Of Mountains and Rivers 37

As soon as the sun sank, Luger stood up. He seemed to raise his hand habitually, but this time there was no big snake responding to him. With his weapon, he stepped towards the mountain gate.

As soon as he moved, the gatekeepers on duty didn't need to be called, they all followed in twos and threes.

The other people who didn't have a mission were drunk, with very few being sober. They staggered and started a fire on the spot, picked up the children one by one, and threw them into the cave to shelter them from the wind. The adults were used to drinking, so they were not afraid of the wind, and sleeping in the open. They all got drunk, rolled on the spot, and fell asleep holding the wine jars, which made Chu Huan very envious.

He was lying on his back in the grass with a grass stalk in his mouth.

In the night sky here, there was no Big Dipper, the North Pole, or the ‘Golden belt’ of Orion in the southern sky. There were only a large number of disordered and unidentifiable stars.

Chu Huan didn't know what season it was. He couldn't receive any signal on his glasses, and even the compass was useless.

But the galaxy was still very bright.

Chu Huan felt that he might be too narrow-minded, and a chicken feather in his heart could make him toss and turn, so he had to admit that no matter how ambitious he was when he was young, his nature was not a person capable of doing great things.

Someone sat next to him, Chu Huan thought it was Nanshan at first, and turned his head expectantly, but saw the old goat's face of the Elder; suddenly he fell from a dream to a nightmare.

The elder drooped the corners of his eyes and mouth and sat down beside him with a debt-seeking expression on his face as if he was about to ask him to sign and sell himself to repay the debt in the next moment.

Chu Huan put one hand on the ground in fear, half sat up, and asked in a low voice, "What do you wish to tell me?"

The elder stared at him, took out something from his arms, and threw it at him.

It was a rope woven into one strand of thin threads, and the technique was exquisite, but it was very old. Chu Huan could only vaguely judge from its current blackness of different shades, that it also had colorful youth.

Under the knot hung a…

Walnut?

Chu Huan held it in his hand, and looked at it hesitantly for a moment, feeling that he had little talent and learning, and really couldn't tell the name of this rare object, but even as a walnut, it seemed a bit small.

Its diameter was no more than two centimeters by visual inspection. It was round and full of grooves on the surface. It had already covered a layer of pulp and was so red that it was crystal clear. If it was not for the extremely lightweight, it looked almost like an agate¹.

Chu Huan asked, "This is…"

Elder, "This was a sacred object handed down from my family."

Who would have thought heirlooms can be this shabby….

The elder added, "The mountain guard family had two sacred objects, one was the patriarch's scepter, and the other was this. It was the holy fire of our family that was recorded in the holy book. It was said that when the holy fire burns, all those who were lost can die and be ‘reborn.’

Chu Huan didn't understand. He turned the "walnut" in his hand upside down for a long time, but couldn't figure out why. He frowned and said, "Then it should also be called a burning thing. How can it be called a 'fire'? Are you sure the holy book is reliable?"

The elder snatched the walnut, stared at him, and spread his hands at Chu Huan, "Fire!"

Chu Huan took out the lighter from his pocket, and handed it to him with a "click", "How can you light the holy thing so casually…"

Chu Huan was stunned when the Elder demonstrated.

The elder put the "walnut" on the fire and burned it, and was soon surrounded by the flame of the lighter, and then the flames were sucked in by the "walnut" bit by bit, and the round thing became more and more bright red.

Chu Huan removed the lighter in disbelief and reached out to touch it. The tentacles were as cold as water, having an aura of ancient and demonic spookiness that was lost in time.

The elder gave a strange laugh, shook the "walnut" in front of Chu Huan like a dog fighting², and said strangely, "You thought you were capable, that you know everything."

Chu Huan was speechless, and quickly restrained the arrogance he had accidentally revealed, "Then what do you mean by showing me this?"

"I want you to have it." The elder threw the walnut into his arms again. "Since you were the person in the holy book, you can hold it. Maybe you can find an opportunity to light the holy fire."

Chu Huan was stunned for a moment holding the small walnut, and then suddenly sighed, "Elder, aren't you afraid that your holy book was old and foolish? Aren’t you afraid to give me such an important thing, in case I’m like that old man from last time? I haven't even given you a word of promise."

The elder clicked his lips, tapped his leg lightly with his crutches, and said casually, "If what the holy book says is fate, then we are powerless to resist; if the holy book was just nonsense, then it is useless for us to worship. Who had seen the holy book? After so many years, the stone had long been leveled, and it’s all word of mouth. No one knows whether it is true or not. You… what do you call this? What is imaginary or flase?"

Chu Huan, "It's illusory."

"Oh, right it's just an illusory thing." The elder glanced at Chu Huan, "No wonder the patriarch assured me that you were different from the last one. I think he was right, you were much more stupid than the last one."

Chu Huan suddenly realized that there were only two paths before him, one was to let nature take its course, and the other was to look for trouble.

But he still couldn't go with the flow like the gray-haired elder, so he had to find trouble for himself.

After the old goat taunted him, he slapped his butt and left. Chu Huan compared the walnut on his neck. It was still a bit unacceptable to hang it on yourself.

So he got up silently to find a water source, turned the rope over and over, and washed it three times before hanging it around his neck in disgust.

Before dawn, Chu Huan closed his eyes and rested for a moment, then got up and started moving around the forest.

When passing through a dense forest near the mountain gate, Chu Huan suddenly heard a "swoosh" from behind. He instinctively jumped forward, his shoulders touched the ground to relieve his strength, rolled neatly, and hid behind a big tree.

He saw a small stone on the ground, hitting his footprints.

Chu Huan, "Yuan Ping?"

Yuan Ping's cold voice came from the forest, "If I had a gun in my hand just now, your head would already be a rotten watermelon. What's wrong with you?"

Chu Huan's eyes darkened suddenly.

Although he knew well that he was indeed not at his peak, this was the first time someone pointed it out mercilessly in front of him.

While Yuan Ping was speaking, he moved quickly into the forest.

Chu Huan leaned against the tree trunk, half kneeled on the ground and listened intently.

Suddenly, Chu Huan pulled out a dagger from his trouser leg, and swiftly threw it at his head, only to hear a "choke", and there was a tooth-piercing sound of metal impact, Chu Huan held Yuan Ping and chopped down from the top to bottom. A knife, but immediately, he felt that his arm strength was unsustainable.

Chu Huan gritted his teeth and lifted his shoulders, turned to remove Yuan Ping's knife, and fell to the side with his strength.

Then he propped himself up on his elbows, rolled over, and stood up.

Yuan Ping confronted him indifferently one meter away.

The muscles in Chu Huan's arm holding the short knife spasmed unconsciously.

"My strength and sensitivity were indeed stronger than before." Yuan Ping said expressionlessly, "But there was absolutely no such a big gap, Chu Huan, what have you been doing these past few years?"

If someone had asked this question half a year ago, Chu Huan probably wouldn't have been moved.

At that time, he was living a retired life, and maybe he would find a job in a society that did not make much money in the future, and one day he would kill himself, or he would end his dull life in old age and boredom.

If it weren't for the re-entry of two ghosts.

If it wasn't for his predestined letting go.

if not……

But now he wants to take Yuan Ping out no matter what, and he can't bear to stand by and let Nanshan face this kind of world no matter what.

The duty of silence was like a whip, pulling out a little bit of the deep-seated spirit in his muddy life.

Therefore, Chu Huan did not respond to the other party's provocation, but stretched out his finger and pressed his arm, retracted the dagger, drew out the military stab, and said in a deep voice, "Come again."

When the sky began to light up and the clansmen got up to sober up one after another, Chu Huan was already dripping with sweat.

Yuan Ping's degree of realism was comparable to that of Nanshan. Even in a drill, he could create a life-and-death effect. The two of them caused multiple sharp scratches on each other.

Chu Huan was a little miserable. First, he didn't have the ability to heal himself quickly, and second, there was a knife wound on the side of his neck.

Yuan Ping's subordinates showed mercy, and if someone else had been in his position, it was estimated that he would’ve been a splatter of three feet of blood on the spot.

When the mountain guards were about to set off, Nanshan, who had mysteriously disappeared all night, reappeared.

In just one day and one night, he seemed to have become a lot more silent. Nanshan was originally young and pure, like a bright and eye-catching piece of new red sandalwood, but overnight, it seemed that something had polished a layer of dullness into him. He somehow had a constricted and thick shell aura around him.

Xiao Fang led the way familiarly, and it was obviously not the first time they had acted like this.

Suddenly, Nanshan grabbed Chu Huan's shoulder, opened his collar solemnly, and revealed the dangerous scar, "What's going on?"

Chu Huan originally wanted to prevaricate, but at this moment, Yuan Ping turned his head and glanced at him triumphantly. Chu Huan's normal thinking, which was plain and straightforward, suddenly turned into a fork in the road, and he stretched out his hand and pointed at Yuan Ping, "He scratched it."

Yuan Ping's expression suddenly changed from smug to shocked, and he looked at Chu Huan who was complaining almost dumbfounded as if he couldn't believe what he just said.

Nanshan was also stunned for a while.

Nanshan had actually asked the question knowingly, he saw the trace of the knife wound at a glance, and immediately made a guess. Although he still couldn't help but ask more questions, he was ready to be fooled by Chu Huan casually. Be Prepared—It's like someone who knows the water in the house will be shut off for a day, but still can't help but turn on the tap and wait.

However, he didn't expect that the water would come ahead of time without even saying hello.

Chu Huan pulled back his collar and straightened it, and said with a smile, "His paws were not poisonous, it's better to be scratched by him than to be scratched by some mad dog, right?"

Nanshan frowned, glanced at Yuan Ping with a hint of warning, and stopped asking.

Yuan Ping suddenly felt weird, especially Chu Huan's later explanation, which always made him feel as if he was looking for something to make up for.

This situation was so familiar, Yuan Ping vaguely remembers that he seems to have seen it somewhere, he walked away with two minds, keeping an eye on the surrounding environment at all times, while pondering what Chu Huan did just now like a ghost.

Yuan Ping was not the kind of person who was careful, and usually, he would not pay attention to the details of life. However, at this time, his sixth sense issued a sharp alarm to him, reminding him that something was wrong like a stick in his throat.

On the mountain road, Yuan Ping's footsteps stopped suddenly, and he remembered!

He remembered that Chu Huan had always been a person who can pretend, like a peacock with its tail open, showing off in all directions at all times, from childhood to adulthood. Only a person with insight like himself can see through the dirty bald hair behind his glamor butt. Chu Huan would rather die than hide himself in his crotch so that no one would know about such unseemly things as losing a game, failing a test, or fighting.

There was only one exception—that is, every time Chu Huan lost a fight he would wave around in front of Lulu intentionally or unintentionally, make a complaint implicitly, and despicably use the goddess' sympathy to achieve coquettishness and discredit the adversary's dual purpose.

Wooden Club, who was walking behind Yuan Ping, saw his footsteps suddenly stop, and asked suspiciously, "Brother Gatekeeper, what's wrong with you?"

Yuan Ping cleared up his expression, which looked as though the sky had fallen³, and shook his head with dull eyes.

However, his inner world had already been shocked by a crazy idea——

The patriarch of the mountain guards was equal to Lulu?

So the smelly and shameless peacock Chu Huan was chasing the gatekeeper patriarch?

But…but no matter how soft his hair is, he was still a man who can do whatever he wants!

He just went out to die, and when he came back, Chu Huan had become gay?

How can this cruel world become so chaotic?

While he was trying to sort out his complicated thoughts, everyone had already approached the hinterland⁴ of the valley.

To avoid being noticed by all kinds of monsters with a keen sense of smell, when they shuttled through the mountain roads, they always tried to go against the wind and the current. At this time, Xiao Fang, who was leading the way, suddenly raised his hand and blocked the way of everyone, "Shh—— listen."

They hid behind the mountain wall, pricked up their ears, and heard low-pitched voices in the wind. It was the flat people.

Nanshan winked at Xiao Fang and Xiao Fang jumped up. He climbed up from the boulder like a big monkey, lay down on the high place carefully, and lifted a few rocks lightly.

He only took one look, and his face changed.

In the hinterland, the flat people and “mad dog” Mutai had all gathered here, all over the mountain. They were surrounded by a circle of guards, with old, weak, sick, and disabled in the middle, it looks like a group of large-scale flowers, Reminiscent of the battle the night before, Xiao Fang suspected that they may be of the same family as the Piantian people who came to surround the mountain, and they were waiting for news.

Xiao Fang quickly reported the news, and Nanshan made a quick decision, "Detour, don't disturb them."

Everyone held their breath.

In order to avoid this hinterland, they had no choice but to walk in the direction of the river.

The huge sound of water soon filled people's eardrums, and the water was so fast that white foam splashed. Chu Huan was worried about how they should cross the hinterland, but found that he was thinking too much—this river might be even more unstable.

Near the river, they found the body of a Mutai.

Dashan, "Patriarch, should we drag it back to have a look?"

Nanshan raised his hand and pressed down, "Don't act rashly, Mutai seldom move alone, if there were no other corpses, maybe he was dragged away and eaten."

Chu Huan adjusted his glasses and turned on the telescope mode – this was still usable, he took off his glasses and handed them to Nanshan, "Use this."

Except for Yuan Ping, the other clansmen used this precious item with all kinds of exaggerated caution and asked Chu Huan in amazement if he would feel dizzy when walking with this thing all year round.

Just when they wanted to do further research, the research project was brutally stopped by the patriarch. Nanshan took back the glasses and handed them to Chu Huan in a serious manner, "Let's go back and talk about it, don't waste time."

The clansmen had no choice but to suppress their curiosity. They whispered to each other for a while and reached a common conclusion after discussion.

It was still a term that Chu Huan didn't understand, but he didn't want to muddle through it anymore, he stretched out his hand and grabbed Yuan Ping, "Hey, were they talking about a mutant crocodile?"

Yuan Ping pushed his hand away impatiently, "If you know it, just say it. If you don't know, don't force it. What does your crocodile look like? It's called a 'sound beast'. It was very aggressive and resistant to blows. It is much more dangerous than crocodiles. It can even emit sonic attacks."

…It really was the kind of "mutated crocodile" he had encountered before.

Chu Huan swept away the negative state of being able to understand but pretending not to understand, silently read the pronunciation of the Liyi language of the sound beast, and repeated it for Yuan Ping, humbly asking, "Is that what you said?"

Yuan Ping spared no effort to taunt him and said, "Your language talent is amazing, you were almost as good as a gorilla."

Chu Huan's expression remained the same, he didn't quarrel with him or refute, but carefully corrected his pronunciation.

In order to learn a little of the language of the Liyi clan, he could even endure Yuan Ping's bitterness.

Seeing Chu Huan's unnatural humiliation, Yuan Ping murmured again in his heart. He glanced at Chu Huan suspiciously, then at Nanshan, and thought tremblingly, "Why was he studying so hard? It can't be true, was he actually gay?"

Just when he was surprised.

At that certain time, Nanshan came over. Yuan Ping didn't know if it was his illusion, but he suddenly felt some kind of oppressive force from the friendly and handsome patriarch who guarded the mountain.

Yuan Ping immediately made an instinctive dodging action, and he jumped up from the spot, "I… I will go to that, that waterside to explore the way."

Nanshan smiled at him and nodded, "Okay, be careful."

Yuan Ping immediately scrambled and approached the river. As he walked, he wondered in a daze— ’why should I hide?’

Full of doubts and confusion, he came to the river under the cover of the rocks, and saw the corpse of Mutai at a close distance—its lower body had disappeared, revealing the thick white bones under the carapace, looking terrifying. The Mutai’s big mouth was open, and his chest sunken strangely as if the bones and viscera had been shattered under the hard armor.

Yuan Ping had an ominous premonition at the time, and at this moment, he saw Chu Huan gesturing at him from a distance— ‘there were three in the river behind him at three o'clock, if he can't deal with them, he should hurry back!’

Yuan Ping gave him a middle finger. It was not a direct confrontation, so he didn't pay attention to the three sound beasts.

He poked his head sideways from behind the huge boulder that sheltered him. The rising and falling river water washed the rocks very smoothly. Yuan Ping stretched his neck to look and suddenly gasped.

He saw that it was not an ordinary "sound beast", one was at least as big as the giant snake that Luger had raised before, three of them lined up, like a row of prehistoric Tyrannosaurus rex squads moving like a mountain from the rushing speed. Walking out of the river, the blackness was like a row of moving hills.

Yuan Ping, "…"

He turned his head and frantically gestured to Chu Huan to retreat, and then slid down the stone ike a spirit snake.

He slowly stood up, when he realized ‘what the hell, why don't you run!’