Chapter 61 The heavy bundle wrapped in cloth
Although, she said to go pack things, but in fact, there wasn't much to pack. She only needed to bring a pair of thick lined robe, mosquito repellent and mint cream. The mountains in ancient times had wild animals. In order to prevent something from happening, Shu Huan shamelessly learned from Gu Xiran to also bring hot pepper water and quicklime powder. Aside from these, she only had to bring food to be cooked, two leather water sack and some convenient food. She wrapped them in a bag of cloth and carried it on her shoulder.
Meijing stared at the pile of clothes on the bed that had been rejected by Shu Huan. Without listening to excuses she pestered, "Shouldn't you at least bring two cloaks? You can use it to keep you warm and also use it to sit on."
Shu Huan thought for a moment, "Alright."
"What about a dagger? Do you want to bring one? If you encounter a wild animal, you can use it to defend yourself. Right, right, you should also bring a compass. If you get lost, you can use it. Also, medicine for wounds, snake medicine, rope, toothbrush, towels…"
Shu Huan quickly stopped her and said, "I'm only going to play for a day in the mountain and then return. I don't plan to stay for ten days or half month."
The watery eyes of Meijing were full of concerns, "It's good to be prepared. Besides, these things are not heavy."
Shu Huan thought for a moment and compromised again, "Alright."
—
Early in the next morning, Gu Xiran saw Shu Huan change into the clothes of a manservant. He thought that he should make some comfortable clothes for her to go out with. However, when he saw her big and heavy bundle wrapped in cloth, this thought had been thrown into the Java island. But, he only raised the corner of his lips slightly and didn't say anything.
In fact, going to the mountain this time wasn't for fun. It was Du Qiu who changed a way to train the Gu brothers. Ji Danqing wanted to follow to look at the scenery. Gu Xiran used that opportunity to also bring Shu Huan. When they arrived to meet with the others at the door, the other's expression turned weird when they saw that baggage of Shu Huan. Of course, when Shu Huan saw that they were empty-handed, her expression was also marvelous.
"You…," Shu Huan asked cautiously. "You are going like this?"
Gu Xihe looked at her like he was looking at an idiot, "Isn't it? Hiking is very tiresome. Naturally, the less you bring, the better."
Shu Huan became frantic, "What about eating and drinking?"
Ji Danqing smiled gently, "There are wild animals to be hunted and also wild fruits in the mountain."
"…"
Shu Huan turned and looked at Gu Xiran. The meaning of the questioning from this expression was very obvious.
Gu Xiran shook his head and said, "Don't look at me. I only let you bring two pieces of clothing to keep you warmer."
"…"
She felt very embarrassed. If she threw away the bundle now, it would look worse. So, she tightened the bundle on her shoulder without expression and said, "Let's go."
Gu Xihe scratched his head and chased her, "Hey, it's better if you leave the bundle here. We won't make fun of you."
Shu Huan raised her eyes and swept her eyes around once. Most of the people didn't laugh. A small part of the people laughed. This small part was referring to Gu Xiran. Not only did he laugh, his eyes were also full of teasing as if he was waiting to see what she would do.
Alright, she felt that she and Meijing mistook him. Gu Xiran didn't dote on her; his mind was more on how to tease her.
After the embarrassment, Shu Huan was eager to win. She looked once provocatively at him, turned and continued to walk.
Wasn't it only a bundle of about ten pounds? In the past when she went out to sketch, a canvas was already three pounds, not to mention the other things she had to carry. It definitely wasn't lighter than this one.
Gu Xihe didn't give up and warned her, "Whey you couldn't carry it anymore, don't complain."
Shu Huan smiled, "What's the big deal? If I can't carry it anymore, I would just throw it away. Why complain?"
"…"
Gu Xihe's face had been swept. He humphed once, raised his head and said, "Do as if I didn't say anything."
Although, he was angry, but when Shu Huan handed him a paper bag with dried fruit and said that he helped ease the burden as a glorified excuse, he wasn't angry anymore when he had a way to get out of the embarrassment and still chatted happily with her.
There were many mountains nearby Moon's View resort. They went to the highest one. It was at the southeast of the resort.
The mountain road was like how Meijing described it. It was indeed not easy to walk on. At first there was still a narrow and winded road that had been made by the steps of the people who went to hunt and those who went to cut wood. The deeper they went, the more grown wilds there were. Gradually, even the narrow and winded roads disappeared. Also, the rain hasn't dried at the places covered by the trees. On the ground was semi-rotted leaves soaked in wet mud. When stepping on then, it felt slippery. You had to be very careful to keep the balance of your body.
Fortunately, Shu Huan walked in the middle of the team. She stepped in the footprints of the people in front of her. Aside from feeling tired, it wasn't difficult to walk unlike the daredevil Gu Xihe who wanted to be first and fell twice as a result. The clothes on his body were so dirty that it would make people frown. In the end, he could only shamelessly come to her and fawned, "Second sister-in-law, should I help you lessen a bit more burden?"
The little brat was thin-skinned. Shu Huan held back her laughter and gave him one of Gu Xiran's clothes. However, he hasn't grown up fully yet and was much shorter than Gu Xiran. The clothes were long and big and looked weird on him.
Taking her and Ji Danqing into consideration, Du Qiu already slowed down his pace quite a bit. They didn't walk too fast, but people who were lifting weights usually had this feeling: the longer they lifted, the heavier the weights became.
Moreover, climbing in the ancient times was a lot more difficult than climbing the stone steps in the modern times. After they walked for two hours, Shu Huan had the strong impulse to get rid of the burden on her body. However, she was very competitive. If it wasn't because she really couldn't move anymore, she wouldn't be willing to admit defeat. Hence, even if she was so tired that her sweat fell like rain and her breathing was like a cow's, she still gritted her teeth and kept up with the team to not fall behind. Afraid that she would give trouble to others, she didn't even complain.
Gu Xiran was the one who walked last in the line. Originally, he wanted to see her being embarrassed, but seeing her so stubborn, his intention to tease her had long disappeared. When she almost fell, he reached out to help her, "Give me the bundle."
Shu Huan gritted her teeth, "No need."
"What?" Gu Xiran looked at her expression and smiled slightly, "Angry?"
Shu Huan stayed concise and said, "No."
Even if she didn't want to admit defeat that didn't mean that she was angry. As for her short sentences, that was because the normal pace of breathing was already not enough to meet the oxygen needs of her lungs. At this moment, she had her mouth opened to breath and didn't have time to sacrifice her breath to speak.
Gu Xiran didn't insist on taking the bundle from her. He just stayed silent for a while and suddenly said, "I'm tired. Let's take a break before we continue."
Du Qiu who walked in the front, turned and looked once at him. He stopped and then said, "Let's take a break."
Shu Huan also stopped and looked once at Gu Xiran. She didn't say anything and took two leather water sacks out. She handed one to Ji Danqing. Then, she raised her head and poured water down her throat.
It was easy to get thirsty after she sweated so much. Now, she drank water like drinking nectar. The short break was enough to ease her fatigue a bit. By a lucky coincidence, a cool mountain wind blew pass them and left with the warmth of her body. It made her feel that the feeling after a sweaty exercise was very pleasant.
The mountain wind had the fragrance of the greens. She closed her eyes slightly and took a deep breath. She didn't expect that Gu Xiran suddenly reached out to take over the leather water sack from her. It scared her. She didn't react yet when she saw him smile at her. Then, she saw him put the leather water sack to his lips and took a few sips.