The Super Bodyguard of the Beautiful CEO

Chapter 635 633: The Troublesome Peddler

"Alright then, I'll stop for a while when we get there, so you can buy a flashlight yourself and also grab some Red Bull and calorie-rich foods like beef jerky and chocolate. If you buy them up there, the vendors aren't just fleecing you; they're practically cutting you open!" The driver was genuinely warm-hearted."Hehe." Lin Mu chuckled lightly and said nothing more.

Soon, the driver drove for about ten minutes and was basically at the foot of Huashan because there were many small shops renting coats and selling incense, headlamps, and other items around the road.

The driver stopped at the entrance of a small shop, and Lin Mu got off to buy a headlamp. A few minutes later, they reached the foot of Huashan! After paying, Lin Mu and Zhou Xun got out of the car!

"Sis, tonight's quite a challenge." Lin Mu said to Zhou Xun.

Zhou Xun seemed a bit excited; it wasn't just Lin Mu's first night hike, but hers as well!

"Hmph, there's absolutely no problem for me. Let's go!" Zhou Xun grabbed Lin Mu's hand and walked forward.

After walking a short distance, they went to the ticket booth, bought two tickets, and also got a cane. Lin Mu didn't know how long it would take to reach the summit of Huashan. He asked someone, and it might take about four or five hours.

Lin Mu nearly rolled his eyes and fainted upon hearing that. "Four or five hours—it's truly a challenge!"

Despite hiking in the middle of the night, they were quite excited, and thinking about watching the sunrise up close the next morning made them even more thrilled! Eagerly, they embarked on their mountain-climbing journey, chatting and taking steps up the stairs, which was quite fun. They also encountered many other night hikers along the way.

After more than an hour of climbing, Lin Mu was fine, thanks to his years of physical training which made this experience not a big deal for him. But Zhou Xun was struggling, drenched in fragrant sweat! After climbing for a while, they would take a break. They quickly finished the Red Bulls, but there were places selling water on the mountain.

"Tired? Rest for a bit, I'll go buy some water," Lin Mu said.

Arriving at a stall, Lin Mu asked for a bottle of water. He didn't want more since carrying them would be too tiring now.

"Five yuan for a bottle," the vendor said.

"Ugh, that's expensive!" Lin Mu sighed to himself. It was really pricey, but there was no choice. Thinking about how hard it must be for those small vendors to carry water up to such heights, he reluctantly bought several bottles. Zhou Xun drank some, rested a bit, and they continued their slow climb upward.

Thank goodness it was nighttime; if it were daytime, it would be unbearably hot. Even so, Zhou Xun was drenched in fragrant sweat!

"Why is it so far? We've climbed for so long and haven't reached it yet?" Zhou Xun said while climbing.

"Hehe, we should be getting close," Lin Mu replied, equally tired.

After climbing for more than an hour, they reached Canglong Ridge.

At Canglong Ridge, more people appeared, and there were more stalls.

Lin Mu thought they were getting close, but after asking, realized they had only reached Central Peak, which was just halfway! Hearing this, Lin Mu felt a bit despondent. Geez, it was really high! Zhou Xun was exhausted beyond belief, and Lin Mu, understanding her frailty, found a stall and sat down. But the feeling at this high altitude was indeed nice and cool!

"Hungry? Want to eat something?" Lin Mu asked.

"Yes." Zhou Xun nodded.

"Boss, make me a bowl of instant noodles," Lin Mu called out.

"Fifteen yuan."

"Ugh, that's ridiculously expensive... Okay, one bowl then," Lin Mu nodded.

Before they came here, Lin Mu had actually already bought a bowl of instant noodles, so he simply took it out. Saving wherever possible is a must! Although Lin Mu wasn't short on money, he didn't want to be a fool spending it.

"Ten yuan for water!" the boss said.

"Ugh… just to add some water costs ten yuan?" Lin Mu was exasperated.

"Yes, ten yuan, and that's the fixed price!"

"Uh... alright!"

"Geez, it's so pricey here. Looks like the driver wasn't exaggerating—those vendors here aren't just fleecing customers; they're practically ripping them off!" Lin Mu remarked to Zhou Xun.

"Eat up, getting hot water at such heights isn't easy for them!"

"But it can't be this pricey, right? There's a car that goes directly here now, unlike a few years ago when everything had to be carried up manually," Lin Mu felt a sense of being ripped off.

"Well, there's no helping it!"

"Uh, forget it, it's not like we come to climb this damn Huashan every day!" Lin Mu sighed, feeling like he'd been fleeced but then started eating heartily.

After resting for a while, the two resumed their climbing journey. Though exhausted, they couldn't rest for too long; otherwise, it would be easier to lose momentum. They climbed down a bit from Canglong Ridge, then started ascending again. The steps here were really steep, nearly a seventy-degree angle, making it extremely tiring.

Looking up, they could already see the lights at the summit. This height is indeed perfect for watching the sunrise, feeling like being amidst the clouds! They walked to a stall and sat down. Suddenly, there was lightning in the sky, hinting at rain.

"Oh no, it's not going to rain, is it?" Lin Mu looked at the dark sky. Just as he spoke, raindrops started falling.

"Ugh, it's really raining." Slowly, the raindrops turned into a drizzle.

The road had a canopy near the stall, luckily, or else people would be soaked in the deep night! Gradually, people gathered under the rain shelter, stuck due to the rain. The stall owner was probably the happiest; needless to say, business would boomed due to the rain!

Lin Mu glanced at the stall owner, likely a man in his forties, expressionless. Unlike the enthusiastic vendor from Wancheng, his face showed no hint of a smile, maybe due to being on the mountain for so long that he became emotionless.

"Boss, do you have raincoats?" someone outside the rain canopy asked.

"Yes, ten yuan each."

"I'll take one."

A traveler asked for a raincoat. Lin Mu thought ten yuan each was cheap, but upon seeing the so-called raincoat, he almost fainted!

Calling it a raincoat, it was more like a bag from the vegetable market; the quality was barely any different! It just looked like a raincoat, draped over one's body!

Seeing this, Lin Mu couldn't help but lament, "This place is really pricey!" While others might willingly be taken advantage of, Lin Mu wasn't keen, so he hid from the rain under the canopy.

Since Lin Mu arrived before the rain started, there were a few wooden stools to sit on, which Zhou Xun used to take a break. The rain poured harder, showing no sign of stopping! Around twenty or thirty tourists were trapped there, all sheltering at the stall.