Black Stone Mountain was more than ten li from the refugee camp where Xiao Fei was located, and the mountain path was rugged and difficult to traverse.
The meager energy within Xiao Fei's body had long been depleted. Now, he was dizzy, his legs were weak, and his hands trembled. With every step he took, it felt as if he hadn't landed firmly, his feet sinking softly.
Coupled with the torment of his injuries, his progress was arduous. Xiao Fei could clearly feel that he was on the verge of death, his life slowly ebbing away. He could collapse by the roadside at any moment, unable to rise again.
Along the way, many refugees were like him, moving like walking corpses, struggling towards Black Stone Mountain.
Xiao Fei trudged along the path with difficulty. His troublesome bladder sent waves of urgency. In this freezing weather, it was truly adding insult to injury, creating more trouble.
With no other choice, he found a sheltered spot, unbuckled his belt, pulled out his useless appendage, and relieved himself onto the snowy ground with a hiss.
After finishing, he stretched his back and shivered violently from the cold. This release of pressure had caused him to lose even more of the little body heat he had left.
Just then, Xiao Fei's eyes lit up. Beside where he was urinating, there was a small, broken tree, only a one or two-inch stump protruding from the ground.
Xiao Fei quickly drew his wood-chopping knife and began to dig from the base of the tree.
The soil here was very hard, mixed with many small stones. Xiao Fei dug down six or seven inches, only to find solid rock beneath, making further digging impossible.
He immediately used his knife to strip the bark from the stump and root area, obtaining a large handful of tree bark.
He also cut down the small tree stump and placed it into the ash pile in his spatial artifact where he kept his fire starter. The fire starter in his space seemed to burn very quickly, requiring a constant supply of firewood.
Xiao Fei grabbed a piece of bark, wiped off the dirt haphazardly, and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing vigorously. A stream of bitter yet sweet juice flowed out.
He chewed the coarse fibers of the bark until they were broken down, then stretched his neck and swallowed everything with effort.
For the rest of his journey, Xiao Fei walked while chewing the bark. He felt his body lighten, and his limbs regained some strength. With this large handful of bark, he wouldn't have to worry about starving to death for at least today.
He walked for most of the day, only reaching the foot of Black Stone Mountain in the afternoon.
Black Stone Mountain was a subsidiary peak of the Qiyun Mountain Range. After crossing the summit of Black Stone Mountain, one could proceed to the Qiyun Mountain Range.
However, no one had ever ventured there. Black Stone Mountain was not only steep and difficult to climb, but it was also rumored that there were demonic beasts on its summit that preyed on humans. No one would be so bored as to exert themselves to climb up and become a meal for these beasts.
Xiao Fei didn't quite understand the concept of demonic beasts, but he knew they were creatures far fiercer than tigers, leopards, or jackals.
It was said that even fierce mountain beasts like tigers, leopards, and jackals only dared to roam below the halfway point of the mountain, never venturing to the summit.
Xiao Fei walked along the foot of the mountain for a stretch and found a path that was relatively easier to navigate. There were many footprints on it, suggesting it was a safer route.
Tightening the bundle of dry grass on his back, Xiao Fei began to climb slowly, clinging to the rocks.
Where he passed, drops of blood stained the rocks. A rock wolf, smelling the blood, extended its scarlet tongue and greedily licked the bloodstains on the rocks.
Looking out over Black Stone Mountain, all that could be seen were black rocks. In the crevices between some of these rocks, there was some soil, and the food he sought often grew in these places.
Everywhere Xiao Fei looked, the tree bark and grass roots had already been scavenged clean by others. Constantly following in their footsteps meant he would only get the scraps.
If he wanted to eat grass roots and tree bark, he couldn't keep following others.
Finally, he found a place where the terrain was relatively gentle and left the main path, cutting off to the side.
The path here was even more difficult to traverse. Often, he had to climb on steep rocks. If he fell, the consequences would be at least a bloody head and broken bones; worse, he might never have to worry about hunger again in his life.
Despite the difficult path, the rewards were good. He soon found a patch of yellow grass in a rocky hollow. He cut off the grass with his knife and then dug up the white grass roots from the soil.
The grass roots were as white as jade, with a sweet and juicy taste. Among the many unpalatable grass roots, they were considered a rare delicacy.
At the same time, it was also a medicinal herb. Imperata cylindrica root could clear heat and promote urination, and stop bleeding. If he had more, he could sell it to pharmacies for a few copper coins.
He carefully cleaned all the grass roots with his knife. There were about two to three liang in total, enough for him to eat one meal. The taste was much better than tree bark.
Xiao Fei sat in the rocky hollow and ate more than half of these grass roots. He casually put the remaining portion into his spatial artifact before continuing his journey.
With food in his belly, his steps became lighter. His hands no longer trembled, and his legs had regained their strength. He climbed over several large rocks in one go.
Since changing direction, Xiao Fei had gradually found some success. By occasionally stripping small tree bark and digging up grass roots, the supplies he collected should be enough to sustain him for several days.
However, it was still early spring, and the snow had not completely melted. Apart from tree bark and grass roots, other food was difficult to find.
If he could get his hands on even a little bit of grain, grind it with the tree bark and grass roots, and make it into cakes...
Thinking of this, Xiao Fei's mouth began to water.
He shook his head. Before his transmigration, he had lived a life of comfort and had tasted all sorts of delicacies. Now, perhaps influenced by the memories of the previous Xiao Fei, he could salivate over cakes made of tree bark and grass roots.
Given the social environment of his previous life, if he were to feed this to livestock, even the village dogs wouldn't be able to endure such hardship.
He glanced up at the sky. It was almost dark, and he needed to find a safe place to spend the night.
However, everywhere he looked, there were only steep rocks, not even a slightly flat spot. Moreover, the mountain wind was particularly strong. Enduring such a wind all night would be unbearable for a person.
Between the rocks, there were often rock hollows eroded by rainwater. Such places could provide shelter from the wind, and within these hollows, there was accumulated soil where wild grasses grew.
Fortunately, Xiao Fei was lucky. Just as the sky was about to turn completely dark, he found a rock hollow. To his even greater delight, a patch of bracken fern was growing there.
This rock hollow was quite large, at least six or seven square meters. The ground was covered with withered bracken leaves.
But bracken roots were good things, rich in starch. They were life-saving food in times of famine and the preferred choice for city dwellers venturing into the countryside to eat grass during prosperous times.
"I'll spend the night here!"
Xiao Fei jumped into the rock hollow. The ground was covered with soft humus, and the surrounding rock walls blocked the cold wind blowing from all directions.
He first cut away the withered bracken leaves and swept them aside. They could be used to start a fire later.
He dug into the soil with his knife and unearthed a bracken root about the thickness of a finger.
He casually wiped the dirt off on a torn piece of clothing and took a big bite, chewing it carefully in his mouth.
Bracken roots contained many bitter components like tannins. Eating them raw was still very bitter. They had to be crushed, the starch filtered out, and then soaked in clean water for more than seven days to remove some of the bitterness.
For someone starving and not picky about food, this bit of bitterness was nothing. He could even eat two jin of Coptis chinensis.
With every chew of the bracken root, a lot of starch was squeezed out from the coarse fibers, filling his mouth, giving him a long-lost sense of satisfaction. This was the taste of food!
Next, he continued to chew the bracken roots in his mouth while wielding his wood-chopping knife, digging out more bracken roots.
By the time it was completely dark, he had only dug out about one to two square meters, obtaining a small bundle of bracken roots, about two jin in total.
Xiao Fei's consciousness entered his spatial artifact, preparing to retrieve the fire starter to make a fire. He discovered that the fire starter burned exceptionally fast within his space, at least ten times faster than outside. If he hadn't later added some wooden stakes, it would have burned out.
Just as he was about to use a stick to retrieve the fire starter, his eyes were drawn to a pile of grass roots.
The grass roots he had thrown in during the day had already sprouted tender seedlings in less than half a day.