We stood frozen, silently watching the snake slither away, not daring to move, fearing that a single blink might provoke it to attack again. After a good while, sweat trickled down my forehead, dampening my eyelashes, and only then did the tension finally ease.
“Can we move now?” Qiu Lu tentatively asked.
My arms, clenching the stick, were stiff, muscles aching: “Yes, the snake’s gone far.”
They all let out a long breath.
“That really scared me to death,” Wen Lingyu said, her voice trembling. “I saw the snake’s fangs and thought we were going to die here… It really scared me…”
Qiu Lu peered out from behind Xu Zirong, her face as white as paper, her lips drained of color.
I forced myself to calm down: “Let’s go.”
The dangers in the forest were countless; we needed to be even more careful.
Meanwhile, deep within the forest, under a large, broad banana leaf, a black snake writhed and struggled on the ground.
“Hiss! Hiss…”
Its scarlet tongue flicked out continuously, the sound like an angry roar or perhaps a dying wail.
The snake’s head would occasionally rear back, then violently thrash, its tail slapping the ground in pain, attempting to break free from the source of this agony.
It was a vibrant red insect.
No matter how the black snake twisted and struggled, this small insect remained unmoving, biting firmly on the snake’s ‘a vulnerable spot’. From a distance, it looked like a brilliant drop of blood.
The ground plants rustled violently from the black snake’s frantic struggles. Finally, the snake’s strength gave out. After a last failed attempt to save itself, it froze in the air for a second, then crashed heavily to the ground like a rag doll. Its tongue hung out of its mouth, never to be retracted again.
The crimson insect then slowly detached itself from the snake’s ‘vulnerable spot’, extending its four slender legs, and climbed forward.
It crawled until it reached a fair-skinned hand, which had been waiting for it in front.
“Honghong, you’re so well-behaved.” The person spoke, his voice sounds like the clear call of a phoenix. He brought the insect closer to his eyes; the crimson insect complemented the tiny crimson mole on his eyelid.
He turned, his gaze seemingly capable of piercing through the intricate, overlapping branches and leaves, as if landing on someone.
After a moment, he leisurely lifted a foot, strolling through the forest as if taking a leisurely walk in a garden. The dense woods, concealing countless dangers, seemed to them merely a playground, nothing to be feared.
A faint sigh drifted on the wind.
“Guests are coming!”
“Guests are coming…”
In a daze, I thought I heard a human voice, faintly reaching my ears. I looked back, but there was no one else besides the three of them.
“What’s wrong?” Wen Lingyu asked.
Did I mishear?
Better not stir up trouble.
I shook my head and said, “Nothing, I’m just looking back. Can everyone keep up?”
Qiu Lu panted, one hand on her hip and the other leaning on a sturdy branch she’d found, using it as a walking stick. “Even if we can’t, we still have to! Let’s go!”
We continued following Xu Zirong’s marks, but ahead, there always seemed to be an endless succession of trees waiting for us.
Just as our strength was nearly depleted and our patience was about to run out, my eyes suddenly lit up!
Not far ahead, the green density ended, and the obscured sky finally revealed itself completely. The clear blue was as striking as lake water, a sight that made one feel refreshed mentally and physically.
We had finally reached the end of the forest!
“We’re almost out!” I couldn’t wait and quickly took two steps, rushing directly out of the forest!
With no more canopy overhead, the heavy stone that had been weighing on my heart suddenly vanished. I breathed deeply, feeling my chest expand and contract, feeling the breath of life.
Wen Lingyu paused to catch her breath, leaning forward with her hands on her knees. Qiu Lu’s legs buckled, and she dropped to her knees beside Xu Zirong. Neither of them paid any mind to the dirt as they collapsed onto their backs, lying side by side with their heads nestled close together.
I straightened up, and before I could even fully embrace the joy in my heart, the scene before me struck me like lightning, leaving my mind utterly blank!
Where we had burst out was not a flat concrete road at all, but a muddy country lane. And not far down the lane stood a large wooden village gate!
This gate reminded me of the one at Dongjiang Miao Village; its shape was extremely similar, but this one was clearly more weathered and battered by time, its wood already a dark brown. Atop the gate was a rectangular plaque, also faded, with paint chipped and peeling. Characters were carved on the plaque, which I didn’t recognize, but judging by their style and form, they were similar to the characters on the stone tablet we’d found earlier by the stream.
Shidi Mountain, the place An Pu and Ah Li had been so secretive about, was somewhere we had stumbled upon purely by chance. Could this be the legendary home of the Unassimilated Miao?
This realization filled me with a subtle excitement. The purpose of our trip was to investigate the customs and humanistic landscape of the Miao people. Dongjiang Miao Village was heavily Sinicized; although we learned something there, it wasn’t deep or comprehensive. If we could observe authentic Miao life, it would be immensely beneficial for our research! Moreover, based on online accounts, no one had found the true Unassimilated Miao yet. If we could make contact with the Unassimilated Miao and document their way of life, wouldn’t that be groundbreaking research!
Qiu Lu scrambled to her feet, but her expression was one of retreat: “Is this the Miao village Ah Li spoke of, hidden in Shidi Mountain?”
Xu Zirong cupped his hand over his brow, scanning, and said, “There’s more than one plume of smoke rising. Someone definitely lives inside.”
Qiu Lu, however, grabbed Xu Zirong’s arm: “Will it be dangerous inside?”
Such a great opportunity lay before us; I wasn’t about to give up easily.
“The way back isn’t any easier,” I said calmly. “We haven’t seen a single person this entire journey, and constantly going in circles like this, we’ll eventually be trapped and die in Shidi Mountain. We might as well go in and ask the people inside. They’re familiar with this place and might even show us the right way out.”
Wen Lingyu’s thoughts aligned with mine: “Exactly. And since we’ve come all this way, turning back now wouldn’t look good if Professor Ye found out.”
As she spoke, Wen Lingyu took a few more steps forward, leaning in to whisper something to Qiu Lu. Their voices were very low and soft; I only caught words like “guaranteed graduate admission,” “quota,” and “competition.” In any case, after Wen Lingyu finished, Qiu Lu pouted but still reluctantly nodded.
With Qiu Lu’s agreement, Xu Zirong had even less objection.
We quickly tidied our clothes a bit, trying not to look too disheveled or presumptuous, and then stepped onto the muddy path, walking through the village gate.
After passing through the gate, the path widened slightly, allowing the four of us to walk almost abreast. I suddenly recalled the day we arrived at Dongjiang Miao Village, where we had to drink “Lanmen wine” to enter the village.
But we were uninvited guests now, and there was no one welcoming us at the gate. Of course, if they were truly isolated from the world, why would they expect to welcome outsiders?
After about five minutes of walking, the path suddenly vanished.
It turned out that ahead was nothing but a cliff, let alone a village, there wasn’t even a path.
“No path? Did we take a wrong turn?” Qiu Lu was bewildered.
“Impossible, how could we go wrong with the village gate standing right there?!” I asserted.
I took a few steps forward, boldly venturing to the edge of the cliff to look out. Below, a vast valley stretched deep into the distance, connecting with the mountains, leading to who knew where. The valley was filled with green trees and lush vines, their branches and leaves thriving. Several wisps of cooking smoke, like soft swords, pierced through obstructions and rose straight into the clouds.
I searched in the direction of the smoke, but unfortunately, a mountaintop blocked my view. However, as my gaze swept across the valley, I happened to catch a glimpse of the corner of a house nestled beneath the trees.
Someone definitely lived down there!
But as far as I could see, I could only make out layers of dense forest, with no sign of a path leading down.
Just as we were wondering what to do, a clear voice sounded from behind us.
“How did, you all, get here?”
All four of us jumped in surprise. Wen Lingyu pulled me back from the cliff edge, fearing I might accidentally fall.
Behind us stood the youth we had encountered earlier — Shen Jianqing — with a basket slung over his back, gazing at us with curious eyes.
My heart gave a heavy thump.
Shen Jianqing’s beautiful face was expressionless. His narrow, upward-slanted eyes swept over us, pausing for a moment on Wen Lingyu’s hand, which was still holding my arm and hadn’t yet been withdrawn, before moving on.
For no reason, I found his gaze chilling, reminding me of the snake we encountered in the forest.
Perhaps I was overthinking it.
Before I could speak, Xu Zirong stepped forward, aggressively questioning, “You ask us how we’re here! Little Brother, the path you pointed to leads nowhere!”
Shen Jianqing tilted his head to look at him, the silver ornaments woven into his hair jingling. “That path leads out. I’m not lying to you.” His attitude was sincere, his expression serious, not at all like he was lying.
So, sincerity truly is the ultimate weapon. No matter how frustrated Xu Zirong was, faced with such a clear and innocent pair of eyes and a sincere face, he couldn’t bring himself to flare up again.
I said, “Shen Jianqing, are you very familiar with this area?”
The youth’s ink-dark pupils fixed on me: “This is my home. I live down there.”
He was one of the Unassimilated Miao living here?
We exchanged glances, all of us feeling a surge of joy.
“Can we go down and have a look?” I chose my words carefully, trying not to make our intentions seem too presumptuous. “We mean no harm, we just want to see the scenery.”
Shen Jianqing said, “But they’re not used to outsiders.”
Qiu Lu quickly assured him, “If we’re not welcome, we’ll leave immediately! We’ll leave in a flash!” After saying this, she put her hands together in a “please” gesture.
“You truly want to go? No regrets?”
The desire to investigate the Unassimilated Miao and conduct groundbreaking research outweighed the fear of unknown dangers. I thought, if the people below weren’t welcoming, we would just leave. Perhaps our arrival could bring them new knowledge and technology, and maybe even inspire them to consider venturing out themselves.
Wouldn’t that be a win-win situation?
Seeing our stubbornness, Shen Jianqing finally shrugged as if conceding and said, “It’s fine. But you have to be brave enough to go down.”
With that, he strode to the edge of the cliff, brushed aside a tangle of weeds growing at the very brink, and revealed a rope ladder intricately woven from iron chains!
So, they entered and exited using this rope ladder!
This rope ladder clung closely to the cliff face, hanging straight down. It would be very difficult for someone unfamiliar with it to notice.
A sudden gust of wind caused the rope ladder hanging from the cliffside to sway gently…
T/N: They walked right into the trap🥴Anyway, the audio drama was so, so good. I’m obsessed with Shen Jianqing’s voice. The voice actor is actually Miao too, and even though I don’t understand the Miao language, I was so captivated by the beautiful language that I instantly picked this novel up xD if you guys interested, I’ve shared the link to the audio drama in the description page. Please support the author if you can.
