Chapter 624 - 392: A High-five Pledge, Unbreakable Barring Force Majeure

Chapter 624: Chapter 392: A High-five Pledge, Unbreakable Barring Force Majeure

WHOOSH...

RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE...

The wind stirred the surrounding plants and trees, swaying them back and forth as their branches and leaves rustled against one another.

CHIRP, CHIRP, CHIRP...

The sun slowly climbed higher. As the temperature continued to rise, the chirping of the cicadas in the trees grew more and more cheerful.

As noon approached, the hikers who had left the campsite that morning began to return, trickling back to their spots to start preparing lunch.

"I’m so tired!" Back at the campsite, Su Yue slipped off her backpack, set it on a chair, and began fanning herself with a fair hand as she spoke.

Though she exercised regularly and had better stamina than most girls, hiking was especially draining. The round trip up and down the mountain had left her genuinely exhausted.

Lin Li, no longer the man he once was, didn’t feel tired at all. Seeing Su Yue’s listless state and recalling the time she’d teased him with a sour tangerine, he wasn’t about to pass up this rare chance to poke fun at her.

"That was such a small hill, and one round trip has you this worn out? You’re really out of shape!"

Hearing that, Su Yue immediately shot him a glare and retorted.

"That trail was incredibly difficult to walk. You saw it yourself—plenty of other hikers were exhausted, not just me."

As she finished, she noticed that Lin Li looked perfectly fine, without a hint of fatigue, which made her a little suspicious.

"That’s strange. I played badminton with you a few months ago, and your stamina wasn’t any better than mine back then. But looking at you now, you don’t seem tired at all. How could you have changed so much?"

Lin Li had been happily teasing Su Yue, but her suspicious question made the smile on his face freeze.

His mind raced as he quickly came up with a reasonably plausible explanation.

"You’re right! After we played badminton a few months ago, I realized my stamina wasn’t any better than yours. So when I got home, I started setting aside time to work out and improve my endurance."

"These past few months of training have really paid off. If we had another badminton match now, I’d totally crush you."

"Hmph~" Hearing his confident declaration, Su Yue gave a soft snort. "Crush me? You’re getting a little ahead of yourself!"

"Don’t believe me? Fine. Let’s find some time for a rematch." It was rare for Lin Li to proactively issue a challenge; he was determined to avenge his previous defeat.

A few months prior, Su Yue had invited him to play badminton. Back then, Lin Li, believing he had no hope of ever becoming a Cultivator, had given up on physical training years ago.

In his spare time, he mostly stayed home playing video games, so his physical stamina had steadily declined.

Although Lin Li had awakened his Spirituality and thus had a better foundation than an ordinary person, his lack of consistent exercise meant that as his stamina faded, he became no different from anyone else.

And against the regularly-training Su Yue, he was bound to be at a disadvantage.

Unsurprisingly, after a fierce back-and-forth on the court, he lost to Su Yue.

Not only did he lose the bet for a meal, but Su Yue had teased him relentlessly afterward, saying it was ridiculous that his stamina couldn’t even match a girl’s and telling him he should set aside some time to work out.

It was rare for Lin Li to challenge her, so Su Yue naturally had no reason to refuse and immediately accepted.

"Alright! Same as last time: the loser treats the winner to a meal, and the winner decides where we eat."

"It’s a deal." Seeing Su Yue accept his challenge, Lin Li extended his right hand, a look of absolute confidence on his face, as if he’d already won.

Seeing his outstretched hand, Su Yue understood and extended her own.

SMACK.

They slapped hands to seal the deal. Barring unforeseen circumstances, neither party could back out.

"You really took me to the cleaners last time! I’m going to get you back double for this one. Your wallet had better watch out," Lin Li said with a chuckle.

"We’ll talk after you actually win!" Su Yue rolled her eyes at the overconfident Lin Li, then gave him an order.

"I’m going to rest a bit and recover my strength. You go wash the vegetables. I’ll make lunch in a while, and after we eat, we’ll pack up and head home..."

"Okay." As soon as Chef Su gave the order to cook, Lin Li’s confident aura vanished. He immediately grabbed the vegetables, some meat, and seafood, and hurried toward the creek.

Watching Lin Li diligently wash the vegetables by the creek, Su Yue’s lips, which held a playful pout, slowly curved into a devastatingly charming smile.

...

Far away, in the woods on the hillside, the ceaseless drone of cicadas filled the air. Zhu Daqi and Chen Xiaoyan stared intently at the two people laughing and talking in the distant campsite.

Chen Xiaoyan had seen Lin Li’s file, so she recognized him at a glance as the target Liu Menglong was after.

"The target... he looks much younger in person than in his file photo!"

Standing beside her, Zhu Daqi nodded. "Yeah, Yan. He’s just a young man fresh out of college this year. Even if his cultivation talent is exceptional, to reach Tier One Peak at such a young age..."