Pokémon: Master System.

Wearing matching windbreakers, Xia Yu and Long Yanning, fully equipped with masks, thick hats, gloves, and sunglasses, arrived at the entrance of Qianshan Forest Park once again.

The two had visited Qianshan Forest Park a year ago, but Long Yanning was injured while helping Xia Yu save Ya Ya. Coupled with the bad weather at the time, the two had to give up their plan to climb Qianshan and made a promise to climb Qianshan again in the second winter.

Now that winter has arrived, the two specially chose the weekend to visit Qianshan Forest Park again.

"I'll go buy the tickets," Xia Yu said, looking at Long Yanning beside him.

"Mm." Long Yanning nodded gently, her eyes full of love as she looked at Xia Yu: "I'll go with you."

…………

Perhaps because of the excellent weather, there were many more visitors to Qianshan Forest Park today than usual.

The mountain trails were crowded with tourists taking photos. Flocks of bibliopods flashed across the steep mountainside, emitting loud calls and creating fierce gusts of wind that made people's hair fly.

The children cheered as they watched the Pokémon fly through the mountains.

The most famous feature of Qianshan Forest Park is its Flying-type Pokémon; you can often see all kinds of Flying-type Pokémon flying through the sky.

There are rumors circulating online that the Qianshan Forest Park is home to the Dragonite family, but no one has seen them in the park to date.

Unfortunately, Qianshan Forest Park is a no-hunting zone, and it is forbidden for anyone to catch Pokémon here.

…………

"There are so many people today." Xia Yu's voice rang out as she looked at the crowded mountain boardwalk.

He really wanted to release his Pokémon and go hiking together, just like last time. However, looking at the crowds around him, Xia Yu ultimately gave up on that plan.

“Hmm.” Long Yanning nodded: “There are already a lot of people in the capital, and the weather is so nice today, there must be a lot of tourists here. But once you get past the halfway point, there are fewer people.”

"Okay." Xia Yu nodded, then naturally took Long Yan Ning's hand and continued climbing towards the top of the mountain.

…………

The further you go towards the summit, the fewer tourists there are, and the more treacherous the mountain path becomes.

Every 100 meters you walk, you'll see a warning sign next to the boardwalk.

"The road ahead is dangerous. Please proceed according to your ability."

Xia Yu and Long Yanning walked along the winding mountain road for nearly four hours before finally arriving at the mountainside near noon.

This is also a transit point in Qianshan Forest Park, where a luxurious hot spring-themed hotel has been built. It is also the last supply station before climbing to the top of Qianshan.

"Let's take a break," Xia Yu said softly, holding Long Yanning's hand. "Let's go get something to eat, then buy some water and food before we continue."

Long Yanning nodded as well. As a woman, her physical strength was naturally far inferior to Xia Yu's. The four-hour hike had already left her somewhat out of breath: "Hmm... It's been a long time since I've exercised like this... Phew... I'm not used to it."

"It's alright, get some rest." Xia Yu patted Long Yanning on the back and handed her a bottle of mineral water.

…………

The two had lunch, rested for a while, and continued their journey towards the summit.

There is only one route from the mountainside to the summit, and there is a checkpoint at the entrance.

"The road ahead is dangerous, and fierce Pokémon may appear. Please proceed according to your abilities. If your strength is not at the Gym Leader level, it is not recommended to continue climbing." The staff member looked at Xia Yu and Long Yanning, who were fully equipped, and reminded them, "Do you want to continue?"

"Ah."

"Be careful." The staff only serve to give careful reminders; they will not stop climbers if they insist on reaching the summit.

At the same time, the staff took out a prop that looked like a flare and handed it to the two people: "If you encounter danger, you can send out a distress signal. Our staff will come as soon as they see the distress signal."

"Well, thank you."

After passing the checkpoint, Xia Yu and Long Yanning continued climbing towards the summit. It would take them 6-8 hours to reach the top of Qianshan Mountain.

After passing the halfway point, significantly fewer tourists chose to continue climbing. After all, no one wanted to risk their lives, and without strong physical capabilities, most preferred to rest and relax at the hot spring hotels halfway up the mountain.

After all, if you encounter a fierce flying Pokémon and accidentally die while climbing the mountain, it would be terrible. Every year, there are several such accidents in Qianshan Forest Park.

Hiking is a process of physical exercise and mental refinement, and it is also a great way to enhance the relationship between couples.

Xia Yu held Long Yan Ning's hand and climbed upwards along the winding boardwalk.

The steep peaks and precipitous cliffs made Xia Yu a little scared. To be honest, he didn't really like climbing mountains. He was a lazy person. If he could, he would like to sit on the back of the Charizard and climb to the top in one step.

With Long Yan Ning by his side, he, as a man, naturally had to perform well.

…………

Chapter 506 The Summit of Thousand Mountains

The two climbed towards the summit. Seeing that no one was around, Xia Yu turned to Long Yan Ning and asked in a low voice, "By the way, Yan Ning, how's your relationship with Metagross going?"

"It's alright." Long Yanning smiled when she heard Xia Yu mention Metagross Crystal. With her psychic powers, she could easily become close to Pokémon. Even though Metagross Crystal wasn't a Dragon-type Pokémon, and Long Yanning's psychic powers offered it minimal assistance, it didn't prevent her from communicating with Metagross telepathically.

Upon hearing Xia Yu mention Metagross, Long Yanning turned to look around. Finding no one nearby, she approached Xia Yu and asked in a low voice, "By the way, when do you plan to start the deal we discussed last time?"

"After New Year's Day," Xia Yu said. "Meyer's intentions are not good, so we need to be fully prepared."

"Hmm." Long Yanning lowered her head and said softly, "If you need help, I can call my father... and ask him for assistance."

"No. If he knew I was Sakaki, he'd skin me alive." Xia Yu was genuinely intimidated by Long Fan.

It wasn't out of fear of strength, but entirely because of the guilt he felt for abducting someone's daughter, coupled with his affair with Xiao Wanyu.

Xia Yu was very worried about how Long Fan would react if he knew Sakaki's identity and that he had abducted his daughter and Xiao Wanyu's unborn child.

Xia Yu felt a chill run down her spine just thinking about it.

Long Fan must not find out about this.

…………

“Actually… my dad probably guessed it.” Long Yanning gently bit her lip and looked at Xia Yu as she spoke softly.

"What did he guess?" Xia Yu asked, startled.

"Your identity, Sakaki," Long Yanning said seriously. "Not long ago, he called me and asked me a lot of questions about you, including what you've been doing lately and whether you've been in the capital."

“I told you that you were basically not in the capital during that period,” Long Yanning said softly. “Then my dad heard it and started scolding you, saying that you were a troublemaker. In the end, he also told me that if anyone asked me where I was, I should say that I had been staying with him.”

“At the time, I didn’t quite understand what was going on. But after you told me about your…identity last week, I think my dad might have guessed something.” Long Yanning paused here, “So if you really have any difficulties, you can call my dad.”

Hearing Long Yanning's words, Xia Yu also fell silent. Last time, because of the shipwreck incident, he and Long Fan had a brief exchange of blows, and it was possible that Long Fan could guess his identity.

After thinking for a moment, Xia Yu's expression turned serious, and he slowly shook his head: "No. Your father can't get involved in this."

Long Yanning looked at Xia Yu with a puzzled expression.

“My master is the top-ranked member of the Four Heavenly Kings, and he's at a crucial stage in his quest for the championship. He absolutely cannot be involved in this matter. It's already a miracle that he didn't directly defeat me; how could I possibly ask him for help? I can't put him in a difficult position,” Xia Yu said earnestly.

Although Long Fan was a bit sharp-tongued, he was truly a good friend to Xia Yu, so Xia Yu naturally couldn't be ungrateful and ask Long Fan for help with everything.

“You don’t need to tell Master about this. Just pretend you don’t know anything. Whether Master guesses my identity or not, as long as he doesn’t reveal it, we can just pretend we don’t know. And you don’t need to worry, I can handle the Maye matter.” Xia Yu held Long Yan Ning’s hand and whispered to comfort her, “Let’s keep climbing the mountain and don’t think about these things.”

"Alright," Long Yanning replied softly. Being simple-minded, she couldn't compare to cunning old foxes like Xia Yu and Long Fan; she couldn't fathom the intricacies of the situation, and was only worried about Xia Yu's safety.

…………

The two climbed toward the summit, and the closer they got, the more dangerous the path became. There were several steep slopes of 90 degrees, and even some over 100 degrees, where people had to climb up backwards.

This was the first time Xia Yu had witnessed the "danger" of the Thousand Mountains. As a result, Xia Yu had no choice but to let Long Yanning walk in front while he followed behind to protect her.

Fortunately, despite the treacherous road, the two finally reached the summit of Qianshan Mountain at sunset.

The clouds rolled and unrolled, the mist and clouds mixed together, making it difficult to distinguish them.

The afterglow of the setting sun fell on the mountaintops of Qianshan, brushing against their faces as if draping them in golden coats.

Gazing at the beautiful scenery before them, Xia Yu and Long Yanning took off their masks, embraced the sunset, and greedily breathed in the fresh air.

Xia Yu couldn't help but shout, "Holy crap, it's beautiful! This sunset is fucking gorgeous!"

Hearing the familiar words, Long Yanning couldn't help but smile, her face full of love as she looked at Xia Yu: "You're here again."

The last time the two of them climbed Qianshan Mountain, looking at the heavy snow, Xia Yu said the same thing: "This snow is so damn beautiful."

"What's this called? It's called 'The scenery is so beautiful it's like a painting, I wanted to compose a poem for the world. But alas, I'm uncultured, so I just say 'Holy crap' to get by.'" Xia Yu said with a smile.

Hearing Xia Yu's words, Long Yan Ning smiled even more and said with a smile, "I remember you had good grades, how could you be uncultured? You're just too lazy."

"Didn't you say something like 'The north wind blows away the snow at midnight, and the beautiful soul still lingers in the peach blossoms' last time? Do you have anything new today?" Long Yanning looked at Xia Yu with a smile and admiration, like a little girl, which gave Xia Yu a great sense of accomplishment.

Anyone would find it hard not to lose themselves when looked at by a beautiful woman like Long Yanning with such eyes. In this situation, Xia Yu couldn't help but want to shout, "Step back, I'm about to start showing off!"

"The clear sky suddenly adds a thousand feet of green, the setting sun idly casts a heap of sorrow."

As soon as Xia Yu finished speaking, love welled up in Long Yan Ning's eyes, her beautiful eyes shimmering with affection.

The two sat quietly by the mountainside, watching the sunset slowly merge with the horizon, as the sun dipped below the horizon and night fell.

Just then, Xia Yu and Long Yanning suddenly felt their breath catch in their throats, a suffocating feeling like drowning coming from all directions, but this feeling only lasted for a moment before it stopped abruptly.

Long Yanning turned to look at Xia Yu, a hint of doubt in her eyes: "Xia Yu, did you have a strange feeling just now?"

Hearing Long Yanning's voice, Xia Yu's face showed a serious expression, and he nodded slightly: "Mm."

This was the third time Xia Yu had experienced this familiar feeling. He pulled Long Yan Ning to her feet slowly, his expression grave: "If nothing unexpected happens, we should have entered the secret realm rift."

Almost as soon as Xia Yu finished speaking, a feeling of weightlessness came over them. Xia Yu and Long Yanning's vision blurred, and their bodies fell uncontrollably downwards.

"Ah!" Long Yanning screamed, and Xia Yu was also startled by the scene before him.