Return to the City: The Strongest King
Chapter 647 - 648: Snow House

Chapter 647: Chapter 648: Snow House

This was a volcanic crater, with the topmost rim only about a hundred meters in diameter, yet the space within the belly of the mountain was nearly a kilometer across. Looking down from above, only the center was visible, while the surroundings of the area were completely out of sight from above.

Moreover, given the height, even if Shui Qingyue were to scream at the top of her lungs, she wouldn’t be heard from above. Moreover, the mountain outside is quite steep; ordinary people could not climb to the top. Even if those people were tracking them, they likely wouldn’t think that Song Xiaodong could climb to the top and then descend.

Therefore, this place was absolutely very safe.

Inside this part of the mountain, the temperature was just as cold; it wasn’t much warmer even though it was a volcanic crater. Only the hot spring in the very center was the warmest spot.

At that moment, the cave was even darker. Song Xiaodong had almost no equipment left on him, possessing only a few small items; a tent was definitely not among them.

However, Song Xiaodong was far from panicking; he knew he could survive here.

Song Xiaodong first removed the silver needles from Shui Qingyue’s head, and she quickly woke up. However, as soon as she opened her eyes, she saw nothing but darkness and a shadowy figure standing next to her, instantly triggering an extreme panic. She struggled to her feet and stammered, "Who are you?"

Song Xiaodong said, "I am Song Xiaodong."

Hearing his voice, Shui Qingyue felt a chill run through her body and stammered, "Where... where is this? Why did you bring me here?"

Song Xiaodong apologized, "I’m truly sorry. They misunderstood then, and I could only take you and escape here. I guess they won’t find this place for a while."

"Ah... what are you going to do to me?" Shui Qingyue retreated a few steps back.

Song Xiaodong gave a bitter smile, trying to use a gentle voice, "I don’t want to do anything to you. This is a volcanic crater with no way out. It’s best if you don’t run around as there are many vines around here that you could easily trip over."

When her companions told Shui Qingyue that Song Xiaodong was a lecher who could even "violate" his own sister, she had already labeled Song Xiaodong as an utterly irredeemable villain. So now, where would she believe his words? She turned around and ran as fast as she could. Despite the dangers around, it seemed safer than staying next to Song Xiaodong.

Song Xiaodong shook his head and did not follow her. Right now, he had to prepare to survive here; the first thing was a place to stay, and the second was to keep warm, otherwise, he would definitely freeze to death here.

Under the rock walls, vines were everywhere. The capability of plants to survive was indeed very strong; as long as they had a little space, they would thrive.

Soon, Song Xiaodong had gathered many dry vines and then went directly to the middle of the snowy area. He started a fire first, then cut up chunks of snow using a dagger in the light of the fire.

The snow on the surface was quite soft, but slightly deeper, it was much firmer. Song Xiaodong stacked the blocks of snow, and after two hours, he had built a dome-shaped hut, over two meters high and three to four square meters in size.

By then he was very tired, but after hesitating, he built a similarly sized snow hut next to it as a place for Shui Qingyue.

After escaping, Shui Qingyue ran desperately in the dark, thinking only of getting as far away as possible to be safer.

But just when she could run no more, she suddenly saw a spark and noticed Song Xiaowang busy by the firelight. It scared her so much—it felt like despite running so far, she was still in the same place.

In fact, she didn’t realize she was just running around the inner wall of the mountain and had naturally returned to her starting point.

By then, Shui Qingyue was completely exhausted. Sitting on the ground, unable to run anymore, she saw Song Xiaodong busy some dozens of meters away and finally saw the first small hut he had built.

"This guy was actually building a house. God, he’s finished the house, now he must be planning to capture me and spend the night with me?"

Such a thought popped into Shui Qingyue’s mind, immediately causing her to break out in a cold sweat and got up intending to flee.

"I shouldn’t move now. It’s so dark, he probably can’t see me. If I run now, he’d catch me easily if he hears me," she thought.

Thinking of this, she suppressed the fear in her heart and sat still.

However, the cold was getting to her, making her feel increasingly unable to withstand it.

Shui Qingyue gritted her teeth, and suddenly thought, "That snow house should be warm, books say so, but even if I freeze to death, I will never stay with him there. Definitely not." But she immediately dismissed this tempting thought.

Song Xiaodong finished building the two snow huts and then walked directly towards Shui Qingyue.

Shui Qingyue wanted to flee, but suddenly found her legs were stiff, and even standing up was no longer possible.

"I hope he doesn’t see me," Shui Qingyue prayed silently in her heart.

"Hey, that snow hut is for you. Get in quickly, or else you’ll definitely freeze to death tonight. I’m going to get some dried grass as a mattress," Song Xiaodong said as he passed by Shui Qingyue.

"Ah, he’s seen me, he’s seen me, I have to run." Shui Qingyue struggled to stand up, but her body had already lost all strength, a sense of powerlessness suddenly overwhelming her, fearing she was about to be victimized by that lecher.

"Sigh, you really are a stubborn girl," Song Xiaodong’s voice once again rang in her ear.

"I... I will never agree to you, never!" Shui Qingyue used the last of her willpower to make her words sound more resolute.

Song Xiaodong gave a bitter smile, knowing he couldn’t now change his image in Shui Qingyue’s mind, and simply said, "I’ve been tired all day too, and definitely am not in the mood to sleep with you." After saying that, he directly carried Shui Qingyue.

"Ah, what are you doing? Let go of me! Let go of me!" Shui Qingyue struggled violently while shouting loudly.

However, her struggle was feeble, and even her shouts were thin, lacking any force.

Song Xiaodong took Shui Qingyue directly to the fire, saying, "You should warm up by the fire first, just don’t fall into it."

After saying that, he turned and left, then shook his head again, ruefully thinking that running here and suffering were one thing, but now he was making a girl suffer with him. He really felt guilty, but trying to show goodwill now wouldn’t be believed, making it a truly headache-inducing situation.