Hunting Wilderness: Starting with the Butcher

Chapter 88 Unexplored Secret Realm

Heading south on a road trip with Chen Duling, Yuan Linghan didn't forget to enjoy the scenery along the way. For the two of them, the fatigue of the long journey was quickly dispelled by the beautiful views, and they maintained a good mood every day.

From Hukou Waterfall in Shanxi Province, to the Terracotta Army of Qin Shi Huang in Shaanxi Province, to Jiuzhaigou and giant pandas in Sichuan Province, the two drove their car to Erhai Lake in Dali, an ancient city in Yunnan Province. Half of their month-long vacation had quietly passed.

For Chen Duling, who had never been here before, seeing Dali, this ancient city in Yunnan Province, revealed not only the world-famous Erhai Lake but also a film and television city. In the past, many domestic film crews had filmed here.

Even on the promotional wall of the film studio, the two saw promotional posters for Liu Qianfei and Jing Tian. Nowadays, although film crews occasionally come to shoot scenes in this film studio, it is no longer as bustling and lively as it used to be.

Walking side by side through the ancient city, Chen Duling smiled and said, "I really didn't expect this film and television ancient city to be so big!"

"You've never filmed here before?"

"No! Nowadays, there are too many film and television cities in China that can shoot period dramas, and many production crews choose to film nearby. Compared with film and television cities in inland areas, I think the film and television ancient cities here are more focused on tourism promotion."

"That's perfectly normal! For tourists, finding fragments of their early memories here is a kind of enjoyment in itself, isn't it?"

"That seems to be true!"

It's said that couples in the throes of new love never get tired of each other. Chen Duling used to doubt it, but now she has to. For her, the journey, though arduous, has also been incredibly happy and sweet.

Aside from occasionally booking a guesthouse and staying overnight to shower, she preferred the experience of spending the night with Yuan Linghan in the wilderness. In her opinion, the feeling of having only each other in the world was truly intoxicating.

Although Erhai Lake is a well-known tourist attraction, drawing many visitors every year, Yuan Linghan and Chen Duling have both achieved financial freedom and have directly booked a vacation villa by Erhai Lake.

Whether it's Chen Duling or Yuan Linghan, while their increased fame has brought them many benefits, it has also prevented them from enjoying the same freedom as ordinary couples. Even Yuan Linghan now wears a mask and baseball cap when going out.

After visiting several tourist attractions, Yuan Linghan and Chen Duling felt there were too many tourists, preventing them from fully enjoying the trip. After some searching, Yuan Linghan suddenly slapped his forehead and exclaimed, "Oh dear, how could I forget about him!"

Hearing the commotion, Chen Duling asked in surprise, "Brother Han, what's wrong?"

"I'll take you to a hidden paradise that's never been explored before, are you in?"

"A secret realm? What does that mean?"

"It means that there is a uniquely beautiful place there, but it hasn't become famous yet."

"Oh, let's go quickly then! There shouldn't be too many tourists in a place like that, right?"

"There shouldn't be any! Don't worry, if we really go there, we can find a real guide. I was so focused on sightseeing that I forgot about a comrade from Yunnan Province. His home is near the secret realm, so I'll go visit him while I'm there."

With about a week left before the month-long vacation, Yuan Linghan didn't hesitate at all. He bought some gifts, canceled his vacation at the villa, and headed straight to his comrade's hometown.

As Yuan Linghan said, the world he was in had many similarities to the world the awakened fetus had experienced in its previous life, but also many differences. The place they were going to next was very famous in another world.

As a major tourist province, Yunnan has always been very effective in promoting its tourism. However, developing more well-known tourist attractions requires significant investment and promotion. His comrade's hometown, however, is a hidden gem yet to be fully explored.

Following the navigation, Yuan Linghan finally arrived at his comrade's hometown. To Chen Duling's surprise, there was actually a place in Yunnan Province, located in the tropics, where you could see snow-capped mountains.

When Yuan Linghan's campervan arrived at this small village, which was connected by a road but still looked very ordinary, many of the elderly people and women who stayed in the village were very curious about how this car with a Shanghai license plate had driven into the village!

Seeing the curious elderly people by the roadside, Yuan Linghan, who had just parked his car, politely approached one of them and offered him a cigarette, saying, "Sir, is this Yuhu Village? I'd like to ask if there's anyone named He Zhiyao in the village?"

"This is Yuhu Village. What is your relationship with Zhiyao?"

"I'm his comrade-in-arms. I happened to be traveling in Yunnan Province, so I thought I'd come and visit him. Is he in the village?"

"He's here! Go to the village office, he should be there right now."

"Village office? He's a village official now?"

"Yes, that's right! The higher-ups said he had served in the army and seen the world, so they made him the village head. There aren't many young people in the village these days, so keeping him here is really a shame!"

It's easy to tell from the old man's words that the villagers have a very high opinion of Yuan Linghan's comrade-in-arms. But Yuan Linghan knows even better that this old sergeant, who served for six years on the snowy plateau, originally wanted to stay in the army indefinitely.

Unfortunately, he retired in the same batch as Yuan Linghan. However, he wasn't assigned a job, but he did receive a retirement allowance from the government. This amount might not be much in a big city, but it's a considerable sum here!

After Yuan Linghan got back into the car and drove towards the village office location the old man had pointed out, Chen Duling, sitting in the car, asked curiously, "Brother Han, are your comrades from ethnic minorities? I saw that many of those old men were wearing ethnic costumes!"

"Yes, he's a Naxi soldier, and he was my old sergeant when I served in the army. He just had some bad luck and couldn't stay in the army. I never expected that he would become the village chief when he returned to his hometown."

Yuan Linghan briefly explained the situation of the squad leader and Zhiyao to Chen Duling. Just as the camping off-road vehicle drove into the village office parking lot, Zhiyao and several village officials, who were at the village office, all seemed very curious.

After all, they rarely see vehicles from other places in their village. But when He Zhiyao walked out of the office and saw Yuan Linghan get out of the car, take off his hat, and smile at him, He Zhiyao exclaimed excitedly, "Holy crap, it's you!"

Before the other village officials could react, He Zhiyao jogged forward and gave Yuan Linghan a big hug. This camaraderie between comrades made Chen Duling feel that Yuan Linghan seemed even more vibrant at that moment.

After the hug, Yuan Linghan smiled and said, "Squad leader, I really didn't expect you to go back to your hometown and become the village chief?"

"Sigh, it's all thanks to the boss's trust; I was just forced into this role. By the way, what brings you here? You caused quite a stir online recently; you didn't come here specifically to see me, did you?"

"Squad leader, you definitely won't believe me if I say so. Oh dear, I was so happy that I forgot to introduce my girlfriend to you. Dudu, this is my old squad leader from when I was in the army, Zhiyao. You can just call him old squad leader like me."

Just as He Zhiyao was about to laugh and tease him, he froze when he saw Chen Duling take off her mask. His eyes widened as he exclaimed, "Wait, isn't she that female celebrity? I saw the video of her with you on the island. Your name is Chen Duling, right?"

"Hello, old squad leader, I'm Chen Duling!"

Seeing the envious look in his old squad leader's eyes that said, "You've struck gold," Yuan Linghan smiled but remained silent. The other village officials of Yuhu Village were naturally quite surprised to learn that their village chief had such a famous old comrade-in-arms.

You know, in a poor, remote place like theirs, it's usually quite a treat if even a town leader comes to visit. Who would have thought that two very famous celebrities would come to the village today? This is truly unprecedented!