The tallest mountain Qi Gu had ever climbed was Floating Mist Mountain, but next to Qingji Mountain, Floating Mist Mountain was a mere little brother. It simply couldn't compare.
Besides, it had been several years since he'd last climbed even Floating Mist Mountain.
So he soon found that, little by little, all the other guests had moved ahead of him. Even the frail-looking young women on the crew were walking faster than he was.
But that made sense. Their line of work naturally required stamina, or how could they keep up with the filming schedule?
Thinking back over his own past year, he'd either been working part-time at a milk tea shop and scoring free milk tea on the side, lying among a "pile of corpses" playing dead, or writing mini programs for people. In short, not one of his part-time jobs required him to move around much. It would have been a miracle if he had any stamina.
Fortunately, he still had Lin Hanzhi to cling to for survival.
The two useless men trailed at the very back of the group the whole way.
Considering Lin Hanzhi's frail health, Qi Gu had even prepared a Nine-Turn Great Return Pill in his gourd, figuring he could come to the rescue if the man passed out.
But Lin Hanzhi never gave Qi Gu a chance to step in. Though he looked utterly exhausted and was breathing hard, he kept pushing forward. His steps were even a little quicker than Qi Gu's, with an inexplicable composure, as though he still had energy to spare.
Qi Gu panted. "You-you're pretty good."
"I'm-managing, but I'm about at my limit too."
"Give me a hand here-"
"Sure."
The cameraman following them: "..."
These two young men looked perfectly presentable, yet they had less stamina than he did, and he was in his forties or fifties.
Wouldn't their future wives complain about them endlessly?
[This suddenly cracked me up hahahaha]
[One's a slacker and the other's frail. They really are a perfect match.]
[Okay, okay, you're both so bad neither of you gets to talk.]
[They actually fulfilled that promise you made with your friend before every middle and high school PE running test-we'll just walk slowly at the back, and neither of us sprints.]
[The comment above is killing me.]
The route uphill chosen by the production team was relatively gentle, but it was still a mountain path. Inevitably, there were stretches where they had to use both hands and feet to climb.
Around a bend lay just such a narrow flight of steps, hewn upward at an almost vertical ninety-degree angle.
Staring at the steps, Qi Gu took a deep breath and even began regretting joining this variety show.
Was it too late to back out now?
As though reading his mind, Lin Hanzhi reminded him coolly, "The penalty for breach of contract is twice your appearance fee."
Qi Gu said, "...I'll climb. I'm climbing right now."
The two useless men started up the steps one after the other, holding powerful flashlights. Qi Gu shone his flashlight ahead and discovered that the fastest climbers had already reached the very top, where they were helping pull up the others who were struggling.
After mechanically, numbly lifting his legs who knew how many times, Qi Gu finally saw a light shining down from the end of the steps. It came from the headlamp Mu Xingchen wore as he stood at the top, helping pull people up the mountain.
"Master, let me pull you up!" Mu Xingchen grabbed Qi Gu's hand and hauled him over the final step, which was a full sixty centimeters high.
Then Mu Xingchen turned back and pulled up Lin Hanzhi and the cameraman behind Qi Gu.
Once the cameraman reached the top, he was just about to thank Mu Xingchen when he saw him walk back to the towering, precipitous steps.
"Want to admire the full view of the steps?" the cameraman asked in puzzlement.
Then he saw Mu Xingchen reach into empty air, making a gesture as though to pull someone up.
The cameraman initially thought Mu Xingchen had helped so many people up that the motion had become automatic. He was smiling and about to speak when, in the next instant, the smile vanished from his lips-Mu Xingchen seemed to be yanked hard by something. His entire body lost its balance, and he pitched headfirst toward the uneven stone steps.
[!!!!]
[What happened? My baby looked like he was standing perfectly steadily!]
[It looked like something we couldn't see clearly tugged him and made him lose his balance?]
[And there's no one left behind him. The cameraman was the last one, so why did Mu Xingchen reach out to help someone else up...]
[So what did he see?]
[I can't bear to keep watching, aaaaah... Falling from that high up, even if he survives, he won't have much of a life left, will he?]
[I hope Qi Gu's sachet can come in handy.]
[That sachet can drive away ghosts and monsters, but it can't form a protective barrier, can it?]
Comments flooded the screen. Some of Mu Xingchen's more timid female fans had already covered their eyes, only daring to peek through their fingers.
Almost all of them were praying silently, hoping Mu Xingchen would be safe!
Mu Xingchen hadn't expected to be pulled down the mountain either. He squeezed his eyes shut, his heart pounding wildly in his chest as though it might leap out of his throat at any moment.
One second, two seconds...
Yet the anticipated pain never reached his body. He opened his eyes in bewilderment and discovered that a branch jutting out near the top of the steps had stopped him from tumbling down.
At the same time, he distinctly sensed the sachet hanging from his backpack zipper light up, giving off a clear, pure glow.
-Master's sachet had saved him!
Before Mu Xingchen could rejoice, he felt another strange force behind him, dragging him backward as though it wouldn't stop until it killed him.
Mu Xingchen tried to resist, but that force was too strong to be human...
As he was dragged along, his heart slowly sank, and he grew more and more desperate.
Just then, Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi jumped down the steps and each grabbed one of his arms. The instant the spiritual light in Qi Gu's hand struck that mass of darkness, Mu Xingchen felt the force pulling him from behind abruptly disappear. He lurched forward, about to knock over those two men with their useless stamina, Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi, after which the three of them would probably tumble off the cliff together like a ball...
Mu Xingchen was wracked with guilt and regret, only to discover that what he'd expected never happened. Despite his thin, sickly appearance, Lin Hanzhi held his arm firmly and pulled him upright.
He even tugged Mu Xingchen a little closer to himself, as though worried he might fall on Qi Gu and hurt him.
"Stand steady." Lin Hanzhi's voice was icy. Under the silvery moonlight, his peach-blossom eyes looked clear and cold, his gaze resting on the darkness behind Mu Xingchen, so dense it seemed capable of swallowing any light.
Before you continue