Chapter 00007: The Fiancée in the Mountains
# The Fiancée in the Mountains
Chapter 7
Novel: After the Myth
Chapter 7: The Fiancée in the Mountains
Another roar echoed through the air, and Ding Huan's expression changed.
He was certain it was the roar of a ferocious ape.
Previously, there were no apes in Qianluo Mountain.
However, after the Earth's environment underwent strange changes, two types of ferocious apes appeared in Qianluo Mountain: the giant ape and the brown ape.
Both the giant ape and the brown ape were species that had long been extinct, with the giant ape being an ancient beast.
Even without mutation, these apes were extremely fierce.
After genetic mutation, they became genetic beasts, capable of easily crushing humans.
From the sound, Ding Huan guessed it was likely a giant ape, and it was heading in his direction.
At this moment, Ding Huan didn't dare hesitate.
He quickly chose a direction to flee, hoping the giant ape wasn't targeting him.
Logically, the giant ape shouldn't be after him.
He hadn't done anything in Qianluo Mountain to provoke the ape, aside from collecting some plants.
Despite Ding Huan's agility, the giant ape was much faster.
In just a few minutes, he saw the giant ape chasing him from behind.
Ding Huan couldn't understand why the giant ape was chasing him.
He hadn't done anything to offend it.
Just as Ding Huan was growing anxious, he noticed a cave on the side of a cliff, about five meters above the ground.
Ding Huan dashed toward it, using the cliff wall to propel himself upward.
In one swift motion, he grabbed the edge of the cave entrance and rolled inside.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The giant ape roared outside, clearly enraged.
Fortunately, the cave entrance was too small for the ape to squeeze through, though it could reach the entrance.
Once inside, Ding Huan saw that there were already four people hiding in the cave: two women and two men.
A tall, thin man was glaring at him with a hostile expression.
Ding Huan was puzzled.
This area was deep within Qianluo Mountain, where few people ventured.
How had four people ended up here?
"Get out! You brought the ape here. Deal with it yourself," the tall, thin man said coldly when Ding Huan didn't speak.
"Joey, that ape is terrifying. Going out there is a death sentence. There's plenty of space in here. Let's just wait it out. The ape will leave eventually; it won't stay outside forever," a woman in a blue dress said.
Ding Huan caught a whiff of a refreshing medicinal scent.
His eyes fell on the backpack of the other woman.
The scent was coming from her bag.
"Did you steal the giant ape's spirit herb?" Ding Huan suddenly realized.
He had initially felt a bit guilty when Joey yelled at him, but now he understood that the real culprits were these four people.
The only mistake he had made was choosing the wrong direction to flee.
"Watch your mouth, kid. We didn't steal anything. We found it," said a short, fierce-looking man who was no taller than 1.6 meters.
Ding Huan chuckled lightly and said calmly, "If you want to survive, you should return that herb. Otherwise, none of us will make it out alive."
"What are you talking about?" Joey's tone grew even more hostile, as if he was ready to teach Ding Huan a lesson.
Ding Huan replied indifferently, "The spirit herb is the giant ape's lifeline. It can definitely smell the herb on you. If you don't return it, the ape will stay at the entrance until it dies."
Though he said this, Ding Huan couldn't help but feel unlucky.
If he had fled in a different direction, the giant ape wouldn't have chased him.
"Is it really that serious?" the woman with the herb asked, frowning slightly.
She clearly didn't want to part with the herb.
Despite the dim light in the cave, Ding Huan could see that the woman was strikingly beautiful.
Her features were perfectly proportioned, and her figure was just right.
If not for her somewhat haughty demeanor, any man would be captivated.
"Qin Yi, don't listen to this kid's nonsense. That ape is just a beast. How much patience or intelligence could it have?" Joey shot Ding Huan a glare before turning to Qin Yi with a softer tone.
"Yi Yi, he might be right. Animals can be even more possessive of their treasures than humans," the woman in blue added, siding with Ding Huan.
She then turned to Ding Huan and asked, "Are you from Luohe? Are you here to gather herbs?"
Ding Huan had a good impression of the woman in blue.
He nodded and said, "Yes, I'm from Luohe City. The prices of wild herbs are high now, so I came to Qianluo Mountain to try my luck. What about you?"
He wanted to find out where these people were from, especially Joey, who acted as proud as a rooster.
"Kid, don't pry into our business," the short, fierce-looking man growled at Ding Huan.
Ding Huan ignored him and turned his attention to the giant ape, which was still furiously pounding on the cave entrance.
At first, Ding Huan had thought it was an extinct Chinese giant ape.
But now that he got a closer look, he was shocked.
Was this not a giant ape? It looked more like a mutated variant—the Great Desolate Golden Ape.
Even with the Earth's sudden environmental changes causing some species to revert to ancient forms or mutate, how could a Great Desolate Golden Ape appear? Had this species ever existed on Earth?
Ding Huan had learned about the Great Desolate Golden Ape during his travels across the universe.
It was an origin variant, almost mythical in nature.
Its entire body was golden, as if draped in a golden blanket.
But that was just its appearance.
The reason the Great Desolate Golden Ape was considered one of the Ten Divine Species was because of its two terrifying abilities.
First, it possessed immense strength.
Second, it had a vertical eye that could see through illusions.
Ding Huan stared intently at the ape, which was still ramming the cliff.
On its forehead, there seemed to be a faint black line—the spot where the third eye would appear.
This Great Desolate Golden Ape hadn't yet developed its third eye, meaning it was still a juvenile.
Ding Huan took a deep breath.
Once he grew stronger, he would definitely obtain the Great Desolate Golden Ape's strength gene and its ability to see through illusions.
The chance of encountering a Great Desolate Golden Ape was as slim as finding a speck of dust in the universe.
Even if others managed to obtain the ape's genes, they wouldn't be able to develop a gene serum to integrate it into the human body.
But Ding Huan could.
"Bo Chuanqiang, stop being so aggressive. We're all in this together. We need to work as a team," the woman in blue chided the short man before turning to Ding Huan.
"My name is Liu Aimei. We're all from Yanjing, here for a trip."
Ding Huan had a hard time believing they were just tourists, but it wasn't his concern.
Aside from Liu Aimei, who was somewhat approachable, Ding Huan didn't like the other three.
He walked over to a corner and sat on a rock.
Since Qin Yi refused to return the herb, the Great Desolate Golden Ape wouldn't leave.
This could drag on for who knows how long.
Since they were stuck here, there was no point in arguing.
Wait—the herb in Qin Yi's bag might be the spirit herb the Great Desolate Golden Ape needed to refine its illusory eye.
Ding Huan's gaze unconsciously fell on Qin Yi's bag.
Even if the Great Desolate Golden Ape lost this herb, it would find another way to refine its illusory eye.
But even if Ding Huan obtained the ape's blood and developed a gene serum for its ability to see through illusions, without this herb, the serum's effectiveness might be limited.
Ding Huan shook his head inwardly.
Trying to get his hands on this herb now was nothing but a pipe dream.
As Ding Huan pondered, the first day passed with the Great Desolate Golden Ape relentlessly pounding on the cave entrance.
By nightfall, the outside grew quiet.
Ding Huan was certain the golden ape was still blocking the entrance.
He closed his eyes to rest, quietly circulating his Luo Shi Scripture.
While it wouldn't improve his strength, it would at least help his blood circulation.
"The ape must have left, right? It's been quiet for a while," Bo Chuanqiang said, feeling hungry.
"It definitely hasn't left. Even if its treasure wasn't here, this kind of ape is extremely vengeful. We've offended it, and it won't give up so easily," Liu Aimei replied.
Qin Yi said apologetically, "I'm sorry for dragging everyone into this. If I hadn't insisted on coming to Qianluo Mountain in Luohe, we wouldn't be trapped here. Maybe I should return the herb to the ape."
Joey interjected, "Even if we return the herb now, the ape probably won't leave."
"Yi Yi, we're all friends. Don't talk about dragging us down. But I really don't understand why you chose Qianluo Mountain in Luohe. There are plenty of rare mutated herbs in the Yanshan Mountains near Yanjing," Liu Aimei said.
Qin Yi hesitated before replying, "I came here to see what my father told me about my fiancé. When I arrived in Luohe, I found out that Ding Baishan, the founder of Baiyu Group, had gone missing. The heir to Baiyu Group, Ding Baishan's son Ding Xiaotu, was also kicked out of the company. Now, Baiyu Group is run by Ding Jie. My trip was for nothing."
"Your fiancé wouldn't happen to be that Ding Xiaotu who was kicked out of Baiyu Group, would he?" Liu Aimei asked in surprise.
Qin Yi smiled wryly.
"You're right. It's him. But he's not really my fiancé. My father said I could choose for myself. Only if I'm satisfied will it go forward, so I came to see for myself."
Ding Huan took another look at Qin Yi.
She was indeed beautiful.
Luo Xinwei paled in comparison.
Thinking about how he had once pursued Luo Xinwei for years, Ding Huan shook his head.
Ah, the foolishness of youth.
Ding Huan understood Qin Yi's meaning.
Since he wasn't the heir to Baiyu Group, he wasn't worthy of her consideration.
She wouldn't agree to the match.
"Luohe is such a small place..."
Bo Chuanqiang started to say but caught himself.
Luohe wasn't exactly small, so he changed his tone.
"You could just refuse your father's proposal."
No one responded to Bo Chuanqiang's comment.
This wasn't just a personal matter; it likely involved Qin Yi's family business and Baiyu Group.
"I heard Ding Baishan has been missing for half a year. Shouldn't your father have known about this earlier?" Liu Aimei asked, puzzled.
Qin Yi shook her head.
"No, half a year ago, Uncle Ding visited my home. He met with me..."
Qin Yi didn't finish her sentence, but Ding Huan, who was sitting nearby, began to piece things together.
Ding Baishan's visit to the Qin family in Yanjing might have been related to him.
Ding Baishan had gone to Yanjing to meet Qin Yi's father and had likely discussed matters concerning Ding Huan.
Otherwise, Qin Yi wouldn't have come to Luohe.
If Ding Baishan had gone missing after visiting the Qin family, his disappearance might be connected to them, though Qin Yi seemed unaware of it.
(That's all for today's update.
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(End of Chapter)