Chapter 2350: 2164: Almost Drowned

Right now, it’s the crisp and cool autumn weather, and during this season, you don’t have to worry about rain. After receiving the tents, everyone first sets up their tents nearby. This way, you can play on your phone inside the tent, or you can rest.

After setting up the tents, there are too many people with Ye Qiu, so one tent is definitely not enough.

Now, Ye Qiu is by himself, Song Ying and Lin Xiang share one, Ling Fei and Xia Tiantian share one, and Liu Lingxiu and two other girls share one.

The tents come in various sizes, and the class leaders have prepared enough.

Next, besides the class leaders preparing food, there’s also barbecuing and outdoor cooking, and instructing the students not to wander too far and to pay attention to safety.

Ye Qiu, with Song Ying, Lin Xiang, and Liu Lingxiu, along with Ling Fei and Xia Tiantian, plan to find a place nearby to have fun.

It’s very quiet here; apart from the sound of birds and running water, there’s no other noise at all.

"I’m planning to take a nap in a tree; you all go ahead and play."

Ye Qiu plans to take a nap in a tree nearby.

Initially, Lin Xiang thought Ye Qiu was joking, but unexpectedly, he actually climbed up a big tree, and the other girls could only play by the stream or enjoy the scenery below.

After some time, Ye Qiu’s phone rang; it was a call from a class leader asking him to come back and eat.

Judging by the time, it was about lunchtime.

When Ye Qiu climbed down from the tree, Lin Xiang and the others were still by the big rock not far from the tree.

The scenery here is exceptionally beautiful, making them feel a stark contrast to the noise in the city.

When Ye Qiu and Liu Lingxiu returned to the flat ground, preparations for lunch had already begun.

They had brought plenty of food, including fruits, snacks, and pastries. Additionally, there were ingredients for outdoor hot pot or barbecue.

The weather isn’t hot now, and being under the woods and having a barbecue or outdoor hot pot here feels particularly comfortable.

"Class leader, do you want some stir-fried dishes or hot pot?" one of the class leaders asked.

"Hot pot."

Ye Qiu and Liu Lingxiu chose a small hot pot, and they all gathered around to eat.

The class leaders had everything prepared in advance, making it very convenient. You just need to set it up and find some firewood to cook.

Unlike using electricity or coal, cooking with firewood gives the food a particularly fragrant taste.

Moreover, there was plenty of fallen firewood that could be picked up at any time.

"Ye Qiu, I want to eat mushrooms," Xia Tiantian said.

A lot of vegetables, beef rolls, and lamb rolls had just been brought over.

There were also various sauces.

"Get what you want yourself."

In fact, the food here was similar to a hotpot restaurant; the difference is that you do everything yourself, and the mountain environment is pristine, with birds singing and flowers blooming, making it a unique experience.

They ate until midday, with some students still grilling.

Those who weren’t full continued grilling.

Those who were full went back to their tents to rest, or went out to play, as long as they paid attention to safety.

Where they went to play was not something Ye Qiu would worry about.

Originally, he wanted to venture out alone with Liu Lingxiu to strengthen their relationship, but unexpectedly, the other girls wanted to tag along, and now after lunch, they were all used to taking a nap.

While they were taking a nap in the tents, Ye Qiu found Luo Yang and Ning Yun, and they planned to explore further into the mountains.

This area indeed hasn’t been developed and isn’t a scenic spot either. Unlike Jinling’s Autumn Mountain, this was a new place for Ye Qiu and Luo Yang, as they hadn’t been here before.

This group went up the mountain and didn’t return until about three o’clock in the afternoon.

As soon as they got back, a class leader came looking for Ye Qiu.

"Class leader, something happened over there."

"What happened?"

Ye Qiu asked.

"There’s a large lake up the mountain. Those streams are running from that lake. Just now, some of our classmates went there fishing and swimming, and noticed something was amiss."

Ye Qiu hurried over with the class leader and learned that two students had nearly drowned there just now.

Upon arriving, he saw a very long lake, which appeared to be a naturally formed barrier lake, blocked by landslides on the mountainside, thus forming this Mountain Lake.

The water in Mountain Lake looked clear, even blue, and very beautiful.

"Could it be they couldn’t swim but still jumped in?" Luo Yang asked.

As the saying goes, respect the mountain but don’t underestimate the water; those who drown are often swimmers.

The situation under this Mountain Lake is unknown, jumping in is certainly dangerous.

"They said that as soon as they went in for a swim, within ten minutes, they felt like a water ghost was pulling at their feet."

Water ghosts?

Many rural people believe those who drown are pulled under by water ghosts.

However, Ye Qiu knew there were no such things as water ghosts.

Yet, as soon as he arrived and saw the Mountain Lake, he felt the place had a particularly heavy aura, and the temperature seemed to be much cooler here than at the base of the mountain.

"Autumn Bro, what’s going on?" Luo Yang asked urgently, seeing Ye Qiu’s uneasy expression.

"I’m afraid there’s something unclean here."

Something unclean?

What does that mean?

As Ye Qiu and Luo Yang headed back, the more they thought about it, the more something felt off.

For now, this place should best be avoided.

"Call all the students back."

The class leaders quickly called the other students.

Soon, all the students returned, and the two boys who had nearly drowned still didn’t look right.

"There’s something wrong with that Mountain Lake, you can’t go near it."

"Class leader, that Mountain Lake looks beautiful, why can’t we go near it?" a female student asked.

"Why? Ask those two boys who went swimming what they encountered just now."

"There’s a water ghost."

Water ghosts?

The medical students naturally didn’t believe in such things.

"In any case, don’t go near there. If someone really dies, I can’t take responsibility."

Hearing Ye Qiu say this, the students realized they probably shouldn’t go up to the Mountain Lake anymore. Originally in good spirits, now it felt different, and there was a sense of unease creeping in.

Ye Qiu called over the two boys who had nearly drowned.

These two were from homes by the river, practically growing up by the water. At Jin University, they often went swimming, so under normal circumstances, they shouldn’t drown.

Yet, they indeed felt as if something beneath the water had pulled at their feet and it felt like something with hands, with great strength.

"Class leader, that Mountain Lake is strange; even though it doesn’t seem that deep, why would there be such things?"

This Mountain Lake is about ten meters deep at its deepest and only two to three meters at its shallowest. They hadn’t swum to the center, so why did they encounter such a thing?