Chapter 82
As early as that evening, the weather changed. The sky was sunny and cloudy all day, but suddenly it became overcast and the wind blew hard. Raindrops fell in the mountains, the rain was not heavy, but the wind was strong. Deep in the mountains, it seemed as if countless beasts were howling in pain.
If someone has never camped in the mountains for the night, they would feel both excited and scared when encountering this scene.
This is the case with 8-year-old Qiao Anran.
She is in the second grade of elementary school this year. Her favorite foods are ice cream and grilled chicken wings, and her favorite toy is the rag doll she is holding in her hand, which she takes wherever she goes.
This was the first time that Qiao Anran followed her father, mother and sister on a weekend hike through the Wangpu Mountains, planning to spend two nights in the mountains. Unfortunately, the weather was not good. The weather forecast clearly said it would be sunny, but the actual weather in the mountains was unpredictable. The wonderful experience of having a barbecue around the campfire with the whole family that I had been looking forward to was gone, and we could only hide in the tent and play cards.
However, this is still a very fresh and interesting experience for Qiao Anran and her 15-year-old sister Qiao Miaoran. Sometimes they stuck their heads out of the tent to enjoy the breeze, sometimes they stretched out their hands to catch the rain, and they ate the simple braised beef, instant noodles, boiled ham and eggs with gusto.
Their father Qiao Yi said, "See, I said we should persevere. If we did as you said and turned back home when it rained a little, the children would just learn to give up halfway. How could they have such a unique and unforgettable experience? And the rain was not heavy."
His wife Wang Tongxin replied: "Yes, yes, you are right. Didn't I see that the wind was too strong before? And there is no one here except us. It's scary. If it rains heavily in the middle of the night or we encounter any danger, no one will come to save us."
"Nonsense, this is a camping site, how can it be dangerous? Besides, the terrain is high, and I bought the best waterproof and windproof tent, so I am not afraid of heavy rain. I originally agreed with the children that we would hike for two days and that they should persevere no matter what difficulties they encounter. Otherwise, when they encounter difficulties in the future, they will just think of giving up."
"You're exaggerating everything. I can't argue with you. Are there any wild animals here? Wolves, bears, or something like that?"
Qiao Yi burst out laughing: "It's not easy to encounter wild animals nowadays. If there were any, they would have been beaten by someone long ago. Don't worry, I have crossed this route twice with my friends. It's very safe and I have never heard of wild animals. The wild animals hide deeper in the mountains."
Wang Tongxin felt relieved.
In their family, Qiao Yi works in a large Internet company and has already reached the manager level. Wang Tongxin herself is a junior high school mathematics teacher. The family has a good income, the couple has a good relationship, and they attach great importance to the upbringing of their children. Qiao Yi himself is an outdoor enthusiast and often takes his children to do sports and hiking. This summer they went to XJ and hiked across the Qiongkushitai route. The two girls were very strong and made it through the whole process. The difficulty of this route today is not as good as XJ's. So despite the wind and rain, and the fact that they were the only family members at the base, Qiao Yi still insisted on not going down the mountain. The two children were also scared at first, but the resistance of the mother and her two daughters was futile, so they had no choice but to stay. After a while, we got used to it and didn't feel there was anything to be afraid of.
After a while, the rain stopped and the wind died down.
Qiao Yi was even more proud. He opened the tent and walked out, breathing the fresh air after the rain, and said, "Come out and get some fresh air. The whole mountain is ours."
The mother and her two daughters also came out of the tent and shivered from the cold air.
This mountain is called Wangpu Mountain. On the other side of the mountain is a steep cliff with a triple waterfall hanging on it. The further down you go, the greater the drop of the waterfall. The last waterfall is more than 80 meters wide and 120 meters high. If it weren't for the steep mountains and difficult transportation, it would have been developed into a popular tourist attraction long ago.
Their tent was set up on a large patch of grass near the highest part of the waterfall, and they could clearly hear the sound of the waterfall falling. Walk a dozen steps further and you can see the gray-white waterfall flowing at your feet. Ahead is a dark and open valley.
"It's so beautiful." Wang Tongxin sighed. Her eldest daughter Qiao Miaoran used her mobile phone in night mode to take a photo. She wanted to send it to her classmates, but found that there was only one bar of signal. She couldn't send it out for a long time and had to give up regretfully. The youngest daughter, Qiao Anran, was squatting by the waterfall picking up stones while holding her best friend, a rag doll.
"Be careful," Wang Tongxin shouted, "Don't get too close to the water."
Qiao Yi felt that this evening was very comfortable. He stood for a while, then felt the urge to pee, so he walked further into the woods nearby, to a place where they could not see him, and started to pee towards a tree.
“Crack.”
I heard a faint sound like twigs or dead leaves being crushed, and it happened very close to me.
Qiao Yi was stunned for a moment, then looked back. It was pitch dark and there was no one there.
He zipped up his pants and was about to walk back when he suddenly felt an extremely cold breath seeping into his neck.
Because he heard two more footsteps. This time he was sure that he had heard it correctly.
He wondered if it was his wife and daughter coming over, but the direction didn't seem right. He turned his head and looked. In the dark forest, he saw two tall men standing there, with their backs to the light and not saying a word.
Qiao Yi was almost scared to death and cursed "fuck".
He calmed himself down and said, "Hey guys, are you here to camp too? Why are you standing here without saying anything?" He took a step toward the outside of the woods.
One of the men smiled and replied, "Yes, we are also camping nearby. Is that your wife and children over there? Are you the only family coming here?"
Qiao Yi answered vaguely: "No, there are two other friends who are also camping nearby. We will have a barbecue together with more than a dozen people later. Want to join us? I brought two boxes of beer."
His voice was a little shaky.
Qiao Yi suddenly remembered that before getting off work today, he seemed to see someone in the hiking group say something like, "They were chasing the fugitive on a certain mountain." But he was too busy at the time and simply ignored the group message. As soon as he got off work, he hurried over with his wife and daughter. Moreover, they did not take the main mountain road, but took the small path that he and several fellow hikers had explored before. The path was more remote, more convenient, shorter, and had better scenery.
Qiao Yi's throat felt a little dry, so he turned around and strode out of the woods.
The man who had just spoken suddenly stood in front of him, blocking his way. Another one also came up behind him silently.
"Your luck is not very good. But your two daughters are very cute."
——
The mountain road was difficult to travel at night and it was drizzling. Xia Yongze wanted to rush forward, but Li Qingyao, being cautious by nature, held him back. As a result, the two of them took longer than expected to complete only one-third of the journey.
40 minutes ago, at the foot of the next mountain, they passed a police supply point where there were police officers on duty, a team doctor, and plenty of water, dry food and first aid supplies. The two sides greeted each other and continued to go deeper.
Now, they have arrived at Mount Lookout. After crossing this mountain and passing through two more peaks, you will reach the Chen Pu team’s base.
Li Qingyao estimated that they would not arrive until 1 a.m., and he didn't know whether Chen Pu was asleep or not. Anyway, we can meet early tomorrow morning. She could imagine that when she opened her eyes tomorrow, the first thing she would see would probably be that guy's face. Thinking of this, her heart felt itchy and hot, as if it was constantly brushed by a light feather.
The roar of water was endless, completely covering up all other sounds in the forest.
"Are we on the right track?" Xia Yongze asked hesitantly.
"We're not in the wrong place." Li Qingyao said unhappily, "I'm not you, please call me a compass. We climbed to the top, and the map showed there was a camping base. A place like this that can be used as a base for hikers must have a road leading down to the opposite mountain. And the route given by the headquarters before was also in this direction."
"That makes sense! You're amazing. You can even deduce this."
"…Just common sense, little bear."
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