Chapter 26: Charge Forward Bravely

  It was also unclear how long had passed when Liu Ya was awakened by a sudden jolt.

  "Where are we?" Liu Ya stretched her waist and twisted her neck to admire the scenery outside the window. In the distance, the mountains rose and fell, with a few clouds lingering around the peaks; occasionally, pine trees and cypress trees flashed by the roadside, their branches filled with birds chirping and jumping from branch to branch. Not far away, a gorge had steep cliffs on both sides, revealing reddish-brown rocks, with lush ferns growing out of the cracks in the rocks. Although it was almost winter, the flowers, grasses, and trees were all still green and vibrant. Suddenly, the car swerved sharply, and Liu Ya's gaze fell upon the scenery near the car. Oh my! She hadn't noticed before, but now she felt a jolt of fear! It turned out that the car was driving along the edge of a cliff, winding its way up.

  Liu Ya grasped the door handle tightly, swallowed hard and said to Liu Jia Wei with some uncertainty, "Liu Jia Wei, you'd better hold the steering wheel firmly, I don't want to fall from such a high place."

  "Don't worry, we'll go down with you." Liu Jiawei glanced at Liu Ya through the rearview mirror, looking at her tense expression, and felt a thrill of excitement in his heart. "Little princess, you're so nervous, but my driving skills are great!" In fact, Liu Fang in the front passenger seat and Zi Qing in the backseat were also frightened by the bumpy ride and the deep cliff beside them. However, they understood that it was not the time to chat with the driver, especially in such a dangerous place. The two of them held onto the handrails, stabilizing their bodies. Unfortunately, before Liu Jiawei could finish speaking, the car suddenly jolted again and stalled!

  "Ah———!" Liu Ya and Zi Qing were so frightened that they shouted in unison, "Save us! We're going to be buried alive!"

  "Shut up!" Liu Jiawei finally managed to steady the car, only to find that he was drenched in sweat. Upon hearing their screams, his anger flared up, and perhaps it was really too terrifying. Liu Ya and the others seemed to have not heard Liu Jiawei's warning and continued to shriek. Fortunately, no one else could hear them, or they would have thought something was wrong.

  "Stop screaming! If you scream again, I'll throw all of you out!" The car fell silent instantly, as if nothing had happened. After a while, the car restarted, stalled, restarted, and stalled again... Liu Ya asked timidly, "Jiawei, can we get off the car? We'll walk up!"

  What?! What?! Had he heard wrong?! Liu Jiawei turned around, his eyes blazing with fury as he stared at Liu Ya. His heart seethed with anger, thinking: "Damn it, are my driving skills that bad?! Letting you guys off the car would make Li Jun and the others laugh me to death!" A bloody war was on the verge of erupting.

  "What are you looking at!" Liu Ya was made uncomfortable by Liu Jia Wei's stare and suddenly blurted out, "Haven't seen a beauty before!? If not, there is one beside you!"

  "Seen it!" Liu Jiawei was blown away by Liu Ya's sudden outburst, his anger dissipated, and he said in a bad mood, "I've seen beautiful ones, but I haven't seen anyone as ugly as you!" After finishing speaking, he continued to start the car and drove forward. Along with the shaking car, he continued to drive upwards.

  "Sister, I'm carsick..." Liu Ya estimated that Leiling Temple was only about half a kilometer away and decided to get off the car and walk up from the small road. "If I continue to be shaken like this, I'll probably pass out. I want to get off the car. You guys go ahead to Leiling Temple and wait for me." Leiling Temple is the only temple on the waist of Hulao Cliff Mountain, many adventure enthusiasts will set Leiling Temple as their first destination, park their cars here, replenish some necessities, and then venture in.

  "It's not that serious, is it?!" Liu Jiawei furrowed his brow, glanced at the rearview mirror and said, "I see you're still full of energy. Anyway, I won't stop the car, if you have the guts, jump out. Hmph, but don't use too much force, be careful not to fly into the valley."

  "Sister——" Liu Ya dragged out a long tone, ignoring Liu Jia Wei, because she knew that as long as Liu Fang spoke up, Liu Jia Wei wouldn't keep her in the car. So, she continued to pretend to be weak and feeble, saying "Sister, I'm really going to pass out, I'm going to faint." Liu Fang was after all worried about her sister, so she said to Liu Jia Wei, "Jia Wei, why don't we let Ya get off the car? I think she's really uncomfortable." Liu Jia Wei listened to Liu Fang and stopped the car, turning around to look at Liu Ya in the back seat. At this time, Liu Ya was expressionless as she looked at Liu Jia Wei. The door lock clicked open. Liu Ya batted her eyelashes at Liu Jia Wei and stretched out her hand, saying "Liu Jia Wei, lend me your digital camera."

  "You're not carsick, are you? You can still use the camera?" Liu Jia-wei looked at Liu Ya with dissatisfaction and took out a digital camera from the car drawer. "Be careful on the road, don't let the wild beasts in the mountains take it away. We'll wait for you at Leiling Temple."

  Liu Ya smiled and quickly took over, "Don't worry, I won't lose it." She opened the door, got out of the car, and even waved at Liu Jiawei and the others before turning around to climb up a small stone path on the cliff.

  "Fang Fang, what's going on?" Liu Jia Wei looked at Liu Ya climbing the stone wall with agility and asked Liu Fang, "Your sister, is she carsick or something?!"

  "Hmph! I'm watching, a bit dizzy!" Liu Fang smiled helplessly and shook her head, "Let's go."

  Lei Ling Temple. Liu Jia Wei went to buy some water, Xiao Yu and Li Jin bought a topographic map of the Tiger Wolf Cliff at the tourist information window. This year, more and more people have come to explore, so some vendors have sold maps and adventure supplies here, and business is still quite good. After about 20 minutes, Liu Ya also walked over from the small road next door, but she already had a set of well-taken photos of scenery and wildlife in her hand. After resting at Lei Ling Temple for a while, everyone put on their travel backpacks, which were filled with the items needed for this adventure, ready to depart at any time.

  Before departure, Li Jin took out the map of Hu Lang Ya mountain from Leiling Temple and explained the route for this trip. "It's 8 o'clock now. If we follow the original plan, it will take about 2 hours to reach the main peak of Hu Lang Ya from Leiling Temple. We'll rest for a while at the top, eat something, and then head down through the second peak mountain range, which is about half an hour's journey to our destination, 'Hu Lang Cave'." Li Jin looked around at everyone's reaction, seeing no one had any objections, he continued, "I'd like to share some information about Hu Lang Cave. In 1939, when the Japanese army occupied Leshan, now known as Leshan City, the locals created a tunnel cave to avoid sudden attacks by the enemy. The cave has multiple layers, with caves within caves, making it dizzying. The entire tunnel is about 2-3 kilometers long. To avoid accidents, I don't recommend anyone or small groups exploring separately. If we follow the plan, we'll finish exploring in about 3 hours and can return to Leiling Temple around 2 pm." Li Jin looked at everyone again, "Any objections?" "No," everyone replied in unison. "Then let's set off!" Li Jin put away the map and prepared for departure.

  "Hey, can I ask something?" Liu Ya asked while sipping her drink, "Do you guys have a map of the 'Tiger Wolf Cave'?"

  "No." Li Jin Yi looked at Liu Ya very seriously and said.

  "Without a map, such a complex tunnel, aren't you afraid of getting lost?" Liu Ya asked worriedly.

  "Alright! Little princess!" Mu Lin Feng placed his hands on Liu Ya's shoulders and said very solemnly, "If we get lost, I'll definitely bring you out with my life on the line!"

  "However!" Liu Ya brushed aside his hands and gave him a disdainful glance. "I really don't trust you!"

  "It's not as complicated as Jin Yi said, many people have gone in and out of that cave, it's not a primitive undeveloped place, don't worry." Liu Jia Wei added, "Little princess, do you have any other concerns?" "Uh, nothing else to say, I just want to tell everyone, no matter what situation arises, I hope you all take care of your EQ partners. Everyone come back safely!" "No problem!" The crowd replied in unison. Liu Ya looked at their confident faces and couldn't bear to say anything else, smiled and followed them as they set off.

  The mountain road was winding and difficult to walk, and everyone used their hands and feet to climb up with all their might. Looking around, the dense forest was everywhere, with ancient vines entwining towering trees, unknown wildflowers growing among them, and some rotten fallen trees lying across the tree clusters. Through the gaps in the trees, they gazed out at the distant villages scattered in the mountains, some hidden in the lush green forests, like tiny cottages where elves lived in fairy tales. A clear spring water flowed quietly, making a gentle "ding-dong" sound. Liu Ya scooped up a mouthful of water with her hand and took a light sip. Ah! It was sweet and silky, icy and refreshing, a feeling that penetrated every inch of her skin. Looking at the forest, she thought back to when she was a child, and her father would often take her up the mountain, not for adventure, but to pick herbs and mushrooms to sell in town. For the deep mountains and forests, Liu Ya didn't feel afraid, but rather felt very familiar. Since following her father on their first mountain trip, he had taught her wilderness survival skills every time they encountered different situations, which were summarized from his military training exercises, and were very useful. Just when everyone's feet were sore and soft, and they couldn't walk anymore, Li Jin announced that they would take a rest, and then prepare to sprint to the main peak. Liu Ya supported her hat brim with her hand, narrowed her eyes, and looked at the main peak.

  "Everyone, let's make a bit more effort. We're probably only about 500 meters away from the summit." Liu Yacong encouraged Ziying and the others, "Let's have a competition to see who can run the fastest and be the first to reach the main peak."

  "Little princess..." Zi Qing narrowed her eyes, looking at Liu Ya with disdain. "Do you think we're kindergarten kids? Still comparing who gets first place and a little red flower?"

  "Hmph!" Liu Ya couldn't help but laugh, walking over and gently patting her shoulder, saying "I'm afraid for you, now even kindergarten kids can outrun you."

  "What's wrong?" Zi Qing glared at Liu Ya, "You're taking advantage of me when I'm weak?"

  "I dare not!" Liu Ya took a sip of mineral water and walked towards Liu Fang. Seeing Liu Fang's hands massaging her legs, she probably felt the same way too, and asked with concern, "Fangfang, are you okay?"

  "It's nothing, just a bit sore feet." Liu Fang smiled slightly and saw Liu Ya moving freely, asking suspiciously, "Are you okay?"

  "What can I do?" Liu Ya smiled faintly, took a bottle of water and handed it over, "Drink some water, I'll help you massage your legs, or they'll cramp." Then, Liu Ya really helped Liu Fang massage her calf muscles. "You guys haven't exercised in so long, bringing you to climb mountains directly, if your feet don't cramp, that's already very fortunate."

  "Little princess, can you also help me with a massage?" Mu Lin Feng shook his legs and walked over unsteadily. He pleaded, "My feet are about to cramp!"

  "Get out!" Liu Ya didn't even lift her head, directly blurting out a coarse sentence, which made Mu Lin Feng tremble and walk halfway, not knowing whether to come or not. Looking at the smiling Liu Jia Wei and Li Jin Yi as well as Hai Ou and others, in the end, he still chose to thicken his skin and sit down beside Liu Ya.

  "With such a steep slope, I'm 'rolling', how can I reach the main peak? How can I take you out of the cave?" Mu Linfeng drank some water and asked Liu Ya discontentedly.

  "You won't just roll around on the spot, will you?! Liu Ya pounded Mu Linfeng with a wooden mallet and shouted, "I didn't tell you to roll down the mountain! Besides, if you rolled down the mountain, it wouldn't be worth it for us either. What if a monster appears later? Who would we use as bait then?"

  Pfft! Liu Jia Wei and Xiao Yu had just taken a sip of water, which they directly spat onto the faces of Li Jin Yi and Xia Tian who were sitting opposite them, nearly choking them to death!

  Haha... Haha... Haha... Seeing Mu Lin Feng's cramped expression, everyone burst out laughing again.

  Digression

  The thrilling adventure journey is about to begin, are you all ready? Monsters? Who says there aren't any! There's a den of them living in the Tiger Wolf Cave! Don't believe me? Then follow me and take a look! If you think it looks great! Then please recommend this website to your friends and have them come check it out too!