The Empress and Her Servants (8)
At this moment, Qin Man said, "I believe Jian Tanxi. Tanxi, after I leave, please help me take Xiaochen away."
Jian Tanxi nodded: "That's for sure, Sister Qin Man, don't worry."
Then, Qin Man walked out without hesitation.
Although her hands were wrapped in vines and her legs were weak, the cane supported her firmly.
Even if she slips, her crutches can bring her back up.
This cane was like a ibex that was extremely good at climbing, carrying Qin Man steadily forward.
At first, everyone was very worried, but after Qin Man walked forward for more than ten meters, everyone realized that it was impossible for Qin Man to fall.
Soon, Qin Man's figure disappeared into the clouds.
At this point, Cassia asked, "That cane is amazing, will it come back by itself?"
Jian Tanxi said, "The cane won't come back by itself. However, I have another way."
She looked out and felt that there weren't many footholds on the cliff, and those that were there weren't very stable. If she walked directly out, she would have a hard time holding on and would likely fall.
So Jian Tanxi walked over to Zhong Xiaoying and asked, "Sister Zhong, I need your help now. Can you squat down?"
Zhong Xiaoying squatted down. At that moment, the vines above her head were just at Jian Tanxi's waist.
Jian Tanxi leaned her waist against the vines on Zhong Xiaoying's head.
Then, Jian Tanxi activated her superpower: "Superpower activated—script modification. 'The vines on Zhong Xiaoying's head are close to Jian Tanxi's waist.' Change the word 'close' to 'entwined,' 'The vines on Zhong Xiaoying's head are tightly wrapped around Jian Tanxi's waist.'"
As soon as she finished speaking, several vines sprouted from Zhong Xiaoying's head and wrapped around Jian Tanxi's waist.
Jian Tanxi said, "Sister Zhong, I need to go out now. I'll connect you with the vines. Hold onto the pillar next to you and don't let me pull you out. That way, we'll both be safe."
Zhong Xiaoying nodded: "Okay. But you won't be able to go very far this way."
“I don’t need to go very far, I just need to step onto the cliff.”
Jian Tanxi asked Cassia for a Fearless Pill. After taking it, she felt no longer afraid and stepped out.
She found two depressions and placed both feet in them. Her hands gripped two small stones on the cliff edge.
The pebbles and dents were too small to support Jian Tanxi, an adult, for long.
However, Jian Tanxi doesn't need to stay for too long.
She saw the ibex still climbing the cliff, more than 20 meters away from her.
Then, Jian Tanxi activated her superpower: "Superpower activated—Life Link. I want to link my life with that ibex in front of me."
After speaking, Jian Tanxi remained motionless, staring intently at the argali sheep.
The argali sheep also looked towards Jian Tanxi. Although it wasn't very intelligent, it instinctively sensed that its life seemed to be tied to that of the human in front of it. If that human died, it would die too.
It doesn't understand the principle behind it, but it knows it must be true.
However, the human seemed to be very bad at walking on cliffs and could fall off at any moment.
The ibex decided to find a way to save the human.
So the ibex climbed upwards and entered the clouds.
Not long after, the ibex came down, carrying a vine in its mouth, and flung it toward Jian Tanxi.
Jian Tanxi grabbed the vine and immediately returned to the palace.
The ibex found it strange. It had thought the human wanted to climb, so it had found her a very sturdy vine, but the human had gone back.
It didn't understand, so it could only observe from the sidelines.
Jian Tanxi pulled on the vines that the argali had found and showed them to the players, saying, "This cliff is definitely not isolated; it's part of a mountain. If we can climb up the cliff to the top and then walk across from there, it will be much safer."
I just used my 'Life Link' ability on a ibex, and it was afraid I'd die, so it found me this vine to hold onto. I reckon we can climb to the top of the mountain by following this vine. Let's both climb up there.”
Cassia said, "Is there no other protective gear, just this vine? Among us, only you, Professor Pan, Zhong Xiaoying, and Qu Chen can move freely, but Qu Chen definitely can't climb the cliff and needs someone to lead him. Leading Qu Chen is relatively easy, but Ouyang Ling, Xu Yunhong, and I are all adults. Leading the three of us up the mountain is too difficult. I don't think it's possible to succeed."
So, you might as well just leave me behind.
Xu Yunhong stammered, "I...I don't want to die...but if it will implicate others, then I choose to stay."
Jian Tanxi said, "Even if we climb on our own, there's still a chance we'll die. Now that we've come this far, of course we should act together."
Xu Yunhong said, "But Ouyang Ling and I are both covered in vines and are quite large, so it will be difficult for you to carry us. Only if the vines disappear can we be tied to you."
Professor Pan said, "Perhaps there is a way."
Then, Professor Pan asked Zhong Xiaoying, "You have the superpower of transplanting flowers and grafting trees? How many more times can you use it?"
Zhong Xiaoying: "Three times. However, the restraint can only be moved from one living person to another, not from an object. Moreover, a person can only accept one restraint, and cannot accept multiple restraints at the same time."
Professor Pan: "Okay, then let's move all the vines onto me."
"ah?"
Zhong Xiaoying almost thought Professor Pan was going to sacrifice himself, but unexpectedly Professor Pan activated his "Four Transformations in One Body" ability, creating three identical clones.
Now, there are four Professor Pans.
Professor Pan's true form stepped aside and said to Zhong Xiaoying, "Transfer all the vines from everyone to my three clones. Even if the clones die, it won't affect me."
Zhong Xiaoying quickly did as instructed.
Using her supernatural ability to transfer the vines from Ouyang Ling and Xu Yunhong to Professor Pan's clone, she also transferred the vines from her head to Professor Pan's last clone.
Now, none of the players have the man-eating vines on them.
Professor Pan said, "We still need sturdier ropes. I did bring some ropes from the palace, but I'm not sure how sturdy they are."
Xu Yunhong said, "I have a prop—a gold thread rope, used to tie people or objects. It's very secure and won't fall off. Moreover, it can be disassembled into several pieces for use. It's in my bag; you can take it out, I don't have the strength to carry it."
Jian Tanxi took a golden rope out of Xu Yunhong's bag and, following Xu Yunhong's instructions, tore the rope into several pieces.
With this rope, they can tie their teammates to their bodies while climbing mountains.
There were four people who needed to be tied up: Xu Yunhong, Cassia, and Ouyang Ling, who played the "Empress," and a child named Qu Chen.
However, only Jian Tanxi, Zhong Xiaoying, and Professor Pan are capable of carrying people on their backs.
Zhong Xiaoying said she had the best physical strength and volunteered to carry two people.
She tied Qu Chen to her front and Cassia to her back.
Jian Tanxi tied Xu Yunhong behind her back, while Professor Pan tied Ouyang Ling behind his back.
Time was of the essence, so everyone decided to climb together.
After everyone took the Fearless Pill, fitness instructor Zhong Xiaoying took the lead, grabbing onto the vines hanging down from the mountain and climbing up.
Jian Tanxi followed closely behind, carrying Zhong Xiaoying on her back as they climbed up.
Professor Pan was the last to emerge, below Jian Tanxi.
With the thick vine as a handhold, they only needed to alternately step on it with both feet to gradually climb up.
Qu Chen was tied up in front of Zhong Xiaoying. He thought they were playing a game and laughed happily.
Hearing Qu Chen's laughter, everyone felt less tense and began to become more optimistic.
The argali sheep was still standing nearby, watching Jian Tanxi nervously. It knew its life was tied to Jian Tanxi's and was terrified that something might happen to her.
Fortunately, Jian Tanxi climbed steadily upwards, and the argali sheep were no longer so worried.
Zhong Xiaoying, carrying two people on her back, was exhausted and hovered in mid-air. She wanted to keep pushing, but perhaps she was too tired, or perhaps she had used up all her breakfast energy, she couldn't continue climbing.
At this moment, Qu Chen, who was standing in front of her, suddenly said anxiously, "Up...up..."
Qu Chen thought he was playing a game where someone carried him up. Seeing that Zhong Xiaoying had stopped, Qu Chen still wanted to keep going up, and in his haste, he actually said the word "up".
And the word he said also helped Zhong Xiaoying.
Zhong Xiaoying didn't know where the strength came from, but she continued to climb up, and she no longer felt weak.
About twenty minutes later, everyone reached the top of the mountain.
The mountaintop was relatively flat, so everyone felt relieved.
After climbing up, everyone realized that the spot they had just climbed was not far from the summit; it was just that the clouds and mist had obscured it, making them think the summit was still far away.
Based on this, the section of the cliff that connects to the palace should be the part near the mountaintop.
After a short rest, everyone will continue on their way.
Jian Tanxi is in good health because she uses the "super strong stomach and intestines" ability, so she can eat one meal and not feel hungry for a month.
Zhong Xiaoying and Professor Pan were exhausted and in dire need of food.
There wasn't much to eat around here, so Jian Tanxi first put Xu Yunhong down from her back, then picked up some fruit and mushrooms for Professor Pan and the others to eat.
However, this is still not enough.
Zhong Xiaoying said, "There are some wild grasses here, some of which are edible, but I can't tell them apart."
Jian Tanxi remembered that she had a prop—a herb identifier, which could identify various herbs.
So she used a herb identifier to identify the nearby grasses and found some that could be eaten raw, which she gave to Zhong Xiaoying and Professor Pan.
This time, they were all almost full and could continue their journey.
After walking for a while, they finally saw Qin Man on the hillside ahead.
Qin Man sat to one side, her cane beside her.
Jian Tanxi put away the Lost One's cane and then hugged Qin Man.
Qin Man burst into tears of joy: "That's wonderful, everyone is safe and sound... How did you all come from the mountaintop?"
Jian Tanxi then recounted what had just happened.
Now, only Qin Man is entangled in vines, but there's nothing that can be done. Zhong Xiaoying's "transplanting" ability has run out of uses.
At this moment, referee Aaron reappeared: "It's quite surprising that you all passed the first challenge. However, this second challenge is very difficult. Jian Tanxi, Pan Xian, Qu Chen, Zhong Xiaoying, are you sure you want to bring your four teammates with mobility issues through this challenge?"
The others still answered "yes." Qu Chen didn't reply, assuming he agreed.
The referee announced, "Everyone, proceed with the challenge. The second challenge is now in hard mode. Challenge 2 – Crocodile Pool, starting now."
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