The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 680 - 669: Ascend

Chapter 680: Chapter 669: Ascend

On the Double Ninth Festival holiday, since Doctor Ji hadn’t returned, Manbao also decided not to go to Jishi Hall. She wanted to discuss abdominal surgery with someone, but little Doctor Ji had no interest and did not understand it, believing that the techniques employed by surgeons were not worth learning.

As for Shopkeeper Zheng, he was worried about Doctor Ji and had no interest in discussing these matters either.

Furthermore, there were fewer people coming to seek medical treatment during the festival, so Manbao simply did not go to Jishi Hall.

Mr. Zhuang then took them to climb a mountain and look into the distance.

This time they did not go to Qixia Mountain but left the city instead.

They joined students and teachers from Dazhi Academy.

The teachers sat in the first two carriages, while the students sat in the carriages behind them. Qi Jue and Shan Yu jumped out of the carriages and squeezed into the one with Bai Shan and the others as they lined up to leave through the city gate.

Bai Shan and the other two expressed their displeasure, "Our carriage can’t fit so many people; the horse will collapse under the weight."

Zhou Lijun was also in the carriage, and today Daji was driving them. He glanced inside, and, without a word, got down and walked alongside, leading the horse.

Shan Yu squeezed into the carriage and said to Qi Jue and Bai Er, "You two move to the back."

Qi Jue, unwilling to listen to him, grabbed Bai Shan by the hand and said, "Come on, let’s go somewhere else to talk."

Bai Shan asked, "What’s so urgent that it can’t wait until we get there and dismount to talk?"

Manbao chimed in, "Right, can’t you talk after we’ve reached our destination and gotten off the carriage?"

"Once we get down, we must follow the teachers; how convenient would that be?" Qi Jue, pulling on him, asked, "Are you coming or not?"

Bai Shan looked at them both skeptically and furrowed his brow slightly, "You’re not planning to ask about Ji Hao’s incident, are you?"

Qi Jue’s eyes lit up and he nodded eagerly, "Exactly, exactly. There were people from our academy who went to Qixia Mountain to choose horses that day, but it was too chaotic at that time, and they had no idea what happened. Did Ji Hao really get stepped on the stomach by a horse?"

The group of four from Bai Shan’s party: ... The rumors have gotten quite out of hand.

"Could he still be alive if a horse trampled him on the stomach?" Manbao spoke up irritably, "Don’t talk nonsense; if the Ji family and the Ying family hear this, they’ll come looking for trouble with you."

Bai Shan added, "Ji Hao is still one of our own academy’s students. The academy officials have forbidden us from discussing this matter further."

Bai Erlang then pushed them, "Hurry up and get off, our carriage is really about to collapse."

Qi Jue and Shan Yu could only get off reluctantly.

Once they reached the location, Mr. Zhuang and the others decided to walk up the mountain at a leisurely pace without their attendance, so Qi Jue and Shan Yu gathered a bunch of classmates around them again.

Zhou SiLang had just finished parking the carriage and saw the situation. He turned his head and asked Daji, "What are they up to now?"

Daji finished tying up the horse, followed along, and said casually, "Gossiping."

Zhou SiLang saw him follow and waved goodbye, "Take it slow, and while you’re at it, look after my Lijun and Manbao."

Daji paused, looked at him, and said, "Today is the Double Ninth Festival; aren’t you climbing up?"

Zhou SiLang leaned against the carriage and shook his head, "I’ve already finished climbing my share for the next twenty years in the last twenty. Just think, every time I went to the county town, I had to climb up the mountain and then down again, climbing twice each trip. So I’d rather not go and leave the space for you guys."

Manbao overheard and scornfully said, "Fourth Brother, you’re just lazy."

Zhou Lijun added, "Fourth Uncle is definitely planning to sleep in the carriage. Let’s not bother him and hurry up the mountain instead. It will be harder to climb when the sun gets stronger."

He also said, "It’s just as well that Fourth Uncle can watch the carriage, we still have quite a few things in there."

Zhou SiLang waved his hand and grinned, "Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to watch your belongings very closely."

Manbao and the others then carried their small backpacks and continued up the mountain. This time Qi Jue and the rest did not bring along any servants, so they carried their book baskets or backpacks themselves.

Feeling embarrassed to crowd Manbao and Zhou Lijun, Bai Shan and Bai Erlang were bombarded with questions, especially Bai Shan, who, being a student from the prefectural school and Ji Hao’s classmate, was presumed to know a lot of insider information.

Bai Shan, overwhelmed by the pestering, slowed down repeatedly, hoping to wait for Manbao and her party to catch up so that they could walk together. Eventually realizing it was futile, he quickly shouldered his backpack and started running.

Qi Jue and the others also started running after him, but since it was an uphill climb, they soon found themselves out of breath.

Bai Shan was panting too, but he was faring much better than Qi Jue and the others, mainly because he had been learning some martial arts techniques from Daji. Even though he couldn’t leap to rooftops and back down like Daji, his stamina was much better, and he was agile.

He turned back and saw the group he had left behind, and couldn’t help but burst into laughter, delightedly turning and continuing his ascent. Although he wasn’t running anymore, his pace was still quick.

Qi Jue, unable to bear it, started shouting as he led the chase for a while, but after failing to catch up, they all sat down gasping for breath on the grass or stones along the mountain path.

Manbao saw this and laughed, pulling Zhou Lijun along, stepping over their outstretched arms and legs, and passed them on the way up.

Bai Erlang quickly followed, and as the three of them passed Qi Jue, they even made faces at him.

Qi Jue, annoyed, pounded the ground. Perhaps because he had run too fast earlier, he was parched and had to take a water bladder out of his book basket to drink. When they got up to pursue the other four again, those four had already joined together, leaving them far behind.

The four at the top looked back at their friends trailing far behind and laughed heartily, waving their hands and shouting, "Come on, chase us—"

Manbao cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted down, "Let’s see who can get to the top first."

What’s the point of competing when you’re so far ahead?

Walking so fast, aren’t they tired?

Although thinking this, Qi Jue still gritted his teeth and continued to climb.

The teachers were far behind. Mr. Zhuang, stroking his beard, laughed and said, "The children are all very energetic."

Mr. Huang and the others: ... It’s easy to say when your students are far ahead, of course, they’re energetic.

One of the teachers went first, "Let’s move on. Though we are getting on in years, we can’t fall too far behind the children."

The others agreed and climbed up the mountain together.

There were quite a few people who had come to climb and admire the view that day. On the way up, they kept meeting acquaintances, exchanged greetings, and then continued climbing.

All their belongings were carried by the students, so the teachers just needed to make their way to the top, which was quite relaxing.

If they got tired, there were pavilions along the way for travelers to rest, and if the pavilions were full, they could sit on stones along the road.

It was a cool and comfortable autumn, and the sunshine was not too harsh but warm and pleasant.

Halfway through, Manbao and her group took two breaks, then reached the mountain’s summit. From their high vantage point, they shouted for joy at their classmates below, dispelling the gloominess of the past few days.

Indeed, climbing high broadens one’s horizons and lifts the spirits.

Qi Jue was the first among his classmates to reach the top. When he got there, Manbao and her friends had already set up their spot.