Chapter 18
Standing at the foot of the mountain, watching the enthusiastic, gear-clad hikers, Wen Linyu was still trying to process the situation.
This was what Gu Chi wanted him to do?
The mountain was famous, and being a Saturday, it was crowded with families, groups of friends, live streamers, and of course, hand-in-hand couples.
This bustling atmosphere was something Wen Linyu hadn’t experienced during his self-imposed isolation, or perhaps, ever.
Gu Chi’s gaze was fixed on the couples, his eyes glued to their intertwined hands. One couple had the woman holding the man’s arm, the other couple held hands.
Climbing this mountain wasn’t a quick task. Most young people these days were physically unfit, but these couples were determined to reach the Three Lives Stone at the summit and the love lock cliff that Gu Chi was so fixated on.
Wen Linyu was still unaware of Gu Chi’s thoughts, but Gu Chi had already started a silent competition with the couples.
—He and his little apprentice would be the fastest!
“What are you buying all this for?” Wen Linyu, snapping out of his daze, saw Gu Chi return with hiking poles, water bottles, and sun hats.
Gu Chi snorted: “They have them, so we should too!”
Wen Linyu: “…” What’s with this competitive spirit? Comparing even these trivial things? Is he a child?
Then another question arose: “Where did you get the money?”
Gu Chi looked at him as if he were an idiot: “You don’t know how much money I have?”
His accounts were overflowing with money, not to mention the treasures in his interspatial ring.
Wen Linyu knew, but they weren’t in the same world. Could Gu Chi’s money be used here?
Gu Chi brushed aside the details: “I don’t know. I didn’t pay with cash.”
Wen Linyu asked: “Then what did you give them?”
Gu Chi, his attention elsewhere, waved dismissively: “A silver coin. Come on, let’s go.”
Wen Linyu stared at the hat Gu Chi had thrust into his hands, speechless. As far as he knew, a single silver coin from Gu Chi’s treasury was worth at least ten to twenty thousand, and he had just exchanged it for items worth less than two hundred.
He wanted to protest the extravagance, but it wasn’t his money. Besides, he wasn’t short of money himself now. There was no need to be frugal. In fact, he should be spending more.
They began their ascent. For someone accustomed to climbing the steps of the Cultivation University’s teaching building, these two thousand steps were nothing. His own body, although not as strong as Gu Chi’s, was still enhanced by cultivation. The only noticeable effect of the exertion was a slight flush on his cheeks.
The ordinary hikers struggled. The first few hundred steps were met with boisterous laughter and boasts of conquering the “tiny mountain,” but by the five hundredth step, they were panting, relying heavily on their hiking poles.
By the thousandth step, they were taking two steps, then resting for three.
“Tch!” Gu Chi sneered at the struggling hikers. Trying to compete with him? How foolish!
Wen Linyu, massaging his temples, couldn’t help but say: “Please, don’t sneer like that.”
Gu Chi was displeased: “Why not? I can’t even laugh now?”
Wen Linyu: “…I’m afraid you’ll get beaten up.”
Gu Chi scoffed: “Beaten up? Who can beat me?”
“That’s not what I meant…” Wen Linyu didn’t want to explain, but Gu Chi, in his current state of excitement, had been holding his hand throughout the climb.
Gu Chi was now looking down at the other hikers with a smug, arrogant expression that practically invited a beating. Wen Linyu didn’t want to be associated with him. Although he wasn’t as self-conscious as before, he still cared about his image.
In this age of social media, a single photo could ruin his reputation.
He couldn’t afford the embarrassment.
Besides, his relationship with Gu Chi wasn’t what it appeared to be.
Seeing Wen Linyu’s silence, Gu Chi toned down his arrogance. Fine, he would do as his apprentice wished. He gave the exhausted couples one last disdainful look, then, chin held high, continued his ascent with Wen Linyu.
“What the hell is he so smug about?” The male hiker from Couple #1, sitting on the steps to rest, was annoyed. “Honey, did you see that? That asshole keeps looking down on us. Is he mocking us for being weak?”
His girlfriend, too tired to speak, replied: “You’re imagining things. He’s standing higher up, of course he’s looking down. Can we just go back down?”
“I’m not imagining it! What’s he so proud of? Damn it, holding hands while climbing a mountain, showing off! As if no one else has a girlfriend!” The more he thought about it, the more irritated he became. How could they encounter such a person on a simple hike?
Couple #2, further down, chimed in: “Exactly! I’m so disgusted. That guy kept giving me this ‘pathetic loser’ look. I don’t even know him! Right, honey?”
His girlfriend gave him a look of disdain: “I told you to exercise more. Look at that guy’s physique, climbing all this way without even breaking a sweat. Of course he looks down on you!”
The male hiker from Couple #2 was also offended, cursing: “Fine! I hope that show-off couple dies a horrible death!”
Gu Chi, oblivious to the curse, had reached the midway point with Wen Linyu. The scene here was even more entertaining, with several people being carried down on stretchers. Gu Chi looked around, smugly satisfied. No one could beat them!
A bunch of weaklings!
Wen Linyu, somehow deciphering his expression, was speechless. They were ordinary people. Wasn’t it embarrassing for someone of his level to compare himself to them?
He couldn’t understand him. He hadn’t noticed this competitive streak in Gu Chi before.
Had coming to his world made him childish?
The midway point was a spacious plaza with scenic views. The hikers, having rested, were busy taking photos.
Gu Chi, focused on his victory, wasn’t paying much attention to Wen Linyu, giving him the opportunity to explore. It was still early, the mist hadn’t completely dissipated, and in the distance, he could see wisps of clouds clinging to the mountainside.
Wen Linyu quickly took a photo, adding it to his collection, to be shared only with his teacher.
Besides the scenery, there were also snack stalls and souvenir shops. After taking his photos, Gu Chi returned with several snacks.
Wen Linyu wasn’t hungry, but he noticed that Gu Chi had bought all his favorites, each one mildly spicy and without scallions, just the way he liked them.
He looked at the food, then at Gu Chi’s impassive face, as if buying him snacks, and getting his preferences right, was the most natural thing in the world.
Wen Linyu narrowed his eyes. This was definitely strange.
How did Gu Chi know his likes and dislikes? He had been asleep for ten years. Why did he know him so well?
