Chapter 436

S3| 179. Honor the Mountain Spirit

“Philip….”

Philip turned his head. Barbara apparently still closed her eyes in the next seat. Her brows furrowed, her head moved vaguely.

“Yes, Babe?” Philip leaned closer.

“Please don’t go too fast. We’ll roll forward,” Barbara cooed, making Philip’s eyes widen.

“We’ve stopped, Babe. Our campervan is in the parking area.

Barbara shook her head faintly. Her eyes twitched faster. “Philip, slow down. I’ll trip again. Philip….”

Realizing that Barbara was delirious, Philip snorted a laugh. Gently, he stroked her shoulder. “Baby, you’re dreaming. Wake up.”

“Philip… Philip!”

Barbara gasped. Her eyes looked red as she lifted her lids.

“Philip?” She looked around. Her shoulders were still rising and fallin to compensate for the short breaths. “We’re not rolling down the

mountain?”

Philip chuckled. “No, we’re in a campervan. What you experienced just now was just a dream.”

Blinking, Barbara gathered her senses. “I dreamed? Thank goodness.”

She leaned her head back again and breathed a sigh of relief. Philip carefully wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead.

Did you dream we were descending Reinebringen?”

Barbara nodded. “Yes, I was walking behind you and you told me to

ISU he bag on your back, like before. But you were walking very

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fast.

I suspected you intended to overtake Shania, so I asked you to slow down. But you got faster and faster until I slipped and we rolled down together.”

“That was a ridiculous dream. I couldn’t possibly chase her, let alone endanger your safety.”

Barbara nodded. “Yes, that’s impossible. Why could I dream like that?”

“Maybe because you’re tired. That’s natural.”

After a few nods, Barbara’s eyes shifted outward. “Have we arrived yet?”/

Philip nodded. Barbara raised her eyebrows. “At Kvalvika Beach?”

Philip repeated his head movements. “Yes, why?”

Barbara’s expression instead turned confused. “Where’s the beach?”

Philip’s forefinger pointed at the mountain that stretched out in front of them. “Behind it. Have you forgotten? Kvalvika Beach is an isted beach. It’s surrounded by mountains. We have to climb if we get there.”

Barbara’s mouth rounded. “Oh, I remember. Sorry, Philip. I thi brain is a little slow because of that dream. Now, should we star climbing?”

“Don’t rush, Babe. Let’s have lunch first. I stopped at the restaura

earlier.”

“Have lunch?” Barbara flinched. Checking the clock, she sighed in disbelief. “I slept for three hours? No wonder my brain is slow. Why didn’t you wake me up, Philip?”

“You looked tired earlier. I couldn’t bear to wake you.”

Barbara felt guilty. “Sorry. Our schedule got pushed back.”

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“No problem. I prefer to hike in the afternoon rather than during the day. Now, relax for a moment. I’ll prepare our lunch.”

After kissing Barbara’s forehead, Philip went to the back. Meanwhile, Barbara opened the door and went out. Not finding a red car there,

her smile widened.

“She’s really stopped chasing Philip? Thank goodness.”

While the newlyweds were happily eating lunch, Poppy was busy observing her friend who had been in and out of the tent dozens of

times.

“They haven’t been seen yet?” Poppy guessed before doing her nails.

again.

Sitting next to Poppy, Shania snorted in annoyance. “Yeah! Why are they taking so long? Is it possible that they didn’t come here because they knew we were following them?”

“We chose a different parking area, Shania. They couldn’t possibly know you were still following them. At most, they climbed Ryte before coming here.”

“That spoiled woman climbed Ryten?” Shania snorted lightly. ” Impossible. They must have chosen the easy path.”

“If you don’t believe me, just try checking the top. Use my binocula They might have built a tent up there.”

Shania rolled her eyes. Nevertheless, she still grabbed Poppy’s binoculars and waited outside the tent.

“She’s so persistent,” Poppy muttered before plugging her ears with earphones. While humming, she sharpened her other nail..

***

Barbara held on tightly to the chains attached to the side rocks. As

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she took the steps up, she glanced behind briefly.

“Philip, I thought this terrain was easier than Reinebringen. It turns out not really.”

“Yes, the terrain here is more varied. We were lucky that there were wooden planks installed at several points. Otherwise, can your imagine how dirty our boots would be?”

“Yes, there was a lot of mud along the track. But at least it wasn’t as

steep up there. Are we still far away?

Philip smiled slightly. While pushing the round muscles on the back of his wife, he said, “Just enjoy it, Babe.”

“Hey, what’s wrong with your hand? Don’t be naughty, Philip.”

Philip let out a laugh. “What? I was just trying to help you.”

“If you really want to help, just push, don’t squeeze. Philip! You’re so naughty!”

The man laughed mischievously. Then, he withdrew his hand from wife, letting her walk without anything between her legs.

“Sorry. You’re too tempting. We should have done it before lea earlier.”

“Stop joking about it, Philip.”

While joking and laughing, Philip and Barbara kept going to the to Upon arrival, Barbara immediately fell on the grass.

“Ah! My legs seem to be numb.” Barbara leaned back, propping

herself on her hands.

“Need a massage?”

“Real massage or naughty massage?”

Philip snorted a smile. Sitting by Barbara’s side, he massaged her feet

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-starting from the tips, working his way up to the base.

“Hey, stop right there. Where are you going, Naughty Fingers?”

“I want to give you a thorough massage,” Philip whispered, suppressing amusement.

“Don’t be silly, Phil. If other climbers see us, we could go viral. I don’t

want to be called a brash climber.”

“There’s no one around us. It’s still early summer. People usually choose to climb in the morning or evening. They want to watch the

sun in the middle of the night.”

“Even though there are no other people, the mountain spirit can see.”

Philip almost burst out laughing. “Mountain spirit?”

Barbara nodded seriously. “Louis and Emily told me about it. They said I should be careful and polite. We should respect nature and the mountain spirits.”

Philip looked at Barbara with twitching lips. “Okay, sorry if I was impolite. I just wanted to cheer you up. Joking can reduce fatigu Now, are you ready to look down?”

Philip stood up and held out his hand. Barbara greeted him. Earlier she didn’t have time to look to the right or left. She just watched steps, afraid of slipping again.

“We can see Kvalvika Beach from here, right?”

“Yeah, that’s what made it famous.”

Ther

As Philip spread his arm, as if presenting a view, Barbara approached the edge of the cliff. Looking at the white sand nestled between the mountains and the blue sea, her mouth opened wide.

“Are we going to camp there? Look! There’s already a tent there.”

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Receiving a nod from Philip, Barbara let out a laugh. “No wonder we have to climb to get there. The beach is truly magical. It’s like being secluded from the outside world. But, we won’t be swept away by the waves if the water is high, right?”

Philip laughed softly. “Of course not. But if you’re afraid, we can build our tent some distance from the coastline.”

“It doesn’t matter?”

“Yes, as long as we maintain cleanliness and respect the spirit of the beach?”

Barbara scrunched up her face. After shaking her head, she pointed to a sharp rock that jutted out slightly.

“Can you sit there? The photos will be really cool. But be careful. I’m not ready to be a widow.”

Philip laughed excitedly. “Relax, Babe. I won’t brag about my abilities here. I don’t want to be tested by the mountain spirit.”

“Philip? Don’t make fun of the mountain spirit.”

“I’m not making fun of the mountain spirit!”

Seeing Philip’s appearance at the top of Ryten, Shania finally s up. The binoculars were still stuck in front of her eyes. “It’s them, Poppy! They just arrived at the top.”

Poppy poked her head out from behind the tent door. “What did I say They must have climbed Ryten first.”

Shania laughed in relief. She was afraid she would lose track of Philip forever before. “Very good. This means, I have to prepare. You too, Poppy. Our plan can’t fail.”

“Okay,” Poppy answered lightly.

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