689: Chapter 678: Gazing at Mountains in the Expectation, Horses Run to Death 689: Chapter 678: Gazing at Mountains in the Expectation, Horses Run to Death The dense, primitive forest was actually not as quiet and terrifying as depicted on TV.
Song Yun stepped on the gravel path beneath his feet, with birds tweeting from time to time around him.
The afternoon sun filtered through the gaps in the leaves and branches, casting beautiful speckles of light onto Song Yun.
The group chatted as they walked, seemingly in good spirits, but Song Yun snickered to himself.
Climbing mountains isn’t an occasion for too much excitement or chatter, and why is that?
Because talking consumes energy, and excitement increases your oxygen consumption, similarly draining your energy.
Yet, seeing these girls who’ve experienced nothing yet insist on pretending they know it all, fear nothing, and are interested in everything, Song Yun couldn’t help but feel they needed to face some hardships.
After walking for roughly an hour, the group was still energetic since they were used to shopping trips that lasted an entire afternoon.
A one-hour walk was still manageable.
However, the group had no choice but to stop now, and why was that?
A fork in the road had appeared before them.
Song Yun wasn’t quite familiar with the terrain here, but fortunately, there was a signpost at the fork.
It depicted two paths, with the left leading to the second peak and the right towards the highest main peak.
“Let’s go this way,” Song Yun pointed to the right path and said.
“Are we heading to the main peak?” Li Shishi asked.
Song Yun rolled his eyes and said, “To watch the sunrise, don’t we have to go to the main peak?”
“Right!” Li Shishi nodded her head and then glared at Song Yun, saying, “Why the eye roll?
Let’s go!”
Song Yun simply laughed, not taking offense, and continued leading the way.
About ten minutes later, they encountered another sign which caused the group to hesitate for a moment.
The sign read: “The path ahead is not yet completed.
Tourists, please stop here.
Venturing forward may be dangerous, and the scenic area will not be responsible for accidents.”
“Let’s go, let’s go.
From here on out, it’s the real mountain path!” Song Yun declared, walking a few steps ahead as the gravel path disappeared, replaced by a dirt trail covered with fallen leaves.
Before long, Zhou Guang and his companions also reached the fork.
“Which way should we go?” Zhou Guang asked.
“Left!” Yamamoto Goro consulted the map he was holding, pointed to the left path, and said, “We’re heading for the second peak, not the main one.
Taking that right path would not only be a long detour, but it would also be inconvenient if there’s any noise.”
“Great!”
With that, Zhou Guang and his group set foot on the left path.
As mountain trails are softer than gravel paths and have more obstacles, they are more draining to walk on.
Around five in the afternoon, the women, including Li Yueyue, Song Yuxue, and Liu Ran, began to complain bitterly.
They had thought mountain climbing was a fun activity, but now they felt like they were going to die of exhaustion right there.
“Ugh, why does it still seem so far away?” Li Yueyue complained while looking through binoculars at the pass ahead.
“Exactly, it feels as if we haven’t moved at all!” Liu Ran agreed.
“We’ll need to walk at least two more hours,” Song Yun estimated the distance and said, “In two hours we can reach that pass and set up camp for the night.
With a night’s rest, it’ll take us about two hours to reach the peak in the morning.”
“Ah!
Two more hours?
I’m going to die of exhaustion!” Li Yueyue pouted and said, “Song Yun, can we take a break, pretty please?”
“No problem.
If you prefer hiking at eight or nine o’clock at night, or even ten, that’s also an option,” Song Yun shrugged indifferently and explained, “Night trekking is much harder here.
The moonlight doesn’t get through, so we’d need to use flashlights as we walk, and flashing a light in the mountain forest at night is like telling all the wild animals to come and eat you.”
“Ah?
Really?” Song Yuxue asked in surprise, “Isn’t it said that wild animals are afraid of light?”
“That was in the past.
After so many years of evolution, who’s still afraid of light now?
Plus, your flashlight isn’t like fire, it doesn’t have the high temperature of a flame.
Many animals have heat sensing systems, so the high temperature of fire looks like a blazing object to them, which they know can harm them.
A flashlight won’t have that effect!” Song Yun explained.
“Then let’s hurry up and go,” Li Shishi said, a bit worried as she looked around.
Being in the mountains during winter, the sun had already started to set, and it seemed likely to get dark after six o’clock.
Seeing that Li Shishi and the others were genuinely tired, Song Yun decided to carry all their belongings on his back.
Taking Li Shishi’s hand, he allowed her to use less energy while walking.
His considerate act drew complaints from Song Yuxue and the other girls, who insisted that everything should be egalitarian and that a good relationship shouldn’t translate to special treatment.
Therefore, Song Yun found his other hand occupied as well, with Song Yuxue cheerfully latching on to hike up the mountain.
Li Yueyue and Liu Ran tied a rope around Song Yun’s waist; holding onto this rope allowed them to be pulled up the mountain.
Song Yun felt like a slave.
He wanted to resist, but a single statement from the girls left him bereft of any will to fight back.
“You’ll have to sleep in the same tent with us tonight, which is a huge benefit.
Carry us; what’s the big deal?”
Song Yun’s eyes lit up.
He had seen the size of the tent they brought.
It was just large enough for five people to sleep side by side, but now six people had come, which meant they’d have to squeeze in.
Since he was the only man among these six people, it meant that in all that squeezing, the girls would certainly sandwich him in the middle.
Smirking at the thought of being surrounded by several women, Song Yun felt a surge of energy and then looked at Xiao Qing, saying, “Come on, Xiaoqing, I’ll carry you.”
Xiao Qing laughed and shook her head, walking beside Qingluan, and said, “I’m fine.
I used to roam the mountains quite a lot, so this is no big deal for me.”
“Really?
You’re sure you don’t need help?”
“No need, Senior Brother Song.
Look at you; you don’t have any space left,” Xiao Qing said with a giggle, covering her mouth.
Song Yun looked at himself and indeed, on top of carrying bags and two people, even his waist was tied with two ropes.
His appearance was like that of someone fleeing a famine.
More than two hours later, the moon had risen.
Song Yun and the group finally reached the pass in the middle of the mountain.