Chapter Twenty: Mountain Climbing and Scenic Viewing

  The east had already turned white with fish belly, Liu Yi thought that Zhao Tong and others would also get up soon, so he had to hurry back, and quickened his pace towards the hotel.

  It just so happened that the vendors selling breakfast by the roadside had already set up their stalls, and Liu Yi thought it would be convenient to buy some for those lazy people who must have been hungry. So he bought some fried dough sticks, fried cakes, and soy milk for them to take away.

  Arrived at the hotel, as expected by Liu Yi, Zhao Tong was lying on the bed, in a big "da" shape, without any sleep posture...

  A loud slap landed on Zhao Tong's meaty back, waking him up. Liu Yi then walked to the door of Hu Jingjing and Liu Yiyi's room and knocked softly.

  Before long, Liu Yi opened the door and saw Yui wearing a nightgown with sleepy eyes. She rubbed her eyes and said, "Good morning, Liu Yi."

  Liu Yi couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed when he saw Liu Yiyi still wearing her pajamas. The silk pajamas were only a thin layer, directly highlighting Liu Yiyi's 34D twin peaks in all their glory.

  Liu Yi thought to herself that she had to quickly dispel her own crooked thoughts, or else the brothers below would have a reaction. She hastily held out the rice in her hand and handed it to Liu Yiyi, "You guys haven't eaten yet, right? I was just wandering around on the side of the road, so I conveniently bought some for you."

  Liu Yiyi hastily took over the meal and thanked her, "Sorry for the trouble, thanks for sending us breakfast."

  "It doesn't matter, I'll just bring it along anyway." Liu Yi waved his hand and went back to his own room.

  Half an hour later, everyone had finished packing and was ready to set off. Under Liu Yi's leadership, they soon arrived at the foot of Mount Huangshan.

  Standing at the foot of the mountain, Zhao Tong couldn't help but sigh and say, "This Mount Huang is really high!"

  "That's right, you know, the main peak of Lianhua Peak has an elevation of 1864.8 meters, which is equivalent to a building with over 600 floors!"

  "This Huangshan, in the heyday of Chinese literature and art (the mid-16th century's "Shan Shui" style), was widely acclaimed as 'the most fantastic mountain in China'!"

  Liu Yi smiled and said, "Since that's the case, let's climb this peak and experience the feeling for ourselves! Let's set off!"

  Four people laughed and chatted, starting to climb towards the mountain top.

  Zhao Tong was exhausted from carrying his bag, but Liu Yi and Hu Jingjing were fine since they had less to carry. Liu Yi saw the situation and took Zhao Tong's bag, carrying two bags himself, and led the group up the mountain at a slow pace.

  After several twists and turns, the four finally arrived at the hot spring on the mountain, where they saw Zhao Tong panting heavily, while the two girls were also a bit weak. Liu Yi suggested taking a break first and having lunch at the same time.

  They found a restaurant and several people went in one after another. The enthusiastic shopkeeper invited them to sit down and asked, "What would you like to eat?"

  Liu Yi smiled and said, "You're a local, recommend some specialty dishes!"

  The young waiter nodded and said "good" as he flipped open the menu, saying "This dish of stinky mandarin fish is our specialty. As soon as it's served, there's a strong smell, but like stinky tofu, beneath the smell lies a fragrant freshness."

  Liu Yi looked at the two girls and asked for their opinions. Seeing that they both agreed, he said, "Okay, let's do this one then."

  "The young waiter continued to recommend, 'Braised Pigeon is also one of our signature dishes. It's made by steaming Huangshan vegetable pigeon and Huangshan yam in a pot. The soup is clear and flavorful, the pigeon meat is tender and falls apart easily, and the yam is fragrant and refreshing.'"

  Zhao Tong almost drooled while listening and hastily said "Good, good, good, I'll have one of these too."

  At this time, Liu Yiyi also spoke up "I heard that you have a special winter melon dumpling here, it seems to be founded by Tunxi Yingchun Hall, and has a history of over 100 years?"

  The little servant hastily said, "This young lady is indeed knowledgeable and has a wide range of experiences. The winter melon dumplings are really delicious and have a long history."

  Several people chimed in, "Well, let's have a taste then."

  Several people were sitting and waiting for their food when a dirty-looking beggar suddenly ran over. "Gentlemen, I can tell by looking at you that you are kind-hearted people. Can you spare some money to fill my empty stomach? I haven't eaten in three days and three nights! Have mercy on me!"

  The shopkeeper was busy taking orders from another table, but unexpectedly, while he wasn't paying attention, a beggar ran in. He quickly grabbed a broom to chase the beggar out.

  Liu Yi saw the situation and hastily stopped the shopkeeper, saying "I think this person is quite pitiful, don't drive him away. How about this, I'll pay for some food for him."

  Liu Yi and Hu Jing were also extremely kind-hearted, and they followed Liu Yi's lead, saying "Right, right, look how pitiful he is, let's help him pay the bill and get him something to eat."

  Although Xiao Er was unwilling to let the beggar eat at his place, he didn't say anything else due to Liu Yi and others' requests.

  The beggar didn't seem to be polite either, and as soon as he opened his mouth, he said, "It's been a long time since I've eaten this pigeon, I really want to taste the freshness."

  Liu Yi was originally very sympathetic to the beggar, but as soon as he heard his appetite wasn't small, he suddenly became displeased. However, Liu Yiyi spoke considerately and said "Hey, it seems like he hasn't eaten meat in a long time either, why don't we just buy some for him?" Liu Yi then followed Liu Yiyi's suggestion.

  Before long, the pigeon was done, and the beggar tore it apart with his hands and began to devour it wolfishly. The pigeon didn't last long under the beggar's ministrations, and in the end, he even gnawed the bones clean, looking very satisfied.

  The beggar finished eating, carelessly wiping his hands on his body, and walked towards Liu Yi "Little brother, thank you, I won't eat your food for nothing, let me calculate a fortune-telling for you."

  Liu Yi couldn't help but find it hilarious that this beggar could also read fortunes. It was truly laughable to the extreme.

  The beggar made a gesture with his fingers and said, "What bad luck, brother! You'll have a disaster soon. Whether you can get through it safely depends on your fate."

  Several people burst out laughing, thinking that this beggar was also too good at talking nonsense, and it was a ridiculous thing to say.

  Liu Yi just wanted to persuade the beggar to do something proper and stop deceiving people, but when he turned around, he found that the beggar had disappeared.

  A moment of confusion, Liu Yi quickly walked out the door, looking around left and right, searching for the beggar's shadow. But where was the beggar's shadow? There were only piles of tourists, stopping to rest or climbing up.

  Could this beggar be a transcendent being? Liu Yi couldn't help but wonder, and when he returned to tell Zhao Tong and the others, they too were all sighs and regrets.

  Little did Liu Yi know, his good deed today would accumulate a great deal of good karma for his future life journey.

  The dishes were all on the table, and several people chatted and laughed as they discussed which scenic spot to visit next. Before long, they had forgotten about the strange incident earlier.