Chapter 43 - In The Wilderness

Mount Emei was around 120 miles away from Lin City. The two of them rode a tour bus and within two hours, they had reached the foot of the majestic and beautiful Mount Emei.

Why didn’t she let Li Zhicheng drive there straight away? Lin Qian said since they were here to enjoy themselves, then they shouldn’t waste energy on driving; they should just focus on relaxing. Taking a bus was quite convenient anyway.

But truth be told, she was reluctant to waste those two hours watching him drive. Normally their encounters were measured by minutes, so even though they only locked arms and sat on a very crowded bus, she felt like their wonderful journey had begun.

There was definitely cuddling, hugging, and teasing between them along the way. She enjoyed the scenery along the road while in his arms. Heaven and earth became a honey jar, sweetening their journey.

When they got off the bus, Lin Qian’s face was radiant with a pink glow and she smiled with her eyes. Their fingers were interlocked. He carried a large bag on his back; most of their things were in his bag. In contrast with Lin Qian’s obviously sweet expression, his look was much calmer. But his dark eyes were smiling too. His words were few, but his hand holding hers was steady and strong.

It was the beginning of spring. Since it was the weekend, there were a lot of people on the mountain, so the two of them ditched taking the cable car. They took a short bus ride, then picked an empty trail and started hiking. No one was there to disturb them.

The trail up to Mount Emei was winding. But Lin Qian, following Li Zhicheng on this unfamiliar path, was not at all worried about getting lost. She had a soldier with excellent wilderness survival skills by her side. What was there to be afraid of? They might even be able to hunt a wild boar or wolf on the way back.

Of course, this was just her imagination; there were definitely no wild boars nor wolves on the main peak of Mount Emei.

But, there were monkeys.

Lots and lots of monkeys.

By the time she realized this, Lin Qian stood on a broad stone step. The noon sunlight filtered through the leaves, etching the path with a layer of luminous gold. Li Zhicheng stood beside her. He was fast, and she was a little short of breath after following him. But his breathing was steady and he didn’t even have sweat on him. He looked calm and composed as if he had just walked out of the office.

Exactly how good is his stamina?

They stopped because a few stone steps away, there was a troop of about twenty black-haired monkeys scratching their heads and brushing their ears. They stared at the couple and blocked their path.

Lin Qian knew that the monkeys on Mount Emei were intelligent. Their eyes were sparkling and darting around. It was a rare sight to see, but it was also a little eerie.

She lowered her voice. “Should we give them something to eat? Leave some money to pay a toll?”

Li Zhicheng’s eyes lit up in amusement. He replied in a low voice, “How much food do you have in your bag? What if their avarice knows no bounds and they refuse to leave?”

Lin Qian gave him a sarcastic laugh. “I have my ways.” She took out three small buns from her bag, removed the packaging, and bounced them lightly in her hand. Li Zhicheng said nothing, hands in his pockets, and looked at her lively antics.

The monkeys were indeed clever; their eyes sparkled upon seeing the food. They were ready to leap forth. Lin Qian acted even faster; her hand moved swiftly, tossing the three buns in different directions. The monkeys followed the smell of the buns and scattered, rushing toward where they had been dropped. Lin Qian was stunned by their lightning speed.

The path was cleared. There were only two or three slow-witted monkeys left by the roadside. They looked to their left and right, then looked at the couple. They seemed unsure of where to go. Lin Qian chuckled and her arm was grabbed by Li Zhicheng. She could hear the smile in his voice as he said, “What are you waiting for? Let’s go.”

“Okay!”

The two quickly got away from the troop of monkeys. They dashed for a few hundred feet until the monkeys were nowhere to be seen before they stopped, panting. Suddenly Lin Qian had an impulse; she wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his handsome face.

His beloved had taken the initiative to offer a kiss. Li Zhicheng naturally cooperated and shifted to take the lead. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed his mouth against hers.

Perhaps they had been suppressing their desires for too long due to the heavy workload; or perhaps this was the first time that the two were free to enjoy themselves after being together. Lin Qian felt like his kiss was getting deeper and steamier. The arms around her tightened. His hands moved from her waist to her breasts, fondling eagerly.

When she came to her senses, she was pressed against a tree by him. Her back was slightly aching due to the uneven surface, but since he used his hand as a cushion she didn’t feel much. There was not a single person around; in the mountain only the faint chirping of the birds and monkeys could be heard. Lin Qian felt very different from normal.

It was wonderful and tranquil; passionate and arousing.

Deep in the wilderness, they felt very free—as though they were the only two people in the world. They could put aside everyone and everything, immersing themselves solely in this kiss. Lin Qian could feel from deep within her heart and her body, her desire, which had been incited by Li Zhicheng repeatedly, was slowly awakening. A desire stronger than ever before.

When a pair of lovers made out, how could they not feel connected? Right now, Li Zhicheng had stronger impulses than her. Seeing his lover leaning against the tree in the wilderness, her cheeks flushed and her body quivering, taking in his overbearing demands… her aroused look seemed absolutely stunning in the silence. She was like a dainty flower blossoming in his arms. He just needed to exert a little more force to pluck her and make her his.

Never before had he been so tempted and torrid.

There was only one thought left in his brain: I want her.

He wanted to have her completely.

He had made up his mind. Li Zhicheng’s kiss became tender and long. His mouth moved away from her lips, slowly exploring further down, until he buried his lips and tongue underneath the collar of her messy sweater. His hand slipped underneath her shirt, caressing her, making her short of breath.

Even though Lin Qian felt an enormous desire, women were not a species dictated by lust. And since she was inexperienced, she didn’t complete relate her desire to making love. So after her lips were released by him, even though her body was still under his control, she whispered, almost whimpering, “Okay… stop it now.”

Li Zhicheng agreed that it was time to stop. If they didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to.

“Hmm.” He slowly raised his head—his lips were plum-colored and lush. His hand had come out from underneath her sweater but was still around her waist. She was pressed against him.

Then he moved his waist slightly forward.

Lin Qian could obviously feel his member pressed against her lower abdomen. The feeling was clear like never before—she clearly sensed “its” presence.

She raised her head to stare at him, a little dumbfounded.

He lowered his head to stare at her too. His gaze was deep and piercing.

Smart people sometimes don’t need words to communicate. The two maintained eye contact for a while, and suddenly Lin Qian felt like she was being hit on an acupoint. A ticklish and tremulous sensation spread across her whole body starting from the point where she was touched by “it.”

Her cheeks flushed; her pulse raced like a galloping horse.

Only hinting and contemplating was left in this silence. Suddenly a sharp ook ook and hoo hoo sounded beside their feet, distracting them.

Lin Qian glanced over. Ah! It was a small and furry monkey!

The grey monkey sat on the green grass by their feet was less than a foot tall. Its head was raised, showing its soft furry face. It stared at them with its big eyes and was making hoo hoo sounds at them. One of its hands extended toward them, its palm turned up. It was asking for food.

Lin Qian was amused. There was a smile on Li Zhicheng’s face as well. He let go of her.

Lin Qian squatted down in front of the monkey, smiling. “What do you want?”

“Hoo hoo!” The monkey made the noise again and pulled on the leg of her pants.

Entertained, Lian Qian took out the corn she had bought at the foot of the mountain from her bag and passed it to the monkey. The monkey happily grabbed it; after scurrying around, it settled on a low branch at the same level as the squatting Lin Qian and devoured the corn.

This monkey was too cute. Lin Qian was reluctant to leave; she rested her chin on her hand, squatted in front of the monkey and watched it devour the food. Li Zhicheng squatted down beside her.

Lin Qian turned her head and smiled at him. Without warning, he leaned in and pecked her cheek. He stood right after the kiss.

Lin Qian turned around and looked at him. There was a faint smile on his face, but his gaze was still dark and pressing.

Thinking back to his hint and intention just now, Lin Qian felt her face flush again. She said goodbye to the monkey, stood up, and went ahead alone.

After a few steps, he caught up with her and walked in silence.

Lin Qian was also silent for a while, then she couldn’t help but take a peek at him. She was caught by him instantaneously. He raised his gaze, saying in a low voice, “Why are you walking so fast? Are you scared that I’ll devour you?”

His voice was low and intimidating, and his double entendre made Lin Qian’s heart skip a beat. Lin Qian naturally fought back after being teased beyond her limit. She glared at him. “You… you are turning evil!”

Li Zhicheng smiled, murmuring, “Hmm.”

So Lin Qian, as usual, could do nothing about him, the soldier pretending to be weak. She could only glare at him again; she then turned around to hasten up the mountain. But no matter how fast or how far she ran, that man (who was turning evil) was always half a step behind her. Occasionally when they paused to rest, they would smooch in silence.

The sky turned dark without them noticing. The two finally reached the hot springs resort, situated at the mountainside.

That morning, when Lin Qian had seen the rough schedule from Li Zhicheng, she was a little surprised.

She had been planning on a day trip, but Li Zhicheng had booked the hotel to stay overnight. She was fine with it. This way, they could go to the Golden Peak to watch the sunrise tomorrow early in the morning.

But when they reached the hotel lobby and Li Zhicheng checked in at the counter to get the room card, she was even more surprised.

He had only booked one room, with a commercial king-sized bed.

Of course, at this moment, Lin Qian was not going to be a hypocrite. She stared at Li Zhicheng’s calm expression, silently asking herself, Am I willing?

The answer was obvious.

So she silently took one of the room key cards from Li Zhicheng and slipped it into her pocket. Li Zhicheng put his arm around her shoulders and they went upstairs.

The room was great. The design was delicate; the scent from the pot of pale yellow flowers on the table filled the room. Beyond the balcony door was a great view of the canyon and valley. As night fell, the mountains became a rumpled drape of silk. The air filled her nose with a refreshing and slightly-sweet scent.

Li Zhicheng stood on the balcony, gazing into the distance. After a while, he turned around and stared at the little woman hiding in the room. “Don’t you want to come out here and have a look?”

“Oh…” Lin Qian answered vaguely. She walked to the balcony and stood beside him. Li Zhicheng lifted a cup of tea from the side table and passed it to her.

Li Zhicheng had brought the tea leaves from his house. Lin Qian took the cup and mindlessly sipped it.

She was neither in the mood to enjoy the great scenery nor tea of the best quality.

Lin Qian was a woman with a vivid imagination, but also with little to no dating experience. Sometimes, her emotions and desires were not always synced with her psychological endurance. For example: now, she understood clearly what would happen tonight, and her brain started filling in the gaps and imagining a lot of things.

Of course those images were not specific nor concrete; she couldn’t picture anything specific anyway. But even imagining some generic images was enough to leave her restless and blushing.

For example, seeing each other naked…

Or, what position would they use…

“Ahem.” Lin Qian choked on the tea and coughed.

Standing beside her, Li Zhicheng couldn’t help laughing; he gently patted her back. Lin Qian felt even more self-conscious being touched by him now—all sorts of images rushed into her brain. She immediately evaded the subject by saying, “Let’s go and have dinner!”

Li Zhicheng stared at her cheeks, which had been red since she set foot in the hotel. He didn’t point it out, and merely answered under his breath, “Okay.”

The hotel’s specialties were vegetarian. Li Zhicheng asked for a private dining room. Outside the window was a view of the mountains and a stream. The environment was exquisite and tranquil.

They ordered a few dishes: vegetarian beef, snow konjac, fried rice balls, steamed lotus tofu, and silver noodles.

Lin Qian was a highly adaptive woman. Though she was sometimes caught off-guard in situations and panicked, after a while she would feel okay. Right now, facing a table of delicate and delicious-looking vegetarian dishes, her worries lifted and she focused on filling her stomach.

Occasionally when she turned her head and saw Li Zhicheng staring at her with his dark gaze, she thought: Just do it! Who’s afraid? She put on a sweet, slightly provocative smile.

Li Zhicheng sat beside her with a hand on the back of her chair. He noticed Lin Qian recover her usual combat mode—she even wore complacent (though a little sheepish) expression to provoke him.

He smiled a little.

Actually, he enjoyed this form of teasing very much.

As of now, seeing that she was lively and in a good mood, Li Zhicheng naturally thought of tonight. He felt his blood surge. He lifted the cup and slowly drank from it, allowing her to lean closer and continue to tease him daringly.