Chapter 187 - 187: Unlucky
Chapter 187: Unlucky
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Unlucky
As Han Xing walked up the mountain along his usual route, he heard a melodious voice behind him. “Hey, do you know how to get to the mountain?”
He turned his head and saw a beautiful girl standing before him. Her jet-black hair was tied up in a ponytail, giving her a mix of sophistication and a hint of playfulness. She had a small backpack on her back, resembling a tourist.
The girl seemed momentarily surprised upon seeing Han Xing, but quickly asked, “Are you a local villager here? Is this the path to go up the mountain?”
Recalling Zhou Shengwu’s advice, Han Xing replied, “You are not from around here, right? 1 suggest you not wander on Black Mountain and go back down.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the girl’s discontented voice. She stomped her foot and exclaimed, “Who do you think you are to interfere with my business? Just tell me, is this the path to go up the mountain?!”
Han Xing couldn’t help but chuckle at her reaction. He put on a cold expression and said, “If you want to get yourself killed, no one’s stopping you.” He was somewhat familiar with Black Mountain, but only within the areas where there were visible paths.
The girl, seeing his attitude, got anxious and annoyed. “Hey, you people are just too much. Black Mountain doesn’t belong to your Stone Village, so why shouldn’t we be allowed to go up?”
“I didn’t stop you. If you want to go up, just go ahead and don’t disturb me here.”
Han Xing calmly put down his backpack, getting ready to start gathering herbs. The girl, seeing his composed demeanor, said angrily, “All good. Do you think 1 can’t find a way out?”
She followed the small path that someone had walked on and started climbing up the mountain. However, after taking just a couple of steps, she stepped on several thick and soft objects. When she looked down, she realized that the surroundings were already filled with densely packed small snakes, appearing out of nowhere.
The snakes she stepped on had already turned over and were crawling up her ankles.
“All!!!”
The piercing scream almost pierced Han Xing’s eardrums. The girl jumped incredibly high and stumbled, accidentally falling again. She then saw a nest of chubby worms, each about the size of a finger, and was almost scared into fainting.
Using all her strength, she managed to climb back up and rushed directly to Han Xing, holding onto him tightly without a word.
“Get off from me. What are you doing!”
The girl clung to him like an octopus. Her expression lost control, her voice trembling, “No, 1 won’t! It’s too dangerous here. Everywhere is infested with snakes, insects, rats, and ants!”
As she spoke, her legs wrapped tightly around Han Xing’s waist, her hands tightly clasping Han Xing’s neck. No matter how much Han Xing tried to pull her off, she wouldn’t let go.
She couldn’t care less about being reserved now; survival was the most important thing. Nobody knew if these creatures were poisonous. Just thinking about what she had witnessed a moment ago, she wished she could immediately go down the mountain and take ten showers.
However, as she looked closely, she realized that this man was even more handsome up close than from a distance. She cleared her throat and said, “You take me down the mountain, and you can name your price as a reward.”
Han Xing snorted coldly, “You come down first. 1 need to collect some herbs.”
“No, no!”
The girl shook her head like a tambourine. She didn’t dare to continue down anymore, afraid that she might step on something inexplicable again.
“Send me down the mountain first!”
Han Xing was incredibly annoyed. He now understood why the villagers in Stone Village always looked at outsiders with such strange expressions. These tourists had no clue.
As the two of them stood in a deadlock, a beetle flew from somewhere and landed directly on the girl’s head.
“All!”
The girl screamed, already clinging to Han Xing, which caused their balance to become even more unstable. Han Xing stumbled and fell to the ground. They were already halfway up the mountain, and as a result, they tumbled down chaotically, rolling in an unknown direction.
When Han Xing stood up, feeling dizzy and disoriented, he surveyed his surroundings, his expression turning grim. The forest here was denser, and there were several times more strange flowers and plants, yet there wasn’t a single trace of a human footprint.
This was in trouble.
The girl, still dazed, climbed up from the ground and with a somewhat naive voice asked, “Are we at the foot of the mountain now? Can we go back?”
Han Xing took a deep breath and finally calmed down. “This isn’t the foot of the mountain, and 1 have no idea where we are.”
“What did you say?” The girl looked at Han Xing in disbelief. “Aren’t you from Stone Village? How can you not know the way back?”
“1 never said that,” Han Xing replied coldly, making the girl carefully recall their conversation. Since they met, Han Xing had never claimed to be a villager of Stone Village. It was her assumption, insisting that Han Xing would guide her.
“Now what do we do? I’m young, and I don’t want to die here!” The girl’s voice trembled as she wiped her tears, glancing around to make sure there was no immediate danger before continuing.
Annoyed by her constant whining, Han Xing could only threaten, “Alright, stop crying, or I’ll just leave you here.”
Hearing Han Xing’s words, the girl quickly understood and kept quiet. As the sky grew darker, Han Xing carefully surveyed the surroundings but still couldn’t find the way back.
He looked at the girl’s backpack and asked, “Did you bring a compass when you climbed up the mountain?”
The girl shook her head at the question and replied earnestly, “1 brought water and snacks. Oh, and 1 also brought my phone!”
She excitedly took out her phone and said, “Hmph, you were so mean to me just now. 1’11 call someone to come and take me out, leaving you here all alone!”
Han Xing crossed his arms and watched the girl with interest. However, she looked at Han Xing eagerly after seeing that her phone had no signal.
“1 might have spoken a bit loudly earlier, but as an adult, you should overlook it and not take it to heart!”
Han Xing could only ask her if she had a lighter or matches or something like that.
“Of course not!” The girl replied confidently, “You can’t bring those things on transportation.”
Han Xing was completely speechless. He had to gather some hay and firewood, relying on his survival skills in the wilderness. Fortunately, he knew a little, or else they would be at the mercy of fate here.
After the fire was lit, the girl looked at her blistered, pale hands, her voice choked up, “I’ve never been treated like this before in my life!”
Han Xing threw a few more pieces of firewood into the fire, making the flames even bigger. He said helplessly, “1 just mentioned the technique of starting a fire by friction. I could have done it myself, but you insisted on taking over. Now you see, you brought this upon yourself.”
The girl felt a bit indignant, “Well, 1 just wanted to help!”