Chapter 193: Conquering His Fears
They retraced their path through the dense undergrowth, their footsteps muffled by the moss-laden earth. After half an hour of steady trekking, they emerged at the edge of a deep ravine. There, suspended by thick ropes and creaking under the mountain wind, was the hanging bridge—narrow, weather-worn, and swaying ever so slightly.
With practiced ease, Jethru removed a rock, revealing a small metal mechanism hidden beneath. Since they could not be on the plateau every day, Jethru had purposely brought a few rocks there and hid the mechanism under.
"Did you make the bridge, Grandpa?" Gideon asked, his gaze fixed on the small pulley as Jethru began winding it. The gears, though rust-streaked, still gleamed faintly in the light that filtered through the trees.
Normally serious and reserved, Gideon only engaged in conversation when he was with his family or when something captured his interest.
"Hmm. I did. If not, how could I conveniently cross over?" Jethru snorted. "I didn’t fancy falling to my death every time I needed to cross." His tone was blunt, as usual.
Gideon was speechless. The white-haired man indeed has a sharp tongue. He could only stand silently and watch him.
"Grandpa, why do you still need to do that to the bridge?" Percival stepped forward, frowning as the bridge slowly lifted. "Why not just leave it raised all the time? Isn’t lowering and lifting it every time... a bit risky? What if someone attacks? You’d never have the time to pull it up." He looked back at the trees and the thick bushes behind them.
"But we never had an enemy who would attack us. This isn’t for people—it’s to keep the wild things from wandering in."
Percival was also silent after that. Even he couldn’t argue with the logic of survival in the wild.