A biting wind howled, whipping the loose snow across the ground. Evelyn Ford, clutching a hot water bottle, gazed out the window. The ground was uneven. At times, the wheels would sink into a pit or get caught on a large rock, threatening to send the carriage tumbling.

The journey was exceptionally arduous, even more so in the extreme cold.

Evelyn often restocked the shipping container with supplies. After every week of travel, the group would stop for a full day of rest, steaming a large pot of rice or some buns to replenish their carbohydrates.

Occasionally, they still encountered wild beasts, but with Ronan Kendrick leading the hunt, they never failed.

"Just two more cities, and we’ll be out of Rivenia."

"We’ve been traveling for so long, and there are still two cities to go before we’re out of the province?"

"Our speed hasn’t been slow, and we haven’t faced many delays." The biggest nuisance had been the howling gales. Now that the rain and snow had stopped, traveling was much easier.

"One of the ewes is about to give birth. We’ll probably have to stop here for two days. We need to wait for the lambs to be able to stand before we can move on."

Evelyn had just gone to check on the flock. Several ewes were pregnant, and one looked like it might give birth that night.

"What if we put the lambs in one of the carriages? A newborn won’t be able to handle a long journey."

Evelyn pondered for a moment before agreeing. "That could work, but it depends on how many lambs she has."

Everyone quickly raised the oilcloth tarps, herding the sheep, horses, and elk underneath to shelter from the wind.

After dinner, Evelyn waited for the ewe to go into labor. At eleven o’clock that night, the ewe started to become restless. Evelyn placed a cushion on the ground to prevent the newborns from falling onto the snow and freezing to death.

Half an hour later, the ewe delivered her first lamb. ’One should be enough,’ Evelyn thought. ’Too many would be hard on the mother.’ But to her surprise, the ewe ended up giving birth to five.

Worried the lambs wouldn’t survive, Evelyn had Ronan Kendrick wipe them clean and carry them directly into a carriage.

She gave the ewe some warm water, and it recovered quickly. It kept bleating, unable to see its lambs. An hour later, when the lambs could stand, Evelyn moved the mother into the carriage as well to nurse them.

In such an extreme environment, whether animal or human, the females suffered the most.

Worried that the ewe wouldn’t make it after giving birth, they kept it in a carriage while they traveled. After three or four days, once it had mostly recovered, they let it back out with the flock.

’I feel like I’m running a zoo,’ Evelyn thought. ’Thankfully, I have Ronan as the zookeeper. The animals are all so obedient with him; I don’t have to worry in the slightest.’

The vast Drakeridge Mountains were teeming with all sorts of wildlife. Upon entering the range, Evelyn warned everyone that this place was even more dangerous than the Yaxi Basin. They fashioned two torches with kerosene and tied them to the sides of their carriages; the fire would help repel animals.

A snow wolf stood atop a valley ridge, staring down at the convoy winding through the forest. The prey it desired was there, but the torches made it keep its distance. It could only watch as the long procession slipped away from right under its nose.

There were also sables, Red Deer, moose, roe deer, and mergansers here...

Within the forest, tall pines and cypresses stood firm against the wind. The wheels left deep ruts in their wake. A sliver of sunlight filtered down from the treetops, refracting off the pristine white snow.

Within the Drakeridge Mountains lay Rivenia’s most beautiful lake. But now, it was frozen solid, leaving behind only a vast expanse of white.

"I wonder if there are any fish in the lake."

Evelyn took out a bag of sunflower seeds, cracking them open as she watched the scenery outside the window.

’A world robed in silver. This is what it must look like.’

"Want some fish?"

"We still have plenty of smoked fish in the container." And all of it was saltwater fish, caught from the ocean.

Ronan sat down beside her and rested his head on her back. "Then let’s have some fresh fish today. I’ll take you ice fishing in a bit." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Evelyn turned to look at him, and Ronan nuzzled his head against her back a couple of times.

"I want to go fishing. Come with me."

He was even wheedling her. Evelyn reached out and pinched his cheek. "Alright, alright. I’ll risk life and limb to keep you company, then."

When they heard Ronan was going to fish in the lake, everyone got excited and brought out pickaxes and fishing nets.

Donovan Irving came over to help, too. He must have been a real fishing fanatic in the past; the mere mention of it made him light up with excitement.

Donovan’s brow furrowed. "We need to make a hole. Without an electric drill, it’ll be hard. Will a shovel work?"

"It’s fine, Ronan has a way. He’s incredible, capable of anything short of flying." Quincy was now Ronan’s number one fanboy, the die-hard type who wanted to evangelize about him to everyone.

Donovan knew Ronan was formidable. Among the group, Ronan was the strongest fighter. When it came to decisions, Taylor Vance often took the lead, but most of the time, everyone still deferred to Evelyn’s opinion.

Ronan took out a dagger and used it to carve a large circle in the ice. Donovan had thought he was going to use a shovel, but then Ronan smacked his palm down on the circle. The block of ice within it fell neatly through. The ice was incredibly thick, probably one or two meters.

Donovan was too shocked to speak.

"Are you from one of those ancient martial arts families?"

Ronan had watched enough TV dramas to know what an "ancient martial arts family" was.

"No, I’m just strong."

Donovan chuckled. "I get it. Reclusive masters are always so humble."

Ronan looked completely baffled. ’I’m not being humble,’ he thought. ’I really am just strong.’

Quincy looked on with vicarious pride. "See? I told you Ronan was amazing."

"Amazing. But are there really fish in there?"

Ronan lowered a small fishing net. Five minutes later, he pulled it right back up. Staring at the flopping fish inside, Donovan’s jaw dropped.

"The man’s a legend."

Quincy snorted. "Ronan is just that amazing. Now you’ve seen something, haven’t you?"

Donovan gave a thumbs-up. "He’s the best fisherman I’ve ever seen."

Evelyn didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ’So men gush over each other like this, too,’ she thought. Ronan picked up the fish and drew some water from the hole. The others were already starting a fire on the shore, planning to clean the fish and grill them right away.

The fish in the lake were large. This was a freshwater lake, and it was filled with Grass Carp, silver carp, and crucian carp.

"Let’s make a pot of fish soup."

"Okay, we have several crucian carp, so let’s make crucian carp soup."

Evelyn took a bag of rice from the shipping container and started washing it to cook.

Ronan had only cast the net twice. He carried the fish back to the shore while the others started squabbling over the net, each wanting a turn.

The most eager were Quincy and Donovan. A moment ago they had their arms around each other’s shoulders like best buddies, but now they were on the verge of becoming sworn enemies over the fishing net.

The creamy white crucian carp soup was ready. Because they had added ginger, it had no fishy smell at all.

The grilled fish was also done, just as Quincy and the others came ashore with their spoils.

"Not bad. This one’s huge, probably eight or nine pounds."

Quincy looked smug. "I caught it."

Seeing their considerable haul, Taylor Vance and Zion Lowell also grew interested. Wendy wanted to try fishing too, but Officer Graham was afraid she would fall in, so he had to personally take her over to cast the net once.