Chapter 213: Fairy Peak Survey Team

Chapter 213: Fairy Peak Investigation Team

Sun Mingjian said sternly, "What are you doing up here? This place isn't for you. Get down the mountain before dark."

Ceng Chunjin was curious about their outfits; these Taoists probably weren't up here for fun. He said, "We're up here to have fun, uncle. You're dressed like that and you're that skilled—what are you doing up here?"

Before Sun Mingjian could answer, Sun Jiaying said, "We don't have to explain ourselves to regular folks like you. You should head on down now."

Sun Najuan, upon seeing Sun Jiaying's face, felt like an earthquake hit her heart. She'd actually run into the woman from the photo album in her dad's study here!

Her heart instantly flooded with anger, drowning out her fear. "This mountain ain't yours! We're not going down!"

According to her mother, the woman in the album was her dad's ex-wife's kid, so Sun Najuan felt she had to hold her ground. Even though she was scared, she kept going, "You can hike this mountain, and so can we!"

Sun Mingjian warned earnestly, "This mountain's dangerous. You just saw that tiger, and there's more than one in these woods. I'm telling you, get down."

Sun Najuan said, "There are five of you and five of us. Can't each of you just protect one of us?"

Sun Mingjian: "..." Are girls in the mortal world always this unreasonable?

Sun Jiaying shot them a cold glare. "Yeah, right! You want us to protect you? Who do you think you are?! Go down or don't, we don't give a damn!"

The rest of the Sun family was equally speechless. Saving people was hardwired into them as kindness, but there was no gene for being a saint or a pushover.

Sun Mingjian and his crew had important stuff to handle and couldn't agree to such a crazy request. Saving their lives once was already a huge favor; they had no obligation to protect strangers.

So the five of them blew them off, said "Take care," and walked on.

"Hey! How can you just walk away!" Sun Najuan watched them go and wanted to follow, but their group split up.

Some wanted to go down, others wanted to stay up here.

Huang Xiaoman, still shaken up with tears in her eyes, said, "Let's head down."

Yang Shengyu agreed, "I'm saying we go down. Even though that tiger's dead, who knows how many are out there? I think we should head down."

Qiu Xifeng said, "I don't think the tigers are that scary. Those Taoists took care of them in no time. If we stick with them, we'll be good." She watched the Taoists walk away with admiration.

"I still want to head down," Huang Xiaoman insisted. Seeing a wild tiger made her legs go weak; next time, she'd stick to tourist attractions.

Sun Najuan shot them a dirty look. "Fine, go down if you want. Some people have the guts of a mouse in a human body!"

In the end, the five-person hiking team split in two: Sun Najuan, Ceng Chunjin, and Qiu Xifeng stayed, while Huang Xiaoman and Yang Shengyu heeded the advice and went down.

After parting, Sun Najuan and the other two hurried to catch up with the Taoists. For five minutes, no matter how fast they ran, they remained a fixed distance behind.

But after turning a corner, when they finally caught up, the Taoists had vanished.

"Where are they? How did they disappear!"

Sun Najuan glared at Qiu Xifeng. "It's your fault for being so slow!"

Qiu Xifeng had just twisted her ankle, which had indeed slowed her down. "Should we keep going forward or turn back?"

Sun Najuan said, "Turn back? No way! Keep going! They're ahead!"

As they walked, the path ahead disappeared. When they tried to go back, the way behind was gone too. They were lost.

On this vast mountain, only the three of them remained, with occasional animal sounds echoing. They began to regret and fear.

Qiu Xifeng complained, "It's all your fault! If you hadn't insisted on staying, we'd probably be in the car heading back to the hotel by now."

Sun Najuan refused to take the blame. "Did I beg you to stay? You chose to stay yourself, and now you're blaming me? How ridiculous!"

"Besides! If it weren't for you, we'd have caught up with those Taoists and wouldn't be lost!"

Ceng Chunjin quickly mediated, "We're all on the mountain now. Complaining won't help. We need to stick together!"

Then he said to Sun Najuan, "Najuan, keep your voice down. We have small knives for self-defense, but they won't help against a large beast."

"Hmph!" Sun Najuan was unhappy but knew she should be quieter.

Just then, strange noises came from the woods one after another.

"Roar—"

"Bang—"

Qiu Xifeng panicked, "It's a tiger! A tiger's roar! We need to hide!" Surrounded by bushes, nowhere seemed safe, and she was nearly in tears.

Sun Najuan was anxious too but stayed relatively calm. "Don't panic! Besides the tiger's roar, there's another sound."

Ceng Chunjin slapped his thigh. "Sounds like gunfire."

Sun Najuan tensed. "Guns? That means there are other people!"

As she spoke, Qiu Xifeng looked around and started shouting, "Help! We're here! Is anyone there? Help!"

Sun Najuan quickly stopped her. "Idiot! Aren't you afraid of attracting beasts?"

Qiu Xifeng paled. "Sun Najuan, don't jinx it!"

"If we don't call out, how else will they notice us? I don't want to be eaten by a tiger."

Sun Najuan had no better idea. "Then go ahead and call."

Qiu Xifeng said, "My voice alone isn't loud enough. Everyone shout together."

"I'll do it," Ceng Chunjin said, and bellowed, "Help! Can anyone save us!"

Ten minutes later, the bushes in front of them rustled. They had attracted people, not beasts.

The ones who came were real people—soldiers and investigators.

There were 16 soldiers and investigators in total, with 12 present here. They had been sent to investigate.

The lead soldier, Zhong Guangqiang, swept his cold gaze over them. "What are you doing here?"

Ceng Chunjin felt an invisible pressure bearing down on him. "We came up to hike, but we got lost."

He paused, then added, "Can we follow you?"

One investigator said, "That's not a good idea. We're not here for fun."

Ye Haiqian and Hu Dongmei were two professors leading the investigation team, each with four members. They had come to Fairy Peak to study the cause of its recent changes.