SES Chapter 212 Part 1

Chapter 212

They set out early the next morning. Mu Dai was clearly not in good shape—two heavy dark circles under her eyes, and every so often she had to cover her mouth to stifle a yawn.

Luo Ren looked at her in surprise. “Didn’t sleep well?”

She replied dully, “Yeah.”

When she answered, she felt both relieved and uneasy.

The relief was that, in the nightmare, all the way until it ended, she still hadn’t been able to see that person’s face.

The unease was that the silhouette had really looked like…

No, no—she immediately rejected the thought. It definitely wasn’t Luo Ren. The silk manuscript had made it very clear: “Those who possess the power of the Phoenix Luan Buckle can avoid possession and harm by the Fierce Slips, and are not subject to their mental control.”

Besides, there were plenty of people in this world with similar-looking backs.

She shook her head hard, deciding she was just overthinking things.

There was one more passenger in the car—well, not a person, but a chicken—and like Mu Dai, it looked listless.

Cao Jiefang.

For the past few days, its routine had basically been “hotel–car–hotel.” After several days of this, even its eyes looked vacant. Cao Yanhua felt that even when Cao Jiefang pecked at grain, it came with a built-in slow-motion effect.

“Brother Luo,” Cao Yanhua said, “we’re going to Wanshou Stone today anyway. It’s not like Jiefang will disturb the ancestors. Why don’t we let it out to stretch its legs?”

Luo Ren had no objections, and neither did the others. Yi Wan San even pulled out a tourist pamphlet for Tong County that he’d picked up at the hotel before leaving.

“Jiefang, let me read this to you. Today we specially brought you out to travel. Five people accompanying one chicken—what an honor that is for a chicken…”

“Wanshou Stone: two meters high, one and a half meters wide, standing at the mountain pass of the famous Fengzi Ridge in this county. From afar, it somewhat resembles the character shou (longevity). There is also a miraculous legend associated with Wanshou Stone…”

The next part was in smaller print. Yi Wan San squinted to read it and muttered subconsciously, “Damn, Laozi again. This place really lives off Laozi’s fame…”

Luo Ren laughed as the car turned onto the road leading out of town.

He asked Yi Wan San, “Read on—what did Laozi do this time? Last time that fortune-teller said there was a place called ‘where Laozi once stopped.’ Could this Wanshou Stone be where Laozi held a birthday banquet?”

Yi Wan San shook his head and held the leaflet closer. “According to legend, Laozi loved collecting rare stones from all over the land…”

Just like Jin Shengtan’s commentary on Water Margin, Yi Wan San couldn’t help adding his own annotations as he read: “Nonsense. They pin everything on Laozi.”

He continued, “One day, while traveling through Fengzi Ridge to select rare stones, he happened to see this stone and praised it highly, saying it truly had the meaning of ‘lasting as long as heaven and earth.’”

Cao Yanhua pressed, “And then?”

“That’s it. He praised it and left.”

Cao Yanhua burst out laughing. “This attraction is such a scam. So-called Wanshou Stone—Laozi didn’t even take a fancy to it.”

Yan Hongsand laughed too. Only Mu Dai seemed to remember something; her expression suddenly turned strange. She grabbed the leaflet from Yi Wan San, pursed her lips, and stared at that paragraph again and again.

The laughter gradually died down. Cao Yanhua asked cautiously, “Little Master, is there a problem?”

Mu Dai said, “I just remembered something.”

“Back then, didn’t Laozi think the Phoenix Luan Buckle might not be foolproof? That’s why he had someone bring Yin Xi to build a Bagua observatory. Do you remember what the fortune-teller said at the time?”

Luo Ren’s heart stirred.

That part had been told to the fortune-teller by Yin Erma. Luo Ren still remembered the line clearly: after hearing Laozi’s instructions, Yin Xi “went deep into the mountains and gathered countless stones,” eventually obtaining the materials to build the Bagua Observatory.

With that as context, the Tong County tourist pamphlet mentioning “legend says Laozi loved collecting rare stones” didn’t seem so far-fetched anymore. There was even a faint, hard-to-pin-down sense of mystery to it.

Maybe Laozi really had been to Fengzi Ridge.

The car stopped at the village closest to Fengzi Ridge. The village was small, with low courtyards. From afar, they could see villagers busy working in their yards; in some courtyards, cows or mules were tethered.

Strangely, when they saw the car approaching, those people turned around and ran back into their houses.

What was that about? Why did it feel like “the devils are entering the village”?

Just as Luo Ren was puzzled, the villagers all ran back out again, instantly surrounding the car. Some carried baskets, others held crates.

“Lingbao apples—Xin Hongxing, Xiao Guoguang—homegrown, cheap, ten yuan a basket!”

“Local shiitake mushrooms, five yuan a bag!”

“Chili peppers—you can’t get these anywhere else, pay whatever you want!”

The scene was overwhelming enough to make sweat bead on their foreheads. Luo Ren and the others forced their way out of the car, locked it, and waved their hands apologetically. “Thanks, thanks, but we really aren’t buying.”

The villagers didn’t push, just looked disappointed. “Really not buying?”

Yi Wan San smiled ingratiatingly. “Um… can I ask where the ticket office for Wanshou Stone is?”

One of the women laughed. “What ticket office? It’s the off-season—there aren’t enough tourists to justify one. Locals don’t come either. It’s only outsiders like you who drive in; you can tell at a glance you’re here to sightsee.”

As she spoke, she pointed to a small path behind the village. “Go straight up there. Less than a mile and you’ll see it. It’s just a rock—what’s there to look at?”

With that, everyone went back to their own homes. Someone casually took out an apple, wiped it on their pant leg, and took a big bite, then pointed at Cao Jiefang. “That chicken—caught in the mountains?”

Cao Yanhua answered politely, “No, no. Pet. It’s a pet.”

…

After they’d walked some distance away, they could still hear someone muttering behind them, full of sourness: “City people—hmph. Even chickens are pets.”

The weather was nice, and the path was especially quiet. Yesterday’s heavy rain hadn’t affected the area much; the ground was damp but not muddy. Cao Jiefang was ecstatic, darting around the group, running ahead and then back again, clearly having the time of its life.

From behind them, a shout suddenly rang out from afar. “Hey… tourists up ahead, wait a moment…”

An old man came chasing after them, in his fifties or sixties, with a sharp face and narrow features. He was putting on his clothes as he ran, flustered, even buttoning them wrong.

He stopped in front of them, smiling broadly. “Um… I was just sleeping. My wife said there were tourists. Do you need a guide?”

A guide? Him?

Luo Ren frowned at him. The man seemed to sense that Luo Ren was the leader and immediately began pitching himself. “My surname’s Ding. Just call me Old Ding Nine. To be honest, if you don’t hire a guide for this spot, all you’ll see is a rock—pretty boring. Some things only locals know. I can explain things to you, tell you the stories. I guarantee you’ll have a comfortable, satisfying trip. Twenty yuan—how about it?”

Luo Ren smiled and told Cao Yanhua to pay.

Old Ding Nine wasn’t wrong. Only insiders see the real value, and since they were already here, they wouldn’t begrudge a few dozen yuan. Hearing more was always better.

After taking the money, Old Ding Nine beamed and walked ahead to lead the way, talking nonstop.

“You all look like city folk. I know—you must think this attraction is too simple. It definitely won’t get any star ratings, but in Tong County, it’s pretty famous. Any outsider who knows about it comes to take a look. After all… it’s Laozi. Very famous.”

“It’s the off-season now. During peak season, we sell tickets for two yuan per person. That’s when I make more from guiding. Honestly, you hired the right guy. I’ve been going into these mountains since I was little. I know this area like the back of my hand. These days, most visitors who want to go into the mountains are led by me.”

“First, let me tell you about the origin of the name Fengzi Ridge. Fengzi Ridge is actually very, very large. Where Wanshou Stone is doesn’t even really count as entering the ridge. Fengzi Ridge is made up of three peaks…”

“The first is called Phoenix Turning Back, the second Phoenix Holding Its Tail, and the third Phoenix Soaring to the Sky. Legend has it—legend has it—that if you look down from very, very high in the sky, these three peaks look like three phoenixes, connected head to tail…”

Almost simultaneously, everyone felt a jolt and stopped in their tracks.

Old Ding Nine looked confused. “What’s wrong?”

Luo Ren smiled calmly. “Nothing. Go on.”

He gestured for everyone to follow closely and listen carefully.

“The tallest peak is about two thousand meters high. Around this time of year, the transition between summer and autumn, other cities might still be hot, but up on these peaks, it might even snow.”

“There’s another saying—that Fengzi Ridge got its name because there used to be a lot of pheasants in these mountains. Really, there used to be a lot. In the early years, we’d take hunting rifles, guard the mountain overnight, and come back with over a hundred birds…”

“Now the government doesn’t allow that anymore. Of course, there are fewer pheasants. And there are wild animals in the mountains—black bears, wild boars, wolves. You don’t see them often, maybe once in several years, but it’s possible. So we always remind tourists to be careful and not go too deep into the mountains…”

As he spoke, they arrived at Wanshou Stone.

It was a solid, massive slab, right at the narrow pass into the mountains. Honestly, it didn’t look like the character shou at all. Luo Ren wasn’t interested in the stone; his gaze lingered on the path leading deeper into the mountains.

According to the inscription, a hunter had once seen a literate dog near Wanshou Stone.

But Wanshou Stone was still too close to the village. Given that dog’s temperament, it would probably hide deeper inside.

He motioned for everyone to continue.

But Old Ding stopped, chuckling shrewdly. “Folks, twenty yuan gets you this far. Go any farther, and it’ll cost extra.”

Luo Ren remained calm. “Is there anything else worth seeing further in?”

“Oh, plenty,” Old Ding said smugly. “I told you, I’ve been in these mountains since I was little. I’ve taken lots of guests…”