Chapter 390: Young Master Wan, A Word of Advice
Cheng Yuan sighed. If worse came to worst, he’d just have to walk to the Celestial Witch Sect’s headquarters.
’But without navigation, I wonder if I’ll get lost...’
Just as Cheng Yuan was feeling utterly frustrated, the faint roar of car engines drifted from the distance!
Overjoyed, Cheng Yuan quickly activated the second form of his Double Pupil and looked toward the source of the sound!
Cheng Yuan saw a small convoy of three off-road vehicles.
As luck would have it, the people in the convoy were He Jing and her group, whom he had met on the plane.
Cheng Yuan excitedly waved in the direction of the convoy.
This wasn’t Wan Liang’s first time in the Hundred Thousand Mountains. He was quite familiar with the surrounding scenery and was enthusiastically describing the landscapes and local products to He Jing.
Unfortunately, He Jing’s mind was completely occupied with thoughts of Cheng Yuan, and she was completely unmoved by Wan Liang’s advances.
But Wan Liang wasn’t angry at all. ’Once we’re deep in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, where no one can hear you scream, let’s see if He Jing still acts so high and mighty.’
’Won’t she be putty in my hands then?’
’He had already bagged several beautiful women using the same trick!’
Wan Liang and his travel companions sat comfortably in the car, driven by a guide he had hired.
As they drove on, the guide spotted Cheng Yuan waving and slammed on the brakes, his expression turning grave as he stared ahead.
In the Uninhabited Area of the Hundred Thousand Mountains, a strange man flagging down a car on the road was highly unusual and extremely dangerous!
"Mr. Wan, there’s someone up ahead. I recommend we take a detour."
Wan Liang was a seasoned veteran himself and instantly became vigilant. He asked in a low voice, "If we take a detour, what time will we reach the campsite?"
"The detour will add another eighty kilometers, mostly on muddy trails. We wouldn’t get to the campsite until ten tonight."
Wan Liang frowned deeply. They were all weary from the long journey and needed to get to the campsite to rest as soon as possible.
’If they took the detour, they’d have to endure another three or four hours of bumpy roads, which was truly unbearable.’
He Jing had excellent eyesight and recognized Cheng Yuan even from a great distance. She cried out in pleasant surprise, "Cheng Yuan! It’s Cheng Yuan! It looks like his car broke down!"
’Cheng Yuan??’
Wan Liang quickly grabbed a pair of binoculars to get a better look.
’It really was that kid who sat next to He Jing on the plane!’
’In that case, there was nothing to be afraid of.’
’He’d invited him to go hunting on the plane and been rejected. Since they’d run into each other now, he couldn’t miss this golden opportunity!’
’He had to show He Jing who the real man was!’
"Guide Hua, that’s an acquaintance up ahead. Let’s go over."
Hua Jun had been a guide in the Hundred Thousand Mountains for half his life and was known for his caution. He said gravely, "Mr. Wan, in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, acquaintances are often more dangerous than strangers! If you insist on approaching, you’ll have to pay more."
Wan Liang said magnanimously, "Then I’ll add the fee for one more person."
Hua Jun shook his head lightly. "Mr. Wan, the situation is extremely dangerous. The fee for one person isn’t enough! Ten times the fee! Only that would be enough for me to risk my men’s lives!"
Ten times?
Wan Liang was furious!
He had paid a total of 200,000 to hire Hua Jun and his team. Ten times that would be two million!
’This Hua Jun, does he take me for a sucker?’
"Guide Hua, why don’t you just rob a bank? Do you take me for a sucker?"
"Mr. Wan, I’m not asking for an exorbitant price. This is the standard rate for a high-risk journey. After all, you only get one life. If you’re unwilling to pay, then I’m afraid our guide service ends here. I will refund you eighty percent of the guide fee."
Wan Liang’s gaze darkened. "Guide Hua, aren’t you breaking the rules by doing this? Aren’t you afraid I’ll have you blacklisted in the traveler community?"
"That is your prerogative, Mr. Wan."
With a sharp tug, Hua Jun pulled the car door open and got out.
The guides from the car behind also got out and came over. "Brother Jun, what’s going on?" one asked.
"There’s someone up ahead, and the situation doesn’t feel right. Mr. Wan refuses to take a detour and wants to pick the person up. The risk is too high. I asked him to increase the fee, but he refused. So, I proposed to terminate our guide service. If you want to continue working for Mr. Wan, I won’t stop you, but you’ll have to bear all the consequences yourselves."
The two of them quickly shook their heads.
"We’ll follow Brother Jun! If it weren’t for him leading us, we’d have died several times already!"
The three of them reached a consensus and turned to look at Wan Liang.
Wan Liang frowned. He had been to the Hundred Thousand Mountains several times, so he wasn’t afraid of getting lost.
’The problem was, with this group of amateurs, he needed these guides to help with the hunt.’
’Especially if they ran into fierce beasts like tigers, black bears, or wild boars, he was genuinely worried he couldn’t handle it on his own.’
Wan Liang looked at his travel companions with a bitter smile. "I’ve hit the limit on my card. Can everyone chip in a little? I’ll definitely pay you all back in full after we get back."
The moment they heard money was involved, the travelers’ expressions changed, and they completely avoided Wan Liang’s gaze.
Only He Jing took out a bank card. "I have 500,000 in my account, but that’s still a ways off from two million. Can’t we all chip in a little more?"
Everyone automatically ignored He Jing’s words. They were fine with coming along for the fun, but paying for it was absolutely out of the question.
A young man named Xiang Fei, not wanting to pay, pretended to be angry and said, "Friends, these three guides are jacking up the price at the last minute. That’s a low move! Do they really think we’re a bunch of clueless newbies? Our Young Master Wan is a seasoned travel enthusiast who’s been to the Hundred Thousand Mountains many times! To him, this place is like his own backyard. We don’t need these guides at all! Right, Young Master Wan?"
Flattered by Xiang Fei’s praise, Wan Liang’s ego swelled. He said in a low voice, "Xiang Fei is right. I’ve been to the Hundred Thousand Mountains many times; I could navigate it with my eyes closed. Guide Hua, the most I’ll give you is double the fee. Not a single cent more."
"Then there’s nothing more to say! Young Master Wan, for the sake of our past dealings, I must remind you of one thing! The Hundred Thousand Mountains is a lawless place! Hundreds of people disappear here every year without a trace! Even if that person up ahead is your own relative, you should be on guard! Farewell!"
Hua Jun and the other two guides turned and left. In the Hundred Thousand Mountains, cases of people being betrayed by their own relatives had happened many times, and he had no intention of taking that risk!
The three guides drove off in one of the off-road vehicles, leaving two for the seven travelers, which was still enough.
Wan Liang shot a cold glance at the three departing guides, secretly vowing to himself, ’When I get back, I have to get them blacklisted in the traveler community.’
However, he took Hua Jun’s words to heart.
’After picking up Cheng Yuan, he absolutely must not listen to any of his suggestions, especially not taking any route Cheng Yuan pointed out.’
’Everything had to be done under his command!’
’Furthermore, they would stick to hunting on the outskirts, where the chances of encountering fierce beasts were low.’
Soon, the two off-road vehicles drove up to Cheng Yuan. However, Wan Liang didn’t get out right away. Instead, he had Xiang Fei, who was in the front passenger seat, roll down the window.
"Mr. Cheng, what are you doing here? What happened to your car?"
Cheng Yuan "faithfully" replied, "The guide I hired suddenly had a medical emergency, and the car crashed head-on into a tree. The guide died on the spot, the gas tank was ruptured, and the car ran out of fuel! Thank goodness I ran into you all, otherwise I wouldn’t have known what to do."