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墨書 Inktalez
"Really cold!"
Early in the morning, Bai Yujing was awakened by Li Hao, who was curled up in his sleeping bag, constantly complaining. It had to be said that once they entered the mountains, the temperature felt just like winter, especially in the morning. However, it shouldn't be this cold inside a sleeping bag, right?
Bai Yujing glanced at Li Hao's sleeping bag and found that it was completely inadequate. "Who prepared this sleeping bag for you? This thing is useless!"
Li Hao touched Bai Yujing's sleeping bag and then looked at his own; the difference was stark. He gritted his teeth and said, "Great! Let them prepare some gear, and they end up with this kind of problem. Just wait until I get back to deal with them!"
Li Hao sat up, rubbing his arms and asked, "What do we do now? It's way too cold in this mountain!"
Bai Yujing began to pack up his things, folding his sleeping bag and handing it to Li Hao. "You can use mine. I have a good constitution; I’ll be fine!"
Li Hao took it and looked at it. "Isn't this inappropriate? You're the main person for this trip into the mountains. Without you, I can't manage!"
Bai Yujing immediately replied, "I won’t freeze to death even in the Antarctic ice cap; you don’t need to worry about me! Worry about yourself instead!"
"Fine, since you're as strong as an ox, I won't be polite!"
"How can you talk like that?"
As Bai Yujing crawled out of the tent, Lao Qi and Qiangzi from another tent were also getting up. The campfire from last night had already gone out but still held a few embers. The group got ready again to head into Leech Valley.
However, before entering the mountains, all four started preparing. Bai Yujing dressed warmly, wrapping himself tightly and tucking his pant legs into his socks to leave no gaps. He also put on gloves.
At that moment, Qiangzi walked over. "Bai Yujing, do you want this? Leech Valley is not a good place; you should know just by its name—it's infested with leeches. This thing is..."
Bai Yujing also pulled out a bottle from his backpack. Qiangzi took a look and found it was exactly the same as the one he was holding. "Well, you're part of the organization too; of course you have supplies!"
Bai Yujing smiled. "But thanks anyway!"
At that moment, Li Hao walked over. "What are you guys doing? What's that?"
Bai Yujing looked at Li Hao and noticed he hadn’t bundled up properly at all; he was dressed stylishly but left everything open for looks. Bai Yujing said irritably, "Going in like that is practically asking for trouble! The leeches in Leech Valley will love you; you're providing them with plenty of food!"
Li Hao looked at his long shirt and pants. "No way! I'm wearing long clothes; how could leeches get in? They can't get through everything!"
Bai Yujing lazily said to him, "I can't be bothered with you!"
Bai Yujing applied the potion all over his body and then handed the bottle to Li Hao: "Apply it all over yourself to prevent leeches!"
After a few people got ready, they immediately set off again from this flat area along the slope, heading into Leech Valley. From this point on, it felt as if two boundaries were drawn between here and the outside; the trees and jungles here had not been developed for many years and were rarely visited by humans.
After advancing a bit further, they reached Wild Man Gorge, which was the last named place in the vicinity. Beyond this point, it could all be collectively referred to as the main mountain range of Shennongjia, an area spanning thousands of miles that was beyond human control.
As they walked, Li Hao remarked, "The trees here have a certain scent!"
Bai Yujing, feeling bored, engaged him in conversation: "What kind of scent?"
"It has a sense of natural selection and growth, unlike those outside that seem cultivated by humans!"
Zhong Qiang was leading the way with a machete in hand, clearing the path. Here, many areas not only lacked paths but were also obstructed by dense bushes. Even if a path could be traversed before, just one or two months without human passage would allow rapidly growing plants to block it again. Vines intertwined between the trees; this was a kingdom belonging to animals and plants.
As they walked, Li Hao casually said, "I'm used to staying in the city; I find this mountain really nice. The air here—if I could breathe it every day, my lifespan would surely be much longer than an average person's, right?"
Bai Yujing immediately replied, "People two thousand years ago breathed this kind of air every day, but their average lifespan was only twenty years. Don't move~!"
When Bai Yujing turned back to take a look, he suddenly noticed something. His expression changed, and with his other hand, he quickly drew a straight knife and swung it at Li Hao's side. A creature hanging upside down from a tree with its tongue out was instantly split in half by Bai Yujing, falling to the ground.
Li Hao was startled: "What the hell?"
At that moment, Qiangzi and Lao Qi, who were walking ahead, turned back to take a look and said, "It's a White-Lipped Snake; it's nothing serious; this snake is non-venomous!"
Li Hao, still shaken, replied, "Non-venomous or not, it's still scary! It's so big!"
Bai Yujing sheathed his knife and looked at the black snake on the ground. It had distinct white rings along its body and looked very beautiful. Bai Yujing knew this type of snake; its scientific name was Black-Backed White-Ringed Snake. When Bai Yujing nudged its head with his foot, the snake's head suddenly sprang up and clamped onto the tip of Bai Yujing's shoe without letting go.
"Wow, this snake isn't dead yet?" Li Hao stepped back two more paces.
Bai Yujing pried open the snake's mouth with his knife: "It's fine; it's already dead. However, its nerve reflexes are still active. Be careful in the future; don't think it's safe just because you cut off a snake's head!"
After this little incident, the group continued on their way. The forest was very damp, with heavy humidity. At this moment, Qiangzi stopped, took off his shoes, and rolled up his pant legs. Bai Yujing noticed that his feet were covered in leeches. Several small creatures were attached to his feet, their heads swaying back and forth as they clung on.
Qiangzi seemed very familiar with this situation and skillfully removed the leeches. "Fortunately, it looks like they just got on me. This guy hasn't sucked much blood, so it's easier to clean up!"
Bai Yujing immediately looked at Li Hao. "Everyone check yourselves and be careful!"
Li Hao quickly lifted his shirt to check and suddenly shouted, "Damn it! I have them too!"
Bai Yujing also checked himself and found two leeches stuck to his back. These little creatures were very cunning; they would jump onto a person as they passed by and do everything possible to burrow into the skin. No matter how well one was protected, it was hard to avoid them.
Especially in this Leech Valley, there were frighteningly many of them. What scared people most about leeches was that they would suck human blood, and their saliva contained an anticoagulant that caused wounds to bleed continuously. After Bai Yujing finished cleaning himself, he noticed that Li Hao had the most leeches on him. This guy had thought that wearing long sleeves and pants would keep him safe, but now he was experiencing the consequences.
"You didn't apply your repellent properly; look! Huh? Wait a minute—why are they all dead?" Bai Yujing walked over and found that all the leeches on Li Hao had wilted, as if they were dead. With a gentle swipe, they fell off, motionless.
Bai Yujing glanced at Li Hao and began to understand the situation. "Not bad! Your body can repel leeches; you must have some kind of toxin!"
Li Hao also realized that these creatures died as soon as they sucked his blood and fell off automatically. They didn't cling on like those on Qiangzi, which burrowed deeper after getting full. However, having such things attached to him was still an unpleasant feeling.
"Alright, let's hurry and get out of this Leech Valley; this place is disgusting!" Li Hao said as he put on his t-shirt and clothes.
After everyone tidied up, they immediately set off at full speed, ready to rush through Leech Valley in one go!
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