Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 356 Yu Yao's Little Scheme, Xu Ning's Dilemma
“Father, Ayao is four years old this year. The farthest place she has ever been is the Hall of State Affairs. The only people she has met besides Sister Hanyue and the others are Second Uncle, Aunt, Aunt, Big Brother, Second Sister, and Grandfather. There are only six people in total. Don’t you think it’s too pitiful for Ayao?”

Xia Yuyao stared at Xia Hong with her big, watery eyes, her voice trembling with tears, and she even ended her sentence with a question, clearly trying to gain Xia Hong's sympathy.

After she finished speaking, she didn't forget to wink at her younger brother next to her.

Xia Yusheng received the signal, nodded first, then lowered his head and thought seriously for a moment before speaking to Xia Hong in a serious tone: "Father, my eldest brother and eldest sister have started practicing boxing and have made many good friends. Moreover, they will be participating in the martial arts competition this June. My aunt even took them to the outer city and saw the Frost Beast with her own eyes."

My older brother told me that the youngest participant in the martial arts competition was only eight years old, four years older than us. They all took weapons to fight the Frost Beasts, but my older sister and I have never seen a live Frost Beast.

We're confined to the Star-Picking Hall every day, and even when we go to the Council Hall, we hardly see anyone else. We don't know what the rest of the main building looks like except for the Council Hall; we've never even been inside the Martial Arts, Alchemy, and Weapon Forging Pavilions below; let alone the outer city, we don't even know how big the inner city is…

"Mother, I really want to go out and see the world. I don't want to be locked up in the Star-Picking Palace anymore!"

Hearing his son's words, Xia Hong sighed slightly.

At four years old, they are at the age when their curiosity is at its peak and they are eager to explore new things. It is really not appropriate to keep them locked up in the Star-Picking Palace any longer!

In terms of material possessions, Xia Yuyao and Xia Yusheng enjoyed the best in the entire camp. In this respect, Li Xuanling was even more extravagant than him.

The special custom-made items from the artisan department weren't enough for the two of them; Li Xuanling would try to get them anything good she heard about.

For example, the black feather shield that can block the cold light of daytime was obtained after she learned that there was a mid-level cold beast called the Black Fiend Eagle in Dongling. The tuft of black feathers on its forehead could block the cold light of daytime. So she went to Dongling herself and stayed for more than two months. With the cooperation of Lu Yang and Zhao Hu, she reportedly hunted more than 700 of them and managed to put together two black feather shields.

This incident shows that Li Xuanling's love for his two children was no less than his love for himself.

But material things are only one aspect.

Curiosity can never be satisfied, no matter how much material wealth you have.

The child is too old to keep in a cage any longer.

Boys and girls do think differently.

Xia Yuyao probably thinks similarly to her younger brother, but she won't say it directly. Instead, she tries to gain sympathy by feigning helplessness to achieve her goal.

Xia Yusheng was clearly much more organized, and he knew very well who would decide whether he could leave in the end. So when he said his last sentence, he looked up at his mother, Li Xuanling, with sincerity in his eyes.

Xia Hong looked down at the expressions of the two little ones, one full of pitifulness and the other full of sincerity. He was stunned for a moment, but quickly realized that the two were clearly cooperating in a charade. He shook his head and chuckled to himself.

The two actors' acting skills were so good that even their father couldn't hide it, so how could they possibly fool their mother who had been taking care of them for so long?

"No, letting you into the Hall of State Affairs is already an exception. Not to mention Longshan, none of you under the age of six are allowed to step out of the Star-Picking Hall. Put away your little schemes, I will not agree to it."

As expected, Li Xuanling immediately saw through their intentions and sternly refused their request to go out.

"Waaaaah..."

Xia Yuyao seemed to have made up her mind this time. When her mother rejected her, she burst into tears. Xia Yusheng didn't cry, but he turned his head away and pouted, clearly expressing his dissatisfaction.

"Four years old is about right!"

"you……"

As soon as Xia Hong relented, the two little ones' faces lit up with anticipation, but this was immediately interrupted by Li Xuanling's angry reaction. The two could only look at Xia Hong pitifully.

"Don't look at your father. Longshan is too far away, and your mother and I have things to do there. You are still too young to go..."

Seeing that his eldest daughter in his arms was about to burst into tears again, Xia Hong smiled and changed the subject, saying, "However, I can promise you that you can move freely within the inner city from now on, how about that?"

Free time to explore the inner city!

The two little ones' eyes lit up instantly when they heard that.

Xia Hong turned to look at Li Xuanling and saw that she was full of resistance and clearly did not want to agree. He said softly, "What are you worried about in the inner city? Let Hanyue teach them how to control their power, and then they can wear hats to cover themselves when they go out. Hanyue and Hanshuang have reached the Cold Resistance level now. If you are worried about them, there are still Meng Ying, Song Kang and the other six."

A conflicted look appeared on Li Xuanling's face. Seeing the two little ones' expectant faces, she finally nodded helplessly.

It wasn't that Li Xuanling was overly protective of his children. Putting aside the fact that Xia Yusheng and Xia Yuyao were the offspring of lords, their extraordinary talents alone would probably not be a good thing if the outside world knew too much about them. That's why Xia Hong concealed their talents when they were born.

To date, there are probably only a dozen or so people in the entire Great Xia who know for sure about the two people's qualifications.

Moreover, not only their qualifications, but their physical constitutions are also extremely rare.

When Xia Yusheng was sleeping, the temperature within a radius of one mile would rise rapidly, so there was no need to light a fire for warmth.

Xia Yuyao's situation is even more extreme. Every night when she sleeps, Cold Dew continuously condenses around her body, and the amount keeps increasing. When she was an infant, there were only fifteen drops every night, but now there are more than twenty drops.

Given the importance of Hanping Jade Dew, it can be said that the eldest daughter, Xia Yuyao, is of great strategic significance to the camp. If she were discovered by outsiders, the trouble would be enormous, so it is essential to ensure her personal safety.

“Your second uncle is getting old and rarely goes out now. Hasn’t he moved to the inner city? It would be good for him to take the two of them around the inner city when he has nothing to do. He can enjoy his grandchildren. I think the old man would like that.”

Hearing this, Li Xuanling was finally relieved and nodded.

Li Tiancheng is already ninety-three years old this year. Unless he encounters a great opportunity, he will definitely not be able to break through to the Xianyang level and extend his lifespan. Therefore, two years ago he handed over the Longyuan team to Lu Yushan and stayed in the inner city for a long time to study and formulate the laws of the Great Xia Dynasty.

Of course, the old man's favorites are his two grandsons. He would bring them nice things every now and then. He would be very happy if he knew that Li Xuanling had entrusted the two little ones to his care.

"Then it's settled. From now on, after breakfast until lunchtime, you can move freely within the inner city. However, you must be accompanied by Hanyue. You must return to the Star-Picking Palace at lunchtime. If you dare to run out of the inner city on your own, and I find out, you know the consequences!"

Breakfast was eaten before or after dark, and lunch was eaten four hours after nightfall, which was a generous four hours. "We know, Mother, we won't do that."

"I'll just play in the inner city, I definitely won't run out."

Seeing that Li Xuanling had finally relented, Xia Yuyao and Xia Yusheng hurriedly answered, afraid that if they spoke too late, their mother would regret it.

After Xia Yuyao finished speaking, she immediately turned around and gave her younger brother a smug look, clearly saying, "See? You were right to listen to me, weren't you?"

Xia Hong was stunned for a moment when he saw his eldest daughter's reaction, then turned to meet Li Xuanling's eyes and instantly understood.

"You're only realizing this now? They never intended to go to Longshan. They brought up Longshan just to lure you into making concessions and allowing them to operate within the inner city."

Xia Hong was taken aback upon hearing this. He then looked down at his eldest daughter in his arms and saw that she was watching him, covering her mouth and chuckling with a sly look in her eyes. Only then did he realize that he had been tricked by his eldest daughter.

"Hahaha, she's only four years old and she already dares to scheme against her father. She'll be a real handful when she grows up."

Xia Hong laughed heartily, his laughter filled with pride, clearly feeling exceptionally proud of his eldest daughter's intelligence.

Li Xuanling rolled her eyes as she listened from the side. She had never seen anyone laugh so happily after being tricked.

Xia Yuyao clearly understood the meaning behind her father's laughter, and her expression became unusually smug. She couldn't help but look down at Xia Yusheng with a hint of provocation.

The implication was clear: you're too green to compete with your older sister.

Xia Yusheng, on the other hand, didn't have so many tricks up his sleeve. He grinned sheepishly, rushed into Xia Hong's arms, and climbed onto his right shoulder, each taking one side of the other.

The family of four chatted in the room, continuing to enjoy this rare moment of reunion.

………………

The 15th day of the ninth month in the seventh year of the Great Xia Dynasty

Qinghepu, Hexia Village.

Inside a tall building near the main building, six people were sitting around a fireplace. The one in the lead was a one-eyed young man, next to him was a woman of similar age, and the remaining five were an old man, two young men, and a child of about ten years old.

Anyone looking at this group of six would assume that the old man is the head of the family, with his three sons, the one-eyed eldest son who is already married, and the woman and child who are the eldest daughter-in-law and eldest grandson.

However, upon closer inspection, one would notice that the other five people in the room, including the old man, all looked at the one-eyed youth with obvious respect on their faces.

Clearly, this is not a normal family.

The one-eyed youth looked very conflicted, clearly considering something.

He pondered for a moment, then took out a map from his pocket, placed it on the edge of the stove, and said in a low voice: "Hexia Village has a population of over 50,000, Heshang Village has a population of over 70,000, and Qinghe Village has the largest population, with 110,000."

We haven't found out the specifics of the other two villages yet. We only know about Hexia Village so far. There are 27 Cold Resistance level cultivators and more than 4800 Earth Digging level cultivators. All 27 Cold Resistance level cultivators have been to Dajue Temple, but no matter what we ask, they won't say. We only know that before entering Dajue Temple, they were all at the Earth Digging level, and after staying there for half a year, they became Cold Resistance level cultivators.

Every February, when Dajue Temple sends people to collect children, they select a portion of those at the Digging Realm and Cold Resistance Realm to receive instruction from their former masters at Dajue Temple. After receiving instruction, those children return to their villages with significantly increased strength, which is clearly abnormal.

Since the three villages and eighteen households all revere Dajue Temple, their situations are likely similar. In this giant camp, each household usually has three to four people at the Cold Resistance level. In other words, there are at least 150 Cold Resistance level people in the entire Qinghepu area, and possibly more.

Qinghepu's strength, while not bad, is insufficient to stop Jiangxia Town. Therefore, the problem lies with Dajue Temple.

As soon as the one-eyed youth finished speaking, the old man immediately nodded and said, "What Lord Xu said is right, but the Great Awakening Temple is too secretive. Every year, only in February when the various villages recruit young boys, will anyone show up. Moreover, those who show up are all monks with hair. I heard that these monks with hair can't even get into the gates of the Great Awakening Temple. It seems that their understanding of the inside of the Great Awakening Temple is extremely limited. Trying to get help from them will probably not be very effective."

The one-eyed youth, Xu Ning, frowned deeply after hearing the old man's words. He looked at Dajue Temple, located in the very center of Qinghepu on the map, his eyes filled with hesitation.

He came to Qinghepu last October. Upon arriving, he learned about Dajue Temple and immediately sensed something was amiss. He secretly investigated for more than four months and, after gathering some information, officially changed his name to Xu Yang in March of this year. He then selected five people at the Wuyuan outpost to cooperate with him, pretending to be a family fleeing from afar, and infiltrated Hexia Village.

Logically, after more than half a year of infiltration, he should have gained something, but in reality, he hasn't come into contact with anyone from Dajue Temple. Apart from knowing that every February, Dajue Temple sends people down to various villages to recruit six-year-old children, he knows nothing else.

Not only in Hexia Village, but throughout the entire Qinghepu area, people have an extremely fanatical feeling towards Dajue Temple, to the point of near madness.

In March, he entered Hexia Village under an assumed name and tried to inquire about Dajue Temple from the village's guards several times. Not only did he fail each time, but he also aroused their suspicion. If he hadn't kept his composure and not given himself away, he probably would have been expelled from the camp long ago.

Because of his several attempts to subtly inquire about Dajue Temple, despite having the cultivation level of the Cold Resistance level and having stayed in Hexia Village for more than half a year, he still couldn't enter the core circle, and couldn't even enter the main building. He could only stay in this wooden house more than a hundred meters away from the main building.

His meticulously planned scheme to select five men from the Wuyuan outpost to cooperate with him in gathering information in Hexia Village has now completely failed.

"The higher-ups in Hexia Village are already wary of me. If things continue like this, we won't get any useful information. Perfect timing..."

Xu Ning turned to look at the old man, his eyes narrowing slightly.

The old man's name was Bai Shanqiu, and he was considered an elder of the Great Xia Dynasty. Two years ago, he was fortunate enough to break through to the Cold Resistance level and came to Wuyuan Station with the hunting team. This time, he was going to infiltrate Hexia Village and needed an old man of the right age to play his father. Bai Shanqiu was just right, so he was called here.

Bai Shanqiu was the one among the six who was infiltrating Hexia Village this time, and he was responsible for contacting Wuyuan.

The reason Xu Ning was conflicted at this moment was because Bai Shanqiu had just brought him a message.

The lord personally ordered him to lead his men out of Qinghepu and to cease all contact with Dajue Temple.

Xu Ning knew that Dajue Temple was dangerous, but he had been lying in wait in Hexia Village for half a year and had not found out any valuable information. He was really unwilling to go back like this.

That's the reason he's so conflicted right now!
(End of this chapter)