The higher the mountains, the denser the forests.
Outside the mountains, it was a clear, sunny afternoon.
Within the mountains, however, misty clouds frequently drifted across their path.
A concrete road is most vulnerable to dampness. No matter how expensive the car or how strong the grip, tires would slip on a film of water, especially with the overall upward incline. Rear-wheel drive Mercedes are notoriously poor on such terrain.
Finally, on a stretch that was both a curve and an incline, my driving faltered. The Mercedes skidded, and I overcorrected the steering wheel. Instead of regaining control, I nearly sent the front of the car plunging into a bottomless abyss. Wu Qian screamed, her composure from when I first commandeered the car completely gone.
Fortunately, I managed to shift into Park and engage the handbrake just in time. The front right wheel of the Mercedes dangled in the air, its chassis lodged on the roadside. I got out to inspect. Although the other three wheels were still on the ground, a continuous mist was falling. Combined with the low temperature in the mountains, parts of the road had begun to freeze, explaining the increasing slipperiness. Even if I could retrieve the front right wheel, I doubted we could get free. Worse still, a downhill curve was visible ahead. Control would be impossible. Of the two commercial vans that had been ahead, only one remained.
Yaoyao's car was still slowly moving along the road. But the aura of the four Blue Qi great demons from the other vehicle was now at the bottom of the valley. They must have crashed. With their strength, a crash would be no problem for them; it wouldn't harm them. They could easily revert to their beast forms and follow on foot. But Wu Qian and I were different. I wouldn't die; I could respawn. But if I survived but became crippled, with no phone signal here, we would just lie at the bottom of the ravine and wait for death.
Wu Qian, an ordinary person working in weapons research, had inferior physical conditioning compared to me.
So, I couldn't risk it.
I bent down and reached into the driver's side. "Ms. Wu, please crawl out from this side. We can't drive any further."
"Oh," Wu Qian glanced at the cliff and cautiously crawled over from the middle. She took my hand and moved away from the teetering Mercedes.
Her hand was as cold as Xie B'ian's due to fear.
"Ms. Wu, how much was this car?" I asked. We couldn't just leave it on the road. The lesser demons behind us would eventually catch up, and a Mercedes parked by the roadside would draw suspicion.
"Around a million. Why?"
I made a pushing gesture. Ms. Wu, being magnanimous, nodded without objection.
I released the handbrake and shifted into Neutral. Without me even pushing, the Mercedes began to slide slowly towards the cliff. Wu Qian suddenly remembered something. She quickly ran to the trunk in her high heels, opened it, and snatched a hiking backpack from inside as the rear of the car lifted.
With a clatter and a crunch, the Mercedes plunged down, breaking several trees. With a thud, it hit the ground, but there was no explosion as in the movies.
Wu Qian opened the hiking backpack. Inside were two sets of mountain climbing suits and two pairs of hiking boots. It seemed she was indeed prepared for a climb.
"Do you want to change? These belong to my driver," Wu Qian said, pointing to the larger shoes.
I was wearing running shoes with excellent grip, so I didn't need to change. Besides, those shoes looked like they were around a size 42, a bit small.
"No need. You change, please," I said, turning my back.
"We're among ourselves, what are you afraid of? My balance isn't great, you'll have to support me a little," Wu Qian chuckled.
Alright, I wouldn't stand on ceremony. I put my arm around Wu Qian's shoulders and helped her into the mountain climbing suit. The only drawback was that she hadn't prepared thoroughly and had no socks, so she had to wear the hiking boots barefoot. It would likely cause blisters, but that was better than high heels.
I had to admit, for her age, Wu Qian had maintained her figure remarkably well, which was quite rare. Seeing her flat, firm abdomen, I surmised she was likely unmarried.
After she changed, the lesser demons were approaching. Up ahead, Yaoyao and the others seemed to have abandoned their vehicles and were moving slowly, as if walking. So, I didn't rush to catch up. After disposing of Wu Qian's discarded clothes, I took her hand and we slipped into the small woods by the roadside.