Sold for 300, I Fight Back with Superpowers

The distance from Beijing University to Wenyun Valley wasn’t short, and it required a bus transfer. By the time Su Qing and her group arrived at the foot of Wenyun Valley, more than two hours had passed.

Huo Tao glanced at his watch and said, ”It’s almost ten o’clock. Let’s head into the valley now, find a good spot to set up the stove and gather firewood, and then we can properly explore the valley this afternoon. How does that sound?”

”Sounds good, no problem.” Everyone agreed with the suggestion. The thing that interested them most about this autumn outing was the cookout. After all, it wasn’t often they got to cook a meal together in the wild.

Seeing that no one had any objections, Huo Tao asked Xie Lei about the general location of his previous cookout, and the group set off in the direction he pointed.

Wenyun Valley was nestled between two mountain peaks. One peak was very high, with layers of overlapping ridges that connected to a winding mountain range to the north. That was the true wilderness; wild wolves and boars were said to roam its depths, so very few people dared to venture into that range. The other peak, which wasn’t too high, bordered the Yunshan Scenic Area. This unique geography created a mountain effect, making the temperature inside Wenyun Valley noticeably higher than it was outside.

”Oh my gosh, it’s so beautiful here!” Liu Juan said, gazing joyfully at the mountain scenery. ”And it’s warmer here than outside the mountains.”

”Right?” Xie Lei said proudly. ”If you ask me, the scenery in Wenyun Valley is way better than the Yunshan Scenic Area next door. I don’t know why they never turned this place into a scenic area too.”

”Who knows? That’s for the leaders up top to worry about. All we need to do today is have fun,” one of the guys replied with a chuckle.

”That’s true.” Xie Lei nodded with a smile and pointed to a spot in the distance. ”We’re heading over to that pool. There’s a large open area next to it, and it’s surrounded by woods, so it’ll be easy to gather firewood.”

By now, they had been hiking in the mountains for over an hour and were very close to the spot Xie Lei had said was perfect for a cookout. They could even hear the roar of a waterfall cascading down.

Su Qing looked in the direction Xie Lei was pointing. In the distance, she saw a pool of water shimmering in the sunlight. Flecks of light twinkled through the forest branches. To one side of the pool, a ribbon of white water plunged from a high cliff. From far away, she could faintly make out a rainbow hidden within the spray.

”Oh my gosh, it’s gorgeous!” Chen Meizhen had lived in Shanghai her whole life and had never climbed a mountain, let alone seen a mountain landscape like this. She stared at the scene in joyful wonder, her spirits soaring. ”Let’s hurry over there! I can’t wait to see if there are any fish in that pool.”

”There are fish,” Xie Lei confirmed with a nod. ”But they’re really hard to catch. We tried for a long time last time we were here but couldn’t even get one. My uncle was going to jump into the pool to catch them by hand, but my aunt was worried the water was too deep and stopped him. She said the water’s color was very dark, so the pool must be extremely deep.”

Ye Qingqing then said, ”There’s truth to that. As the saying goes, the greener the water, the deeper it is, and black water means an abyss. The color of that pool is extremely dark. I’m afraid it must be very deep indeed.”

Huo Tao then said, ”Alright, nobody is allowed to go in the water today. You can try fishing if you want, but don’t get hung up on it. Safety is our top priority.”

’Since he brought them out here, he, as the class monitor, had to take responsibility and ensure everyone’s safety.’

”We know, Class Monitor! Don’t worry, we won’t go in the water,” everyone said with a laugh, hearing Huo Tao’s words.

Chatting and laughing, the group soon arrived at the clearing by the pool. Just as Xie Lei had said, it was perfect for a cookout. A few of the guys immediately went to fetch several large rocks from the side and built a simple stone stove, then placed the large iron pot they had brought on top of it.

Huo Tao smiled. ”You girls can stay here and prep the rice and vegetables we brought. You can also pick some mushrooms in the nearby woods. The rest of us guys will go gather firewood and see if we can hunt down some game.”

It was late autumn, and there were plenty of mushrooms in the valley. They had already gathered some on their way in, and the woods nearby were full of them.

”Okay!” Liu Juan nodded. ”Don’t worry, Class Monitor. Leave it to us.”

Su Qing then spoke up, ”Let me go hunting with you guys. I grew up near the mountains, so I have some experience.”

Not many of the students in the first-year economics class came from rural areas; most were from other cities and had no real experience hunting in the mountains. When they said they were going to hunt game, they were mostly just planning to give it a try. Hearing Su Qing say she had hunting experience, one of them asked in pleasant surprise, ”Su Qing, you know how to hunt?”

”Mhm.” Su Qing nodded.

Li Huan was especially proud. ”My Qingqing is amazing.”

With that, Li Huan hugged Su Qing’s arm. ”Qingqing, I want to go hunting with you, okay?”

’Su Qing glanced at Liu Juan and the other girls. The original plan was for the girls to wash the rice and vegetables. She didn’t mind bringing Li Huan along, but she wasn’t sure if the others would be okay with it.’

Sun Xiaowen smiled. ”Su Qing, just take Li Huan hunting with you. We don’t need that many people to prep the rice and vegetables here.”

”Yeah, we’ll be waiting for your game!” Liu Juan and the others chimed in with a laugh.

Liu Juan and her roommates naturally had no objections. Cheng Fang also went with the flow, especially since Su Qing was the one who had paid for today’s outing.

”Su Qing, can a few of us go hunting with you? We can help carry the game,” Xie Lei asked Su Qing with a grin.

”Sure.” ’Might as well,’ Su Qing thought. ’Even if it were just me and Li Huan, I couldn’t use my Wood Ability anyway. Catching some small game isn’t a big deal, so if they want to tag along, let them.’

”Alright, then you guys still go gather firewood, and the rest of us will stick to the original plan and hunt game,” Huo Tao said. He had already discussed it with a few of the guys beforehand, clearly dividing the tasks of who would hunt and who would gather firewood.

No one objected, so Huo Tao and a few others followed Su Qing deeper into the valley.

”Hey, do you think there are really pheasants and rabbits in this valley?” a guy named Chen Weijun asked. ”We didn’t see any game on our way in.”

Xie Lei explained, ”A lot of people come to Wenyun Valley, so the outer parts see constant traffic. The animals rarely stick around the outskirts. If you want to catch anything, you have to go deeper in.”

He had just finished speaking when a gray shadow flashed through the bushes ahead.

”Hey, some game!”

Someone let out a hushed cry, and a shadow shot forward.