The refined man smiled and bowed repeatedly, indicating he understood. Then everyone hid in the cave and remained silent. Lin Xue quickly returned.
The cave entrance was blocked. Lin Xue reported the battle outside, telling Ye Tiancheng that the monster was no longer capable of fighting. The monster's legs and neck had been injured, and it had collapsed. Whether it was dead or not, Lin Xue couldn't confirm, as it was impossible to see clearly. Everything outside was chaotic. Lin Xue was fortunate to have survived; recalling it now, she couldn't remember anything.
"It's good that everyone is safe. As long as we don't hear the beast's roars, it means the beast hasn't gotten up. We don't need to rush. Let's hide here for a while. We'll leave when the snow stops, at least so our vision isn't obscured." kuAiδugg
The situation was grim. The heavy snow made it difficult to breathe, and they didn't know when it would stop.
They could escape this predicament.
Since the cave entrance was blocked, everyone was silent. No one chose to deliberately say anything to ease the atmosphere at this time.
Everyone uniformly closed their eyes to rest. No one dared to harbor any wishful thinking; they simply waited silently for the snow to stop.
After an unknown period, time seemed to slow down completely inside the cave. These people could no longer feel the passage of time. One by one, they became extremely numb.
After an unknown period, they slept, woke up, and then slept again. Finally, one of the subordinates softly said he was hungry, which pulled everyone back to reality.
They were all human. If they didn't eat, they wouldn't last long, so they needed to eat quickly. However, they had nothing to eat now. They had been in the mountains for a long time, and Ye Tiancheng had eaten everything he had.
Lin Xue was a cultivator and could endure with spiritual energy, so she didn't need to eat. But Ye Tiancheng couldn't. Lin Xue quietly took out a medicinal herb.
"Master, I know you must be hungry. This medicinal herb can suppress hunger, but it has a side effect of making one drowsy. However, it's not a big deal. No matter how drowsy you are, I'll be here to guard you, and I can guarantee that no one can harm you, Master."
In front of these ordinary people, Lin Xue naturally had a suppressive effect. After all, she was a cultivator. If she couldn't even deal with a few burly men with mere intentions, then Lin Xue wouldn't be worthy of being called a cultivator.
"Alright, aren't you going to eat? You're relying on spiritual energy to get by. Isn't that bad for you?"
Ye Tiancheng was also worried about his disciple. If it weren't for Lin Xue on this trip, Ye Tiancheng, as an ordinary person, wouldn't know how many times he would have died. He was naturally grateful for everything his disciple had done for him and hoped that Lin Xue could take care of herself while protecting him.
"Don't worry, Master. It's good for a disciple to encounter a little difficulty. This can increase my cultivation. 'When Heaven is about to confer a great responsibility on a person, it first exercises his mind with suffering, and his sinews and bones with toil.' And there's one more important thing: 'It reduces their body and subjects them to starvation.' It's nothing for me to endure a little."
Ye Tiancheng was indeed starving, both mentally and physically exhausted, which made him particularly hungry.
It was food made from dried medicinal herbs. Normally, it might have been difficult to swallow due to the taste of the herbs, but Ye Tiancheng was too hungry now to be picky. As long as there was something to eat, it was good. He even felt a strange fragrance when eating the medicinal herbs.
"It's quite tasty. I really feel drowsy after eating it. Xue'er, the side effect is quite accurate. Please keep an eye on me. My head hurts, and I can't even open my eyes. Call me if anything happens."
As soon as Ye Tiancheng finished speaking, he fell asleep. The whole process was very fast, and even Lin Xue felt caught off guard. It seemed the medicinal herb's effect was truly miraculous, catching people by surprise.
"Is that gentleman alright?"
The refined man had been watching the situation. Perhaps all intelligent people have a common trait: they like to observe, believing there might be a problem. He noticed that Ye Tiancheng had just woken up, secretly eaten something, and then fallen asleep. This was the most noticeable thing.
"He was probably too tired. He just woke up and fell asleep again. He's fine, I'm watching him, so you don't need to worry."
Lin Xue made her point clearly, essentially not wanting others to pry into her privacy. Although she was polite on the surface, there was a sense of distance. Seeing Lin Xue's attitude, the refined man just smiled awkwardly and said nothing more.
Silence fell again. After an unknown period, it felt like at least a day and a night had passed. Through the small gap, they could see that the heavy snow outside had not stopped and had already accumulated very high. If it continued to snow, it might even enter through the hole.
"Big brother, I'm really hungry. How much longer until we can leave?"
"Stop talking nonsense. If you're really hungry, I, as your big brother, won't ignore you. But before that, all of you behave yourselves. No one is allowed to speak discouraging words."
Lin Xue heard them talking in low voices and could feel that they were deliberately lowering their voices. As for what they were saying, Lin Xue couldn't be bothered to listen. It didn't concern her anyway. Lin Xue only needed to protect her master. As for how others caused trouble, it was ultimately their business and had nothing to do with her and her master.
"Fairy sister, we are too hungry. Can you help us? I feel like you have food. Do you want to give us some?"
"If I had anything, I would give it all out. Although we are not related by blood or marriage, I am at least a human being with human conscience. How could I just watch you starve to death? That's unrealistic."
Lin Xue disdained to tell these people the truth. Besides Ye Tiancheng, her master, whom she valued, Lin Xue didn't feel that others were worth her attention. However, food was not something particularly precious; it was meant to satisfy hunger, and Lin Xue wouldn't be stingy. If there was an opportunity, she would definitely share it with everyone.
But now Lin Xue truly had nothing. If she did, she wouldn't be watching these people starve to death. People say saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. Lin Xue was not such a cold-blooded person; she would always extend a helping hand to those in need.
"Then what do you think we should do in this situation? Although we are hunters and came to this forest to seek treasure and get rich, we have not harmed anyone. We are all honest and upright people. If we go out now in the heavy snow, it will surely be a death sentence. Does Heaven not tolerate us honest and upright people?"
As expected, having read a few years of books, his words were eloquent and quite reasonable.
"I truly have no other choice. If this continues, I don't know what will happen to my master, let alone help you. Please understand a little. I am also an ordinary person."
Lin Xue was starting to worry. If she wanted to stay awake, she would have to consume more spiritual energy. She couldn't keep forcing herself at this time.
Seeing Ye Tiancheng still asleep, it was likely due to the side effects of consuming the snow lotus, which was unavoidable. After all, for Ye Tiancheng, an ordinary person with no true energy, it was indeed difficult to digest.
"I'm going to rest for a bit. Don't try anything funny while I'm resting."
"This divine sister, we all respect you like a deity and will never do anything that harms you. We will definitely guard you well."
The refined man's words were a bit nauseating, making one uncomfortable. However, he seemed sincere. Lin Xue had also contributed by protecting everyone earlier, so others dared not act presumptuously. They treated Lin Xue as a true fairy.
After an unknown period of sleep, Ye Tiancheng woke up first. He was woken by hunger, feeling as if his intestines were tied in knots, and his stomach was full of air. He desperately needed something delicious to satisfy his taste buds.
Waking up hungry felt terrible. Ye Tiancheng desperately needed to replenish some nutrients. He didn't dare to think about roast chicken anymore; even some bread and milk would be good, simple things to replenish his body's energy.
Ye Tiancheng suddenly smelled a strange fragrance, which resembled the smell of meat. Ye Tiancheng was not a picky person. At this moment, anything to eat would be fine, but smelling meat felt particularly strange. How could there be the smell of meat at this time?
"What's that smell?"
"You're awake. I heard earlier that your surname is Ye, Mr. Ye. We roasted some meat. Do you want to have some? There's still some left. The snow outside is slowly subsiding and will probably stop soon. Once it completely stops, we can leave here and no longer be trapped."
That's what was said, but Ye Tiancheng found it very strange. Everyone was starving just a moment ago, and now everything had reversed. Hmm, there was even meat to eat. Was there something fishy about this so-called roasted meat?
"Xue'er, wake up."
If his disciple was not in good condition, Ye Tiancheng would not wake her up, no matter how desperate he was. The main reason was that he saw Lin Xue sleeping soundly, with a rosy complexion, indicating she was fine. Only then did he wake her up.
"What is it, Master?"
"You little girl, how long have you been asleep? Why didn't you wake me up when you fell asleep? Aren't you afraid it's unsafe?"
Ye Tiancheng still harbored vigilance towards those refined men. These people were strange. If they were hunters, even if they had brute strength and looked simple-minded, it wouldn't matter. The key was that these people were refined and strong, which was truly very strange.
"It's alright, Master. Those people don't have the audacity. If they provoke me, they will surely be utterly destroyed."
While speaking to Ye Tiancheng, Lin Xue also wanted to threaten those people. These people looked fierce, which was fine, but their kind and benevolent expressions made Lin Xue feel that they had some ulterior motive, so she wanted to deter them.