Chapter 3

At this point, it was already dark. Yang Dingtian looked up at the sky, hesitating because the cave was too deep, so the originally spacious cave entrance was only as big as a palm, and he could only see this palm-sized piece of sky.

At this moment, the moon rose into the sky, passing over Yang Dingtian's head. He clearly saw two moons.

In Su Dongpo's poem, it says, "May we all be blessed with longevity, admiring the beauty of the moon from afar." But now, the moon Yang Dingtian saw was not the same as the one his parents and relatives saw, and there were even two moons here.

Sadness and fatigue overwhelmed Yang Dingtian. He glanced at the old man not far away, who still had his eyes closed and remained motionless.

At this point, there was nothing to fear anymore. So, Yang Dingtian slowly closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

When he woke up again, it was several hours later.

Yang Dingtian wanted to get up and continue looking for a way out, to find a path to leave the cave, but he found that he could not stand up at all. The hunger of several days and nights had completely drained his energy. The heat stored for decades was completely consumed in melting the ice pillar to save the old man.

During these several days and nights, Yang Dingtian had only drunk a few sips of melted ice water and had not eaten any food. He had also lost a lot of blood. Now, he had no strength at all to stand up.

The sky outside was overcast, with no sun, and dark clouds piled up layer by layer.

Soon, it started to snow, and fist-sized snowballs fell heavily from the sky. In no time, the entire bottom of the cave was covered with a thick layer of snow. The old man still had his eyes closed and remained motionless, gradually being completely covered by the snow. About an hour later, the old man's entire body was no longer visible, turning into a snowman.

The snow on Yang Dingtian's body also began to thicken, and the heat in his body was no longer enough to melt the snow.

To avoid being buried by the snow, Yang Dingtian shook his head forcefully. But after a while, he was covered by the snow again, and he shook his head again.

Once, twice, three times...

Finally, Yang Dingtian had no strength left to shake his head. His body had completely lost its last bit of heat, and he watched helplessly as the snow buried him, burying his life as well.

Suddenly, the snow on the old man's body shook, and the old man moved. He reached into his chest and took out a red object, throwing it toward Yang Dingtian.

It was a red pill. The pill landed on the snow, and the surrounding snow instantly melted. On the white snow, the red pill was as striking as a flame.

At this moment, Yang Dingtian's will to survive gave him the last bit of strength, and he lunged forward, opening his mouth to bite the red pill.

As for whether it was a poison or what the consequences of eating it would be, Yang Dingtian completely ignored it.

The moment the pill entered his mouth, it instantly melted like a raging fire, flowing into his abdomen like a stream of flames, and then a wave of heat spread throughout his body.

Suddenly, it felt like the warm sun of spring was shining on the earth, and Yang Dingtian's stiff body began to revive inch by inch.

Soon, his entire body became a burning furnace, completely restored to vitality. Even a powerful force surged within him, desperately trying to burst out. Yang Dingtian felt an endless surge of strength.

"What is this? It's so amazing?" Yang Dingtian was surprised and excited, then he walked to the old man and bowed, saying, "Thank you, sir!"

"But your body can't withstand it either. Don't you want to take one?" Yang Dingtian asked.

The old man ignored him, still sitting with his eyes closed, allowing the snow to fall on him and wrap him back into a snowman.

No matter what Yang Dingtian said next, the old man did not respond.

Yang Dingtian, filled with heat, didn't know what to do. The cave was so small that he wildly swung his fists in the snow, completely in a mess.

The snow kept falling, and in just half a day, it piled up to about two feet, almost completely burying the old man. So, every half hour, Yang Dingtian went over to clear the snow off the old man's body.

"This snow is falling so heavily and piling up so quickly. It might fill the cave in a few years," Yang Dingtian thought.

Then he couldn't help but feel a surge of joy and rushed to the old man, saying, "Sir, sir, I found a way out, I found a way out."

But the old man still did not respond.

Yang Dingtian indeed found a way out. He could use the snow to make steps and stick them to the icy cave walls. The cave entrance was about several thousand meters deep, and the ice steps would spiral upwards, requiring tens of thousands of steps.

Saying is easier than doing. Yang Dingtian first pressed the snow into a brick one foot long, half a foot wide, and three inches thick, then stuck the brick to the icy cave wall, using his body to melt the snow into water, which then froze into ice, turning the snow brick into a smaller ice brick that firmly adhered to the cave wall.

It took Yang Dingtian a full hour to successfully make the first step, an ice step about half a meter above the ground. Yang Dingtian stood on it, and it indeed could bear the weight of a person without breaking.

So, Yang Dingtian started making the second step, which was thirty centimeters above and thirty centimeters in front of the first step. The steps were slanted upwards, allowing him to climb. If the steps were vertical, it would be impossible to walk.

For ten hours, Yang Dingtian worked hard and made less than ten ice steps, exhausted and tired. He sat down to sleep, and after waking up, he continued working.

...

Ten days later, Yang Dingtian had made 120 ice steps, and the top step was already 40 meters above the bottom of the cave. During these ten days, the old man still had his eyes closed and did not move or speak. Yang Dingtian almost spent every second making ice steps, lying on the snow to sleep when extremely tired, and then continuing to work after waking up.

However, Yang Dingtian could no longer continue. The snow had stopped after just one day, and the 120 ice steps had used up all the snow in the cave. To make more ice steps, he could only wait for the next snowfall.

Moreover, the energy from the previous fiery pill was completely drained. Yang Dingtian's body began to feel cold again, and he had no strength.

Yang Dingtian looked up at the sky. He had never been so eager for the clouds to come and for the snow to fall. But the sky was clear, and the sun shone brightly.

At this moment, the old man suddenly opened his eyes, the first time in ten days. He looked at the ice steps Yang Dingtian had made and then at Yang Dingtian.

Yang Dingtian was instantly excited, proudly looking at his ice steps and saying excitedly, "Sir, look, these are the steps I made. We can leave soon. Don't worry, my steps are very sturdy, and I can carry you out."

The old man's face showed no reaction, and he did not give any praise. He slowly closed his eyes again, as if he had seen nothing. But he took out another pill from his chest and threw it over.

It was still a fiery red pill. Yang Dingtian quickly picked it up and swallowed it.

Instantly, his entire body began to burn, as if filled with endless strength. He felt an urge to roar, but he was afraid of disturbing the old man, so he could only wildly punch to release the surging energy.

This pill was truly amazing; there was nothing like it on Earth. It must be very precious, perhaps worth a fortune. With this pill, Yang Dingtian could go without food for several days without losing energy.

However, despite the pill's value, Yang Dingtian had no thought of keeping it for himself or even trying to take it from the old man. After taking the pill, his energy was so intense that he could hardly contain it, and he was even more eager for the snow to fall. As long as it snowed, he could make ice steps and leave this place sooner.

Finally, it seemed that heaven had heard Yang Dingtian's prayers, or perhaps winter had arrived. On the fifth day after taking the second pill, it started to snow again, not as heavy as before, but still significant.

Yang Dingtian was almost ecstatic, shouting wildly.

Before the snow had piled up a few inches, he could not wait to start making snow bricks.

Suddenly, the old man's body moved, and the snow on him fell off. He opened his eyes, gestured to Yang Dingtian, and said two words. Although Yang Dingtian still did not understand, he knew the old man was asking him to come over.

Yang Dingtian quickly went over and said, "Sir, look, it's snowing again. We can leave soon."

The old man smiled slightly, the first time in over half a month.

Then, the old man extended his finger and wrote a character in the snow, a character Yang Dingtian did not recognize. The old man then read the character and pointed to himself.

Yang Dingtian suppressed his excitement and said, "Sir, are you teaching me the language and writing of this world?"

The old man did not understand what Yang Dingtian was saying, but he pointed to the character on the ground and read it again, then pointed to himself.

"This character you wrote must mean 'I,'" Yang Dingtian said, then wrote the character 'I' in the snow, read it slowly, and pointed to himself.

"I..." The old man listened once and read it accurately, then pointed to the 'I' character on the ground and pointed to himself again, and finally wrote the character 'I' in the snow.

Yang Dingtian was instantly amazed and speechless. The old man was incredible. After hearing and seeing it once, he could read and write it. Yang Dingtian's writing was already very good, but he did not expect the old man to write the character 'I' even better, with a strong and deep stroke.

Then, the old man wrote the character he had written at the beginning again, read it, and pointed to himself.

Yang Dingtian quickly followed, reading and writing the character in the snow. This was the character for 'I' in this world.

Yang Dingtian's pronunciation and writing were quite accurate. The old man smiled slightly, nodded, and then wrote another character in the snow, read it, and pointed to Yang Dingtian.

This time, it was the character for 'you' in this world.