069 Do Not Drink Too Much Water at Once While Climbing Mountains

The thicket on the slopes of Ao Bei Mountain was far more daunting than Chen Juanjuan had imagined. Even though she was dressed in sportswear meant to protect her, her clothes were still constantly snagged by the surrounding shrubs. She had to stop frequently, using her slender fingers to disentangle those troublesome branches.

Sometimes, she even encountered vexing brambles. These were the worst—one careless brush against exposed skin would leave a long, bleeding gash that stung terribly!

Gritting her teeth, Chen Juanjuan looked down at her almost-new sportswear—she had only worn it a few times before—and felt a pang of regret.

With one hand, she grabbed the main stem of a shrub; with the other, she tugged at a branch clinging to her sleeve. “Hmph! Serves you right for blocking my way!”

She yanked the branch loose and continued forward.

There was no path here; whatever route existed had been hacked out with difficulty by Chen Anquan ahead of her, forcing his way through the undergrowth. Even so, as she followed him, Juanjuan’s clothes were still frequently scratched by the brambles.

But that wasn’t the most annoying thing. The worst was when barbed brambles became entangled in her hair—those were truly a torment. Not only were they impossible to tear loose, but any movement of her head brought a pain that was hard to describe.

Fortunately, Chen Juanjuan was a country girl. Though this was her first time climbing Ao Bei Mountain, the fact that she had tied her hair up in a high ponytail showed she had some experience with such hikes.

All the way, Chen Anquan swung his sickle, hacking away at the undergrowth. Whenever he spotted a patch of wild medicinal herbs, he set down his two large baskets and began to dig.

He bent low, a small hoe in hand, carefully working the soil beside a medicinal plant.

Juanjuan found a thick patch of grass and sat down, folding her long legs and resting her arms on her knees. She craned her neck to watch Chen Anquan dig for herbs not far away.

“I thought digging for herbs would be fun, but it’s incredibly boring!” she muttered, puffing out her cheeks and withdrawing her gaze in boredom.

Watching Anquan dig up roots was less interesting than playing with her phone.

She took out her phone and unlocked the screen, only to be surprised—there was no signal in the upper right corner.

“No signal? Seriously?”

Resigned, she put her phone away, let her arms drop to the grass, and pushed herself up.

At that moment, her backpack felt heavy and unnecessary—she really was carrying too much.

She looked toward Chen Anquan again and saw him raise a black lump from the ground with his hoe.

She didn’t recognize the herb, but the idea that something dug from the earth could fetch a good price intrigued her. “Anquan, what kind of medicine did you just dig up?”

Since that awkward moment with Juanjuan earlier, Anquan had been busy forging a path and searching for herbs. This was the first time she’d started a conversation with him. He weighed the black root in his hand—it easily weighed a third of a pound—and, satisfied, tossed it in her direction.

Juanjuan was startled, then quickly raised her hands and caught the dark root.

It was nearly the size of a fist, like a tangled mass of plant roots, surrounded by dense golden fuzz.

She was curious and stroked the golden fuzz with her thumb. “This thing looks just like Pikachu.”

Pikachu... Long ears, a long tail, a plump, oval-bodied electric mouse—how could that resemble a dog’s spine?

“Doesn’t it?” she asked.

“Not at all! This is dog’s spine root; it looks like that.” Anquan pointed to the pit bull lying behind her.

The pit bull looked bewildered, staring at the root. It didn’t understand what Anquan meant—but it was sure it had something to do with itself.

“This thing is called dog’s spine root? What a strange name!” Juanjuan stroked the golden fuzz again, then tossed it back to Anquan.

Without warning, she hurled it like a grenade, as if hoping it would explode and take him out.

Startled by her sudden force, Anquan was quick enough to catch the root before it hit his forehead. “Careful! That’s worth a lot of money!”

“Hmph!” Juanjuan rolled her eyes, feeling more bored than ever.

Watching Anquan immersed in his foraging, she found herself utterly uninterested in those roots. So much for a hiking trip—she’d become just a sidekick.

She flopped back onto the grass, took off her backpack, unzipped it, and pulled out a bottle of water, gulping it down.

Anquan didn’t forget to remind her, “Juanjuan, don’t drink too much at once, or you’ll need to pee.”

“Huh?” His words caught her off guard, and she nearly spat out her mouthful of water. “Mind your own business!”

Anquan wasn’t kidding. When he hiked up mountains to collect herbs, he could drink as much water as he liked—there was always nature’s fertilizer. But for Juanjuan, it was different. She surely wouldn’t—

Ahem, Anquan dismissed the thought and continued forward. “Juanjuan, Doggo, both of you stick close. If a wild boar shows up, you won’t be able to handle it.”

The mention of wild boars made Juanjuan nervous. She hurriedly capped her bottle and waved after him. “Don’t go, wait for me!”

Anquan didn’t slow down for her, and soon disappeared from sight.

In reality, he was still quite close, but the vegetation was so dense that even ten meters apart, they couldn’t see each other.

He stood still, quietly watching Juanjuan’s faint silhouette.

“Serves you right for not being careful—let this be a lesson!”

The pit bull had already gotten up, staring in confusion at the spot where Anquan had vanished, unsure why he was keeping such a distance from Juanjuan. Baffled, it turned its gaze to its mistress.

Juanjuan stood up, only to realize Anquan was gone. “Chen Anquan!”

He heard her call, but didn’t hurry to reveal himself—he wanted to see how she would react to being left behind.

“Let’s go!” she said, turning and setting off in the opposite direction.

The pit bull hesitated, then decided to follow her.

After a few steps, Juanjuan stopped. She’d spotted, quite unintentionally, a faint movement in the dense woods ahead—something was rustling through the undergrowth.

The pit bull sensed it at once. Its whole body tensed, jaws parted, eyes fixed on the movement, and it barked sharply: “Woof! Woof! Woof!”

Clearly, something alive was ahead.

But what was it? Juanjuan couldn’t tell, nor could the pit bull.

“Doggo, should we go find Chen Anquan?” she wavered.

She remembered how, just yesterday, Anquan had risked himself to rescue her, sneaking up behind the criminal, knowing full well the man held a dangerous, sharp sickle—and still, he’d acted without hesitation.

He’d even knocked out the former county security champion with a single kick!

Now, Anquan was her main source of reassurance. She spun around and ran back the way she’d come.

The pit bull, still alert to the movements ahead, stayed behind to cover her retreat.

It was a loyal dog—no matter what danger lurked ahead, it was determined to let its mistress escape first.

Rustling, crackling—the sounds behind Juanjuan grew louder, branches snapping underfoot.

Her heart clenched as if a rope was tightening around her neck, yanking her back and making her unbearably anxious.

Woof! Woof! Woof!