Ancient Eden Chapter 42:
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After the tiger skin was soaked in grass ash water, Mu Qing couldn't help but touch it, and he couldn't bear to cut it into pieces to make clothes, because it looked so perfect. The shiny brown-yellow undercoat is embedded with gold and black stripes, making it look gorgeous no matter how you look at it. Moreover, in ancient times, tigers not only had long teeth, but also had long hair. When Mu Qing lay down there, almost half of his body was covered by the long hair.
After scrolling back and forth for a long time, she finally decided to hang it on the wall of the cave next to their "bed". Wait until the really cold winter, if she really can't stand the severe cold, let's talk about it. Besides, she felt that those were just Li Mang's thoughts. She had long thought that she was not as delicate as he imagined.
Li Mang no longer goes out hunting every day, which makes Mu Qing very happy.
She remembered that in the past, she and everyone around her, whether she knew them or not, in addition to having enough food and clothing, they had to rack their brains every day to try every possible way to get one more person on their account, and one more person, never again. It will come to an end.
But here, Li Mang said, as long as enough food, furs and firewood are saved for the winter, people should no longer ask for more from this jungle. Otherwise, one day, the spirit in the forest will become angry, and its anger cannot be afforded by greedy people.
When he said this, Mu Qing felt that he was simply a philosopher, the simplest philosopher in history.
The earthquake a few days ago still brought some changes to Mu Qing's life.
It is early winter now. Although the water volume of the waterfall behind their cliff is smaller and the stream is somewhat narrowed, the difference is not very big compared to before. But after the earthquake, Mu Qing discovered that the water level in the stream slowly dropped every day, exposing the snow-white pebbles on the stream bed on both sides. Occasionally, some fish were found in the crevices that had dried up and died because they were too late to keep up with the drop in the water level.
Mu Qing was a little worried at first, fearing that their water source would be cut off if things continued like this. However, after careful observation, we found that the amount of water in the waterfall was actually the same as before, but it was later collected into the stream and the water level dropped. This means that the water actually seeps beneath the surface.
Mu Qing suspected that the previous earthquake caused surface leakage in the creek bed.
She visits almost every day. Six days later, she found that the water level in the stream had dropped to nearly half of its original level, and finally stopped.
Mu Qing made a mark on the edge of the creek bed, which was level with the water meter. I checked a few days later and found that the location had not changed.
Although the current water level is half lower than before, it should not have a big impact on their lives. She breathed a sigh of relief.
Sure, she found another surprise.
On this day, she and Li Mang were shoveling the wasteland in front of their cave entrance. They planned to remove all the weeds and vines covering it, dig out the ground, and plant something when spring starts tomorrow. At this time, Xiao Hei ran over huffing and puffing.
It has been very crazy recently. It often sneaks out to run wild during the day and will not come back until dark. Sometimes I come back with a wild bird or rabbit in my mouth. It's really unusual to come back so early.
Mu Qing was busy gathering together the yellowed and withered grass vines that had been shoveled, intending to take them to dry in the sun, so he had no time to pay attention to it. But Xiao Hei looked a little abnormal...it should be said that he was excited. He kept shaking his head, clawing at Mu Qing's feet with his paws, and squealing in his throat. So Mu Qing and Li Mang put down what they were doing and followed it out.
Xiao Hei flew forward and ran for a while, but found that no one behind him could follow him, so he had to turn around and come back. After repeating this process five or six times, they came out of the valley.
Mu Qing rarely goes out, except for the past two days when he accompanied Li Mang to collect resin in a forest not far away. That was the last time they collected fat this year. Not long after he arrived here, he scraped the skin off the branches so that the fat could slowly drain out and flow into the pre-placed container, and he would collect it when it was estimated to be full. Using resin as a torch support, the fire not only lasts brightly, but also has a light fragrance, which Mu Qing thinks is very good.
The direction Xiao Hei was going was towards the woods. He walked out of the valley for only a few minutes. When he reached a low cliff, Xiao Hei suddenly stopped in front of him and turned around to claw at them uneasily.
Mu Qing and Li Mang looked at each other and followed immediately. After rounding the cliff, Mu Qing opened his mouth in surprise.
She clearly remembered that when she passed by here a few days ago, there was a stone pit behind the cliff. There was a thin crack at the bottom of the pit, which was probably shaken by the earthquake. But now, in front of her was a small pool of steaming heat, with bubbles still rising from the water.
Hot springs.
She screamed in surprise and ran to the spring in a few steps.
She smelled a faint smell of sulfur, but it was not pungent. I put my hand into the spring to check the temperature of the water. The heat was like bath water in winter, ironing the pores all over the body and making it comfortable.
While the surroundings are freezing with ice and snow, it is still steaming here. How pleasant it would be to soak in the hot springs while admiring the snowy scenery.
Mu Qing almost laughed with excitement.
She did not expect that what used to be a fantasy scene for her would now become a reality, and it would be a hot spring just for her!
Li Mang, like Xiao Hei, was obviously cautious about the sudden appearance of this strange pool. So even though she repeatedly waved them over, the two guys, one big and one small, just stared. When they arrived, Li Mang even went over and hugged her back, as if he was afraid that she would lose her balance and fall.
After returning, Mu Qing tried to explain to him in a way that was easy for him to understand. She said there was cold water flowing underground, as well as hot water. When cold water overflows from the ground, it is ordinary spring water, and when hot water comes out, it is the hot spring just now. This was squeezed out of the ground after the previous earthquake. It was the jungle god's way of making up for their fright. So they should not doubt it but enjoy it.
She felt that Li Mang still had not fully accepted the sudden appearance of the hot pool. But he listened to her carefully and nodded solemnly.
Mu Qing pinched his chin with a smile. I think it’s really cute how he is serious and obedient now.
Since discovering this hot spring, Mu Qing has added one more item to his daily life, which is to take Xiao Hei there to check the situation.
Water seemed to be pouring out from the hot spring outlet at the bottom of the pool, and the area of the pool was larger than when she first saw it. But the temperature has always been about the same.
Before plunging herself into the steaming pool, she wanted to make sure it could actually be used to soak people. So she got water in a jar and brought it back. After it cooled down, she went to catch a fish in the stream and put it in. A few days passed, and the fish was still swimming and not dead.
She couldn't wait to go to the hot springs, and of course she had to bring Li Mang along with her.
The cold is really coming.
This is the first severe cold here in Muqing.
At the corner of Limang's inner and outer caves, a large row of wood was **** side by side, and the gaps between the wood were covered with mud. A passage was opened in the middle for the entrance, and animal skins were hung to cover it. This keeps the cold out.
But it's still cold.
She finally understood why Li Mang had been so insistent on getting her a tiger skin.
If it weren’t for the long wall of fire they had built before, she believed that she would have been able to wrap herself in thick tiger skin and huddle in front of the fire to keep warm.
Fortunately there is a firewall.
That was before the severe cold came. One day, she suddenly remembered the fire wall in the northern dwellings, and told Li Mang her thoughts. Li Mang understood what she meant. From the next day, he kneaded the clay into blocks and fired the bricks in the kiln. Then he mixed the clay with a small amount of melted resin to make an adhesive, and then built the wall from the outside of the hole along the wall. A wall of fire appeared, extending all the way to the inner cave. After the fire wall was built, he went to the jungle to collect animal dung. Even if this kind of feces has shrunk, its diameter is usually about one foot, and a large spread can be as large as five feet.
Mu Qing doesn’t know what big guy this comes from, but it’s really useful when the fire wall is burning. The flame is blue-red and has long-lasting heat. As long as you burn a few pieces and add some firewood, the entire fire wall will heat up and warm the entire inner cave. And because the combustion port is a hole outside, there is no smell inside when dry manure is burned.
Now as long as she doesn't go out, she doesn't feel cold at all even if she wears a shirt and a layer of ordinary fur clothes.
Xiao Hei also seems to be very fond of this wall of fire. At night, he always pushes the big turtle shell that he likes and has become his property to the edge, and then jumps in and lies inside to sleep.
One day Mu Qing had a dream in the middle of the night, and he dreamed of Youyou. She stood there, looking at her with big eyes and a smile, and said "Tasakamu".
She woke up suddenly, suddenly missing her bright eyes and Nado's gentle smile.
She thought of the houses in the settlement. In a house like that, even if a brazier is lit, how can they withstand the severe cold like now?
She hurriedly pushed Li Mang to wake up.
Li Mang thought she was having a nightmare at first, but after hearing what she said, he just smiled.
He told her that under the ground of the settlement, in addition to the several caves for storing food, there were also several large underground chambers, connected to each other and supported by trees. At this time of year, they all move underground to avoid the severe cold outside.
Mu Qing was relieved.
But Li Mang fell silent beside her.
She felt a sense of heaviness coming from him.
She thought it must be related to what she said just now. She made him miss his people, just like she missed Youyou and Naduo after suddenly waking up from a dream.
She sighed lowly, stretched out her bare arms and hugged his head, letting him press into her arms. In the darkness, she patted his back gently like a child, until his even and low breathing sounded in her ears.
The snow has been falling endlessly for nearly half a month. The waterfalls and streams have long been frozen into ice sculptures, buried under thick snow, and no trace of their original appearance can be seen.
The whole world has become a sea of ice and snow.
Li Mang bundles up like an Eskimo and goes out every day to clear the snow from the road leading outside. Otherwise, this passage will be blocked by thick snow.
Now he no longer has any prejudice against the hot spring pool. Instead, when she is too lazy to go out because she is afraid of the cold, he often encourages her to go there and provides him with attentive service: he wraps her in a tiger skin, carries her there, and then wraps her up. Hug it back. She didn't even have to get a snowflake on her feet. Of course he also wants to reciprocate: he likes to lie down beside his waist by the pool and let her stand behind him and help him slowly scrub his back.