As Hao Yun and his companions were pondering how to escape from their predicament, Little Tiger excitedly shouted from up ahead, "Found it! Over there!"
The group immediately looked in the direction he was pointing. They saw a clearly man-made open staircase carved into the cliffside, zigzagging up the steep face to a small wooded area halfway up the mountain. Many ropes, fixed in sections to the cliff, dangled along the path. Judging by the steepness of the steps, these ropes were likely meant to help climbers ascend safely. However, upon seeing the precarious location of the path, none of them felt reassured by the safety ropes. Instead, the path seemed like an extremely dangerous route of no return.
Given the treacherous nature of the path, everyone in Hao Yun's group revealed their apprehensions before setting off. They were wary and defensive, fearing that someone might seize the opportunity to attack or push them off the cliff.
After a brief silence, White Tiger was the first to break the tension with a feigned suggestion, proposing that they advance with alternating positions and support each other. Given that Little Tiger was to continue leading and Dream Jia had gained Little Tiger's trust, it was agreed that Dream Jia would follow second, with White Tiger third, and the rest in alternating positions. This arrangement seemed to form a harmonious team, and they began their ascent under Little Tiger's lead.
The narrow width of the stairs, combined with the dense fog outside the cliff, made the stone steps wet and slippery. This turned their climb into a challenging ordeal. Each person clung to the cliff, one hand gripping the rock crevices and the other holding the safety ropes, to avoid slipping and falling to their doom.
Everyone remained silent, focusing intently on the path ahead while keeping a close eye on the person in front and behind them. They moved cautiously, breathing heavily as they followed the footprints of those ahead. As they climbed higher, the fog thickened, limiting their visibility to only two people ahead or behind.
"Be very careful! If anything unexpected happens, now is the most likely time!" Dao Lao, at the end of the line, noticed the thickening fog and the increasing tension. He reminded everyone through the system channel. As if to validate his warning, a dull thud suddenly echoed from above, followed by a noticeable tremor in the cliff.
"Not good! It's a landslide! Run!" Little Tiger, at the front, couldn't hold back a terrified shout as the tremors intensified.
His scream ignited everyone's already tense emotions. Ignoring the narrow, slippery path, they began to frantically dash forward, desperate to reach the platform halfway up the mountain before the situation worsened.
Unfortunately, in moments of crisis, what people fear most often comes true. As they sprinted, more thuds resounded from above, and stones of various sizes began to fall. A massive boulder crashed onto the path just meters behind them, obliterating part of the steps. Seeing this, they all gasped in terror, realizing that if they hadn't rushed upward, the consequences would have been disastrous.
As they fled in panic, more thuds from the cliff above caused the mountain to shake violently, making it easy to lose balance and fall into the abyss.
"Dream Jia, what's the situation ahead?" Hao Yun asked through the system, trying to stay close to the mountain to avoid falling due to the violent shaking.
"Besides the dense fog, it's just stones and dust! I can only see the steps below me—wait, where's Little Tiger?!" Dream Jia suddenly realized she had lost sight of Little Tiger amid the chaos, unsure if he had run ahead or fallen off the cliff.
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"Forget it! Dream Jia, focus on your safety! If Little Tiger’s death causes the mission to fail, we’ll be notified, and the task will reset," Hao Yun said calmly, preparing for the possibility of restarting the mission after some unforeseen punishment.
"Right! Let’s just get out of here first!" Dao Lao agreed.
As Dao Lao was at the end, he felt the most pressure and danger. With the sound of falling stones growing closer, he knew he had to act quickly or risk being the next to fall.
"Ropes! Grab the ropes! We can swing away from here!" At this critical moment, Dao Lao spotted a rope swinging rhythmically with the cliff's tremors. He grabbed it, reminding everyone loudly, then kicked off the steps, using the rope to swing away just before the falling stones could hit him.
Hao Yun and Dream Jia, prompted by Dao Lao's warning, quickly grabbed ropes and jumped off the path, avoiding a large boulder falling from above. White Tiger and Hot Temper followed suit, each grabbing a rope and leaping away from the cliff, narrowly escaping the falling rocks.
Unfortunately, the doctor wasn't as lucky. His reaction was slower, and just as he was about to jump for the rope, another tremor shook the cliff. He lost his balance and slipped, failing to grasp the rope and ultimately plunging headfirst into the abyss with a piercing scream.
"Doctor!" Hot Temper, safely back on the cliffside with the help of the rope, instinctively wanted to slide down to rescue him.
"Hot Temper, don't be rash! The doctor is beyond saving! We need to keep moving up!" White Tiger urged, dodging falling debris while jumping up the cliff. Hot Temper reluctantly looked down the cliff one more time, sighed heavily, and continued climbing, carefully avoiding the falling rocks.
On the other side, Hao Yun, Dream Jia, and Dao Lao were equally shocked by the doctor's fall. However, they were confident they wouldn't face the same fate, as their restored strength enabled them to use the ropes more effectively.
With falling rocks increasing, Hao Yun, Dream Jia, and Dao Lao decided to jump together using the ropes. Leveraging his restored physical strength, Hao Yun led Dao Lao and Dream Jia upward. Dao Lao activated his auxiliary mobility system to help them gain extra height with each jump. Together, they safely reached the wooded area halfway up the mountain.
Once on the semi-collapsed platform, they realized the landslide was caused by this very collapse. The once larger wooded area was now reduced to less than a third of its original size. The ground was soft and cracking, indicating it might soon collapse completely.
Not daring to linger, the three quickly adjusted and resumed climbing. Just as they climbed another two to three meters, the wooded area below them crumbled completely, sending rocks and fragrant soil, along with an uprooted ancient tree, tumbling down. They were relieved to have left in time but regretted the possible fate of Little Tiger and White Tiger.
Reaching a protruding rock, Hao Yun glanced at the dusty abyss below and said, "Phew! That was close! Lucky we regained some of our abilities, or the consequences would have been disastrous!"
"Those poor others..." Dream Jia lamented, though she knew the characters added by the Countess for this mission weren’t truly doomed. As a high-moral cleric, she couldn’t help but feel sorrow for their misfortune.
"We're here!" White Tiger's voice suddenly came from below. The trio saw two figures swinging on a rope through the fog, landing on the rock beside them.
White Tiger and Hot Temper's arrival surprised Hao Yun and his companions. Their agility in using the ropes hinted at their exceptional skills, prompting Hao Yun to be more cautious of them.
White Tiger, brushing off the dust and smiling, said, "Looks like everyone is quite capable! If we had known, we wouldn't have wasted time climbing the steps one by one. We need to communicate better to work together and complete this mission."
Dao Lao, wanting to avoid this topic, asked somberly, "The doctor—"
"Yes, he fell," White Tiger replied simply, shaking his head. The group fell silent, mourning their lost comrade.
"Everyone's here! Great! Is everyone okay? That was so scary!" Little Tiger's voice came from below, breaking the silence.
"Little Tiger? Are you alright?" Dream Jia called out, seeing him waving.
"Yes! I'm fine! I was so scared! I just ran up blindly and finally escaped the landslide. I thought you were all in trouble. I'm so glad to see you all safe!" Little Tiger sobbed, wiping his tears.