Chapter 591 - 392: Frostbite (Part 2)

Chapter 591: Chapter 392: Frostbite (Part 2)

The mountainous snowdrift suddenly gave way.

In an instant, it completely buried the snow pit they had just dug.

Khilla and Nash exchanged a look, a wave of lingering fear washing over them both.

Hurriedly, they held Liu Lan tighter and moved toward safer ground.

...

After a difficult search, they had finally found Liu Lan. It had been a close call, but she was safe.

Khilla’s perpetually taut nerves finally eased slightly.

He let out a silent sigh of relief.

He planned to take Liu Lan and Nash back to the log cabin immediately.

But who could have predicted that at this critical juncture...

Liu Lan, huddled tightly in Khilla’s arms, would suddenly whimper in a small, tearful voice.

"Khilla, my hand is so itchy, and so cold."

Those quiet words struck Khilla and Nash like a bolt from the blue.

Their hearts skipped a beat, and as if hit by an Immobilization Spell, they froze on the spot.

The hint of relief on their faces from having found Liu Lan...

...was instantly replaced by a grave solemnity, as if a heavy shadow had fallen over them.

On Alaska’s Far North Tundra, the brutal winter was the greatest trial of all.

Especially during the winters, when the cold was so intense that water would freeze solid as it dripped, preventing frostbite was the number one survival skill. It was a rule that everyone living here had to know by heart.

Because everyone living in this wasteland knew that once frostbite took hold, the consequences were unimaginable.

If the frostbite was severe, it would lead to tissue necrosis and cause infection. On the Tundra, where medicine was scarce, it would mercilessly claim a person’s life.

At this thought, Khilla quickly unfastened his animal hide greatcoat and carefully lifted Liu Lan out.

Seeing this, Nash also immediately pulled open his greatcoat, using his own body to create a windbreak for Liu Lan as best he could, shielding his sister from the cold wind.

Liu Lan’s little face was frozen and bloodless, pale as a sheet of paper.

She was like a delicate little flower ravaged by a Blizzard.

Her limbs trembled uncontrollably, a silent testament to her agony.

As Liu Lan’s glove was pulled off, ever so carefully, Khilla’s heart seemed to sink right along with it, plunging into an icy abyss.

When the glove was finally off, a shocking sight met their eyes: her skin was jet-black.

As if it had been soaked in ink, it was dark and lifeless.

This was a typical sign of severe frostbite.

Khilla slowly looked up at Nash and saw his eyes were filled with despair and sorrow. It was the devastation of someone powerless against a cruel reality.

In this extremely cold environment, hands and feet frozen to this black state meant the skin tissue had already suffered devastating damage, and widespread necrosis had occurred.

This necrotic tissue was like a ticking time bomb hidden in the body. It could easily lead to infection, which would then worsen into sepsis. Once it reached that stage, multiple organ failure would follow, and life would end.

"Brother, my hands and feet are so itchy... so cold... so sleepy... Remember to bring Teddy."

Just then, Liu Lan’s condition became even more worrying. Signs of infection were already appearing; she was growing weak, and her consciousness was starting to fade.

Her voice, as faint as the buzz of a fly, seemed to drift in from some faraway place, heavy with endless fatigue and longing.

"Liu Lan, you can’t sleep! Fiona is still waiting for you to perform in *Frozen*!" Khilla held Liu Lan tightly, gently shaking the little girl in his arms, trying to rouse her fading consciousness.

At this critical moment, if Liu Lan fell asleep, she would truly never wake up.

"What are you gawking at? Go dig a snow cave! Hurry!" Khilla’s heart was burning with anxiety. He snapped his head up and roared at the helpless Nash, whose eyes were swimming with tears.

Jolted by the roar, Nash fiercely wiped away his tears, turned, and bolted towards a snowdrift. His steps were unsteady, and he nearly fell into the snow several times.

Tyson also understood the urgency. With a low growl, his massive body sprang into action. He and the Wolf Pack behind him followed close by Nash’s side, digging furiously alongside him.

Sharp claws dug madly at the snow, sending flakes flying and kicking up a white mist at the edge of the drift.

Soon, a snow cave began to take shape.

Khilla, holding Liu Lan, carefully crawled inside the snow cave.

Although the snow cave was crude, its walls temporarily shielded them from the howling wind.

As soon as Nash entered the cave, he hastily took off his animal hide greatcoat, intending to spread it on the snow so Liu Lan could lie down more comfortably.

But he had just bent over, before he could even spread out the coat, he was kicked aside by Khilla.

"Get out! The camp is under the snowdrift. Go dig up some firewood and start a fire." Veins bulged on Khilla’s forehead. He was frantic. Every second was a matter of life and death for Liu Lan, and there was no time for delay.

Nash didn’t dare to disobey. He scrambled to his feet and stumbled back outside.

Before long, he returned, panting, with a large bundle of firewood.

In the center of the snow cave, a bonfire blazed to life. Leaping flames licked merrily at the air, and the warm glow dispelled some of the cold, bringing a bit of warmth to the cave.

Liu Lan lay on an animal hide blanket, her eyes half-open, in a state between waking and unconsciousness.

Her little face was bloodless, her lips chapped. Her breath was faint as she looked at the worried faces of Khilla and Nash and spoke weakly.

"Khilla, tell Fiona... when I get back, only I can play Princess Anna."

Tears welled in Khilla’s eyes. His voice trembling, he gripped Liu Lan’s small hand, trying to transfer his body heat to her, and nodded desperately.

"Okay. Just listen to me. Don’t fall asleep. When we get back to camp, I’ll build you an ice castle."

Nash, his eyes red-rimmed, also drew near, silently watching over Liu Lan.

The trio’s figures, illuminated by the bonfire, created a scene that was both warm and heart-wrenching.

「Time ticked by, second by second.」

Nash stared at his sister’s increasingly pale face, watching her breath weaken bit by bit.

She was like a candle in the wind, flickering and about to be extinguished.

His hands could only wave helplessly in the air, wanting to grasp something, yet unable to hold onto anything.

A profound sense of powerlessness was like a dull knife, grinding away at Nash’s heart again and again, driving him to the brink of collapse.

In his despair, he suddenly raised his head.

His eyes, filled with hope and pleading, turned to Khilla.

"Khilla!" Nash’s cry was like a call for help, a plea for Khilla to work a miracle.

"I know, I know!" Khilla’s voice carried the same anxiety and helplessness.

How could he not understand that Nash was pinning all his hopes on him?

He wanted nothing more than to use Witchcraft to save her right now, but he was trapped in a desperate situation.

’I don’t have any Soul Power!’

Besides, the pathetic amount of Soul Power stored in the tribe’s Fire Seed...

...was nowhere near enough to cast a healing spell of Witchcraft. There was no way to snatch Liu Lan back from the jaws of death.

From the helplessness overflowing in Khilla’s eyes, Nash understood everything.

He slowly lowered his head and knelt before Liu Lan.

He gently placed one hand on Liu Lan’s forehead, as if this could drive away his sister’s sickness, and began to chant under his breath.

He chanted the ancient and mysterious prayer of the Bear Tribe.

The prayer echoed softly in the snow cave, carrying with it a devotion to the gods and a final plea to hold on to his sister.

With his other hand, Nash shakily took out a stone.

The stone’s surface was rough, but it held a rustic luster in the firelight.

He placed the stone gently on Liu Lan’s body, his movements as delicate as if he were handling the world’s most fragile treasure.

According to the traditions passed down through generations of the Sabsika People, stones possessed a mysterious Spirituality, and it was believed that a person’s soul would attach to a stone after death.

Placing a stone on a dying person served two purposes. First, it provided a resting place for the departing soul so it would not wander aimlessly between the realms of the living and the dead.

Second, it was hoped that the stone’s Spirituality would help the soul transition smoothly to the next world, allowing the deceased to pass peacefully and without suffering.

As Nash did all this, tears streamed uncontrollably from his eyes.

They fell drop by drop onto the animal hide blanket beside Liu Lan, soaking a small patch.

At this moment, Liu Lan’s weak consciousness flickered on the edge of life and death.

When she saw Nash’s movements, so full of despair and reluctance, a flicker of light shone in her dim eyes, as if she understood something.

Mustering the last of her strength, she weakly raised her small hand.

The little hand trembled in the air, slowly reaching for Nash.

...