Chapter 88

Chapter 88

Liu Datie was filled with regret. How could he have gotten so drunk yesterday and blurted out promises to his fans? He’d set off up the mountain before he was even fully sober, and by the time his head cleared, he had no idea where he was—it was a miracle he hadn't fallen to his death!

He was merely a tourist, completely unfamiliar with the mountain paths.

But at least he’d found someone! He wouldn’t have to spend the night on the mountain!

Chen Ji couldn’t help but chuckle, pointing south as he called out, “Head that way, through the woods. There’s a path—just follow it downhill, and you’ll reach the bottom.”

Liu Datie nodded vigorously, then shouted back, “How far is it? How long will it take?”

Chen Ji replied, “About two hours or so.”

{LMAO!!!}

{Big Iron surrenders.jpg}

The livestream chat was a sea of laughter, with many congratulating the streamer on finally being rescued.

Chen Ji assessed the height—a good ten meters or more. Sliding down such a steep slope would be no different from jumping off a cliff. The last person who slid down had already gone ahead to get a head start on reincarnation registration.

He hesitated. Xiangxiang was still underwater, and he didn’t know when she’d surface. But asking the guy to come all the way down here wasn’t feasible either.

To Liu Datie, Chen Ji’s hesitation seemed like a refusal. He quickly pleaded, “Bro, please, just help me out! If you can get me back to Wujiang Village, I’ll make sure you’re well compensated for your time… Or at least take me to a local guesthouse!”

Chen Ji was surprised when he heard “Wujiang Village.” He looked at Liu Datie. Wujiang Village was a scenic spot between Shangyang Village and Shangtang Town. Had he come from there? On foot? That was dozens of kilometers away… How impressive!

If Chen Ji had to walk dozens of kilometers on mountain roads, he’d probably be sprawled on the ground by now.

Seeing Chen Ji fall silent, Liu Datie clasped his hands together and begged, “Bro, seriously, the price is negotiable! I’m starving half to death!”

Liu Datie genuinely regretted his decision. Though he’d been drunk, before entering the mountain, he’d thought that with tourism so developed nowadays, he could just follow the road and eventually run into someone. That’s why he’d headed up the mountain without a second thought. How was he to know the mountain would be this vast and desolate? After walking for hours, there was no sign of a road, and even his cell service was spotty at best.

By the second hour, he’d already started to panic and decided to turn back, but he couldn’t find his way. Even though he’d followed his navigation toward the road, he kept ending up in the mountains, with no trace of a path in sight.

Thinking it was still dark and that daylight might make things easier—and not wanting to risk falling to his death in the dark—he decided to hunker down and continue streaming. Luckily, his portable charger held up, and having fans to chat with kept his spirits high. When dawn broke, he followed his navigation while continuing the stream, but he still found himself in the middle of nowhere.

If he hadn’t been putting on a brave face for his fans, he would’ve called for search and rescue long ago!

Now that he’d finally found someone, he wasn’t about to let this chance slip away.

Chen Ji called out, “Sure—it’ll take me a while to get up there. Wait where you are!”

Liu Datie quickly replied with several “okays,” afraid that any delay might make Chen Ji change his mind. Chen Ji sighed. He knew the mountain well. Though the straight-line distance was only about ten meters, taking the mountain path would take at least half an hour—might as well use the time to make good on what he'd promised the Mountain Lord.

After all, a life was at stake, right?

Having witnessed how dangerous the fish in the pond could be, Chen Ji wasn’t about to stick his hand in. Instead, he found a branch and stirred the water, calling out, “Xiangxiang! Xiangxiang! Someone’s lost up there. I’m taking him down the mountain first!”

A few bubbles rose to the surface. Chen Ji wasn’t sure if it was Xiangxiang, but she could handle herself anyway, so there was no point overthinking it. He headed up to fetch the stranded guy.

About half an hour later, Liu Datie finally spotted Chen Ji approaching from a distance. He let out a huge sigh of relief and shouted into his phone camera, “Everyone, our rescuer is here!”

“There’s always kindness in this world, no fear of the abyss of mortal troubles!① Everyone, drop those ‘666s’!”

{666! Half an hour—I thought he’d stood you up!}

{Me too!}

{Big Iron, remember to bow to him a couple times!}

{Big Iron, be careful! What if he sees you’ve got money and decides to kill you? Crying for help won’t save you then!}

Liu Datie paid no mind, even flexing his biceps and showing them off. “I, Big Iron, am a tough guy! You think I’d be taken out so easily? Who’d be calling who ‘daddy’ is still up for debate!”

Chen Ji: “…”

As Chen Ji approached, Liu Datie immediately switched to a fawning tone. “Bro! Sorry, sorry, it’s just for the stream—I shoot my mouth off! Don’t take it to heart, I’ll pay you extra!”

His honest admission was picked up by the livestream, sending viewers into another wave of laughter.

He then pointed the camera at Chen Ji and announced excitedly, “I, Big Iron, mean what I say! If this bro gets me down the mountain, I’ll pay him 20,000 yuan! Everyone, hold me to it!”

Chen Ji couldn’t help but smile. It seemed this young man wasn’t completely thoughtless—his livestream had a sizable audience, and now that everyone had seen Chen Ji’s face, even the most ruthless criminal would think twice.

After all, getting someone down safely was worth 20,000 yuan, while killing them might not even yield that much. These days, digital payments leave a paper trail, and the police can track them down easily.

{Damn, this guy is handsome!}

{Damn, a good-looking guy!}

{Keep filming—we love it!}

Noticing the comments, Liu Datie quickly turned the camera back to himself and cautiously said to Chen Ji, “Bro, I’ve got tens of thousands of followers, and there are thousands watching right now. If you get me down, I’ll definitely transfer you the 20,000, no funny business!”

Chen Ji nodded. “It’s fine, it’s no trouble. Just give me 200.”

“No, no, it’s the least I can do.” Liu Datie made a look of pure misery. “I’ve been walking for eight hours—you’re saving my life here!”

“Eight hours? You’re in great shape.” Chen Ji knew the guy must’ve been walking for a while, but he hadn’t expected it to be eight hours—eight hours, and he hadn’t been eaten or trapped by mountain demons? Incredibly lucky.

He should buy a lottery ticket once he’s back in town.

“I’m from the countryside, after all.” Liu Datie clasped his hands together again. “Bro, do you have any food? I’m seriously about to pass out—my stomach’s burning from hunger.”

Water hadn’t been an issue—he’d passed a stream and drunk his fill, clean or not. He’d even thought about finding a plastic bottle to carry water, but the area was so remote there wasn’t so much as a plastic bottle in sight!

Chen Ji took off his backpack and set it in front of Liu Datie. “My eyes aren’t great—take a look. There’s bottled water and self-heating meals…”

Liu Datie bent down to look. “Huh? Self-heating meals?”

As he spoke, the self-heating meal containers in the bamboo basket came into view—one tomato beef brisket flavor and one spicy crispy pork flavor. Liu Datie swallowed hard, and the livestream chat went wild.

{I knew there was a setup! Who brings self-heating meals to the mountains?}

{These things cost almost 40 yuan each—I can’t even afford to eat them!}

{This guy is way too handsome to be ordinary. Is he just trying to jump on this for clout?}

{What rural guy dresses like that? A year’s crops wouldn't pay for that outfit!}

Liu Datie glanced guiltily at Chen Ji, worried he’d see the comments. After all, the guy was being kind, and such speculation would surely piss him off. Plus, he’d got him on camera without asking.

Then Liu Datie froze. He noticed Chen Ji’s expression hadn’t changed—as if he hadn’t seen anything—standing there calmly with a gentle smile, waiting for him to finish searching. Suddenly, it hit him what Chen Ji had said earlier…

Liu Datie swallowed again. “…Bro, what did you say just now? Your eyes aren’t good?”

Oh crap, he's lost and a blind guy shows up to lead the way?! Is this for real?!

Chen Ji nodded: "Yeah, my vision has been getting worse lately. Don't worry, I can still make out the path fine."

Liu Datie let out a huge sigh of relief. "That's good, that's good..."

Chen Ji pointed to the side. "There's a clearing over there. Let's eat there, and there's water too... Could you carry the basket?"

After saying that, he took the lead and walked ahead. Liu Datie immediately shouldered the basket and followed Chen Ji. Knowing that he'd get to eat once they arrived, his back no longer ached, his legs no longer hurt, and he was practically flying down the path.

Only now could it be seen that Chen Ji was truly a mountain dweller—most people really couldn't keep up with his pace. Even someone like Liu Datie, who'd grown up rough and tough, could barely keep up.

In less than ten minutes, they reached the clearing. Liu Datie felt completely refreshed at the sight of the clear stream.

The live chat was going crazy too.

{There was a stream so close by all along! What was the point of Da Tie suffering from thirst for two hours?!}

{This place is really hard to find, okay? I'm starting to believe it's not scripted.}

{+1, you'd never find a spot like this unless you knew your way around.}

{But the scenery here is really beautiful... It must be amazing to camp here!}

The self-heating hot pot came in really handy when there's water available. Liu Datie quickly got it set up and ready to eat. Chen Ji had him sit and rest on the clearing while he went to the stream, quickly gathered a handful of wild chives, washed them in the water, and handed them to Liu Datie. Liu Datie waved the chives in front of the phone camera and said, "Guys, this dude's awesome! He even hooked me up with some extra food!"

After saying that, Liu Datie broke the chives into several pieces and tossed them into the self-heating hot pot to simmer until cooked. Chen Ji listened to him streaming nearby, noticing how incredibly energetic this guy was—one moment showing the scenery to the audience, the next cracking jokes, and once the hot pot was ready, he went on about how delicious it was, hoping Haidilao's PR would get the hint and send him some to eat.

The chat was filled with laughter and cheerful comments, though many still questioned whether it was all scripted. Liu Datie thought about it and decided he couldn't let Chen Ji get blamed—if an ordinary guy got dragged into this and criticized, he’d feel terrible. So he asked, "Bro, are you from around here? Did you come up the mountain to forage?"

"Yeah, local." Chen Ji nodded. "I live on the mountain."

Liu Datie stared incredulously at Chen Ji's arms and legs. Wait, with such slender arms and legs, he really lives on the mountain?! He followed up, "Huh? You really live on the mountain? Could you point out where? I’ll come find you to hang next time."

Chen Ji raised his hand and pointed toward the mountaintop. "Over there... Can you see the blue-tiled roofs?"

Chen Ji smiled and replied, "I don’t go up and down the mountain every day. Today was just a coincidence."

Liu Datie instinctively asked, "Then how do you handle meals?"

"...?" Chen Ji replied, "Our village gets package deliveries."

Author's Note:

① There's always genuine connection in this world, no need to fear life's deepest troubles—from the song "Laughing at the Mortal World" (also known as "Laughing at the World"? Both titles are used, according to Baidu Encyclopedia).