Chapter 015

A thunderclap that shook the heavens and the earth startled Lu Jianxing awake from his sleep.

The sound of pattering rain drifted in from outside the tent. Inside the cave, the fire used for warmth had not yet gone out. The child curled in his arms, his body warm and sleeping deeply. The sudden downpour outside had not woken him.

Lu Jianxing poked his head out of the tent and looked out. The pitch-black silhouettes of trees were already obscured by a mist of rain. The torrential downpour had turned into a literal curtain of water, making it impossible to see anything.

It was raining.

And it was a massive storm.

In the afternoon, he and Qiao Man had left the riverbank and found this cave under the guidance of the Luo Pan. Xiao Man said it would rain tonight, so they had gathered plenty of dry branches and secured enough food. Their cave was situated on high ground, so water wouldn’t pool even in a heavy rain. At the moment, only a small patch near the entrance was wet, which didn’t affect the interior at all.

The temperature in the cave had become damp and cold due to the sudden rainfall. Lu Jianxing climbed out to add some branches to the fire, and while he was at it, he placed the bamboo containers he had made during the day outside to collect rainwater.

After finishing these tasks, he returned to pull the child back into his arms and fell back into a deep sleep to the sound of the rain.

Compared to the two people sleeping comfortably here, the other contestants didn’t have such good luck.

The contestants and the audience were all jolted awake by the thunder. Before anyone could react, the rain poured down in torrents, clattering against the tents. The raindrops were as heavy as pebbles. Even staying inside the tents, one could feel the wind and rain battering the world outside, making everyone feel incredibly uneasy.

The livestream chat, which had gone quiet because the contestants were asleep, became lively once again. The heavy rain arrived at night, exactly when the internet’s night owls were most active. They quickly began to worry for the contestants.

Aside from worry and tension, a small portion of the audience felt a sense of shock.

[It’s actually raining!!]

[Wait, where did this rain come from? Didn’t the weather forecast say no rain?]

[I was laughing at Lu Jianxing this afternoon for running around aimlessly with a kid, and now…]

[How did Xiao Man actually get it right…]

[Does he really know how to do fortune-telling?!]

[Earlier, Xiao Man said he wanted to eat fish, and then they found fish…]

[No one actually believes someone can tell fortunes, right? It’s just a coincidence!]

Some confused viewers asked in the comments: [What do you mean?? What fortune-telling?]

[Go watch this afternoon’s stream. Xiao Man did a fortune-telling for Pei Xiwang and discovered he’s a wealthy second-generation heir whose family literally owns mines, the kind who has to inherit the family business if he doesn’t get famous. He also said there would be a heavy storm tonight.]

While the audience expressed their amazement in the chat, Xie Yunqian and Pei Xiwang were packing their luggage in the rain.

They were camping by the riverbank. On a clear day, with water and fish nearby, it was a good spot. But now, the rain was so heavy it wouldn’t stop anytime soon. Once the river level rose, their campsite would be submerged, making it extremely dangerous.

It was the middle of the night. Even the moon was obscured by dark clouds, and the surroundings were pitch black. You couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. It was impossible to start a fire in the rain, and the light from a single flashlight barely provided any illumination. The two of them were in a sorry state, unable to even keep their eyes open against the lashing rain.

By the time they finally managed to pack up their tent, the water had already reached their feet. Holding the flashlight, they supported each other as they headed toward higher ground, searching for a place to shelter from the rain.

[If only they had followed Lu Jianxing this afternoon…]

[Exactly. Xiao Man found a cave, and now those two are sleeping comfortably. By comparison, Xie Yunqian’s team is just too miserable.]

[Lu Jianxing warned them it would rain before he left, didn’t he? It was Xie Yunqian who insisted on staying. At the time, I even said it was better to leave just in case, but I got scolded by Xie’s fans…]

[Can you really blame Xie Yunqian? He didn’t know it would rain this hard tonight. Besides, it’s not like Pei Xiwang objected. Why is it all Xie Yunqian’s fault?]

[The rain is so heavy, it’s so dark, and they’re on a mountain. Traveling is so dangerous. I’m so worried for Qianqian!]

Visibility at night was low, and the flashlight’s beam couldn’t penetrate the thick curtain of rain. Their rain-soaked clothes and backpacks hung heavy on their bodies, and the ground beneath their feet was nothing but mud. Mountain paths were difficult to navigate under normal circumstances, let alone on a rainy night.

Heavy raindrops hammered against his face, and Pei Xiwang felt a stinging pain. His eyelashes were dripping with water. Despite the flashlight, the rain was so intense he could barely keep his eyes open, forced to move forward on instinct alone.

The mountain path beneath them was rugged and uneven. The soil was wet and muddy; every time he stepped down, he felt his foot sink, making it difficult to even pull it back out. Occasional rocks and vines only added to the difficulty of an already treacherous journey.

Even more despairing was the fact that they had no destination. They could only wander aimlessly, praying they would stumble upon a place to escape the rain.

Pei Xiwang wiped the rain from his face, struggling to see the path ahead. Visibility was too low at night, and this forest was vast. It was easy to get lost during the day, and at night, it felt even more alien. They had already hit dead ends several times and been forced to turn back and try a different direction. Before they could find a place to hide from the rain, their physical strength was already beginning to fail.

Xie Yunqian’s steps were heavy. Pei Xiwang looked back and saw that he had already fallen a distance behind.

“Xie-ge¹, take a break first,” he said. “I’ll go ahead and see if there’s a path.”

“Alright,” Xie Yunqian said, panting heavily. “Sorry to trouble you.”

Pei Xiwang took the lead. He hadn’t gone far when he stepped on something round, and his foot immediately slipped.

Oh no!

Pei Xiwang closed his eyes, his hands instinctively reaching out to both sides, trying to grab something to steady himself. But his hands caught nothing but air. His body pitched forward uncontrollably, and he landed in the muddy water with a heavy splash.

The fall was so hard that Pei Xiwang’s vision went dark, and he lay on the ground for quite a while.

Through the curtain of rain, Xie Yunqian’s worried voice drifted over, sounding as if it were coming from far away. “Pei Xiwang, are you okay?”

“No, I’m fine,” Pei Xiwang said, pushing himself up. There was a tree nearby, and he used it for support as he climbed to his feet. A sharp, throbbing pain shot through his ankle; it seemed he had sprained it.

In a situation like this, a sprained ankle would only cause more trouble, so he kept it to himself. Misfortunes never come singly. Why hadn’t his streak of bad luck ended yet?

His flashlight had fallen a short distance away. He limped over to pick it up and turned back to shine the light on whatever had tripped him. It was actually a wild peach, knocked from its branch by the heavy rain. These wild fruits, usually so difficult to find, were now scattered all over the ground.

Had he encountered them at any other time, he would have happily gathered these peaches as emergency rations.

…Peaches?

The flashlight’s beam hit a nearby tree. Ripe wild peaches hung heavy from the branches.

It was a peach tree.

As if possessed, Pei Xiwang took a step back.

Peach trees weren’t uncommon on the mountain, but the words the child had spoken during the day suddenly flashed through his mind.

“When you encounter a peach tree, remember to turn back.”

Pei Xiwang felt a sense of dread. He reached through his pocket to touch the Talisman Paper inside. It was so thin he could barely feel it. His heart hammered against his ribs. He hesitantly lifted a foot, then set it back down.

Forget it. He’d already taken a nasty spill coming this way. It clearly wasn’t a good path.

Pei Xiwang resolutely turned back.

He limped back toward Xie Yunqian. Noticing his strange gait, Xie Yunqian asked with concern, “What happened to your foot?”

Pei Xiwang shook his head. “It’s nothing, just…”

Boom!

A massive explosion erupted behind him.

The world suddenly flared with blinding light before plunging back into darkness. In that split second of brilliance, Pei Xiwang saw Xie Yunqian’s eyes go wide, reflecting a bolt of lightning. His entire body went stiff. Soon, a heavy, burnt smell drifted through the rain to his nose.

Terrified, Pei Xiwang spun around. In the distance, right in front of the peach tree where he had been about to go, a charred tree trunk came crashing down.

He instinctively reached for the Talisman Paper in his pocket, but his fingers met only a handful of black ash, which was quickly washed away by the rain.

Translator’s Notes