The legend of the Emei Mountain Buddha's Light was widespread, with historical records from the Ming Dynasty stating that whenever the Buddha's Light appeared on the summit, many devotees would cast various gold and silver treasures to the bottom of Sheshou Cliff.
"Those without money would toss a few copper coins, while the wealthy would throw down vast fortunes. They believed that the more money they renounced, the more devout their faith would be," Wu Tianzhen glanced down. The situation at the bottom of the cliff was completely obscured by the clouds, but it was easy to tell that the cliff was not short.
"Holy crap?!" Upon hearing this, Fatty immediately perked up. He abandoned his study of whether the golden paint on the Bodhisattva's body was real gold. With a jolt, he darted to the edge of the cliff. The towering, terrifying cliff seemed to have become his dream lover at this moment.
"Then hurry up! Damn it, this old Bodhisattva is probably asleep under these vines. It's such a waste of heavenly resources to leave all that gold and silver there!"
Fatty, in a flash, tied the climbing rope around himself. His movements at this moment were incredibly swift.
"Your Fatty Uncle is going down to save those treasures from the sea of suffering!!"
Seeing him about to dive headfirst into the clouds, Zhang Qiling gently patted his shoulder, stopping Fatty just in time.
Although the clouds obscured his vision, Zhang Qiling had been listening for a while and felt that it was not peaceful below. There were many chaotic sounds of wind.
It sounded as if something unknown was swaying back and forth below.
"Dangerous," Zhang Qiling warned Fatty, staring downwards.
It was rare for the amnesiac Xiao Ge to express closeness, and Fatty's spirits immediately soared. But then he thought, if it was dangerous enough for Xiao Ge to specifically warn him, how dangerous could it be? He then gasped for air.
He was uneasy, but his desire for gold and silver was too strong. After much deliberation, a brilliant, earth-shattering idea flashed through his mind.
He placed the climbing rope in his hand into Zhang Qiling's, a brotherly smile plastered on his face.
"So, how about you and I share a rope, Xiao Ge?"
Zhang Qiling: ...
Although the climbing rope could likely bear the weight of two people, due to its design, it only had a buckle at the very bottom. If two people were to share one rope, wouldn't they be strung together like candied hawthorns, embracing each other inextricably?
Zhang Qiling was speechless. He stood rooted to the spot, his gaze towards Fatty growing increasingly dangerous.
But Wu Tianzhen, standing nearby, couldn't miss this show. He had just been ridiculed by a group of people, and now that he finally had a chance, he absolutely couldn't miss it, whether it was tormenting Xiao Ge or Fatty.
So, he rushed forward a few steps, and with extreme sycophancy, unbuckled the clasp at Fatty's waist, preparing to link the two of them together.
"Wow, Fatty, you're a genius!" Wu Tianzhen didn't realize it until he started operating it. Fatty was stout, but Zhang Qiling had a slender waist. Although the clasp seemed a bit tight, it could actually connect two people.
However, he soon discovered a major problem.
Perhaps the strain of restraining two people was too much for the clasp, and as Wu Tianzhen operated it, he suddenly found that...
The clasp seemed to be stuck.
He pulled it a couple of times with a "kaka" sound, but the clasp didn't budge. Cold sweat trickled down Xiao Wu's face.
...Damn it, why did this thing suddenly fail? No, no, no! If this continues, Xiao Ge will kill me, right?!
His expression shifted dramatically, as if he had seen the end of the world, and he was on the verge of transforming into a screaming chicken.
Zhang Qiling didn't want to suffer the torment of his ears again. His head was still throbbing, and he had no interest in inflicting more pain on himself.
So, just as Wu Tianzhen's scream was brewing, he saw that familiar hand reach down and clasp the buckle.
Then, without any complex operation, it was just a gentle bend –
With a "kaba" sound, the metal clasp was broken in half, revealing a pale metal cross-section at the fracture.
Wu Tianzhen suddenly felt a chill all over his body, constantly imagining how long it would take for that hand to break his own skull.
He watched as Xiao Zhang expressionlessly and ruthlessly tossed the hook and rope, which had just made him and Fatty intimately connected, onto the ground. Then, he strode past them, his long legs carrying him away. A sense of inexplicable survival washed over him.
Then he realized something else –
They seemed to have broken the climbing rope that Xiao Hua had prepared.
Wu Tianzhen slowly looked up and saw Xie Yuchen standing not far away, a half-smile on his face.
It was obvious that their "playfulness" had not harmed Xiao Zhang or Fatty, but the innocent benefactor, Xiao Hua.
Wu Tianzhen: ... (a fawning smile)
Under the pressure of the benefactor, even the strongest would likely bow down.
... Except for Xiao Zhang.
As the culprit who directly broke the clasp, he maintained an unusual calm amidst everyone. His face, whether viewed from above, below, or the sides, was consistently innocent and indifferent.
He walked through the scene of the benefactor's intimidation, ordinary yet incredibly arrogant, and then casually picked up a climbing rope by the cliff edge and fastened it to his waist.
Everything looked very ordinary, as if he had just passed by a market and bought a fried dough stick.
But Wu Tianzhen, who was being lectured on the ground, suddenly had his pupils dilate as he watched!
For some reason, this scene was so familiar that an image deep within his DNA instantly surfaced.
"Damn it, Xiao Ge, don't do it, ahhhhhh—!"
The screaming chicken reappeared, but it was useless.
At that moment, Zhang Qiling seemed to have lost his hearing along with his memory. His expression remained unchanged as he leaped. His movements were graceful, and his facial expression was perfectly managed, but it was infuriating to watch.
Unlike Zhang Haike, who accepted his fate when he knew he couldn't change it, Wu Tianzhen, no matter how many times he saw it, couldn't get used to Zhang Qiling's strength that defied human comprehension.
He sprang up: "Xiao Hua, wait, we'll talk later, I'll first—"
Then, in a flustered and clumsy manner, he began to climb down, his posture appearing clumsy but his urgency evident.
Xie Yuchen: Wow.
Xie Yuchen looked at the scene with a strange expression. Just as he was about to tease their peculiar way of interacting, he suddenly remembered the exasperation Zhang Qiling had caused him during their few days together.
... For some reason, he understood quite a bit.
The demonic melody of "The Temptation of Going Home" echoed in his mind again. Xie Yuchen suppressed the sounds with effort and took out a spare climbing rope from his bag.
... Things were truly strange.
He couldn't help but smile as he watched Fatty eagerly descend in search of gold and silver.
... It was his exploration, yet these people were all more anxious than him.