After surviving my ordeal, I learned that the school beauty had given birth to twins for me.

"Shennongjia?"

Upon hearing that they were going out to play, the two children instantly jumped up from the sofa, abandoning their watermelon and cartoons, and ran over to surround Shen Yu.

"Daddy, Daddy! Is Shennongjia the place with golden monkeys?"

"Yes, there are golden monkeys, a big waterfall, and wild fruits. It's very cool, and you need to cover yourself with a blanket at night."

Shen Yu smiled and ruffled the heads of the two children.

"Yay! Great! We're going to see the golden monkeys!" The two children jumped around excitedly in the living room.

Upon hearing that they were going out, Sanhua instantly sprang up from the ground. No longer feeling hot, she darted to Shen Yu's feet and rubbed her head against his leg.

Its tail wagged like a little motor, and it kept meowing, meaning it wanted to go too.

"I'll take you, I'll take you." Shen Yu smiled and tapped its head. "You'll get your share."

Sanhua was so happy that she rolled on the ground.

Jiang Xinlan smiled and said, "Okay, I'll go pack my things and we'll leave first thing tomorrow morning."

They could just pack up and go.

Jiang Xinlan went upstairs to pack her luggage. She was efficient and quickly packed the two children's changes of clothes, common medicines, mosquito repellent, sunscreen, and sunscreen.

She also packed a backpack full of snacks and milk, as well as swimsuits for the two children, saying there were streams in the mountains where they could play in the water.

Shen Yu's belongings were even simpler; two changes of clothes were enough.

On the contrary, the calico cat's things filled almost half a box: dried fish, canned cat food, water bowl, and leash filled the whole box.

The two children were also busy, stuffing their Ultraman dolls, Barbie dolls, and water guns into the trunk, filling it to the brim.

That evening, Su Hui prepared a farewell feast for them, and also packed them a lot of homemade braised beef, tea eggs, and snacks for them to eat on the road.

I kept nagging and giving instructions, saying it's cool in the mountains, remember to cover the children with blankets at night, don't go to remote places, and be careful.

"Okay, Mom, we're not little kids anymore," Jiang Xinlan said with a smile.

"You'll always be a child in my eyes." Su Hui tapped her forehead, then said to Shen Yu, "Keep an eye on them, don't let them run around."

"Don't worry, Mom, I'm here." Shen Yu nodded with a smile.

The next morning, just as dawn broke and before the sun rose, when it was cool, the family set off.

The car drove out of Beijing, onto the highway, and headed south.

The two children, along with Sanhua and Songguo, sat in the back seat. At first, they were excitedly looking at the scenery outside the window, but after a while, they fell asleep hugging their cushions.

Sanhua lay between the two children, fast asleep.

Jiang Xinlan sat in the passenger seat, peeled an orange, fed Shen Yu a segment, ate a segment herself, and leaned back in her seat to chat with Shen Yu:

"This is my first time visiting Shennongjia. I've only ever read about it in textbooks before, and they say there are wild men there. Is it true or not?"

"There are no savages here." Shen Yu smiled.

"It's all just hearsay from people in the past, but that primeval forest has existed for hundreds of thousands of years and is full of spiritual energy."

Recently, the spiritual energy has revived, and many animals have become intelligent and quite human-like, making the place more lively than other places.

"That's perfect. I'll see how those intelligent little animals compare to the calico."

Jiang Xinlan smiled and patted Sanhua's head. Sanhua was still half asleep and nuzzled her hand.

We drove for a whole day, stopping twice at service areas to rest and eat something. It wasn't until almost 6 p.m. that we arrived at Muyu Town at the foot of Shennongjia.

This is a small town built against the mountainside, right at the entrance of the Shennongjia Scenic Area.

The air is exceptionally fresh. As soon as I got off the bus, I could smell the clean fragrance of grass, trees, and streams. The breeze was cool and refreshing, much more comfortable than Beijing.

As soon as the two children got out of the car, they stretched and said, "Dad, it's so cool here!"

Shen Yu had booked a guesthouse in advance, located at the very back of the town, nestled against the mountain. It was a three-story wooden building with a courtyard full of flowers and a swing. You could see the mountains and clouds just by opening the window, which was very comfortable.

The guesthouse owner was a local man in his fifties, surnamed Wang, with dark skin, and was exceptionally hospitable.

Seeing them arrive, he quickly came over to help with their luggage, saying in a loud voice:

"We've finally waited for you! The room is all ready for you. It's the sunny room on the second floor; you can see the mountains right from the window, and it's very cool!"

After putting their luggage in the room, the two children ran out to the yard to swing on the swings, and Sanhua followed them out to chase butterflies in the yard.

Boss Wang brewed them some local mountain tea; the tea was clear and refreshing, and a sip left a lingering fragrance in the mouth.

"Is this your first time here?"

When Boss Wang offered them cigarettes, Shen Yu waved his hand and said he didn't want any, so he lit one for himself.

"It's cool in the mountains these days, but there's a lot of fog. If you're going to have fun, just visit the nearby Natural Bridge and Shennongtan. Don't go too deep into the mountains; it's not safe."

"Is the fog thick?" Jiang Xinlan held her teacup and looked up at the mountain. Sure enough, she saw a layer of white fog floating halfway up the mountain, like a veil covering the mountain peak.

"Yeah, I don't know what's going on, the fog has been really strange these past two days."

Boss Wang frowned.

"Fog used to come and go, but it would usually dissipate as soon as the sun came out. These past two days, the fog started falling in the latter half of the night and didn't dissipate until noon."

Yesterday, a few young photographers insisted on going deep into the mountains to photograph the sea of ​​clouds. I tried to dissuade them for a long time, but they wouldn't listen.

"Our older generation all say that the White Deer Mountain God lives in this mountain. It is said that the mountain has become a spirit and has lived for thousands of years."

The mountain god usually protects the people and animals in the mountains. A thick fog means the mountain god is patrolling the mountains, preventing people from wandering off and getting lost.

Boss Wang smiled.

"Of course, these are all superstitious beliefs from the older generation, but you should still be careful. The signal is bad in the deep mountains, and it will be troublesome if you get lost."

Oh, by the way, a few days ago there were three foreigners dressed in black loitering around the shrine on the mountain, doing something rather suspicious.

After chatting for a while, Boss Wang went to the kitchen to cook for them, all of which were local dishes.

The smoked cured pork stir-fried with fresh bamboo shoots, the free-range chicken soup simmered all afternoon, the stir-fried wild mushrooms, the fried baby potatoes, and the cold wild wood ear mushroom salad—the aroma alone is enough to make your mouth water.

The two children were starving after playing all afternoon, and they ate with great relish, with Sanhua even eating half a chicken.

It got dark after dinner. The nights in the mountains were chilly, so Jiang Xinlan put a light jacket on the two children, and the family sat in the yard watching the stars.

The stars in the mountains are much brighter than those in the city, densely packed like scattered diamonds on a black cloth, and the Milky Way is clearly visible.

Sanhua squatted at the gate of the courtyard, arching her back and panting as she faced the mountain, her tail held straight up.

"What's wrong, Huahua?" Niannian ran over and patted Sanhua's head.

Jiang Xinlan frowned as well. She could feel the fog in the mountains slowly drifting towards the town, and the air felt somewhat oppressive.