Sivyer whispered to us as he took rope from his backpack and secured it to a sturdy rock.
When we first started climbing, Sivyer had warned us not to speak loudly on the mountain, lest an avalanche bury us all.
I knew that at this point, we were all in the same boat. Even though I wished Sivyer and the others would just die here, I couldn't afford to be reckless now.
After a short rest, we all rallied and continued our ascent up the snowy mountain.
We were already very high up. Looking back down, I couldn't see the foot of the mountain at all. All I could see was a thin veil of white mist and endless snow. I couldn't even tell where the mist ended and the snow began.
After only a couple of glances, I quickly turned my head to look at Qu Xiangyun. I had read about snow blindness in a book once; prolonged exposure to snow could irritate the eyes with reflected UV rays, potentially leading to blindness in severe cases.
Just as we were struggling uphill, as if the heavens didn't want us to reach the summit easily, large, fluffy snowflakes began to fall from the sky.
I exhaled a puff of white mist. The sky had been clear when we set out that morning, so there shouldn't have been any weather changes. Given the intensity of the snowfall, if we didn't keep moving upward, we'd be buried in snow within five minutes.
My body was growing increasingly stiff. The others weren't faring any better, shivering uncontrollably.
Sivyer seemed to have anticipated this. As he climbed, he shifted his backpack from his back to his front and handed us several small white paper packets. These seemed to be like hand warmers, and they heated up quickly. I took one, pressed it gently, and felt warmth spread. I quickly tucked it inside my clothes, and my body finally began to warm up.
"Sivyer, we can't keep going up. If this snow keeps falling, we'll all freeze to death! We need to find a sheltered spot to wait it out," the bald elder suggested to Sivyer. Snowflakes clung to his head like white hair, looking rather comical.
Sivyer pondered for a moment and ultimately agreed with the elder. We all breathed a sigh of relief. The climb so far had already exhausted us; pushing further could prove fatal. Since we decided to rest temporarily, we began to move laterally. Sivyer, having memorized all the resting spots built by the savages before the climb, somehow knew where we were going.
The snow continued to fall heavier. Under Sivyer's guidance, we quickly approached the nearest resting platform. It was just around a bend not far from us; a couple more steps and we would reach it. Sivyer, leading the way, saw the platform as they rounded the corner and his expression suddenly changed drastically. He stopped abruptly.
"Everyone, prepare yourselves! There are savages on the platform!"
Instinctively, my body tensed, and everyone drew the weapons they carried. I cautiously peeked around the corner to observe the situation on the platform. Indeed, there were over a dozen savages resting there. These were different from the savages of the An Tribe I had seen before. Other tribes' savages wore animal skins and looked like warriors. But these savages were clad in thin garments made of some unknown material, with crimson hoods at the back. Though not particularly burly, they exuded an intimidating aura. Some had bizarre symbols tattooed on their faces, resembling some kind of spell. Could these be priests from the temple? And given that the temperature here must have been well below freezing, it was strange that these savages could move around on the snowy mountain wearing only such thin clothing.
I was still trying to get a better look at these peculiar savages when Sivyer, unable to wait any longer, cocked her rifle and fired a shot at the leader. The bullet flew through the air, and battle was imminent!