CHAPTER 405: CHAPTER 401: THE ABANDONED CHILD OF DESTINY

"Ta-da! Spicy dry-pot shrimp!"

"And boiled fish!"

"Rice! Mooncakes!"

Huai Xu, carrying several takeout boxes, reappeared in the car. Seeing Zhou Li and Brother Nan looking forward with such anticipation, he couldn’t help but advise, "Stop getting your hopes up. I already told you, we won’t be moving for a good while... Here, take these."

"Are we eating in the car?" Zhou Li took the takeout boxes, frowning slightly. "Isn’t that a bit inconvenient?"

"No eating in the car! You’ll drip oil on the seats!" Brother Nan cherished her beloved car; not even a speck of oil was permissible.

"Of course, we’ll eat down on the road. With food that smells this delicious, how could we not share it with everyone?" Huai Xu grinned, handing the rice to Brother Nan. "I’ll pop home right now and fetch the folding table and chairs."

With a WHOOSH, he disappeared.

「A minute later.」

Tuanzi sat primly on the roadside waiting, her little face still drowsy from just having woken up. In front of her, the three of them were pulling a small folding table and plastic chairs from the trunk. They set them up in the empty space between the two highway lanes. Soon, the dishes and rice were also placed on the table, all steaming hot and fresh.

Tuanzi sniffed delicately. She could smell the delicious aroma of fish soup.

"Time to eat!"

Huai Xu sneakily peeked at the car owners and passengers around them, deliberately raising his voice a tad, then watched their reactions out of the corner of his eye.

"PSSH~"

A can of cola was opened, fizzing vigorously.

They began to enjoy their meal.

The hot, fragrant aroma of the food wafted through the air, drifting into car windows and tormenting everyone stuck in the traffic jam. Being stuck was already miserable enough. Most people only had, at best, some bread, snacks, or fruit in their cars; some had brought nothing at all and were already famished. Coupled with the boredom, watching others feast so lavishly and leisurely—as if they weren’t in a traffic jam but on a picnic—made the contrast all the more agonizing.

Gradually, some car owners strolled over, pretending to be out for a walk. They chatted casually, eyeing the dishes and swallowing hard as the aroma wafted over.

Zhou Li simply told everyone they had anticipated the traffic jam and prepared in advance.

Brother Nan, however, had a generous nature. Whenever anyone expressed envy, she would warmly invite them to eat together. She even fed a shrimp to a young woman who stopped by.

Although no one actually joined them for the meal—the one young woman who did only ate a single shrimp Brother Nan had peeled for her before leaving—Brother Nan’s gestures undeniably earned them a lot of goodwill. A few people had initially been rather critical, but seeing her generosity, their criticism gradually turned into pure envy. In a way, this counteracted the trouble Huai Xu had stirred up.

Quite a few people also secretly took photos and videos.

They ate their fill.

Zhou Li gathered the packaging, wiped everything clean, and handed the trash to Huai Xu. Huai Xu pretended to put it back in the car but actually tossed it into a dumpster outside their residential complex.

The traffic still showed no signs of moving.

Huai Xu stuck his head out of the car window. "I just went to check again. The tow truck hasn’t even arrived yet. We’ll be stuck for a while longer."

After saying this, he disappeared again.

Zhou Li then rested his chin on the table, peeking sideways at Tuanzi licking her paws.

「A few minutes later, with a WHOOSH.」

Huai Xu returned.

This old demon really knew how to rile people up. He had even boiled another kettle of hot water at home and brought it along with black tea, a teapot, and cups. He handed them all to Zhou Li. "You brew the tea first. I’ll go back and get some melon seeds and snacks. Oh, right, it’s the Mooncake Festival today! I’ll grab some mooncakes too. Is there anything else you guys want to eat?"

A dark line appeared on Zhou Li’s forehead. He stealthily glanced at the people in the surrounding cars. "Are you having afternoon tea out here?"

Huai Xu replied with a self-satisfied, "Ah!"

That arrogant tone...

Undoubtedly, the old demon was purposely showing off, intending to make others envious, because he normally didn’t even like drinking tea.

Zhou Li found it somewhat incomprehensible. Could he really derive some sort of pleasure from seeing others burn with envy?

Zhou Li still brewed the tea, all the while sneakily eyeing the people in the nearby cars.

Well, Huai Xu is a very strong fighter, after all...

「A few more minutes passed.」

The old demon returned with a pile of melon seeds, a plate of beef jerky, a bag of mooncakes, and a plate of freshly washed strawberries. He placed everything on the table, sat down, and took a sip of tea. He deliberately smacked his lips with an expression of lingering enjoyment, as if to emphasize what excellent tea it was.

Brother Nan, watching from the side, couldn’t help but chuckle. "Why are you acting like such a child?" she asked.

Huai Xu glanced at her sideways, then sipped his tea again.

"TSK..." He clicked his tongue, then let out a satisfied, "AHH..."

Then, cracking melon seeds, eating strawberries and beef jerky, he gazed at the distant scenery.

The scenery from their spot was indeed quite good. They were stuck on an overpass, offering a high vantage point, almost giving the illusion of being level with the mountains opposite them. Below, a small river flowed, with a road running alongside it—it was unclear if it was a national or provincial highway. Villages dotted the riverside, their houses scattered here and there, creating a picturesque scene of clear waters and green mountains.

"Hey, hey, Zhou Li!" Huai Xu suddenly elbowed Zhou Li. "Look, doesn’t this feel like we’re in one of those high-class hotels you see on TikTok? The kind built on a mountain, with a big window or balcony offering a panoramic view of the scenery?"

Zhou Li remained silent for a moment before retorting, "What kind of fancy hotel is surrounded by cars?"

"Don’t be so demanding!" Huai Xu frowned, lecturing him. He had already tried very hard to create a comfortable traffic jam environment for the two of them. "One must be content. Contentment brings constant joy!"

"Yes, Teacher Huai," Zhou Li said, lowering his head.

"Don’t copy me!"

Zhou Li fell silent.

Regardless, it was still a pleasant environment for afternoon tea. Considering they were in a traffic jam, it could even be described as perfect—if only the old monster’s motives hadn’t been so questionable.

「Two hours later, the traffic finally cleared.」

Huai Xu had packed everything up early. As he opened the car door, he glanced at his left wrist. "We’ve been stuck for four hours now..."

Only then did Zhou Li notice he was wearing a black wristband.

"When did you buy that wristband?"

"Just bought it yesterday. The Xiaomi Band 5." Huai Xu lowered his hand, then raised it again, demonstrating the lift-to-wake feature. He quirked an eyebrow at Zhou Li. "It lights up automatically. Pretty advanced, right?"

Zhou Li didn’t respond.

"Why are you quiet again?" Huai Xu frowned, staring at Zhou Li. "Whenever you go quiet, I get the feeling you’re secretly cursing me in your head."

"Cursing you for what?" Zhou Li asked cautiously.

"Cursing me for being..." Huai Xu stared at him, thinking, then said, "stupid, an idiot, a country bumpkin, things like that."

Zhou Li’s eyes widened in shock.

Huai Xu tilted his head, feigning confusion.

Huai Xu read the answer he wanted from Zhou Li’s expression and was suddenly both angry and bewildered. This feature is clearly advanced! And his band has so many more functions than Zhou Li’s watch, which can only tell time. Even for just telling time, his band is better than Zhou Li’s watch. The band shows the time digitally, so you can see it at a glance, and it’s very accurate. Zhou Li’s watch not only requires a moment’s thought to figure out the time after looking at it, but it also needs to be readjusted every six months or so!

The road ahead cleared up for a stretch, but the good times didn’t last. Before long, they were stuck in another deadlocked traffic jam.

Luckily, Brother Nan had checked the map earlier. When she saw the route ahead turn a deep, ominous red, she had taken an exit from the expressway and switched to a national highway.

The national highway ran almost parallel to the expressway. They hadn’t gone far before they saw the scene on the expressway beside them: a long dragon of cars, stretching for several kilometers as it snaked over a mountain.

This made Brother Nan feel somewhat smug.

"See? Good thing I have foresight!"

"Brother Nan..."

"What?"

Zhou Li didn’t say anything, just pointed ahead.

The road ahead was winding. In the distance, partially obscured by trees, they could vaguely make out many cars queued up, at a complete standstill.

Brother Nan suddenly felt a surge of frustration, almost letting a curse slip out. But she had, after all, outgrown that age of ignorance and impoliteness. So, she only sighed heavily, gently tapped the brakes, and slowly navigated the bend to join the line of vehicles.

Dusk began to fall. The setting sun bathed the small river in a crimson glow.

Even though Brother Nan usually had excellent composure, watching the sky darken as night fell while their car hadn’t budged an inch still made her somewhat anxious. She didn’t care if they reached their destination today, or even if they didn’t go to the destination at all. She might, on a whim, change their original destination to somewhere else entirely—all of that was fine. But being stuck on the road like this was not what she wanted.

Looking at an empty side road nearby, she became lost in thought, then took out her phone to check the map.

"Let me see..."

"Are you thinking of taking a detour?" Zhou Li asked.

"Yeah, we probably won’t make it today. There are too many people out for the National Day holiday. I’m looking to see if we can get around this jammed section. Then we can just find a small county town or some other place nearby... Hey, this road actually can bypass it!"

"Are you sure?"

"Should be."

"But..." Zhou Li looked around. "It seems like no other cars are taking this road."

"Could it be because they’re all tourists from out of town, and they’re all just following their GPS navigation?" Brother Nan glanced at him sideways.

"Possible."

"Well, there you have it! Let’s go! We’ll surely end up somewhere. Who knows where we’ll get to, but that’s part of the adventure!" Brother Nan started the car. "Maybe even more surprises are waiting for us up ahead!"

"Okay."

Zhou Li never doubted Brother Nan’s luck.

「Twenty minutes later.」

The road ahead was blocked.

Brother Nan sat in the car, staring blankly at the large rocks and piles of earth obstructing the way. On one of the stones, words were sprayed in red paint: "Road Ahead Impassable. Please Detour." She scratched her head, utterly bewildered, and began to question her life choices.

From the backseat, Huai Xu laughed and asked, "Want me to move those rocks?"

Brother Nan ignored him.

To make matters worse, the road was very narrow, making it difficult to reverse.

Brother Nan got out of the car to take a look. Reversing would indeed be tricky, but probably manageable. However, this string of setbacks had left her feeling quite weary. So, she stood by the roadside, hands on her hips, and let out a long sigh.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, a glimpse in her peripheral vision made Brother Nan tilt her head and look towards a small, nearby hill.

The hill wasn’t very high. Its lower half consisted of terraced fields planted with crops, while the upper half was densely covered with vegetation. And at the very top of the hill, she spotted a gleam of gold, half-hidden among the trees. The color was particularly striking against the green backdrop.

"What’s that? Is that the reflection of the setting sun?"

"It looks like... a Ginkgo tree?"

"It is a Ginkgo tree," Huai Xu’s figure flickered for a moment, confirming Zhou Li’s guess. "A Ginkgo tree that’s a thousand years old. It’s probably worth a lot of money... And there’s a Daoist temple there too."

"A Daoist temple?"

"Awesome!"

"Let’s go take a look!"

Without a second thought, Brother Nan made her decision.

Zhou Li and Huai Xu exchanged glances. One shouldering a backpack, the other carrying Tuanzi, they followed Brother Nan along a narrow cement path, less than a meter wide, heading towards the Daoist temple built on the small hill, almost completely concealed by trees.