Chapter 174 - 174: Overnight in the Mountains

Words : 1288 Updated : Sep 25th, 2025

Chapter 174: Chapter 174: Overnight in the Mountains Gu Qiaoqiao lowered her head, staring blankly at the branch in front of her. It felt like a wooden fish spear. “All the food is in the trunk, and now that we can’t open it, Luh Fei won’t be back until evening…” Qin Yize softened as he saw the look of confusion on Gu Qiaoqiao’s face and gently explained. After all, they needed to find something to distract each other for a while. Otherwise, Qin Yize didn’t want to spend the following journey in an awkward silence. And the most important point was that when it came to technique, he truly didn’t have the precision that Gu Qiaoqiao did. “But, without a pot, are we supposed to eat them raw?” Although her voice was hoarse, Gu Qiaoqiao eventually spoke up. Qin Yize relaxed inside, took out a match from his shirt pocket, raised an eyebrow, and said, “If you can spear a fish, we’ll grill it to eat.” Grilled fish? That could work! Gu Qiaoqiao sneaked a glance at Qin Yize, noticing his calm and easy-going demeanor, as if everything that had happened earlier had already disappeared with the wind. Almost as if it hadn’t left any trace at all. Gu Qiaoqiao bit her lip, feeling somewhat relieved. Without further hesitation, she nodded and said, “I’ll give it a try.” Qin Yize’s lips curved into a light smile, “I’ll show you where they are.” With that, Qin Yize led Gu Qiaoqiao across the river stones to the middle of the large river. The current here was gentle, and the underwater weeds were faintly visible. Gu Qiaoqiao immediately saw several palm-sized crucian carps swimming by the weeds. Qin Yize stood by Gu Qiaoqiao’s side, pointed to a spot in front of them, and casually said, “Get that one first.” Gu Qiaoqiao clenched the wooden stick-turned-spear, narrowed her eyes slightly, and made her move without a second thought toward the fish Qin Yize had just pointed at. She struck it with one hit. Following that, Qin Yize’s eyes flickered, he bent down, grabbed the fish spear that Gu Qiaoqiao had thrown into the water, and soon, a crucian carp was flipping furiously on the spear. With a bit of force, Qin Yize threw the crucian carp onto the sand by the riverbank. Thus, it seemed they had finally forgotten the heart-wrenching scene from before, and in a short while caught five fish. When the eager flames were grilling a flat stone, Gu Qiaoqiao smelled the enticing aroma of fresh fish. The five fish had already been cleaned by Qin Yize and placed on the stone; underneath it, a pile of red-hot coals glowed. seaʀᴄh thё NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Without seasoning or salt, the taste was surprisingly delicious. Gu Qiaoqiao ate two fish, Qin Yize ate three, and for now, their hunger was somewhat alleviated. Having something to divert their attention, the awkwardness from before slowly dissipated. At this time, the sun finally lazily settled behind the mountain. Even so, the sky was still bright. But at this time, the temperature naturally dropped. Qin Yize put on his shirt and threw his jacket to Gu Qiaoqiao. Gu Qiaoqiao didn’t refuse and wore it with an air of someone who wasn’t scared of being scalded by boiling water. Wearing Qin Yize’s clothes, she squatted in a stone-strewn clearing, watching as Qin Yize gathered a bunch of mugwort and the like, apparently to smoke out mosquitoes. Neither of them spoke. Yet, their occasionally unintentional glances that touched then quickly shifted away seemed to carry a complexity different from before. The mugwort quickly caught fire. Clouds of smoke carrying a faint wild grass scent lingered in the surrounding air. Qin Yize clapped his hands, stood up, looked into the distance, then withdrew his gaze and said to Gu Qiaoqiao beside him, “I’m afraid we’re going to have to spend the night in the wild.” Gu Qiaoqiao didn’t lift her head and dully replied, “It’s fine.” Qin Yize, from his higher vantage point, glanced down at Gu Qiaoqiao squatting on the ground, a hint of a smile crossing his eyes. This girl, still feeling shy to look at him. Qin Yize added Artemisia to the fire at a leisurely pace. The mosquitoes were particularly numerous in the evening, but they were afraid of the scent of the Artemisia. The wisps of smoke enveloped them both. Gu Qiaoqiao kept her head down. She no longer dwelt on her earlier embarrassment but was wondering how many of her Gold Jade Stones had shattered. However, she knew that the Mysterious Dragon Box should be fine. The night gradually fell. Qin Yize suddenly stood up and looked into the distance, and Gu Qiaoqiao also looked over. It was Luh Fei coming back. Three young men followed behind him. They also brought a few lunch boxes wrapped in towels and a thermos. But Gu Qiaoqiao had no desire to eat at all. The other two brought back simple tents. There were no words that night. The next morning, as the dawn’s early light broke through the layers of rosy clouds, Gu Qiaoqiao woke up. Lifting the curtain of her tent, she saw several young men gathered around the car not far away. Gu Qiaoqiao crawled out of the tent. Then she saw a jeep parked on the winding road above. Gu Qiaoqiao was surprised, this must have happened late at night, and she was completely unaware of it. She thought she would toss and turn, unable to sleep, but she had slept like a log. Gu Qiaoqiao rubbed her face, re-combed her disheveled hair, and then saw Qin Yize waving at her. Gu Qiaoqiao hesitated for a moment. But she still walked over. Then the very first thing she saw was her box containing the Gold Jade Stones and the Mysterious Dragon Box, unscathed on the grassy ground. Gu Qiaoqiao’s eyes widened with surprise. No longer caring for anything else, she hurried to check and found that the Gold Jade Stones inside were also intact. They were just as they had been when put in, just as they were when taken out. That was the biggest surprise. However, the other items did not fare so well; the small iron pot with two ears had become deformed, turned into an iron pancake. The eggs and noodles had broken. But other things, like the clothes, were fine, as pancakes and pickles do not fear falling. Luh Fei explained enthusiastically from the side, “Sister-in-law, your box was lucky, Doctor Qin placed it in a safe corner of the trunk; otherwise, it might have ended up shattered like the eggs and noodles.” Gu Qiaoqiao exhaled a sigh of relief, glanced at Qin Yize with an unperturbed face, and smiled at Luh Fei, “Yeah, I had given up hope, but then I got an unexpected surprise.” Qin Yize cast a glance at Gu Qiaoqiao and said softly, “I brought a new iron pot. Make breakfast.” Gu Qiaoqiao agreed and, with her still fortunate, intact washbag, walked briskly towards the riverside. After eating breakfast, they packed up again and continued on their way out of the mountains in the new jeep. The journey was very safe, without any mishaps occurring. Qin Yize was busy with his work as usual. He had taken his documents out of the car a while ago, and apart from some stains, they were undamaged. And once the jeep emerged from the mountains, they found places to rest at night. Because in this region, populated areas were starting to cluster.

Chapter 174 - 174: Overnight in the Mountains

Comments (0)