Chapter 57: The Invisible King of Changbai Mountain

Chapter 57: The Invisible King of Changbai Mountain

"What do we do?"

Seeing the situation, Gu Weinan, who was usually brave, panicked and turned to her younger brother for help.

Gu Weibei, equally at a loss, lashed out at her sister in frustration:

"If you don’t invite trouble, trouble won’t find you. There are plenty of wild fruits in the mountains you could have picked, but no, you had to raid their nest. Isn’t this just asking for trouble?"

Gu Weinan was so angry she couldn’t speak, and in her rage, she grabbed the hunting rifle from her back and disengaged the safety, ready to fire at the tree.

Ye Qing’s vision went black with anger and she was so enraged she almost lost control and beat the brat.

She grabbed Gu Weinan by the arm:

"Have you gone mad? Do you see how many there are in the tree? We only have a few bullets. Can you possibly kill all these squirrels?"

Ye Qing started scolding while slinging the basket of pine nuts over her back and demanded sharply, "Where's the squirrel den you found?"

Gu Weinan was startled for a moment but pointed in the direction they had come from:

"Straight that way, around 300 to 400 meters."

Ye Qing pointed to the baskets and boxes on the ground and then to the nearby bonfire, saying with indisputable authority:

"Now, you need to extinguish the fire right away. You mustn't leave any embers in the mountains. Then, gather your belongings and head in the opposite direction, about 400 to 500 meters away, and wait for me!"

"Gu Weinan, especially, you must not come with me. You've already angered them, and getting any closer could further agitate the squirrels. If they all attack you together, it will be very dangerous. Understood?"

Hearing Ye Qing's words, Gu Weibei grew anxious:

"You plan to return the pine nuts alone? No, let me go instead. With so many squirrels, it's too risky for you to go alone!"

Ye Qing raised her head to look at Gu Weibei:

"What can you do if you go? Use the gun in your hand like your sister did?"

"Don't be stupid, just go! I've got a whole box of needles. I’m not afraid to brag to you, if these squirrels really go on a rampage, I can take them all out one needle at a time and lay them to rest in this forest!"

"If I take any of you along, it will only hold me back, understand?"

Ye Qing's words were blunt enough that the three of them realized they were actually a burden and hung their heads in shame.

"Stop standing around, get moving! I'll try to hold these guys off, so hurry up and retreat!" Ye Qing urged anxiously.

The three of them didn't dare to delay any longer, fearing they would hold Ye Qing back. They quickly followed her instructions, efficiently putting out the fire and swiftly hoisting baskets onto their backs and picking up others, carefully backing away to the other side of the forest.

Throughout the entire process, Ye Qing deliberately made herself a target, carrying the basket of pine nuts and shaking them noisily to attract the attention of the squirrels.

Sure enough, the squirrels' eyes were all on the obvious target, Ye Qing, paying little attention to Gu Weinan and the others who were packing and retreating.

Ye Qing stayed behind to ensure the other three successfully broke through and escaped the danger zone before she finally breathed a sigh of relief. She then hoisted the basket of pine nuts onto her back and sprinted towards the direction of the old camphor tree that Gu Weinan had pointed out.

As she ran, the squirrels behind her, thinking she was trying to run away with their food hoard, became agitated, and hundreds of them gave chase.

The squirrels moved swiftly through the trees, leaping between branches, chasing while squeaking furiously and cursing dirty words. Hundreds of squirrels engaged in this high-speed chase, sending adrenaline surging.

If this happened decades from now with all the advanced recording technology available, capturing this spectacle would cause a massive online sensation, skyrocketing to the top of every major platform's trending list. Even shows like *Animal World* or *The Green Planet* would be overshadowed.

Ye Qing raced through the forest like the wind. Each time the squirrels closed in, she would lash her rattan whip onto a tree, using the momentum to swing herself through the air and escape deeper into the forest.

The squirrels chased her without relent, nipping closely at her heels, but always just a step too late, squeaking even more furiously, spewing dirtier curses, yet completely unable to do anything about Ye Qing.

Though she raced through the forest, Ye Qing miraculously didn't lose her way, and within minutes, she finally spotted an old camphor tree. At the base of the tree was a burrow, clearly recently dug, with a pile of fresh soil beside it and scattered branches and rotten leaves—unmistakably Gu Weinan's work!

Ye Qing bent down to look into the burrow and saw that there were still plenty of pine nuts inside. She let out a sigh of relief.

She quickly put down the basket she was carrying, ready to pour the pine nuts from the basket into the burrow. But just as she was about to do so, the squirrels finally caught up with her.

The little forest creatures leaped down from the trees, surrounding this short Southerner, baring their teeth and flailing about, all venting their fury and discontent at Ye Qing.

Especially the leading squirrel, whose home had been raided, was now on the brink of fury. From the way it looked, it was about to pounce on Ye Qing and start a fight.

Ye Qing quickly raised her hands in surrender.

"No, no, bro, I’ll treat you like a brother, okay? Violence won’t solve anything. Can’t we talk this through? We were wrong to take your pine nuts, but I’ve given every single one back to you. How about we just let this go?"

However, it was clear that apologizing had no effect on this tough squirrel. In a flash, Ye Qing’s vision blurred, and the squirrel leaped onto her.

Ye Qing’s heart tightened in fear, worried that the squirrel’s claws might scratch her face. She instinctively reached into her shoulder bag and pulled out her box of silver needles, preparing to defend herself.

In her haste, she accidentally knocked a peanut out of her bag. The peanut landed right in front of the squirrel.

Then, something strange happened.

The squirrel froze, its agitated mood instantly calming down.

Its eyes fixed on the peanut at its feet.

The squirrel then bent down, picked up the peanut, and quickly jumped off Ye Qing. After sniffing the peanut, it began to munch on it eagerly.

Once it cracked open the peanut and ate the first kernel, its already round black eyes nearly bulged out of its head.

As if afraid that its companions might steal it, the squirrel warily looked around, then quickly stuffed the rest of the peanut kernels into its mouth, chewing rapidly to eat them all alone.

After finishing the peanut, it still seemed unsatisfied. It stared directly at Ye Qing, specifically at her shoulder bag.

Ye Qing couldn’t help but laugh. But, being in a tight spot, she reluctantly opened her bag and took out the few remaining peanuts, offering them to the squirrel brother.

These peanuts were ones she had casually stuffed into her pocket when she went to the post office in town to see Sister Xu. She hadn’t expected them to help her resolve such a critical situation and successfully defuse a life-or-death confrontation.

As soon as the squirrel brother saw the peanuts Ye Qing took out, it was overjoyed. It immediately rushed forward, stuffing all the peanuts into its mouth until it couldn’t eat any more.

In a few swift moves, it scurried up a nearby old pine tree and disappeared into a tiny, inconspicuous hole in the trunk. In no time, it returned.

When it came back, its bulging cheeks had deflated, clearly having stored all the peanuts back in its nest.

The squirrel then gave Ye Qing a long, thoughtful look before turning to the group of squirrels that had formed a circle around her. It let out a few squeaks, and soon, the entire group of reinforcement squirrels fell silent.

Then the squirrel boss jumped in front of Ye Qing and started gesturing and calling non-stop, alternating between the ground hole and the basket beside her.

Ye Qing thought the squirrel wanted her to pour the pine nuts from the basket into the hole, so she quickly did as instructed, preparing to return them intact.

The squirrel was taken aback by Ye Qing’s action.

A few seconds later, it started jumping around, blocking Ye Qing’s movements, and fretted in frustration.

With no other options, it jumped into the hole that Gu Weinan had dug earlier, and soon after, it emerged with its cheeks stuffed full.

The squirrel then jumped onto Ye Qing and perched on her palm. It began pawing repeatedly until it pulled out a full handful of pine nuts.

Ye Qing was stunned:

“These are... for me?”

The squirrel tilted its head, and seeing that Ye Qing didn’t understand, it turned back to its companions and let out more chattering sounds.

To her surprise, the group of squirrels, who were cursing and threatening just moments earlier, all jumped down from the trees at their boss’s cue. They filled their cheeks with pine nuts from the hole and soon returned, their cheeks packed with nuts.

Just like their leader, these squirrels jumped onto Ye Qing’s basket and started emptying the pine nuts into it until the basket was brimming over.

Ye Qing was shocked and realized she had misinterpreted the situation.

Unbelieving, she pointed to the tree hole and, in front of the leader squirrel, carefully reached in and grabbed a handful of pine nuts.

The leader squirrel wasn’t angry at all; in fact, it jumped up and down excitedly, its round eyes sparkling, clearly very happy.

If Ye Qing still didn’t get it by now, she must be really dense.

Wow, this squirrel boss was truly generous! Due to the small handful of peanuts she had given him earlier, he was now giving her all the pine nuts in the tree hole as a return gift!

Ye Qing was almost stunned speechless, her mouth hanging open in shock.

Glancing at the basket now filled to the brim with pine nuts, and then back at the generous and straightforward squirrel leader, it took Ye Qing a while to process what had just happened.

“Hahahaha—"

Recalling how only minutes earlier she had been running frantically through the forest with the basket, the absurdity of the current situation struck her as hilarious, and she couldn’t help but hold her stomach and laugh out loud on the spot.

Squirrel Leader stood not far away, tilting his head and glancing at Ye Qing several times, not understanding what she was laughing about.

Ye Qing laughed for a good while before stopping. Looking at the large group of furry little creatures in front of her and the small hill of pine nuts at her feet, inspiration struck her. She lowered her head and rummaged through her satchel, finally finding the last three peanuts.

She then found an open spot and planted the peanuts into the soil.

Using her special ability to catalyze growth, the peanuts soon took root and sprouted leaves. After flowering and bearing fruit, they bore a bountiful harvest underground.

Ye Qing uprooted the three peanut plants and collected about three to four pounds of peanuts from the plants and the soil.

Using these peanuts as seeds, she performed a second catalysis, planting them around the area where the squirrels' home was located. In no time, peanut plants blanketed the hillsides, and within ten minutes, the peanut plants had fully matured. The peanuts emerged from the soil, plump and white, resembling chubby gourds, their appearance especially enticing.

Squirrel Leader had been stunned when Ye Qing started catalyzing the peanut plants. By the time he realized that peanuts had grown all around his home and that the fruits had a special sweet fragrance, consistent with the peanuts Ye Qing had previously taken out of her bag, he went into a frenzy.

The other squirrels weren’t stupid either. Upon smelling the tempting aroma of the peanuts underground, they all realized these were something good and immediately became restless.

Without Ye Qing needing to explain, the squirrels began a chaotic fight to grab the peanuts. Even Squirrel Leader, who had earlier rallied his clan with a single call, quickly joined the fray, furiously competing for the peanuts.

Since these peanuts were catalyzed by Ye Qing specifically for this group of squirrels, it was every squirrel for itself. Whoever was fast enough could have them. Ye Qing didn’t care who ended up with the most peanuts. She looked at the pile of pine nuts on the ground and felt she shouldn’t waste Squirrel Leader’s goodwill.

After a moment of thought, she used her special ability to weave a vine basket and filled it with the remaining pine nuts. After emptying the entire tree hole of pine nuts, two vine baskets were exactly filled to the brim.

However, with two baskets, she couldn’t possibly carry them on her back. She found a bowl-thick stick in the woods to use as a pole, tied the two baskets with vines, and slung them over the pole.

As she left the forest and returned to the spot where they had previously made a fire to roast sweet potatoes, Ye Qing still felt a lingering sense of fear when recalling the earlier perilous encounter with the squirrels.

Thankfully, the peanuts from her satchel proved useful just in time; otherwise, today’s battle with the squirrels could have ended very badly for her.

Exhaling a heavy sigh of relief, Ye Qing hurried to meet Gu Weinan and the others. Just as she was about to head to the meeting point they had agreed upon, she heard footsteps from the woods.

“Master, is that you?” Ye Qing called out.

Hearing Gu Weinan’s voice, Ye Qing immediately responded, “Yes, it’s me. Why did you all come back?”

The ones who emerged from the woods were indeed Gu Weinan and the other two.

They had followed Ye Qing’s instructions to wait in another part of the forest, but after half an hour passed and Ye Qing still hadn’t returned, they grew increasingly anxious, fearing something had happened to her. Thus, they retraced their steps and came back.

Just then, seeing Ye Qing come out in one piece, the weight that had been hanging over their hearts finally lifted.

Gu Weinan hurriedly asked, "Master, are you hurt anywhere?"

Ye Qing smiled and shook her head.

"No, I’m fine, not a hair out of place."

"What about the squirrels? How did you shake them off?"

Gu Weibei looked back, still haunted by the memory of the squirrels surrounding them.

Ye Qing grinned and started joking again.

"Oh, I used a little trick, and they submitted to me. Not only did one ground squirrel forgive us for stealing its food, but it also gave me all its stored pine nuts."

As she spoke, Ye Qing put down the load she was carrying and pulled aside the dry grass covering her basket, revealing two baskets filled to the brim with pine nuts.

At the sight of those nuts, Gu Weibei and the others widened their eyes in disbelief, unable to fathom that the aggressive squirrels had actually given them the nuts.

"Master, are you joking? Those squirrels wanted to kill us out of revenge. How could they change their attitude so quickly and give you their winter food supply? Don’t tell me you used your silver needles on those squirrels?"

Gu Weinan looked Ye Qing up and down with a suspicious gaze, doubting her every word.

Her speculation was immediately seconded by Gu Weibei and Meng Jia. Clearly, all three believed that during the half-hour Ye Qing was gone, she had unleashed her full power.

After all, this was the same person who had, not long ago, killed five wild boars in one go. Dealing with a bunch of weak squirrels would be nothing in comparison.

Even if she hadn’t wiped out the whole group, she must have killed a few to set an example, scaring them into giving her all these nuts. They were clearly terrified of Ye Qing, the demon goddess.

Seeing the same suspicious looks from the three of them, Ye Qing couldn’t help but twitch the corner of her mouth.

"Believe what you will. The crisis is over now. It’s getting late, and since we’ve gained so much loot, it’s not wise to linger in the mountains any longer. How about we skip looking for the last medicinal herb today and just head back?"

Ye Qing asked for their opinions.

The other three had no objections. The encounter with the squirrels had scared them out of their wits, and they were still shaken by it. All they wanted now was to go back and sleep to calm their nerves.

The two baskets of pine nuts had been carried out of the pine forest by Ye Qing using vines to support them. But now, with outsiders present, she couldn’t cheat like that anymore.

Luckily, Gu Weibei and Gu Weinan were quite observant. Seeing how difficult it was to carry the two baskets of pine nuts, they immediately offered to take over the heavy load, with the siblings planning to take turns as porters.

With the remaining items on their backs, the four of them began to head down the mountain.

However, they hadn’t even walked a few hundred meters when suddenly a dark figure swiftly darted through the Korean pines. It hung from a branch with one hand, swinging briefly before leaping in front of them in no time, blocking their path.

"What the heck is this?" Meng Jia's voice carried a sob.

Just as she was recovering from the nightmare of being attacked by a swarm of squirrels, this unknown and frightening creature was now blocking their way. She had been working in Kaoshan Village for two years and had been in the mountains before, but had never had a day as thrilling and dangerous as today, nor had she ever seen this animal in the mountains.

But it wasn’t just Meng Jia who was stunned; Gu Weinan and Gu Weibei were also taken aback.

The creature blocking their path had a dark body. Its face resembled that of a monkey or a gorilla. However, its lips and nose were red, and it had orange whiskers on both sides, making it look like a clown's face. Its head was large, and its arms were exceptionally long, standing just over a meter tall. Its appearance was quite strange and initially frightening.

"What is this? I've never seen anything like it before," Gu Weinan wondered. She had lived in the Changbai Mountains for seventeen years and had gone hunting with Gu Zhenxing and Yang Dazhi many times, but had never encountered this animal in the mountains before.

It was Gu Weibei, who had remained silent until now, staring at the dark creature in front of him. After a moment of thought, he suddenly uttered two words:

"Shanxiao!"

At those two words, Gu Weinan stammered, clearly frightened:

"What!? This thing is a Shanxiao?"

Ye Qing, not understanding why Gu Weinan paled at the mention of "Shanxiao," asked:

"What is a Shanxiao? Is there something wrong with it?"

Gu Weinan looked at Ye Qing with a look of terror:

"There’s an old Changbai Mountain saying: 'Better to meet wild dogs and wolves than to provoke a Shanxiao.' From this saying alone, you can see how terrifying a Shanxiao is."

"From childhood, I’ve heard elders tell various tales about Shanxiao. They say this creature is a mountain spirit, uglier than a ghost, and faster than a leopard. It can tear a tigress apart with its bare hands and outmatch even the fox spirit, making it the unseen ruler of Changbai Mountain!"

"But in my seventeen years, this is the first time I’ve seen a real Shanxiao! Its appearance is truly unflattering; no wonder it’s called a Shanxiao."

Ye Qing looked at the creature in front of her, which resembled a cross between a monkey and a baboon. Instead of feeling fear, she found it oddly novel and curious.

This mountain monkey, judging from its appearance, should belong to the primate family.

What was strange, however, was that according to the geographical and biological knowledge Ye Qing possessed, most primates generally live in tropical and subtropical regions. Changbai Mountain's temperate climate, both in terms of its geographic location and ecological environment, was not suitable for primates to survive.

So why had this mountain monkey appeared in the Changbai Mountain region?

Ye Qing felt a flicker of doubt.

But she didn't have much time to ponder, because at that moment, the mountain monkey blocking their path started to jump around wildly, waving its arms and slapping its chest, performing peculiar actions while letting out baboon-like cries. It looked extremely agitated and anxious.

The group felt both confused and frightened, unsure what the creature’s bizarre actions meant.

Gu Weinan's heart raced.

"Could this creature be looking for a fight? The village elders say that when these creatures get angry, even tigers and leopards have to give way. I don't know if it's true, but maybe we should scare it off by firing a shot. If we confront it, I’m afraid the four of us together might not stand a chance!"

Panicking, she instinctively reached for the gun on her back, aiming at the mountain monkey.

"Wait!"

Ye Qing quickly stopped Gu Weinan's rash move and said thoughtfully,

"You said you’ve never seen this mountain monkey before, which means it probably doesn't live in the forests near the village. That leaves only one possibility—it must have come down from the higher altitudes of the main peak!"

"No matter how strong this creature is, even if it can fight tigers and leopards, it might not necessarily win against wolf packs. Not to mention, there are also bears in these mountains. Do you think it could fight a bear?"

"So why did it come down from the main peak? To hunt for food? This isn’t its ideal hunting ground!"

Gu Weibei agreed with this reasoning.

"Exactly. If everything was fine, why would it leave its familiar deep forests and come to a strange territory to block our path? It's definitely not just about hunting!"

Gu Weinan frowned. "You two are sharper than me, so what do you think it’s here for?"

Ye Qing thought back to the fox she encountered in the morning. That fox had been following her, drawn by the special spiritual energy of the sweet potatoes she was carrying.

Having used her wood element abilities several times in this forest today, a sudden realization hit Ye Qing.

She suspected that the mandrill might have been drawn here by her wood element abilities.

However, the forest near Kaosan Village was quite a distance from the main peak. How could the mandrill have detected the presence of her wood element abilities so quickly and tracked her from such a distant place?

Gu Weibei was also lost in thought. He didn’t know about Ye Qing’s abilities, but after pondering for a while, he hesitantly spoke up.

“Could it be that when I shot that foolish deer this morning, the loud gunshot might have attracted the mandrill from the main peak?”

This idea suddenly dawned on Ye Qing, and she immediately snapped her fingers, thinking his words made sense.

The mandrill must have first heard the gunshot and followed the sound to this forest. Then, it tracked her using the scent of her wood element abilities and followed her.

“I suspect it’s seeking help from us. Otherwise, there’s no explanation for its abnormal behavior of descending the mountain and aggressively confronting people. It must be facing some difficulty it can’t resolve on its own, which is why it’s taken the risk of coming down the mountain to ask for human assistance!” Ye Qing conjectured.

Gu Weibei and Meng Jia found this reasoning increasingly convincing. Even the mandrill’s anxious actions of jumping around seemed to make more sense now.

“So what do we do now? Should we still head down the mountain?” Gu Weinan scratched the back of her head. Honestly, she had never heard of a mandrill seeking help from humans before. It was truly baffling.

Ye Qing glanced at the sun still hanging in the sky and then at the mandrill that was anxiously scratching its ears and cheeks. After a moment of hesitation, she steeled herself and decided.

“Let’s go! Follow it and see what happens!”

However, with so many baskets on their backs, it was clearly not suitable for traveling. So, under Gu Weibei’s guidance, they hid the baskets in a nearby cave, carefully covering them with dry grass to make sure they were well-hidden. Only then did they set off lightly with their hunting guns, bravely following the mandrill deeper into the forest.

The mandrill quickly led the way, darting through the coniferous and deciduous forests. Its long arms gave it a significant advantage in climbing, and it swiftly moved far ahead.

Afraid that they might lose their way, the mandrill would call out and occasionally come back to check on them, clearly acting as their guide.

Seeing this behavior, the group became more convinced that Ye Qing’s speculation was likely correct. This mandrill must be in trouble and was asking for their help!

They navigated through the forest for nearly an hour, hurrying as much as possible. After a long while, they were all panting and drenched in sweat, so exhausted they were ready to give up. But just then, the mandrill stopped.

At this point, they realized that the mandrill had led them to a cliff. They were now at the peak of a dangerous mountain, and just a short distance away was a steep, perilous cliff. Ahead of them was a sheer cliff several hundred meters high.

The moment the mandrill arrived, it rushed to the cliff’s edge, stretched its neck to peer over the edge, and emitted an anxious cry.

The group was wondering what the creature was doing when, to their surprise, an anxious cry came from the bottom of the cliff, seeming to respond to the mountain goblin’s call.

The group was taken aback.

Ye Qing hurriedly stepped forward and cautiously peered over the edge of the cliff.

What she saw startled her. The cliff was hundreds of meters deep, appearing to have no bottom. About ten meters below the peak, there was a small, protruding rock platform. On that platform, which was barely over half a square meter, a small black mountain goblin was trapped.

Seeing this, Ye Qing suddenly realized. It dawned on her that the mountain goblin had gone to seek help from below to rescue its offspring!

The others also leaned over the edge and saw the trapped baby mountain goblin on the rock.

The little mountain goblin had likely wandered to this treacherous peak while playing and, unfamiliar with the surroundings, had slipped and fallen from the cliff.

Fortunately, in the midst of this misfortune, it hadn’t plunged hundreds of meters into the abyss but had landed on the protruding rock ledge.

But alas, though it managed to cling to life, during its fall, it was struck by the rocks that dislodged with it.

The rock hit it and pinned it to the platform, rendering it completely immobile. All it could do was cry out for help in desperation.

The female mandrill must have run down from the main peak to search for her missing child, only to find it trapped below the cliff.

Unfortunately, this section of the cliff was extremely smooth, offering no footholds or handholds for climbing. The mandrill couldn't descend, and as she watched, her child's cries grew weaker and weaker. Desperate, she had no choice but to go down the mountain to seek help.

It just so happened that Ye Qing and his group were collecting herbs in the mountains and had fired their guns. The mandrill, drawn by the gunshots, followed them into the nearby woods.

"It turns out her child fell down. No wonder this mandrill is so agitated and desperate. But what can we do? The cliff is so high; even if we wanted to help, we can't get down there!"

After getting a clear view of the situation below, Gu Weinan couldn't help but mutter.

Ye Qing was still intently observing the mandrill on the platform.

Her eyesight was better than most, and she could see that the young mandrill was in poor condition. It seemed that when the large rock struck, it had broken one of its legs. In pain, the mandrill struggled, only to worsen its condition, causing the wound to be ground against the sharp rocks, resulting in a bloody mess.

"This young mandrill has likely been trapped for several days. The mother mandrill must have been searching for her child all along, finally finding it here today. Without food or water for days, and with a broken leg and external injuries, the mandrill's vitality is rapidly waning. I don't think it will last much longer."

Ye Qing sighed deeply.

"If we don't rescue it soon, given the current situation, this little one is likely in serious peril."

The other three fell silent upon hearing this, their faces showing a look of compassion.

But they weren't being foolish. The cliff was obviously dangerous, and they had no tools. It wouldn’t be wise to risk their lives for an animal. If they were to lose their lives in the process, it would be a price too high to pay.

Gu Weibei looked at Ye Qing and sighed.

"Survival of the fittest; such occurrences are all too common in the mountains. Our capabilities are limited; even if we wanted to help, we’re powerless."

Although Gu Weinan and Meng Jia didn't say anything, their expressions indicated they felt the same way as Gu Weibei.

Ye Qing didn't respond.

With her knowledge from a future century, she had a deeper understanding of Earth’s species and their evolution. At least from what she could remember, even before the apocalyptic disasters had struck, she had never heard of the ‘mountain goblin’ species. It seemed to exist only in ancient mythological texts such as the ‘Classic of Mountains and Seas.’

But now, this legendary species had materialized before her. Ye Qing even suspected that it only inhabited the Changbai Mountain area. Even in this undeveloped, primeval forest, their numbers were scarce.

Once Changbai Mountain’s Heaven Lake became a world-class tourist destination and was overdeveloped, this species would vanish into the annals of history.

This explained why no geographical or biological books or documentaries in the country had ever mentioned the ‘mountain goblin.’ Nor had any biologist documented signs of this species in Changbai Mountain.

This meant that by the 1970s, the mountain goblin had already become an endangered species in Changbai Mountain.

Going further, it was even possible that the two mountain goblins before her eyes were the last of their kind.

If that were true, then the mountain goblin trapped on the cliff below would be extraordinarily precious. It might be the key to whether this species could continue to survive and reproduce. If it died, the extinction of the species would become inevitable, and nothing could reverse that.

This guess might be extreme, but Ye Qing didn't dare to take the risk. She couldn't bear to watch this little mountain goblin die before her very eyes.

"Wait here. I'm going to find something!"

Ye Qing threw out these words and then turned to head into the forest.

Once she entered the dense woods and confirmed that the other three weren't following her, she took out some vines from her satchel and began to catalyze them, turning them into a thick, long vine resembling a hemp rope. She then dragged it back toward the cliff.

"I found a vine in the mountains. It's very thick and sturdy, so it should work. Find a thick tree or a rock to help me secure this vine. I’ll hang from the vine and see if I can reach that platform!"

Seeing that Ye Qing was about to tie the end of the vine around her waist, the others immediately became anxious and said:

"Master, let me go instead!"

"I’ve been climbing trees and collecting bird eggs in the forest since childhood. I'm not afraid of heights, let me handle it!"

"Gu Weibei, don't try to show off here. Being good at tree climbing isn’t useful here. This is rock climbing; it’s a different skill set!"

Gu Weibei: "..."

Seeing the three of them arguing intensely about who should go down, Ye Qing was incredibly helpless:

"Alright, stop arguing. None of you are as suitable as me for going down. I'm the shortest and lightest here. Though the vine looks sturdy, it might not support your weight."

"Moreover, that baby mountain goblin is likely seriously injured. You don't know how to use acupuncture needles, so you wouldn't be able to give it professional emergency treatment. If we accidentally cause further injury while moving it, even if we bring the baby mountain goblin up, it might not survive."

"So, it's not appropriate for any of you to go down. I'm the only one who can do this."

This reasoning immediately left the three unable to argue back.

"Master, you must be very careful when you go down! Don't worry, the three of us will hold the vine tightly, and nothing will happen to you!"

Realizing Ye Qing’s decision was final and not open to debate, the three could only concede. Worried the vine might not be long enough, Gu Weinan and Gu Weibei skipped looking for tree trunks or rocks. Instead, they tied the vine around their own waists. The two siblings were large and strong, more than capable of securing Ye Qing’s small frame.

Both of them had been trained by Gu Weidong and had mastered military rope knots. They quickly secured one end of the vine to their waists. The knots were tight and secure, requiring a sharp blade to untie.

The vine had been catalyzed and modified by Ye Qing's special ability, making it as tough and sturdy as hemp rope, so Ye Qing had no concerns about it breaking midway.

After confirming all preparations were perfect, Ye Qing tied the end of the vine securely around her waist, then carefully started her descent down the cliff face.