They say there’s an old man living on the Shili Mountain who spends his days planting vegetables. When he’s in a good mood, he comes down with a cane and gives some of the vegetables to the villagers below.
However, the people down in the village never seem to accept his gifts. Instead, they regularly send things up to him.
The villagers appear to hold this old man in great respect.
Liu Peng, who is ten years old, finds this very confusing. Sometimes he complains to his mother, asking why whenever she buys food for him, she insists on sharing half with that old man, and all he gets in return is a scolding from her.
Frustrated, Liu Peng gathers a group of his friends and decides to climb Shili Mountain during lunch.
It’s winter, and the mountain is covered in dry grass.
With the New Year approaching, the village shop has already stocked up on firecrackers for children to play with. Liu Peng has two boxes of firecrackers in his pocket and, along with several boys his age, climbs the mountain with great swagger.
When they reach the pine tree, they see an old man sitting beneath it. He’s wearing a heavy, old-fashioned coat that covers him completely except for his two eyes.
At that moment, his eyes are closed; he appears to be sleeping.
“Come here,” Liu Peng calls to a skinny boy beside him.
“What’s up, Peng Ge?”
Liu Peng whispers into the boy’s ear, “In a bit, when I go over, you light one firecracker, but throw it somewhere else; you can’t throw it near that old man.”
“Why not?” the boy asks, puzzled.
Liu Peng slaps the boy on the shoulder, exasperated, “What if you hurt the old man?”
“Then why even light the firecracker?”
Liu Peng answers seriously, “When he hears the noise, he’ll open his eyes and see me looking fierce in front of him. That’ll scare him, understand?”
Just then, before the boy can respond, a weary voice comes from in front of them, “Is that the effect you’re going for?”
Not knowing what he means, all the kids are startled and scream.
Liu Peng steadies himself and looks closer, realizing it’s the old man.
“I’m asking you, old man, can’t you walk quietly?”
“Want to sit with grandpa over there?”
…
After a while, several kids sit around the old man in a circle.
At this moment, they really like this old man because he is telling them stories that their parents would never share.
For instance, the old man tells them that ghosts can also be good.
“But my mom says ghosts are bad,” Liu Peng replies.
The old man chuckles and says, “Let me tell you a story.”
“Okay!” the kids respond excitedly.
“Well, the story takes place in this village…”
Listening carefully, Liu Peng begins to understand the story. It’s about how this village was once very poor, and during the winter, they couldn’t afford coal and had to steal firewood, leading to encounters with ghosts on the mountain.
“Ah? My family doesn’t use firewood. Who would steal it?” one child asks.
Before the old man can respond, Liu Peng jumps in, “Didn’t your mom tell you it was tough back then? My mom says my grandpa couldn’t even get enough to eat and sometimes had to eat grass when there was nothing else.”
“Can you eat grass?” another child questions. “Won’t it upset your stomach or make you sick?”
“Nope,” Liu Peng proudly responds, “I’ve eaten it; it’s just a bit nasty.”
Immediately, all the kids look at Liu Peng with admiration for having eaten grass.
“And what happened after they met the ghosts?” Liu Peng asks.
The old man smiles and continues, “The ghosts scared them away and stopped them from cutting firewood.”
“Those ghosts are so bad!” one child suddenly says. “If they don’t let us cut firewood, how can we make a fire? We’d freeze to death!”
The other children also begin to condemn the ghost, while Liu Peng stays silent, looking down.
“Little friend, what do you think?” the old man asks Liu Peng.
After a moment of thought, Liu Peng questions, “Didn’t they cut down trees on the mountain?”
When the old man nods, Liu Peng immediately states, “Then they shouldn’t cut them.”
“Why not, Peng Ge?”
Liu Peng looks at him helplessly and replies, “Didn’t your teacher tell you? The trees on the mountain stabilize the soil; otherwise, when it rains, landslides can happen and people can die!”
Just as Liu Peng finishes speaking, the old man suddenly bursts into laughter.
“Exactly right.” After laughing, the old man continues, “Have you heard about the landslide that happened in this village many years ago?”
“My teacher told me about it. She said in that landslide, an older brother died,” Liu Peng says quietly.
“Yes, that older brother became a ghost after he died and guards this mountain.”
“He doesn’t let people cut down trees because he’s afraid of such things happening again, right?” Liu Peng asks.
The old man nods.
“How noble!” Liu Peng murmurs, “He died to save others when he was alive and continues to protect them after death. Truly noble.”
The other kids fall silent too.
Suddenly, Liu Peng feels someone tapping his shoulder. He looks up to find the old man smiling at him.
“Then grandpa, why do you live here? No one is cutting trees anymore,” Liu Peng asks, confused.
“Grandpa likes living here; it brings him peace,” the old man replies.
“Grandpa just told a story, right? The teacher said there are no ghosts in the world,” Liu Peng asks again.
“It’s a story but also not just a story. The ghost might not exist, but the things the ghost does are things that countless people are doing in the world. You must understand, the good life you have now is a result of the sacrifices of countless predecessors. Do you understand what I mean?”
Liu Peng nods, not fully comprehending.
“It’s okay; you’ll understand later. What I want to tell you today is not to do things that harm others, understand?”
Hearing this, Liu Peng lowers his head in shame and softly says, “Grandpa, I’m sorry.”
“Good child, it’s cold. Hurry back; your family will worry if they can’t find you.”
“Okay, I understand, grandpa. I’ll come to visit you often. By the way, grandpa, what’s your last name?”
“Wu,” the old man replies, closing his eyes again and leaning against the tree.
“Wu…” Liu Peng recalls that his mother once mentioned that the old man on the mountain was called Wu Chun, who never married his entire life for the village.
His teacher also said that the older brother who came before Wu Chun was named Xu Shiyao.
…
After sending the children away, not long after, it grew dark.
A figure appeared on the pine tree.
“Why did you tell stories today?” Xu Shiyao asks Wu Chun, who feels more and more that Wu has aged, as he can sleep for so long each time.
“Years ago, I didn’t dare to speak. Now, telling it as a story feels so easy. So many years have passed, and I’m not afraid anymore.”
“Hmm, how was today?” Xu Shiyao gently massages Wu Chun’s shoulders.
“I feel like I can find you soon,” Wu Chun smiles.
“Don’t say that.”
“Don’t be nervous; it’s a good thing for me. It’s just…” Wu Chun pauses, becoming serious, “You must stop me. Don’t let me go.”
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew. Wu Chun only heard Xu Shiyao softly respond with a “hm,” and his voice quickly disappeared with the wind.
…
On an afternoon several days later, Liu Peng carries food bought by his mother, planning to visit the old grandpa.
When he arrives, the old man is just as before, leaning against the tree with his eyes closed peacefully.
Liu Peng smiles and gently calls out, “Grandpa Wu Chun.”
But this time, the old man does not respond.
Liu Peng squats down and gently pushes him, but feels the old man’s stiff body. He freezes, and his little hand trembles as it brushes against the old man’s nose.
He’s not breathing.
The ten-year-old child suddenly bursts into tears, his wails echoing across Shili Mountain, crying out, “Grandpa Wu Chun is gone!”
…
In the year Wuchun turned eighteen, he met Xu Shiyao on Shili Mountain, and it was also on Shili Mountain that he completed the journey of his life at the age of eighty.
Death meant nothing to Wu Chun; it felt as if he had merely taken a brief nap. Upon waking, the world seemed somewhat blurred. He saw Xu Shi yao nervously gripping his wrist, and the first question he asked when he opened his eyes was, “Do you remember me?”
“Xu Shi yao!” Wu chun said happily, but at that moment, hearing his own voice made him pause in surprise.
“Have I returned to eighteen?” Wu Chun asked.
However, Xu Shi yao’s reply was, “I remember now.”
“Huh?” Wu Chun was confused. Remember what?
Before he could react, Xu Shi Yao suddenly pulled him into an embrace, saying, “Just now, a memory flooded into my mind. The things I recorded on the tree bark surged back into my brain in that instant. You remember me.”
Wuchun patted him on the back, smiling as he replied, “I never forgot.”
At that moment, Wu chun deeply realized that he had already experienced death, and it turned out to be such an unremarkable thing.
Now, he had broken the barrier between himself and Xu Shi yao; his memories had not faded, and Xu Shi yao’s memories had all returned.
Everything felt sudden, creating an indescribable sensation, as if there were hands outside this world manipulating everything.
Wu Chun couldn’t be bothered to think about it; it no longer mattered.
He held Xu Shi yao tightly, saying, “Now we are exactly the same!”
Xu Shi yao embraced him back with equal force, smiling as he replied, “Yes.”
Suddenly, several beams of light shot over from a distance. There was no time to evade, and Xu Shi yao could only quickly protect Wuchun in his arms.
“Xu Shi yao.”
Wu chun exclaimed, but after a moment, he realized that the light no longer seemed to harm them.
“What’s going on?”
Wuchun asked in surprise, noticing those who had come running were kneeling before Wuchun’s corpse, weeping loudly.
Wuchun didn’t know what to do, feeling that the best course of action was to let them cry. After all, he had already left that world, and it seemed he no longer needed to interfere in matters there.
“Are we allowed to live in the light now?” Wuchun asked happily.
Countless beams of light passed through them without harming them in the slightest.
“Maybe,” Xu Shi yao replied uncertainty.
“Then can we leave this mountain?” Wuchun asked again.
“Let’s try tonight,” Xu Shi Yao responded with a smile.
Suddenly, Wu chun excitedly jumped onto Xu Shi Yao, wrapping his arms around his neck. “Yay! We can go see outside now!”
Despite being dead, Wuchun felt as if he had returned to eighteen.
“Keep it down,” Xu Shi Yao said gently with a smile.
“Not afraid; they can’t hear us anyway! No matter how loud I am, they won’t hear! Xu Shi Yao, after staying on this mountain for so long, do you want to come out with me and see the world outside?”
Wu Chun’s voice grew louder, and Xu Shi Yao no longer held back, responding loudly, “Okay!”
……
After Wu Chun’s death, the entire village was engulfed in a sorrowful atmosphere. The day after his passing, someone discovered that the pine tree on Shili Mountain had bloomed.
Seeing a pine tree bloom for the first time startled the villagers, who rushed over to take a look. However, the flowers wilted within a day, and the entire tree withered overnight.
It was as if the soul residing within had departed.
After a discussion among the villagers, they decided to rename the mountain. They replaced the character “十” (ten) with “时” (time) and “里” (inside) with “乌” (black), so Shili Mountain was henceforth renamed Shiwushan.
In the northern part of the village square, two stories emerged to commemorate the lives of Wu Chun and Xu Shi Yao.
The End.
TLN: Original Name was “Shili Mountain” (十里山) translates to “Ten Li Mountain.” Here, “Li” (里) is a traditional Chinese unit of distance, roughly equivalent to 0.5 kilometers. And The villagers decided to change the name to “Shiwushan” (时乌山).
“时” (Shi) means “time,” and
“乌” (Wu) is the surname of Wu Chun.
The new name symbolizes a connection to both time (perhaps reflecting on the passage of time or memory) and Wu Chun’s legacy, integrating his identity into the landscape of the village.
