William Carter really did find a way out. He could use the accumulated snow to make steps, freezing them onto the icy cave walls. The cave entrance was several thousand meters high, and the snow-and-ice steps would spiral upward, requiring tens of thousands to reach the top.

Without hesitation, William Carter got to work. He first pressed the snow into a brick one foot long, half a foot wide, and three inches thick. Then he pressed this snow brick onto the icy cave wall, using his own body heat to melt it into water, which then refroze into ice. The snow brick became a slightly smaller ice brick, firmly stuck to the cave wall.

It took a full hour for William Carter to successfully make the first step—a block of ice more than half a meter above the ground. William Carter stepped onto it, and sure enough, it could bear a person’s weight without breaking.

So, William Carter began making the second step, positioned thirty centimeters above and thirty centimeters ahead of the first. Each step slanted upward, making it possible to climb; if the steps went straight up vertically, it would be impossible to walk.

For a full ten hours, William Carter struggled through countless hardships, managing to make fewer than ten ice steps before he was utterly exhausted. He sat down to sleep, and after waking, continued working.

……

Ten days later, William Carter had made 120 ice steps, with the highest one now forty meters above the cave floor. During these ten days, Old Man kept his eyes closed, unmoving and silent. Meanwhile, William Carter spent nearly every minute and second making snow-and-ice steps. When he was extremely tired, he would lie down on the snow to sleep, and upon waking, resume his work.

However, William Carter could no longer continue. The heavy snow had only lasted a day before stopping, and these 120 ice steps had used up all the accumulated snow in the cave. To make more, he would have to wait for the next snowfall.

Moreover, the energy from the previous fiery-red pill had been completely used up. William Carter’s body began to feel cold again, and he was once more out of strength.

William Carter gazed up at the sky. He had never longed for the arrival of dark clouds and heavy snow as much as he did now. But the sky was cloudless, bathed in sunlight.

At that moment, Old Man suddenly opened his eyes—his first time doing so in ten days. He glanced at the icy steps William Carter had made, then looked at William Carter himself.

William Carter was instantly excited, gazing proudly at his icy steps and exclaiming, “Old Gentleman, look, these are the steps I made. We’ll be able to get out soon. Don’t worry, my steps are very sturdy. When the time comes, I’ll carry you out.”

Old Man’s face showed no reaction, nor any look of approval. He slowly closed his eyes again, as if he hadn’t seen anything. However, he took a pill from his robe and tossed it over.

It was another fiery-red pill. William Carter quickly picked it up and popped it into his mouth.

Immediately, his whole body began to burn with energy, as if filled with endless strength. He was overwhelmed by the urge to roar, but, afraid of disturbing Old Man, he could only throw wild punches to vent the surging energy inside him.

This pill was truly miraculous—there was nothing like it on Earth. It must be extremely precious, perhaps worth a fortune. With this pill, William Carter could go for ten or even dozens of days without eating, and his body would not lack energy.

Yet, despite the pill’s value, William Carter had not the slightest thought of keeping it for himself, nor any intention of snatching it away. After taking the pill, William Carter was bursting with energy he couldn’t release, and was even more eager for snow. As soon as it snowed, he could make more icy steps and leave this wretched place sooner.

Finally, as if the heavens had heard William Carter’s prayers—or perhaps it was simply the arrival of winter—on the fifth day after taking the second pill, it began to snow again. Though not as heavy as last time, it was still substantial.

William Carter was almost beside himself with excitement, shouting at the top of his lungs.

He couldn’t even wait for the snow to pile up a few inches before impatiently starting to make snow bricks.

Suddenly, Old Man moved, the snow on his body shaking off. Old Man opened his eyes, beckoned to William Carter, and spoke two words. Although William Carter still couldn’t understand, he knew he was being called over.

William Carter hurried over and said, “Old Gentleman, look, it’s snowing again. We’ll be able to get out soon.”

Old Man gave a slight smile—the first in over half a month.

Then, Old Man reached out and wrote a character in the snow—a character William Carter didn’t recognize. Old Man pronounced the character, then pointed to himself.

Suppressing his excitement, William Carter said, “Old Gentleman, are you trying to teach me the writing and language of this world?”

Old Man didn’t understand what William Carter was saying. He simply pointed at the character on the ground and repeated its pronunciation, then pointed to himself again.

“The character you wrote probably means ‘I’,” William Carter said. Then he wrote the character for ‘I’ in the snow, slowly pronounced it, and pointed to himself as well.

“I…” Old Man listened once, then accurately repeated the pronunciation, pointed at the ‘I’ character in the snow, then at himself, and finally wrote the ‘I’ character in the snow with his finger.