Next, without any surprises, they reached the shore. Brother Gao and the others found a spot to dock the boat, and everyone began packing up to disembark.
"Can we really find it?"
"We should be able to, right? Didn’t Brother Gao say there’s no problem?"
Xiao Mo and Xiao Qiu carried their stuff off the boat, and Chuzheng, leaning nearby, overheard their conversation.
Unfortunately, they only said those two sentences, without any useful information.
"Xiao Zheng, let help you carry your stuff." Lan Chen walked over, eager to make an impression. The original owner’s bag was similar to theirs, filled with outdoor equipnt, extrely heavy.
Chuzheng’s Space had everything she needed, so whether she needed this gear or not was irrelevant.
So...
Since there was soone to do the hard work, she wouldn’t refuse.
Lan Chen was delighted that Chuzheng didn’t reject him, feeling he was one step closer to winning her heart.
"Xiao Zheng, you’ve seed unhappy these past few days?" Li Tian and Xie Ningfeng approached together, looking concerned, "Are you not acclimatized?"
"No."
Chuzheng moved past them and headed off the boat.
Li Tian glanced at Lan Chen, giving him a look, prompting Lan Chen to imdiately catch up with Chuzheng.
"Isn’t Xiao Zheng acting a bit strange?" Li Tian asked Xie Ningfeng with a frown.
Xie Ningfeng nodded dumbly, "Let’s just get off first."
"Everyone be careful," Brother Gao stood by the boat’s edge and advised, "When you get off, don’t wander around, and make sure you have all your belongings."
Everyone got off the boat and naturally divided into two sides.
Guide Uncle Min stood in the middle, pointing to a mountain not far away, "The place you need to go is behind there."
Chuzheng glanced in the direction Uncle Min pointed to.
This kind of remote and wild place wasn’t a scenic spot nor a well-traveled area; why would a guide be familiar with such a place?
The more Chuzheng thought about it, the stranger it seed. She asked Lan Chen beside her, "How did you get in touch with these people?"
Lan Chen, lost in thought, didn’t quite catch her words, "What?"
Chuzheng, with a blank expression, said, "How did you get in touch with them?"
The original owner wasn’t interested in the matter initially, only wanting to return after it was done, so she hadn’t really cared about these details.
Lan Chen snapped back to reality, "You an them? I didn’t contact them. The guide said their destination was the sa as ours, so we just ca together."
A coincidence?
Lan Chen fished out a small bottle from sowhere, "Xiao Zheng, spray so mosquito repellent just in case there are bugs when we get in."
Chuzheng: "No need."
Lan Chen tried to insist, but Chuzheng took two steps forward, stepping over the dry grass to the other side, forcing Lan Chen to give up.
Having finished discussing with Uncle Min, Brother Gao raised his voice, "If everyone has no issues, let’s set off and try to find a place to rest before nightfall."
Chuzheng checked the ti; it was now 1:30 PM, with a few hours until dark.
Throughout the way, Lan Chen kept pestering Chuzheng, trying to take advantage, which annoyed her imnsely. When Lan Chen tried to approach her again, she tripped him.
A real trip!
Lan Chen fell heavily against a rock nearby, causing a commotion that stopped everyone.
Lan Chen covered his nose as blood trickled from between his fingers.
"Lan Chen!"
Li Tian, who was behind Lan Chen, rushed forward to help him up.
"Are you okay?"
Lan Chen, eyes tearing from pain, saw Chuzheng still there and could only grit his teeth, "I’m fine, just slipped."
"How could you be so careless..." Li Tian and Xie Ningfeng helped Lan Chen to his feet.
Chuzheng stood in front, arms crossed, her expression indifferent as if the one who fell wasn’t her companion.
Brother Gao gave her a couple of curious looks and whispered to Xiao Mo, "Keep an eye on that girl."
Lan Chen stopped the nosebleed and was about to take a step when he noticed his ankle was tangled in dry grass, which had tripped him earlier.
Damn!
Lan Chen kicked free of the grass and stomped on it several tis.
Brother Gao called out, "Everyone be careful, the road is rough, watch out for each other."
"Xiao Zheng, lend Lan Chen a hand." Li Tian shouted at Chuzheng, trying to create an opportunity for her and Lan Chen.
Lan Chen looked at Chuzheng expectantly.
Only for her to give them a detached look and soon walk to the front of the group.
A streak of rage flashed in Lan Chen’s eyes; despite his efforts to pursue her, she was still so ungrateful!
"Is she really your companion?" Xiao Mo raised an eyebrow at Li Tian, "She doesn’t seem to care about you guys at all."
"..." Li Tian’s expression was not good; Chuzheng had been like this the past two days, cold-faced and indifferent to them.
"Xiao Zheng might just be in a bad mood." Li Tian wasn’t entirely naive, she knew to be wary of this group.
Xie Ningfeng ultimately took on the task of supporting Lan Chen, with occasional conversations in the group, but mostly silence.
"We’re not even that far and you’re already spent!" Gan Lu’s voice ca from the front, impatient and disdainful, "I don’t know why soone like you insisted on coming. Now we have to take care of you."
Yao Qing sat on a stone by the roadside, looking exhausted, "I’m sorry, I really can’t go on."
Gan Lu sneered, "What’s the use of sorry? We can’t just wait for you, right? With night coming, who knows what we’ll encounter? Can you take responsibility if sothing goes wrong?"
"Gan Lu!"
Brother Gao rebuked sharply.
Gan Lu was plainly afraid of Brother Gao, her expression changed slightly, lips moving as if to say more, but ultimately silent.
"Xiao Mo, you take care of Qingqing."
"Alright." Xiao Mo went over to help Yao Qing, who muttered a low thanks.
Gan Lu snorted and quickly walked ahead, glaring at Chuzheng as she passed, "What are you looking at!"
Gan Lu soon disappeared from sight.
Chuzheng felt quite innocent; she just took a look, yet she was caught in the line of fire.
What had the original owner done to her?
She hadn’t liked her from the start...
Chuzheng pondered for a while, unable to figure out how the original owner had offended Gan Lu.
"Is it alright for her to just walk off like that?" Uncle Min looked worried.
"It’s fine, she’s just like that." Xiao Qiu replied, "Her temper’s a bit fiery, but she knows her limits and won’t go far."
Sure enough, as Xiao Qiu said, Gan Lu hadn’t gone far. As they rounded the bend, they saw her nearby, venting by kicking at the grass.
After walking for about another hour, with no significant change in the surrounding scenery, Brother Gao had everyone stop to rest.
"Xiao Zheng, I have sothing to say to you."
Li Tian gestured for Chuzheng to follow her.
"What is it?" Chuzheng didn’t move.
"Co with ."
"Say it here if you want, if not, forget it." Out in the wilderness, she wasn’t about to just follow, what if you have bad intentions and I end up beating you to death! Who would take the bla then!
Li Tian frowned, an obvious anger in her eyes, "Xiao Zheng, what’s with your tone?"
Chuzheng earnestly replied, "Just speaking normally."
Li Tian: "..."
Li Tian looked around, seeing no one else paying attention, she lowered her voice, "What’s your attitude towards Lan Chen? Do you still want the money or not?"
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