Of Mountains and Rivers 65

The sudden otherworldly fire left Chu Huan deeply distressed—after enduring countless hardships both physically and mentally along their journey and finally adapting to the illusionary attacks, the rules of the game abruptly changed again to physical attacks!

Why couldn’t it just stick to one path from start to finish?

What particularly vexed Chu Huan was the presence of Yuan Ping, who was like a wooden club that kept poking at him. Despite reaching such a dire situation, Yuan Ping persistently suspected that everything he saw was fake.

Yuan Ping spoke, “Wait, let’s see first if it’s real fire.”

In the midst of the conversation, flames trailed along the rope, igniting it, and violent sparks scattered in all directions.

Chu Huan exclaimed, “How can this not be real! You…”

But just as they recklessly rushed to extinguish the fire, a flame singed Chu Huan’s palm. He immediately paused, “Huh?”

At the same time, Nanshan and Luger had realized something as well.

Nanshan hesitated for a moment, tentatively reaching one hand into the flames. The seemingly fierce flames swept over his palm and forearm with a crackling sound, casting a thin layer of red glow on his face.

Nanshan seemed to be possessed by the Red Boy, gazing unharmed at the flames before him, and inquired with puzzlement, “It’s not hot?”

The “flames” had a temperature of at most forty degrees,providing a gentle  warmth that spread evenly. It seemed to dispel the chilly shadows in the Fallen Land. Unconsciously, everyone treated it as a makeshift hand warmer with each person inserting a hand into the warmth.

At first glance, the scene appeared somewhat brutal, as if the four of them were engaged in some form of self-mutilating performance art.

Surprisingly, Yuan Ping managed to say something right for once in his lifetime. He was proud of himself and indulged in shameless self-praise, “See, I told you, I always have great foresight.”

… Well, even fools can have their moments of insight. 

“Who knows what’s going on?” Nanshan curled his fingers in the flame.

Chu Huan, being a competent translator, faithfully relayed this sentence to the man who looked like he was in a hurry.

Under the firelight, the man appeared to be around forty years old, with thick eyebrows and big eyes. He had a naturally imposing and handsome appearance, with a long braid trailing behind him. The braid looked like that of a girl, adorned with colorful ribbons, each embellished with bell-like ornaments without clappers.

Luger’s gaze lingered on the peculiar bells for a moment. “Wait a minute, this person seems to be a ‘wizard’.”

Of course, when Luger said “wizard”, he wasn’t referring to Harry Potter. In the language of the Liyi Clan, this term encompassed meanings such as “communicator with the gods”, “officiator of sacrifices”, and “the wisest person”. Chu Huan had heard it from the Elder once, but what puzzled him was that there were no individuals with such a role among the Mountain Keepers and Gatekeepers.

With a sense of curiosity, he asked casually, and Luger, without explaining, just gave him a disdainful, proud smile.

Chu Huan was initially puzzled, then suddenly widened his eyes—

The Mountain Keepers were born from the center of the mountains and waters, ageless and seemingly unchanging in appearance for centuries. Besides their mysterious blood ties with the Gatekeepers, there would also be instances where they would disappear over time without reason…

For the local natives, this kind of enigmatic existence could only mean one thing…

Nanshan looked at him with a knowing smile.

Chu Huan was utterly disheveled, stammering, “So you mean to say that I… I have abducted a ‘Mountain God’?”

Luger chimed in, “Nanshan’s generation of Mountain Keepers haven’t experienced this. A long time ago—when the continent was populated, and merchants roamed everywhere, there used to be a ‘grand gathering’ at the Mountain Gate every three years. Many people would come to the Mountain Gate for pilgrimage under the guidance of the clan’s wizards, seeking blessings and avoiding disasters. For them, the mountain was the only true god.”

The so-called “sacred mountain” wasn’t just a boast; it was genuinely a local object of worship, akin to a holy site. Chu Huan began to reflect on whether he had been too disrespectful.

Just then, he heard a faint “hehe” sound. Upon closer discerning, he realized that the sound came from the feeble breath of someone squeezing air from their throat.

Throughout the journey, Chu Huan had likely been influenced by Luger’s distinctive cold laughter. Feeling nervous for a moment, he mistook the “hehe” for laughter.

Chu Huan inquired, “Hey, big brother, can you hear it?”

The man seemed to have let out a long breath and weakly responded, “Yes… who… is it…”

Nanshan gently poked Chu Huan’s shoulder, seemingly determined to persist in his “false argument”. Chu Huan gripped his fingers, holding them tightly in his palm, and lowered his voice as he turned back, “Shut up, yours is unreliable.”

The wizard spoke again, “Are you… an outsider? Do you… carry the ‘kindling’ on you?”

As he responded to Chu Huan, the flames dancing on the rope gradually extinguished, leaving the hemp rope unscathed.

Chu Huan was taken aback. The young girl he had encountered earlier had asked if he was in her heart, but this middle-aged man used the subtle term “outside”. Compared to the confused child, this man seemed to be acutely aware of his situation in this Fallen Land.

Chu Huan’s thoughts took a turn. He didn’t entirely trust this person, so he chose a subtle expression as well, “We came from the mountain over there. What is this ‘kindling’ you speak of?”

“Kindling… comes from beyond the sacred mountain, something it cannot devour…”

“From beyond the sacred mountain” was easily understood, meaning the other side of this world—a world Chu Huan was more familiar with. “Something it cannot devour” likely referred to the Patriarch’s staff.

“Are you… from the sacred mountain? True god, I beg you… save… save…”

The wizard’s voice carried an indescribable urgency, but the second half of the sentence became increasingly weak.

Chu Huan thought he was saying “save me” and couldn’t help but move closer, “What?”

Nanshan reached out to hold his shoulder, preventing him from getting too close.

“It’s alright,” Chu Huan took another step forward, “Save you? How can I save you?”

The wizard was extremely weak, and after a while of silence, just as Chu Huan was growing impatient, he uttered a few words intermittently, “Cut… cut of… my… head…”

Chu Huan was speechless.

Between his own ears and this big brother’s head, it seemed that one of them must be defective.

Typically, “true gods” don’t speak too much. Talking too much makes one seem like an ignorant country bumpkin, lacking in divine aura. However, in this dire situation, Chu Huan couldn’t care less about playing along with the famous but non-existent “mountain god”. He hurriedly questioned again, “Are you saying that I need to cut off your head to save you?”

Before he could finish speaking, his vision suddenly blurred, as if he had been plunged into hot water. Chu Huan looked down and horrifyingly discovered that flames had ignited around him. The firelight was so intense that he couldn’t open his eyes, and he instinctively raised his hand to shield himself.

In that instant, countless scenes flashed before his eyes—

He saw vast landscapes, inked in layers of darkness. Soon, his perspective swiftly descended to the ground, where countless people were silently engulfed by darkness, oblivious and unaware. The clamor and dust hung in the air, frozen in a deadly silence. 

Thousands of faces flashed before Chu Huan like scrambled codes. Enveloped in shadows, they first stood motionless, swallowed by the darkness. Their once vibrant faces then gradually turned gray. Chu Huan’s gaze darted quickly—he recognized that shade of gray, the deathly paleness that surfaces when a person is nearing death.

The rapidly changing images gradually slowed down, finally freezing on one person. It was an old man, frozen in the posture of gazing into the distance as he remained motionless. His grayish face and stiff body resembled a perfectly upright zombie. Chu Huan wondered, “Is he alive or dead?”

Before he could finish that thought, the next moment, the old man’s body seemed to disintegrate like sand. Chu Huan watched helplessly as he turned into a pile of powder.

Just like digested food waste, starting from the feet and ending with the head.

Chu Huan suddenly widened his eyes. This person seemed to be indicating to him that the consumption in the Fallen Land was in a physical sense, consuming both people and animals!

“It” feeds on people and animals in the Fallen Land. It was not what they initially speculated. Something like “devouring consciousness, devouring emotions” seemed more sophisticated in terms of haunting methods.

At that moment, someone forcefully dragged Chu Huan out of the flames, and his back collided with Nanshan’s chest.

Seeing him suddenly surrounded by flames, even though Nanshan knew the flames might not burn, he was still scared, almost to the point of a heart attack. He nervously checked Chu Huan from top to bottom.

… If not for Nanshan’s consistent upright thoughts and strong moral character, Chu Huan would have almost suspected him of taking advantage of the situation.

Chu Huan cleared his throat, “He’s telling me something about the Fallen Land. Don’t worry.”

Yuan Ping asked, “Guys, look. What’s wrong with this person?”

Chu Huan followed his gaze and, in just a short time, noticed that the wizard’s complexion had visibly turned gray, shrouded in an aura of death.

The fire just now seemed to have burned his life away.

Chu Huan suddenly sensed something. This person’s direction was the valley they had passed through. He whispered, “Who did you ask me to save?”

“My… my fellow clansmen.” This time, the wizard’s voice seemed clearer, as if a glimmer of light had returned. The wizard himself probably realized it too. Without waiting for Chu Huan to inquire, he continued on his own, “My clansmen are in that valley over there. They are trapped by ‘it’, thinking I abandoned them…”

Chu Huan listened attentively while simultaneously fulfilling his duty as an interpreter. At this moment, the effectiveness of diligently supplementing language skills to the Elder became evident; otherwise, he wouldn’t understand the rare words others were using.

Chu Huan asked, “Trapped?”

“Yes… it assimilates everyone, their bodies… and then their consciousness. Our bodies became its sustenance, yet we remained unaware. Our consciousness is trapped in a false cage and is gradually digested. We think we have lived a lifetime freely, believing it to be real…”

Yuan Ping, “Damn, so ‘it’ is a carnivorous creature?”

Chu Huan replied, “I seem to understand a bit now. Those monsters outside represent ‘cannot see, cannot hear, cannot smell, cannot taste, and cannot touch’, right? If all senses are sealed, one can’t determine if they truly exist or live in an illusion…”

Yuan Ping nodded thoughtfully, solemnly saying, “Hmm, it’s quite formidable.”

Chu Huan didn’t bother to trim down this feeblemindedness statement. He discerned the wizard’s voice growing more urgent, almost breathless towards the end, fearing that he might not finish speaking before running out of breath. Hastily, he asked, “How do we save people? What should we do specifically? Your people don’t know what’s happening; their cries are earth-shattering. We can barely breathe when we approach them…”

The wizard said, “They cry because they are trapped in this fantasy. It makes them believe that I and the Mountain God have forsaken them. I… I haven’t… My body has become part of ‘it’, and I’m close to death. No one can take me away. Wh-while my consciousness is still alive, cut off my head, take me back to the valley, burn me with the fire in front of my people, and awaken them…”

Chu Huan questioned, “You’re close to death?”

The wizard responded, “I’ve been resisting it for countless years, but it’s about to digest me completely.”

Putting aside the question of whether burning someone’s head can scientifically awaken people in the valley, wasn’t the crying of a thousand people because they think the wizard betrayed them a bit excessive?

It wasn’t like someone’s father died or mother remarried. Was it really necessary?

Chu Huan thought this wizard was either a bit crazy or overly self-sentimental. He relayed the wizard’s words while earnestly trying to negotiate with the aggrieved party, “I can’t kill someone for this reason. Either you reconsider or think of something else…”

Nanshan suddenly restrained Chu Huan, “Tell him ‘alright’.”

On the other side, Luger had already drawn his knife, holding the blade against the wizard’s neck, slightly lifting his chin and nodding to Chu Huan.

Chu Huan hesitated, “But…”

“This is how we are here,” Nanshan explained softly. “The sacred mountain is their faith, and the wizard is considered the one who can communicate with the sacred mountain, so he is the embodiment of a god. In a clan, the wizard is their faith.”

Chu Huan, in fact, strongly disagreed. He knew of several true gods himself. However, he kept this thought to himself and didn’t voice it out.

For many days, Nanshan had sensed something from Chu Huan’s eyes. He sighed, “Ah, you still don’t understand. Even without monsters here, our place was not peaceful to begin with. People in many places were destitute. I heard the Elder say that the clans living in different areas used to engage in frequent battles. If there was a plague, a large number of people would die easily. People worship the sacred mountain, believing in it as a kind of solace. Do you know what solace is?”

Chu Huan hadn’t expected the locals’ belief in the Mountain God to be so firm and devout. He shook his head hesitantly.

“Solace is a kind of hope. When life is unbearable, they think about the sacred mountain, telling themselves that it’s a trial given by the Mountain God. If they endure it, they will receive the blessing of the god. Without this hope and solace, they might lack a pillar of support.”

Hardship and faith have always been inseparable.

Nanshan said, “What does it feel like when the pillar collapses? If a clan believes that the wizard and the sacred mountain have forsaken them, it’s equivalent to when I think you have betrayed me one day. Do you understand now?”

Chu Huan was silent.

He had understood it initially, but this statement… The amount of information was a bit overwhelming.

Nanshan reached out and touched his hair, his gaze softening, “Agree to his request.”

Chu Huan’s throat tightened. He quickly coughed, cleared his throat, and reluctantly continued his simultaneous interpretation.

“I have one last question,” Chu Huan asked the wizard in front of him with a deep voice. “Why hasn’t your consciousness been consumed?”

The wizard remained silent for a moment, “Perhaps because I only have one thought left in my heart, and that is ‘to go back’.”

This statement coincided with the words of the Elder of the Mountain Keeper to some extent. Chu Huan nodded silently.

Chu Huan couldn’t imagine the kind of determination it took for one person to request another to chop off their head and take it away. Still, it didn’t prevent him from feeling a hint of sympathy.

“Okay.” Chu Huan said.

Whether it was his illusion or not, he felt a faint smile on the wax-like face of the wizard, who was still as stone, when he finished speaking.

Luger raised his hand and cleanly chopped off the wizard’s head. In that instant of separation, the wizard’s body from feet to neck completely turned into powder.

He died as thoroughly as possible.

Luger lifted the wizard’s head and said, “Let’s go.”

They had finally bypassed the terrifying valley and were now heading back. The thought of returning through the dense, unyielding air in that valley gave them a sense of tragic inevitability as if they were destined to be unable to avoid it.

Fortunately, on the return journey, apart from wasting some extra steps, nothing unusual happened.

Chu Huan spoke as they walked, “Thinking back to the conversation with the wizard just now, I remembered another question. According to the wizard, most people are consumed without any awareness, as if they don’t have time to react. Why didn’t they run away beforehand?”

Nanshan thought for a moment, “Maybe they couldn’t make it in time. They weren’t near the sacred mountain, and when ‘it’ came, there wasn’t even a barrier to delay it. By the time people realized it, they might have already been consumed.”

Chu Huan inquired, “Then how did the legends about the Fallen Land originate?”

If everyone who knew about something had passed away, where did the information come from?

Everyone fell into a momentary silence.

Chu Huan continued, “So, I suspect that back then, there must be someone who somehow escaped from the Fallen Land.”

As they spoke, they had returned to the vicinity of the eerie valley.. 

The once-thick clouds seemed to have dispersed. Only a row of people of all ages from the clan remained, trapped in the unbearable illusions.

Yuan Ping took a deep breath, “To be honest, now I feel a bit like a savior.”

Chu Huan sighed, “Dear savior, get ready to dive in and give it a go.”