Chapter 57

Since the official start of autumn, the area around the Zhen River region has been continuously raining. Not only has it damaged the crops, but it has also washed away many mountain roads, almost cutting off all contact with the outside world.

Xia Tianqi, carrying a heavy backpack and wearing rain boots that reach his knees, was almost wrapped up like a dumpling in his dark green raincoat.

Although they had already learned about the Zhen River region and knew that reaching Hu Lu Village would be difficult, they still underestimated the challenges of this journey.

Due to the continuous heavy rain, the only railway leading to the Zhen River region was also washed away. They had no choice but to take a car on a road that was far from smooth.

Although the two of them had the means to hire an entire car, and there was no loss in terms of time to reach the Zhen River region, the bumpy ride made them both feel extremely nauseous. Leng Yue was fine, except for his pale face, he just kept looking out the window without saying a word. However, Xia Tianqi suffered a lot. He was already prone to car sickness, and the constant stops and bumps made him vomit from the moment he got in the car until he got out, even to the point of vomiting bile.

Despite the torture of the journey to the Zhen River region, their devilish trip was far from over. The journey from the Zhen River region to Hu Lu Village could only be completed on foot.

The already difficult mountain paths, after being battered by continuous rain, became even more treacherous, almost to the point of being impassable. This forced them to change into rain boots and wade through the mud and water.

They walked for almost two full days.

"Once I get to that damn Hu Lu Village, I'm going to find the most comfortable bed and sleep. I'm really about to die from exhaustion...!"

Xia Tianqi hunched over, walking listlessly forward, while Leng Yue, who was ahead of him, stood tall and straight. Unlike Xia Tianqi, who was burdened with a large backpack, Leng Yue only wore a black raincoat, with one hand in his pocket, looking as if he were taking a leisurely stroll, forming a stark contrast to Xia Tianqi's laborious appearance.

"The more you complain about being tired, the more tired you will become. Your willpower is far greater than your physical strength. Think about Hu Lu Village being just ahead, and your legs will gain strength."

Leng Yue turned around and said this to Xia Tianqi, who was behind him. In fact, over the past two days, he had heard too many similar complaints from Xia Tianqi, and he was indeed getting tired of it.

"Are you tired of hearing it?"

Seeing that Leng Yue had not spoken for a long time and then said this, Xia Tianqi's anger flared up, and he pointed at Leng Yue and shouted:

"Am I not tired because of you, you scumbag? You talk about willpower being greater than physical strength, but why don't you carry the luggage yourself!"

"I haven't fully recovered from my injury, so I shouldn't carry heavy loads."

Leng Yue, feeling somewhat guilty, avoided looking at Xia Tianqi and quickened his pace.

"Shouldn't carry heavy loads? Why don't you just die? When I was so dizzy from vomiting that I could barely walk, you didn't say any of this, you scumbag..."

Leng Yue didn't want to hear Xia Tianqi's voice anymore, so he soon became just a small black dot in Xia Tianqi's line of sight.

"Damn, I'm putting up with you for now, but wait until I become a powerful ghost hunter!"

Xia Tianqi secretly vowed that he would surpass Leng Yue in his ability to fight ghosts, so he could show off in front of Leng Yue without restraint. To him, this ability was like a marriage, where the one who earns more has the final say.

Thinking about it, if he were to work with someone else in the future and his abilities were inferior, he would definitely not be respected and would only be a subordinate, serving tea and water, hiding behind the other person for protection, and hoping that the other person was a good person and wouldn't use him as cannon fodder.

The more he thought about it, the more Xia Tianqi felt uneasy, because compared to someone who might use him as cannon fodder in the future, Leng Yue, despite being a scumbag sometimes, was at least a good person.

"Good people get good rewards, good people live forever, good people wait for me...!"

Xia Tianqi stopped complaining about being tired and hurriedly called out to Leng Yue, who was ahead of him.

After catching up with Leng Yue, the two of them found a stone and sat down to rest for a while. According to the geographical location on the honor chart, they were already very close to Hu Lu Village, and it would take them about an hour to reach it.

"I'll say this one last time, and I hope you listen to me one last time. You must absolutely control your 'maternal love.' Don't try to help everyone or save everyone, okay?"

Before getting up to continue their journey, Xia Tianqi expressed his concerns again, but Leng Yue responded with silence.

"It's already past 9 PM. For such a remote village, most of the villagers are probably already asleep. Let's hurry up."

Leng Yue deliberately changed the subject, put his raincoat hood back on, and was about to continue walking.

Xia Tianqi didn't bother to argue with Leng Yue's evasive attitude. He had already made up his mind that if Leng Yue put himself in danger again, he would absolutely not help him this time, as he had already warned him multiple times.

It wasn't until around 10 PM that Xia Tianqi and Leng Yue finally reached their destination—Hu Lu Village.

"Finally, we've reached this godforsaken place!"

Xia Tianqi checked the time and looked into the village, which was pitch black and shrouded in a misty rain.

"Leng Yue, what do we do next? Do we rob and plunder, or break in?"

"Can't you just knock and ask for shelter? And stop calling me in such a disgusting way."

Leng Yue clearly didn't like Xia Tianqi calling him "Leng Yue," so he emphasized this point.

"Don't want me to call you Leng Yue? How about I call you Leng Leng? Or Leng Scumbag? Don't you think that name sounds better?"

Xia Tianqi took the opportunity to fire a few verbal shots at Leng Yue.

Leng Yue ignored Xia Tianqi. At this moment, he seemed to sense something and suddenly turned his gaze to one side, fixing it in that direction.

"What's wrong?"

Xia Tianqi had just lit a cigarette but hadn't had a chance to smoke it when he noticed Leng Yue's expression change. Following Leng Yue's gaze, he saw a woman lying on the ground not far from them, her hair disheveled and her feet bare, covered in mud, giving off a very pitiful appearance.

"Is the woman unconscious... or dead?"

Without giving Xia Tianqi time to think, Leng Yue quickly walked over to her.

Seeing this, Xia Tianqi followed closely behind and came to the side of the unconscious woman. Upon closer inspection, Xia Tianqi found that the woman was already awake, her face wet with rain, and her eyes lifeless as she stared at them.

"Hey, are you okay? Why are you passed out here in the middle of the night? Are you drunk?"

"Take me home..."

The woman suddenly grabbed Xia Tianqi's ankle and cried out more desperately:

"Take me home..."

"Can you let go first? And I don't even know where your home is..." Xia Tianqi was startled by the woman's sudden action.