Arts anciens et merveilleux

Chapitre 17

It's like when your boss asks you to finish a draft. At first, you're completely overwhelmed and don't know where to begin, but you're absolutely confident that you'll complete the task before the deadline, and do a good job!

"That's wonderful!" I said happily.

"I don't know why I dream about so many things, or whether the scenes in the dreams are real. But those images definitely didn't come from the TV shows or books I've watched."

"Hmm, there's something I didn't ask you earlier. You said you heard a sigh when you started having nightmares, and then you woke up, is that right?"

"Yes, what's wrong?"

"Approximately what time?"

"After I went back to my room to wash up, I sat quietly for a while and had a brief conversation with the gods before going to sleep. It must have been within one or two hours after we parted. What happened?"

“I was chatting with Tian Juan at the time, and when we were almost finished, I thought I heard a sigh coming from the corner of our room near the door. I initially thought it was a hallucination, but since you said you also heard a sigh, I just thought it was a bit strange.”

"Oh, can you tell if it's a man or a woman's voice?" Jiang Ping asked curiously.

"I felt it was a man. I suspect someone was eavesdropping on our conversation! Because Tian Juan told me her mother's love story with Mr. Bian, which was very sad. That sigh came right after Tian Juan finished speaking." I tried my best to recall, but I wasn't entirely sure.

"Could it be a thief? This is supposed to be a decent hotel, after all."

"I was just asking casually. Um, what are your plans for tomorrow?"

"Haha, now we can only live for today, for tomorrow we may die!" He stretched his back.

"Oh, if the clan chief's ghost can appear in dreams, he said he couldn't communicate with Grandpa Sun. I don't think that's true; he could definitely appear in dreams!" I wasn't satisfied with his negative view and changed the subject.

"Ordinary ghosts wouldn't dare approach Grandpa Sun's body, but of course, the clan chief isn't an ordinary ghost. I think he might not be very satisfied and is looking for another earth god! Or he might not be very confident in his own magical power."

"So he dared to approach you so openly yesterday, you must have lost face!" I said with a laugh.

Jiang Ping's face suddenly changed, and he fell silent.

I was startled and quickly apologized, saying, "No way, it's just a joke, it doesn't have to be like this!"

He quickly came to his senses: "No, thank you for reminding me! Keeping ghosts away is the guardian deity's job, it has nothing to do with me. The deity hasn't changed, it's just that I can't control it at will yet! Strange, could it be that the deity temporarily left me yesterday, and then the clan leader took advantage of the situation? I'll have to consult the deity properly tonight!"

"Yes, we should definitely ask them carefully. Maybe the gods themselves have gone to explore that land and already come up with a solution! We're just worrying unnecessarily."

"I hope so!"

Like many places across the country, there are small stools or similar seats in the aisle of long-distance passenger buses. Jiang Ping sat on one side of the aisle, next to a young woman with a child. She looked kind and honest, and besides the child, she was carrying a bunch of large and small bags.

Jiang Ping kindly helped her put her bag on the luggage rack, and the woman thanked him repeatedly in her dialect.

The bus hadn't been driving for long when it was almost past the highway toll station. The ticket seller shouted, "Those in the middle seats, bend down so the checkpoint staff don't see you! Overloading will cost you fifty yuan a month!"

The woman was too fat, and the seat was too low, so it was difficult for her to bend over. Her face turned red, and the child was also very uncomfortable from being squeezed, so he started to cry loudly.

The ticket seller was grumbling and cursing in frustration. Jiang Ping said to the woman, "Sister-in-law, you can sit in my seat, let's switch!"

"How can we do that?" the woman said, moved.

She looked at me hesitantly, probably thinking we were a couple, because she couldn't sit properly after taking the seats apart. What a kind person!

I quickly said, "It's okay!"

She thanked me profusely and changed seats. Perhaps feeling embarrassed, she struck up a conversation with me: "Young lady, where are you from?"

I recognized her accent; it sounded a bit like the clan chief's. A thought popped into my head.

Jiang Ping has already answered for me.

The woman exclaimed with delight, "What a coincidence! I'm going there too! Are you visiting relatives?"

Jiang Ping and I exchanged a glance. It really came to us without any effort!

"I'm not visiting relatives. My ancestors lived here, but we lost contact with them. I've come back to see where my ancestors lived."

The woman asked happily, "Oh, which township and village are you from?"

Jiang Ping took out a piece of paper and showed it to her while reading some traditional Chinese characters.

"Do you know where this is?" I asked hopefully.

“I’ve never heard of this mountain, though it’s in our village. There are mountains everywhere in our area, so I don’t know which one it is. Why don’t we go back and I’ll have my husband take you to look for it?” The woman seemed even more disappointed than we were.

“Many of the places we’re visiting used to be inhabited by many people, but now they’re just barren mountains with no inhabitants. However, more than eighty years ago, a mudslide completely submerged the villages. Now, the area is surrounded by forests, with only a small patch of wasteland in the middle covered in grass. Oh, right, that place is near the Jinsha River. Do you remember it?” Jiang Ping said.

The woman shook her head in confusion and said, "There are many barren mountains near the river in our area, and few people go to many of these places."

Undeterred, Jiang Ping continued his description: "In the middle of that barren mountain, there was a high earthen platform, and near the river, there were stone steps."

The woman still looked bewildered: "I'm so sorry, I don't know. I grew up there and have explored all the mountains around here, but how do you know so much about it?"

My heart sank; I hadn't expected that finding a place would be such a hassle.

Jiang Ping gave a wry smile and said, "I am a deceased ancestor who had an unfulfilled wish, and I was told this in a dream."

I thought this would surprise her, but to my surprise, she looked serious and said sincerely, "Oh, I see! Don't worry, I promise I'll have my man and brothers accompany you to find it so you can fulfill your vow."

The trail went cold again. Although somewhat disappointing, we were sure the chieftain would give us some guidance.

We chatted for a while and learned that her surname was Li and her husband's surname was Wang. We also learned that the area is inhabited by a mix of Yi, Miao, and Han people, but the Han people are the most numerous.

The entire route was through mountains. It must have rained overnight, because waterfalls often cascaded down from the mountainsides and fell into the emerald green river at the foot of the mountains, where the water flowed quietly.

The sky was so blue it was almost crystal clear, and white clouds rose from the mountains from time to time, making one wonder if they were in a dream.

After chatting for a while, two or three large buses passed us, carrying young students who sang loudly all the way, making the quiet and remote mountain road seem particularly lively.

The driver happily sped up and followed behind, only reluctantly being pulled off when someone got off halfway.

The woman smiled and offered to explain: "There's a military base over there. Every year around this time, university students from Kunming go there for military training before starting their studies."

I remembered that the driver had mentioned serving in the military here, so I quickly called him, but unfortunately, the cell phone signal was so bad that I couldn't get through.

Around noon, we arrived at our destination, a small town. Jiang Ping and I discussed it briefly and then called the hotel from the town, asking the front desk to tell Mr. Bian and his group to come over tomorrow at noon.

We discussed it and decided to go to Sister Li's house with her husband so he could help us find it. Sister Li's husband came to greet his wife carrying a basket. Sister Li gave us a brief introduction, and the man smiled sheepishly as a greeting.

He took the basket off the ground, put the child in the cloth bag, and carried the child by the legs. Sister Li, on the other hand, put the large and small bags in the basket and carried them on her back; clearly, her work was much heavier than her husband's.

Jiang Ping winked at me. I think he must have read the National Geographic article about Yunnan, which said that Yunnan has seven strange things. Among them, besides the eggs being sold tied up, there is also the fact that women go out to work while men take care of the children at home. Sure enough, it's true.

We couldn't bear to see Sister Li carrying such a large basket up the mountain path, so we each carried a small bag for her. She turned around and repeatedly said no, no, she was used to it. Her husband also looked at us with surprise, probably because it's a common custom here for women to do heavy work.

People passed by frequently along the way, most of them carrying baskets. I also saw a young couple; the man carried their child in front, and his wife followed two or three meters behind, carrying a large basket.

It wasn't very far; it took about an hour and a half to walk, and I could faintly hear the rushing sound of the river.

"Is that the Jinsha River ahead?" I asked excitedly.

"Yes, we're almost there!" Sister Li said, wiping away sweat and slightly out of breath.

Around 12:00, we arrived at Sister Li's village. Compared to the few small houses we often saw in the mountains along the way, this village was quite large. There was a small river in front of the house, and a simple bamboo bridge spanned it.

The house was basically made of earth, with corn hanging all over the walls. Apart from the dish-like antenna on the roof, it was probably similar to what the clan chief had done back then. Of course, there was also a portrait of Chairman Mao in the middle of the house.

The house was very empty, with almost no furniture. In the side room, there was a bed with a rope hanging diagonally across it, covered with clothes.

While we were cooking, the man led us around. The people here all had very white teeth. They ate together, holding large ceramic bowls, chatting as they ate.

Jiang Ping produced a pack of Hongtashan cigarettes from who-knows-where and handed one to each of the middle-aged men and the old man. They were all flattered and stood up, carefully accepting the cigarettes; their earlier reserve and doubt immediately turned into warmth and trust.

Life is still tough, and perhaps that's why people haven't been corrupted by money, and their folk customs are still very simple and honest, as can be seen from their kind smiles.

Jiang Ping chatted casually with them for a while, quickly becoming familiar with them. I really had to admire his extensive knowledge; he knew everything about reforestation programs, subsidies, local cash crops, and even lacquer trees and tobacco. These were things the villagers were familiar with, so it was easy to find topics to talk about. Although I'm a journalist and know a lot about agricultural news, I have to admit I didn't really pay attention; I just expressed some empty indignation.

After chatting for a while, Jiang Ping mentioned the name of that barren mountain. Like Sister Li, they were also very confused, but no one seemed to be mocking them. They were filled with awe at the idea of a dream coming true.

Just as the inquiry was about to fall through, Sister Li called from afar, saying the food was almost ready. I was unwilling to give up.

Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he asked, "Are there any particularly strange, desolate mountains around here?"

They blinked and stared at me blankly, and Jiang Ping quickly understood what I meant.

He explained in detail: "She means, are there any strange mountains around here, such as those where it rains for no reason, where people who go in come out with strange illnesses or even die from them, or where the vegetation is unusually lush?"

Surprisingly, this time their eyes didn't show confusion, but rather fear. They didn't speak, but just by looking at their eyes, I knew I had hit the nail on the head.

A slightly younger man tentatively asked, "Are you talking about the sacred mountain of the Miao people?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Jiang Ping's face flushed with excitement. "Where is it?"

"It's about ten miles from here, but nobody has ever dared to go there!" The young man said, shivering.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Ping asked anxiously.

“I don’t know, you should ask the older folks,” the young man said, pointing to one of the men, who was in his sixties.

The old man coughed and said, "In fact, none of us have been to that mountain. I heard that the mountain was haunted when I was very young. People who used to live nearby often heard countless ghosts crying on the mountain in the middle of the night. When I was a child, no one lived there anymore."

Elderly Miao people often hold ceremonies at the foot of the mountain, but they dare not go up. Nobody knows why. A few years ago, during the Cultural Revolution, two educated youth ignored the locals' advice and went to the sacred mountain. Not long after they returned, one drowned while swimming, and the other was bitten to death by a poisonous snake. Tsk tsk, how pitiful! A few years ago, when the educated youth returned, they even held a memorial service for those two young people who died.

More than ten years ago, during a crackdown by the Public Security Bureau, some murderers and arsonists hid in those mountains. They either died on the mountain or died shortly after being released.

Did they say they saw anything?

"I heard that after those two educated youths came back, they encouraged the locals to reclaim wasteland on that mountain, saying that the grass was growing wildly and the soil was extremely fertile, but who would dare to go there!"

"Oh, that's great! You can lead us there later, just point us the way from a distance!" Jiang Ping said.

"You absolutely must not go there! Going there is a dead end!" the old man said fearfully. "I heard from the Miao people there that it's their ancestral burial ground, and even they dare not go there."

“My dream was about this mountain. It is indeed haunted because their wishes were not fulfilled. I came here to help them fulfill their vows,” Jiang Ping said confidently.

"Is it true?" People looked at him with suspicion. "But you'd better not risk your life!"

"Hey, come back for dinner!" Sister Li urged again.

Just as we were about to leave, a young woman who had been listening nearby for a while suddenly said timidly, "Could I have a cigarette?"

No one around her spoke; they just sighed and looked at her. She looked haggard, but she was a very pretty woman. Her clothes were patched all over, but they were very clean.

Jiang Ping took out a few cigarettes and distributed them around, then gave the rest to the woman. She was so moved that she bowed and ran away quickly.

On the way back to Sister Li's house, Brother Wang told her about the woman. He said her husband was a renowned hunter, but they had only been married for two years. Last year, he fell ill and couldn't work, leaving the family desperately poor. The man was a heavy smoker, and the woman was getting cigarettes for him.

Sister Li prepared a plate of eggs, a plate of stir-fried cured pork with chili peppers, and a plate of green vegetables. It was clear that this was all the food they could offer to entertain their distinguished guests.

Brother Wang took out a bottle of corn liquor and drank with Jiang Ping. During the meal, Sister Li also advised us not to go so easily. She said, "I heard from the older generation that the educated youth said there were many fruit trees around that barren mountain, and the fruit on them was very big. There were also many small animals there. It's strange that the locals don't go there to farm. Alas, scholars who have read too many books think they are something special, and they don't even care about gods and ghosts."

That piece of land was reserved for the gods. Mortals already have so much land; why are they greedily trying to take it from them? Isn't that like an egg hitting a rock?

We didn't know how to explain the whole story to this kind woman; we couldn't lie to her, so we could only nod and agree.

After a while, the conversation turned to the hunter, and Sister Li suddenly lowered her voice and said, "If you hadn't reminded me, I would have forgotten. Do you know how Ayan contracted the disease?"