Chapter 330 - Hiking Time With the Artist

They discussed their strategy as they made their way to their side of the mountain. From just one key leading figure that jumped out of the crowd— Rong Yuan— they arrived at a strategy quickly. Because the hike was long, and likely to take hours, rushing it and losing all of their stamina immediately was not a good idea. They would take it steady, but at a pace brisk enough to be counted as fast walking. ;

Since the trail was only wide enough for around three people to walk together, the group was split into five lines. Ye Yunhe, Rong Yuan, and another disciple were at the front. Jiang Muyun was in the middle with a few other disciples. Yujia, labeled as someone who would definitely drag the group back, was sentenced to be in the last row, with Yufeng and a disciple that had looked very frail.

She wasn't very pleased with where she was placed, but she didn't complain. Putting where they placed her aside, she had to admit that Rong Yuan had excellent leadership skills. He could come up with a decent strategy fast, and he had the charisma to command a large group. ;

With another aspect of the game being that after the group made it to the top of the hills, they would begin an art competition, they also needed a representative artist. Yunhe was the first choice, obviously, as the most experienced senior brother of them all. However, as many members of the group were also present when Yujia did a "ten minute painting" demonstration months back, they decided to select her as backup. ;

The second aspect of the competition didn't only concern talent. Speed was important as well, due to the fact that the time limit would only be half an hour. What was even more pressing was that the winner from the first round could get a head start, since they arrived first. The rules did not prevent that. Thus, to ensure their ultimate success, it was important to win this first round.

With this strategy in mind, the Lingxin disciples began their path up the trail.

Yujia had her eyes fixed on the long path ahead, maintaining a focus of only noticing the way she walked and the way she regulated her breaths, a trick taught to her by Yufeng for conserving energy. But when Yufeng gently nudged her with an elbow and asked a question, her attention broke.

"What are you carrying on your back?" Yufeng asked.

"Oh, this?" Yujia raised her hand and patted a large fabric sack that she had tied into a makeshift bag around her back. It was a bulging sack and definitely could count as a decent weight. "Something very important."

Yujia had lots of reasons for this, however, and that was to be proven soon. ;

The group, fueled by their desire to beat Guozijian and win honor for their school, started off the hike at a great pace. They had energy and excitement, two factors enough to boost their adrenaline and speed.

Yujia found no difficulty hiking as well. She moved with ease at the back. Since they marched in unison, as if they were a military squad, the people at the front didn't slow her down. Cardio workouts really did pay off.

The morning air brushing against her face was a bit chilly, which Yujia appreciated. This way, she wouldn't feel overheated when she would sweat from this exercise. Besides, it was good for the object on her back to be in a cold environment.

It was about midway when things began to get a little difficult. A few people, even in the middle of the group, began to slow down, their energetic marching beginning to lose its spirit. Yunhe noticed this and elbowed Rong Yuan, who yelled out, "Let's keep going! We're about halfway there!"

With those words, a bit of energy was regained, and they went back to their old pace once more.

It was when someone tripped that things went dreadfully wrong.

Very unfortunately, there was a rock sticking out of the ground, and it managed to catch the ankle of a disciple. With a surprised yelp, he fell forward, pushing another unexpecting disciple forward. When that disciple staggered forward, he fumbled into yet another disciple, but that one thankfully stood his ground, and the general shape of the formation was preserved.

However, that disciple which had tripped originally was now on the floor, holding his ankle. ;

Everyone quickly stopped. They crowded him with worry at first, but soon afterwards, a few exchanged glances amongst themselves. Yujia took notice of those glances. They weren't judgemental as much as they were filled with worry that this setback would lead to a delay. After all, another term of the competition listed that they had to have most of their members arriving at the finish line for the competition to be considered as a win. Only one was allowed to drop out.

Seeing this, Yujia realized that now was the time for her to step in.

She parted the crowd with a few "excuse me"s and "coming through"s, then slung the bag she had been carrying off her shoulder. When she untied the knot, the fabric parted to reveal jugs of water, along with a block of ice larger than her palm, wrapped in its own layers.

Yunhe, who had his eyes on her, exclaimed, eyes wide and eyebrows narrowed, "You were carrying that large of a piece of ice on your back all this time?"

She nodded quite thoughtfully. "The owners actually had some ice lying around, so I asked if I could take a chunk. It was much bigger before, but I guess it melted a bit." The fabric around the ice was quite damp to touch.

"Why would you just… carry that?" ;

Yujia subconsciously glanced down at her own ankle, then at the rock that was jutting out the ground, which was the culprit behind why that disciple tripped. ;

"Well, I had a feeling that hiking would mean chances of tripping happening. Sprained ankles are no good, and ice will help stop it from inflaming too much," she thoughtfully explained. While keeping one layer of thin fabric around the ice, she handed it to the disciple. "Here," she instructed him, "ice your ankle a bit. It will help."

He thanked her with shining eyes, taking the ice from her. While he was doing that, she rose up, holding the contents of her bag in her arms.

"The key to winning is not just strategy, but plenty of preparation as well." Gesturing down at the many jugs of water— there were about six jugs— she began to hand them out. "I figured we would all be thirsty." ;

At the sight of water, the group cheered. Unanimously, they decided to take a quick break, both for the water and for the disciple who had sprained his ankle. They took turns passing the jugs around, each drinking the water they needed. Yujia, in the meantime, had her own jug, which she poured some into her mouth before handing it off to Yufeng.

Jiang Muyun, who was standing next to Yunhe, peered at her with a curious gaze. "Junior Sister, we have to thank you for this."

When she heard him, Yujia clasped her hands and bowed. "It's nothing. I want us to win as well." ;

"May I implore," he continued, "why you chose to carry the water on you, instead of distributing it around? It must've been quite heavy." ;

She scratched her temple. "Well, I figured that it would be better to conserve our resources until the halfway point. That way, the water consumption can be easily balanced out. If I distributed them out at the very start, people could have consumed all of the water already, and that would mean that everyone would be exhausted and thirsty towards the more crucial ending of this hiking competition." ;

The nearby Yunhe decided to chime in, saying, "This is why I admire Junior Sister's ability to think ahead. Plus, you had no prior knowledge that we would be holding this competition. You managed to gather all of this water and ice within a few minutes after I explained the contest. That speed is truly admirable."

She laughed. "All I did was bring some water. At least now, I have this weight off my back." ;

"You are being too humble," Yunhe said with a grin.

"I agree," Muyun said, "Junior Sister should give herself some more credit."

Folding her hands in front of her, Yujia nodded with a polite smile. "Well then, I'll take all of these compliments." ;

More to feed her ego, anyways.

It was around this time that Rong Yuan decided now would be a great time to throw himself in. He appeared between Yujia and her senior brothers, cutting into the conversation with a loud word of thanks. Yujia quickly told him no problem and turned her attention to the disciple that had sprained his ankle.

"How is it?" she asked, "Can you stand?"

He pinched his mouth into a straight line, then gritted, "I'm not sure. Let me try."

Yunhe quickly went to offer an arm of help. The disciple took it, but it was a difficult process for him to stand up. At this rate of how things looked, even if he could walk, it would slow down the group. ;

Rong Yuan seemed to notice that as well, patting the disciple on the back. "Senior Brother," he assured, "Go ahead and get some rest. We can have two people drop out, so no worries at all. You can wait for our victory here, or you can head back if your ankle heals enough!"

"Really?" The disciple voiced his reluctance.

Rong Yuan gave him a nod of assurement. "I know that Senior Brother wants to help us win, but our victory is your victory. Besides that, your health is more important. We can't have your ankle sprained for the entire journey, so it's best to not strain it right now."

Those words seemed to do the trick of convincing that disciple. He solemnly agreed. ;

Yunhe looked at Rong Yuan with a new light in his eyes. "Junior Brother, that was oddly mature of you," he applauded.

"Eh?" Rong Yuan's eyebrows shot up as he declared, "What kind of back-handed compliment was that? Oddly? Oddly? I am always mature!" ;

Yujia couldn't help but cover her mouth as a small snicker escaped her. She knew that with Yunhe being as dense as he was, he didn't intend a back-handed compliment. Sure enough, he leaned back indignantly, and a small fight, nothing too serious and mostly filled with light-hearted statements, occurred between Yunhe and Rong Yuan. Yujia, in the meantime, sat back and enjoyed her water as if it was popcorn.

…

The water break ended soon enough, and they were back on the trail. ;

While they walked, with rejuvenated spirit, it seemed like the speed was even better now. Perhaps it was hydration working its magic, or perhaps it was because there was a slight adjustment in the rows. ;

Instead of walking in the back, now, Yujia was at the front. Yufeng was close behind her, in the second row. ;

She didn't expect this change in position, but likely because of the poor performance of a few people in the middle rows, they got moved to the back. As for how she ended up all front, the reasons also probably had to deal with her act of carrying the water that amazed the group into letting her walk in the front.

Regardless, she was very happy with being at the front of the line. The view ahead of her was better here, without heads to block her way. She was feeling good. The air as they went up higher didn't restrict her breathing much either. The altitude was probably not high enough to cause that. Her lungs felt good, for the first time in forever, considering the original body's poor health and days of consistent coughing.

In fact, as she walked, she really had the time to think about how far she had gotten.

She went from penniless, dying, and stuck in an unhappy life to someone currently leading a group of fellow artistic disciples on a hike up the legendary peaks of Huangshan.

Things were so much better now, and she was grateful. Grateful for the people who had helped her along the way, and also grateful to herself for believing in the possibility of growth. For breaking the fear of the unknown.

Before she knew it, she had a wide smile on her face. Yunhe, who was beside her and noticed that smile, asked curiously, "Junior Sister, what are you so happy about?"

"All of this," she replied, "What isn't there to smile for?"

She shouldn't have said that.

As if that was a jinx, when they arrived at the top of the mountain, her smile fell soon enough. ;

The Guozijian disciple group had already made it to the top, long before them.