Of Mountains and Rivers 35

Chapter 35 – King Bitch!

Nanshan didn’t have any other intentions. Only when he exited the Sacred Spring’s mountain cave with a bitter heart did he come to his senses for a brief moment. Before the sulkiness in his chest even dispersed, his eyes habitually searched for Chu Huan. 

As a result, he accidentally saw the scene where he and that Gatekeeper called Yuan Ping were tugging at each other. 

Nanshan couldn’t hear what the two were saying, but it looked as if they were about to exchange blows again. He was just about to step in before he realized none of them was making a move. After another while, they stood side-by-side again, appearing calm and tranquil as they conversed about something. 

Nanshan stood in place, suddenly feeling like he was being nosy.

The flame of jealousy burned in his chest; however, he acknowledged it was without any sense. Once a person loses their senses, they’ll become extremely hideous – Nanshan understood this principle. Since this flame of jealousy was meaningless, he felt ashamed to death as it burned. 

His heart was split into two – he was locked in an amalgamation of ice and fire. 

The newborn Gatekeepers reinforced the defenses surrounding the Mountain Gate after burying the large snake, its body riddled with gaping wounds, the previous Patriarch adopted. A great battle had just occurred here, so there was still a heavy stench of blood everywhere that temporarily intimidated their enemies. 

The children who were trapped in the mountain for a whole day and night were finally released down the mountain. They glued the heads and feet of the flat people together to form a circle and filled the middle with big stones to turn them into simple spheres. Under the feet, like hot wheels, they stepped on and rolled down in turns.

As long as the flat-faced men didn't die completely it was fine. In reality, if they were left with some choice, the flat people would rather have their necks broken by Chu Huan than be played to death as a child's toy.

While Nanshan was walking in a daze, towards the mountain gate, he came across a little bald boy running over crying. The boy was crying because his head was hurting and didn't look at the road. He bumped his head on Nanshan's leg and sat down with an "ouch".

Nanshan helped him up, and sighed helplessly, "Why are you always crying?"

The little bald boy grabbed his trouser leg, with pain, wiped the tears on his trousers, pointed at another girl, Hua Guduo, and complained: "She hit me…"

Hua Guduo glared at the accuser, but she didn't dare to say something wrong in front of the patriarch, so she bowed her head at Nanshan indignantly.

But Nanshan was a little gloomy at the moment, so he wasn't in the mood to be a children's conflict mediator. He just wiped away the little child's tears, and said to Hua Guduo indifferently, "Don't bully the children."

The lawsuit was so perfunctorily broken.

Hua Guduo said unhappily, "Who bullied him?! He was the one who robbed me first!"

Then the two children began to accuse each other, arguing continuously. It was always nothing more than the two trivial things of "chicken feather" and "garlic skin", and nothing could be explained.

Nanshan listened to both of them one after another, and as he listened, he suddenly became the judge of the argument.

He stood there fixedly for an unknown amount of time and suddenly stretched out a palm to cover the little boy’s head.

"Don't touch other people's things." Nanshan said and although he was facing the boy, he didn't know how to say what he said, "You know?"

The little bald boy and the girl were shocked by the solemn attitude of the patriarch, and each nodded inwardly without realizing it.

Nanshan gently pushed the boy behind and waved at the two of them. He signaled for them to go play by themselves and then left with a heavy heart.

However, as the head of the clan, he was never free and was stopped by Xiaofang halfway.

While wiping profuse sweat, Xiaofang reported the progress of their body collection work. Nanshan listened meticulously, with a serious face, and did not speak for a long time.

Xiaofang stared at his big beautiful eyes, looking at the silent patriarch in bewilderment. He became nervous involuntarily, thinking that Nanshan was thinking about some profound and important matter.

After a while, Nanshan turned his head, but it seemed like he had just realized that there was someone beside him. After a moment of stunned silence, an embarrassing expression finally appeared on his face, and he coughed dryly, "What did you just say?"

Xiaofang: "…"

It's over, the patriarch's soul seems to be possessed by something, and he must tell the elders later.

After dismissing a bunch of other people, Nanshan was finally able to breathe. He avoided the crowd and climbed to a big rock on the mountain gate alone. 

As he looked at the river glistening in the sun in the distance, he couldn't help but carefully recall all the ins and outs of getting to know Chu Huan.

Thinking of Chu Huan's kindness to him, Nanshan couldn't help but smile to himself. As Nanshan then thought of Chu Huan's unhesitating refusal to accept the ceremony and to stay in the clan, his mood became very complicated. 

On the one hand, it made him feel sincere and trustworthy, and he didn't miss that. On the other hand, he was overwhelmed by the other party's reasonable rejection.

When Nanshan fell into the depths of his memories, a strong sense of dissatisfaction suddenly surged in his heart.

Nanshan involuntarily took out the harmonica that Chu Huan had given him, but instead of putting it to his mouth to play, he simply held it in his palm.

When his fingers stroked the smooth and cold surface of the harmonica, Nanshan realized that a person cannot control his mind.

For a few minutes, Nanshan thought of his mother for some reason.

He spent most of his childhood with the elders, who brought him up and watched him become the patriarch.

However, it may be that there was a very special connection between the toddler and his mother. Although Nanshan has no memory of his humiliating father, he can occasionally recall something about his mother.

He remembered that woman was strong and warm, had a bad temper, and never spoke softly, but she would occasionally put her palm on his head, and gently entrust him into a beautiful dream.

Nanshan used to wonder why she fell in love with a person like his father. However, it wasn't until now that he suddenly realized that it turned out that he liked someone, but he was obsessed and it was hard to control himself.

This kind of thinking was not fruitless, and Nanshan realized one thing – he seemed to have been chasing rumors all the time. Many things about Chu Huan were just guesses, and there was no reliable basis at all.

Although he taught the little bald boy, "don't mess with other people's things", was it possible… that he doesn't belong to others anyways?

As this thought flashed through his mind, Nanshan became still like a corpse. He abruptly jumped down from the big rock.

He made up his mind- he was going to find out in person.

While coming to this decision was one thing, asking him, in reality, was the problem.

Nanshan pondered as he walked, he remembered that once he asked Chu Huan outrightly whether he liked him or not, and although Nanshan knew clearly that he didn't mean that at the time, he also remembered how Chu Huan avoided the question.

What kind of words cannot be answered directly and must be avoided? Nanshan judged others easily, and came to a conclusion that "Chu Huan is so euphemistic, he probably doesn't like these sorts of things very much".

Nanshan had never planned such a roundabout strategy in interpersonal communication in his life, it was so new to him that his palms were sweating.

He thought that he should ask more tactfully, and it was best to make insinuations, so as not to make people aware of his real intentions. In this way, if he knows that someone from Chu Huan's side has indeed taken the lead, then he can retreat silently, neither do things that break other people's "contracts", nor appear too embarrassing or ugly.

And if the time is long enough, it will always wipe out his little thoughts.

So what if… Chu Huan doesn't belong to someone else?

Nanshan paused, and shook his head like a madman.

The sound of a snake came from the grass, and the little poisonous snake climbed up Nanshan's trousers listlessly and wrapped itself around his wrist half-dead. 

“Did you drink water? How did you come back so quickly?"

When this matter was brought up, the little poisonous snake angrily hissed and patted Nanshan's arm with the tip of its tail; shaking its head as if it was complaining.

But Nanshan couldn't understand snake language, nor was he in the mood to watch it play a one-man show. The man had just asked casually, he gave the little poisonous snake a look, and then quickly immersed himself in his endless plans for the future. He was walking on the mountain road like a walking dead-stiff, soul-flying.

Meanwhile, at the gatekeeper's cave, Luger walked over to Chu Huan, who was standing near the gate.

The patriarch of the gatekeeper did not follow the big snake, and he seemed a little alone. He was still born with a pair of eyebrows and eyes like a ghost, which was full of scrutiny and distrust when he looked at Chu Huan.

Yuan Ping was forced to act as an interpreter in the middle.

"The elder said that you are the person in the holy book?" Luger said bluntly and coldly. He knew that he was asking knowingly. 

Yuan Ping, the new gatekeeper, was the most direct evidence. Since the inheritance began, it was the first time that a new life was born in the holy spring.

Chu Huan hesitated for a moment, not knowing how to answer – he didn't know what was going on.

Luger frowned tightly, and spat out, "I still don't like you very much."

Yuan Ping quickly translated this sentence, and immediately interrupted to add his own opinion, "He is right, and I don't like you either."

Chu Huan smirked diplomatically, put on his glasses again, and put on a dignified and decent air, "I heard about why you don't like me from the mountain guard, there is nothing to explain. No matter where I am, I have a clear conscience."

Yuan Ping said angrily, "You have a clear conscience? How dare you say it! How many things have you done in your life that you have a clear conscience?"

This interpreter was very unreliable and left AWOL directly, leaving the two sides of the communication aside, switched to the Liyi dialect at the speed of light, and said to Luger, "Patriarch, you must not trust him, let me tell you, he is the kind of slut who will report to the teacher that other students smoke in the toilet, very double-faced!"

Luger, "…"

Chu Huan, "…"

Although Chu Huan may not be able to fully understand the Liyi dialect that may be mixed with Chinese nouns, based on his understanding of Yuan Ping, as long as it comes out of that bastard's mouth, even if it is cat or dog, he can guess it. At the very least he had a rough idea.

Chu Huan simply didn't understand why he was thinking about his grandson when he had nothing to do. The relationship between him and the gatekeepers was already tense, but now it's better, and there is such a shit-stirring stick in the middle who is afraid that the world will not be chaotic.

What made Chu Huan even more worried was that Luger had a very good attitude toward Yuan Ping who turned out to be a menace.

From birth to death, the gatekeepers are all old and young. They have experienced death once in a generation and then passed it on through the blood and thoughts of the mountain guards. The family of the mountain guards is changing. It will change accordingly, and over time, it will become completely different.

However, even though they were completely changed, they still couldn't get rid of the shadows of the past. Only this new gatekeeper looked so clean and pure. In Luger's eyes, Yuan Ping was like a newborn child. Although he had always been very powerful in the clan, he still couldn't help but soften his attitude towards this person.

Luger glanced at Yuan Ping, lowered his voice, and said, "You just came here, and you are not familiar with many things. You can chat with him for a while. When the sun sets on the top of the mountain over there, we will meet you on the mountain. There will be dinner, so remember to come over."

Yuan Ping was stunned, hearing the extra care in his words, he seemed a little embarrassed, and showed a bright smile: "Okay."

He has a sense of belonging to the patriarch now because the patriarch hates Chu Huan as much as he does.

Luger's always stern face showed a rare smile like a feather in auspicious light, turned and left.

Chu Huan was very helpless and was about to say something, but Hua Guduo and the little bald head boy came over at this moment, saw him from afar, and greeted him happily: "Bitch king!"

It was only then that Chu Huan realized that he had forgotten about this, and he was so worried that he almost choked to death on the spot.

When Yuan Ping heard this mandarin, he turned his head in doubt and found that it was the children of two mountain guards. He was very surprised and wondered who these wild children were, and whose names they called out. How did they pronounce it?

Just as Yuan Ping was about to yell at him, Chu Huan quickly covered his mouth and dragged him aside.

Yuan Ping managed to break free from Chu Huan's grasp, "Did you forget to take your medicine? What kind of rabies did you have?"

Chu Huan was full of melancholy, doubting that he would never be able to hold his head up in front of this person for the rest of his life, but they were a group of enthusiastic mountain guard brothers, how could he hide this? Fire can't be contained in the paper.

When he hesitated, Yuan Ping immediately shook his wits, his eyes turned and he realized, "Wait, you didn't teach them this, did you?"

Seeing that Chu Huan was silent, Yuan Ping became even more excited, "This sounds new, come on, tell me, what are you planning?"

Although Chu Huan tried his best to beautify himself and package the incident as a natural disaster that no one could stop, Yuan Ping always speculated about him with the greatest malice and perfectly filtered out the truth of the incident.

Then Yuan Ping beat the dog in the water and mocked him cruelly.

"I… I… Ouch!"

Chu Huan kicked him in the stomach, and Yuan Ping rolled on the ground and said, "I know, you must have a crush on me, you know that I have always wanted to punish you, and you gave me such a big deal in person… …Ouch! You are fucking kicking…you still have something to do!"

Some people are better to miss each other than to meet each other, and it is better to let him die.

Chu Huan said coldly, "Your cat is with me."

Yuan Ping was so excited that he couldn't care about Sha Le anymore. He rolled over from the ground, and his voice changed: "I… my little Qiao?"

There are always some shoehorn faces with scars on their foreheads who compare themselves to Zhou Lang. I don't know what's wrong with this world.

Chu Huan put his hands into the capital, and said inscrutably, "After you follow me, you changed its name to Big boobs."

"Big boobs?" Yuan Ping was furious and so angry that he couldn't speak coherently, "You…you dare…you dare to insult our beauty like this, you are nothing!"

Just like this, the two fought again because of the name of a cat.

Until Nanshan came and pulled the two of them apart.

In front of Nanshan, Chu Huan has always been gentle and steady, but because of the existence of Yuan Ping, his image has been completely ruined. When he saw Nanshan's eyes, he was so embarrassed that he didn't know what to do.

Chu Huan's face was quite uneasy, he lowered his head and rubbed the broken skin on the corner of his mouth, and forced a smile to Nanshan, "It's okay."

Nanshan pushed Chu Huan behind him, intentionally or unintentionally turned half of his body to block him, and glanced at Yuan Ping quite territorially. 

Brewing his emotions for a moment, just about to ask the question he had just prepared for the journey, when he heard Yuan Ping yell unrelentingly, "My beauty is pure and pure, what will become of her after she is with you? Big boobs… still big boobs!"

Nanshan, "…"

He finally crawled to the edge of his mouth and "gurgled" before falling back into his stomach on all fours.

Chu Huan, "It's just a fucking cat, what's the matter? You're not done yet, bitch!"

Oh, a cat…

Nanshan suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, he gave a dry cough, thought a little, took a breath, and prepared his words again.

Yuan Ping, "With your aesthetic taste, you dare to miss Lulu. I think you are a toad who wants to eat swan meat!"

Nanshan was so choked that he almost couldn't come up, he repeated it like a babble, "Lulu?"

The puberty goddess has become someone else's wife and someone else's mother, and Chu Huan has not thought about it for a long time.

But because of his evil intentions towards Nanshan, he still somehow didn't want others to mention her in front of Nanshan, so he immediately waved his hands like chasing flies to clear up the relationship, "How many years of old Huang Li is still falling out, you are sick— She is now my nephew's mother."

Nanshan's suspended heart was let go again, he felt as if there was a string in his chest, which was tightened and relaxed, again and again, tossed back and forth until it almost broke.

But when Nanshan's hands and feet were so cold that he finally settled the dispute between the old enemies, Bangchui ran out from nowhere and waved at them from a distance, "Patriarch! Bitch king! Brother gatekeeper! The mountain gate is on fire. The food is ready to eat!"

It's about time, brother.

Nanshan had already forgotten most of the words he had just prepared, he groped for a long time in a state of confusion, but couldn't find any clues, and finally swallowed all the words helplessly.