Chapter 188: Stretcher

Besides knives, Lü Yang also prepared two raincoats and some food in the bag he carried. Of course, he also reminded Hu Yulan and Gong Jian to bring their raincoats and pack some food in their bags. On ‘Lin Yin’s’ suggestion, Gong Jian even packed an extra raincoat for Gong Xue in his bag.

He didn’t know what ‘Lin Yin’s’ intention was. But as ‘her’ good friend and admirer, with ‘her’ insisting like this, he had to give ‘her’ some face.

The mudslide didn’t come last night, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t come tonight. Lü Yang’s biggest worry was that if the mudslide suddenly came tonight, he might not even be able to convince Yi Ya.

…

After lunch, the three tour guides and two Counselors took the students up the mountain again. If it weren’t for the mudslide that Lin Yin caused last night, the students would have had a whole morning of free investigation at the Mountain Peak Village.

Although many students went back to the Mountain Peak Hotel to catch up on some sleep after daybreak, sleeping during the day was definitely not as effective. So the whole class seemed very quiet along the way, appearing sleepy and drowsy.

Even though Lü Yang felt strangely nervous and anxious when he entered the Mountain Peak Village, under the sunlight during the day, there was nothing unusual about the Mountain Peak Village. This included the Murals in the Ancestral Hall, all still missing eyes, noses, and mouths. Those four students, two boys and two girls, also seemed very normal. Their faces did not appear in the Murals.

Was the dream about the ‘Faceless Person’ last night just a dream he had after seeing these Murals? Or was it related to the Mysterious Domain, or… maybe a side effect of Zhou Ling’s body-swapping curse?

Lü Yang’s mind started to get confused.

He was getting more and more tired and very sleepy. At one point, he could no longer stand, swayed, and fell to the ground.

The surroundings suddenly became dim. All the students who had been running around the Mountain Peak Village disappeared. Some strange sounds appeared in Lü Yang’s mind, and the sky was filled with thick, drifting Black Mist.

Several Faceless Person walked out from the corners of the Mountain Peak Village. Each of them carried one of those strange short-handled sickles and began gathering around Lü Yang.

Lü Yang struggled desperately to stand up, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get up. He could only watch helplessly as several Faceless Person approached. They lifted ‘Lin Yin’ up, placed ‘her’ on the Altar stone platform outside the main door of the Ancestral Hall, stripped off ‘her’ clothes, pinned down ‘her’ hands and feet, forcefully spread ‘her’ legs apart, and began examining ‘her’ private parts.

Lü Yang wanted to shout but couldn’t make a sound. He wanted to struggle, but his hands and feet were firmly pinned down. ‘She’ could only watch helplessly as these people did these things to ‘her’… Then, one Faceless Person raised the short-handled sickle in its hand and slowly began cutting ‘her’ face, as if trying to cut ‘her’ entire face off from ‘her’ head.

“Yinyin! Wake up!”

“Yinyin!”

Some shouts and the feeling of his body being shaken woke Lü Yang up. He opened his eyes and looked around. He found Yi Ya holding his head. Besides Yi Ya, Gong Xue and Gong Jian, Hu Yulan, and several other classmates nearby had also gathered around.

Some looked concerned, some scornful, some seemed to gloat.

Gong Jian handed over a bottle of mineral water. Yi Ya unscrewed the cap and fed it to Lin Yin. Everyone quickly dragged Lin Yin’s body to the shade by the wall. The old tour guide Gu Zheng contributed the folding chair he had brought, letting Lin Yin sit on it.

Facing Yi Ya and Hu Yulan’s concerned inquiries, Lü Yang couldn’t say a single word. What just happened was too terrifying and also very strange… He really wanted to persuade everyone to leave this place as soon as possible. But after the mudslide incident, he knew it would be hard to convince everyone again.

Also, this might all just be his hallucination and wouldn’t actually happen, just like the mudslide.

…

Lü Yang got sick.

To be precise, it should be Lin Yin who got sick. Lü Yang’s powerful soul simply couldn’t be fully contained by Lin Yin’s weak body. Also, Lü Yang had overexerted her a bit too much last night, which is why she got sick. This made the current Lü Yang feel powerless.

It felt like heatstroke, but not exactly. Anyway, if someone was that active before going to sleep last night, had so many strange nightmares during the night, and then stubbornly refused to rest all morning, it would be strange if they didn’t get sick.

Of course, if it had been Lü Yang’s original body, it probably wouldn’t have been this fragile. Sadly, he wasn’t himself now. Relying solely on a strong soul was useless; the body needed to be strong too to keep going.

Yi Ya and Hu Yulan stayed by ‘Lin Yin’s’ side. This time, Gong Jian also stayed near ‘Lin Yin,’ his eyes filled with concern and worry for ‘her,’ but he hardly spoke. Clearly, he wasn’t someone good at expressing himself.

A loud ‘Boom!’ and a series of strong tremors jolted Lü Yang awake from his grogginess.

“What happened?” Lü Yang tried hard to sit up but couldn’t manage it.

“I don’t know, it sounded like thunder, right? Yinyin, you have a fever, you’re really sick… This will delay things… We need to find a way to get you to a hospital. I wonder if the scenic area has any vehicles going down the mountain…” Yi Ya reached over to feel ‘Lin Yin’s’ forehead and then spoke to ‘her.’

Yi Ya wasn’t solely worried about ‘Lin Yin’s’ physical condition. She was more concerned about ‘Lin Yin’s’ mental state. Clearly, ‘Lin Yin’s’ spirit wasn’t quite right.

“She’s so sick. Even if we can’t find a car, I will carry her out of the mountains on my back.” Gong Jian spoke up. Seeing ‘Lin Yin’s’ pale, haggard face made his heart ache terribly.

“Hmm…” Lü Yang thought about it. This was actually a way to leave the Mountain Peak Village with Yi Ya. This place was too Strange Point. Leaving sooner couldn’t hurt. As long as he got Yi Ya away, he wouldn’t have much else to worry about. As for the others, if they didn’t believe him, even if they died here, there was nothing he could do.

Even if there was no car, maybe they could get a handcart or something first. As long as they got away from the Mountain Peak Village scenic area, even if a mudslide happened, it wouldn’t be such a big deal. By then, he could probably walk out with them. Even walking out of Millstone Mountain would be better than staying on the mountain waiting to die.

Lü Yang believed that if he did nothing, there was a chance these people might all die here.

“Xiao Ya, go tell… Director Gong, have her send someone… to take me… down the mountain. But you… must… come with me.” Lü Yang said, panting, while holding Yi Ya’s arm.

Dizziness and nausea made it hard for Lü Yang to speak now, though some of it was also pretend. Only this way could he persuade Yi Ya to go down the mountain with him.

Instead of going to find Gong Xue, Yi Ya whispered a few words to Gong Jian. After hearing Yi Ya’s words, Gong Jian immediately rushed off to find Gong Xue. Not long after, Gong Jian came running back with Gong Xue.

After Gong Xue expressed concern about Lin Yin, she had Gong Jian go call three other boys he usually got along well with. She entrusted Lin Yin to them, telling them to carry Lin Yin to the Mountain Peak Hotel and have the barefoot doctor check her condition. If it was too serious, then they could ask the people in the scenic area to find a way to get her out of Millstone Mountain.

“I’m entrusting this to you! No matter what, you must take good care of Yinyin!” Gong Xue emphasized again to Gong Jian.

Adversity reveals true feelings. Gong Xue believed that only through such situations would Lin Yin realize that Gong Jian genuinely cared for her, and their relationship could possibly move forward.

“Don’t worry! Even if I die, I will definitely protect her!” Gong Jian’s face showed determination.

“Hey hey hey! What are you saying?” Gong Xue just wanted Gong Jian to show some commitment; she didn’t expect him to say something like that.

Gong Jian didn’t say anything more. He turned his head to look at ‘Lin Yin’ on the recliner. Her pale face and extremely haggard appearance made him feel like she might die at any moment, which made his heart ache repeatedly.

Lü Yang tightly held onto Yi Ya’s arm. Whether he went down the mountain or not wasn’t important. The most important thing was to get Yi Ya safely out of Millstone Mountain.

The boys cut two thick branches and quickly tied the folding chair into a stretcher. Lin Yin was very light, so Gong Jian and another boy could easily carry her. They didn’t need four people, but Gong Xue instructed the other two boys to follow along in the group, so they could take turns carrying with Gong Jian and the other boy after a while.

After Yi Ya repeatedly promised Lü Yang that she would definitely follow ‘her’ back to the scenic area and would definitely not leave ‘her,’ Lü Yang finally let go of her arm.

Carried by the two boys, Lü Yang now looked up at the bright blue sky overhead. He felt very tired and sleepy, and his body felt extremely weak. In all his years of living, he had never felt so weak before.

“Yinyin, be strong! With me here, nothing will happen to you!” While carrying the stretcher, Gong Jian quietly leaned down and said to ‘Lin Yin.’ It was clearly a confession to her.

Lü Yang felt he should show some gratitude on Lin Yin’s behalf, but the feeling inside was very ridiculous. He had no choice but to remain silent, not saying a word, and simply closed his eyes as well.

Gong Jian worried that something might happen to Lin Yin, so he walked very fast. In less than twenty minutes, they had carried Lin Yin to the Mountain Peak Hotel… the place where it was supposed to be…

The Mountain Peak Hotel was supposed to be here, but now it was gone!

Everyone looked at the scene before them and couldn’t help but be completely stunned.

“Ah…!”

“Ah! Ah!”

“What happened!?”

“Was it a mudslide?”

“…”

Lü Yang, who had been carried along feeling groggy and almost falling asleep, suddenly heard the word ‘mudslide,’ along with the screams of Yi Ya and Hu Yulan. He abruptly sat up, looked down ahead, and couldn’t help but feel a chill run down his spine…