Childish! The sun is finally out!
“I’m ready too!”
Xia Mengjian checked the rope tied to her forehead, and called back to Li Yilin, who was on the edge of the mountain above.
“Then let’s start!”
“All right!”
She took a deep breath, looked at the tunnel that had already been sealed, then picked up her head again and dropped the Prayer String onto a branch on the Cliff.
“Let’s go, then.”
Xia Mengjian carefully reached out, grabbed the branches at the edge of the cliff, and, with Li Siqi’s help from above, even though she had little strength left, she managed to clamber up the Cliff.
At first, she didn’t feel much, but as she gradually left the tunnel behind and moved away from the entrance, a floating feeling in midair washed over her.
“Hoo… Don’t be afraid, it’s nothing. Just don’t look down…”
She climbed while constantly reassuring herself in her heart.
But sometimes, the more you try not to look at something, the more your rebellious instincts kick in and make you do the opposite. So, despite all her efforts not to look down, Xia Mengjian subconsciously turned her head and glanced downward.
“Ah!”
In the afterglow of the Sunset, the deep Valley below seemed like a colossal beast opening its massive mouth to devour her.
For a moment, her whole body trembled, and she immediately turned the Prayer String back up the mountain.
“If I fall, I’ll definitely be smashed to pieces…”
Xia Mengjian shuddered, the emotional shock making her grip go weak—she almost lost hold of the branch. For her own safety, she forced herself to focus on climbing, pushing aside wild thoughts.
Soon enough, after enduring countless hardships and with time ticking by, she finally reached the top. With Li Kaiqi’s help, she could at last set both feet firmly on solid ground.
“Phew! Finally, finally made it up!”
“Good job, you’ve had a tough time—”
“It’s not so much… tough… I guess…”
While panting heavily, Xia Mengjian suddenly realized something, looked up, and saw a figure behind Li Kaiqi that was so familiar it couldn’t be more familiar. Her breath caught; for a moment, it felt as if her heart was about to leap out of her chest.
“Lin Xue’er? Why are you here?”
Li Siqi frowned and turned around, staring in disbelief at Lin Xue’er, who stood under a large tree. Lin Xue’er, however, replied as if it was only natural: “Why wouldn’t I be here? The only place you could escape to was here where you fell, so I waited for you. It’s perfectly reasonable, isn’t it?”
Lin Xue’er stepped out from the shadows, her gaze bright as she looked at Li Siqi.
When her eyes fell on the still-panting Xia Mengjian, her face broke into a gentle, smiling expression.
“Xiao Meng~ We haven’t seen each other for two days, I’ve missed you so much. Just wait a little longer, just a little, and I’ll soon rescue you from the clutches of this bad woman.”
As expected of Lin Xue’er—her ability to stir up trouble was first-rate.
Retracting her gaze, Xia Mengjian, hiding behind Li Kaiqi, couldn’t help but mutter to herself, though she hadn’t expected that Lin Xue’er would deliberately lure them up from the underground by letting others know. She really was a cunning woman.
“I’m the bad one? Hmph, you’re the bad one, you monster!”
“Eh? Why do I hear a cat meowing somewhere? Ugh… So annoying.”
Seeing Lin Xue’er waving her hand as if shooing a bear, Li Kaiqi, labeled as a “dog,” was about to pounce in anger.
But Xia Mengjian, noticing Li Kaiqi’s impulse to rush out, quickly grabbed her arm and said, “Calm down, Li Kaiqi! Don’t fall for her tricks!”
She understood that Li Siqi was only a bit impulsive by nature, but still rational. Otherwise, if she couldn’t hold Li Siqi back, Xia Mengjian felt certain Li Kaiqi would fall into the Shadow Trap set by Lin Xue’er.
“It’s fine, now there are two of us and only one of her. We might not be at a disadvantage.”
While comforting the person beside her, Xia Mengjian quietly shifted the Prayer String to the nearby girl.
From Lin Xue’er’s gaze, it was clear she was uneasy. Her eyes kept fixed on Xia Mengjian, who was holding Li Kaiqi’s hand. This frightened her so much that she instinctively let go and hid behind Li Kaiqi, quietly asking,
“Hey… Li Siqi, do you know the way down the mountain?”
“Huh? I’m not sure, but when I got lost before, I used the Compass on my phone to find the direction of the School. I just followed that direction, and I ended up here.”
Though she didn’t know the exact location, as long as they kept heading toward the buildings, eventually, they would get out.
After thinking for a moment, Xia Mengjian asked Li Kaiqi,
“Which way is the School?”
“South.”
So if it’s South… does that mean they should head toward that side now?
With their next objective clear, Xia Mengjian immediately suggested they move toward that direction with Li Siqi. But just then, Lin Xue’er, who had been silent not far away, slowly spoke: “Are you done with your little whispers? If you’re finished, shouldn’t you return Xiao Meng to me?”
“Return? Did your brain fall out after turning into a monster? She belongs to herself, not to you!”
“She’s mine!”
As soon as she said that, Lin Xue’er strode toward Xia Mengjian and Li Kaiqi.
Seeing this, the two quickly moved toward the opposite side, keeping a fixed distance from Lin Xue’er.
The current situation made Xia Mengjian uneasy even in the midst of her nervousness.
Although Lin Xue’er looked angry, she still let them walk toward the direction of the School without stopping them—this was definitely not normal. After all, everyone knew that Lin Xue’er liked to control everything, so there was no way she didn’t know their plan.
So, Xia Mengjian lightly shook off Li Kaiqi’s hand and whispered to her: “Let’s not go toward the School.”
“Huh? Why?”
While keeping an eye on Lin Xue’er, Li Siqi expressed her doubt to the girl behind her.
“Why don’t we head toward Xueshou instead?”
“If she’s letting us distance ourselves and go toward Xueshou so easily, there must be a trap. Remember how you were lured in a few days ago? Wasn’t it because of her?”
As one of Lin Xue’er’s former victims, Li Kaiqi understood all too well, so she nodded and asked for advice.
“Then where should we go? If we don’t head toward the School, there’s really no other way out…”
Li Siqi had a point. When it came to the back Mountain, they knew nothing at all. If the only way out was toward the School, wouldn’t they be trapped here forever?
Looks like they’ll have to risk it—after all, they couldn’t afford to be worn down by Lin Xue’er now, so even knowing there’s a tiger in the Mountain, they must brave the tiger’s den.
“Let’s head toward Xueshou then, but we must be mentally prepared. She’ll definitely set something up on the path down the Mountain.”