"Oww... Taoist..."
Wen Zhixia groaned, feeling her calves already beginning to go weak. "W-we really have to walk up there? It's so much steeper than it looked..."
"Yep. What else were you planning to do, fly up?"
"I want to fly..."
"Even if you want to, you can't. Master said this stretch has to be walked."
The three girls no longer had the energy to think about what Chen Shi'an meant by that. They all stopped to rest for a while; there was no way they could make the climb in this state.
Lin Meng Qiu took a deep breath, trying hard to stay composed. She looked at that stinking cicada and Sister Wanyin, then at Chen Shi'an, looking as though she wanted to say something but held back.
Li Wanyin took a sip of water and rubbed her aching calves, asking softly, "Shi'an, how much longer do we have to walk...?"
"Not long. We're already past halfway. The Taoist Temple is right at the end of this stretch."
"O-only halfway...?!"
Wen Zhixia turned to ask Lin Meng Qiu, "Did you walk up last time?"
Lin Meng Qiu's eyes lit up, though her expression also held a little regret. "No... Chen Shi'an carried me up."
Li Wanyin: "???"
Wen Zhixia: "(▼皿▼#) Aaargh!"
Damn it! This climb had made me so dizzy I forgot all about that. I wanted to annoy her, but instead I gave her another chance to gloat.
Looking at them, Chen Shi'an knew this stretch really was quite a challenge for girls who did not exercise much, especially after a long drive and all the walking they had already done.
Since the Class Monitor had brought it up, Chen Shi'an set down the vegetables, chicken, and duck he was carrying, then shifted his backpack from his back