Without these crossbows, they wouldn't have been able to deal with the wolves so quickly, and someone might have gotten injured.
Awu, a martial artist who had spent some time in military camps, naturally understood the importance of weapons, so his respect for Li Man'er deepened.
Li Man'er was completely unaware of Awu's thoughts. She looked at the wolves on the ground, her eyes gleaming, "These are all meat, they can be our rations."
People need to eat meat to have strength.
Awu immediately said, "Your subordinate will clean them up now. We'll take some of the good meat, and we can roast it."
Asi also said, "I'll help. Your Highness, young lady, you two should go rest first!"
Li Man'er was also a bit sleepy, mainly because the weather was too cold. She ran back to where the blankets were and burrowed into them. The warmth had already dissipated, and Li Man'er once again longed for her spatial artifact. She clearly possessed a great treasure, yet she couldn't enjoy it; it was a terrible waste.
Before long, Qi Yihan also returned. He rekindled the fire, and after the flames were strong, he sat down beside Li Man'er and also covered himself with a blanket.
"If you're sleepy, sleep. I'll watch the fire for you, and it will be warm soon."
Li Man'er leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, murmuring in affirmation, as if she had already fallen asleep.
Qi Yihan suddenly felt no longer sleepy. With the beauty by his side, he was indeed a bit restless, but more than that, he felt tenderness.
If it weren't for the toxic miasma in the mountains, he would never have wanted Li Man'er to come along. However, among all the doctors he knew, only Li Man'er and Jiang Ling had the highest medical skills. With Jiang Ling not present, he had no time to wait.
He could only trouble her.
Qi Yihan threw a few logs into the fire, looked down at the top of Li Man'er's head, and a dazzling smile bloomed on his lips.
Asi, not far away, saw it and instantly gasped. The Prince's smile, how could it be so radiant?
To preserve his life, Asi decisively hugged his small blanket and moved a little further away. He couldn't get too close, as it might be too overwhelming.
The next morning, the wolf meat had already been processed. After being frozen outdoors all night, it had become as hard as bricks. Whatever they could carry was wrapped in oiled paper and placed in baskets; there was no worry of it spoiling.
The remaining wolf skins and meat were buried in the snow by Awu and his men. For some reason, the forest was very humid, and the fire couldn't be started easily. They decided not to eat breakfast and set off directly.
Perhaps it was due to not eating, their efficiency dropped somewhat. They didn't cover much distance in the morning. However, as the mountain scenery changed, the greenness of the mountains seemed to increase, and the snow on the ground and trees gradually decreased, with the temperature rising considerably.
"What's going on?"
Li Man'er smelled a faint scent of sulfur, "Could there be hot springs here?"
Qi Yihan took out the map and looked at it. There were no markings.
"If there are hot springs, we can consider resting here." They were tired and hungry, and finding a warm place was not easy.
"Awu, take some men to scout around."
"Yes."
Li Man'er said, "I'm not tired yet, how about I go too? Let Asi accompany me." The main reason was that Qi Yihan was too astute; with him constantly by her side, she couldn't do anything.
Qi Yihan misunderstood, thinking Li Man'er had an urgent need. He immediately nodded in agreement.
Thus, Li Man'er put down her large pack and took Asi out for a walk.
"Young lady, it is indeed very warm here."
"Hehe, if there really are hot springs, we can take a bath." They had been out for several days, and bathing was out of the question. Fortunately, the weather wasn't hot; in the summer, they would have stunk.
"This servant just feels that it's quite warm here. Resting here for a night should be quite comfortable."
The two walked around the vicinity but found no trace of hot springs, so they returned to meet Qi Yihan.
Not long after, Awu also returned with his men, reporting that no hot springs had been found.
"Perhaps the source isn't here, or the hot springs are still underground and difficult to find," Qi Yihan said. "Since it's unexpectedly warmer here, let's rest and eat lunch here."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and busied themselves with starting a fire.
Starting fires, gathering firewood, the division of labor was orderly.
The steamed buns they had brought were already gone. They still had some rice, sweet potatoes, and wolf meat in their bags. At this point, there was no need to be picky. The wolf meat was roasted directly and eaten with salt, and the sweet potatoes could be boiled to fill them up.
To be honest, wolf meat wasn't tasty; it was tough, dry, and had a peculiar smell. If they had had more ingredients, they could have masked it and enhanced the flavor, but they only had salt and chili powder, so the meat tasted rather strange.
Fortunately, there was no one here who was particular. Even Qi Yihan ate whatever was available and was never picky. He had led troops in battles outside and could adapt to any harsh environment.
As for Li Man'er, she made others feel that she was pampered. With her appearance, it was evident she grew up in luxury. No one expected her to endure such hardship, to walk such long distances without complaint, to carry heavy loads without complaint, and to be like an army of thousands by herself.
Only such a radiant young lady could be worthy of their Prince.
After eating, everyone rested for a while and soon had to pack up and depart again.
"How much further?" Li Man'er couldn't help but ask a question she had been wanting to ask.
Qi Yihan showed her the map, "We should be there after crossing two more peaks. However, the road ahead might not be easy."
"The place where they live might not necessarily be a desolate and cold region," Li Man'er said, looking at the map in Qi Yihan's hand. "Just looking at it like this doesn't reveal much."
Two mountains, likely another day of crossing. Calculating the time, it was about the same as they had previously estimated.
"Alright, let's see as we go."
Awu called out, and everyone continued to advance. However, after walking for nearly an hour, the surrounding scenery showed no change. It was always the same things, as if they were going in circles.
"Your Highness, we're going in circles."
Qi Yihan's expression turned displeased, "Make marks along the way, and let's try again."
"Yes!"
Everyone took out hemp ropes and made marks on trees and stones along the way. But after walking for half the day, they still hadn't left their previous activity range.
"Ghost wall." Asi whispered to Li Man'er. She had only heard the elderly talk about this before and was encountering it for the first time!
As the sky darkened, the group of over a dozen people still hadn't managed to get out.
"This won't do. Let's rest here for the night and think of a solution. We'll leave when it's light tomorrow."
This was also to minimize losses. It would be bad if lives were endangered.
"Alright!" Qi Yihan said helplessly, "Set up camp here."