Of Mountains and Rivers 44

"What's a Mirage Monkey? Mirage Monkey, what is that?" Chu Huan couldn't straighten his back; he was covered in layers of cold sweat. Blinking, the drops of sweat on his eyelashes fell off. He rubbed his eyes, but soon he dared not do so anymore because he noticed that every time he rubbed, the scene in front of him would have subtle differences, like a series of "spot the difference" images rotating before him, making him dizzy and disoriented. "Damn it… Stay alert; don't move randomly."

 

Yuan Ping understood what Chu Huan was trying to convey and felt like howling in despair: "So, it's still an illusion now. The flower hasn't been defeated; it just strategically concealed itself."

 

Chu Huan didn't answer, and he forcefully tilted his head. Vaguely, he seemed to hear the sound of a heartbeat coming from somewhere. After the mirage vision, now it was mirage sounds? These days were becoming unbearable.

 

Yuan Ping glanced at Chu Huan's face, wanting to pat him on the back and comfort him. "Hey, I mean, if you can't handle it, just say so."

 

But before he could touch Chu Huan, Nanshan intervened midway, grabbing Chu Huan's shoulder and leaving Yuan Ping's hand in mid-air. Nanshan casually said, "I'll take care of him. Thanks."

 

Yuan Ping, "…"

 

"I've only heard the elders mention the Mirage Monkey; they said it's neither a living nor a dead creature." Nanshan held a knife in one hand and rested the other on Chu Huan's body, allowing him to lean against him to rest for a while. "But I don't know what it looks like or how to kill it."

 

"Can't see, can't hear, can't smell, can't taste, can't touch…" Chu Huan wore a bitter smile and murmured, "The next one should be 'can't think'?"

 

Xiao Fang widened her eyes. "What do you mean?"

 

Listening to this, Yuan Ping looked at Chu Huan thoughtfully, then frowned slightly. He was about to ask, but suddenly he saw a gray shadow that flashed past like lightning.

 

Before Yuan Ping could give a warning, Chu Huan had already reached out and pulled an arrow from Nanshan's waist. He drew the bow and aimed in one smooth motion. The arrowhead made a "ding" sound, indicating it hit something. But when they looked again, there was nothing there. The fallen arrow stood alone in the ground, with the arrowhead strangely inserted into the soil, and the fletching was trembling slightly.

 

Xiao Fang and Yuan Ping almost spoke in unison.

"What was that?"

"There's something there!"

 

Chu Huan cautiously pulled out a second arrow. With a wound on his back, his extended arm was trembling slightly, and a drop of cold sweat flowed into his mouth. He tasted it and found that even his sweat wasn't salty. Chu Huan took a deep breath, and his voice barely emerged from his throat: "You all saw it too."

 

"I didn't see it clearly, but it seemed…" Yuan Ping gestured with his hand, "About this tall."

 

The height of a monkey.

Xiao Fang added, "It had fur on its body, and its tail was thin and long."

The tail of a monkey.

 

Nanshan supported Chu Huan without saying a word. In fact, he had also caught a glimpse of it, but he was accustomed to being more cautious.

 

What does it mean to be neither a living nor a dead creature?

 

What kind of thing can survive in an area filled with dead flowers?

 

If there was truly a gray-furred monkey, why didn't it appear earlier? Why did it only show up when he mentioned the words "Mirage Monkey"?

 

The four of them were almost back-to-back, surrounded by complete silence. After a while, Chu Huan slowly put down the bow and arrow, saying, "It's gone."

 

Yuan Ping asked lightly, "Can we lure it out?"

 

Xiao Fang wondered, "How do we lure it?"

 

"We'll guard the entrance." Yuan Ping's voice paused for a moment. He suddenly realized that the words "we, the gatekeepers," came out so naturally, almost without any discordance. "We, the gatekeepers, believe that bones and blood are powerful things. They are tools commonly used in rituals to communicate between the living and the dead. If the Mirage Monkey is truly what the chief described, something that is neither alive nor dead, then maybe we can lure it out using these things?"

 

The words sounded illogical and nonsensical, but fortunately, the situation itself made little sense. Blood and bones were medicinal ingredients commonly used by the mountain guardians, and Nanshan carried them with him.

 

"Chief, do you know how to draw a 'birth blessing'?" Yuan Ping gestured as he asked.

 

"The 'birth blessing' is usually drawn by the elders of the clan. Whenever a newborn arrives, they draw a blessing on the child's forehead, symbolizing their wish for the child to be free from illness and death, a symbol of new life." Nanshan didn't rush to answer. He first explained it carefully to Chu Huan, then nodded to Yuan Ping, "I know. Why?"

 

"I have an idea; I don't know if it will work… You mix the blood and bone ash powder together, and on me." Yuan Ping pointed to his forehead and said, "Draw an inverted 'birth blessing.' I'll go to the riverside and lure that gray-furred monkey out. The rest of you provide cover, and Chu Huan, you're responsible for long-range attacks."

 

"Get lost." Chu Huan immediately rejected him without thinking. "Who gave you the authority to command?"

 

Yuan Ping poked his chest and stubbornly said, "Disabled, just focus on your task and don't worry about the rest."

 

A few years ago, this turtle bastard was also in a narrow alley, in the darkness, with garbage everywhere. He was just like this, without any discussion, thinking he knew better and arrogantly telling him, "Focus on your own tasks and don't worry about the rest."

 

"I say it's not possible, so it's not possible." Chu Huan interrupted him and said slowly, word by word, "I don't trust you."

 

Yuan Ping sneered, "Maybe you don't trust yourself?"

 

Veins bulged on Chu Huan's forehead, and he wanted to slap him across the face. But before he could lift his hand, Nanshan grabbed his wrist.

 

"Do you trust me?" Nanshan suddenly asked.

 

Chu Huan was taken aback.

 

"I'm different from him. Our clan always does what we say; we never break our promises." Nanshan looked at Chu Huan quietly. Suddenly, he lowered his gaze, his eyelashes trembling slightly. His palm slid from Chu Huan's wrist to his hand, holding Chu Huan's hand in his palm and gently tapping his own chest. "Power can be great or small, but it comes from belief. Chu Huan, I don't know what you're thinking, but even if you don't want to make a promise to me, I am willing to unilaterally become yours. Please believe in me."

 

Most of his Chinese seemed to be taught by Chu Huan, but his teacher was unreliable and hadn't reached the chapter on sweet words. He could only express himself in his own way.

 

Chu Huan was momentarily speechless. Even the jokes and banter along the way couldn't match the gravity with which Nanshan spoke. "Clan… Chief, you…"

 

Nanshan held one of Chu Huan's hands, clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, and bowed. He touched Chu Huan's hand to his own forehead, silently reciting something as if voluntarily imprinting an incredibly heavy oath.

 

Then he took the blood and bone ash of the gatekeepers from a pouch containing various medicinal substances, mixed them in his palm, and drew a peculiar symbol on his forehead.

 

"I'll slowly approach the riverbank. If the gatekeepers' method works, the Mirage Monkey won't remain indifferent. But you all must not follow me. Once it appears, kill it immediately."

 

"Give me the arrows; dip the tips in blood."

 

"What if arrows can't kill it?"

 

Nanshan looked back at him and said, "I still have a knife."

 

Chu Huan followed Nanshan without blinking, almost holding his breath as if it rested on the bloodied arrowhead.

 

Nanshan moved slowly, each step seeming deliberate. The tip of his knife drooped downward, but it was already adjusted in a position to strike horizontally at any moment. Every movement was natural, and it carried the experience of countless battles.

 

Chu Huan watched that figure, suddenly forgetting to mutter, "If only I had a gun." It was as if he had forgotten the pain in his back that prevented him from stretching his muscles. Because of the injury, his trembling hand miraculously steadied itself.

 

Suddenly, a sharp screech sounded, and a gray shadow dashed out.

 

Before the sound could reach their ears, Chu Huan's arrow had already left the bowstring, and Nanshan's knife moved with the wind.

 

In the blink of an eye, a half-human-sized monkey was fatally struck by an arrow to the throat. The arrow was flawless, and almost simultaneously, Nanshan's knife hacked into the monkey's shoulder, forcefully pinning it to the ground. The soft mud by the riverside caved in under the impact, leaving a deep pit.

 

But even at this moment, the tension that gripped everyone didn't immediately dissipate.

 

Yuan Ping took a few steps forward and cautiously asked, "Is it dead?"

 

Meanwhile, Xiao Fang lightly padded Chu Huan's arm without much strength. "Well done! You did great!"

 

Chu Huan stumbled from the pat, but his gaze never left the large gray monkey.

 

Suddenly, he realized something, and his pupils contracted. He staggered towards Nanshan and shouted, "Step back, it's fake!"

 

Chu Huan had seen Nanshan's actions before. When Nanshan cleanly snapped Muta'i's neck in the darkness, it was precise and efficient, never dragging on. He executed the principles of stability, accuracy, and ruthlessness to the extreme.

 

So when a dangerous, unknown, high-speed monster lunged at him, would his first reaction be to slash at its shoulder with a knife?

 

Did he want to leave it alive for interrogation?

 

At such close proximity, Nanshan's knife wouldn't miss, and Chu Huan was confident that his arrow wouldn't either. So, the only possibility was a divergence in their perspectives.

 

But it was already too late.

 

The ground suddenly emitted a series of dense, rustling sounds. The hidden vines finally got their wish and ensnared their prey. Those vines rapidly intertwined at an unimaginable speed, forming a dense layer of netting that immediately separated the scattered group.

 

The vines secreted highly toxic nectar, while the surface of the vines seemed to be covered in a layer of water membrane.

 

The lighter? Right, the lighter was last passed to Yuan Ping's hand.

 

Chu Huan had just entertained that thought when he heard Yuan Ping's voice coming from behind the dense, thorny wall. "It won't ignite at this point!"

 

From the other side, Xiao Fang's voice came: "What's it doing? What about the monkey from earlier?"

 

It seemed that the monkey was also an illusion—a collective one. Chu Huan held the short knife in his hand.

 

At that moment, he heard Nanshan's anxious voice: "Chu Huan? Promise me, what about Da Shan? How is he?"

 

The voice of the baton sounded from a little farther away: "I'm carrying Da Shan, don't worry!"

 

Chu Huan wanted to answer him with "I'm here," but he suddenly found himself unable to speak. The walnut hanging on his chest suddenly became hot without warning. He also heard the intermittent sound of a heartbeat, as if it were drawing him in a certain direction.

 

Suddenly, a pained grunt came from somewhere, and Chu Huan's nerves immediately tightened. Who was injured?

 

Someone kept calling out to him, but the voice gradually grew distant, and it felt as if an invisible membrane was blocking his ears.

 

A sharp gust of wind swept across the back of his neck. Chu Huan instinctively bent down to dodge, narrowly avoiding a stealthy vine that swung past him.

 

Then the dense, thorny enclosure around him began to shake violently. Countless vines rushed at him like a tidal wave. Chu Huan struggled and dodged within the increasingly narrow space.

 

His back was in excruciating pain, and Chu Huan cursed silently. Instead of confronting them head-on, he blocked and evaded the vines, desperately fighting in a guerrilla-like manner. He tried to conserve his energy as much as possible while relying on his intuition to move in a certain direction.

 

The strange sound of the heartbeat was too overpowering. Chu Huan realized that he couldn't hear any other sounds anymore.

 

The path ahead was blocked, and he had to carve his own bloody path with his knife. As he approached a certain direction, the vines became increasingly frantic, as if they were desperately trying to stop him.

 

Did this thing also have sensitive spots? With this thought, although Chu Huan was in a sorry state, he strangely felt a sense of mischievous excitement.

 

Unfortunately, being mischievous came with the risk of being beaten to death.

 

Chu Huan narrowly avoided being strangled by a vine that attacked him unexpectedly. As he raised his hand to strike, the broken vine hadn't even hit the ground before another one swiftly followed, effectively pushing him into a dead end.

 

A third vine cunningly attacked from the side, aimed directly at Chu Huan's chest. He had no choice but to curl up his body as much as possible, mentally preparing himself to be stabbed through, while also trying to avoid any vital points to prevent an instant meeting with Chu Aiguo.

 

Chu Huan had already gritted his teeth, but the anticipated pain didn't come. He focused his gaze and saw that the menacing vine, which was about to touch the walnut hanging from his chest, suddenly froze as if it had been acupunctured.

 

What's going on? Could this "sacred object" repel evil?

 

However, at present, it is a situation of life and death. Chu Huan didn't investigate the reason. Seizing the opportunity as he turned over, he immediately and unceremoniously split the menacing vine in front of him in half and quickly broke free from the vine's encirclement.

 

A peculiar halo emanated from the "walnut" on Chu Huan's chest, like a faint but resolute small light in the darkness.

 

Not only was Chu Huan in this situation, but the entire Deathbloom Flower also violently trembled, intending to exterminate the few small insects inside itself.

 

Compared to before, Da Shan and the baton had even less space.

 

Da Shan couldn't see anything, and the fragrance of the flowers became so strong that it made him almost nauseous. The baton had to continuously carry him around while dodging and hiding.

 

The baton's leg had been sprained before. Although it recovered quickly, it still appeared somewhat awkward, especially while carrying Da Shan. In the midst of the chaos, he had to shout loudly, "Clan leader! Clan leader!"

 

"Don't worry about me." Da Shan groped and grabbed his arm. The usually silent youth spoke: "Go quickly and meet up with the clan leader. Don't worry about me. You won't be able to go anywhere carrying me!"

 

The baton didn't have time to respond when, at that moment, the thorny wall in front of him was split open with a knife. Nan Shan was pushed back to the other side by the newly sprouted thorns, and the Deathbloom Flower made no attempt to separate them.

 

The baton shouted urgently, "Be careful!"

 

But while he warned others, he fell into a trap himself. A vine unexpectedly emerged from the ground and pierced straight into the sole of the baton's foot. The baton let out a cry of pain, but he tightly held onto Da Shan, not letting go.

 

 of him.

 

Everyone heard the cry, and Nanshan felt anxious. However, the thickening, thorny wall grew faster than he could cut it. Nanshan heard Yuan Ping struggling with the thorny vines and heard Xiao Fang loudly calling the baton's name, but he could only hear nothing from Chu Huan.

 

The baton cried out in pain as he pulled the vine from his foot, and the ground was stained with blood. His voice seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth as he revealed a smile that Da Shan couldn't see and said intermittently, "Don't… don't carry you, and I can't go anywhere…"

 

At this moment, a loud shout came from above—it was Yuan Ping!

 

Yuan Ping had a small bottle of alcohol on him. He spread the alcohol on the blade of his knife and ignited it, holding a flaming blade. The smell of burning filled the air, and the vines of the Deathbloom Flower suddenly retreated on both sides.

 

"Come over here! Hurry!" Yuan Ping shouted at them, "I only have this last bit of alcohol!"

 

Da Shan frightenedly groped around, only to be embraced by a pair of arms wrapped around his waist. He hadn't had time to react when those arms locked tightly around him like iron, unyieldingly throwing him away.

 

Da Shan realized what was happening and shouted urgently, "Brother! Brother! Big Brother!"