Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 209: Plea, Cold Yuan Festival, Leader Out of Seclusion

step... step... step...

Xiang Liang walked into the silent hall, with only the sound of his own footsteps echoing in his ears. This solemn atmosphere undoubtedly made him feel more nervous.

After walking around the three-legged round tripod, he saw the five people at the back of the hall.

"Sure enough!"

Xu Ning, Lin Kai, and Lu Yang were all standing at the bottom; Yuwen Tao, who had just shown his prowess outside and killed the flying bird, was standing in front of them;

In front of these four people, there was a young man dressed in black with a friendly face. He was facing the door and staring at him with a smile.

Although the clothes this young man wore were also black, unlike Yuwen Tao's slim-fitting clothes, his were slightly looser, with long and large sleeves, tied with a red ribbon around his waist, and topped with a crown carved from animal bones and shaped like white jade, making him look more elegant and calm.

"I am Xiang Liang from Hefeng Camp, and I am here to meet you, Lord Si Cheng!"

Seeing the gorgeous and exquisite golden chair on the high platform behind the five people, Xiang Liang immediately guessed the identity of the man in black. Without thinking, he knelt down in front of him and bowed respectfully.

"You have some good eyesight. Come on, let me see the cold marrow iron."

Seeing the surprise on Xu Ning and the other two's faces, Xia Chuan immediately realized that Xiang Liang had guessed his identity purely through observation, and praised him with a smile.

Xiang Liang immediately opened the wooden box and handed it over.

Xu Ning immediately took the wooden box and handed it to Xia Chuan.

Xia Chuan took the wooden box and carefully examined the cold marrow iron inside.

Lin Kai, who was standing by, suddenly thought of something and quickly trotted out, and soon brought back two wooden basins, one large and one small, from outside the hall.

The large wooden basin was about half a meter in diameter and was filled with a deep green liquid that was obviously low-level animal blood. The small wooden basin was only more than twenty centimeters in diameter and was filled with a scarlet liquid.

Recalling the color of the blood that flowed out of the bird when he saw Yuwen Tao killing it outside just now, Xiang Liang immediately understood that this scarlet liquid should be the blood of a mid-level cold beast.

Xia Chuan came back to his senses from his contemplation, picked up five pieces of cold marrow iron, and threw them all into the large wooden basin.

laugh…………

The animal's blood in the basin began to boil immediately, and was rapidly decreasing at a speed visible to the naked eye. The whole process took less than ten minutes, and the blood in the basin was reduced by more than half.

Xia Chuan's eyes lit up instantly, and so did Yuwen Tao.

Even Xu Ning and the other two, who had seen it once before, were no exception.

The animal blood they used in previous experiments was not as much as it is now.

After waiting for a while, all the blood in the wooden basin disappeared. Xia Chuan and the others moved closer to take a look. When they saw this, the five of them were slightly startled.

The cold marrow iron, which was originally the size of a fist, had actually grown a circle larger.

Xia Chuan picked up one of the pieces, weighed it for a while, and then squeezed it hard. Seeing that the cold marrow iron did not change its shape, his brows slightly furrowed.

"The volume has changed, but the weight and hardness have not changed..."

"Master Si Cheng, I remember that when this cold marrow iron was first dug out, it was as big as it is now. It's just that we ground it down a lot. Later, we kept nourishing it with animal blood, but it's a pity that it has never been able to recover to its original state."

Xiang Liang, who had been watching for a long time, finally plucked up the courage to speak.

Hearing his words, Xia Chuan immediately understood.

Xu Ning had just said that when the Hefeng Camp was forging weapons, they would mix the powder made from the cold marrow iron into the weapons. It must be because the Hefeng Camp's hunting ability was limited and the amount of blood of the beasts obtained was not enough, so it has not recovered.

Xia Chuan thought for a moment, picked up a piece and put it into another small wooden basin.

Chichichi...

The expressions of the six people present, including Xiang Liang, suddenly changed.

When the cold marrow iron came into contact with the deep red beast blood, the reaction was even more violent than before. In less than three breaths, the small basin of intermediate beast blood was completely absorbed.

Moreover, the cold marrow iron obviously produced an extremely high temperature, which actually burned through the wooden basin below and even emitted a trace of flame.

"The higher the level of the beast's blood, the stronger the reaction of the cold marrow iron. If this is the case, these five pieces of cold marrow iron are really not simple..."

Yuwen Tao's words made Xu Ning and the other two's eyes light up immediately.

The higher the level of the beast blood, the stronger its effect.

Wouldn't a weapon forged with cold marrow iron be a definite nemesis of cold beasts?

Just imagine, if you use it to penetrate the body of a cold beast, it can suck out all the blood in its body in an instant...

Xia Chuan looked at the originally deep green cold marrow iron in the wooden basin. After absorbing the intermediate beast blood, the outer layer was slowly turning red, and a hint of excitement rose on his face.

"Good stuff, your name is... Xiang Liang, right?"

Hearing Xia Chuan's slightly surprised tone, Xiang Liang also became excited, and hurriedly nodded and replied: "My name is Xiang Liang."

"Just tell me what you want. For the sake of these five pieces of cold marrow iron, I will do my best to satisfy you as long as it satisfies you."

Xiang Liang's face was full of surprise, and he quickly bowed and pleaded with the Hefeng camp.

After listening to Xiang Liang's statement, Xia Chuan turned to Xu Ning for confirmation. After a conversation, he learned about what had happened in Wuyuan and the four camps. His brows immediately furrowed slightly.

"Pardon everyone in the Hefeng camp, you dare to think about it!"

Xia Chuan whispered softly, glanced at Xu Ning out of the corner of his eye, and frowned slightly.

According to the current regulations of the camp, the 29 Diggers of the Hefeng Camp all belong to Xu Ning's Black Arrow Team. Since this concerns the interests of Xu Ning's team, he cannot pardon them lightly.

"Lu Yang, according to the regulations of the Camp Supply Department, how should we deal with the more than 5,000 people in the four camps in the north of Wuyuan Mountain?"

Lu Yang, who was working in the quartermaster department, was naturally familiar with these matters and answered without thinking.

“The four families of Feihu, Yangping, Yueming, and Hefeng captured 124 Digging Realm prisoners, 182 Woodcutting Realm prisoners, and a total of 306 criminals who attacked us.

The main offender, Wang Lie, was stubborn and refused to listen to repeated persuasion. According to the regulations, he should be sentenced to three years of corvée labor. The 182 diggers under his command were slightly more serious and should be sentenced to one and a half years of corvée labor. The woodcutters, who were also from the Flying Tiger camp, should be sentenced to one year of corvée labor.
The other three leaders, He Feng, Liu Qing and Xiang Ping, were considered accomplices and were sentenced to two years of corvée labor according to regulations. There were a total of 87 diggers under their command, and they should be sentenced to one and a half years of corvée labor according to regulations.

In addition, the direct relatives of these criminals, a total of 572 people, will also be sentenced to six months of corvée labor, which will be added to their heads. "

The prisoner rules have been implemented for more than two months, and naturally a lot of details in all aspects have been supplemented.

If anyone attacks Da Xia's people, the prisoner rule will apply. Naturally, it will not apply to those who have not made the attack. This is a more humane clause in this rule.

Almost all ordinary people in the camp have no say. Whether to take action against Da Xia or not, their opinion has no say and they can only follow the orders of the leader. In this case, Da Xia will naturally not pursue their mistakes.

But the situation is different for the immediate family members of these criminals.

Since they were normally supported by these criminals, they would naturally be implicated if something happened, so they were sentenced to half a year of corvée labor.

Of course, only a few of these people have the strength of the Digging Realm, so the corvée labor will be imposed on the criminals themselves.

This is a restrictive clause, mainly targeting those criminals who enter the mines but refuse to do their mining and serving duties honestly.

My father was an accomplice and was sentenced to two years of corvee labor, plus my mother, younger brother, and younger sister were sentenced to half a year each, for a total of three and a half years of corvee labor.

Upon hearing the verdict, Xiang Liang, who was kneeling on the ground, suddenly became nervous.

My father Xiang Ping is already 39 years old. Considering the average life expectancy of over 40 years in the Ice Abyss world, he doesn't have many years left to live. After serving three and a half years of corvee labor, it is still unclear whether he can walk out of the mine alive.

He wanted to plead for his family, but the solemn and dignified hall put too much pressure on him. In addition, Yuwen Tao and the other four were all silent, so he did not dare to speak.

After thinking about it, he could only lower his body and tap his head lightly on the floor.

boom……

Xia Chuan was interrupted by the voice. He looked down at Xiang Liang and said slowly:

"It is definitely not possible to pardon everyone in your camp. How about this, considering your contribution of treasure, I will exempt your family of four from corvée labor."

Xiang Liang was startled at first, then he kowtowed repeatedly and said excitedly: "On behalf of my father and family, I would like to thank you for your kindness."

Xia Chuan smiled and nodded, and was about to speak.

Boom…………

A loud drum sound suddenly rang out from the sky above the valley.

The sound of the drums was so deafening that not only the wooden building but the entire valley seemed to be shaking.

Xiang Liang, who was kneeling on the ground, staggered and nearly fell. He felt his heart trembling in rhythm with the beat of the drum. He thought some horrible cold beast was attacking the valley and was immediately terrified.

However, when he looked up, he saw Xia Chuan and the other four, looking extremely relaxed.

Not only were they relaxed, the five of them even smiled a little.

"The time has come?"

"Hahaha, it should be here, Yue Feng's side has started."

"The first Cold Yuan Festival needs to be sensational."

…………

As the five people finished their conversation, the drum sounded again.

Boom...boom...boom...boom...

The interval between each drum beat was very long, about three breaths. Xiang Liang felt his heart beating with the beats of the drum. A solemn and sacred feeling arose from the bottom of his heart, and his mood became inexplicably excited.

Boom...boom...boom...boom...

There were nine earth-shaking drum beats in total, and then it finally ended.

The entire valley also fell silent.

The main building, which was originally noisy, suddenly became quiet.

The entire Daxia Valley was silent, and the subtle sounds of the snow and wind became unusually clear at this moment. If Xiang Liang could walk out of the hall, he would find that all the people in the main building had already walked out, and all the Daxia people in the valley had also walked out of the wooden houses and stood on the three main roads, all turning their eyes to the main building, with a look of holiness and expectation on their faces.

"During the Cold Yuan Festival in the second year of Daxia, the leader issued an edict..."

A loud voice sounded from above the valley.

"Someone will be here soon, you go down first!"

Xiang Liang, who was kneeling on the ground, heard Xu Ning's words and hurriedly thanked him and stood up. While listening to the voice of the man above him, he walked towards the door of the hall.

Before he walked out of the hall, a strong fragrance came from outside the door.

Soon after, a large group of people came in, carrying wooden tables and chairs. On the wooden tables were delicious fruits and vegetables that he had never seen before. On each table was a wooden pot with unknown contents inside.

Xiang Liang sniffed the intoxicating aroma, his eyes widened, and his walking speed slowed down a lot, almost blocking others.

"The first day of the first lunar month, the auspicious time has arrived, the new day has begun, the city gates are closed, the valley lanterns are lit, the grand banquet begins, all the people receive the order, and the whole world celebrates together!"

Just as Xiang Liang walked out of the hall, the voice from above also ended.

Just outside the entrance of the main hall is the west corridor on the top floor of the main building.

Xiang Liang looked up and saw a scene that he would never forget.

boom…………

A drum sounded, followed by the sound of countless flames rising into the air.

Boom…Boom…Boom…

Bonfires suddenly lit up on the roofs of thousands of houses as far as the eye could see;
Thousands of bonfires lit up simultaneously on the stone walls on both sides of the valley;

A fierce flame rose up from the top of the main building where Xiang Liang was, and it soared up to about twenty or thirty meters.

The entire Daxia Valley was suddenly filled with warm currents and became as bright as day.

"As the new year begins, I wish you good health and happiness!"

"As the new year begins, I wish you good health and happiness!"

"Hahaha, it's the second year of Daxia, set the table, set the table."

"I don't have to go out for fifteen days. I need to take a good rest."

"As the new year begins, I wish you good health and happiness!"

"Set the table, let's eat."

…………

After congratulating each other, people on the three main roads quickly set up round tables, which quickly filled up the entire street, and the huge crowds of people all sat down nearby.

The five or six thousand people who were originally in front of the wooden building have now been taken elsewhere, and instead there are round tables filled with people from Daxia.

"As the new year begins, I wish you good health and happiness!"

…………

Everyone sitting at the table congratulated each other with smiles on their faces.

Dishes of cold beast meat, various fruits and melons, and many foods that Xiang Liang had never seen before were brought to the table.

The whole valley was instantly filled with fragrance and deafening laughter.

Xiang Liang no longer had time to care about why Daxia dared to illuminate the valley to such an extent on such a night. The endless amount of animal meat and various delicacies on the table below were enough to make his breathing stop and his expression numb.

How could Daxia be so wealthy!

Could it be that their food all falls from the sky?
"At the beginning of the new year... May you be healthy and well..."

Xiang Liang looked at the dreamlike valley scenery in front of him and murmured these eight words. An inexplicable emotion suddenly grew in his heart, and an indescribable passion and expectation rose in his eyes.

"Who's standing there?"

Suddenly, a rough voice came from the side.

Xiang Liang turned around quickly and saw that three men had walked up from downstairs at some point, and the one who was speaking was the most burly of them.

When the three men came closer and he could see clearly that the clothes they were wearing were shining with the same gilded sheen as Yuwen Tao's, Xiang Liang's expression suddenly became nervous.

"I'm asking you a question. You can't just come up to the third floor casually. Don't you know that?"

Seeing that Xiang Liang did not answer for a long time, the burly young man in the middle took a few steps closer and emitted some aura.

This aura is even stronger than Xu Ning's...

Xiang Liang hurriedly lowered his head and was about to answer.

But before he could open his mouth, another one of the three spoke up.

"It's someone Xu Ning brought back from Wuyuan. It seems like he's going to present treasures to the leader. I guess he just came out of the main hall."

"Offer treasures to the leader..."

Upon hearing Qiu Peng's words, Yuan Cheng's face suddenly showed a strange look. The four camps in the north of Wuyuan Mountain were pitifully weak. In his opinion, what good treasures could such camps have.

It would be even more ridiculous to offer it to the leader.

"Don't stay on the third floor if you have nothing to do. Go down!"

"Yes, my lord."

Hearing Yuan Cheng's words, Xiang Liang hurriedly turned around and walked down the stairs.

However, it happened that at this moment, there was a large crowd of people going up the stairs again.

Xiang Liang hurriedly retreated to the side of the stairs, lowered his head and waited for these people to come up.

"Hey, why is there a young man here?"

"It seems that they are not from our camp."

"Here to present treasures, Xu Ning brought them from Wuyuan."

"Oh, I see. Xu Ning is in great glory this time."

"There are more than 5,000 people, and more than 100 Digging Realm prisoners. The Black Arrow Squad probably won't have to go into the mines for several years."

"After the Cold Yuan Festival is over, I will have to buy a few from him."

…………

After everyone had left, Xiang Liang slowly raised his head, his eyes full of horror.

"Hundreds of people..."

Although he did not sense the aura of these people, Xiang Liang could basically judge from the content of their conversation that these people's status must be similar to Xu Ning's.

Strength equals status, and this is true for any camp.

In other words, among the nearly one hundred people who just came up, even if not all of them are stronger than Xu Ning, at least the difference between them and him is not too big.

Gulp...

Xiang Liang swallowed and walked quickly downstairs.

Coincidentally, at this moment, the voice of the call to prayer rang out again.

"During the first Cold Yuan Festival, the leader issued an imperial decree to pardon all criminals and exempt them from three months of corvée labor, in order to show the benevolence of our Great Xia."

Exempt all criminals from three months of corvée labor?

Xiang Liang, who had just walked down the main building, froze in his tracks, then a look of ecstasy suddenly appeared on his face.

Although their family of four were exempted from corvée labor, the rest of the digging personnel in the Hefeng camp were not exempted and still had to serve one and a half years of corvée labor. The exemption of three months, equivalent to one-sixth, was already a lot.

"Long live the leader, long live Great Xia!"

"Long live the leader, long live Great Xia!"

"Long live the leader, long live Great Xia!"

………………

The huge crowd outside the main building shouted round after round.

"Long live the leader, long live Great Xia!"

Xiang Liang was involuntarily infected by this emotion. He looked up at the top floor of the main building, clenched his fists, and shouted along.

………………

Just when Yue Feng shouted out the last pardon decree.

In the hall on the top floor, Xia Chuan and the others who were already seated were all stunned at first, then they all turned to look towards the back of the hall with joy on their faces.

"Brother is out of quarantine."

"The leader has come out."

"It's been almost four months, and I'm finally out."

………………

(End of this chapter)