The nearby snakes suddenly scattered in all directions and disappeared.
Only the injured python raised its head and flicked its tongue, unable even to run.
Luo Chengan’s eyes suddenly widened. He stared at the talisman in his hand, paused for two seconds, and then burst into loud laughter.
All traces of his fear from moments ago had completely vanished.
He slapped the talisman onto his forehead and swaggered toward the python.
The giant python kept retreating. Luo Chengan became even happier, pointing at it with an utterly smug expression.
“Go ahead, keep acting tough with me! Believe me when I say I’ll capture you!”
Yu Qian: “……”
Yu Qian dusted herself off and stood up. When Luo Chengan had saved her just now, he had pushed her to the ground.
She had never expected Luo Chengan to save her at such a critical moment.
Her family background was excellent, but her parents had a poor relationship. She had an older brother who shared both parents with her, but she also had a younger brother.
An illegitimate son.
Her older brother had protected her very well, allowing her to do whatever she wanted.
But since childhood, she had watched her father raise that illegitimate son alongside her older brother.
Her mother was strict with her older brother because she did not want him to lose to someone from outside the family.
She had seen too much of humanity’s coldness, selfishness, and hypocrisy.
She had never imagined that someone she had only just met would, at the moment of life and death, unhesitatingly stand in front of her to protect her.
Yu Qian was actually somewhat shocked, but that little bit of shock quickly disappeared when Luo Chengan started glaring at the talisman and shouting at the python.
Yu Qian laughed helplessly as she went to retrieve her backpack.
“Stop messing around. It’s going to get dark soon. Let’s hurry back.”
There was no need to continue onward.
She believed what Xi Yu had said now.
Because everything had already been verified.
Luo Chengan still wasn’t satisfied. He had been frightened to the extreme, to the point that he was no longer afraid of snakes.
Luo Chengan made a face at the fleeing giant python before picking up the two backpacks. They were back to their normal weight.
Yu Qian’s backpack had never been opened. Luo Chengan was still uneasy.
“Can I take a look?”
“Sure.”
Yu Qian opened the backpack.
As expected, there were no snakes.
Those snakes had appeared very strangely, and they had disappeared just as suddenly.
Luo Chengan’s backpack had never been opened, yet there had been snakes inside.
The same was true of Yu Qian’s backpack. It had never been opened from beginning to end, but now the snakes were gone. Even though she had not seen them just now, she could tell from the weight that there had been something inside.
The Bewildering Forest really was strange.
And this was only the second day.
Without the things Xi Yu had given them, they probably would have died here.
Yu Qian wanted to quit. She had originally only come here for fun.
But then she watched Luo Chengan naturally take her backpack, and glanced at the talisman in her palm.
It should… be fine, right?
Besides the guests who had encountered danger, the production team had also narrowly escaped disaster.
The director lay limp in his chair, wiping the sweat from his face with a towel.
His phone had been ringing nonstop. Every call was from a prominent figure, including but not limited to the Lu family, the Luo family, the Yu family, the Shen family…
The director took a sip of hot tea before finally recovering. He practically wanted to kowtow twice to Xi Yu through the screen.
Fortunately, nothing had happened.
Not only had nothing happened, but the ratings were now rising in a straight line. The show had already become the number-one live variety program in China in terms of online viewers.
“Director, how are we supposed to deal with this? Are we going to get shut down?”
The staff member did not believe in any of this.
But after witnessing it with his own eyes, he could no longer deny it.
The netizens would surely be the same.
But the country prohibited feudal superstition, and they were worried that these things exposed in the livestream would have too great an impact.
Only after being reminded did the director think of this. He pondered for a moment.
“Call the people above and negotiate with them. I…”
Before the director could finish speaking, his assistant suddenly rushed in.
“Director! Director! Someone from above just called. They said we should continue livestreaming without worry. Whatever you do, don’t stop the livestream because of this.”
Director: “????”
He didn’t understand, but at least he was relieved.
Xi Yu was even more relieved. He knew what was going on. With him there, those things could not hurt anyone.
His heart had relaxed, but his hands couldn’t relax.
Xi Yu braced himself against the tent, his hands trembling, and finally managed to finish setting it up.
Shen Linchuan was doing fine. After he had put up two tents, Xi Yu had told him to cook while he took care of the remaining few tents himself.
He was somewhat distracted as he stir-fried the food. Just now, Luo Chengan’s desperate cries for help had come clearly through the communicator.
Yet Xi Yu had merely waved his hand and said it was fine. Fortunately, Luo Chengan had later reported that he was safe.
At that time, they had said they were coming back.
But it was already dark. Shen Linchuan had even finished cooking, yet they still had not returned.
Shen Linchuan had just been about to turn on the communicator and ask about them when he heard footsteps.
Xi Yu lit a fire. The pot was set over it, and the fragrant smell of pork belly drifted out.
Lu Zhixing walked toward Xi Yu by the light of the fire.
“Were you hurt?” Xi Yu casually asked.
Only then did Lu Zhixing remove the talisman and sit down beside Xi Yu. His voice was low and emotionless.
“I was just frightened. Nothing happened.”
Shen Linchuan did not know what had happened. He found a clean leaf, washed it, and put the food onto it. Then he turned around and asked, “Frightened? What happened?”
Lu Zhixing shook his head, looking somewhat listless. Shen Linchuan curiously looked at Luo Shujing.
Luo Shujing lowered his eyes and said nothing, making it impossible for anyone to see his expression.
Shen Linchuan was somewhat puzzled when he heard cheerful footsteps approaching from the distance.
“Brother, brother, brother! I’m back~”
Yu Qian came running over, panting heavily. When she saw the firelight, her eyes immediately lit up.
Xi Yu sat beside the fire, casually twirling a dead tree branch between his fingers. His features looked exceptionally handsome.
Originally, Yu Qian had only thought Xi Yu was pretty. But after going through what had just happened, she felt a sense of security from him unlike anything she had ever experienced.
She couldn’t help shouting, “Yubao!!!”
…………………………..
Xi Yu: “????”
Xi Yu’s hand trembled, and the dead tree branch fell.
Who was Yubao calling?
Him?
Xi Yu turned around in shock, only to meet two pairs of sparkling eyes.
“Brother, brother, brother~”
“Yubao, Yubao, Yubao~”
Xi Yu couldn’t help scooting backward. He bumped into Lu Zhixing and turned his head to complain.
“Have these two been possessed?”
Lu Zhixing tilted his head and wrapped an arm around Xi Yu’s.
“They think you’re amazing. Unlike me, I’m a coward. I definitely won’t dare sleep tonight after getting scared like that.”
Yu Qian frowned. A question mark slowly floated through her mind. Before she could figure out what was wrong, Shen Linchuan called them over to eat.
Seeing that everyone had returned, Shen Linchuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Xi Yu was so hungry that his stomach felt like it was pressed against his back. He was the first to pick up a leaf and use it as a bowl.
On the second day, besides vegetables and a pot, the production team had prepared nothing else.
Shen Linchuan handed some food to Luo Chengan and the others, while teasing them.
“Chengan suddenly shouted for help. I thought you guys had run into some danger, considering how long you were gone.”
Shen Linchuan could not see what was happening on the other two paths. When he found them on the left side, he had been somewhat surprised, thinking that Xi Yu really seemed to have some ability.
There were few businessmen who did not believe in feng shui. The decorations in their homes, the placement of wealth trees in their companies—many people would find someone to calculate the auspicious arrangements for them.
Shen Linchuan had never done so himself, but almost all of his business partners had.
It wasn’t because he didn’t believe in it.
Quite the opposite—he believed in it too much, which was precisely why he did not dare let people casually…
Shen Linchuan had only said it in passing, but unexpectedly, Luo Chengan and Yu Qian suddenly became excited and began speaking over each other.
Yu Qian: “Let me tell you…”
Luo Chengan: “I’ll tell it, I’ll tell it…”
Yu Qian: “Fine, then you tell it.”
As Luo Chengan vividly described what had happened, the smile that had always been hanging on Shen Linchuan’s face gradually became solemn.
He was shocked by the dangers they had encountered.
Just hearing the description made it seem as though their lives had been hanging by a thread.
He had been traveling with Xi Yu. He did not have those talismans, but he had not encountered such dangers either.
Shen Linchuan thought of what Xi Yu had said when they had initially split into three groups.
Snakes and wolves.
He turned his head toward Lu Zhixing.
Lu Zhixing nodded.
Shen Linchuan’s movements slowed as he picked up food. His gaze toward Xi Yu became deep, with a dark glint flashing through his eyes.
Luo Chengan was still chattering away. Yu Qian laughed helplessly.
“Just eat. Aren’t you hungry?”
The few of them had only eaten breakfast before encountering such dangerous situations. Now that they had finally relaxed, they all felt dizzy with hunger.
Luo Chengan’s stomach growled. He stopped describing what had happened and simply concluded:
“My brother is super amazing. I told you all I believe him!”
“Exactly, exactly. From now on, we’re following Yubao.”
Yu Qian agreed wholeheartedly.
Lu Zhixing sat pressed against Xi Yu, practically right beside him. When he reached for food, he would occasionally brush against the back of Xi Yu’s hand.
Xi Yu was chewing on a piece of meat when a sudden itchiness brushed against his ear. Immediately afterward, Lu Zhixing’s deep voice sounded.
“I want to follow Yubao too.”
Lu Zhixing’s voice was very soft, so soft that only Xi Yu could hear him.
Xi Yu only felt that his ears were burning hot.
Hot and itchy.
His eyelashes trembled, and after a long moment, he softly replied, “Mm.”
Lu Zhixing’s smile froze. He looked at Xi Yu in surprise.
Just as he was about to confirm whether he had heard correctly, before he could ask, Luo Chengan suddenly spoke.
“Why do I smell something weird?”
Yu Qian: “What smell?”
“It smells like urine. Could these leaves be dirty?”
Luo Chengan frowned and kept sniffing. He was sitting closest to Luo Shujing.
Luo Shujing had been sitting silently at the very edge. Upon hearing this, he abruptly picked up his backpack and stood.
“I’m full. I’m going to the tent first.”
With that, he hurriedly ran into the nearest tent.
Yu Qian was so stunned by Luo Chengan’s words that she could barely eat while holding the leaf. She even secretly brought it close and sniffed it.
Shen Linchuan said helplessly, “They were washed clean. There’s no way they’d smell.”
Luo Chengan sniffed again, puzzled.
“Why can’t I smell it anymore?”