Steward Liu followed Yuan Jiu'an into an SUV. Yu Daochen looked at Pan Lun beside him, "Can you drive?"
Pan Lun replied confidently, "It's not me boasting, Master Yu, back in the day..."
"Alright, alright, get in the car," Yu Daochen quickly cut him off. Why was this guy the same as Qiangzi, always bragging about himself?
Pan Lun got into the first SUV with Yu Daochen. From now on, entering the Greater Khingan Range would depend on Pan Lun to lead the way.
Pan Lun stepped on the accelerator, and the SUV sped off. The others behind them also started their cars and followed Pan Lun, who was leading the way.
In the SUV, Pan Lun looked at Yu Daochen beside him, "Master Yu, why did you pinch me earlier?"
Yu Daochen found Pan Lun's lack of understanding a bit exasperating, "Didn't you realize that Young Master Yuan deliberately didn't want Yuan Lijuan to go to the Greater Khingan Range?"
Pan Lun finally reacted, "Damn it, I knew it! No wonder everyone was staring at me after I spoke."
In the second SUV, Steward Liu was driving, while Yuan Jiu'an behind him closed his eyes to rest.
"Young Master, those desperate individuals don't look like they have good intentions. I fear there might be trouble."
Yuan Jiu'an slowly opened his eyes, his gaze icy, "It doesn't matter. The one you should be worried about now is Yu Daochen. Those trash are just desperate men working for money. They are not to be feared."
Steward Liu said no more, focusing on following the car ahead driven by Yu Daochen.
A subordinate next to Wang Fei next to him cursed loudly, "That brat is such a busybody. We could have had some fun, but once we get into the mountains, I'll shoot him full of holes."
Wang Fei beside him admired the scenery outside, "No rush. Once we're in the mountains, we'll extort a good sum from that young master. With money, you can have anything."
"By the way, what did the buyer say?" Wang Fei asked a subordinate beside him, remembering something.
"The buyer said payment upon delivery," the subordinate replied.
Wang Fei nodded. Half a month ago, someone had commissioned them to find something called "Spirit Spring" in the Greater Khingan Range, offering a generous reward.
They had originally planned to find someone familiar with the terrain of the Greater Khingan Range to guide them. However, they unexpectedly found that Yuan Jiu'an was also heading to the Greater Khingan Range to find the Spirit Spring. Wang Fei, after some thought, decided to pull a double-cross, extort a good sum from Yuan Jiu'an, and then get the Spirit Spring for himself to make another profit.
The cars soon stopped on a flat area at the foot of the Greater Khingan Range.
Everyone got out of their cars. Yuan Jiu'an looked at Pan Lun, "Master Pan, please lead the way."
"No problem," Pan Lun nodded and looked at Yu Daochen beside him, "Master Yu, stay close to me once we enter the mountains."
Yu Daochen nodded. He naturally understood what Pan Lun meant.
Looking at the dense forest, Yu Daochen felt a sense of awe. It truly was a primeval forest; the vegetation here was incomparable to other mountains.
The group packed their belongings and followed Pan Lun into the mountains.
Pan Lun and Yu Daochen led the way, with Yuan Jiu'an and Steward Liu following behind. Wang Fei's group trailed them.
It had to be said that Pan Lun was indeed accustomed to living in the deep mountains and old forests, as he led them along relatively easy paths.
After traveling for the entire morning like this, Pan Lun found a relatively spacious spot to stop and rest.
A subordinate next to Wang Fei plopped down on the ground, scratching his neck, which was red from insect bites, and grumbled, "What kind of hellhole is this? So many bugs."
The other subordinates had also been bitten to varying degrees.
Yu Daochen sat on a large rock and looked at Pan Lun beside him. This guy really knew his stuff. He himself wasn't bitten because he was using his internal energy to protect his body, but Pan Lun, without using any energy to shield himself, hadn't been bitten at all.
Yu Daochen casually glanced at Yuan Jiu'an and Steward Liu, who were resting on the grass. He always felt something was off about that guy.
"Master Yu, use your energy to protect yourself later. I'll take them to a slightly different place," Pan Lun said softly to Yu Daochen as he was resting.
Yu Daochen looked at Pan Lun with a confused expression. The guy had a sly, mischievous grin on his face.
Yu Daochen immediately realized. This guy wouldn't be planning to take them on a more difficult path, would he?
As Yu Daochen was thinking, he heard Pan Lun shout to everyone, "The path might be a bit difficult later, so get ready."
Yuan Jiu'an looked at his watch. It was already 12:30. "Everyone, finish eating and prepare to set off."
They had prepared over ten days' worth of rations when entering the mountains.
A subordinate put down his heavy backpack, took out some instant noodles and several cans of beef, opened them all, and started a fire to cook.
"Wait, don't eat that stuff," Pan Lun whispered into Yu Daochen's ear.
Yu Daochen was a little surprised, but since the guy said so, there must be a reason.
Besides water, everyone had brought basic supplies like compressed biscuits, various canned goods, and instant noodles, as these items were easy to store and convenient.
After more than ten minutes, the food was ready, and everyone gathered to eat. Yu Daochen, however, took out a few compressed biscuits and started eating.
"Master Yu, why aren't you eating? Is it not to your taste?" Yuan Jiu'an asked, confused, seeing Yu Daochen only eating compressed biscuits.
Yu Daochen waved his hand and smiled, "Young Master Yuan, you jest. I'm not that picky. I'm just not very hungry. You all eat."
As he spoke, Yu Daochen looked at Pan Lun, who had already eaten three large bowls, and thought, This guy told me not to eat, yet he's enjoying himself immensely.
Author's Note:
I've been under a lot of academic pressure lately (and want to be lazy). Thank you all for the gifts, I'm very grateful for your support (muah). Honestly, there are many ideas for the Greater Khingan Range storyline, but I've been struggling to decide which one would be more satisfying for my little cuties to read.