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墨書 Inktalez
The deeper we ventured into the mountains, the denser the vegetation became. Unlike the lower areas where lumberjacks frequently managed the trees, this remote region was rarely disturbed by human presence.
Here, the light had turned dim, and the environment began to feel damp. The ground was littered with fallen branches, overgrown weeds, and animal bones.
Crows perched atop the trees occasionally let out their harsh cries...
We were already drenched in sweat and panting heavily when Fat Ma complained, "Since returning from the countryside, I haven't climbed such a high mountain!"
I chuckled, "Fatty, it seems you've forgotten about the re-education of Poor Peasant Farmers after enjoying good days for too long."
Fat Ma, exhausted, cursed at me, "Old Sun, stop with your sarcastic remarks."
To be honest, after climbing for so long, I felt completely lost. Looking ahead, I couldn't discern any clues; the visibility around us was limited, making it impossible to gauge our direction. This undoubtedly added to my mental burden.
Just as I was about to speak again, the tree made a gesture for silence.
I whispered, "What's wrong?"
The tree's expression grew serious, but he didn't answer me. He then gestured for us to lower our bodies.
His actions made me feel a bit more tense.
He pressed forward into the forest and returned after about five minutes.
"It's nothing," he said in a taut voice.
Fat Ma asked the tree, "What did you discover just now?"
"That's a Wild Brown Bear; it can eat people!" Dazhu replied.
Fat Ma then said, "Why should we be afraid of it? We have guns."
"This kind of Shotgun can't even pierce its hide," Dazhu scoffed. Fat Ma's voice faltered at his words.
"Let's go!" Dazhu commanded.
We gathered our thoughts and continued on our way. After walking for a while, Niren leaned closer to my ear and whispered something. I felt the same way; we seemed to be taking a long detour.
I voiced my confusion.
Dazhu impatiently replied, "To avoid unnecessary trouble, just follow me! Don't ask too many questions."
I was at a loss for words after his retort and fell silent.
Night was quickly approaching. We cleared a space and built a campfire, heating up our prepared rations for a simple meal.
The temperature dropped further as night fell. We huddled around the fire chatting, while Dazhu set up his tent alone, preparing to sleep.
"I wonder if we'll reach our destination tomorrow," Fat Ma said.
Niren poked the flames with a stick and softly remarked, "We're not moving deeper; we're going sideways!"
"What do you mean?" Fat Ma asked.
I understood what Niren was implying, so I told Fat Ma, "We might not make it tomorrow either."
Fat Ma lit a cigarette, took a puff, and tossed it into the fire, where it was instantly consumed by the flames.
At that moment, the Tree reminded us, "Don't let the campfire go out, or something bad will happen." After saying that, he burrowed into the tent!
What a strange person. I wondered to myself whether having such a guide was a blessing or a curse. The sky was completely dark, and all the animals and plants seemed to retreat into the night; silence was a synonym for night.
The three of us were still chatting.
Perhaps I couldn't shake off my worries about Hills, which made me feel a bit anxious.
Fat Ma pulled out a cigarette at some point. As he bent down to light it, I noticed a pair of glowing eyes in the woods behind him.
I jumped up immediately, but the glowing eyes vanished in an instant. I warned them.
They all turned their gaze behind us but found nothing.
Fat Ma turned back and told me to relax, saying, "There are many animals in the mountains; plenty of them have glowing eyes. The eyes of my old Fat Cat used to glow too."
Seeing my expression still uneasy, the Mud Man chimed in, "What Fat Ma said is true!"
"No, those glowing eyes were at a certain height," I explained. Then I stood up and gestured to indicate they were about chest level. Suddenly remembering what the Tree had said about grizzly bears earlier, I asked them, "Could it be a grizzly bear?"
The Mud Man's expression grew tense under the firelight, and Fat Ma looked similarly concerned; I noticed he had already picked up his shotgun.
Fat Ma stood up and walked toward the woods behind us, with the Mud Man and me following closely behind.
However, when we got closer, we found nothing there.
"It must have already left," the Mud Man said.
Once Fat Ma relaxed, he remarked, "With Fat Master around, it wouldn't dare show itself."
It made sense; with so many of us around, a brown bear shouldn't dare to show itself. Just as the three of us returned to the campfire, a howl pierced the night, and Fat Ma was knocked down from behind.
All we heard was Fat Ma cursing, "Damn!" The situation had unfolded too suddenly. However, Fat Ma struggled and managed to roll away, breaking free.
At that moment, I finally reacted, but the shadow didn't pause for even a second; it darted into the woods with a swift motion.
Fat Ma's temper flared, and he immediately gave chase.
I followed suit, and after calling out to Mud Man, he joined us as well.
The figure moved quickly through the trees, vanishing into the darkness of the night. Fat Ma was running ahead when I shouted to him, "Stop chasing!"
There was no choice for Fat Ma; without any light, everything around us was left in darkness.
We turned back to the campfire.
Fat Ma sat down angrily and cursed, "If I catch that thing, I'll roast it into Zongzi Bear."
"That wasn't a brown bear," Mud Man suddenly spoke up.
"What do you mean it wasn't? What the hell was it then?" Fat Ma asked.
Although the light had been dim earlier, I was also certain that it wasn't a brown bear; if it had been, Fat Ma wouldn't have escaped so easily.
Mud Man added, "It looked more like a person!"
This statement shocked me. Forget about the fat guy; Fat Ma, still shaken, said, "Could it be a wild man? I've heard those things eat people and leave no bones behind!"
I felt a chill run down my spine as I listened. After Fat Ma mentioned it, I realized that what we had encountered earlier did resemble a wild man, though it was a bit shorter in stature.
Fat Ma awkwardly shifted his body and adjusted his sitting position. "I think we shouldn't sleep tonight. We don't want to wake up tomorrow and find ourselves in pieces!"
"We still need to sleep," I whispered. "Otherwise, we won't have the strength to travel tomorrow."
"Then you all sleep! I'll keep watch," Fat Ma insisted. He added, "I'd rather die with my eyes wide open than die without knowing what happened. At least I can explain myself when I get to Yama."
Mud Man chuckled, "Fatty, when did you become such a coward?"
Provoked by him, Fat Ma immediately replied seriously, "What have I been afraid of all these years? Mud Man, stop talking nonsense! If you want, we can practice right now."
Mud Man quickly declined, saying, "Let's skip that and save our energy for dealing with the brown bear!"
After a while, Mud Man and I set up a tent to keep watch. I told Fat Ma, "If you get tired later, just wake me up."
Fat Ma agreed and sat alone by the fire.
I crawled into the tent, and soon drowsiness overtook me; before I knew it, I had fallen asleep… entering a dream…
I don't know how long it was before my dream was abruptly cut off, and I woke up drenched in cold sweat.
Seeing that Mud Man was still sound asleep beside me, I didn't disturb him and crawled out of the tent.
Fat Ma was idly poking at the flames, humming an off-color joke. As I approached, I must have stepped on a dry twig because Fat Ma reacted quickly with his shotgun raised. When he saw me, he slowly lowered it and cursed, "Old Sun, what the hell are you doing out here at night?" It seemed that I had indeed startled him. Once I sat down beside him, he said, "Your face looks like it's been coated with lime powder!"
I awkwardly touched my face and then recounted the nightmare I'd just had. In the dream, everyone had vanished; I was left alone in this vast forest. The key point was that the dream felt incredibly real.
After a while, I suddenly started running, even I didn't know why I was running so frantically, as if my body was no longer under my control.
Finally, I stumbled into a pitch-black entrance and woke up.
"Old Sun, you haven't done something shameful, have you?" Fat Ma stared at me and chuckled.
I denied it, "I have always been upright and honest!"
Fat Ma scoffed at my words. I said, "Let's get serious! Fatty, you go to sleep; let me keep watch."
It was already late at night. Fat Ma replied, "Forget it! It's almost dawn!"
I glanced at my wristwatch and said, "What nonsense! It's not even midnight yet." I managed to convince Fat Ma to go to sleep.
Sitting alone by the fire, Fat Ma had left me the shotgun, saying that if anything happened, I should just call for him and absolutely not fire it, as it could easily misfire.
"Then why did you leave it with me?" I asked.
Fat Ma didn't respond and crawled into the tent. Soon enough, I could hear him snoring.
At that moment, a gust of cold wind blew through, causing the flames to flicker uncertainly. I couldn't help but shiver.
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