The roof was a solid block of thick ice, but while the door was transparent, the other ice blocks were like frosted glass, obscuring the outside view.
There was quite a bit of furniture in the room, with tables, chairs, and even a bookshelf.
There were no windows, but the room was likely equipped with hidden ventilation channels, as Jiang Fan didn't feel stifled.
Jiang Fan searched and even found a stove inside the room.
In addition to the stove, there was also an antique fireplace designed to resemble a 17th-century European style.
Of course, both the fireplace and the stove were also made of ice.
Jiang Fan was dumbfounded. A fireplace made of ice, wouldn't it melt when a fire was lit?
"It's an ice house. Outside is a scorching volcano, and inside is an ice house. What a topsy-turvy, chaotic world."
Zhou Niannian also saw all this, saying weakly.
Dai Xiaomei had also woken up, but she was weak and could only lie on the ice floor.
"It's... it's so cold! Gun Gun, can you come and be my carpet?"
Dai Xiaomei said weakly.
The panda ran over, but gave Dai Xiaomei a glare.
"It's your imagination. It's not cold at all here."
Jiang Fan had noticed long ago that although the house was made of ice, it was very warm.
They were all wearing wet clothes. If it were a normal ice house, they would have been shivering with cold.
To confirm his thoughts, Jiang Fan pressed his face against the floor. He felt no biting cold, but rather a slight warmth.
Zhou Niannian also felt around on the floor, asking curiously.
"It's real ice, but it's not cold. What's going on?"
Jiang Fan, meanwhile, was diligently exploring the room, touching everything, and even crawling into the fireplace.
Logically, there should be a passage inside the fireplace leading outside.
Jiang Fan spread his limbs in a star shape, bracing himself against the walls of the fireplace, and began to climb upwards.
He didn't know how long he had been climbing, but it felt like the height of a skyscraper, and he still hadn't reached the end.
Could the height of this fireplace be endless?
He took a stone from his pocket and threw it upwards with all his might.
With Jiang Fan's arm strength, throwing a stone fifty or sixty meters high was no problem.
After a long time, Jiang Fan still hadn't heard the stone hit the top.
Strangely, the stone simply disappeared and didn't fall back down.
Jiang Fan didn't dare to climb any higher. If he ran out of energy, it would be terrible if he couldn't get down.
He retreated the way he came and shook his head at Zhou Niannian, who was looking at him expectantly in front of the fireplace, indicating that this path was a dead end.
"Look, there's a door here!"
Dai Xiaomei actually found a door.
Jiang Fan found it strange, as he had searched this area before and hadn't found any door.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the large door of a medieval grandfather clock's cabinet. Dai Xiaomei was referring to the cabinet door.
Might as well try it, Jiang Fan directly opened the cabinet door.
As a result, a fierce gust of wind immediately blew in, carrying with it a cold wind of at least minus ten to twenty degrees Celsius, mixed with ice shards, making it suffocating.
Jiang Fan quickly closed the door, almost throwing his entire body against it to shut it.
The sudden gust of wind was too violent, messing up everyone's hair, which was now full of ice shards.
This wasn't the worst part. The key was that they were all still wearing drenched clothes.
While it was warm inside the ice house, after being hit by this gust of wind, they immediately started shivering.
"What's going on?"
Dai Xiaomei said helplessly. Who would have thought a strange wind could blow from a cabinet?
"Volcano outside, warm ice house inside. What kind of secret realm is this? I want to go back."
Zhou Niannian said with some dejection.
Of course, she knew that going back was just a fantasy. Now, the secret realms were like nesting dolls, one inside another, and they no longer knew which one they were in.
They weren't even sure if this was still Chi You's tomb, or even Earth.
Jiang Fan thought for a moment, then placed the rattan he carried into the fireplace and poured some pig and rabbit oil on it, attempting to start a fire.
Fortunately, they had collected quite a bit of supplies when they were in the oasis, and they hadn't forgotten to bring the supplies with them when they descended.
Many of these supplies had been waterproofed by Jiang Fan, and they would help them last for a while.
Soon, the fire in the fireplace was lit.
At first, Jiang Fan had worried that the ice fireplace would melt under the flames, or that the fire wouldn't ignite.
Now, it seemed that problem didn't exist.
The four of them gathered around the fireplace, drying their wet clothes.
This fireplace brought them warmth.
The panda, closest to the fireplace, was nodding its head, fast asleep.
They had been disturbed by the Death Flies in the middle of the night and hadn't slept well.
During their escape, their nerves had been extremely tense, and they hadn't felt sleepy at all.
Now that they were finally safe, the four of them immediately relaxed mentally, and sleepiness washed over them.
The panda was already asleep, snoring like thunder.
Suddenly, a smell of burning came from somewhere, and the panda was instantly startled awake.
"Wow, Gun Gun's tail is on fire!"
Dai Xiaomei exclaimed. It turned out the panda had gotten too close to the fireplace, and its tail had caught fire.
The panda jumped up in fright. Fortunately, the fire wasn't large, and with a few dabs from their tools, it was extinguished.
"Ahaha, a panda with a bald tail."
The panda looked at its bare tail with a dejected expression, and was further teased by Dai Xiaomei.
It glared menacingly at Dai Xiaomei and made a few gestures.
"What is it saying?"
Dai Xiaomei asked Jiang Fan, confused.
"It says that when you fall asleep later, your hair will also burn off."
Jiang Fan translated.
"Gun Gun, get out!"
The panda, very upset, went to sleep by the door. After all, its fur was already dry.
With the panda's weight holding the door, it wouldn't be easy for the Death Flies to rush in.
Through the transparent ice door, they could see that the Death Flies had disappeared, likely having gone somewhere else.
Outside, heavy snow was falling, instantly turning the passage into a world covered in white.
If they ventured out rashly, they would definitely freeze. Fortunately, it was very warm inside.
With the added warmth, all four of them finally fell asleep.
The air was tranquil, a rare sight during their arduous escape.
The panda buried its head in its chest, sleeping soundly.
Dai Xiaomei lay on Yao's lap, drooling, and even in her dreams, she used Yao's pants to wipe her saliva.
Even Jiang Fan had fallen asleep; he was too exhausted and needed to recover his strength.
The two observers in the corner were also motionless.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhou Niannian woke up.
When Zhou Niannian awoke, the outside was quiet, and the wind and snow seemed to have stopped.
The fire in the fireplace had gone out at some point, and Zhou Niannian felt a bit cold.
She sat up and found herself covered with a warm, thick quilt.