Of Mountains and Rivers 48

There were few human traces; the mountain was too high to climb.

There were no stone steps here, and certainly no cable cars. In places where the slope was gentle, they could walk a few steps, but when faced with steep cliffs, they had to use their knives to nail into the crevices to climb.

Chu Huan couldn't understand the line of thinking of these mountain-climbing enthusiasts. He couldn't fathom the passionate love they had for such extreme sports.

Upon hearing Chu Huan's comment, Nan Shan asked, "What did you like to do before?"

Chu Huan carefully recalled and found that the first things that came to mind were "playing video games at home" and "lying down watching TV." Either of these activities didn't seem very sophisticated when said out loud. So he subtly added, "Testing program vulnerabilities and being interested in film and literary works related to complex social issues."

Yuan Ping burst into laughter, nearly falling off the mountain wall.

Even without proper climbing gear, they continued their journey, ready to plunge to their deaths at any moment. Nevertheless, they still managed to exchange a few words occasionally, indicating that traversing these cliffs and precipices wasn't too difficult—probably because this mountain was quite peaceful.

Besides the fearsome monsters, they had barely come across any ordinary wildlife during their journey. Snakes and lizards were nowhere to be found in the grass, and the only creatures they encountered occasionally were some foolish insects that didn't know to avoid humans and were easily trampled to death.

This situation proved Nan Shan's decision to be correct. The quieter it was, the more hidden dangers were lurking, making them harder to deal with.

Halfway up the mountain, they found a naturally formed cave and took a temporary rest inside. Yuan Ping opened their backpack and divided the dry rations. Chu Huan picked up one piece, and Yuan Ping noticed that the sapphire glass on his wrist had shattered like a spiderweb.

Yuan Ping said, "You should throw it away sooner rather than later."

The watch's glass was made of sapphire, which was resistant to scratching but not to impact. It wasn't waterproof enough to deal with monsters. Chu Huan had been busy escaping, nursing his wounds, and being in love for the past few days, only now noticing the spiderweb-like marks on the watch. As he remembered that he had bought it with two months' worth of wages, he felt heartache. Unfortunately, regret was useless—the watch's glass was beyond repair, and the metal casing was covered in scratches. Except for the movement still functioning properly, there was little hope of salvaging the rest.

Chu Huan took off the watch and tossed it aside, sighing as he examined his appearance. He felt like he had transformed from a fake elite into a true wild man. He adjusted his glasses into binocular mode and handed them to Nan Shan. He discarded all unnecessary items, becoming once again the wild child who played freely in the courtyard many years ago.

The taste of the dry ration was horrendous, causing intense suffering for the taste buds. Yuan Ping could barely take a bite before feeling the urge to cry for justice.

For several consecutive days, Yuan Ping had had enough of the Guardian clan's culinary skills. The dry rations were at an unprecedented level of indigestibility, making even compressed biscuits seem top-tier in comparison. He couldn't help but complain in a dispirited tone, "I want to eat grilled meat."

Big Mountain responded, "Didn't we just eat that yesterday?"

"Ah," Yuan Ping waved his hand, "You naive child, you haven't seen the world. You shave off some hair, wash it a little, hang it over the fire until it's all blackened, and you dare call that grilled meat?"

He spoke to this, suddenly sitting up straight as if cruel reality had trampled him mercilessly, leaving him no place to escape. He could only create fantasies to satisfy his hunger. He vividly described to the others, "To grill meat, you can't just use fire. You need to prepare a 'brazier.' Do you know what a 'brazier' is? It's a large iron plate with iron bars welded together, leaving gaps in between. You place charcoal underneath, heat the iron plate, spread oil on it, and then cut the meat into small slices—the fresher, the better, and the thinner, the better—marinate the meat in advance, then put it on the iron plate, and with a 'sizzle,"

Yuan Ping licked his lips, and Big Mountain and Xiao Fang's mouths watered as they listened to his description.

Yuan Ping took a bite of the undercooked dry ration; his face twisted in agony. "Then you spread vegetables on the meat, roast them together with the meat flavor and oil, take them off, dip them in sauce, and put them in a bun. Of course, not this kind of bun; it needs to be flaky and fried until golden and crispy. Take a bite… Ah!"

He shook his head, saliva flowing like a river.

Chu Huan remained unaffected, resolutely consuming the low-quality starch in his hands, completely unimpressed. He took advantage of Yuan Ping's storytelling and seized the moment to show his devotion, turning to Nan Shan and saying, "Do you want to try it? I can make it too."

Nan Shan was captivated by the vivid description, but when he heard Chu Huan's interruption, he was surprised. "You can make it?"

"I can do many things," Chu Huan shamelessly boasted. "I can make the brazier, slice and grill the meat, prepare the sauce—oh, by the way, I once learned from a master who specializes in Huaiyang cuisine for two months, so I can stir-fry, pan-fry, braise, stew, and simmer. Nothing is beyond my reach."

Yuan Ping interjected sarcastically, "Brother, you should write a draft before you spin these tales."

Xiao Fang was also doubtful and asked, "Then why haven't you ever cooked for the clan during your long stay here?"

Chu Huan smiled reservedly. "I'm just one person; it's fine for me to eat something simple. I can't be bothered to cook; who would I cook for?"

Xiao Fang understood his meaning and gave him a face, expressing her admiration without reservation. Then she rubbed her hands and asked, "You cunning man, what else can you do?"

"I can do a lot," Chu Huan said without knowing where he found a piece of wood. He took out his short knife—this was the one that was almost disposed of by Hua Qing but was retrieved from the river by Nan Shan after several days.

The short knife was not a carving knife, and the wood was just a piece of ordinary wood. However, the person handling the knife was skilled, and with a few cuts, he carved a round and plump little pig that looked quite like the real thing.

Chu Huan said, "I can draw a little, and I'm skilled in various handicrafts. I can make plush monkeys, and I can modify toy engines to create remote-controlled cars that can run by themselves."

He used to love playing with various things and had diverse interests. However, he gradually lost interest over time, leaving everything aside.

The Guardian clan had never heard of such a rich range of hobbies, and they all marveled at his talents.

But Yuan Ping, who had been overshadowed, sarcastically said, "That's enough; even if you're fat, you're out of breath."

Chu Huan completely ignored him and carved two nostrils for the little pig, handing them to Nan Shan. "When we return, just say what you want to eat, and I'll figure out a way to make it for you."

Chu Huan's flamboyant demeanor, acting like everything came easy, left the others in awe. Yuan Ping was about to challenge him, but when he looked at the group of burly men around him, he wasn't sure whom to compete against.

It was like a boxing opponent who hadn't yet decided who was the stronger one, and then the opponent suddenly switched to playing table tennis, leaving him at a loss, so he had to throw cold water.

Yuan Ping said, "With your 'follow me, and you won't go hungry' attitude, you're like a combination of the old landlords and modern-day chefs."

With the peacock opening its tail feathers, forgetting all shame, Chu Huan completely appropriated Yuan Ping's words as his own, saying to Nan Shan, "Follow me, and you won't go hungry. If we can find a way to cross that boundary in the future, I'll sell Chu Aiguo's old house and my small apartment and buy one with a large kitchen. I'll hang 108 cookbooks on the wall, covering all cuisines from ancient to modern times, from Lu, Chu, Guangdong, and Fujian—there's nothing I can't master."

Nan Shan listened on the side, just smiling. "Oh, yes, I have other advantages—I like staying at home, and I always come home for dinner. I don't go out and mess around; I work diligently; I don't eat much; I have a good temper; I'm easy to communicate with; I don't grind my teeth or snore while sleeping; and I don't fight over the blanket. It's convenient for both living and traveling."

As Chu Huan continued promoting himself with great enthusiasm, he appeared even more confident. With his glasses no longer hiding his face, he seemed to lose some of his composure. The corners of his eyes formed two little hooks, almost with a hint of charm.

"Look, if I were to take your clan leader away, would I be qualified enough?" Chu Huan's gaze swept across Big Mountain and Xiao Fang as if he sought witnesses.

The two exchanged glances and awkwardly laughed at each other.

Finally, Xiao Fang couldn't hold back and suggested to Nan Shan, "Clan leader, you should say something too. Are you still a man?"

Nan Shan smiled generously and said, "It's alright."

Chu Huan, even more smug, had an incredibly irritating face. With Yuan Ping leading and encouraging them, everyone pounced on Chu Huan and started beating him. The small cave quickly turned into chaos.

Just as Chu Huan was about to lift Yuan Ping, he suddenly heard a continuous murmur of voices. He couldn't stop smiling and casually lifting his head. "Hmm? What are they saying?"

Everyone fell silent.

Big Mountain asked in confusion, "What?"

Chu Huan suddenly felt something was wrong. He slightly tilted his head, and the chattering voices, like sleep talk, reached his ears. He couldn't hear the exact content, but it didn't sound like one person speaking.

Nan Shan asked, "What did you hear?"

The voices were like crossed telephone lines—fast and urgent, incoherent and chaotic. However, Chu Huan felt like they were calling out for something.

Who? What were they saying?

Chu Huan raised his hand and covered his ear as if the voices didn't enter through his ears but directly into his mind.

He seemed slightly absent-minded, and as he stood up, his shoulder bumped into Nan Shan. Nan Shan held his shoulder and said, "Chu Huan!"

Nan Shan's voice was mixed in with countless whispers, and Chu Huan could only barely make out the words from his lip movements.

Suddenly, Yuan Ping shouted loudly to him, "Chu Huan!"

Chu Huan quickly dodged, and the loud shout made his eardrums tremble. The dense murmurs abruptly disappeared. Chu Huan pressed his ear and blurred Yuan Ping's face, pointing towards the south. "Over there… there seems to be some sound."

The others instantly lost their playful mood, packed up, and quickly set off toward the summit.

The closer they got to the top, the colder it became. Eventually, their exhaled breath formed a white mist, and it was getting harder to walk on the increasingly slippery ice-covered rocks. Strangely, the plants in the crevices remained lush and green, giving off an eerie vibe.

Nan Shan was the first to reach the peak. He climbed onto the highest boulder and was about to pull the others up when he froze.

Chu Huan, curious, followed behind him and asked, "What…?"

His words suddenly stopped.

Looking down below, the feng shui was in place, the trees were swaying gently, and everything seemed fine, but there was no light. It was as if the entire world were divided by a certain point at the foot of the mountain. One side was bathed in the noon sun, while the other side had nothing but darkness—not complete darkness, just a heavy shadow that seemed to enshroud everything.

From above, the vast forest appeared motionless, and the flowing river seemed frozen. There were no animals and no wind.

It looked like a gloomy landscape painting nailed to the wall.

Chu Huan heard Xiao Fang's voice from behind, and her fierce tone contained unparalleled fear.

She said, "The Fallen Land…"

Chu Huan suddenly turned his head.

The long and arduous journey of the mountain patrol seemed so long; they crossed countless mountains, passed through numerous tributaries, and traveled a vast distance.

But now, this seemingly boundless area has turned out to be astonishingly small. Chu Huan didn't know what "Fallen Land" meant or what was inside, but facing this boundary, he broke out in a cold sweat.

It felt like the whole world had turned off its lights, and they were left on an isolated island.

There was only a faint, precarious glimmer of sunlight.