Mountain Path

Chapter 49: Mountain Road

"Screech—"

The sound of braking, accompanied by intense inertia, sent Bai Yanliang's body lurching forward violently.

Although he had not yet opened his eyes, he sensed that he must be on some kind of transport.

"Damn it, it's broken down."

A curse delivered with a heavy regional accent came from the front.

At this moment, Bai Yanliang finally regained control of his body and opened his eyes.

Li Mu, Lin Yan, Yu Hanzhou, Huang Yourong, Su Qian, Yu Sheng, and himself—everyone was sitting on this long-distance bus.

Besides them, there were other passengers as well.

"Get off! Everyone, get off!"

The short, stocky driver shouted from outside the bus.

"The bus is broken, hurry up and get out!"

"What is this? We're in the middle of nowhere, where are you expecting us to go? The sun is almost setting." A fashionably dressed young woman holding a Corgi glared at the driver in dissatisfaction.

"What the hell do you want me to do? If you can make it move, I'll leave right now!"

The people on the bus looked at the two of them arguing with varying expressions.

It seemed that everyone on this bus... was heading back to their hometowns.

"Just get off, it's not easy for anyone..." an old man advised.

Li Mu and the others exchanged glances and also stepped off the bus.

With Su Qian's help, Yu Sheng managed to get off as well, everything going relatively smoothly.

This long-distance bus had been traveling along an old mountain road. It was dusk, and the gloomy, pale sunlight shrouded the surrounding thickets, casting strange and distorted shadows on the ground.

The surroundings were eerily quiet, as if there were no living creatures around.

Before long, everyone had disembarked.

The driver counted the heads and said, "It's going to get dark soon, we can't spend the night on the mountain. Let's head forward; I remember there's a village nearby."

"What? You want me to sleep in a village?" The young woman holding her dog shrieked.

"If you want to, then sleep on the damn bus! Ask around and see if anyone will stay with you!" The short, fat driver was irritated by the young woman and roared, "If you're so high-maintenance, why the hell did you take a bus? Go take a plane!"

The woman's face turned red and then white; she clutched her dog, trembling, not daring to talk back.

In these deep mountains and old forests, with the bus broken down on a mountain road and not even a cell signal, if the fat driver really did something to her, she would be the one to suffer.

The more she thought about it, the more unsafe she felt. The trees, the mountains, the nameless insects, the dim sky, and the clawing shadows—everything seemed to have become unusual.

"So... young master, when will the bus be able to move again?" the old man who had spoken earlier asked.

"I don't know. I can't fix it alone, which is why I said we should head to the village first. We have to find a cell signal, don't we?" The fat driver said, glaring at the woman as he spoke.

"If you don't want to go, then go back and rest on the bus. If something happens, don't come crying to me. Now, let's take a vote—whoever is willing to come to the village with me, raise your hand!"

Since the driver had already put it that way, everyone looked around and raised their hands in agreement.

Moreover, in these deep mountains and old forests, the ancient trees towered into the sky, blocking out the sun. The woods looked gloomy, terrifying, and unfathomable.

This was still while it was light out; if it became pitch black, heaven knows if they would encounter something frightening. Who would dare spend the night on the bus?

As for the six of them, including Bai Yanliang, they had no other choice. If they didn't go to the village, Mist Gathering would definitely deem it as passive behavior.

What would happen then was truly anyone's guess.

The young woman holding the dog stopped talking and obediently agreed.

Including the seven of them, there were thirteen people in total on this trip.

The fat driver identified the direction and beckoned everyone to head into the dense forest.

"I only heard about that village from a brother who runs this route. I know it's somewhere around here, but I don't know the exact location. Keep your eyes peeled and help me look for it."

The driver's words made everyone feel uneasy. What if... they didn't find the village before dark? What should they do then?

The group entered the woods. The light inside was dim; the straight, tall trees blocked most of the sunlight, with only mottled, sparse rays filtering through the branches and leaves.

The rotting, damp leaves and dead branches made the ground feel treacherous, uneven and unstable, causing the women to let out occasional gasps of alarm.

Yu Sheng's wheelchair made progress even more difficult under these conditions.

"Hey, is she a friend of yours?" The fat driver stopped in his tracks and frowned.

"What's the matter?" Li Mu looked at him and replied calmly.

"She's too slow. How is this going to work? One of you carry her; leave the wheelchair here, and you can come back to get it later."

The fat driver's tone carried a strange sense of command that made everyone feel very uncomfortable.

Everyone's gaze focused on Yu Sheng, their thoughts unreadable.

At a time like this, agreeing to this meant they would have to take care of her for the duration of this mission.

If this were the real world, the men wouldn't mind showing a bit of chivalry; after all, even though she was disabled, she was exceptionally beautiful and possessed a gentle temperament.

But... this is the Mist Gathering.

Just thinking about how troublesome it would be to carry such a cumbersome burden who couldn't move on her own was enough to give anyone a headache.

Li Mu looked at Yu Sheng without shying away, yet he made no move to intervene.

Yu Hanzhou hesitated, his foot just beginning to shift forward, when he was suddenly pulled back gently by a hand from behind.

He turned his head slightly to see Su Qian giving a faint shake of her head.

Huang Yourong didn't even glance at Yu Sheng; he was frowning, seemingly lost in thought.

Yu Sheng's gaze swept over the group, but she said nothing.

She lowered her head and sat quietly in her wheelchair.

The dim sunset filtered through the gaps in the leaves and spilled onto her, making her look exceptionally beautiful, yet also very much like... a useless object abandoned in the mountain forest.

"I'll carry you, are you willing?"

At that moment, a voice that still sounded somewhat unfamiliar suddenly came from behind her.

Yu Sheng turned her head and realized it was Bai Yanliang, who had been walking at the very back.

She looked at him, and the man looked back at her with a blank expression, not even offering a polite smile.

But... she was momentarily dazed, and after a brief pause, she nodded and said softly, "I'll have to trouble you."

Watching Bai Yanliang crouch down and lift Yu Sheng onto his back without any sign of strain, Li Mu and the others wore varied expressions, lost in thought.

Although there were strange things about him, he was still just a greenhorn who hadn't yet lost his naivety.

Bai Yanliang was unaware of their assessment of him. He carried Yu Sheng as he walked at the back of the group, while Yu Sheng tilted her head slightly, watching his profile, lost in her own thoughts.

"I have a question."

Bai Yanliang suddenly said in a low voice.

At this volume, Yu Sheng quickly realized he was speaking to her alone.

"What is it?"

Bai Yanliang slowed his pace slightly and asked, "I want to know... what are you hiding in the sleeve of your right hand?"

After these words, Bai Yanliang clearly felt Yu Sheng's body stiffen, followed by a long silence.

"Forget it, it was just curiosity." Bai Yanliang did not press the matter, quickly changing the subject as he caught up with the others.

"Hey! Is that the village you were talking about?"

The middle-aged man's voice rang out with a hint of surprise.

Everyone followed the direction of his finger to see a cluster of low buildings on the opposite hillside, their shapes blurred by the evening mist. Amidst the hazy, interlocking mountain forest, there seemed to be shadowy human figures moving within the fog, only... this pale mist looked quite unsettling, like a layer of... dead skin.