Chapter 00009: Truly Being Watched
# Truly Being Watched
Chapter 9
Novel: After the Myth
Chapter 9: Truly Being Watched
The three of them didn’t stop at all, walking for half a day straight.
It wasn’t until the sky darkened that Ding Huan, who was leading the way, finally halted by a waterfall.
In Ding Huan’s view, the Great Desolate Golden Ape probably wouldn’t be able to chase them this far.
The Great Desolate Golden Ape was terrifying, but it was just a young one.
“I really can’t walk anymore,” Liu Aimei, who was following behind, gasped as she saw Ding Huan stop.
She then collapsed to the ground, sitting down heavily.
Qin Yi couldn’t even speak.
She followed Liu Aimei’s example and sat down on the ground as well.
The once cold and composed Qin Yi that Ding Huan had first met was now nowhere to be seen.
Her hair was disheveled, her clothes torn in many places, and her face was covered in bloodstains.
“We’re lucky we didn’t run into any other ferocious beasts,” Liu Aimei said between heavy breaths.
Ding Huan knew it wasn’t just luck.
When he was leading the way, he had deliberately avoided areas where ferocious beasts might appear.
“We’ll rest here today. There’s a cave behind the waterfall. After you eat something, we can leave tomorrow,” Ding Huan said as he took out some beef jerky and biscuits from his backpack and handed them to the two women.
“Thank you, thank you…” Liu Aimei, who was starving, quickly took the food and expressed her gratitude.
“Thank you,” Qin Yi said calmly after the half-day of fleeing had settled her nerves.
After eating, the three of them regained some strength.
Liu Aimei then asked, “I still don’t know your name. If it weren’t for you, Yi Yi and I would probably be dead by now.”
“My name is Ding Huan. But since you were trapped, why didn’t you call for help?” Ding Huan asked, puzzled.
Logically speaking, the Qianluo Mountain stretched for thousands of miles, but the terrain wasn’t particularly treacherous.
Calling for help shouldn’t have been too difficult.
Liu Aimei shook her head. “Yi Yi’s phone ran out of battery, and my family doesn’t have much influence. So, it was Joey who made the call for help. I don’t know why, but no one has come to rescue us yet.”
“Joey might not have actually made that call for help,” Qin Yi said softly from the side.
“How is that possible?” Liu Aimei blurted out, unable to believe it.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to believe it, but given the life-and-death situation they were in, how could Joey not have called for help?
Ding Huan, however, understood what Qin Yi meant.
A woman like Qin Yi, who was constantly pursued by many men, knew the mentality of her suitors.
Joey, who usually didn’t have many chances to be with Qin Yi, would naturally want to spend as much time with her as possible when the opportunity arose.
So, he might have delayed making the call or even skipped it altogether.
Perhaps Joey thought that hiding in the cave was foolproof, and he could always call for help later.
What he didn’t expect was that Bai Chuanqiang would be torn apart by the giant ape, and he himself would panic and flee deeper into the cave.
If the giant ape returned, Joey’s chances of survival would be slim.
Of course, he could still call for help.
Qin Yi didn’t respond to Liu Aimei’s question.
Instead, she turned to Ding Huan and asked, “Your surname is Ding too? Are you related to the Baiyu Group?”
Before she could finish, Ding Huan cut her off, “I have no connection to the Baiyu Group.”
The Baiyu Group was about to collapse, and Ding Huan didn’t want to get involved.
“Oh…” Qin Yi murmured, not pressing further.
“Brother Ding, what kind of herbs were you looking for in Qianluo Mountain?” Liu Aimei asked.
She wasn’t really interested in the herbs Ding Huan was searching for.
She just wanted to learn more about him.
In her mind, Ding Huan, who ventured into Qianluo Mountain alone to search for herbs, must not be well-off.
She thought that after leaving the mountain, she could find a way to help him.
“I’ve already found what I needed. Just a few simple herbs. Let’s rest early today, and we’ll leave Qianluo Mountain first thing tomorrow,” Ding Huan replied casually.
He wasn’t interested in chatting with these two women.
Once they got out, his first priority would be to complete the Gene Spirit Root.
As for why Ding Baishan had disappeared after visiting the Qin family, asking Qin Yi would be pointless.
He would have to investigate the Qin family himself in the future.
It was their first night out of the cave, and Ding Huan was still a bit worried.
He knew the Great Desolate Golden Ape was vengeful.
If it didn’t find them in the cave, it might come after them.
Fortunately, the three of them had good luck.
The night passed without the giant ape showing up.
The next morning, as soon as the sky began to lighten, the three of them hurried on their way.
For Qin Yi and Liu Aimei, every extra day in Qianluo Mountain meant another day of danger.
For Ding Huan, every extra day in the mountain meant another day wasted in his cultivation.
After just over a day with Ding Huan, Liu Aimei and Qin Yi had already noticed the difference.
When the four of them were together earlier, the first two days were fine, but after that, they often went hungry.
Even when they managed to find food, it was just small fish or wild vegetables.
Now, with Ding Huan, even though they were rushing during the day, he always managed to find delicious food at mealtime—mountain fish, wild fruits, and even game.
But what surprised Liu Aimei and Qin Yi the most was that Ding Huan always found a safe place to stay when night fell.
Whether it was a cave or a spot shielded by large rocks, he always knew where to go.
“Ding Huan, how do you know Qianluo Mountain so well? Do you come here often?” Liu Aimei finally couldn’t help but ask on the third day.
Ding Huan smiled, “Yes, I often come into the mountains, so I’m very familiar with this area. You’ll get the hang of it too if you spend enough time in the mountains.”
Ding Huan was lying.
He had never been to Qianluo Mountain before, not even in his previous life.
He had only wandered around the outskirts.
But this wasn’t something you could learn just by spending time in the mountains.
Ding Huan’s knowledge came from intuition and experience.
He could tell where to find food and the right path by observing the growth patterns of trees, the flow of water, the moisture in the air, and even the behavior of insects in the grass.
Hearing Ding Huan’s explanation, Liu Aimei and Qin Yi didn’t think too much about it.
They had no experience in such matters and assumed Ding Huan was telling the truth.
The three of them weren’t deep in Qianluo Mountain, and Ding Huan had no intention of lingering.
They hurried along, and in just two days, Ding Huan had already gathered the herbs needed for the Wood Element Gene Spirit Root.
He planned to return and test it out.
By noon on the third day, they finally emerged from Qianluo Mountain and saw the distant mountain road.
“We made it out!” Liu Aimei exclaimed excitedly.
“Ladies, this is where we part ways,” Ding Huan said, not interested in continuing with the two women.
“Ding Huan, thank you so much. If it weren’t for you, we might not have made it out. Why don’t we go back to Heluo City together and have a gathering?” Liu Aimei said sincerely after calming down.
Ding Huan waved his hand, “You would’ve made it out without me, just a bit later. I have some things to take care of, so I won’t be joining you.”
“Let’s exchange contact information,” Liu Aimei quickly said, seeing that Ding Huan was determined to leave.
Ding Huan smiled, “We probably won’t meet again. Farewell.”
It wasn’t that Ding Huan didn’t want to leave his contact information; he simply couldn’t remember his phone number.
Plus, he didn’t want them to know he was at Yujiang University, so he decided not to bother.
Watching Ding Huan’s retreating figure, Liu Aimei sighed, “Ding Huan is really capable, much better than Joey and…”
She was about to mention Bai Chuanqiang but stopped herself, remembering his tragic end.
Qin Yi glanced at the departing Ding Huan and said hoarsely, “Let’s hurry and call for help. Joey is still in that cave.”
Ding Huan had only walked for about ten minutes when he heard the roar of engines.
Two helicopters flew overhead.
It was probably Joey calling for help, and these were the rescue teams.
Ding Huan didn’t pay them any mind.
He needed to get back to Heluo City as soon as possible.
…
By a little past two in the afternoon, Ding Huan had entered Heluo City.
Eager to refine the Gene Spirit Root potion, Ding Huan planned to take a taxi to Yujiang University as soon as he arrived.
Even if Yujiang University was on the verge of collapse, it still had a gene lab.
But before he reached the university gates, Ding Huan calmed down.
The reason he had left Yujiang University in the middle of the night was that someone was trying to kill him.
If they were still watching him, returning now would be like walking into a trap.
Still, he had to go back to Yujiang University.
If he wanted to create the Gene Spirit Root, the university was his only option.
With that in mind, Ding Huan bought some food, covered himself up, and made his way to the back wall of Yujiang University.
He planned to climb over the wall and sneak into the school.
Yujiang University was practically deserted, and the security guards were more interested in sleeping than doing their jobs.
Ding Huan figured he could easily get in.
As expected, Ding Huan had no trouble re-entering Yujiang University.
He stopped outside his dormitory.
He knew someone had been inside—the marks he had left outside had been disturbed.
Someone was indeed after him, and they were determined.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t have followed him to Yujiang University.
Without even putting down his belongings, Ding Huan slung his backpack over his shoulder and headed straight for the gene lab.
He had to try making the Gene Spirit Root as soon as possible.
Those people would never expect that not only had he returned to Yujiang University, but he was also in the gene lab.
If he couldn’t find the Blood of Reincarnation, he would use his own blood as a substitute.
If that didn’t work, he’d figure something else out.
(That’s all for today’s update.
Goodnight, everyone! Please support with recommendation votes!)
(End of Chapter)