Berechnen

Kapitel 17

My phone rang; it was a number I didn't recognize.

I pressed the answer button and, to my surprise, heard Lu Yun's voice.

"I borrowed a friend's phone to call you, but I can only call you once. How are you doing?"

"It was really bad, but hearing your voice made me feel better."

It wasn't entirely flattery; the thought of getting a good night's sleep tonight seemed to ease my headache a bit.

Yunek knocked for a long time in the morning before I opened the door, still half asleep.

“Good!” Yunick said with a smile.

As I was drinking milk and eating biscuits in the restaurant, I saw the elephant caravan carrying tourists set off outside the window.

I pointed with my finger.

“No elephant today,” he said, and this time I understood.

Then Yunic pointed to my leg.

"Foot."

Are we going to have to walk? That's bad news.

Following behind Yunek, we set off. I noticed that it was in a completely different direction from the tourists.

I don't intend to describe the details of walking in the countryside on such a summer day. Even though Yunek had slowed down to wait for me, it was still not something I, a journalist who prides myself on my stamina, could easily keep up with. Especially in that condition, a night's sleep couldn't fundamentally solve the problem.

As evening approached, in a state of numb walking, I finally spotted a wooden house.

For a moment I thought that was where Lu Yun was, but the house was too small. It must be the residence of some hunter, and today is only the fourth day.

Yunic walked ahead of me. He didn't knock; he just pushed the door open and went in. The wooden door wasn't even locked. The moment I opened the door, a gray shadow darted out of the house, skimming past my trouser leg. I was so startled that I stumbled, but it disappeared into the bushes.

Yunic said a word I didn't understand. He thought for a moment, seemingly unsure how to say "beast" in English, and then gave up.

There was no one inside, but there was a table, a few chairs, and three beds. It didn't look particularly dilapidated, so it seemed to be intended for people to spend the night.

A gathering in the underworld (3)

There was no place to bathe, and covered in sweat, I had no choice but to lie down on the bed. I had a restless night, and when I woke up in the morning, I was covered in sweat again.

Seeing my appearance, Yunic simply said, "Today we will arrive."

After noon, I painstakingly climbed a small hill. Fortunately, it wasn't steep. If it were Mount Hua, I probably wouldn't have made it halfway up.

Then he fell down.

There was a small flat area on the mountaintop. Standing on this flat area and looking ahead, there was a small ravine beyond which stood an unnamed high mountain. Compared to this mountain, the one I had climbed for half a day was just a small mound.

But when I climbed to the top of the mountain and saw what was in front of me, I was stunned.

This is actually a cable car station. A cable car starts here, crosses the mountain stream, and goes straight to the mountains on the other side.

However, there are no cable cars on this cableway; the only visible cable car is quietly parked at the cableway station.

Yunic gestured for me to sit down, then he pushed aside a metal lever next to him. With a loud bang, the cable car I was sitting in shook and began to move slowly.

I was waiting for Yunik to sit down when I saw him wave at me.

"Bye-bye."

Oh my god, I was riding the cable car all by myself!

As the glass canopy on the cable car slowly lowered, I felt a little more at ease. If it had been one of those simple, unenclosed cable cars, I definitely would have jumped off halfway through.

Yunek's figure receded into the distance as the cable car sped up. I waved to him and called out, "Thank you," but he probably couldn't hear me anymore.

The cable car ascended higher and higher, having already traveled rapidly for twenty minutes, yet the destination was still nowhere in sight. I couldn't help but marvel at the sheer scale of this engineering feat. Deep in the mountains, I truly wondered how it was constructed; the equipment itself was quite impressive.

We swept across the mountain stream and ascended into the high mountains, getting higher and higher. After an extremely steep climb, the cable car gradually leveled out. The relative altitude we were at now was probably several times that of the small hill we had climbed so hard in the morning, but we had only reached the mountainside.

Half an hour later, the cable car reached its destination. When I jumped off the cable car, a man in a black suit and white bow tie was already waiting for me.

I could already see the figure of the man in black from afar. As he approached, he stood there motionless, as straight as a javelin. After so many days of trekking through mountains and rivers, my appearance was utterly terrible, inside and out. Yet, the moment my feet touched solid ground, he bowed slightly and said:

"Sir? Welcome here. Please follow me." He then made a respectful gesture of invitation, speaking in fluent Mandarin.

With this cable car and the well-maintained mountain road before us, and such well-trained staff who speak Mandarin, who exactly is the owner of this place? What kind of meeting is Lu Yun holding?

Could it be that Lu Yun drugged some super tycoon?

No matter how much I tried to subtly probe him, my attention piqued, the guide always just smiled and remained silent.

A smile is the best way to welcome guests, and silence is the best way to prevent leaks. The behavior of the person next to me made me feel a sense of awe for the host.

The mountain path winds gently upwards through the forest, with birdsong all around. Several white peacocks stroll among the trees, and I even spotted a rare slow loris hanging from a tree, swaying slightly. But now that I was here, these exotic animals no longer surprised me.

At the end of the mountain road, the terrain suddenly opened up, and the view before me left me speechless.

It's already rare to find such a large flat area halfway up the mountain, and in the center of this flat area lies a lake as clear as a mirror, its water tinged with a slight blue. Several villas have been built on the grassy area around the lake, and across the lake on the opposite shore, there is a large lawn, and further on, a waterfall cascades down, forming a stream that flows into the lake.

Surrounded by mountains, this place is like a fairyland.

Almost everyone who comes here for the first time has this feeling. The man who led the way waited quietly for a moment before smiling and gesturing for me to follow him again.

I was led to a small villa and rang the doorbell.

Having seen it many times before, the beauty of the woman who opened the door still deeply shocked me once again. Who else could it be but Lu Yun, who is proficient in illusion magic?

I know full well that this is not her natural beauty. When I first met her, she looked extremely ordinary compared to now. But knowing this is one thing, but it still takes a lot of effort to break free from her beauty.

"Hello, Miss Lu. The gentleman has arrived," the man said, bowing his head.

A gathering in the underworld (4)

Lu Yun chuckled and said, "What, you don't dare look at me? Am I that scary?" Her tone was incredibly alluring, and the man involuntarily raised his head. When he saw Lu Yun's smiling face, his eyes widened in disbelief. It seemed that no matter how well-trained he was, he was useless against a beauty like Lu Yun who was skilled in mind control.

Lu Yun pulled me inside and beckoned to the man, who unconsciously tried to follow her in. Lu Yun's smile grew even brighter, but she immediately slammed the door shut. I heard a cry of pain outside; clearly, the man's nose had been badly hit.

“Just playing a little joke on him.” Lu Yun giggled heartily.

I shook my head with a wry smile. But Lu Yun's display of such girlishness actually made me feel somewhat at ease. Someone like her, if she were also scheming, would be terrifying.

On second thought, Xiao Xiuyun was scheming and ruthless in the Human Cave incident back then. No one can say for sure how much Lu Yun, who has inherited her mantle, will be affected. How can we know that her behavior is her true nature?

But now that we both consider each other friends, there's no need to overthink it. Friends come in all shapes and sizes, and there are different ways to get along with each other. As long as we remain friends, that's enough.

Thinking this, Lu Yun covered his nose and said, "Go take a shower, go take a shower. We can talk about it after you've showered. How many days has it been since you last showered?"

I laughed and said, "Let me think, it's been about five or six days, spending all my time in the mountains. How's it going, does it smell good?"

Lu Yun retreated to a great distance, and upon hearing what I said, his face seemed to turn pale.

I chuckled, took off my backpack and threw it on the ground, then strode inside. But then I remembered something, turned back, and stammered, "Where... is the bathroom?"

After being directed to the bathroom, I realized my change of clothes were still in my backpack, so I had to come out again to get it. It was really embarrassing. It seems you really can't try to look cool when you're not feeling well.

"That much?"

"That's a lot!"

Lu Yun's voice resonated in my heart through my eardrums, and I snapped back to reality. In the luxurious bathtub, which resembled a small swimming pool, the water had already reached above my nose.

I was startled and choked on several mouthfuls of water before quickly sitting up. Lu Yun must have noticed something was wrong; the way he called my name earlier sounded strange, otherwise I wouldn't have woken up so easily.

"It's alright, thank you," I said loudly.

When she stepped out of the bathroom and down to the small living room on the first floor, she found Lu Yun looking apologetic.

“Your condition is really quite serious. I didn’t know it would take you so long to get here, otherwise…”

"Why doesn't it take you that long? How did you get here? Is there some other shortcut?" I asked, puzzled.

“After I arrived in Kathmandu, I was picked up by helicopter. By the time I found out that you came from the land, you had already entered the mountains. The only way to make amends was to borrow a cell phone from somewhere and call you again. Judging from your situation, you have really had a dangerous few days.”

"We've arrived safely now, haven't we?" I said with a smile. "Who is the host here? Judging from the pomp and circumstance, they're definitely not an ordinary person. What kind of meeting are you having here?"

"You really are incredibly curious. In this situation, you didn't even ask about your own illness first. To be honest, I don't know much about this guy called Sir D, yet he managed to get the invitation into my hands."

Lu Yun tossed an invitation into my hand. The invitation, made of thick kraft paper, was quite simple in design. The word "invitation" was written in cursive script on the cover, while the inside was written in beautiful regular script, all by hand.

"Dear inheritor of ancient Eastern esoteric arts, the triennial Asian Non-Human Gathering is about to begin. We extend a sincere invitation to you to attend the gathering in Nepal from June 21st to June 30th, 2004. If you are able to attend, please send an email to D@."

The signature is Sir D.

"Inhuman?"

"It means 'extraordinary people,' I think. I've only just heard of that title myself. Sir D has only shown up a few times since I arrived, but he's an interesting fellow. Providing such a venue is very beneficial for people like us, but he himself doesn't seem to have any other intentions. As far as I know, this kind of gathering has been going on for at least half a century."

I can glean some understanding of the "benefits" Lu Yun referred to: Ancient traditions like hers have always been passed down through a single lineage, making them extremely conservative and reclusive—already considered mysterious legends. Even if other similar schools of thought exist, there's little interaction between them. If those with established traditions are like this, then those with special abilities due to genetic mutations are even less likely to find anyone to communicate with. In such gatherings, finding someone willing to speak openly, even without revealing their secret techniques, can yield significant benefits.

A gathering in the underworld (5)

At least when I sought help from Lu Yun during the shapeshifter incident, she was not able to influence a determined person as easily as she had just done.

And that Sir D is even more extraordinary. By doing so, he maintains good relations with the non-humans throughout Asia. If they really need help, how many of them would refuse? Judging from the fact that he knew of Lu Yun's existence and extended an invitation, his potential power is already astonishing.

"I knew something was wrong when I heard you were silent in the bathroom for so long."

"Yes, thank goodness you shouted it out. But similar situations have been happening so frequently these past few days that I'm starting to become numb to it all."

“What do you mean by yelling?” Lu Yun spat at me and said seriously, “If you’re really numb, you’re not far from death.”

I chuckled a few times. Now that I was here, I felt relieved. Even if Lu Yun couldn't handle my problem, wasn't this some kind of inhuman gathering? Surely someone could manage it.

"The inhuman treatment is still better. You guys have helicopters to pick you up, while I have to walk." In a better mood, I casually joked with Lu Yun.

"No, do you think it's so easy to get here? When I first asked Sir D if I could bring a friend, he politely declined, even though I explained why."

“That makes sense, I can understand it, but why did you agree to it later?” I asked.

Lu Yun laughed: "Because he later found out that my friend's name was Na Duo."

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow, a touch of smugness creeping into my heart. These past two years had actually given me a small degree of fame. Although this reputation wasn't widely known, people like Wei Xian and Sir D, who had come into contact with the other side of the world, all knew my name. I called that side of the world the Dark World, something most people couldn't see and believed didn't exist. But I knew it was closer to the truth.

“He had greeted me and wanted to meet you, but five days ago he suddenly had to leave by helicopter, so you had to come over by land.”

"That's a real pity. I'm still very curious about someone like that," I said with a sigh.

"Curiosity? I think your problem is caused by curiosity. One day you'll be killed by curiosity. Forget it, there's no point in talking. Just tell me what's going on. You explained it too simply last time. Ask me clearly so I can prescribe the right medicine."

I had intended to start by recounting the experience of entering the tomb passage, but Lu Yun immediately pressed me, asking what kind of tomb passage it was, how it was discovered, and who Wei Xian was. Under her relentless questioning, I had no choice but to begin the story from the very beginning. Seeing how engrossed Lu Yun was in listening, I couldn't tell if she had come to hear a story or to treat my illness.

"A person with three eyes? I've heard of people with opened third eyes, but someone born with a third eye is truly a first," Lu Yun murmured. Suddenly realizing this had little to do with my illness, he changed his tune, saying, "Ou Mingde's guess is correct. The symbols you saw were likely very powerful sigils, and they didn't just affect me. In that environment, the dense array of symbols might have created a field of their own. The closer you got to the tomb entrance, the stronger this field became. So even if someone didn't look at those symbols at all, they would probably still be affected."

"I brought the half of the flag," I said, taking out the flag and handing it to Lu Yun.