Chapter 115 Down The Mountain
Daniel knew that Jill had made loud noises on purposest night. She was intending to make their love
affair known to everyone so that the man sleeping with her couldn''t deny their rtionship.
But to her disappointment, that man turned out to be Daniel. Since Hiram hade to her tent and
taken a look the night beforest, she had assumed that the man who came into her tentst night was
also Hiram. She had tried her best to please him, but it was all in vain.
Jill lingered in the tent for a while. When she finally stepped out, she told everyone that she was feeling
out of it and wanted to go home. Just as Hiram had predicted, she asked for leave voluntarily.
Having done such a shameful thing, she was too embarrassed to stay there any longer.
Hiram granted her leave instantly, and arranged for a man to apany her home.
Everybody felt relieved at Jill''s departure. She was such a scheming girl that her presence made
everyone feel ufortable.
At noon, Rachel helped Gary make the fire and cook. She seemed to be adept at doing everything.
They hadn''t expected Rachel, the wife of the CEO, to be so amiable, so they began to look at her in a
new light.
Having been brought up in the countryside, Rachel had learned how to make a fire and cook when she
was still a child. She hadn''t volunteered to do anything when Jill was there, because Jill had been
eager to show off.
Knowing Jill''s intention, Rachel had left all the chances to her. But just because she hadn''t helped
around didn''t mean she didn''t know how to.
Now that Jill was gone and everyone was busy with their own tasks, she tried to help them as much as
she could.
After lunch, Rachel prepared to wash the dishes. "Put them down, Rachel, " Gary said. "You''ve helped
me a lot already. Now go and rest. I''ll get someone else to wash the dishes."
Then he turned to Daniel and said, "Daniel,e here. Remember the bet you lost? All the dishes are
yours."
Daniel walked over reluctantly and gave Gary a hateful look. "There''s already someone who is willing
to wash the dishes. Why bother me? Such a great friend you are!"
Rachel helped Daniel put all the bowls and dishes into a basin so that he could take the basin to the
river to do the washing. "What''s the bet you guys had? Tell me about it, " Rachel asked while putting
the dishes away.
Gary opened his mouth to tell her but Daniel cut in immediately. "Shut your big mouth!" he eximed
before spraying water at his face. He rolled up his sleeves and got ready to wash the dishes.
Rachel shook her head with a smile and asked no more. She knew that it must be something that the
two men felt embarrassed to share.
"I''ll help you carry the basin to the river, " Rachel said to Daniel. It was difficult for one person alone to
carry all the dishes.
So, Daniel and Rachel carried the basin together and walked towards the river.
As they were putting the basin down, Rachel''s fingernail brushed over Daniel''s hand. "Sorry, did I hurt
you?" she asked quickly.
Daniel put down the basin and saw a tiny scratch bleeding on the back of his hand. "It''s said that
women are like roses with thorns, beautiful to look at but painful to touch. Now I know that''s true, " he
joked.
Now that Daniel''s hand was hurt, Rachel decided to wash the dishes for him. "I know you like joking
around, but this time you''re actually right. I do have thorns."
"Aha, what does that mean?" Daniel asked curiously, washing the dishes together with Rachel.
"Before Hiram, every man I went on a date with had something bad happen to them. Two or three of
them got into car idents after the blind dates with me, and another two got fired by their bosses
when they tried to have a date with me. You may not believe it, but lots of strange and ridiculous things
happened to me."
Rachel was drying the dishes that had been washed with a cleaning cloth while recollecting her ''good
old days''.
Now she could talk about her unpleasant past leisurely as if it had nothing to do with her.
Daniel didn''t think what Rachel said was true, but it seemed that she wasn''t joking.
"No matter. Those are all coincidences. You shouldn''t take the me."
Rachel put the dishes back into the basin and stood up. "Believe it or not, it happened anyway. And it''s
over now. Everything is predestined!"
She turned her eyes to Hiram, who was attentively watching Chad draw. Hiram raised his head as if he
had felt her gaze.
He saw her looking at him and gave her a smile.
Life in the mountain was tired but satisfying. The scenery in the mountain was amazing. Even the
sunrise and sunset were different every day.
Today was thest day when they could enjoy this unique mountainous wilderness. ording to the
n, they would go back down the next day.
Everybody was devoted to finalizing the project investigation. The Cliff Mountain stretched for
thousands of miles. The research group had already marked andbelled the section that they were
nning to develop, including details like each natural cave and water hole in those areas.
On top of that, the soil and water in those areas had been sampled. Once they were back in the city,
tests could be done. There was still a lot of work to do before they could start executing the project.
Thest day was an exhausting day. Everybody tried hard to finish their own work. When night came,
they could finally lie down in their tents and get some rest.
Night was falling...
Rachel had fallen asleep in her tent, but was suddenly awoken by the noises outside. It sounded like
high wind, but she was sure it wasn''t just wind.
Since she had never stayed in a remote mountain, Rachel couldn''t guess what was happening outside.
Hiram came into the tent and shouted, "Rachel, get up quickly and put your stuff away. There''s a
rainstorming."
"What? Why should we? We''ll be sheltered from the rain if we stay inside the tent." Even as she said
that, she followed what Hiram had told her to do and dressed herself quickly.
Hiram helped her pack up her things. He looked serious.
"The situation is different. The wind at our location will be stronger than at other ces. I''m afraid the
tents won''t be able to withstand strong winds. Besides, the rainstorm is going tost for several days. If
we can''t get out before the stormes, it will be really difficult for us to go down the mountain."
Rachel heard sounds of people packing up and moving around. She quickened the movement of her
hand.
"It''s going to rain soon. We have to hurry up, " Hiram said while helping Rachel put on her raincoat.
"Let me do it myself. You put on your own, " Rachel said while zipping up her raincoat.
Hiram wore his raincoat and took Rachel''s backpack. Just then, Carl urged them to hurry. "Hiram,
Rachel and Hiram walked out to see the veterans taking down their tents. The guide stopped them.
"Forget the tents. Time''s up. I know a shortcut. We can get down within two hours if everything goes
well.
Because of the difficult terrain, we''ll be trapped in the mountain when the stormes, so let''s hurry
up and get down before it does."
Hiram took over immediately. "Everybody, attention please. Take only the necessary items! Everyone
follow Murphy and go down the mountain immediately."
Daniel, Gary and the others all rushed over.
"Hiram, everybody is here. Let''s start, " Carl said, after Chad and him counted the people who were
present.
Hiram quickly arranged the team. The four veterans were divided into two groups, one at the front
leading the way and the other at the back in charge of security. Then, they moved out.
After a while, the rain poured down.
It''s said that it''s easy to climb up a hill but difficult to climb down. And with the heavy rain, their way
back became really arduous.
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Murphy was right. It seemed like one night was enough for the rainstorm topletely destroy the
mountain road. If they had waited till tomorrow morning, they would have been trapped in the mountain.
That would have been very dangerous.
Now, they were struggling forward along the shortcut against the heavy rain and strong wind.
Everyone''s nerves were on edge. Hiram held Rachel''s hand tightly so that he could protect her if
anything happened.
Suddenly, when they were walking down a steep slope, Carl slipped and fell down the mountain.