Chapter 1634 - 1686: Entering the Mountains
Two hours later, Li Yifei and Xu Shanshan’s plane soared into the sky. This time, they weren’t flying commercial; instead, they were on the Li family’s newly purchased plane, the Gulfstream G650. It was the latest product from Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, and the Li family had placed an order for a single unit months ago, which was now being put to good use.
It’s a product of the famous American business jet company, Gulfstream Aerospace. It uses the Rolls-Royce BR725 engine and reached a speed of 0.995 Mach during flutter testing, making it the fastest commercial aircraft since the Concorde. The G650 has a maximum cruise speed of 0.925 Mach, and its range reaches 13,000 kilometers at 0.85 Mach. It boasts the largest cabin in its class, offering an extremely spacious and luxurious interior. The Li family customized an even more lavish version, with exquisite interior design that can accommodate eighteen passengers, not including the four crew members.
Additionally, as the world’s fastest private plane, traveling from the provincial capital to the southern region would take only about six hours. The Li family also ordered a Bombardier Global 8000, similarly seating around nineteen passengers and crew. Although slightly slower than the Gulfstream G650, it’s rumored to have an even more luxurious interior.
Both planes are expensive, each costing more than four hundred million Huaxia currency, and with internal modifications and other expenses, they amount to a small five hundred million, not to mention the dedicated crew and annual maintenance fees.
Now, the Li family can afford such planes, but having to go to the provincial capital airport each time is somewhat inconvenient.
However, compared to a prince in Dubai with a Boeing 787 converted into a private plane, theirs is still somewhat smaller and not as grand, but it’s quite decent.
In the air, Li Yifei and Xu Shanshan admired the scenery for a while, had some refreshments, and then walked hand in hand to the bedroom.
Xu Shanshan was no longer as stern as before, snuggling up in Li Yifei’s arms, obediently like a kitten. Fearing he might be displeased by her sudden insistence on joining his trip, she softly explained while tracing circles on his chest, "I didn’t mean to disrupt you; it’s just... it’s been so long since we’ve spent quality time like this. The opportunity arose, and I couldn’t resist... Moreover, I can help you. I’m quite skilled myself."
Li Yifei chuckled, nodding slightly, "You’ve already come along, so it’s not like I can send you back. Alright, sleep tight. Once the plane lands, the good times are over! Entering the danger zone, you must listen to me. That place is not for joking around; if you step on one out of the millions of landmines, you’ll regret it for life."
"Mm-hmm. I will." Xu Shanshan nodded vigorously, turned over to embrace Li Yifei, and buried her head in his chest, taking deep breaths as if inhaling a delightful scent.
Before long, Xu Shanshan fell into a peaceful sleep. Li Yifei, however, wasn’t very sleepy. Although he could have refused her company due to the unknown dangers of this trip, worried about something happening to her, he chose not to. Since she wished to follow, he allowed it. Xu Shanshan hadn’t mentioned it, but he remembered owing her a romantic journey. Perhaps this could be it, though it mustn’t interfere with the search for Bai Shan.
In the past few days, the Li family went from the initial joy upon discovering Jiang Ningxiang’s child had mysterious powers to a tense realization that these powers might bring danger. The family’s mood had become strained.
Jiang Ningxiang felt it even more, but fortunately, there was a solution. If they could find Bai Shan and seal off the child’s powers, then even in the worst-case scenario, if the child was captured by wrongdoers, they wouldn’t be able to break Bai Shan’s seal, let alone use the child for sinister purposes.
So, Li Yifei had to find Bai Shan to ensure the child’s safe growth over the coming years.
The plane smoothly landed at Yundian Airport. The first stop in the quest for Bai Shan was a rainforest about three hundred kilometers from Yundian Airport, in Yundian City.
Li Yifei and the well-rested Xu Shanshan disembarked from the plane, turning back to thank the crew. This plane would wait at Yundian Airport until their return.
Leaving the airport, Li Yifei and Xu Shanshan didn’t linger in Yundian City. They took a taxi to an outdoor survival store to stock up on necessary supplies, ate at a nearby small restaurant, and had an off-road vehicle delivered. They loaded their packages into the car, with Li Yifei driving and Xu Shanshan beside him, heading towards a place called Gongbang. It was over three hundred kilometers away, not too far, but the road was rough, with ups and downs, winding mountain paths, and narrow, rugged trails.
Li Yifei drove at a steady pace, lucky that the off-road vehicle had good performance, making their journey without major incidents.
During the trip, Xu Shanshan used a satellite phone to call home, reporting their progress and mentioning their imminent venture into the mountains. She took the opportunity to praise the Gulfstream G650, hinting that despite its ludicrous price, it wasn’t a wasted purchase.
The women at home envied Xu Shanshan’s ability to accompany Li Yifei, but they didn’t have her natural advantages, which would have made them a burden for Li Yifei. They could only feel jealous deep down.
Here they were nearly at the borderline. Li Yifei had used his connections to give notice at several nearby border stations long ago, so the two of them had brought documents to avoid some unnecessary trouble.
Upon reaching the destination, Li Yifei left the car in a small mountain village. After communicating with the locals, he gave the family a few bills. Naturally, the household was more than happy to help Li Yifei keep the car safe. Understanding Li Yifei’s intention, the man of the house directly offered to lead them into the mountains, claiming to know places with fewer landmines, allowing travel at least twenty miles into the hills.
Li Yifei agreed, even gave the man a few more bills, which amounted to half a year’s income for the household. So, the man was pleased to guide them into the mountains, treating them as trekking buddies on a journey into the hills. He advised them not to go too deep, warning of danger and mentioning several people had died inside in the last few years with their bodies never found.
After spending half a day progressing about twenty miles along the mountain path, the place was already desolate, almost no one ventured there. The three entered the swampy dense forest, where the farmer refused to go further since it was deep forest. Seeing the two still intent on advancing, he tried to dissuade them and prepared to give them some grain from his backpack before returning.
"Keep the supplies, take this money as your reward. Thanks for the advice," Li Yifei said, pulling out a wad of banknotes and stuffing it into the man’s arms. During the twenty-mile trek, the man had introduced them to many edible plants and fruits in the mountains this season, as well as several protein-rich insects and some toxic-looking things Xu Shanshan deemed edible but were actually poisonous.
The man smiled, thanked them, wished them luck, and turned to head back.
Li Yifei and Xu Shanshan watched him leave but didn’t hurry further. According to the navigation equipment, they were still over a hundred miles from the suspicious destination, requiring further search upon arrival.
Master Void’s search area was quite small already, yet there were still dozens of miles to comb through, featuring wetlands, forests, and crucially, numerous caves.
Upon analysis, everyone concluded that the place where Bai Shan was discovered by the adept could either be a cave or a secret realm, both being difficult to find.
Xu Shanshan seemed very relaxed, showing no signs of fatigue. Being able to go out with Li Yifei made her happy, and she naturally avoided adding trouble for him. When they rested, she went into the woods and came back holding a bunch of edible wild fruits that all tasted nice.
"Here, have some," Xu Shanshan said, handing Li Yifei some and sitting beside him, snacking on the fruits.
"Are you tired?" Li Yifei took the fruits, popped a few into his mouth, and chewed, finding they tasted indeed nice, while asking and continuously eating the other fruits.
Xu Shanshan shook her head, saying, "Of course not, and I think the environment is beautiful, feels good. Most importantly, with you by my side, everywhere is the best place for me."
Li Yifei leaned in, kissed Xu Shanshan on the cheek, saying, "Anywhere with you is the same."
"I don’t believe it. Imagine if I hadn’t tried to stop the car with all my might, I wouldn’t be here now," she retorted.
"Wasn’t it to spare you the hardship?" Li Yifei said innocently.
Xu Shanshan made a face but dropped the subject, leaning on Li Yifei’s shoulder, tilting her face skyward. The clouds rolled and spread across the sky, patches floated swiftly past, soon replaced by new clouds.
After finishing the fruits, Li Yifei pulled Xu Shanshan up, saying, "We need to hit the road. This place’s weather changes quickly; rainy days aren’t suitable for traveling. While it’s sunny, let’s cover more ground."
"Okay," Xu Shanshan nodded, tossed the remaining fruit pits away, put on her backpack, and walked into the forest with Li Yifei.
The forest here was unusually dense, chaotic with towering trees overhead and thick underbrush below, interspersed with weeds. Amid this, countless landmines from that era lay hidden in the forest. After traversing several hundred meters, Li Yifei had dismantled three landmines already. All were of the tread-pressure type, aged to semi-uselessness, with fuses failing. Yet, stepping on one by misfortune could still detonate it, though it might not take a life, serious injury was a real probability.