Chapter 11: Entangled

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The Northeastern big brother ultimately couldn't catch up to Yun Qianfeng and Jiang Roujia. Gradually, they became distant, steadily driving at a speed of eighty kilometers per hour. The slight throbbing in his right arm was the price he paid for overtaking, and he had no desire to go through that again.

Inside the car, amid the singing of "Wife, wife, I love you, may Amitabha bless you," the bearded man's six-year-old daughter, who looked nothing like him, was sternly reprimanding her mother for bullying her beloved father. All of the bearded man's irritation and curiosity were dispersed by the happiness of his family, including the dreams he had before marriage. A smile slowly appeared on the corners of his mouth, and he had already forgotten about the person on the car roof.

Once, the future was the essence of happiness; now, the present is the essence of happiness; all happiness eventually becomes memories.

Five hours later, Yun Qianfeng and Jiang Roujia entered another service area for a short rest.

The two of them bought a large pile of snacks and drinks from the supermarket, carrying bags of goods back to the RV. However, they were both stunned by the scene in front of them.

There was a woman standing in front of their RV door, and as soon as Yun Qianfeng saw her appearance, he was taken aback.

"Why are you here?"

Jiang Roujia was even more dumbfounded than Yun Qianfeng.

"Sister... Shu Ying?"

Qin Shuying took off her sunglasses and, without waiting for them to ask, directly revealed her true intentions:

"My cousin is the one who helped you buy the equipment. I know what you're up to, take me with you. I also need the truth."

With just this sentence, Yun Qianfeng and Jiang Roujia immediately realized that Qin Shuying had heard the most crucial part of the conversation during the few seconds of voice transmission earlier.

Looking at her state, with swollen and red eyes, it was evident that she had gone for another appraisal and obtained an answer that she herself couldn't believe.

This answer was undoubtedly painful.

Seeing Qin Shuying's eyes swollen like peaches, Jiang Roujia felt extremely guilty and said, "I'm sorry, Shu Ying, I..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Qin Shuying interrupted:

"I don't accept your apology, and I won't forgive you. You've ruined my life. Even if everything was fake, it was still my happiness, and you destroyed it."

The beautiful and happy deception was like colorful bubbles under the sunlight, beautiful and dreamlike when not burst, but once it was shattered, only a pool of filth remained, impossible to clean up, only to wipe away the mess.

Everything was irreversible.

Therefore, truly wise people never seek all the truths; instead, they choose to lock themselves up.

Saying this, Qin Shuying sniffed hard, raised her face slightly, stubbornly holding back her tears.

Jiang Roujia, without caring about her image, immediately burst into tears upon hearing Qin Shuying's words, not holding back at all.

Both of these girls were stubborn, standing there without saying anything.

One looked up, trying to prevent the tears from falling from her eyes.

The other refused to console the other any longer, deciding to just let her cry it out. Love her as she is, and when she's done crying, it's over.

The two of them stood still, and Yun Qianfeng couldn't bear it anymore. People nearby were already looking in their direction, and with the three of them like this—this arrangement, this tone, and this age distribution—onlookers would surely come up with eight different scenarios in their minds.

So he hurriedly pushed the two girls and said, "Come on, whatever it is, say it inside the car."

Yun Qianfeng couldn't possibly imagine that outside, those onlookers, after seeing him push the two girls into the RV, would come up with a ninth scenario in their minds.

Human hearts were truly inscrutable.

Inside the RV, after closing the door, Yun Qianfeng glanced at the two girls. They sat on the sofa in the living area, not looking at each other, one still sniffling, the other still sobbing.

Yun Qianfeng took a quick look at both of them and considered that Qin Shuying was delicate and charming, except for her slim waist, her whole body was very soft and plump, looking easy to bully, so he decided to start persuading her.

"Miss Qin, I..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Qin Shuying interrupted, "Call me Miss Qin."

Speaking with a sniffle, she looked like she had a stiff neck.

"Miss Qin, no matter what, we were wrong, but things have come to this point. I think you should calm down. The place Jiang Roujia and I are going to is very dangerous. Although I have some experience surviving in the jungle, I can't take care of two girls. So, I suggest you wait at home. We will come to find you as soon as we return and share all the information we get with you. How about that?"

Qin Shuying shook her head and said, "No, if I stay at home, I'll go crazy. I can't wait even for a second. As for the dangers of the jungle, I don't even care about dying now, so why would I care about danger?"

"I know that Xiaorou gave you money to handle things, and I'm giving you the same amount. Is that okay?"

Yun Qianfeng couldn't help but straighten his back slightly and sighed, "Well, Doctor, we really need a guide! Right, Jiang Roujia? She agreed to it, so you should go along with us. I'll send you the account number, and you can transfer the money for the first month first..."

Jiang Roujia cried even harder.

After receiving the money, Yun Qianfeng prepared to go and drive, but he didn't expect Qin Shuying to take a look at Jiang Roujia and stopped him, saying, "I'll drive."

The meaning was clear: she didn't want to be alone with Jiang Roujia and wanted to express her refusal to forgive her.

Jiang Roujia also gave a cold snort when she saw Qin Shuying walking towards the driver's seat, showing that she wouldn't indulge her either.

Yun Qianfeng felt like he had struck gold. Both women refused to be alone with each other, so the result was that they would take turns driving.

Perfect!

After two days and three nights, the three of them finally arrived at their first destination, Duolong.

It was located right next to the primitive jungle, and the dense forest and the wilderness mountainous region were actually connected, forming a vast uninhabited area spanning hundreds of miles. The local residents were very familiar with the terrain of the jungle, especially the herb pickers and hunters who often went up the mountains.

Yun Qianfeng decided to find a guide familiar with the mountain paths in the vicinity, so they could drive the RV as far as possible.

Originally, he thought it was a matter that could be easily resolved with a little money, but unexpectedly, they encountered continuous obstacles.

The reason was simple. It was currently the season for returning to the southern hemisphere, and during this time, the miasma in the mountains was the strongest and most toxic. No matter how much money they offered, they couldn't buy life.

Yun Qianfeng and the others didn't take the miasma seriously. They wore advanced filtering masks, and as long as they were careful, the miasma wouldn't harm them.

After searching for the whole morning, they finally found someone daring enough to take on the job as their guide, but of course, it came with a high price.

This person was called Mengrao, around forty years old, with a very strong and muscular build. He was not fat, but his body was covered with muscle knots.

He also liked to dress up, wearing a collar with wolf teeth and two large silver earrings on his ears. He had a large ring on his left little finger with a white stone the size of a pigeon egg embedded in it.

It was said that he was the boldest hunter here, daring to venture into the deepest part of the jungle.

After a simple lunch, it was already two o'clock in the afternoon. Jiang Roujia and Qin Shuying didn't want to delay for even a second, so they insisted on setting off immediately. The three of them got into the RV and followed Mengrao's guidance into the wild jungle path.

Qin Shuying was the best driver among them, so she was the one to drive on this mountain road.

The RV moved slowly, with dense greenery on both sides, closely pressed against the vehicle, as if trying to crush it.

The atmosphere here was also very oppressive. Although it was a rare sunny day, there was no sign of the sun, hidden behind the lush vegetation and thick clouds.

Yun Qianfeng and Jiang Roujia sat in the living area, watching a movie, getting drowsy, and munching on snacks.

After a couple of boring hours, the two of them started chatting again.

Jiang Roujia now enjoyed whispering to Yun Qianfeng.

With her small mouth close to his ear, she whispered, "Being a guide is quite lucrative, you see that ring on Mengrao? It's an ice jade of top quality, worth at least one million."

This surprised Yun Qianfeng, and he whispered back, "Isn't he wearing a bunch of worthless jewelry? Are they fake?"

Jiang Roujia whispered confidently, "Believe in my judgment. I grew up surrounded by genuine jewelry."

Yun Qianfeng shrugged and said, "Can't they make money? There are plenty of suckers going into the mountains. They ask for ten thousand right off the bat. Why aren't you so generous with me?"

While they were talking, the RV suddenly stopped, and the two of them bumped their heads together while speaking.

Yun Qianfeng rubbed his cheek and said, "What's going on?"

Mengrao heard Yun Qianfeng's question and said, "Bad luck, the wild road ahead is blocked by a landslide. We'll have to walk from here. But I checked the map, and the place you want to see Mount Bon Po is not far from here, in a wide valley. It will take about five to six hours to get there."

He continued, looking at the sky, "We can't continue today; it's dangerous to travel in the mountains at night, and people could die. We'll start again tomorrow morning."

With the RV around, everything was straightforward; they didn't need to set up camp and could just sleep inside the vehicle.

Yun Qianfeng walked out of the RV and looked at the surroundings. They were currently between two canyons, with just enough width for the RV to pass through. There were piles of huge rocks on the road ahead, making it impossible to detour. Thus, they could only listen to Mengrao's arrangement and camp here temporarily.

They started a campfire outside the RV and began preparing dinner.

Looking at the rising mist, Yun Qianfeng asked Mengrao, "Is this miasma? Should we take precautions?"

Mengrao smiled and shook his head, saying, "This isn't miasma. Miasma appears in dense clusters. This is just ordinary mist; don't worry, it's fine, it's fine."

Saying that, Mengrao took out a large tobacco pouch from his pocket, stuffed it with tobacco leaves, and with a smile on his face, took a big puff.

It's just that his face, filled with muscles, was a bit intimidating when he smiled.

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