In Beiyuan, the wind is freezing and the sky is covered with heavy snow.
Located near the notoriously dangerous Glacier Abyss, this place was originally uninhabited, but now, at first glance, it is completely dark, with countless mortals and monks working hard.
In the ice and snow, their hands were covered with frostbite and they were so thin from hunger that they had to transport baskets of ore out.
Occasionally, someone fell to the ground due to exhaustion. Either he was whipped and scolded by a patrolling soldier who happened to be passing by, and he struggled to get up and continue working, or he simply fell asleep in the field.
In the wild in the cold winter months, if no one wakes you up after falling asleep, it means death.
Every day, as baskets of ore are transported, a living person turns into a corpse, and is then abandoned like a pair of worn-out shoes and thrown into the bottomless glacial abyss.
"Hurry up and finish your meal and continue working. If you can't complete the task today, it will be hard for you!"
In a corner of the vast mining area, Shen Xudong, with disheveled hair and unsteady steps, lined up with the support of his grandson Shen Yanhong, waiting for food distribution.
"Grandpa, I asked you not to do so much work, just leave it all to me." Shen Yanhong, a tough-headed boy, is now much more capable than before.
"No need to worry, there is nothing wrong with grandpa." Shen Xudong smiled. This former gentle and elegant Confucian scholar and Chinese Master, now he still looks like a scribe. He just looks like a slovenly old man.
But there is always a kind of stable power in his eyes, which makes people subconsciously unite around him.
"Dad, it's our turn."
The people in front of Shen Pengyuan were all empty, so he hurried forward to get food for his elderly father and son.
The soldiers had expressionless faces and poured porridge into several people's bowls. The porridge was so bland that there were almost no grains of rice.
"Next one," the soldier said after pouring the porridge.
"Wait a minute, we haven't received the steamed buns yet."
Shen Pengyuan quickly said that he was worried that his family would not be able to bear it if he only drank a few mouthfuls of porridge in the cold weather.
"There are no more steamed buns. Please be early tomorrow." The soldier said impatiently.
"Isn't there more there?" Shen Pengyuan couldn't help but retorted, pointing to a pile of crumpled and shriveled steamed buns behind the soldier.
"Hey, that's not for you to eat. Look at all of you, old, weak, sick and weak, no matter how great a scholar or scribe, you all do so little work, how dare you ask for so much food?"
The soldier spoke sarcastically, meaning that although there is food, it would be a waste to give it to you!
"you……"
Shen Pengyuan's face turned red and he wanted to argue, but Shen Xudong behind him spoke in time. "Peng Yuan, if there is only porridge, then there is only porridge. Don't be ungrateful."
When Shen Pengyuan heard his father's words, his eyes shone with sadness and humiliation, and he silently walked to the side with the porridge in his hands.
The whole family gathered together, drinking light and thin porridge, no one said anything, and they took the time to rest.
"Master Shen, everyone of the Shen family, these are for you."
A few simple farmers came forward, got a bunch of steamed buns from somewhere, stuffed them into Shen Yanhong's arms, and ran away in a hurry.
"Wait, everyone, take the food away!" Shen Xudong said quickly, trying to stop a few people, but they ran faster.
"Grandpa, here." Shen Yanhong took the steamed bun and handed it to his grandfather, swallowing secretly.
"Why did you accept the food just now? Don't you know that those steamed buns were saved by the common people and if they were given to us, they would starve!" Shen Xudong said angrily.
"They ran away as soon as they stuffed the food. I didn't react at the moment." Shen Yanhong looked aggrieved.
"Okay dad, just take a few bites. It's all the good intentions of the people, don't let it down."
"They are just like us, but they are afraid that your body and bones will not be able to bear it. One day, you will lead everyone back to Middle-earth."
Shen Pengyuan said quickly, and the other Shen family members also nodded, with worried eyes.
"What do you know? When Heaven is about to entrust this person with a great responsibility, he must first strain his mind, strain his muscles and bones, starve his body and skin, deplete his body, and mess up his actions. Therefore, if he is tempted to endure, he will benefit from what he cannot do. !”
"I'm not in serious health condition, but I can't stand being favored by people all the time!"
Shen Xudong let out a long sigh.
"Then the food has been given to us. It would be a waste if we don't eat it, right?" Shen Pengyuan said with a wry smile. His father always had this kind of character.
"Grandpa, everyone is looking forward to the day when my cousin can come back to save us, and you are the overlord's grandfather. How can everyone let you starve? For many people, my cousin is the only hope. If you starve to death It will be a huge blow to them."
Shen Yanhong said hurriedly and pointed to the many people praying in the distance.
They took advantage of their leisure time to mutter words, and you could vaguely hear their words mixed with words such as "Overlord" and "Emperor of Heaven".
When Shen Xudong heard what his grandson said, he finally sighed, took the steamed bun with a guilty look on his face, and bit into it one bite at a time.
After seeing his grandfather eating, Shen Yanhong dared to pick up the shriveled piece and started to eat it carefully.
When he was thirsty, he drank it with snow water, but as a teenager, he had become accustomed to this way of living in the past six months.
"What are these idiotic mortals talking about overlord all day long? What is an overlord?"
A group of soldiers who had distributed food gathered together to chat and talked about a strange phenomenon among the countless coolies.
People starve to death from exhaustion every day in the mining area. Under the extremely cruel conditions, anyone should have given up hope long ago.
But for some reason, many ordinary mortals, and even some demon clans, whether from the Eastern Wasteland, Middle Earth or Northern Plains, all hold on to hope and often mention the same name in their spare time, treating it as a belief.
It seems that as long as this person is here, they have not completely lost hope.
"Hey, he seems to be a well-known figure in the Kunlun continent. It is said that when he was only a teenager, he led the five major ethnic groups in the mainland to defeat an emperor who was full of evil, and brought peace to the Kunlun continent."
"There are rumors about him everywhere, about the peerless genius who caused the stars to appear in the daylight, and the emperor of the dark world. I walk in this mining area every day, and my ears have become calluses from hearing them!"
A soldier said with disdain on his face.
"Is it possible that these people thought that this overlord could save them from suffering again?" The other soldiers were dumbfounded when they heard this.
"I'm afraid that's the case. When people are in desperate situations, they will always subconsciously look for some comfort. It's good for them to do this, so as not to commit suicide one by one. If we can't complete the task, it won't be good if the superiors blame us." Another soldier said. .
