Who Is Hindering Whom?

its enormous posterior to avoid this seemingly sharp sword qi.The blade hit the rock behind White and left a shallow mark.Hao Ren had reduced the power of each sword qi strike so that even if it hit...Chapter 27: Who's Holding Back Whom

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There were still three hours of hiking to reach the mountain top. For those who walked faster, it would only take around two hours. Including the time required to return from the mountain waist to the foot of the mountain, at least six hours would be needed.

Hao Ren thought about having to spend at least six hours alone with Zhao Yanzǐ, which was roughly half a day, and felt somewhat anxious.

However, it was good that the scenery here was beautiful. If he couldn't bear looking at Zhao Yanzǐ, at least he could enjoy the view.

Zhao Yanzǐ was incredibly excited and practically ran up the mountain as if she was eager to see the Taoist temple or trying to deliberately leave Hao Ren behind.

Hao Ren naturally wouldn't let her easily leave him behind. He took a deep breath, quickened his pace, and followed close behind her.

"Hurry up! Hurry up! You're the slowest!" Zhao Yanzǐ urged Hao Ren while climbing the mountain.

Hao Ren ignored her taunts and continued to climb steadily at a consistent pace. He was someone who practiced long-distance running and knew how to use his energy efficiently, unlike Zhao Yanzǐ who only focused on sprinting without considering her stamina afterward.

Indeed, after half an hour, Zhao Yanzǐ, who had been maintaining high speed while climbing the mountain, exhausted all her energy and gradually slowed down.

Hao Ren maintained a steady pace and caught up with her in no time. He then passed her and continued to climb the mountain without hurrying.

"Hey!" Seeing that Hao Ren dared to leave her behind, Zhao Yanzǐ couldn't help but call out.

Hao Ren feigned innocence and looked down at her from a few steps above, "What's wrong Can’t walk anymore"

"I... I just want some water!" Zhao Yanzǐ blushed.

She stretched out her arm towards Hao Ren, "Give me the water!"

Hao Ren opened her backpack and took out a bottle of mineral water from it, handing it to her.

Zhao Yanzǐ drank several gulps of the water, then ungraciously threw the bottle of mineral water to Hao Ren.

This attitude indeed made Hao Ren feel uncomfortable, but thinking about how Zhao Yanzǐ's parents treated him well, he endured it.

He put the mineral water into his backpack and continued climbing the mountain without caring whether Zhao Yanzǐ could keep up or not.

Zhao Yanzǐ suffered greatly. As Hao Ren continued to climb the mountain, she had no choice but to follow him; on one hand because all her food and drink were in Hao Ren's backpack, and on the other hand because she didn't want to be looked down upon by Hao Ren, so she gritted her teeth and kept walking. She couldn't bring herself to mock Hao Ren for being slow anymore.

On the way up the mountain, every step Hao Ren took was steady and rhythmic, like his long-distance running pace, adjusting with his breathing.

Zhao Yanzǐ wasn’t having such an easy time. She followed closely behind Hao Ren, panting heavily. Her rosy cheeks turned pale, her eyes filled with resentment, as if she wanted to glare him to death.

After walking for a while longer, Hao Ren finally stopped and gave Zhao Yanzǐ following right behind him an opportunity to catch her breath.

Hao Ren opened the map and looked at it for a few seconds. "Hmm, we've covered half the distance so far. At our speed, we'll reach our destination in another hour."

"What We still have an hour left" Zhao Yanzǐ showed an expression of despair. Thinking about having to proceed with that pace again made her body involuntarily weaken.

Hao Ren didn’t care what she thought; he put away the map and continued walking up the mountain.

Zhao Yanzǐ, who had finally recovered a bit, almost hated Hao Ren when she saw him not even resting to keep going. She paused for a few seconds, then shouted at his retreating back: "You’re such a bad guy!!!"

Hao Ren turned around with an expression still looking very innocent and watched her from afar. "What's wrong"

"Y-you…" Zhao Yanzǐ was too angry to speak.

“Do you want to rest” Hao Ren asked her.

Zhao Yanzǐ blushed furiously, indeed wanting to take a break but hesitating to say it out of fear that Hao Ren would use the opportunity to belittle her.

"Oh, I guess I’m feeling a bit tired. Let’s rest for a while," said Hao Ren as he took off his backpack and placed it on the steps before sitting down next to it.

"You're the one who needs to rest, I didn't say I was tired!" Zhao Yanzi pouted and followed郝仁's example by sitting down right there.

Hao Ren noticed her pale complexion and knew she was about to run out of energy, but he didn't call her out on it.

They were seated a few steps apart, one higher than the other, staring at each other with big eyes.

Suddenly, Hao Ren remembered that there seemed to be a camera in his backpack. He took it out and snapped a photo of Zhao Yanzi below him.

Her angry expression was captured in the photograph instantly.

"Who let you take my picture!" she shouted.

Hao Ren extended the camera far towards her, "Would you like to take one for me"

"I wouldn't take a photo of you even if you asked," Zhao Yanzi gave Hao Ren a glare.

"Then... shall we take a group photo" Hao Ren asked again.

Zhao Yanzi turned her head away, neither accepting the camera nor looking at Hao Ren, "Hmph, who wants to take a picture with an old man like you!"

Hao Ren put the camera back in his backpack and stood up, "We've rested enough; let's continue climbing."

"You..." Zhao Yanzi glared angrily at Hao Ren. Knowing that he was intentionally "getting even," yet feeling helpless, she could only run to catch up.

Hao Ren turned around and saw Zhao Yanzi chasing after him with a flushed face. He thought for a moment and slowed his pace down. Although the brat had a bad temper, there was no need to truly bully her.

"If I had a Dragon Pill, I could run away from you even if there were a hundred of you!" Zhao Yanzi punched Hao Ren in the shoulder and said resentfully.

"If you can't walk anymore, we still have time to go back down," Hao Ren told her honestly. He wasn’t teasing her.

Unexpectantly, Zhao Yanzi clenched her teeth stubbornly, "Who said so! I must reach the top!"

Seeing郝仁looking at her with pity in his eyes, she gritted her teeth again and said, "If you can't walk anymore, just go down the mountain yourself!"

Hao Ren smiled to himself, thinking that this girl was quite stubborn. He found it slightly amusing.

At this moment, Zhao Yanzi's small face was flushed red, her little nose moving up and down as she panted from exertion, with a few drops of sweat on her forehead. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, making her pale skin look as smooth as milk.

The wet strands of hair emphasized a touch of feminine charm. Indeed, despite being young, she already had the air of a beauty in the making.

She clenched her fists tightly, sucked in a deep breath, and once again ran past Hao Ren to take the lead.

Hao Ren could do nothing but quicken his pace, walking alongside her.

The two walked quietly along the mountain path; there were no cable cars or gondolas set up here, and it was already afternoon, so the higher they climbed, the fewer tourists there were.

The scenery became more beautiful, and the trail grew increasingly quiet. By now, it seemed as though Hao Ren and Zhao Yanzi were the only climbers on this mountain, competing with each other in a silent race.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps between tree branches, slanting down onto the path. Checking his phone, Hao Ren saw that it was already 3 PM. If they didn't hurry to reach the summit soon, their return time to the hotel at the foot of the mountain would be even later. And if darkness fell while descending the mountain path, it would become more inconvenient.

"Ah Zi, we need to speed up; otherwise, we won't make it back down in time," Hao Ren finally spoke after walking silently for nearly an hour.

"Nonsense!" Zhao Yanzi impatiently replied.

Sweat was streaming down her face, and her clothes were already half soaked through. Clearly, she had given everything she could. However, as a young girl, how could her stamina match that of Hao Ren, who used to be part of the long-distance running team in middle school

It was at this moment that it seemed like they had reached the end and there were no more options, but then suddenly, turning around a large, dense tree along the path, they saw the golden eaves of the pavilion on top of the mountain.

"Ha! We made it!" Zhao Yanzi cried joyfully, her happiness evident.

Hao Ren's heart also felt relieved; he hadn't expected that after more than two hours of effort, they would finally see results.

However, at the same time, he was vaguely worried. With so much time and energy already spent climbing up, would it be possible to follow their plan and return to the hotel around 7 PMenting all dragon forces.Even a peak Gān-level expert might not be able to enter or leave unscathed from such a place! And Lu L琳琳 and Lu 莉莉 were only lower Gān-level at the moment!Hao Ren’s strong rea...