The next day, Jun Mohan gave Murong Lichen a few words, asking him to first win over the upright officials in Beichen who disapproved of Murong Qiansong and Murong Shaolan's actions. They would discuss strategies to defeat the Murong Qiansong siblings and rescue the King of Beichen after they returned from Tianyun Mountain.
Afterward, Jun Mohan and Leng Ruoli parted ways with Murong Lichen and his servant, heading for Tianyun Mountain.
Along the way, Leng Ruoli and the others rode horses for three days and three nights before reaching the foot of Tianyun Mountain. As they got closer, the temperature dropped lower.
Consequently, Leng Ruoli took out the down jackets, scarves, and warm leather boots she had worn in Kamgaduomi City and distributed them to everyone. At the same time, Leng Ruoli gave each of them a small oxygen bottle, as the oxygen would become increasingly scarce during their ascent. To prevent hypoxia and suffocation, it was safer for everyone to carry an oxygen bottle.
Afterward, Leng Ruoli explained how to use the oxygen bottles and provided some important notes for mountain climbing. Then, she discreetly collected the horses they rode into her system space, away from everyone else. At this point, Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan led the group up Tianyun Mountain, braving the biting wind.
Tianyun Mountain was located in the northern part of the continent, perpetually covered in ice and snow, with a biting wind. Within a hundred kilometers of its base, the area was desolate and uninhabited, with very few people having ever climbed it. Therefore, Tianyun Mountain was the most suitable environment for the growth of Snow Root Orchid.
However, their current expedition to find the Snow Root Orchid would be the most difficult. There was no direct path leading up the mountain, and they might even encounter dangers such as avalanches, frostbite, and sunburn during their climb.
Initially, Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan were full of excitement as they began their climb. However, as they ascended, everyone's spirits began to wane.
"Consort, the path on this mountain is too slippery. We've been climbing for a whole day and have only covered a few kilometers. This mountain is so high; when will we ever reach the summit?" Chu Mingxuan sighed.
"We might not necessarily reach the summit this time. If we're lucky enough to find the Snow Root Orchid halfway up, we'll descend immediately," Leng Ruoli said frankly.
"Given the sheer size of Tianyun Mountain, it will probably take us half a month to reach the halfway point by searching," Chu Mingxuan added.
"Everyone, don't be afraid. Even if we stay on Tianyun Mountain for one or two months, we'll have enough food, clothing, and supplies. As long as we're not trapped by an avalanche, we don't need to worry about anything else. If anyone truly can't bear it, I'll take out the Ice Fire Bead to warm us up," Leng Ruoli comforted them.
"Consort, we're not afraid. As long as there's a sliver of hope to detoxify the Prince, we're willing to go through fire and water," Yin Chen suddenly interjected.
Yin Chen's words deeply touched Leng Ruoli. Regardless of anything else, the guards around Jun Mohan were truly loyal to him.
"Heh heh, Jun Mohan, listen to this, your personal guards are so cute," Leng Ruoli smiled at Jun Mohan.
Upon hearing his Consort tease him, Yin Chen blushed instantly. The word "cute" seemed rather inappropriate for a grown man like himself.
"Yin Chen, your Prince and I don't need you to go through fire and water. We just need you to protect your own safety," Leng Ruoli said gently.
At this moment, Chu Mingxuan chimed in, "Silly boy, your Prince and Consort are incredibly capable. We four are just here to accompany them."
Then, the group continued their climb. After ascending about three to four kilometers, nightfall arrived, forcing them to stop and find a flat spot to rest.
At this point, Leng Ruoli took out four simple tents from her system space and taught Yin Chen and the others how to set them up.
Leng Ruoli demonstrated the process herself, and everyone quickly learned how to erect the tents.
After they had set up the tents, Leng Ruoli brought out several thick woolen blankets and placed them in each tent for them to use as bedding at night. She then laid out some padded mats outside the tents for them to sit on.
Finally, Leng Ruoli retrieved a large quantity of various vegetables, meats, and staples from her system space. She also prepared a split pot base and used a portable stove to create a simple hot pot setup.
Tonight was their first night climbing, and Leng Ruoli intended to let everyone experience the thrill of eating hot pot in the snowy mountains.
As soon as Leng Ruoli brought the pot base to a boil, she beckoned everyone to start eating.
Among the group, Chu Mingxuan was the only one who had never eaten hot pot. Thus, when he saw everyone busy dipping raw vegetables and meat into the pot, he was both excited and unsure of what to do.
However, after observing how others ate, Chu Mingxuan quickly caught on. Afterward, he ate faster than anyone else. Fearing that Chu Mingxuan would finish all the meat and vegetables, the others immediately engaged in a food-grabbing battle, and all the vegetables and meat prepared by Leng Ruoli were devoured in an instant.
After finishing the hot pot, everyone felt warm inside and continuously praised how refreshing it was to eat hot pot in the snow.
"Consort, the food you made is truly delicious. From now on, I'm not going anywhere else but to follow you. Haha..." Chu Mingxuan said with a hearty laugh.
As he spoke, Jun Mohan shot him a glare. Feeling the killing intent in Jun Mohan's gaze, Chu Mingxuan immediately shut his mouth, turned around, and crawled into his tent to sleep.
Subsequently, Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan also went into their tent. Then, they pulled Jun Mohan into her system space to rest. Yin Chen, Yin Yi, and Yin Er were assigned to take turns on guard duty outside for the night.
In the middle of the night, while it was Yin Er's turn to stand guard, a pile of small ice balls suddenly fell from the sky, hitting Yin Er directly. He was almost knocked unconscious.
Yin Er immediately shone his flashlight around, but he couldn't see any people or animals. He then sat back down, covering himself with a blanket, and resumed his meditation.
Shortly after he sat down, another pile of small ice balls rained down from above. Yin Er was so infuriated that he almost spat out blood. He drew his sword and circled the tent, but still saw nothing.
Yin Er returned to his spot by the tent and sat down again. This time, the unknown object seemed to have quieted down for a while.
However, just as Yin Er was dozing off, another pile of snowballs was thrown directly at him, hitting his face painfully.
This time, Yin Er decided to wake Yin Yi.
"Yin Yi, wake up quickly! There's something going on outside."
Yin Er crawled into the tent he shared with Yin Yi and patted him twice forcefully, startling Yin Yi awake.
"Yin Er, what's happening outside?" Yin Yi asked anxiously.
"Something unknown keeps throwing snowballs at me. I want to find it, but I can't find any trace of it," Yin Er said helplessly.
"Let's go. I'll go with you to check the surroundings," Yin Yi immediately replied.