Chapter 197

As early as the evening of this day, the sky changed. It was sunny and cloudy all day, but suddenly it was covered with dark clouds and the wind was strong. Raindrops fell on the mountains, but the rain was not heavy, but the wind was strong. Deep in the mountains, it seemed that countless beasts were wailing.

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 Qiao Anran's first weekend hike through the Wangpu Mountains with her father, mother, and sister. They planned to spend two nights in the mountains. Unfortunately, the weather was not good. The weather forecast was clear that it would be sunny, but the actual weather in the mountains was unpredictable. The wonderful experience of the family barbecue around the campfire that was originally expected was gone, and they could only hide in the tent and play cards.

However, this was still a very fresh and interesting experience for Qiao Anran and her 15-year-old sister Qiao Miaoran. They sometimes stuck their heads out of the tent to enjoy the breeze, sometimes stretched out their hands to catch the rain, and ate the simple braised beef instant noodles, boiled ham sausage 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 been promoted to manager level. Wang Tongxin herself is a junior high school math teacher. The family has a good income, the couple has a good relationship, and they attach great importance to the cultivation of their children. Qiao Yi himself is an outdoor enthusiast and often takes his children to do sports and hiking. This summer vacation, they went to XJ and hiked through the Qiongkushitai route. The two girls were very strong and walked the whole way. The difficulty of this route today is not as difficult as that of XJ. So despite the wind and rain, they were the only family in this base, but Qiao Yi still insisted on not going down the mountain. The two children were also afraid at first, but the mother and daughters' resistance was ineffective, so they had to stay. Not long after, they all adapted and felt that there was nothing 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 three-fold waterfall group hanging on it. The further down you go, the greater the drop of the waterfall. The last one is a big waterfall, 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 crashing. A dozen steps further, they could see the gray-white waterfall rushing down their feet. In front of them was the dark and open river valley.

"It's so beautiful." Wang Tongxin sighed. Her eldest daughter Qiao Miaoran took a photo with her phone in night mode and wanted to send it to her classmates, but she found that the signal was only one bar and she couldn't send it for a long time, so she gave up regretfully. Her youngest daughter Qiao Anran squatted 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, and looked back. It was pitch dark, and no one was there. He zipped up his pants and was about to walk back when he suddenly felt an extremely cold breath soaking into his neck.

Because he heard two more footsteps. This time he was sure that he was not mistaken.

He wondered if it was his wife and daughter coming over, but the direction was not right. He turned his head and saw two tall men standing in the dark forest, with their backs to the light and without 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 he got off work today, he seemed to see someone in the hiker group saying that they were chasing fugitives on a certain mountain. But he was too busy at the time and ignored the group message. As soon as he got off work, he hurriedly brought his wife and daughter here. Moreover, they did not walk into the mountain road, but took the small road he and several hikers had explored before, which 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 quietly behind him.

"You are unlucky. 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 all the way, but Li Qingyao was cautious by nature and pressed him to stop. As a result, the two of them spent more time than expected to complete 1/3 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 doctor accompanying the team, and sufficient water, dry food and first aid supplies. The two sides greeted each other and continued to go deeper.

Now, they have arrived at Wangpu Mountain. After crossing this mountain and crossing two more peaks, they will reach the station of Chenpu Team.

Li Qingyao estimated that they would arrive at 1am, and she didn't know if Chen Pu was asleep. Anyway, they would meet early tomorrow morning. She could imagine that the first thing she would see when she opened her eyes tomorrow would be that guy's face. Thinking of this, her heart felt itchy and hot, as if being 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."