Chapter Thirty-two The Charm of That Road

  Mountain after mountain, ridge after ridge, the vast snowy expanse seems to have no end, and the lush green pine forest is always by your side.

  On the third day, Tang Qiuli and his companions had been searching for three days in the mountains, snowfields, and dense forests. They had all been to remote areas with few human footprints, and it was not easy to find a suitable place. Everyone's physical strength was also greatly consumed. That afternoon, several people turned into another valley, and a high mountain loomed in front of them. Looking up at the snow-covered peak, only a few outlines were visible in the dense pine forest. Let's go, climb the mountain. This is what we have been doing repeatedly for the past few days. Every time we reach a mountain, we have to climb up to search for a suitable location. We are already used to it.

  All the way, Tang Qiuli was physically exhausted, but his mood was very pleasant, always in a state of excitement, and that night with Xiaoling, although they didn't break through the last barrier, the exchange of hearts and emotions made him put down the burden in his heart, occasionally worrying about gains and losses, swept away, fully immersed in the present life, the whole person seemed more lively and carefree.

  Although Qiusheng and the others felt a bit strange, this guy seemed to have changed into a different person after sleeping with Xiaoling for one night. But how could they ask about it? Did women really have such a great impact? Unbeknownst to them, that wonderful night was a transformation of his body and mind, completely shedding the shackles of his past life and merging into this era without reservation. Perhaps, only after a boy has a girl he loves wholeheartedly does he understand what responsibility is and learn to appreciate life. This should be the heart's journey of growing up!

  The scenery along the way made him feel surprised again and again. Yesterday, they crossed a mountain ridge, and at the end of the valley, there was a vast expanse of white mist in front of them, like smoke and fog, swirling and rising, shrouding the low-lying land. Looking further ahead, the view was blocked by the smoke and fog, and it was impossible to see the road clearly. It turned out that this was a large logging camp, located in the northeastern forest, where many loggers came to work during the winter months, forming groups to venture into the deep mountains and old forests to make a living, which was also a profession.

  As I approached and took a closer look, good heavens! What kind of wooden plank is this? Before me was a vast expanse of greenish-blue water, and when I reached in to touch it, oh dear, the water was scalding hot. Steam rose up, and above it was the bitterly cold air of minus thirty degrees Celsius. The hot air collided with the cold air, making the entire surface of the water look like a boiling cauldron. No wonder the fog was so thick.

  The water flowed down the mountain through a gap, and as I walked along the water's edge, the temperature gradually returned to normal, not the icy kind, but the kind that makes people feel comfortable.

  A long, narrow stream lies quietly in the vast white snow, with many bright green grasses growing in the water, which are fresh and alive. This vibrant green is not like the dark green of pine forests, but rather like the lush growth along a riverbank on a summer day. In this snowy wilderness of Kanto, such vivid plants, white snow and green grass, form a striking contrast, captivating the heart and soul. What a wonder! This is an onsen, a masterpiece of nature!

  There are many chopstick-sized scales and strange-looking fish swimming slowly in the water. What is this thing, I've never seen it before? Looking at his curious expression, Xiaoling told him, "This is a philosophical carp, a cold-water fish species unique to the Daxing'anling Forest Area. It's not heard of anywhere else, and it's extremely delicious!" As soon as Ling said that, why did this mouth of water become uncontrollable? Am I born to be a greedy cat?

  We're camping here, no matter what, we won't leave, let's take a break for tonight and continue tomorrow! In fact, everyone doesn't want to rush on the road anymore, it's time to take a rest. Look at this warm water, green grass, and delicious fish, who can bear to leave? So Tang Qiuli's proposal was unanimously approved by everyone. This is not considered weak willpower, nor can it withstand temptation? With beautiful scenery, delicious food, and beautiful women in front of us, how can we resist the temptation? Life is like this, what more can we ask for?

  What are you waiting for? Let's go fishing! Tang Qiuli was the first to jump into the water, just like a hungry wolf rushing towards the fish. The river surface was only knee-deep, and the warm, gentle feeling instantly enveloped his whole body. Coming from the cold weather, it felt incredibly comfortable. However, his fishing skills were really terrible. After struggling for a while, his sleeves were soaked, but he didn't catch even a glimpse of a fish. This little thing was very cunning. He had clearly pressed it into his hand, but when he pulled it out of the water, all he got was a handful of fine sand. How embarrassing! What to do with you? Just being fierce doesn't work, and I'm really at a loss!

  The tiger by the shore was about to laugh out loud, "Little Autumn, how can you catch fish like this? Have you forgotten? Why are you sometimes smarter than before and sometimes dumber?" Rolling his eyes, he gave him a big disdainful gesture, "You come, with your big clumsy body, wouldn't the fish all be scared away by you!" What's your trick?

  Hutou tossed over a tree branch, what's the point? Catching fish? Thinking he's some kind of godly archer, and besides, there's no bow! Looking at this branch, one end is forked, shaped like a "丫" character. Let's see how Hutou uses it... who knew, Hutou went into the water, and after a while, he tossed a fish onto the shore, and then another, and another, with continuous harvests! Wow, what a thrilling sight!

  What's wrong with him? Is this fish also bullying him?

  I moved closer to Hu Zi and took a look, oh, I understand now. It turns out that Hu Zi used the forked end of the branch to slowly approach the fish from above, then suddenly stabbed down, and the fish was pressed into the sand. Want to run? No way! The other hand reached into the sand and tightly grasped the fish, and that's it! Guaranteed to press one and catch one, success rate 100%!

  Who would have thought that this guy looks so fierce and powerful, just like Zhang Fei, and he's got skills too! It's really true that you can't judge a person by their appearance, and you can't measure the ocean with a dipper! I was wrong!

  I learned, it's really interesting, and I'm not tired of it. It's like a child getting a new toy at home. In a short while, the two of us caught 30 or 40 fish and threw them onto the snowy shore. It was a great harvest! Of course, most of them were caught by Tiger. Ling sister was busy gutting the fish and cleaning up in the water. On the other side, Autumn Brother and Autumn Spring Brother had already lit the fire and set up the tent. Tiger picked another big handful of wild vegetables from the bottom of the water, saying it's called wild Pu Liu, which tastes good with a celery flavor. It's great for stewing fish, but somehow it looks like seaweed!

  The stewed fish for dinner was indeed delicious, and Xiaoling's cooking skills have improved a lot. It seems that Tang Qiuli will be blessed with good food from now on! When the lid is opened, a pot of milky white soup emits a strong fragrance that whets the appetite. The whole fish has only one bone, and the flesh is shaped like garlic cloves, firm to the bite, and has an excellent texture. Unlike farmed fish, which loses its shape in the pot, this fish retains its original shape. The rich fish flavor combined with the refreshing aroma of wild cattail creates a truly exceptional dish. How can I describe it? This flavor should only exist in heaven, and it's the first time I've ever smelled it on earth! The wild cattail is smooth, tender, and crispy... it's strange to say that no seasonings were added, just a bit of salt, but the resulting flavor is indescribable!

  After dinner, taking advantage of the night, everyone had a wonderful hot spring bath, it was refreshing! The fatigue of several days disappeared instantly. Xiaoling also took a bath, of course, after we finished washing and drilling into the tent, but didn't dare to take a bath with her, there's nothing to say, can't afford to lose face, just had that idea, but didn't dare to act on it. Sneakily opened a gap in the tent, in the pitch black night, only saw a vague figure and the sound of splashing water, couldn't see anything, forget it.

  Suddenly, a figure wrapped in a large coat rushed into the tent. How could she not run quickly? Look at what's happening in the water! As soon as she got ashore on this freezing day, Xiaoling "plop" dove into her bed, Ah, it was almost fatal! She nearly died!

  Her long black hair was wet and scattered on her shoulders, it's unknown whether she had just taken a bath or the effect of the hot spring water. Her face was more rosy and delicate than usual, the whole person looked like a blooming lotus flower. The fragrance of her body was more intense, as soon as she got into bed, she tightly hugged him, her head deeply buried in his arms, her eyes were dazed, her breathing was gentle, her full and soft breasts were pressed against his chest, her flat abdomen was tightly attached to his, the skin on her back was smooth, when touched, you could feel the elasticity of her back muscles and the fullness of life. This girl liked being hugged by him and sleeping with him more and more.

  Such a sultry feeling, it's abnormal not to react, huh? The two of them were only separated by a thin layer of underwear. Little brother immediately stood up straight and hard as steel. Xiaoling noticed the changes in Tang Qiuli's body and chuckled, "What are you thinking about again? Don't get any ideas!" Xiaoling warned softly, her voice inexplicably gentle. Oh heavens, isn't this clearly murder? If you didn't hug me like this every night, I wouldn't have such thoughts either. Alright, control yourself, endure it. Being able to sleep with you like this every night is also a great pleasure. Actually, Tang Qiuli was also getting more and more fond of sleeping with Xiaoling like this. Every time he hugged her slender body, he felt especially sleepy and unusually secure, leaning against each other as they gradually drifted off to dreamland!

  In the morning, Tang Qiuli was awakened by the sound of rustling. He opened the tent door and saw that there were many animals drinking water by the hot spring, including yellow sheep, antelopes, and deer. They were crowded together, busy and chaotic. Tang Qiuli quickly put on his clothes, grabbed his gun, and rushed out of the tent. Before he could load the bullets, the wild animals suddenly ran away with a loud noise and disappeared into the endless forest in the blink of an eye, leaving behind only the messy hoof prints on the snowy ground and Tang Qiuli standing by the river, stunned.

  Xiao Ling woke up while he was busy putting on his clothes and saw him like that, laughing so hard her stomach hurt. From the other side of the tent came a commotion, "Foolish guy, you rushed out like this, scaring everything away! Next time be quiet and don't startle them, then you'll have a chance to catch some!" Seeing Tang Qiuli looking sulky, Xiao Ling softly comforted him. Yeah, always wandering in the mountains, how can one not get a little crazy? Thinking of this, her mood greatly improved!

  Similar beautiful scenery and interesting things have been encountered many times, making this mountain forest trip full of joy and pleasure.

  Now, when the red sun sets in the west, we have climbed to the top of the mountain. Another dusk has arrived, and looking at the fiery clouds in the western sky, relying on Tang Qiuli's rich knowledge and instinctive feeling, it is going to change tonight, there will be a violent snowstorm. Hurriedly call over Autumn Sheng brothers and let them take a look at the sky in the west. The faces of Autumn Sheng brothers also turned serious. Children in the mountain know the signs that the weather is about to change, which are painful experiences passed down from their ancestors.

  Now that Tang Qiuli's judgment has been confirmed, it is not advisable to delay, and we must immediately find a place to settle down. In such weather, we dare not pitch tents outside. A strong gust of wind could blow the tent away, and if the snow is heavy, it could bury the tent. If that happens, this team with a mission on its shoulders will be completely annihilated.

  As it happens, there is a cave on the mountain top. Although it's not very big, it's quite spacious inside and has many twists and turns. Heaven takes care of us.

  Everyone decided to take shelter from the wind and snow here, busy collecting a large amount of dry firewood into the cave, the more the better. No one knows how many days it will take for the wind and snow to stop. Keeping warm is the top priority, not enough firewood can be fatal. Take advantage of the fact that the weather has not changed yet, hurry up and act.

  Leave Xiaoling in the cave to watch things, and leave her a shotgun. In these few days, Tang Qiuli has already taught Xiaoling how to use this gun. This girl is quite clever and got the hang of it after a few tries, but unfortunately, she's not very accurate. All our family's belongings and supplies are here, so we can't afford to be careless.

  Everyone brought their guns, split up and acted separately, rushing into the forest, back and forth two or three times. A large pile of dry firewood had already been piled up in the cave, and Autumn Spring brother also chopped back several wet small trees, don't know what they were for? Anyway, it's better to have more, be prepared!

  Look at the sky, it's still early, and it will take some time to change the weather. A few people went out again. Tang Qiuli walked into the forest behind the cave, holding a wooden stick in his hand, hitting randomly without purpose. Hey, you say this guy is lucky, can't even scare them away! This time, he saw a nest of frozen wild chickens, about six or seven of them, huddled together in the nest. What a great thing, a gift from heaven, how could he not take it?! On the tree trunk over there, there were also several wind-dried monkey head mushrooms, each as big as a small rice bowl. Great, what a huge harvest! Wild chicken stew with monkey head mushroom, haha!

  Suddenly, several gunshots were heard from that direction, and Tang Qiuli's heart skipped a beat. Who had encountered danger? He quickly picked up the prey and ran towards the source of the gunfire. As he approached, he saw Autumn Sheng carrying a large yellow sheep back with a smile on his face. It turned out that Autumn Sheng had discovered the yellow sheep in a shallow mountain den and shot it down with a few bullets, an unexpected harvest. Tang Qiuli looked at the yellow sheep, feeling delighted by this stroke of luck. Autumn Quan and Mountain Tiger also returned, carrying five wild rabbits between them, also returning with a full load. It turned out that the thick snow had made it difficult for the rabbits to run quickly on the snowy ground, and the two men had shot them down with their bows and arrows. Ah, this was an unexpected surprise! Everyone had made a gain, and it wasn't small either. With these prey, even if the wind and snow continued for eight or nine days, everyone wouldn't go hungry. Every day, they could roast wild game and warm themselves by the fire, enjoying a wonderful life.

  While chatting and laughing, the prey was busy moving back to the cave. By this time, the sky had quickly darkened, the fiery clouds had turned into black clouds, which were pressing in from the northwest, heavy and gloomy. The wind grew stronger, blowing through the treetops with a loud whooshing sound. Suddenly, a violent snowstorm arrived...

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