Chapter 314 - 136: The Deceased

Li Younan thought for a moment and said, "What is it?"

Zhu Qingyue’s tone carried a hint of exhaustion from constant setbacks, "I’ve thought about a lot of people before, but the closer they are to me, the harder it is to tell them what I want to do. I can guess their reactions... and with people who are too unfamiliar, I can’t share my secrets with them either... I could only think of you."

Li Younan raised his eyebrows slightly, "Hmm."

After a short silence, Zhu Qingyue finally said, "I want to go to Gongga Mountain to do something very important."

Li Younan remained silent.

Zhu Qingyue suddenly laughed, "I’m really grateful to know you, to be able to confide in you the things I’ve kept bottled up inside for a long time. Can you patiently listen to me talk about it?"

Li Younan paused for a moment and said, "Hmm."

"I’ve been preparing for this for quite some time now, probably three or four months. I’ve gone to several mountains, exercising every day to ensure I have enough energy and strength to do this."

Li Younan adjusted his phone to the speaker mode while opening a webpage with introductions about Gongga Mountain.

He had some understanding of Gongga Mountain, but checking the information at this moment made things clearer.

In a nutshell, Gongga Mountain is known as the "King of Shu Mountains."

The difficulty of climbing it is even higher than ascending Mount Everest!

Although its altitude is only over 7,500 meters, making it more than a thousand meters shorter than Mount Everest, the distance from the peak of Gongga Mountain to its base is more than 6,000 meters, a figure that far exceeds the distance from the top of Everest to its base!

In a certain sense, Gongga Mountain is taller than Mount Everest.

The mortality rate of climbing this peak is extremely high.

To be honest, when he heard the name Gongga Mountain from Zhu Qingyue’s mouth earlier, he was really startled.

Gongga Mountain, even for someone like him with high-altitude lineage and climbing skills, is not a peak to challenge lightly. In a certain sense, even those daring enough to climb Mount Everest would hesitate to tackle Gongga Mountain.

Of course, Gongga Mountain has always been a milestone place that climbers are willing to attempt to conquer.

And in Gongga Mountain, there’s not only the challenge of reaching the summit, and not only the main peak to challenge.

No matter what, hearing this place from Zhu Qingyue, along with her saying she wants to go there, naturally led Li Younan’s mind to wander.

Li Younan said, "That place is extremely challenging. If you want to go there just to take photos and check-in at a place where you can see Gongga Mountain..."

"No," Zhu Qingyue interrupted Li Younan.

Zhu Qingyue continued, "I’m going there to... find something."

At this point, Zhu Qingyue hesitated again and didn’t continue.

Li Younan couldn’t help but tease, "Are you going to look for freedom? Courage?"

"Hate it, it’s not something so superficial," Zhu Qingyue sighed helplessly.

The serious atmosphere just now was broken by Li Younan’s two sentences. Feeling somewhat dissatisfied, she said, "You always think I’m a literary young woman... chasing impractical things all the time. Is that really how you see me?"

Li Younan suddenly became serious, "Sorry! Then go ahead, I’m listening."

"Oh, don’t be so serious..."

"Hmm."

Now Zhu Qingyue was no longer so bashful. She took a deep breath and slowly said, "I want to find a person, but... uh, promise you won’t be scared when I tell you."

"Ha," Li Younan said indifferently, "What kind of person? Quite frightening?"

Zhu Qingyue, calm and serious, said, "A deceased person."

Li Younan’s expression stiffened slightly, but after a brief pause, he felt the sadness beneath Zhu Qingyue’s calm words.

"Want to hear the story?"

...

"I told you before, I’ve never really had many friends growing up. Sweetness was one, but to me, the person who accompanied me growing up was my aunt."

"Even my love for traveling is because of my aunt."

"I grew up in a courtyard home, running from end to end as a child. Every corner holds my aunt’s shadow."

"She’s only twelve years older than me, more like a wild big sister than an elder."

"My parents were busy, and almost all of my winter and summer vacations were spent hanging out with her."

"When I was six, she took me to climb Xiangshan Mountain, not by the steps, but choosing the untrodden paths, teaching me where to set foot and how to find handholds."

"Halfway up, I was too scared to go further, crying urgently, while she mischievously laughed from below..."

"She always brought me safety, but when she was around, she was also my greatest insecurity..."

"When I was ten, a few older boys blocked me at the alley’s entrance trying to snatch my pocket money. She appeared from nowhere, didn’t shout or call, just walked over with half a brick in her hand, and those boys scattered."

"That’s just how she was. Deep down, she wasn’t one for a stable life. A stable life couldn’t hold her."

"After graduating from university, she joined a foreign enterprise, envied by all, worked for three years, then quit."

"She said, working a job is really boring."

Li Younan nodded in agreement.

"And so, she went to the Amazon Rainforest, her skin tanning dark, showed me photos upon returning, pointing at a colorful insect saying it’s edible, nearly made me puke; she went to the Sahara Desert wrapped in a turban, and also went to Mexico, saying the chili there is really spicy..."

"Family members said she was being unproductive, said she was crazy. But only I understood her, or rather, I envied her."

"It was precisely because of my aunt that later when I started traveling, everyone found that I was just visiting tourist spots, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, thinking I’m pretty normal..."