We have to leave.
This was the only thought in my mind.
What exactly is the purpose of this Huoxing ceremony? Or rather, in the Unassimilated Miao’s concept, why is the Huoxing ceremony held?
These Miao villagers’ attitudes towards us are too strange; on one hand, they are wary and cautious everywhere, and on the other hand, they are inviting us to participate in such a grand ceremony.
These contradictions must hide something.
Why am I only realizing this now?
It was Shen Jianqing’s kindness and purity that lulled us into a false sense of security, making me believe that all the Miao villagers would be as friendly to outsiders as he was.
However, I overlooked one point, a point I’d unconsciously been avoiding all along. After experiencing a panic-inducing journey lost deep in the mountains, we were all scared and desperately wanted to settle down, so even the smallest glimmer of light made us convince ourselves it was a sign of dawn. But little did we know, perhaps it was just the anglerfish’s lure, tempting enemies with a light on its head for hunting!
For thousands of years, they have lived in seclusion deep in the mountains without being found by outsiders. Is it truly due to luck, or because it’s so hidden? Has no one truly ever come here?
And those people, did they really leave?
A shiver ran down my spine.
As soon as we returned to Shen Jianqing’s stilt house, while he was away, I quietly told Qiu Lu and the other two, “We’re leaving tomorrow, first thing in the morning!”
Counting carefully, we had already been here for almost a week already. Our phones and camera were running low on battery, so it was indeed time to go.
Qiu Lu said in surprise, “Huh? We can go, but why such a rush?”
Xu Zirong also said, “Aren’t we going to say a proper goodbye?”
“I also think we should leave as soon as possible,” Wen Lingyu said softly. “This Huoxing ceremony today was too eerie. I, I’m a little scared…”
I said, “I’ll talk to Shen Jianqing about it. As for the other villagers, let’s not disturb them. Anyway, they don’t understand us, so there’s no point in saying more.”
Perhaps my expression and Wen Lingyu’s were both too serious, and an anxious atmosphere hung in the air. Qiu Lu and Xu Zirong exchanged glances, both frowning, and nodded in agreement.
Just then, Shen Jianqing walked in from outside. Seeing us standing in the living room, looking at each other, he didn’t even look at me and said, “It’s so late, aren’t you guys going to rest?”
Facing his indifferent profile, I feel a mix of emotions in my heart, unsure if it was sadness or happiness.
Qiu Lu nudged Xu Zirong’s ribs with her elbow, while Xu Zirong tilted his head and winked at me.
I said, “We plan to leave tomorrow morning, Shen Jianqing. Thank you for everything during this time.”
“You guys are leaving?” Shen Jianqing suddenly turned around, and after a long pause, he lifted his eyelids, his gaze fixed on me, raising an eyebrow slightly. “Alright, then I wish you all a safe journey.”
With that, he walked out of the living room without looking back, the butterfly-shaped silver ornament on his head trembling as it got tangled in his hair from the force, as if it had come alive.
I stared blankly at his retreating back with a sudden emptiness in my heart.
Perhaps the atmosphere between Shen Jianqing and me was truly strange. Wen Lingyu came forward and asked with concern, “What’s wrong with you two? Shen Jianqing is acting strange today, and so are you.”
I shook my head. “Nothing. What could there be between him and me?” Perhaps there was a misunderstanding before, but after tomorrow, there will be nothing left.
We each returned to our rooms, packed our bags for tomorrow, and then went to sleep.
I was vaguely asleep in the middle of the night when I was startled awake by a series of knocks on the door.
“Li Yuze! Li Yuze!”
Who was calling me?
Wen Lingyu?
I struggled to open my eyes, my mind a chaotic blur. My eyelids felt incredibly heavy, as if a giant rock was pressing down on them. My temples throbbed, and a dull pain spread from my forehead to the top of my head.
“Hiss—” I pressed my temples, forcing down the pain. The room was pitch black. I fumbled my way to the door, guided by the layout in my memory and a tiny bit of moonlight. “What’s wrong?”
The door gently pushed open. Wen Lingyu held a candle, and in its glow, only her beautiful face was visible in the pitch-black night, like a scene from a domestic horror movie. My heart skipped a beat, and then I saw the blurry concern on her face.
“Li Yuze! Lulu suddenly has a fever, her whole body is burning hot…” She said, her voice catching.
What’s wrong with Qiu Lu?
My head felt like it was filled with cement, exceptionally heavy. My thoughts churned very slowly; every word was clear, but when strung into a sentence, I was lost.
After a long moment, my slow-working mind finally caught on. I said, “First, work on lowering her fever. I’ve got some extra medicine with me.”
With that, I turned back, fumbled for my backpack, and pulled out the fever medicine.
Wen Lingyu took it but didn’t leave, her voice even more choked. “Xu Zirong’s door has been knocked on, but there’s no answer. I’m afraid something might be wrong with him inside. Can you go check?”
She’s a girl, after all, and needed to avoid impropriety.
“Is he sleeping too soundly?” My fuzzy brain barely cleared. “I’ll go check.”
With that, I used Wen Lingyu’s candle to go to Xu Zirong’s room.
I knocked on the door, but there was no answer for a long time. I waited two minutes, my patience running out, then called out, “Xu Zirong, I’m coming in!” and pushed the door open.
The room was pitch black. Using the candlelight, I could make out the wooden bed by the window. As I got closer, I saw a dark, human-shaped lump, it was Xu Zirong.
“Xu Zirong…” I approached with the candlelight. Xu Zirong lay weakly on the wooden bed, his eyes tightly shut, his face flushed, and fine beads of sweat seeping from his forehead. His lips were chapped from the high fever, and the man who was usually robust and full of vigor looked incredibly fragile.
He was already delirious from the fever.
Now we are in a big trouble.
I quickly went out and told Wen Lingyu, “I’m going to find Shen Jianqing for help. You find some water to wipe down Qiu Lu and try to bring her temperature down as much as possible.”
Hearing my words, Wen Lingyu seemed to find her center. She nodded repeatedly and went out to fetch cold water.
I endured my intermittent headache and went down the stairs to the first floor, standing before Shen Jianqing’s door, taking a deep breath.
“Knock, knock, knock—”
No one answered.
What was going on tonight?
I grew anxious and tried pushing the door. It was locked tight, completely unyielding. Looking around, I suddenly noticed that Shen Jianqing’s window wasn’t closed, allowing a view inside.
Although it was rude to peek into someone else’s room, given the sudden circumstances, I couldn’t worry about manners anymore.
I approached the window and tapped on the wooden frame: “Shen Jianqing, are you there?”
Still no response.
His room was incredibly well-lit; the moonlight almost directly poured into the room. I squinted, trying to see, and then suddenly realized there was no one inside at all!
Where had Shen Jianqing gone?
Just then, a familiar yet strange sound began.
“Shh—shh—shh—”
“Shh, shh—”
It was the teeth-grating sound of insects’ limbs crawling across the ground!
My heart leaped into my throat, and I recalled the swarm of black insects that had followed us earlier.
My spine tingled, and goosebumps constantly erupted. The mountain wind swept by, and I shivered.
I felt an urgent need to turn back, hurry back, shut every door and window, and seal up every gap!
But I didn’t.
As if possessed, I bravely held up the candle and walked towards the source of the sound.
The moonlight was excellent tonight; the moonlight alone was enough to faintly illuminate the woods.
I walked towards the sound’s origin, each step very light. Suddenly a dark silhouette emerged just a short distance ahead! His back was turned toward me, so he didn’t see me. I almost instinctively blew out the candle in my hand and pressed myself behind a tree wide enough for two arms to encircle.
It was Shen Jianqing.
What was he doing out here in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?
My intuition told me not to reveal my presence, to quietly go back. But curiosity gnawed at me, so I poked my head out, secretly watching him.
Under the faint moonlight, shadows wavered while the wind flowed cold as water. Shen Jianqing stood beneath a tree, his usually tied-back, shoulder-length hair falling loose around him, his body slightly turned, revealing half of his profile.
One hand was raised, as if he were receiving something. I focused my gaze and saw some tiny objects seemingly dangling by a thin thread in front of him; the other end of the thread was connected to the tree.
“Shh, shh—shh, shh—”
That strange sound began again, and then, the scene before my eyes made me involuntarily widen them!
Countless black insects swarmed from afar, surging toward him like a dark tide, like flowing black satin, like spilled black blood. Beneath the moonlight they converged in frenzy, as if fanatical cultists exalting their sovereign, their emperor, their god.
They scrambled forward, yet held a sense of trepidation, gathering before Shen Jianqing but not daring to act presumptuously.
Those insects!
I don’t have trypophobia, but at that moment, I couldn’t control my legs from turning to jelly, my arms from trembling, and my stomach from violently churning, screaming to vomit out my dinner. Cold sweat seeped from my forehead. I stood rigid in place, extreme fear paralyzing me, my neck stiff as an eternal glacier.
Those insects were the disgusting things that had been following us the entire way! Like a persistent disease, clinging to us like a shadow!
From when we left Dongjiang Miao Village to getting lost on the cement road to when we camped in the wild…
They followed us the whole way, and perhaps it wasn’t a coincidence, nor because of some stupid food attraction!
They had thoughts, and someone was directing them!
This thought sent shivers down my spine.
My thoughts became clearer than ever before. The experiences of this period replayed before my eyes. Things I had never understood or had ignored gradually connected.
The sudden getting lost, the inexplicably burst rear tires at the same time, the dense forest where we still got lost despite making marks, the white flower on the windshield in the morning.
And the indigo figure walking alone in the faint light, his hand pointing forward. That path stretched endlessly.
Further back in my memory, I saw the dewy white flower I had seen when I opened the window in the guesthouse in Dongjiang Miao Village. It was fresh, pure, a synonym for all things beautiful, but now it filled me with dread.
I clamped my hand over my mouth, preventing myself from making any sound.
