<h4>Chapter 312: Second Watch</h4>


    Yu Huang and Lin Jiansheng walked towards the snowstorm.


    When Yu Huang saw the faint footprints on the ground, she suddenly said, “Mentor, a strong mother and a ten-year-old child shouldn’t weigh less than 150 pounds. I weigh more than 100 pounds, but my footprints are deeper than those of the mother and son.”


    Upon hearing this, Lin Jiansheng scanned the endless stretch of footprints in front of him and instantly narrowed his eyes. “You’re right. The depth of these footprints is indeed a little shallow.”


    The mentor and disciple, each with their own thoughts, looked at each other.


    Yu Huang suddenly asked, “Mentor, other than a monster like ‘Desire’, is there any other monster in this Broken Cliff? For example…” After thinking for a while, she said,” A single mother whose soul refused to disperse because she lost her child? ”


    Lin Jiansheng carefully recalled the details of how the mother and son interacted. He said, “From the way that the child interacted with that woman, it seems like they have a deep mother-son rtionship. Are you suspecting that the woman is a monster who specializes in kidnapping children?”


    Because she had lost her child, the woman was unable to let go of her obsession. After absorbing the resentment, she had be a monster who lures children back to the Broken Cliff and raises him as her own children?


    “I’m not sure either. It’s just that the footprints are too shallow. They don’t look like the depth of an adult’s footprints. They look more like the footsteps of a child.”


    “That’s enough. We have things we need to do. Leave them alone.”


    “Okay.”


    The two of them walked quickly towards the end of the forest, the Broken Cliff. The snow was getting heavier and heavier, and in the end, they could not even open their eyes. Yu Huang reached out to brush away the snow on her jacket and sighed softly. “The snow this year is really unusual.”


    Lin Jiansheng said, “Every time before the apocalypse, the weather would change greatly. The heavy snow is only the first sign. There will be floods and droughts in the future.” Thinking of that scene, Lin Jiansheng was filled with pity. “At that time, I wonder how many people will die in the disaster.”


    Lin Jiansheng’s words reminded Yu Huang of the doomsday era on Earth.


    At that time, the weather suddenly changed drastically. The ciers in the north and south quickly melted, and the seawater that poured into the coastal cities killed countless people. Then, cold weather arrived, and many people in tropical and warm areas were frozen to death.


    The extreme cold weathersted for five years. Just as humans gradually got used to the cold weather, the ice and snow suddenly melted within a week. The temperature difference between day and night was huge.


    The temperature during the day was as high as sixty degrees Celsius, and the temperature at night was as low as -20 degrees Celsius.


    That was the end of humanity.


    Yu Huang looked at the heavy snowfall and felt uneasy. She didn’t think that the Blood Peacock Organization had such a powerful influence on the Holy Spirit Continent. They could actually influence the natural changes of the entire Holy Spirit Continent.


    Both of them seemed to have something on their minds, but their footsteps didn’t slow down at all.


    After walking for another two days, the two of them got closer and closer to the Broken Cliff. They could smell the rotten stench in Broken Cliff.


    At night, Yu Huang sat by the bonfire. She opened the map and found their coordinates. Pointing at the red star mark on the map, Yu Huang said, “Tomorrow morning, we will reach Broken Cliff.”


    “Okay.”


    Lin Jiansheng threw a sweet potato to Yu Huang.


    Yu Huang put away the map, peeled off the sweet potato skin and took two bites. Suddenly, she heard sounds of fighting.


    The sounds of fighting could be heard from afar. Lin Jiansheng and Yu Huang had sharp hearing and could hear it from a few mountains away.


    In this season, there were often hunters who would fight over prey, and it was not umon for people to die. Yu Huang and Lin Jiansheng quickly lowered their heads. They would mind their own business.


    Yu Huang took two more bites and suddenly heard a child crying. “Don’t kill my mother!”


    Tsk.


    Yu Huang suddenly stood up and walked towards the other end of the mountain with her sword in hand.


    Upon seeing this, Lin Jiansheng smiled and mumbled, “Young people should be more impulsive.” Yu Huang looked more like a girl in her early twenties.


    Her usual mature look did not look like that of a little girl, but more like an old woman.


    …


    The thick snow covered the fallen leaves in the forest.


    At the center of a col, five to six strong hunters were surrounding a mother and son. This mother and son pair was none other than the mother and son that Yu Huang had met two days ago.


    The female hunter carried the child on her back. She held a machete in her left hand and a shotgun at her waist. She was injured and had a cut on her abdomen. Her thick leather jacket was torn, and her flesh could be seen.


    The hunters surrounding the mother and son stared enviously at the brocade pouch hanging from the woman’s waist. The brocade pouch was bulging and contained the cores of many low-level demon beasts.


    The weather was getting colder and colder. No matter how strong the hunters were, they could not continue living in this forest. As hunters, hunting was their job. The extreme weather limited their movements. They had too little harvest this year, and their livelihood next year was a problem.


    When they met this mother and son, they discovered that the silk sacs actually contained the cores of quite a few low-level demon beasts. They were extremely envious.


    The mother and son were alone. If they wanted to rob them, it would be a piece of cake. “Take the child with you. We don’t want to kill you. Just give us the things.”


    The female hunter subconsciously held the brocade sachet and bit her lip as she said, “We risked our lives for this. If we give it to you, we’ll starve to death! I won’t give you this!”


    Seeing that the female hunter was unwilling to cooperate, the group of robbers revealed a fierce expression. “Hmph, since you don’t know your ce, don’t me us for being heartless!”


    With that said, the hunters attacked at the same time and fought with the female hunter.


    The female hunter was outnumbered and she also carried a child on her back. She had to prevent the brocade sachet from being stolen and also prevent the child from getting injured. She had many considerations during the fight, so she quickly fell into a disadvantageous position.


    “Ah!”


    The female hunter was stabbed in the abdomen.


    “Ah!” Another knife pierced through her chest.


    “Mommy!” The little boy jumped down from the woman’s back. When he saw the machete piercing through his mother’s abdomen, his little face was pale with fright.


    The female hunter could not hold on any longer. She knelt on the ground with her child on her back while looking like she was dying.


    Seeing this, the hunters withdrew their hands.


    A man with a mole on his cheek reached for the woman’s brocade pouch, but the woman suddenly reached out with both hands and gripped his hand. “This is… this is for my child. You… you are not allowed to touch it.”


    “You talk too much!” A hunter kicked the woman, and she fell to the ground.


    The man with a mole pulled the woman’s silk bag away. When he looked up, he saw the little fellow ring at him with a pair of hateful eyes.


    The man with a mole felt his heart skip a beat, and he had the illusion that his back was sweating. “Third Brother, we can’t keep this child.” The look in this little fellow’s eyes was too fierce. He felt that letting him live would bring him future disaster. “Why don’t we kill this mother and son and throw them into the Broken Cliff?”


    Hearing this, the man who was called Third Brother said impatiently, “Hurry up, the snow is getting heavier. We have to evacuate as soon as possible.”


    “Alright!”