics?

  He tried to stretch his hand into the interior of the ice body, wanting to feel the temperature inside the ice body at close range. However, the fact proved that a magical thing happened, and the temperature inside the ice body was indeed warm.

  He suspected that his hand was feeling an illusion and turned back to shout at Guo Dafu: "Stretch out your hand."

  Guo Dafu's face changed in surprise as he handed his hand over to Qin Zhong, who grasped it tightly. This action scared Guo Dafu: "Boss, don't, I'm still a virgin!"

  "Damn it, what's with this virgin stuff? Tell me, is my hand cool or hot?"

  "Of course it's warm."

  "I just put it on the ice for so long, how can I not feel even a little cool?" Qin Zhong questioned.

  Guo Dafu only felt at this time that Qin Zhong's hand was indeed not cold, but warm all along. He rubbed his beard with his hand: "Ah, you're right!"

  Yingzi was curious, and she also stretched out her hand towards Qin Zhong. The two small hands touched Qin Zhong's hand and felt around: "Right, how is your hand still warm? I'll try it too." She also stretched out her hand to the ice body of the sculpture, which was cool at first, but she also looked surprised because she felt the temperature inside the ice body.

  Guo Dafu stroked his curved beard and stretched out his hand to the icy body of the sculpture. He pressed his hand inward with force, and soon it seemed as if his hand had entered the interior of the sculpture. Suddenly, he felt a strange power sucking his hand in, and in an instant, Guo Dafu's face turned deathly pale: "Boss, there's something inside, I think I've grabbed onto something, and it has scales on top."