I blew into the bowl, lowered my head and took two sips. I felt my stomach getting warm and full. I raised my head and was about to say thank you when I was startled by the girl’s expression.
She held her cheeks and looked at me infatuatedly, the corners of her mouth almost curved to her ears.
“Ah Lang, you are so handsome. I have never seen an Ah Lang as handsome as you.”
I was stunned for a moment. The girls in these mountains are so simple and bold, not shy at all. But I don’t want to get into any romantic troubles in these mountains at all.
Besides, my sexual orientation is not that of a woman.
I smiled at her politely: “Thank you.”
As if she remembered something, the girl pouted her lips again and her eyes dimmed: “What a pity, my father said you are God…”
“Ding-ling-ling”, suddenly, the sound of a string of copper bells striking each other came from outside the door.
“Masuo, the food is ready. Hurry and bring that Xiao Ah Lang out for us to see!”
“Ah, coming!” So her name was Masuo.
“Shiwo[mfn]Basically, it’s a dialect meaning eating. It was used when that person asked them to come out to eat earlier[/mfn]?” I asked. This word was no longer within my understanding.
“We, together.” The girl made a gesture of eating, then pointed to a slightly faded deep blue fur-collared robe hanging on the wall. “That belonged to my father. It’s cold outside, Ah Lang. Wear it, so you don’t catch a chill.”
The wooden door was pushed open, and the sunlight pouring in made it difficult for me to open my eyes. I raised my hand, and the gaps between my fingers were stained red.
It took me a while to adjust to the outside world before I could see the outside world clearly. It was already evening, and I put down my hands. The first thing I saw was the snow-capped mountains floating in the golden and red sunset above the forest in the distance, like a fairyland in the palace of God. I was shocked in my heart. I don’t know why the haze and distracting thoughts that had been lingering in my heart for nearly a year seemed to have miraculously calmed down just by looking at the snow on the top of the snow-capped mountain.
The biting mountain wind of late October blew in my face and poured into my collar. I shivered and then came to my senses. I fumbled for the belt hanging behind my waist and fastened it.
“Ah Lang! Come here and eat!”
I heard Masuo’s shouting not far away. I looked in her direction and saw a group of people sitting around a bonfire and a hanging stove, including men, women, old and young.
I don’t like crowds, but this scene makes me feel harmonious and beautiful, and I even have the urge to draw that I haven’t had for a long time. It’s a pity that there are no painting materials here. I rubbed my hot palms with my thumbs, I’ll ask Masuo to find me some later. Maybe I can use local materials.
Thinking of this, I couldn’t wait any longer and strode towards them.
They were originally talking and laughing, but when I approached them, they fell silent and all looked at me. I only then noticed that these mountain people, like Masuo, all had unhealthy dark circles under their eyes, making their eyes appear large and lifeless. Although I knew they had no ill intentions, I still felt goosebumps and a little embarrassed when they looked at me like that.
“Hello, I… let me introduce myself. My name is Qin Ran, I’m from Jiangcheng, and I’m a painter. I had a car accident halfway up the mountain, and it was Masuo’s father who saved me.”
“I know, I know, you’re the young man that Sangbuluo brought back.” An old mountain man holding a pipe laughed, patting the empty felt mat beside him. “Come, come sit here, we’re just waiting for you to start the meal.”
I scratched my fingers uncomfortably, followed their posture and half-knelt on the felt mat, smiling and nodding to them. But somehow, when I knelt, several elderly mountain people lowered their heads as if they dared not look me in the eye, and their eyes were a little evasive. I felt a little strange, but I saw that several young people smiled at me heartily. A boy of sixteen or seventeen was the most enthusiastic, showing a pair of small tiger teeth, pulling a leg from the roasted lamb on the hanging stove, and handing it to me: “Ah Lang, you eat, guest, eat the best one.”
“How rude, basha!” A middle-aged man next to him slapped the boy’s hand hard, and the lamb leg almost fell to the ground, but he snatched it away and handed it to me with both hands. He laughed, and a mouthful of white teeth appeared on his dark face: “Xiao Ah Lang, you eat, eat.”
I felt that they were too polite to me, so I took it with both hands in fear and trepidation. Seeing that the mountain people around me were staring at me, I quickly took a bite of the lamb leg and praised it with my mouth full of oil. Only then did I see them smile and start to eat the big chunks of meat.
The strange atmosphere was swept away in an instant, and I felt much more relaxed. During the chat, I learned that they were a tribe called “Nashe” and had lived in the depths of the Suwajia Mountain range for generations. When I talked about where I came from, the young men showed curious expressions, and the tiger-toothed boy who handed me the lamb leg had bright eyes: “Ah Lang, tell me more, I want to hear what your city is like, whether there are many fun and interesting things…”
“Saibang!” The middle-aged man next to him frowned and shouted softly.
“Have you never been outside? Never been to the city?” I thought of the truck driver again and wanted to ask, but I remembered Masuo’s warning and didn’t dare to ask.
The young people all shook their heads, their eyes yearning, but they didn’t dare to ask me again as if they were afraid of violating some taboo. The table fell into an awkward silence for a while, only the old man next to me knocked the ground with his pipe and coughed lightly: “Eat, eat. After a while, take this little one around with you, hunt some meat, and nourish him.”
“Uh…” I smiled. “Thank you, Uncle. Although I’m really happy to be here as your guest, I’ve been unconscious for several days and need to contact my family to avoid worrying them. Is there a phone at the chief’s place?”
The old man shook his head, his expression somewhat puzzled, as if he didn’t know what a phone was.
This truly feels like living in a primitive society, I thought to myself, then asked, “If I want to head back to the city early, could you please find someone to guide me? I’m not familiar with the mountain roads…”
“You’ll have to wait for the new transportation official to take office,” The old man said, taking a slow drag from his pipe. “Don’t rush, little one. Wait for the tribe leader to return, and you can rest and regain your strength first.”
It sounded as if he was waiting for me to recover and then slaughter me. I got goosebumps all over my body at the strange thought that flashed through my mind, and I couldn’t help but smile.
What are you thinking about? It’s ridiculous.
Because I couldn’t contact the outside world for a while and transportation was limited, I had to wait for the tribe leader to come back. After dinner, I returned to Masuo’s house and asked her about painting materials.
“Paint?” Hearing my question, Masuo stopped peeling mangosteen, excitedly grabbed my wrist, blinked her big eyes and asked me, “Ah Lang, can you paint me?”
I smiled, lowered my eyelids to look at her, and nodded.
Masuo’s face suddenly turned red, and her eyes became evasive. Compared to her initial boldness, she finally looked a little like a little girl: “You look even better when you smile. Your eyelashes are so long, and your eyes are so bright, so intoxicating.”
I teased her, “Little girl, you can’t look at people like that. If you meet a bad person, you’ll lose your heart.”
“With the way you look at people, who wouldn’t lose their heart?” Masuo lowered her head. “I still don’t know your name yet…”
“Qin Ran. You can call me Brother Ran, that’s how we do it where I’m from.” I looked at the sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl, a wave of sympathy rising in my heart. She was so young, with decades of life ahead of her. Was she really going to live like this, isolated from the world, in the deep mountains, never seeing the outside world? Only the ‘Transportation Official’ could leave. Why did this tribe have such strange rules? Didn’t anyone want to change this?
Suddenly, a “Hey” sound came from the door, which startled us both. Turning around, a head poked in from the crack of the door. It was the handsome boy named Saibang with thick eyebrows, big eyes, red lips and white teeth: “Ah Lang, I heard everything. You want to paint, right? I’ll take you to find a painter in the village, alright? It’s not far. That is, can you promise to paint me… what your place looks like outside?”
He said this with a sparkle in his eyes, full of anticipation. When he smiled, a pair of small tiger teeth showed, looking just like a little puppy, almost wagging its tail at me.
I smiled helplessly, my hands, resting on my knees, instinctively curled up. After losing my muse, I felt like a cripple when it came to painting people; I couldn’t even bear to look at what I had drawn. But a child’s wish…
It seemed like I should try my best to fulfill their wish.
“Shh… don’t let my father see.”
The secret agreement with the two children was made. We bypassed their house, which had wolves and pigs and climbed over the stone wall that surrounded their yard. We made our way up the small mountain at the back of the village, along a slope. When we reached the middle of the mountain, the distant snow-capped peaks seemed to rise like a holy maiden draped in a white robe, slowly emerging from the forest. Under the moonlight, she danced gracefully, veiled by the rising night mist, appearing faintly and mysteriously in the darkness. Compared to the evening, the scene added an extra layer of ethereal beauty to it.
I gazed at the rolling snow-capped mountains—that was undoubtedly the Suwajia Mountains, and the highest peak should be the legendary “Sumiluo” Mountain. It is said to be the highest mountain in the world. In the ancient cosmology of Jiangsu, it represents the boundary between yin and yang, with the heart of the mountain being the realm of the underworld, a resting place for ghosts and demon king. At the summit, there is a ladder to the heavens, which supposedly leads to the dwelling of the gods. However, whether it truly lies at the boundary of yin and yang, or exists behind some invisible barrier, is uncertain. It is considered the “Bermuda Triangle” of the land, a place that mortals cannot tread. Over the years, countless adventurers who dared to enter the snow-capped mountain either disappeared without a trace, vanishing as if into thin air or were later found with their bodies mutilated by wild beasts. The urban legends surrounding that mountain are numerous. Over time, almost no one dares to approach that mysterious and unfathomable place anymore.
Suddenly, a flute sound came from the direction of the snow-capped mountains, and I was startled.
The sound of the flute was so unique, I had never heard anything like it before. Its tone and melody inexplicably conjured an image in my mind—a mighty eagle soaring high above the snow-capped peak, in its final moments, charging toward the sun. As it turned to ash, it cried out, head held high, letting its feathers, wing bones, and flesh scatter in the wind, spreading across the mountains, the earth, and the endless forest.
And this flute’s melody was but one of those feathers, passing through the clouds, riding the wind, crossing the boundary between life and death, wandering through the long passage of time, until it finally reached my side.
I stood there, overwhelmed by my own imagination, my heart racing as if my soul were being drawn away. Unable to resist, I reached my hand out toward the direction of the snow mountain, hoping to touch the ethereal, feather-like sound of the flute.
—Who could play such a flute melody?
That must be… a very special person, right?
“Hey, Ah Lang, what are you dazing out for? Come on up!”
Masuo’s voice suddenly pulled my soul back to my body. I looked in the direction of the voice and saw them standing halfway up the mountain waving at me. I climbed towards them for a while before I saw a rock tower behind them.
When we lifted the colorful banners hanging in front of the door, the strange aroma of burning incense filled our noses again. The room was filled with smoke. Candles were lit everywhere on the ground, forming a circle with a rectangular black curtain hanging from above. A man with messy hair was in the middle, with his back to us, half-lying on the ground, seemingly painting.
I can’t see his paintings, but I can see several white pottery jars beside him. The pigments inside are rich and bright, mixed with large and small mineral particles.
—That is mineral color painting. Although I don’t use it often, but I have tried it several times.
Seeing my eyes shining, Saibang patted his chest at me, made a gesture to keep quiet, carefully stepped over the candle, and knelt beside the man.
“Master Taiwu, Master Taiwu…” He called softly, as if afraid of disturbing the man, “Can you lend me your rainbow juice?”
Rainbow juice? I pressed my lips together, trying to suppress a smile. The paint was a gift from the heavens, so isn’t it rainbow juice?
“For what?” The man’s rough voice sounded, but he didn’t even raise his head.
“Uncle Sanbuluo rescued an Ah Lang from the waterfall. He is a painter like you. Masuo and I… hiss!”
Masuo bent down and grabbed his ear, silently uttering a curse, as if blaming him for speaking whatever was in his mind.
“Painter?” The painter named Tai Wu turned around, and a sallow face appeared, which scared me. When his eyes met mine, his pupils were obviously dilated under the illumination of the candlelight, and he stared at me fixedly.
“You are…” He murmured.
I smiled and extended my hand: “Hello, my name is Qin Ran, I guess… we are the same kind?”
“Mm-mm, not possible, not possible.” Tai Wu didn’t shake my hand but instead nervously shook his head and turned away. Saibang raised an eyebrow at me, then went to grab the paint can beside Tai Wu, while Masuo went to the other side to tidy up the brushes.
I carefully stepped into the circle of candlelight and then noticed that the black curtains hanging above were actually canvases. Although the surface of the canvas was covered with a thin layer of white paper, I could still see the intense colors leaking through the layers, though I couldn’t make out what the paintings were. Though I was curious, I didn’t dare to rashly peel them back. Instead, I instinctively walked behind Tai Wu, bent down, and leaned in to see the painting he was working on.
When I looked over his shoulder, my breathing suddenly stopped.
What he was painting was not a picture but a human head.
My heels went weak and I stumbled, almost knocking over the candlestick behind me. Saibang quickly stood up and supported me: “Be careful!”
Tai Wu heard the movement behind him and turned his head, his body slightly leaning to one side. Only then did I clearly see that he was painting a wooden sculpture of a head. The side profile was facing me. The face was painted a stark white, with bright red lips, narrow, elongated eyes, a high bridge of the nose, and thick, curly temples.
I couldn’t help but think of that terrifying glimpse on the rainy night, and my whole body went cold.
“That is…”
Before I could ask, the two little ones were so startled when they saw the head that they hurriedly stumbled out of the tower, dragging me along with the paints and painting supplies.
I was almost out of breath after being dragged down the mountain by the two kids. I propped myself up on my knees and said, “Alright, it’s just a wooden head. Look how scared you two are!”
“Today… we shouldn’t, shouldn’t go.” Masuo muttered, staring towards the tower. Her eyes flickered nervously, and her face turned pale, as though she had been so frightened that she was in a daze.
“I’m going to die, I’m going to die…” I heard the whispers beside me. I glanced to the side and was shocked again. Saibang lowered his head, said nothing, his face buried in the shadows, and his breathing was extremely rapid.
“If you break the rules, you will… die, die.”
I thought of the scene on the mountain road and wondered if this was some kind of tribal hereditary mental illness. I quickly lifted up Saibang’s face and said, “Wake up, Saibang!”
With a “bang”, Saibang shuddered, and the paint cans and brushes in his arms fell to the ground, splashing all kinds of colors. He raised his head and looked at me as if he had just woken up from a dream: “Qin, Qin Ran, Ah Lang…”
I breathed a sigh of relief, turned around, and was stunned.
There was no one beside me, where was Masuo?
“Where is she?” — Did she go home out of fear? I looked around and realized something was wrong. This was not the road we took to go up the mountain. I couldn’t see the wall of Masuo’s house. All I could see was endless woods.
“Where is this place?”
