Chapter 237 - 236: Disappeared

Chapter 237: Chapter 236: Disappeared

Since the college students refused payment, Gu Qingyin and Huo Xingchen felt it would be rude to eat too much. After satisfying their cravings, they decided to leave.

A few of the students warmly urged them to stay, but Gu Qingyin just smiled and shook her head, leaving them with a piece of advice. "Don’t get too close to the water. If you run into trouble, you can call this number for help."

The handsome student dazedly took the slip of paper, which had a landline number written on it. He watched the mother and son leave with a strange mix of emotions.

"Brother Hai!"

The handsome student snapped out of it and answered with a smile, casually tucking the slip of paper into his pants pocket.

Once they were a good distance away, Huo Xingchen tilted his head up and asked, "Will they really be in danger if they get close to the water? How could you tell?"

Gu Qingyin nodded. "By their auras. One person’s aura isn’t obvious, but a group’s is easy to discern. In a specific setting, people’s energies connect, regardless of whether they know each other. Often, when one person falls into danger, they drag the others down with them."

"Can they avoid it just because you warned them? They probably won’t listen." ’Especially to something that sounds so strange and superstitious,’ Huo Xingchen thought.

Gu Qingyin smiled. "You do what you can and leave the rest to fate. It’s better than not warning them at all. At the very least, when they do run into trouble, they’ll know who to call for help."

Huo Xingchen furrowed his little brow. "Why not just tell them directly?"

Gu Qingyin shook her head. "This is a tribulation they are fated to face. If they avoid it this time, there will only be a next time. It’s inescapable. It’s better to face it head-on. Once they get through it, they’ll be fine."

They wandered through the woods a while longer. As dusk fell, the mother and son headed back.

When they reached the entrance to the villa, Housekeeper Qiu was standing at the main gate, gazing into the distance. The moment he saw them return, his face flooded with relief.

Gu Qingyin was surprised. "Were you waiting for us? Are the others out?"

Housekeeper Qiu shook his head, a look of resignation on his face. "It’s gotten dark. I was worried you two might run into trouble in the mountains. Even though there aren’t many wild animals in this area, the mountains have other dangers, and it looks like it might rain tonight."

A thought struck Gu Qingyin, and she mentioned, "There’s a group of students camping near the summit. If it really does rain, it probably won’t be very safe up there."

Housekeeper Qiu’s expression shifted, and he nodded with a smile. "I understand." He turned slightly to the side. "Dinner is ready. Please, you two, go ahead and eat."

Gu Qingyin didn’t stand on ceremony. The others were discussing arrays and there was no telling when they would finish. There was no need to wait for them.

Sure enough, by the time Gu Qingyin and Huo Xingchen had finished their meal, the group still hadn’t emerged from the study.

With nothing else to do, the two of them watched television while they waited. In the blink of an eye, it was eleven o’clock.

A loud RUMBLE from outside jolted the drowsy Huo Xingchen wide awake. Huge raindrops began to fall immediately after, and even from the living room, they could clearly hear the DRUMMING of the rain.

Huo Xingchen ran to the window to look. The rain was coming down hard and fast, and the branches of the trees outside were being beaten so hard they bent low. He said worriedly, "They’re not going to be in trouble, are they?"

Gu Qingyin didn’t say anything. ’Trouble is a certainty. It’s just a question of how bad it will be. I hope those college kids are smart enough.’

Meanwhile, the campsite was in chaos. 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

Since they planned to wake up early the next day for the sunrise, everyone had gone to bed early. They were sound asleep when the downpour began, only to be jolted awake by the thunder.

Everyone was dazed when they first woke up, unsure of what was happening. Once they came to their senses, they realized they had to move, and lights flicked on in tent after tent.

The handsome student poked his head out. After confirming that the people in the other tents were awake, he ducked back inside to pack his things with a sense of relief. Listening to the rain outside, he suddenly recalled Gu Qingyin’s words—’Don’t get too close to the water.’

He shook his head. ’In a storm this bad, no one would go near the water unless they were out of their mind.’

After putting on his raincoat and slinging his bag over his shoulder, the handsome student stepped out of his tent. He looked up, about to speak, but through the thick curtain of rain, he saw a figure stumbling toward the waterfall.

The handsome student: ’...I spoke too soon.’

Between the raincoat and the heavy downpour, it was impossible to tell who the fool was. All he could do was shout.

"What are you doing? It’s pouring! Are you trying to get yourself killed, walking toward the water?!"

But the rain was too loud and the distance too great. The person didn’t hear him at all.

The handsome student hesitated for a couple of seconds, then clicked his tongue in annoyance, dropped his backpack, and ran after them.

Fortunately, the person ahead wasn’t a complete idiot. They were only moving forward tentatively, taking each step with extreme care. The handsome student caught up to them quickly.

"What are you doing? The rain’s too heavy, and the mountain isn’t safe. We need to get back to the camper van."

The person heard him and turned around. It was a girl wearing glasses.

The handsome student was speechless. He waved his hand dismissively. "Hurry up and go back."

The girl shook her head and shouted, "I lost my necklace! It might have fallen by the water. I have to find it!"

The handsome student’s temper flared instantly. "What kind of necklace is more important than your life?! Get back here with me! Worst case, I’ll buy you a new one when we get off the mountain!"

The girl just shook her head and said softly, "You can’t buy another one." Then, ignoring his protests, she turned and continued toward the water.

He didn’t quite hear what she said. Seeing how stubborn she was, he was half-dead with anger and almost decided to just leave her. He hesitated for two seconds, but his better nature won out. He couldn’t just stand by and watch someone walk to their death.

He strode after her, yelling, "What does the necklace look like? Where were you before?"

The girl’s eyes filled with gratitude. Knowing there was no time to waste, she quickly shouted back, "It’s a sunflower, about a size bigger than my thumb! I took a walk by the river in the evening, then went back to the tent to sleep. When I woke up, it was gone. It must have fallen off by the river."

The handsome student started to say something but stopped himself. ’The chances of finding it are slim. In a downpour this heavy, it could have already been washed into the river. And it might not have even been dropped here—it could have been on the way back, or it might just be in her tent.’

He sighed and pulled out his phone, intending to call his friends and have them search the tent. But when the screen lit up, he saw he only had one bar of signal. The call wouldn’t go through.

His heart sank. He thought of the phone number Gu Qingyin had given him and was suddenly struck by a terrible premonition.

The girl saw him standing still but didn’t rush him. She just turned and continued toward the river, shining a light on the ground as she walked, searching.

Before long, the standing water was getting deeper. A little further ahead, all she could see was a torrent of muddy water, with nowhere to safely step.

The girl hesitated. It was too dark, and she had only been to the river a few times during the day. She couldn’t remember where the bank was anymore. If she missed a step and fell in, her chances of survival were slim to none.

Her eyes stung with anxiety, and tears mixed with the rain as they streamed down her face. She knew in her heart that if the necklace had really fallen by the river, the chances of finding it were practically zero, but she was too stubborn to give up.

Not far behind her, the handsome student struggled to put his phone away. When he looked up, he saw that the girl was already calf-deep in the water. He frowned, swore under his breath, and strode forward to drag her back.

He had made up his mind. If she wouldn’t walk back, he would carry her.

But just as he was about to grab her, the girl pitched forward. He instinctively shot out his hand to catch her but only managed to snag the hood of her raincoat.

The next second, she vanished from sight.