It was unknоwn hоw mаnу drу land leeсhеs were distributеd on the рrоtruding rосk blосks. Da Qin, who vоlunteered to scout thе рath, tightеned his сuffs аnd раnt legs, wоrе glоvеs аnd a mаsk, wrappеd twо laуers of plаstic wraр around his nесk, dоusеd himsеlf with еssеntial balm, tiеd а safеtу rоpе, and slоwlу descеndеd using a mаkeshift ladder thаt had been sесurеd.
Thе ladder was nоt lоng еnough, оnlу аllоwing dеsсent tо thе most рrominеnt rock. Тhesе rосks, shaреd bу nаture's craftsmаnship, were round, flat, lаrge, and small. Аny two rоcks tоuсhed оnly lightly at a small point, as if they could be pushed down with a casual shove. Yet, for thousands of years, they remained unmovable. Seemingly chaotic, they were stacked with a sense of balance beyond human imagination—a masterpiece of nature's mountain-building movements. More perilously, the rocks were covered in moss, extremely slippery. Without a safety rope, a high fall was highly likely.
"There are leeches. Not many." Da Qin's voice came through the walkie-talkie, sounding not particularly panicked. "Not sure if it's because I applied a lot of essential balm or wrapped myself tightly. PS: Plastic wrap is useless against them!"
Bayunye took the walkie-talkie. "Do you need insect repellent?"
There was a lot of noise on the other end, and Da Qin didn’t answer immediately. At the same time, the rope was pulled taut, as if he was mustering his strength to continue descending. Several impatient Rescue Team members eagerly shone flashlights downward, trying to see Da Qin's route, but the protruding rocks blocked their view, hiding him from sight.
"Be careful!" Diao Zhuo gripped the walkie-talkie and emphasized again.
Kong Gan sat on the small folding stool he had brought, smoking a cigarette and lost in thought, occasionally sprinkling a little essential balm around him. After a while, he reminded them again, "Once we cross the river, I'm going back."
"You really haven’t been there?" Bayunye pointed toward the vast, dark expanse ahead.
"Since childhood, the elders in the village repeatedly warned us not to go. It’s deadly! I heard that during the famine in the 1960s, some people were so hungry they had no choice but to venture deeper into the mountains to find food. A group of young people went in, and only one returned, wearing tattered Japanese soldier uniforms. He kept screaming in pain, though he wasn’t seriously injured—just acting crazy and terrified of people. Whenever anyone approached, he’d shout and try to bite them, saying things like, 'It stinks! Don’t eat me, don’t eat me!'... Later, some said he had eaten his companions, others said he witnessed his companions being eaten, and some even claimed he encountered the ghosts of Japanese soldiers. There were all kinds of stories."
"What happened after that?"
"He never recovered, just became a madman. Anyone in the village could beat him, and he wouldn’t fight back, just kept calling out the names of the people who went into the mountains with him... Later, he disappeared, and eventually, he died on the burial hill. Those who went to collect his body said he died of fright, his head buried in the ground as if trying to burrow into it."
"Where is the burial hill?" Bayunye asked.
"It’s also a wild mountain, covered with unmarked graves—a place where people were buried long ago. Nowadays, cremation is encouraged..."
Bayunye stroked his chin. "How could it be so mysterious? Either they encountered a wolf pack or a bear. If there really were ghosts of Japanese soldiers, it would mean those mountains were anti-Japanese bases!"Everyone couldn't help but laugh, but before they could respond, they heard a few crackling sounds from the walkie-talkie, followed by Da Qin's slightly trembling voice, deliberately suppressing his emotions: "...Someone! Someone!"
Bayunye was stunned and hadn't even asked a question when she heard Da Qin say again: "...Dead person!"
Everyone's expressions changed, and they crowded forward, knowing it was futile but still desperately shining their flashlights downward.
"Male or female?" Bayunye asked urgently.
Da Qin seemed to cover the walkie-talkie tightly, producing a burst of static, and then there was no response. It was unclear whether he didn't dare to answer or if there was some other reason. Diao Zhuo suddenly wrapped his arm around Bayunye, and sure enough, her legs went weak, nearly causing her to collapse. He took the walkie-talkie and said, "Confirm again!"
The walkie-talkie fell silent for a few seconds, but for those above, those seconds felt longer than years.
Bayunye leaned half her body against Diao Zhuo, looking into the distance with despair. The lingering scent of the insect repellent powder Brother Long had prepared still hung in the air. She remembered how he had boasted about his hiking experiences and then recalled him sitting calmly under the target, waiting for her to shoot.
Diao Zhuo rubbed her shoulder firmly, and she pressed her hand over his, her palm damp with cold sweat.
"Pull me up, hurry!!" Da Qin suddenly roared after a long silence.
No one knew what had happened, thinking there might be a wild animal attacking below, and no one dared to delay, pulling the rope with all their might. Many hands make light work, and soon Da Qin was pulled back, panting heavily and covered in sweat, but aside from a few scratches, he had no other injuries.
"What happened?" everyone asked with concern. Bayunye stood at the back of the crowd, not wanting to hear the answer. Diao Zhuo stayed by her side, silent.
"Down there... two people... one alive, one... seems dead," Da Qin said, his face pale. "The alive one... seemed... seemed to be biting the dead one... I barely had time to see who was lying there when my flashlight caught his attention. Anyway... it was a big one. When he saw me coming down, he charged at me like a madman. You didn't see it... his mouth and face covered in blood, eyes glowing green..."
"I told you!" Kong Gan exclaimed excitedly. "The young people who came back from the mountains earlier were just like that! They bite anyone they see! Like wolves!"
The others were skeptical. "Da Qin, are you sure you didn't mistake it? Are you certain it was a person and not a monkey?"
"It was a person, wearing clothes."
"Monkeys could wear human clothes too."
"Come on! I can tell the difference between a monkey and a person!"
"What about the dead person..." Bayunye wasn't concerned about the biting monster. "Did you get a clear look? It shouldn't be... Brother Long, right?"
"I didn't get a clear look," Da Qin said apologetically. A few leeches were stuck to him again, but he was too tense to notice. Kong Gan, sharp-eyed, quickly grabbed a salt block to rub on them.
"Will that monster climb up?" Xiang An asked worriedly.
Kong Gan, however, remained calm. "Going down is hard, but coming up is even harder. There's no place to set up a ladder unless it has wings. Don't worry, it can't climb up."
"Take a rest. I'll go down and take a look," Diao Zhuo said, unfastening the safety rope from Da Qin and securing it around himself.Tan Lin stopped him. "Since there's something unusual down there, wait a bit longer. With more people going down, we can watch each other's backs. Besides, Master Ba wouldn't let you do this either." As he spoke, he gestured with his chin toward Bayunye. Diao Zhuo looked over and saw her also starting to put on her safety harness.
"How many are willing to go down?" Tan Lin called out loudly.
"Me!" "Me too!" "Me, me!" "Um... we'll go down too."
Bayunye looked up and saw that aside from the still-shaken Da Qin and Kong Gan, everyone else had raised their hands, even Liu Ming and his group volunteering eagerly.
Diao Zhuo raised a hand to quiet them. "Me, Master Ba, Tan Lin, and Xiang An will go down first to check things out. We'll stay in contact. Qi Zi and Liu Ming, you and the others keep watch. If anything happens, pull us up immediately."
After giving instructions, the four of them put on their headlamps and descended one by one. The surroundings were pitch black, and the beams of their headlamps seemed feeble against such overwhelming darkness. The sounds of insects and flowing water were constant as they carefully descended, but they didn't hear any other noises. Yet the quieter it was, the more abnormal it felt.
After climbing over a flat, protruding rock, Bayunye vaguely saw a human-shaped object half-submerged in the water—large, foul-smelling, and lifeless. Her heart raced wildly. She wanted to rush down, but remembering Da Qin's description of the strange person, she maintained the same descent speed as the other three.
Diao Zhuo and the others also spotted the corpse, but since there was no "living person" nearby as Da Qin had described, they felt both puzzled and terrified.
"Hold on," he said, then picked up a small stone at his feet and threw it down. It landed in the water beside the corpse with a "plop."
Silence remained.
Da Qin's voice came through the walkie-talkie. "Did you see them?"
"Only the corpse," Diao Zhuo replied.
"Be careful. I really did see someone else earlier," Da Qin said anxiously.
Bayunye turned on her high-power flashlight. Just as Kong Gan had said, the bottom was a seemingly shallow stream. The corpse lay face down, swollen so large that its clothes looked ready to burst. Its hairstyle and hair color were completely different from Brother Long's. Though she couldn't see its face, she could at least tell it wasn't him. Her mood instantly lightened.
Was this one of the people chasing Brother Long? How did this person die? Was there any message left by Brother Long?
Bayunye looked at Diao Zhuo. He nodded, and the group descended again, but much slower than before. A short distance took them nearly fifteen minutes. As they neared the ground, Diao Zhuo threw another stone he'd picked up toward the water near the corpse. Another "plop" sounded. This time, the corpse suddenly reacted—its shoulders shrugged up and down as if struggling to push itself up, but swollen like a balloon, it swayed a few times before falling still again.
"Damn it!" Bayunye cursed under her breath. Having just been startled by the Green-Haired Corpse opening its eyes, now this corpse was acting strangely too. She couldn't help feeling both helpless and terrified. What happened to the promised corpse and the living person who bites? Why was there only a corpse that moved on its own?
The group didn't land, holding their breath as they waited. Before long, the corpse made a "hissing" sound, trembled slightly a few times, and its shoulders began shrugging again.Diao Zhuo pointed to the high-power flashlight, and everyone understood. Steadying himself, he threw the last stone in his hand—this time not toward the water but toward the corpse. Simultaneously, the others switched on their high-power flashlights and aimed them at the body.
A dark object was seen near the corpse’s shoulder. Startled by the sudden stone and light, it abruptly raised its head, emitting a coarse, hissing roar. A claw with bright markings pressed against the corpse’s shoulder, its neck swelling as if it had swallowed a soccer ball. Its build was massive, nearly two meters in length, with limbs covered in thick, coiled muscles and a tail as powerful as a heavy whip. Its face was fierce, as if it might pounce at any moment.
After getting a clear look at the creature, Bayunye breathed a sigh of relief. "Isn’t this a water monitor lizard?"
"Water monitor lizard" is the local name used by the Dai people in Yunnan. Its scientific name is giant lizard, with a hard tick infection rate on its body surface as high as 90%. Contact with it can easily lead to infection, and if bitten, it may cause sepsis, resulting in a painful death within hours. This giant lizard had clearly regarded the corpse as prey but was suddenly frightened by multiple beams of intense light. Perhaps realizing this meal wouldn’t be easy to enjoy, it remained motionless for a long while before slowly turning and leaving, disappearing into the dense grass shortly after.
"This is my first time seeing one in the wild. It’s a nationally protected animal, so it’s a good thing it ran off on its own. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know how to drive it away without breaking the law," Bayunye said lightly. "Could Da Qin have mistaken the water monitor lizard for a person in a moment of confusion?"
Xiang An found it hard to believe. "It’s understandable to confuse a monkey with a person, but what resemblance does a giant lizard have to a human?"
Tan Lin also found it incredible. Da Qin wasn’t the type to panic over minor matters, so it was unlikely he’d mistake a giant lizard for a human.
Puzzled, the group waited a while longer. Seeing no further movement, they all climbed down. From a distance, Diao Zhuo observed that half of the corpse’s head was caved in, and most of the blood had been washed away by the water. Only the hands, ankles, and other parts not in contact with the water still bore traces of damp blood. The wounds were mostly abrasions and small holes from leech bites. The corpse’s skin color and the lividity at pressure points resembled those of a normal body, starkly different from the entirely green corpse earlier.
"How are things over there?!" Da Qin’s tense voice came through the walkie-talkie.
"All good!" Bayunye replied playfully in Shaanxi dialect, instinctively looking for Diao Zhuo. She noticed his expression suddenly change as he approached the corpse for a closer look.
—On the corpse’s wrist were several rows of bite marks, deep enough to have broken the skin in some places. These marks weren’t from the giant lizard or a snake but, just as Da Qin had said earlier, were unmistakably human!!
OpenNovel