Chapter 39: The Ghost King and the Poor Student 04

Suddenly, a mobile phone appeared on the seemingly deserted and primitive mountain, and only after Lao Diao’s remark did everyone begin to feel that something was off.

“Yeah, if it was placed here in advance, how did they know we would make a fire here?” Zhao Xiaoguang said, looking at Cheng Hongyi with suspicion.

Throughout this journey, Cheng Hongyi’s behavior had been the most unusual, and he was the one they were least familiar with. So, if someone had intentionally manipulated the situation, he was the most likely suspect.

“Did you do it?” Another girl in the group, Yang Yi, uncontrollably rushed up to Cheng Hongyi, looking as if she were on the verge of a breakdown. She grabbed his sleeve, half-crying and pleading, “If it was you, please, can you let us go back?”

Her eyes were filled with hope, unwilling to believe that everything here was real. Or rather, she preferred to believe that one of them was a traitor playing a prank, rather than accepting that an unknown, mysterious force had brought them here.

Unfortunately, Cheng Hongyi replied, “Sorry, if I knew how to leave, I would have done so by now.”

He then pulled his sleeve out of Yang Yi’s grip.

His movement seemed somewhat cold-hearted, but Cheng Hongyi had already pulled out a torch made from branches they had gathered while looking for wild fruit. Using the firelight, he turned without hesitation and headed up the mountain.

“Hey, kid, explain yourself!” Lao Diao was still persistent, shouting angrily, “Did I say you could leave? Damn it, get back here!”

Tang Bin could see that Lao Diao was about to explode, so he quickly said, “We’ve all been without food for half the day. None of us are doing well. If Cheng Hongyi were a spy, why would he suffer with us here? We can’t even escape, so he could just leave us behind and go, right?”

After saying this, Tang Bin turned and hurried after Cheng Hongyi.

If he could think of something this simple, he didn’t believe Lao Diao and the others wouldn’t.

It’s just that when people are under extreme stress, they often seek a way to vent their emotions, even though this approach… well, it did seem pretty low.

Lao Diao was just a senior in high school, after all…

And as Tang Bin had expected, by the time he caught up to Cheng Hongyi, Lao Diao and the others had already started heading up the mountain.

Lao Diao had even said they should let Cheng Hongyi and Tang Bin go ahead to scout the way.

As the leader, of course, Lao Diao was supposed to walk at the back.

Lao Diao’s lackeys were even more afraid than him. At this point, they were nearly at a loss, and whatever their leader said, they simply followed. The group extinguished the fire, packed up, and trudged uphill, continuing their journey with heavy steps.

Tang Bin quickly caught up to Cheng Hongyi, and Cheng Hongyi noticed, nodding at him and saying, “Thank you.”

“Thank me?” Tang Bin blinked, puzzled.

Cheng Hongyi said, “Everyone is exhausted. If a fight were to break out, it would be troublesome… Thank you for helping me.”

“Oh, you’re welcome.” Tang Bin replied, while cautiously studying Cheng Hongyi’s expression.

Unfortunately, from the side, he could only see Cheng Hongyi’s sharp profile and nothing else. He couldn’t tell what Cheng Hongyi was thinking at the moment.

The second half of the climb was still difficult.

It felt as if a thin layer of leaves covered the slippery mud, and with the steep incline, it was almost impossible to take a step without slipping.

Since there were no stairs, no paths, and no light, Tang Bin almost tripped several times, but each time, Cheng Hongyi managed to grab him and pull him back up.

The reason it was called “pulling” was because Tang Bin realized that Cheng Hongyi’s strength was actually quite impressive.

At least it was in stark contrast to his seemingly slender appearance.

—Cheng Hongyi’s arm strength was surprisingly strong.

The more Tang Bin felt like a burden and didn’t want to cause trouble, the worse he seemed to do. By the second half of the climb, since he kept slipping, Cheng Hongyi simply kept holding onto his hand without letting go.

After about an hour of walking, with each step slipping, Tang Bin finally saw a glimmer of light in the distance.

In the pitch-black forest, suddenly there was a light. Whether to be excited or fearful, Lao Diao, who was trailing behind them, asked, “What is that?”

One of Lao Diao’s lackeys gulped and said, “…Could it be a ghost, deliberately lighting a fire to lure us over and then…”

“Can you shut up?” Another lackey snapped at him. “Isn’t it scary enough already?”

“It’s true, I’ve heard people say…”

“Ahhh, shut up!” Huang Xiaomeng’s scream echoed through the mountains once more.

Tang Bin listened for a while to their anxious chatter, finally turning to Cheng Hongyi and asking the same question that everyone else was thinking: “What is that?”

Cheng Hongyi thought for a moment, then simply said, “We’ll find out if we go and see.”

“Alright.”

Since Cheng Hongyi said to go and see, Tang Bin followed him without hesitation.

The incline seemed less steep now, and the light grew nearer. Eventually, they could make out the outline of a building.

Cheng Hongyi’s voice remained calm as he said, “Looks like that’s the mountain-top cabin we’re supposed to stay in for the task.”

As he spoke, Cheng Hongyi took a few steps forward toward the cabin. Tang Bin’s arm was still held by him, so he was naturally led along as well.

But after a moment, Tang Bin kindly called out to the classmates behind them, who were too scared by their own imagination to come any closer, “We’re here.”

As they got closer to the cabin, its outline became clearer. The structure was quite small and low, resembling the kind of temporary shelter hunters would build in the mountains while hunting.

Cheng Hongyi pushed open the wooden door, and directly opposite the door was a fireplace, with a roaring fire burning inside. There were also many cylindrical wooden logs beside it.

The crackling sound of the firewood and the warmth it radiated gave a sense of reality. Tang Bin couldn’t help but sniffle and sneeze.

“Ahchoo!” After walking in the cold for so long, he hadn’t noticed the temperature outside, but once inside the warm cabin, he realized how cold it had really been.

At that moment, Cheng Hongyi let go of his arm. Tang Bin noticed him check his watch and couldn’t help but ask, “What time is it?”

“7:13 PM.”

After Cheng Hongyi finished speaking, he walked straight into the cabin and began searching around, flipping through things.

Tang Bin followed him around for a while but couldn’t figure out what he was looking for. Eventually, he grew too tired to move.

Not far from the fireplace, there was a long ^[1]Eight Immortals table (八仙桌) is a traditional Chinese square wooden table, typically supported by four sturdy legs, and often accompanied by four or more chairs. The name “Eight … Continue readingEight Immortals table with several chairs around it. Tang Bin walked over and sat down, unable to resist swinging his legs a little.

He was really exhausted from walking and climbing all day.

Especially since he was also starving now.

Tang Bin rubbed his flat stomach, looking quite pitiful.

At this moment, a slender hand appeared in front of him, holding half a piece of bread that looked dry and hard, but… it was food!

Tang Bin quickly looked up at the owner of the hand. Cheng Hongyi’s bright, piercing eyes met his as he chewed something with puffed cheeks and then lifted the piece of bread toward him.

Tang Bin took the bread in surprise and asked, “Where did this come from?!”

“I found it in a room that looks like a kitchen at the back.”

“Oh.”

Tang Bin didn’t ask more, just took the bread and started eating, giving Cheng Hongyi a silly smile.

He was really hungry. Tang Bin was so absorbed in eating the bread that he didn’t notice that Cheng Hongyi had been watching him the whole time.

“I’m done!” After gulping down the last piece of bread, Tang Bin looked up and found Cheng Hongyi still chewing slowly.

His cheeks were also puffed up, but his eating manner was very different from Tang Bin’s.

Tang Bin remembered that someone once said that the way he ate made him look like a little squirrel with pine nuts in its cheeks, but Cheng Hongyi ate with an air of sophistication, much like his calm demeanor. Everything about him radiated steadiness.

“There’s more in the back,” Cheng Hongyi said.

“Then I’ll go get it!” Tang Bin jumped up, but Cheng Hongyi pressed him back into the chair. “I’ll go.”

“Oh…”

So, Tang Bin had no choice but to stay seated and swing his legs again.

After a while, Cheng Hongyi came back with a big piece of bread and a pottery jar filled with some water.

“There’s a well in the backyard. I tried drawing some water up. It should be fine to drink,” Cheng Hongyi explained.

“Thank you!” Tang Bin sincerely thanked him and then took the jar and started drinking.

At this moment, Lao Diao and the others also entered the cabin. When they saw that Tang Bin and Cheng Hongyi had food, drink, and a fire to warm up by, they were completely stunned.

Lao Diao pulled out his knife again, his eyes a bit red, looking as though he was on high alert.

“Tell me, where did you get this food?!”

Tang Bin wasn’t scared when the knife was pointed at him, nor did he say anything. He just glanced at Cheng Hongyi, as if asking him—Did you hide the rest of the food?

He couldn’t help it, don’t blame him. For Tang Bin, food was more important than his life in the current situation.

In his mind, Cheng Hongyi was the one on his side. People like Zhao Xiaoguang, who had once bullied him and the original host… it was fine on a normal day, but when there wasn’t enough food, Tang Bin wasn’t about to share it with them.

Cheng Hongyi pressed his hand lightly on Tang Bin’s shoulder to calm him down, then spoke to Lao Diao and the others: “The bread’s at the back. There’s plenty. You can draw water from the well yourselves.”

“…You two go check,” Lao Diao clearly didn’t trust Cheng Hongyi’s words, but he couldn’t bear his hunger, so he turned to the two lackeys behind him.

The two lackeys were trembling with fear but didn’t want to show weakness. They steeled themselves and went around to the back of the room.

At this time, the two girls had already huddled in front of the fireplace to warm up. Lao Diao still watched Cheng Hongyi warily, while Zhao Xiaoguang sneered at Tang Bin, saying, “What’s this? Now you’re his little shadow?”

“Anyway, I’m not yours,” Tang Bin shot back with a timely retort.

“You!”

If this were school, Tang Bin would have been beaten by now, but Zhao Xiaoguang clearly didn’t have the strength anymore, and he looked very wary of Cheng Hongyi.

Cheng Hongyi was sitting beside Tang Bin, with one arm draped over his shoulder. They looked quite close.

The distance and posture made Zhao Xiaoguang feel frustrated, though he couldn’t understand why he was angry. He didn’t dare provoke the mysteriously enigmatic Cheng Hongyi, so he could only throw a few sour remarks: “Didn’t realize you’re so good at fawning. Got yourself attached to the big shot so quickly, huh?”

Tang Bin, hearing this, widened his eyes in surprise and then looked at Cheng Hongyi with a gleam of delight—So, does this mean I’ve really latched onto the male lead?!

So excited, he couldn’t control himself and reached out, patting Cheng Hongyi’s thigh.

Zhao Xiaoguang across from them: “…”

Normally, Song Yinzhe would probably have had a tearful expression by now, wishing he could crawl into a hole.

But now…

He had no choice but to say, “Look at Cheng Hongyi, are you sure you know what kind of person he is?”

When Zhao Xiaoguang had bullied the original host, the whole class, even the whole grade, knew about it.

And to please Zhao Xiaoguang, and to vent some of their own darkness, many people had joined in to bully him. Even worse, they spread rumors and badmouthed the original host. Not only did the original host suffer abuse, but he also carried the stigma.

There were even people who believed the rumor that “Song Yinzhe is gay, and Zhao Xiaoguang was so disturbed by him that he often beat him up.”

So Song Yinzhe, now Tang Bin, didn’t have a very good reputation at school.

Tang Bin barely realized this, and remembering that the male lead was in the same class, he wondered if he had heard those rumors and what he thought of him…

Could it be that the low favorability of 1 was because of that…?

He carefully checked the male lead’s favorability again—

Favorability: 1.

…So unmovable, like a mountain!

Just thinking about the rumors in the class and remembering that he had just touched Cheng Hongyi’s thigh… Tang Bin felt like he could just die right there.

However, despite the appallingly low favorability, Cheng Hongyi’s outward demeanor didn’t change at all. His hand, which had been resting on Tang Bin’s shoulder, never even moved.

He simply ignored Zhao Xiaoguang’s words and patted Tang Bin, asking, “Are you done eating?”

Tang Bin, feeling lost, nodded.

“Then let’s go check the backyard,” Cheng Hongyi said as he stood up. Throughout this, he hadn’t paid any attention to Zhao Xiaoguang or the others.