Ghostly Encounter

Chapter 9

Fortunately, Lin Nan quickly let go. I turned my head and saw that Lin Nan was holding a pig bristle-like thing with a winged worm stuck to it. The worm was extremely ugly, red and swollen all over, dripping with orange-yellow oil. It smelled like corpse oil. Lin Nan was stuffing the worm into a small bamboo tube.

I was startled: "My God, what is this thing? What the hell is on my back?!"

Lin Nan, with a serious expression, reached out and lifted my eyelids, looked at me, and said, "Alright, you'll be fine after a good night's sleep. Your companion has been following you. Do you want me to help you shake her off? But with your skills, how are you going to get to Nandan, Guangxi?"

I was stunned: "Who do you think you are? Don't think that just because you saved me you can send me to that barren land, no discussion. Besides, you dare to touch my companions, don't you know your own limitations?"

Lin Nan was also stunned: "Aren't you Feng Yixi? Qin Jianjun said you would definitely be here last night, and that he explained everything to you clearly. I waited all night, and not only were you late, but you also didn't know anything?"

Before I could finish speaking, someone appeared behind Lin Nan. I looked closely and realized that the person looked so familiar. But then I felt dizzy and unsteady on my feet, and I almost sat down. I managed to open my eyes and recognized the person next to me as Tian Li, who was dressed in plainclothes. Since she was someone I knew, I felt relieved and passed out.

In a daze, I felt myself lying in the room. The light was blinding. I heard Tian Li and Lin Nan talking. When I opened my eyes again, only Tian Li was looking at me nervously. I smiled. Tian Li and someone else helped me out of bed. I waved my hand and followed them unsteadily. As I walked and walked, I vaguely saw a bed again. I couldn't hold on any longer and fell asleep again.

When I was fully awake, my back was aching terribly, and I couldn't help but groan, as if I were sleeping in a sleeper berth on a train, with faint clanging sounds coming from outside.

Tian Li was right in front of me, staring at me with red eyes. I felt relieved and couldn't help but say, "Xiao Tian, how could you be so disloyal? We agreed to leave together in Tianjin, but you didn't wait for me. I called your workplace and you weren't there. I thought you had something urgent and weren't coming. Remember to give me a heads-up next time you do something so disorganized and undisciplined."

Tian Li was amused by my antics, and glared at me, saying, "You're just being sarcastic! You just narrowly escaped death, and now you're trying to fool me again? You might as well just die in the train station! If you're still not awake when the train arrives, I'm ready to abandon you!"

I pretended to be curious and asked, "What's going on? Why does my back hurt so much? Did you do something to me? And why did you kidnap me onto the train? Where are we going? Going back to Tianjin doesn't require the trouble of taking the train. I still have my car there. Oh dear, my car is still parked at Lao She's place!" As I spoke, I tried to sit up.

Tian Li held me down, and said with a half-smile, "Save your breath, Lao Feng. You're not trying to fool me anymore? So you came in Chai Yong's car. Why didn't you invite me to ride with you?"

I felt embarrassed; I had inadvertently let slip that this woman had been following me. I checked my pockets and realized my car keys were gone, so I naturally made proper arrangements for them. I chuckled and listened quietly to what she had to say.

Tian Li said, "You've been unconscious for several days. I thought you were awake that day, but who knew you were still pretending. You fell asleep as soon as you got on the train. If Lin Nan hadn't said you would be fully awake within ten hours, I would have really thrown you off! We've just passed Wuhan and it's still early before we enter Guangxi. You can sleep a little longer."

I interrupted, asking, "We really came all the way to Nandan, Guangxi? What happened? Where's Lin Nan? He's disappeared!"

Tian Li ignored me and continued, "As soon as I arrived in Beijing with you, I noticed that there were always some shady characters hanging around you. It's ridiculous that you were oblivious. Later, I saw you rush into the tunnel, and I didn't pay attention for a moment. I couldn't see you anymore and was anxiously looking for you when I saw you coming out with a strangely dressed guy. You looked silly. I knew something was wrong with you, and it must have been that guy's doing. Speaking of which, I think you're too cunning. You never tell the truth. You even pretended to be blind and argued with people. Lin Nan probably confused you, which is why you suffered this calamity."

I thought for a moment and said, "That's not necessarily true. That Miao man must know me, otherwise he wouldn't have set a trap for me. Even if it weren't for Lin Nan's interference, I would have fallen into the trap anyway. But he didn't expect me to know how to ruin his plans, so he had no choice but to reveal his true colors. It seems I'm not completely useless after all! Hehe! Speaking of Lin Nan, I also blame him for not being straightforward. I've never told you a single lie. Your way of applying this to others is a very bad habit. What do I always teach you? You have to speak human language to human beings and ghost language to ghosts!"

Tian Li said, "Just say less and let me finish. Don't interrupt. I've been following you, and I noticed that the fake blind man who bumped into you was also following you. That's Lin Nan. Later, that old man died inexplicably and turned into a stinking pile of mud. He didn't even have any clothes left." Tian Li wrinkled her nose, perhaps recalling that filthy scene.

"Lin Nan was also asked by someone through several roundabout channels. According to what your Master Qin said, he had been wandering around the train station. He told me that you were poisoned by the Miao people's Gu poison. Fortunately, the Miao people's corpse oil Gu was not very advanced. Lin Nan had been to Yunnan before, so he cured you. He left Master Qin, such an awkward title, in a bag and handed it to me. He also said that if you followed Master Qin's route, you would definitely go to Nandan, Guangxi. I thought that since that's the case, I might as well call back to work and ask for leave to accompany you and see what's going on?"

I patted my dizzy head. This was getting more and more bizarre. When did I provoke a Miao person who could use Gu poison? And how did they even know about my affair with Master Qin? This was terrifying. Thinking of this, I froze for a moment. Nandan, Guangxi... Could Nandan, Guangxi be the Miao people's stronghold? The Rongwang Tomb there is incredibly powerful. If I came here, wouldn't I be courting death?

I asked Tian Li, "What about Lin Nan? Where did he go?"

Tian Li tossed a bag to me, yawning as she said, "He said something about 'Phoenix Dance in the Dragon Tower,' and told me he was a surveying expert from the Geological Institute, going to Phoenix Mountain in Shaanxi to investigate geology and look for mineral deposits. I was too lazy to ask, so I just asked him to accompany me to see you off at the train station, and then we went our separate ways."

My eyes lit up. I remembered that Jin Yong mentioned this term. Because it sounded so literary, I remembered it immediately. Could it be that Qin Jianjun solved the secret of Phoenix Dance Dragon Tower so quickly? I hurriedly asked Tian Li, "Who did he go to Phoenix Mountain with? Did Qin Jianjun send him?"

Tian Li glared at him: "How would I know so much? You think I'm just passing on a message? But it really was Qin Jianjun who told him to go to Phoenix Mountain. He said the geology there is complex and there must be a large mineral deposit underneath."

I chuckled. Qin Ye's friends are probably all expert tomb raiders, geologists, huh? They can only fool a little girl like Tian Li. Most likely, after Qin Ye uncovered the secret of "Phoenix Dance Dragon Tower," he had some basis for believing that there's some earth-shattering tomb buried under Phoenix Mountain. I have no interest in tomb raiding. At worst, I'll just sell another set of terracotta warriors and earn some foreign exchange, so I couldn't be bothered to ask any more questions.

Seeing the backpack Tian Li tossed to me, I knew this was what Master Qin had given me. I quickly opened it, and wow, there were quite a few things inside! There was a small booklet; I flipped through it and found a photocopy of "The Secret Techniques of Tianyuan Mountain and Water," but I wasn't particularly interested in that at the moment. I continued flipping through, and there was a notebook detailing Qin Jianjun, Qin Tai, and Fatty's experiences at the Rongwang Tomb in Nandan, Guangxi, ten years ago. Finally, what caught my eye was an antique-looking little box with a piece of paper stuck to its surface. The delicate handwriting was Qin Tai's; she solemnly stated that the box contained her... A book passed down through generations, the Secret Techniques of Mountain Trekking, is now being formally given to me. I hope you will learn it well and put it to good use. Also, the Mountain Trekking Armor must be carefully protected, as it will be of great use. At the same time, I was asked to take the small box to a person named Lisa Yang in Guangzhou. Judging from the name, we are relatives. Later, it turned out that Lisa Yang's Chinese name is Yang Lingshuang, and Yang Lingshuang's father and Qin Tai's father are brothers. The box is very important and must be handed over to Yang Lingshuang or his father personally. I repeatedly asked for his help and expressed my gratitude.

I was a little discouraged. It didn't mention the secret of the dragon in the 'Dragon and Phoenix Jade Tablet'. Qin Jianjun didn't say anything about what he had figured out after getting the whole book. Jin Laopian didn't mention anything about the Black Flame Lamp either. I picked up the notebook about my experiences in the Rongwang Tomb out of boredom and started flipping through it. Tian Li saw that I wasn't sleeping and yawned, saying, "Luckily I have a police officer's ID card. It's been very convenient to escort prisoners all the way here. No one bothers us. I'm going to take a nap now. Lao Feng, you've just recovered from the poisoning. The black spots under your eyelids haven't completely faded yet. Don't look at them for too long. Get some rest."

I asked her curiously, "Wait, what do you mean by 'below the eyelid'? I remember Lin Nan also looked at my eyelids. What's going on?"

Chapter Twenty-Four: Making Contact

Tian Liqiang, trying to stay alert, said, "Just look inside your eyelids, and you'll know. I heard it from Lin Nan, who's just like you, spouting off a whole bunch of nonsense. I don't know if he's lying to me or not. He said that if there's a vertical line running down the middle of your eyelid, it's almost certain you've been cursed. If it's covered in small black dots, it means you've been given an early-stage Gu poison. That's what happened to you, lots of dense black dots. The blind man said the Miao people who poisoned you used spider grass as a Gu poison. Once it gets inside, it multiplies at an alarming rate, causing you to inexplicably develop a high fever and eventually go mad and die! When you die, the spider grass protrudes from your body, making your corpse look like a scarecrow—it's terrifying! As for your eyelids, if they're bluish-white with a few blood vessels, that's healthy. But if they're full of blood vessels, it might mean you stayed up late the night before, drank too much, just cried, or have conjunctivitis. Don't worry about it." After saying this, he fell asleep immediately.

I felt a chill run down my spine. What kind of nonsense is this?! It seems I'm just not meant to be in Beijing. I almost became a victim after provoking Brother Sen and his gang, and now I've been poisoned again after just returning to Beijing! By the way, is that Miao person connected to Qin Jianjun or Brother Sen, which is why they're targeting me? I need to think about that carefully.

I suspect Qin Jianjun already knew about Miao's tailing, otherwise he wouldn't have arranged for Lin Nan to stay put and wait for me. But how did Miao find out all this? After receiving Jin Laopian's call, I was delayed in Tianjin for most of the day. By then, Qin Jianjun should have already gotten off the plane, made all the arrangements, and only after discovering the problem did he instruct Jin Laopian to call me again. In just one or two days, Miao learned everything and rushed to Beijing to wait for me. What does he want from me now?

Looking at the soundly sleeping Tian Li, I couldn't help but feel a pang of longing for my girlfriend, Han Yena. It had only been a few days since we'd last seen each other; I wondered how she was doing. After I was caught in the trap at the Beijing train station, I vaguely saw her being arrested. I don't know if it was true; I'll have to call her as soon as I get back to ask. I've diverted all these dangers from our lives—could that also signify that Han Yena and I are gradually drifting apart? And what the fortune teller at Longhu Mountain said—was it really true?

I don't know, but I do know that if I hadn't left Beijing, Sen and his gang would have come after her sooner or later. By the way, I wonder if those vicious Miao people have any accomplices. What if they're the ones who do something to harm Han Yena? It's giving me a headache.

Qin Jianjun is truly a genius. With the book in his hands, he was able to uncover the secrets of the Phoenix Dance Dragon Tower with just a light touch. He's probably already at the Rong King's Tomb. I wonder if he has any help. Is it a good idea for me to go with Tian Li to search for the traces he left behind? And what's wrong with Tian Li? Back then, when I was fawning over her with Fatty, I didn't think much of it. Why is she so unusually determined to come with me this time?

A thousand thoughts rushed to my mind. I stared at the notes from the tomb of the King Rong and slowly read them. It seemed to have been written by his wife, who calmly and meticulously recorded the events from the perspective of an observer. After reading the notes, I was not only covered in a cold sweat, but also had many more questions.

The magnificent tomb of King Rong was truly spectacular. It was a man-made treasure trove, its feng shui artificially altered. The tomb was protected by a variety of methods, including miasma, sorcery, and even a corpse cave. Qin Ye's doubts stemmed from the fact that the celestial mountain scenery described by the old King Rong wasn't shrouded in celestial mist, but rather a Western-style castle perched atop a high mountain, surrounded by white clouds. In the central palace, a giant eyeball-shaped totem was enshrined, surrounded by strangely dressed figures—it looked remarkably like the underworld. Could this be the old King Rong's wish to become one of the Ten Kings of Hell after death? The true secrets of the Heavenly Palace? But this Heavenly Palace was far too different from the beautiful image I had in my mind.

Could it be that the Heavenly Palace he saw wasn't real?

After the train arrived in Liuzhou, Tian Li and I were exhausted. Since we didn't know if Qin Jianjun had left any clues, we insisted on resting in Liuzhou for a day and a night. During this break, I quickly deposited the remaining 10,000 yuan into the bank. I also had Tian Li deposit the things that Qin Tai had asked me to pass on to her relatives at the local police station as evidence. Thinking that I should disguise myself, I bought a decent camera and packed a lot of film and batteries in my backpack.

After everything was prepared, we took a car along the route Qin Jianjun had taken ten years ago, and followed the railway to Nandan City in northwestern Guangxi. Our destination was the mountains and ridges of northern Guangxi, including Phoenix Mountain, Jiuwan Mountain, Damiao Mountain, Danan Mountain, and Tianping Mountain. It is close to the eastern foothills of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, with karst formations everywhere, lush forests, and continuous green mountains.

The main peak of the Jiuwan Mountains, Youlong Mountain, is over 4,000 meters above sea level. The Snake River Valley and Rongwang Tomb within it are no longer remote places after so many years. The white miasma that used to appear frequently has completely disappeared after the fierce battle ten years ago. The environment is now a beautiful landscape with clear waters and lush mountains. In recent years, more and more brightly colored butterflies have reappeared in large groups.

I was worried about the road conditions and how to get to the 'Rongwang Tomb Mingtang', but when I got there I realized that all my worries were unnecessary. The mysterious Qin Jianjun had already made arrangements.

The Caixia Inn from ten years ago no longer exists; in its place stands a larger two-story building. When we arrived, the landlady had just gone out of the mountains to buy things and hadn't returned. I walked around the building and found two sentences crookedly written on the wall: "I am Sima Qian, see you at Lingxian Palace."

I understood immediately; this thing was definitely written for me. But the calligraphy was terrible, crooked and illegible. Why was it written for me? Because my surname is Feng. Many people don't know the origin of this surname. One story goes that after Sima Qian was imprisoned, his family, fearing implication, changed their surnames. His eldest son, Sima Lin, added a vertical stroke to the character "Si" to change his surname to "Tong," and his second son, Sima Guan, added two horizontal strokes to the character "Ma" to change his surname to "Feng." I once boasted to Jin Laopian that I was a descendant of Sima Qian, so Qin Jianjun must know about this. As for Lingxian Hall, that's even more plausible. The notes mention more than once that the Mingtang (bright hall) of the Rongwang Tomb is called Lingxian Hall. It seems Qin Jianjun has already been here, and might even have left something for me.

So Tian Li and I waited patiently for the landlady to return. There was water in the vat and rice cakes and rice in the pot. The landlady didn't return until noon the next day.

After exchanging pleasantries with the proprietress for a while, I asked who wrote the two sentences on the wall. The proprietress looked up and thought for a long time before answering me: "These two sentences were written by a middle-aged man a few days ago. After he finished writing them, he told me that if anyone asked, I should ask them to show me the sign. If there was no sign, then forget about it."

I thought for a moment, what brand is it? Then a thought struck me, and I quickly showed my wrist the "Mountain-Piercing Armor" and handed it to the proprietress. She chuckled, "Hehe, it's exactly the same. That man had one like this too, he showed it to me, but it's not as heavy as yours. By the way, that man said you're a big tea-buying boss, and he had urgent business to attend to before heading into the mountains. He left a backpack with me and told you to go to Letosenma's house as soon as you get it, because they have the best tea there. If he can't wait for you to come, he'll come back in a few days to take it. Come on, follow me."

Tian Li and I smiled. Not bad, Lao Qin is quite meticulous. Contacting locals like this is indeed very safe. I just don't know what the meaning of "Letosenma family's tea" is. We'll have to ask them about it later.

The landlady pulled a backpack out from behind the house. Wow, it was quite heavy. I wondered what was inside. I didn't dare open it in front of her, in case there were some embarrassing contraband items inside, and I would be exposed. So I quickly took it and thanked her repeatedly.

The proprietress seemed to think I trusted her because I didn't check my backpack, and she liked me a lot, so she quickly went to the kitchen to make lunch for us.

Tian Li and I took the backpacks back to the room. When we opened them, as expected, they contained a lot of good stuff: a hunting knife, a tactical headlamp, a retractable steel cable, and a sealed waterproof bag. Strangely, there were two sets of cold-weather clothing and goggles for climbing snow mountains inside. I wondered what was going on.

Tian Li has a sharp eye. Seeing me in a daze, she slowly reached into her winter coat and pulled out a hunting rifle. The barrel had been sawed off, but it was in very good condition. There were also some shiny bullets piled in a small plastic bag. Tian Li held the gun and glared at me: "See? You've finally shown your true colors. Your Master Qin isn't here to find some jade box. He seems more like a highway robber, or maybe he's going to dig up some ancient tomb. Now that I know, I absolutely cannot allow it!"

I was also startled and didn't know how to explain for a moment. I looked down and found that Qin Jianjun had left a letter inside. The letter was very straightforward and had three main points. First, he expressed his gratitude to Mr. Feng and was very moved by the generous gift of the book to Mr. Jin to take back to the United States. He immediately used the sixteen black jade rings he had obtained from Rong Wang to decipher the cipher on the 'Dragon and Phoenix Jade Piece' on his hand. The contents of the letter were very shocking. He felt that the jade box lost in Rong Wang's tomb was especially important and that he needed to try, regardless of whether he could find it or not. So he quickly flew back to China.

The second layer of meaning is that after returning to Beijing, he originally intended to go to Tianjin immediately. However, after verifying an important clue with a friend, he learned that the secret of the Phoenix Dance Dragon Tower was hidden in Shaanxi. It was very likely that a shocking secret was buried under Phoenix Mountain, where Zhou Gong's tomb is located. His friend then asked a man named Lin Nan for help. In the process, he discovered that he was being followed. His friend told him that these people were very dangerous and that he was afraid of implicating you, so he hurriedly came to Nandan, Guangxi, and asked Jin Laopian to call you, hoping that you could come and help him. Now that you have read this letter, there is no need to say anything more.

The third layer of meaning is that you must be careful of the group you are following, as they all possess extraordinary abilities. I dare not linger in Nandan, Guangxi, waiting for you, so I went into the mountains first. The 'Dragon and Phoenix Jade Piece' says that the Phoenix Eye is a dangerous ancient treasure; improper use will cause serious consequences and leave endless harm. The explanation of the remedy ends there, suggesting that the jade box in Rongwang's tomb will definitely contain this explanation. This time, I had no choice but to revisit the old place. Combining this with the "Secret Techniques of Tianyuan Mountain and Water," I discovered that there are many more mysteries behind Rongwang's tomb. Therefore, I went into the mountains to find the jade box, hoping I could directly penetrate the Nine Thousand Mountains and find the 'Black Flame Tower and Luzhen Pavilion' on the main peak of the snow mountain. This would not only solve the remaining harm of the Phoenix Eye in one go, but might even allow me to ascend to immortality. So, be sure to take the snow mountain clothes I prepared for you and go find the man named Letosenma. He is the younger brother of an old comrade-in-arms, a member of the Jingshun tribe, very reliable, and will be a good guide.

I laughed when I read the end. The possibility of ascending to immortality? I'd only ever heard of shortcuts in Zhongnan Mountain, I never knew there were such shortcuts in the Ten Thousand Mountains of Nandan, Guangxi. Tian Li leaned over to look, shook her head, and said to me, "I think Qin Jianjun is just talking complete nonsense. I don't believe any of this. 'Black Flame Tower,' 'Luzhen Pavilion,' do such places really exist? Could it just be another code name for some great tomb?"

Chapter Twenty-Five

Carrying the Sky Lantern

Black Flame Tower? I quickly grabbed the paper and looked at it. Sure enough, those were the two characters. Strange, how come they looked so much like the Black Flame Lamp I hid in Tianjin? It couldn't be such a coincidence. Seeing that Tian Li didn't believe me at all, I had to explain: "Little Tian, only when our minds are liberated can we correctly use Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought as our guide to solve the problems left over from the past and a series of newly emerging problems. For some situations that are not yet clear, we shouldn't rush to make decisions. Only in this way can we ensure the correctness of our decisions or policies and achieve good results. As for the series of problems we are currently facing, I think we can do this: divide them into two parts and look at them separately."

Tian Li was a little confused by what I said. She brandished her shotgun to stop me from continuing my rambling: "Hey, hey, save it. You were quite refined when we were in school. How did you turn into a Beijing scoundrel? Okay, stop talking. I hate hearing these kinds of nagging."

I smiled and said, "Xiao Tian, think about it. If we retreat like this, Lao Qin will be fighting alone. What if we fail and there are serious consequences? Serious consequences! What if we ruin this beautiful land of Guangxi? I can't bear it."

Tian Li pursed her lips, her attitude softening slightly: "You don't actually want to be a hero? Saving the people from suffering? Do you think you're that noble?"

I quickly said solemnly, "No, true heroes are martyrs! I don't want to be a martyr."

Tian Li chuckled and was about to scold me when she suddenly heard a noise outside. She went closer to the door and peeked out. She saw another group of people, seven or eight big men. One of them, a lame man with a gloomy face, looked like a Miao person. The rest were all Han people. I learned in Liuzhou that the clothing of ethnic minority men is generally simple. The most common clothing is a headscarf, a short jacket with a front opening, and wide and short trousers. They are mostly blue and green. The Miao people mainly live in Rongshui Miao Autonomous County.

This lame man was dressed rather flamboyantly; I guess he was a Miao person. His clothes were covered in embroidery, making him particularly eye-catching. The embroidery was also very ornate, using various silk threads such as red, blue, purple, and yellow, making it look exquisite. I really don't know if this was his ethnic costume or if he wore these clothes every day. Paired with his gloomy face, it added a lot of eeriness.

I was still resentful about being bewitched by the Miao people, and Qin Jianjun had told me to be careful, so after a quick glance, I rushed back to tell Tian Li, "Big trouble is coming. I don't know if it's targeting me. It looks like we really can't leave for the time being. This place is their territory. Look at those big men's backpacks, they're bulging. They might be hiding weapons. It could be a big criminal gang."

Tian Li sensed the presence of crime and became excited. After all, being promoted to a first-level police inspector so quickly was no small feat. An excited look flashed across her eyes. I quickly stopped her and said, "Don't look. I think those seedlings are very strange. Don't let him notice anything. There are many of them. We can only outsmart them. Besides, they may not necessarily be bad people."

Tian Li rolled her eyes at me: "Do you think I'm stupid? If this place isn't a local coming to trade tea, then so many outsiders coming at once are probably suspicious. Have you seen so many outsiders along the way? I want to see what these people look like. If there's something wrong with them, I can tell at a glance. My skill is many times better than yours."

In the short time that followed, all those people left, without giving Tian Li a chance to examine the criminals closely. I was actually glad that the landlady hadn't rashly called us down for dinner. Otherwise, in this deep mountain forest, they might have ambushed us as soon as we left. Now, at least we're in the shadows while they're in the open, which makes things much better.

As soon as the group left, Tian Li and I quickly came downstairs, and the landlady brought out the food. We ate and talked.

After eating for a while, I tentatively asked the proprietress, "What were those people doing just now? Were they also buying tea? They looked so suspicious, they didn't seem like good people."

The proprietress readily replied, "Yes, they really aren't good people. They've come twice recently, and both times they didn't even eat before leaving in a hurry. They're not tea buyers at all. In my opinion, they're probably some kind of shamans, especially that Hua Miao. I heard they're very good at witchcraft, and those people who know that are almost extinct now, so I would never dare to mess with them. You should also be careful and make sure you don't provoke them."

Tian Li interjected, "What does 'carrying the sky lantern' mean? I don't understand what it means."

The proprietress sighed and said, "These people who carry sky lanterns have only appeared in the last ten years. We didn't have such bad people here before. In the last ten years or so, a group of Han people came from somewhere. I heard that it was organized by a boss from Beijing. They somehow got together with some bad Miao people here and often wander around these mountains with a group of people. The reason they carry sky lanterns is because our mountain is also called Youlong Mountain, which means tailless dragon. In recent years, sometimes black smoke rises from the top of the snow mountain, and many fiery stones fall from the sky and land on the top of the snow mountain. These people often go up to pick them up. Picking up stones is not illegal, but every time they come back after picking up stones, they will ravage the nearby villages. Many girls have been violated by them, and some children have been kidnapped and disappeared without a trace. Alas, they are very evil!"

I was furious and blurted out, "What about the government? What have the public security and armed police been doing?"

The proprietress was even more unhappy: "The government is far away. If something happens here, by the time they arrive, it will be too late. Otherwise, I wouldn't have arranged for Peacock to marry off so early and go far away. I'm leaving now and will come back in a few days to hide. I can't afford to offend these people."

Tian Li asked, somewhat distressed, "Since you knew these people were bad, weren't the people around here on guard?"

The proprietress replied, "Defense? We can't get good guns; the government won't let us buy them. The thugs have guns, and the government can't catch them. Our gunpowder guns are no good at all. Plus, they outnumber us and keep kidnapping girls and children. We can't fight them off, so we have to hide. Every time they come down the mountain, they carry heavy things on their shoulders, and many of them look terrible, like dead people. They couldn't kidnap any girls, so they once wiped out an entire family, which alerted the armed police. They conducted a dragnet search for several days, and then these people and the armed police disappeared for several years. They only reappeared in the last two months. Because we habitually call those falling sparks from the sky 'sky lanterns,' we started calling them 'sky lantern carriers.' Later, I heard the Han people get angry, saying that the name sounds like 'lighting sky lanterns,' and they forbid us from calling them that. By the way, what does 'lighting sky lanterns' mean?"

Tian Li was too angry to speak, so I could only reply to the landlady, "Lighting people up in the sky is an extremely cruel punishment. Generally speaking, people who have committed serious crimes are stripped naked, wrapped in layers of burlap, and soaked in an oil vat for a day. At night, they are impaled headfirst on a tall, straight iron pole, and then lit from the feet up. With the oil absorbed by the burlap and the body's own oil, they often burn all night long, only dying at dawn. Seeing how inhuman they are, they truly deserve to be burned up in the sky!" Finally, I cursed viciously.

The proprietress was startled: "Lighting a sky lantern is so tragic! My goodness."

The three of us stopped talking and focused on eating. After we finished, I asked the landlady to tell us where that guy, Letosenma, was so I could go find him. I packed up the tea leaves and left as soon as possible.

The landlady told me not to rush. After clearing the table, emptying the food and water tanks, and locking the door, she said to us, "You should hurry up and finish what you need to do so as to leave. Otherwise, it will be troublesome when they come down from the mountain. I've hidden all the food and drinks so that anyone who comes will know something is wrong and won't go in. If we happen to run into them, those guys carrying sky lanterns are capable of robbing and killing us."

The landlady saw us off for quite a distance, pointed out a road, and then went back, saying she was going to hide at the peacock's house for a few days before returning. She said we knew where the food and water were hidden, and we just needed to hide them exactly as they were when we left. I insisted on giving the landlady some money before saying goodbye.

It was almost dusk when we arrived. Unfortunately, a funeral was being held in the village of Letosenma. Tian Li and I asked several people before we finally found them. We learned that Letosenma's Han name was Xu Qun, around thirty years old. He was a very capable man, not very talkative, and always chewing on his tobacco. He wore a black short jacket with a front opening, short and wide trousers, a white headscarf, and a cotton and linen bag and a long knife hanging from his waist.

Tian Li and I then learned that the Jingshun people are a branch of the Jingpo people. After migrating to northern Guangxi, they gradually began to call themselves Jingshun people. In fact, they still retain all the customs and habits of the Jingpo people. No wonder, in the great Chinese family, I didn't remember there was a Jingshun ethnic group. So that's how it is!

During Jingpo funerals, dancing continues all night long; the longer the dance lasts, the more honorable the family appears. Outside the house, dancers shout "Oh re, oh re!" with vigorous and powerful movements, while inside, dancers circumambulate the corpse to the rhythm of deep, medium-tempo songs and gongs.

The songs they sang weren't particularly sad, but rather had a joyful quality. We couldn't understand the lyrics, but Letossenma explained that they mainly sang about why people die, recounting the deceased's life and how they taught their descendants how to be good people, to work hard, and to express gratitude for the deceased's nurturing, etc.

Letossen was a man of great character. Knowing we were coming, he worried we might be tired and unaccustomed to the scene, so he led us to his place to rest early on. As we passed the door, he told me, "The houses here usually have three doors. The first door is for family and guests; the third door leads to the drying platform; the second door is called the Ghost Gate, which is for the dead to be carried out and for ghosts to enter and exit. Family and outsiders are forbidden from entering the Ghost Gate. Do you believe that all things have ghosts? We offer sacrifices to ghosts when we encounter misfortune, and it's quite effective."

Seeing that Tian Li was already very tired, I honestly replied, "Brother Letosenma, to be honest, I don't believe it."

Letossenma raised an eyebrow: "Oh! Is that so? I've lived in your Han Chinese area. Many people use ghosts to scare others, but they don't believe in them at all. Hehe, but everyone has their own ambitions, I understand. From now on, just call me Lao Xu, it'll be easier to say."

The Jingpo people are a simple and hospitable ethnic group. Old Xu's wife and children were helping out at another family's house in the village, so he was all alone at home. Feeling embarrassed, he prepared a table of food and drinks to treat us and earnestly urged us to eat and drink more. Tian Li and I hadn't eaten enough at noon and were both very hungry, so we ate heartily without any hesitation.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Delicate Relationship

I think we shouldn't tell Lao Xu about the people carrying the sky lanterns yet. We'll definitely run into them on this trip up the mountain. With Tian Li's skills, we can hide in the shadows and maybe get rid of this menace. I'm also worried that these people who have shown themselves might be related to the 'Black Flame Tower' and 'Luzhen Pavilion' that I'm looking for.

Seeing that we had almost finished eating, I chatted with Lao Xu about how easy it was to climb Youlong Mountain, how long it would take to get up there, and whether Qin Jianjun had left any messages for him.

Old Xu seemed to have spent a lot of time in the mainland, as he spoke Mandarin quite well and knew many local customs. By this time, he had drunk enough wine, so he leaned closer, grabbed my shoulder, and said, "Little Feng, have you ever been up a snow mountain? Judging from your physique, you're probably not as strong as your wife. We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning. If everything goes smoothly, we can camp halfway up the mountain by dark. We should reach the summit by noon the day after tomorrow. The road is difficult to walk. I really don't understand why Brother Hu wants me to take you up there. There are many strange places on the summit. If something happens, I really don't know how I'll explain it. If it weren't for Brother Hu taking care of me, I wouldn't be where I am today. After my brother sacrificed his life, only Brother Hu came to visit my family and has been sending me money ever since. He's such a good person. Don't worry, brother, I, Old Xu, will definitely take you and your wife up there. I will definitely do what Brother Hu asked me to do."

Tian Li was embarrassed by Lao Xu calling her "your wife" repeatedly. Coupled with the host's hospitality, she had no choice but to drink a little wine, making her face even redder. She glared at me, telling me to explain quickly. But that glare made my heart flutter. I thought Tian Li, dressed casually, was incredibly beautiful. Rubbing against the low table against her ample breasts, she exuded charm and allure. Her short hair made her look even more refreshing and cute. I stared blankly, speechless.

Seeing my expression, Tian Li felt even more embarrassed. She probably guessed what I was thinking, so she turned her head away and stopped looking at me.

I snapped out of my daze and cursed myself for being so fickle. Over the past few days, I had thought of Han Yena less and less, which was really wrong of me.

Seeing that Lao Xu was getting sleepy, I quickly asked him, "Is there anything strange at the top of the mountain? Lao Xu, don't sleep yet, let's discuss what to bring up the mountain."

Old Xu mumbled in a daze, "It's very strange. I heard there are monsters up there, and a lot of dead people. We don't need to bring anything. Brother Hu has prepared everything. You should all get some rest and not stay up too late. We have to travel tomorrow."