“Why did we come to Shanyin[mfn]It’s the shady side of the mountain[/mfn]?” Saibang’s expression changed. “Oh no, Shanyin leads to the forest. Masuo might have gone into the forest! It’s easy to get lost at night!”
“Masuo! Masuo!”
Saibang and I shouted a few times, but there was no response. “How far can she go in such a short time?”
Seeing Saibang sweating profusely in anxiety, I patted his shoulder and said, “It’s too dark here. Let’s go back and call someone to help us look for her.”
Saibang nodded but suddenly seemed to have caught sight of something and shouted, “Masuo!”
I turned my head and saw a red shadow flashing in the northwest direction. I followed Saibang and chased after it. But Masuo’s figure appeared and disappeared among the dense and mottled shadows of the trees. She always kept a distance from us and ignored our calls.
After chasing for a while, both Saibang and I were out of breath, but Masuo showed no intention of stopping. Saibang was a mountain man after all, and his physical strength was much better than mine. I was just holding onto a tree to catch my breath when he already left me far behind.
“Saibang, wait for me!”
I shouted, fearing that I might lose Saibang as well, but he did not look back. Instead, he knelt on the ground and bent over with his hands crossed.
My heart skipped a beat, thinking he had seen something. But as I took a few steps closer, there was nothing in the direction he was kneeling—Masuo’s figure had vanished, leaving only the vast, endless sea of trees. The forest was eerie, its shadows swaying like countless ghostly figures in the wind. That was when I realized something terrible—we had ventured deep into the woods. Forget about finding Masuo; we might not even find our way back. As an outsider, I couldn’t rely on myself—I had no choice but to depend on Saibang. But when I saw him trembling on the ground, I crouched down and yanked him up, only to be startled by the look on his face, making my throat tighten.
Saibang’s eyes kept rolling upward, his lips turning pale. With a trembling hand, he pointed ahead. “Qin… Qin Ran Ah Lang[mfn]As said, Ah Lang can be referring to brother or young man, so instead of calling him brother Qin Ran, they use Qin Rang Ah Lang instead[/mfn], hurry… hurry and save Masuo. She… she went that way.”
Looking at him in this state, saving Masuo was the least of my worries—if I took one step away, he might just drop dead the next moment. We were in the middle of nowhere, with no help in sight. Relying on the emergency measures I had learned back when I practiced outdoor sketching alone, I pressed hard on the philtrum between his nose and upper lip. Seeing that he still couldn’t breathe properly, I laid him flat on the ground, supported the back of his neck, and got ready to perform artificial respiration.
But before my lips could touch his, Saibang suddenly stopped trembling. His wide eyes stared blankly at me, as if he had lost his soul, frozen in place like a fool.
“Hey! Saibang!” I slapped his face twice, but he didn’t react. I checked under his nose—thankfully, he was still breathing. Great. I took the two kids out just to find some art supplies, and now one was missing while the other had passed out. I had no idea if Masuo’s father would end up regretting saving this walking disaster that was me or not.
I rubbed my temples, grabbed Saibang’s arm, and struggled to hoist the sturdy, calf-like boy onto my back. Just as I lifted my head, I came face-to-face with half a face peeking out from behind a tree. I fell back, landing right on top of Saibang—only then did I see clearly. Wasn’t that Masuo?
The girl clung to the tree trunk, revealing only one eye as she peered at me sideways. Her mouth stretched unnaturally to her ears as she murmured, “Yiyi… The Corpse God smiles, children cry… Playing hide-and-seek till dawn…”
Goosebumps rose across my skin in waves, one after another. “Masuo… don’t—don’t mess around. I’m not in the mood to play hide-and-seek with you!”
“Yihihi…” Masuo shook her head, gave a little hop, and then vanished behind the tree.
“Hey!” I didn’t care about Saibang, who was in a daze. I got up quickly and chased after Masuo. I rushed behind the tree and saw that there was no trace of Masuo at all. There was only an embroidered boot scattered in the bushes behind the tree. The edge of the boot was trimmed with rabbit fur, and there was a string of small bells on the side of the boot. It should be her shoe. If she was wearing another boot and running and jumping, I shouldn’t have been unable to hear any sound. Could it be that she ran away barefoot?
As I was thinking this, I suddenly heard the faint jingling of bells. By now, the forest was enveloped in night fog, and although I couldn’t see Masuo’s figure, the sound of the bells didn’t seem far. I turned around and saw something that made my heart skip—it was a stiff and upright Saibang, sitting up.
“Saibang, can you find the way back?”
He nodded.
“Then wait for me here, don’t run off,” I instructed before heading in the direction of the bell sound. As I walked, the fog grew thicker, and the shadows of the trees deepened. Soon, everything around me was swallowed by a dense, viscous darkness. A chill ran through me, and I quickened my pace. As I got closer to the jingling sound, a faint red glow finally appeared in the dim, blurry vision ahead.
Ding ding…
Not far ahead, in the grass, there was no sign of Masuo—only a single boot standing alone. The toe of the boot tapped rhythmically on the ground, the bells jingling wildly, as though an invisible person was wearing it, tiptoeing and hopping.
Though I deeply wished that Ming Luo could come back to life, I was an atheist.
I gritted my teeth and took a few steps forward. Kicking the boot away, I saw a slender shadow swiftly dart out from the boot’s opening, quickly slipping into the grass—it was just a false alarm. I wiped the cold sweat from my face, silently admiring my own courage.
“Yiyiyi…”
But just then, a faint, eerie laugh echoed from above my head.
I looked up and saw a pair of feet, gently swaying, wrapped in white socks. Masuo’s pitch-black eyes stared intently at me, her body tightly bound by vines, clinging to the towering ancient tree shrouded in mist. She looked like a cocoon wrapped in spider silk.
“Masuo… wait, I… I’ll figure out a way to get you down.” Though her life was at stake, and despite how bizarre the situation was, I stepped forward, ready to climb the tree. But then, I suddenly noticed… behind her, there was a tall, thin, black figure hanging there as well.
“Ah… help me… please, save me…”
A pair of completely white eyes loomed in the dark and mottled shadows of the trees. It was the driver who jumped off the cliff.
How could he, he be here?
A “creaky” sound, like the sound of bones dislocating, came from behind.
I suddenly remembered the strange dream and turned around. There was fog behind me, and I couldn’t see anything clearly. Suddenly, with a “bang”, Masuo fell from the tree to the ground. I was so scared that I fell to the ground as well. Before I could check on her, I caught a glimpse of a very tall figure in the fog in front of me.
For a moment, I had a feeling that this black shadow was not a person.
Even though I was sure I was an atheist just a moment ago, I subconsciously grabbed Masuo and dragged her behind the tree trunk.
“Yiyiyi—” Masuo made a meaningless sound, and she even tried to break free from me and crawl towards the shadow. I covered her mouth tightly and heard another “pop” sound, closer and clearer. I huddled behind the tree trunk and couldn’t help turning my head to look back.
The tall figure that emerged from the fog had appeared silently under the towering ancient trees at some point, standing in front of the driver who was hanging. The shadows of the trees were deep, and the fog was thick. I couldn’t see the figure clearly, but I felt a sense of fear like drowning in the deep sea, which pressed my internal organs into a ball.
“Ahh…” The driver made a hoarse sound like a dying animal, panting rapidly, “God Lord… I was wrong… I know I was wrong… Please forgive me… I beg you…”
God Lord? I thought of the wooden figurine in the truck, and I had a gut feeling that something extremely terrifying was about to happen. I wanted to save the driver, but it was my limit to control the crazy Masuo in my arms. I wanted to escape, but fear controlled my body, and I couldn’t move for a while. I only heard another “cluck” sound, and the tall figure tilted his head, slowly raised one hand, and placed it on the driver’s head.
“God Lord…”
A snap, like the sound of a bone breaking, suddenly sounded in the darkness. The driver’s groaning and breathing stopped abruptly, and his head drooped weakly. In the dead silence, I shivered and saw the tall man raise his other hand and hold the driver’s head. Then, another numbing sound drilled into my ears.
That was… the sound of flesh ripping, accompanied by the squelching of thick liquid… the sound of a mouth drawing in fluid.
“Plop”, “plop”, some liquid flowed within my sight.
In the mottled light spots, the liquid was a mixture of yellow, white, and blood red.
An object as thick as a finger was wriggling and winding in it. It turned out to be a strange insect with a body like a centipede and a scorpion’s tail. It was crawling towards me.
My mind went blank, and I couldn’t stop shaking. The desire to survive stimulated my adrenaline, which made me burst out with a crazy strength. I picked up Masuo and ran away. I didn’t know how far I ran before I dared to look back. I tripped over something and flew out. I didn’t know if my head hit a tree or a rock. My eyes went dark, and I lost consciousness before I could even check Masuo, who was under me.
“Plop…”
Cold water drops fell on my face.
I lifted my heavy eyelids. My vision was blurry, and light was faintly visible.
Is it daybreak? I blinked and vaguely saw the night sky above my head fragmented by mottled shadows of trees—I was still deep in the forest.
My head was splitting with a headache. I touched my forehead and saw a trace of blood on my palm.
I turned over with difficulty and looked towards the light source.
A white staircase came into my sight. Looking up, I saw a cave. At the entrance of the cave was a small white conical tower with candles lit on it.
I rubbed my eyes, but everything still seemed veiled, my vision blurry. I scanned my surroundings, but Masuo was nowhere to be seen. I frowned and tried to call out, but my voice was hoarse and barely discernible. Rubbing my throat, I shakily pushed myself up and crawled toward the cave. The moment my hand touched the surface of the steps, a coldness pierced through to my bones. The jagged yet smooth, strange texture urged me to lower my gaze. I discovered that the steps weren’t made of rock but of white, elongated objects stacked together. These white objects were slightly wider at both ends, narrow and long in the middle, and irregular in shape. They looked like bones—specifically, leg bones.
Somehow, I was suddenly reminded of the Sedlec Ossuary Church that I had visited before.
It can’t be that this is also human bone, right?
I forced myself to push away the dark thoughts. No, it couldn’t be… it had to be bones from cows or sheep. There were candles here, and perhaps there were people in the cave—Masuo might be inside. With that thought in mind, I pressed on, my legs weak but still pushing me forward. I climbed up to the small triangular tower above the steps. In the dim light of the flickering candles, I could finally make out that the tower was also constructed from bones, stacked one by one. The candle holders were… human skulls. At the top of the tower stood a cross-shaped wooden stake, wrapped in white netting.
Having visited other villages in the southern Jiangsu region, I recognized that cross-shaped wooden stake wrapped in a net pattern. It was an ancient ritual object called a “duo” in southern Jiangsu customs. In the past, it was often used by shamans for casting spells, divination, or guiding spirits. Nowadays, it mostly appears in cemeteries in the region as a warning sign to keep people out—is this… is this the bury ground of the Nashe tribe?
I was so scared that I stumbled backward, losing my footing and tumbling down the steps. I heard a loud crash, and the bone tower in front of me collapsed in one section. Several skull candle holders tumbled down from the top, rolling in every direction, and broken bones scattered across the steps.
I was stunned, unsure of what to do next, when suddenly, a flurry of sounds came from above—a rustling, as if a large flock of birds was fluttering their wings all at once.
I looked up, and a massive swarm of gray-white shadows loomed above, descending like a cloud blocking out the sun. They looked like eagles—but eagles are solitary creatures, not ones to gather in such numbers.
I stared in shock as they landed in clusters around the bone tower, only then realizing that these large birds weren’t eagles but rare Himalayan vultures. They are the highest-flying birds in the world, scavengers feeding on rotting flesh—creatures that chase death itself. In legend, they are the guides that cross between the realms of life and death. The vultures picked up the scattered human bones, but instead of flying away, they began to rearrange them, stacking them once more.
The sight left me stunned, regretting that I didn’t have a paintbrush in hand to capture the scene before me. Just as I was lost in that thought, my gaze suddenly froze, fixated on the area behind the bone tower. Amidst the fluttering wings of the vultures, near the entrance to the cave, a slender figure had… appeared at some point.
Was there someone in the cave?
“Hey!” I shouted at the figure, stumbling up the steps in a rush. But as soon as I got a clear look at the person, my footing gave way again, and I collapsed in front of the bone tower.
The vultures in front of the bone tower were startled, their wings flapping wildly as they took flight, clearing my view and making everything more distinct.
He was a… very tall and handsome man.
The word “handsome” is far from enough to describe the appearance of this man. His skin was as white as the purest snow at the peak of a snow-capped mountain, his lips tinged with the colors of the sunset. His long, pitch-black, curly hair cascaded down like a forest at the foot of a snowy mountain, spreading across his figure clad in a luxurious black satin robe with gold embroidery. Though his eyes were covered by a band of black cloth, it couldn’t hide his sharp brow ridge and nose, which stood out like towering mountains. Even in the dim flicker of candlelight, his features were striking and awe-inspiring.
I couldn’t help but take a step closer to him. In that instant, the vultures suddenly took flight, their wings beating fiercely. These creatures, chasing death itself, circled around him like stars around the moon, guarding him like a deity. He stood there silently, yet an eerie and alluring aura radiated from him, one that struck fear into the heart but also made one willing to bow before him in submission.
I stared at that person blankly, suspecting that I was dreaming.
The long-lost urge to paint rushed into the dry riverbed like a flood from a rainstorm, rushing through the blood vessels, shaking my heart and every cell in my body, making them tremble, scream, and clamor.
As a painter, I have seen countless beauties, and there are many good-looking suitors among my suitors. But over the years, Ming Luo was the only one who caught my eye. I thought I would never meet another muse in this life.
But the person in front of me…
No matter his appearance or temperament, even Ming Luo could not compare with him.
What kind of paint, paintbrush, or canvas should I use to depict him? Oil painting, ink painting, or mineral color painting? No, none of them seem to be suitable…
I was lost in thought until he stretched out a hand to me and the vultures flew away from him. Then I came to my senses and realized how embarrassing it was to lie at his feet.
“Thank… thank you.”
tall and handsome.. hehe..