Rise of a Lonely City: From Exiled Prince to Ruler of the Nine Provinces

Two hundred li north of Zhenbeiguan, the world has changed color.

This is now truly the northern frontier.

The official road has long since disappeared, replaced by a wasteland covered in snow.

Withered grass peeked out from the snow, shivering in the cold wind.

Looking around, there are only two colors in the world—a lead-gray dome overhead and a vast expanse of white snow underfoot.

There were no trees, no villages, and not even any living creatures.

"This is the Northern Territory..." Wang Dashan exhaled a puff of white breath, which instantly condensed into ice crystals.

The procession moved very slowly.

It took us five whole days to travel two hundred li (approximately 100 kilometers).

It's not that the road is difficult to travel, it's that the weather is too bad.

It started snowing the day after we left the border. It wasn't the snowflakes from the capital, but fine ice particles that felt like needles pricking our faces.

On the third day, a blizzard broke out, with the wind sweeping across the snow, obscuring the view of anyone ten steps away.

The worst thing is the cold.

That kind of cold is the kind that seeps into your bones.

No matter how thick your cotton-padded clothes are, it's useless; the cold air can seep in everywhere.

When setting up camp at night, people must take turns keeping watch and constantly adding firewood, otherwise they might fall asleep and never wake up again.

Two of the weakest veterans have already frozen to death in their sleep.

Xiao Chen remained riding on the snow-covered horse.

His brocade robe had long been replaced with a thick sheepskin coat—made from the clothes of the captured men in black.

Even so, my hands and feet were still so cold that I lost all feeling in them.

Every morning and evening, he would have Uncle Fu rub his hands and feet with snow until they turned red and hot, in order to prevent frostbite and necrosis.

"Your Highness, there's a grove of trees ahead!" the scout reported back.

"Lin Zi?" Xiao Chen's spirits lifted.

On this snowfield, the forest means firewood and a safe campsite.

The team sped up.

Half an hour later, a birch forest came into view.

Although the leaves have long since fallen, the dense tree trunks can still block most of the wind and snow.

There was a clearing in the forest, and a simple wooden hut left by a hunter.

"We'll camp here tonight," Xiao Chen ordered.

The veterans immediately sprang into action.

Clear the snow, reinforce the wooden shed, and start a fire to cook.

Although it was just simple hot soup and roasted dry food, it was a rare treat in this kind of weather.

Xiao Chen walked into the wooden shed.

It's warmer inside the shed than outside, but only relatively speaking.

Uncle Fu had already laid out the dry grass and lit a small brazier.

"Your Highness, have some hot soup." Uncle Fu handed over a broken earthenware bowl.

The soup was made with snow water, and contained only a few slices of dried meat and wild vegetables, with very little salt added.

But Xiao Chen took it and drank it very slowly, sip by sip.

The warmth went down my throat, slightly dispelling the chill in my body.

"How is Uncle Zhao?"

"I woke up for a little while, then went back to sleep."

Uncle Fu sighed, "The wound hasn't worsened, but this weather... it's too exhausting."

Xiao Chen remained silent.

He knew that Zhao Tie was old and had suffered such serious injuries; it was a miracle that he had lasted this long.

But if we can't reach the Cold Abyss as soon as possible and find a real medical clinic and medicine...

Footsteps could be heard outside the wooden shed.

Wang Dashan lifted the curtain and came in, his face grave: "Your Highness, something has happened."

"explain."

"We just counted the number of people, and three are missing."

Wang Dashan's voice trembled slightly, "It's Li Si's team. They said that during the lunch break, Li Si took two people to go find firewood and they haven't come back."

Xiao Chen suddenly stood up: "When did this happen?"

Two hours ago.

"Why wasn't this reported sooner!"

"The snow was too heavy, visibility was poor, they thought Li Si had just gone far away..."

Xiao Chen grabbed his cloak and headed outside.

"Your Highness! You cannot go!"

Uncle Fu stopped him, "It's getting dark outside, and the snow is heavy. It's too dangerous!"

"Li Si and his group are in greater danger."

Xiao Chen pushed his hand away. "Wang Dashan, gather twenty men, bring enough torches and ropes, and come with me to find someone."

"yes!"

The team quickly assembled.

Twenty veterans who could still walk each carried a torch—a torch made of strips of cloth soaked in animal fat wrapped around a wooden stick, burning stubbornly in the wind and snow.

"Divide into three teams, each twenty feet apart, and search in a fan shape."

Xiao Chen ordered, "If you spot any trace, blow the whistle immediately."

"yes!"

The search has begun.

The snow is getting bigger and bigger.

The torchlight flickered in the wind and snow, reducing visibility to less than ten feet.

The snow was knee-deep underfoot, and every step required a lot of effort.

The wind blew like a knife, making it impossible to open one's eyes.

Xiao Chen walked at the very front.

Tread Snow truly lives up to its reputation as a fine steed of the grasslands, remaining steady even when walking through deep snow.

Xiao Chen lay prone on the horse's back, his eyes fixed on the road ahead.

He knew that if he got lost in this kind of weather, he could only last for two hours at most.

Time passed second by second.

The sky grew completely dark.

Only the light of torches flickered across the vast snowfield.

"Your Highness! Over here!" came a shout from afar.

Xiao Chen rode over.

An old soldier pointed to the snow: "There are footprints!"

It was indeed a footprint, but it had been mostly covered by fresh snow and was almost invisible unless you looked closely.

The footprints were crooked and stretched deep into the forest.

"Keep searching!"

The group followed the footprints.

After walking for about a mile, the footprints suddenly stopped—ahead lay a ditch covered by snow.

"Li Si! Lao Wu! Shuanzi!" Wang Dashan shouted loudly.

Only the wind responded to him.

Xiao Chen dismounted and walked to the edge of the ditch.

The ditch wasn't deep, but it was very steep, and the bottom was piled high with snow.

He picked up a stone and threw it down—there was no echo; the snow was too thick.

"Bring me a rope," he said.

"Your Highness, you can't go down!" Wang Dashan cried out anxiously.

"Stop talking nonsense."

One end of the rope was tied to a tree, and the other end was tied around Xiao Chen's waist.

He slid down the rope into the ravine.

The bottom of the ditch was deeper than I had imagined.

The snow was up to his thighs, making every step difficult. Xiao Chen held up a torch and carefully examined the area.

Suddenly, he saw a corner of cloth peeking out from the snow.

"Here it is!"

He brushed away the snow.

There were three people lying below; they were Li Si and his companions.

The three people hugged each other tightly, their bodies stiff, but still breathing faintly.

"Quick! Pull it up!"

The people above quickly pulled the four people up.

Xiao Chen disregarded his own safety and immediately checked on the three of them.

Li Si was the most seriously injured; his face was bluish-purple and his breathing was weak.

The other two were slightly better off, but they were still quite cold.

"Start a fire! Bring the thickest blanket!" Xiao Chen shouted hoarsely.

The fire was quickly lit.

The three people were wrapped up tightly and placed next to the fire.

Xiao Chen asked Uncle Fu to bring the last bit of strong liquor—it was intended for disinfecting the wounded.

He pried open Li Si's mouth and poured in a small sip.

After drinking the strong liquor, Li Si's body trembled violently, and he began to cough intensely.

"He's alive! He's alive!" the veterans cheered.

The other two also woke up one after another.

Although weak, he survived.

"you……"

Li Si opened her eyes, saw Xiao Chen, and tears welled up in her eyes. "Your Highness...we...we've caused you so much trouble..."

"Don't say that."

Xiao Chen pressed him down, "What's wrong?"

"We...we saw deer tracks and wanted to chase after them to hunt some game and add some meat to the group..."

Li Si's voice was weak, "But the snow was too heavy, I got lost, and accidentally fell into a ditch..."

Xiao Chen remained silent.

He knew that these veterans felt sorry for him because he ate the same dry rations as everyone else every day.

I want to hunt some game so he can eat something good.

"Don't do that again."

He said, "If you want to hunt, tell me, and I'll send someone with you. You can't go alone anymore."

"Yes..." Li Si lowered his eyes.

It was late at night when we returned to the camp.

Xiao Chen did not sleep.

He sat by the fire, watching the flickering flames, reflecting on the hardships he had endured along the way.

It took seventeen days to travel 600 li (approximately 300 kilometers) from the capital to Zhenbeiguan.

It took five days to travel 200 li from Zhenbeiguan to here.

However, it is still at least three hundred miles away from the Cold Abyss.

At this pace, it will take another seven or eight days.

But there's only enough food for two days left. Firewood is also running low. The number of wounded is increasing...

"Your Highness."

Xiao Chen looked up and saw Wang Dashan walking over, carrying a small cloth bag in his hand.

"What is this?"

"We found it in the ditch when we were rescuing Li Si and the others," Wang Dashan said, opening the cloth bag.

Inside were several black stones.

Xiao Chen picked up a piece and held it up to the firelight to examine it.

The stone is heavy and has a metallic sheen, but it is not pure iron.

"This is...coal?"

"It should be."

Wang Dashan said, "Old Han once said that there are black stones underground in the northern border that can be burned. This ditch was probably eroded by water, exposing the underground coal seam."

Xiao Chen's eyes lit up.

He picked up a piece of coal and threw it into the fire.

There was no response at first.

But after a while, the coal began to glow red and then burst into blue flames.

The flame was stronger and lasted longer than firewood, and produced very little smoke.

"good!"

Xiao Chen slapped his thigh. "With this, we won't be cold anymore!"

He immediately ordered, "Send men to the ditch first thing tomorrow morning, dig as much as we can! With coal, we can hold out until we reach Hanyuan!"

The veterans were excited when they heard that they had found black stones that could be burned.

That night, though it was still cold, hope filled my heart.

The next day, the group did not rush to continue their journey.

Xiao Chen ordered most of his men to stay at the camp to rest, and sent thirty strong veterans with simple tools to mine coal.

He went there himself.

There are not many coal outcrops at the bottom of the trench, but as you dig deeper, the coal seam gets thicker and thicker.

Although the tools were rudimentary, they still managed to dig out several hundred kilograms in half a day.

To Xiao Chen's even greater surprise, while mining coal, he also discovered some black, heavier stones.

"This is... iron ore!" He almost cheered.

Coal and iron are the food of industry.

With these two things, Han Yuan truly has hope.

In the evening, the team returned to camp with the harvested coal and iron ore.

When coal was added to the fire, the flames instantly doubled in intensity.

It was much warmer inside the shed, and even the seriously injured patients regained some color in their faces.

Looking at the raging flames, Xiao Chen gradually felt more confident.

"Give the order," he said, "to set off first thing tomorrow morning. With this coal, we won't be afraid of the cold. Even if we run out of food, we can survive until we reach the Abyss!"

"yes!"

As night fell, the wind and snow gradually subsided.

Xiao Chen stepped out of the wooden shed and looked up at the sky.

A crack appeared in the clouds, revealing a few cold stars.

Under the starlight, the snowfield glowed with a faint blue light, breathtakingly beautiful.

This is the North.

It is cold and harsh, but also magnificent and vast.

Here, the weak will freeze to death, starve to death, or be swallowed up by the wind and snow.

But the strong...

The strong can carve out a way to survive here.

"Han Yuan," Xiao Chen said softly, facing north, "I've arrived."

The wind blew, stirring up snowflakes, as if in response.