Of Mountains and Rivers 42

After leaving the cave, Chu Huan and Nanshan ventured a bit farther, eager to explore the surrounding area for potential dangers.

The sun had risen, casting its radiant rays onto the massive stone walls, creating a dazzling effect. In this world, there was no acid rain, no haze, no dust, and no clamor. At first glance, it resembled a picturesque landscape with blue mountains, clear waters, and boundless skies—pristine and untouched by human presence. Yet, it was a place where people could become prey.

In the daytime, small animals remained cautious and seldom showed themselves. After half a day of wandering, they only managed to capture a few wild rabbits, hardly enough to satisfy a few hungry men resembling wolves.

Chu Huan peered through binoculars, scanning the water’s edge. He turned to Nanshan and suggested, “There are fish in the water. I’ll catch a couple for you to grill.”

Nanshan hesitated at the mention of water and quickly rejected the idea, saying, “No, you can’t go into the water.”

Chu Huan tilted his head and playfully teased, “We haven’t even tied the knot and you’re already trying to control me?”

Nanshan, unfamiliar with the term, asked in confusion, “Tied the knot? What’s that?”

Chu Huan gently touched Nanshan’s chin and explained, “It means that after we get married, you’ll be part of my family. Isn’t that what marriage is all about?”

Initially, Chu Huan had intended to keep his feelings to himself, not wanting to provoke Nanshan. However, things had taken an unexpected turn, and he found himself entangled in this unexpected situation. It all felt surreal and incredible to him, but there was no turning back now, and he strangely welcomed this newfound freedom.

Nanshan, on the other hand, had never experienced such emotions or been involved in a romantic relationship. He was completely inexperienced and didn’t know where to begin. Helplessly, he followed Chu Huan’s lead, who seemed to have control of the situation.

Chu Huan’s words swirled in Nanshan’s overwhelmed mind, leaving him at a loss for how to respond to this unfamiliar teasing.

“Tsk,” Chu Huan sighed. “You used to argue with me all the time. Why are you suddenly quiet? Is it because I kissed you and made you uncomfortable? Should I do it again?”

Chu Huan approached him, and Nanshan stood like a statue, closing his eyes as if awaiting something.

However, he soon heard Chu Huan chuckle, and then something soft brushed against his face. Before he could react, he heard the sound of water not far away.

Quickly, he opened his eyes and saw that Chu Huan had removed his shoes and stepped into the water.

Chu Huan showed restraint and didn’t venture into the main river channel, sticking to a shallow stream that reached his knees.

Originally, Chu Huan had something in mind, but when he saw Nanshan’s face turn completely red, he decided not to push any further.

He felt as if he were facing a precious treasure, a delectable treat he couldn’t bear to consume.

Nanshan, coming back to his senses, realized he was being teased. At first, he felt a bit embarrassed, but eventually, he couldn’t help but laugh at himself.

Sitting by the stream, Nanshan took out a harmonica from his waist and played a tune that Chu Huan had never heard before. The melody started off cheerful, then turned mellow in the middle, ending with a captivating and lingering flourish.

Chu Huan, stepping on the stones at the stream’s bottom, leisurely searched for fish. He didn’t need to ask what Nanshan was playing; he already knew.

Suddenly, a smile on Chu Huan’s lips froze as he maintained his bent position, his gaze sharp as he stared at the water’s surface. He noticed the fish swimming in groups, moving in a steady, straight line. Their formation remained constant, swimming with stiff and mechanical tail movements, their rhythm unchanging.

The fish in the water seemed untroubled by the presence of a man the size of Chu Huan standing among them. They brushed against Chu Huan’s shin without hesitation and were easily lifted out of the water. The fish’s gills continued to move, but it didn’t struggle as Chu Huan lifted it from the water, its tail maintaining the same mechanical, winding movement as if it were a well-crafted toy.

Chu Huan gestured to Nanshan, who had put away his harmonica, and inquired, “What’s going on?”

“The fish look peculiar,” Chu Huan remarked as he stepped onto the shore. “I don’t think we should eat these. Come have a look.”

Nanshan accepted the fish from Chu Huan, his expression growing serious as he examined it for a moment. Suddenly, he recalled something and fetched a small knife to gently open the fish’s gills.

To their astonishment, the gills weren’t the usual pink or even the dark purple that occurs when a fish is out of water for too long. Instead, they were an unnatural shade of white.

How could gills, filled with blood vessels, turn this ghostly white?

Upon closer inspection, they realized it wasn’t due to a lack of blood color; instead, the gills were covered in something resembling white sores. At first glance, it looked like a layer of tiny white flowers.

Despite not having a phobia of close encounters, Chu Huan felt goosebumps ripple across his body. 

“What is this?”

Nanshan’s brow furrowed deeper and deeper, and then he suddenly leapt up, grabbing Chu Huan urgently. “The Mutayi we cannot touch; the Sound Beasts we cannot listen to; and the Eye-Feasting Beasts we cannot look at. These are the ones we cannot eat. Come, let’s hurry back!”

Meanwhile, as Chu Huan and Nanshan departed, Yuan Ping had been restlessly sitting in the same spot. Eventually, he couldn’t resist nudging Xiao Fang and inquiring, 

“Hey, buddy, our Patriarch and that, um, other person—are they up to something over there?”

“That person? Doing what?” Xiao Fang gazed at Yuan Ping with curious eyes, ready to learn.

The two of them exchanged puzzled looks for a moment, and then Wooden Club chimed in, “I know.”

Yuan Ping was surprised by Wooden Club’s intelligence but couldn’t contain his curiosity, so he listened closely.

As it turned out, Wooden Club was rather astute when he didn’t have to count numbers. He nonchalantly picked up a piece of dry cake, broke it into bits, and savored them slowly, tantalizing anyone’s appetite. Only then did he shake his head and explain, “I realised it a while ago. You have no idea – back when we were on the other side of the Mountain Gate, while Good Bitch was teaching us Mandarin beside the white boulder, the Patriarch would always come around. However, he’d never sit. First, he’ll have a look around until his eyes meet Good Bitch’s. Then, he’d smile at him. Only then would he seem at ease and continue doing whatever he needs to do.”

Xiao Fang strained to recollect but, during that time, he was too preoccupied with being Chu Huan’s blackboard eraser, so he couldn’t recall who was looking where.

Yuan Ping thought to himself, “What? They were already flirting back then? Wait, no, Chu Huan isn’t a teacher, so why was he teaching Mandarin?”

This time, Xiao Fang finally grasped the conversation and quickly pushed Wooden Club aside to explain, “We were supposed to meet the teacher, but he disappeared on the way. We mistook Chu Huan for the teacher and he kindly came with us.”

Kind-hearted, my foot, Yuan Ping cursed silently. More like he was smitten at first sight.

Yuan Ping pieced together the whole story and, after a while, simply said, “Ah,” relieved to have his question answered. He should’ve felt the strange satisfaction that idle gossip often brings, but, oddly, it didn’t occur.

Instead, he unexpectedly reminisced about his childhood—those times when he and his friends used to play pranks on Chu Huan after school.

Back then, that kid was so irritating and detestable. Looking back now, Yuan Ping felt a strange sensation in his chest. It seemed that in the blink of an eye, both of them had changed so much that they were no longer competing over the same crushes.

One had passed away and the other had transformed into this peculiar being.

Yuan Ping felt slow to react, but now he fully comprehended that time waits for no one; he could never return to the carefree days of his youth.

The flowers weren’t just flowers, the mist wasn’t mere mist, and old friends were no longer old friends. Even familiar squabbles were just reheated leftovers.

There was no turning back.

Yuan Ping realized that he and the world beyond the mountains were now utterly disconnected. Suddenly, a profound sense of desolation overcame his heart, one he’d thought was vast enough to embrace everything.

Unaware of Yuan Ping’s expression, Wooden Club continued to reminisce. “Outsiders came from across the river before, but I was as young as my son back then, so I can barely remember what they looked like.”

Yuan Ping, who had some fragmented memories from the Sacred Spring, had vague impressions, but they weren’t very detailed. So he listened as Wooden Club vividly recounted the events. Yuan Ping furrowed his brow and thought, Probably just a bunch of traders.

Wooden Club carried on, “After that, the Elder grew wary of outsiders despite the Sacred Text. Sigh, Good Bitch is a good friend, so hopefully he won’t turn out like the previous outsiders.”

“He won’t,” Yuan Ping replied without hesitation.

Wooden Club was momentarily surprised, then he caught on and scratched his head. 

“I can tell that you two are close friends. Otherwise, why would he think of you by the Sacred Spring?”

Yuan Ping was briefly taken aback and stayed silent for a moment. Eventually, he neither confirmed nor denied it. Instead, he moved aside to help Da Shan wipe the sweat from his forehead.

Wooden Club continued with his speculations, muttering, “Today is a day of rest. Patriarch might be gone for the entire day.”

As he said this, he seemed to remember something amusing and let out a chuckle. However, his laughter got caught in his throat when he realized that Nanshan had returned and he wasn’t sure if he was overheard. 

In a rush, Wooden Club stood up, looking like a thief caught in the act. He stammered, “P-Patrairch, so soon?”

Sometimes, Wooden Club’s antics were so irritating that not even Nanshan could tolerate them. So, Nanshan tossed the almost lifeless fish, which was still twitching its tail, right at Wooden Club’s face.

Everyone quickly gathered around as Wooden Club wiped the water from his face. After inspecting the fish’s gills, he mumbled a term that Chu Huan had never heard before.

Yuan Ping provided an immediate translation, “It’s the Wangsi¹ flower. The inedible Wangsi Flower.”

First, they couldn’t touch it; then they couldn’t hear it; now, they couldn’t taste it.

Could the next step be that they couldn’t smell it?

Xiao Fang grew anxious and asked, “Patriarch, the Wangsi Flower grows in the water. Its nectar sweetens the entire water area. If ingested, a person loses their senses, just like this fish. They keep walking, unresponsive to anyone’s calls until their legs give out and they walk to their deaths. Does this mean we can’t drink the water downstream?”

So that’s why the Sound Beasts that used to reside downstream migrated upstream.

Wooden Club inquired, “Patriarch, are we still continuing?”

Nanshan glanced at him and responded casually, “Have you forgotten? It will take ten days to travel the mountain range. We haven’t even completed half of it yet.”

Wooden Club still appeared hesitant, but Xiao Fang smacked the back of his head. 

“Scared? You coward.”

Wooden Club rubbed his head and shot a glare at Xiao Fang, but he didn’t make a fuss. He felt his eyelids twitching nervously as if sensing an impending omen.

They could no longer rest comfortably and swiftly divided into groups to collect water, judging the water quality based on the fish’s behavior.

After a hurried preparation, they officially resumed their journey on the second day. Da Shan had regained most of his mobility, although his eyes were injured. Still, the determined young man insisted on not being carried and, instead, fashioned a wooden stick to support himself while someone guided him from the front.

Wooden Club had been anxious all night; on the second day, he tried even harder to be humorous to distract himself. Capitalizing on Da Shan’s blindness, he sneakily placed a bright red trumpet flower on top of his head. This upright young man exuded the unexplained aura of a matchmaker; oblivious to such a transformation, he remained walking proudly.

For some reason, from the honorable Patriarch to the simple-minded Xiao Fang, everyone turned a blind eye to the situation. They united by pretending to not notice anything.

The path ahead grew even more treacherous. As they approached the river, the Sound Beasts became increasingly aggressive. This made everyone, especially Yuan Ping, who was rumored to have a fear of crawling creatures, more on edge.

Groups of three to five Sound Beasts would occasionally charge and howl as they attacked everything before them. Chu Huan and the others couldn’t flee or hide, so they had no choice but to cover their ears and curl up in an attempt to protect themselves.

The ground shook, leaving them covered in dirt and disarrayed, but the constant rattling of their brains was the most unbearable part. Only those made of iron could adapt to such circumstances, which, unfortunately for Chu Huan, both the Mountain Keepers and Gatekeepers were. 

Chu Huan finally endured it for a day before, while Nanshan was away, he vomited—a rare occurrence.

Xiao Fang patted his back and offered words of comfort, saying, “You’ll get used to it. You’ll get used to it.”

Would getting used to it provide immunity?

Wooden Club’s eyes lit up mischievously and he seized the moment to say, “Ah, there’s actually a ritual for this. Good Bitch, once you exchange blood, you won’t even need to carry a Mutayi’s poison sac anymore.”

Chu Huan glanced at him with a half-smile and spoke in the foreign clan’s language, “Do you want me to become the clan’s son-in-law by exchanging blood?”

Nanshan had gone ahead to scout the situation. With the Patriarch absent, Wooden Club looked around surreptitiously before rubbing his hands and smirking at Chu Huan.

Xiao Fang, being an honest and direct man, couldn’t tolerate Wooden Club’s behavior, so he slapped the back of his head again. 

“You talk too much.”

Chu Huan’s face, still recovering from the effects of the brain-shaking, was already showing signs of liveliness. He grinned slyly and remarked, “Let’s discuss that later. First, I need to prepare the dowry.”

Wooden Club and Xiao Fang were puzzled by the term “dowry,” but Yuan Ping, on the other hand, understood it well. He appeared astonished, shot a meaningful glance at the unapologetic Chu Huan, and marveled, This guy is getting more shameless with each passing day.

Upon Nanshan’s return, Yuan Ping began staring at him oddly. He had heard about Nanshan’s parents and felt that the Mountain Keeper’s tastes were somewhat strange; it was possibly a hereditary trait. Each generation of people in their Clan seemed to have unique preferences, as they were drawn to all sorts of monsters and demons.

Nanshan felt uncomfortable under Yuan Ping’s scrutiny and issued a warning glance as they passed each other—Nanshan always seemed to be on high alert around him. He believed that Chu Huan had grown too close to this individual.

In an almost miraculous understanding, Yuan Ping caught the meaning behind Nanshan’s cautionary look. He shivered and made a solemn vow, “Patriarch, you… you… you can’t misunderstand me like this. I swear by the Heavens that there’s only one person in the world with such peculiar tastes, and that’s you. Even in my next life and the life after that, I won’t have any ulterior motives towards that guy. Otherwise, let the Heavens strike me with thunder!”

Nanshan was left speechless.

He couldn’t fathom how this man had no filter as a Gatekeeper. Although he believed it wasn’t appropriate to pass judgment in his position, he resolved to discuss this matter with Luger once they returned.

At dusk that day, they finally reached the mouth of the downstream river. There were no other living creatures here except for the so-called Wangsi Flower.

This was the first plant that genuinely shocked Chu Huan.

Layer upon layer of dead vines formed a grotesque and massive web that blanketed the water’s surface and extended several meters beneath it. The dense web clung to the distorted riverbed, creating a wide and sturdy bridge. The branches were devoid of leaves but adorned with pure white flowers resembling falling snow.

Trapped within that colossal web were countless skeletal remains—fish, Mutayi, Flat Creatures, and even massive Sound Beasts.

The fish’s tails and the limbs of various creatures were all shattered, with the vines from the plant interweaving with the fractured bones, making it challenging to distinguish them. Clusters of vines penetrated in and out of the leg bones as if siphoning the marrow and flourishing even more vibrantly.

It was eerie, yet strangely beautiful.