The sun was already setting in the west. I glanced at my watch; it was half past four. I had to hurry, or I would miss the beautiful scenery of Tianchi.
The Mercedes continued its ascent. Along the way, I witnessed a strange sight. Where we were, we could still see the sun between the western mountains, yet below in the foothills, it was already dark. The dense forest concealed unknown things. The area near the scenic spot's entrance was brightly lit, with no tourists but several staff members still on duty, possibly waiting for our descent to hear about the "major events."
They were overthinking it. We had come up here purely on Lin Xi's privilege, just for sightseeing, nothing more.
The mountain was steep, but the Mercedes drove quickly. Throughout the ride, we sat in the seats as if in takeoff.
About ten minutes later, we reached the scenic area at the mountain's summit. The staff there had already gone down, leaving only a few rows of buildings.
The driver informed us that from here, it was still a short hike to the very top. The sun's lower edge was already touching the mountain range. Fearing I would miss the prime viewing time, I asked the Eagle Demon to fly me up. I held onto her down jacket and clothes with my legs. Lin Xi, with her lightness skill, was not much slower walking. After she took me to the summit, the Eagle Demon would come back down for Chen Ke.
A minute later, the Eagle Demon brought me to the observation deck at the peak. Before I even landed, I was stunned by the sight before me.
Sheer cliffs formed a giant celestial bowl. Below the rim, the vast surface of Tianchi was utterly still, smooth as a mirror. The jagged peaks around the rim were reflected in the water, like a grand landscape painting. Under the glow of the sunset, the mirror-like lake refracted colors of the same hue, but even more magnificent. The red and black clouds, and the deep blue sky, were all fully mirrored on the lake's surface. Nature's artistry had projected a three-dimensional scene onto a two-dimensional plane. Water and sky merged into one, the sky veiled the peaks, mountains and water were one, and the peaks pointed towards the heavens—harmonious and breathtaking!
The Eagle Demon set me down. I didn't even blink until Lin Xi and Chen Ke arrived. I was completely immersed in the beauty of Tianchi.
Ya Nan transformed back, saw me spacing out, and carefully squatted down to retrieve her down jacket from between my legs. I then snapped back to reality, rubbing my tired eyes. "Oh my god, it's so beautiful, it almost made me cry."
"I came to see the whale god bathe. Where is she?" the Eagle Demon asked.
I had been so captivated by the view that I had forgotten the "main business." I scanned the area but couldn't find her. She probably hadn't transformed into a whale, and might be bathing somewhere amidst the mountain folds in her human form. I activated my Qi perception and indeed, in a corner on the northwest side of Tianchi, I saw her dark Qi. However, I could only see the upper half, the lower half being obscured by volcanic rocks.
"You're really lucky," Lin Xi said with a smile. "Changbai Mountain, Changbai Lai. Over ninety percent of tourists who come up don't get to see the full panorama of Tianchi, let alone its beauty at sunset."
"Why?" I asked. "Isn't this quite normal?"
"The weather on Changbai Mountain changes incredibly erratically. It's unpredictable. Today is just an exception. After heavy rain at noon, it's been clear until now. But I suspect," Lin Xi said, pointing to the sky in the northwest, "a storm is coming again."
I followed Lin Xi's gaze. Indeed, dark clouds were surging from the horizon, pressing down and gradually swallowing the sunset. The clouds, carrying rain columns beneath them, swept across the land in the northwestern forest. In just a minute or two, the downpour had reached the scenic entrance at the foot of the mountain, and the dark clouds quickly enveloped the area, surging towards the mountain.
"The storm clouds are below us," Chen Ke remarked. "Can they climb up here?"
"Probably not an issue. Let's go. We should leave here. It's too high, and the lightning in the storm clouds is quite dangerous," Lin Xi suggested.
"Are we going down?" I asked.
Lin Xi observed the speed of the approaching storm. "It looks like we won't make it in time. The car is also in a relatively dangerous spot."
With that, Lin Xi immediately called the Mercedes driver, telling him to leave the vehicle and take shelter in the row of buildings at the scenic area.
"Aren't we going down?" I asked anxiously. The storm was climbing the mountain faster than I had imagined. "Are we just going to stand here and wait to be struck by lightning?"