SES Chapter 212 Part 2

Lowering his voice, he added, “Sometimes I even get some wild game, give the guests a taste of mountain delicacies.”

After thinking for a moment, Luo Ren gave him another fifty yuan. “Walk with us and talk. Whatever you know, spill it all.”

Old Ding Nine was overjoyed. “You got it.”

But after that, what he talked about really was ordinary stuff—oddly shaped rocks that looked like men and women embracing, a tree once split in half by lightning that sprouted new shoots the following year, some guest who once stripped naked and took photos on a cliff…

Then suddenly he pointed at a tree and shouted, “This—this!”

“This is a Chinese arborvitae. It lives a long time and grows fast. Years ago, when I brought guests here, one of them carved words into the trunk…”

Old Ding Nine tilted his head back to look up. “Shot right up, grew so tall. Really tall.”

It was tall—easily ten meters.

After listening for a while, Yi Wan San grew impatient. “Uncle Ding, are there dogs in these mountains?”

For some reason, Mu Dai felt that Old Ding Nine seemed to shrink back slightly.

But he quickly plastered on a smile. “What dogs? Wolves, maybe. Dogs would just be household dogs, guarding homes. Who’d let them run into the mountains?”

They walked a little farther, and then Old Ding refused to go on—no amount of extra money would persuade him.

He smiled apologetically, rubbing his knees. “The farther in you go, the harder it is to walk. I’m an old man—not like you young folks. Walking too much and I can’t take it. I’ll head back now, head back, heh heh…”

Yan Hongsand was unhappy, muttering that those seventy yuan had been way too easy to earn.

For a moment, the group didn’t know what to do next.

Fengzi Ridge was huge. Were they supposed to “sweep” the mountain like they had done with the graves a few days earlier? That would take forever. And what exactly were they looking for? The literate dog? It had probably died long ago—after all these years, its flesh and bones would be gone. How could they find it?

Yi Wan San suddenly had an idea. “Luo Ren, do you think… the seventh Fierce Slip could be on that literate dog?”

The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. As he looked around the mountains, a chill crept up his back and his voice dropped. “I remember back in the Four Strongholds mountains, that woman who was practically dead still came back to life… Maybe the seventh Fierce Slip can extend life. That dog could’ve lived from the late Qing dynasty until now, right here in these mountains…”

A gust of wind passed through, rustling the leaves of the arborvitae nearby. Yan Hongsand broke out in goosebumps.

Cao Yanhua instinctively squeezed closer to the group, his voice trembling. “B-Brother Luo, I think… I think we should get some equipment before coming back in. That dog’s fiercer than the old clam—over a hundred years old. If it bites you, you’re done for…”

Luo Ren frowned.

Yi Wan San’s speculation wasn’t unreasonable. The seventh Fierce Slip’s attribute, “hidden,” fit this place well. What could be more hidden than an animal living in the mountains? Sweeping the mountain clearly wasn’t feasible: the area was too large, they were short on manpower, and if Yi Wan San was right, the target was mobile—far harder to find than a stele or a grave mound.

For all they knew, at that very moment, there could be a pair of eyes watching them from the dense forest.

They did need proper equipment. Luo Ren nodded. “Let’s head out first and prepare, then come back in.”

They turned back the way they’d come. After walking only a short distance, the cry of a pheasant echoed faintly from the forest.

Cao Jiefang immediately perked up, craning its neck and letting out a loud, ringing “he—duo—luo.”

Faintly, in long and short calls, there seemed to be a response. Cao Jiefang grew even more excited, flapping its little wings and puffing itself up, as if competing to see who could crow better.

Everyone found it amusing and stopped to watch Cao Jiefang show off. Mu Dai happened to look up and saw that tall arborvitae.

So tall—over ten meters. Sunlight filtered through the sparse leaves, making her squint.

On a whim, she said, “I’m going up to take a look.”

She ran to the base of the tree, rolled up her sleeves, stamped her boots on the ground, and then sprang upward, shimmying up the trunk.

Yan Hongsand giggled. “I can do that too.”

She tilted her head to watch Mu Dai. Mu Dai was really fast—the rough bark provided plenty of friction, much easier to climb than a wall. Yi Wan San looked up for a while and said, “I can do that too.”

Cao Yanhua didn’t believe him. “You can?”

Yi Wan San snorted. “It’s like scamming people—survival skills. I have them.”

So everyone but him could climb? That was humiliating. Even Brother San San could do it.

Cao Yanhua felt a surge of jealousy.

Mu Dai had already reached the top.

It was really high—she felt a bit shaky up there. Worried, Luo Ren called out, “Mu Dai, come down. Take it slow. Be careful.”

Up above, Mu Dai made a face at him, clearly doing it on purpose. Sure enough, she came down “slowly,” clamping the trunk with her arms and legs and inching her way down like a koala.

Luo Ren was both annoyed and amused. He walked to the base of the tree and raised his hands. “Want to jump? I’ll catch you.”

Mu Dai snorted. “My boyfriend told me to come down slowly.”

Luo Ren gave a wry smile. She really left him with no temper at all.

He kept watching her as she descended, steady and safe. Suddenly, she seemed to see something and froze for quite a while.

Just as Luo Ren was about to wonder what was wrong, she suddenly slid down rapidly. Even though he knew she wouldn’t fall, he still hurried to steady her when she landed.

Her face was pale, her breathing a little ragged. “That… Ding… Ding Lao Jiu…”

Luo Ren said gently, “Take your time. Catch your breath.”

He reached out and lightly rubbed her back, unconsciously looking up toward the tree again.

Once Mu Dai had steadied herself, she said, “Ding Lao Jiu said he once took a guest here, and that guest carved words into the tree trunk. The tree grew fast—grew too tall—and the carving went up with it. I saw it…”

Everyone gathered around. Yan Hongsand said, “Mu Dai, why are you so shaken? What did it say? Was it scary?”

Mu Dai looked dazed. “It says: ‘Zhang Guanghua was here.’”

Zhang Guanghua—Luo Ren knew that name all too well.

Mu Dai’s Aunt Hong, Huo Zihong, originally named Li Yaqing, had become pregnant by Zhang Guanghua even though he already had a wife. Her father, Professor Li, had used his connections to pressure Zhang Guanghua’s superiors. With one official order, Zhang Guanghua was sent to Lingbao City, Henan Province, for an “exchange study” for half a year.

In name, it was an exchange. In reality, it was being shelved. The host unit had no use for him. Every day, he just clocked in, checked in, and spent the rest of the time wandering around nearby, visiting attractions and observing local customs.

Old Ding Nine said he’d taken many outsiders into the mountains and knew the area like the back of his hand. If he remembered this tree that Zhang Guanghua had carved, then maybe he also remembered Zhang Guanghua himself.

Luo Ren let out a long breath.

“We need to find Old Ding Nine and have a talk.”

It was noon, meal time. Fried tofu and twice-cooked pork were on the heated kang. Old Ding Nine had just raised his chopsticks when a whole group of people rushed in.

They looked familiar—it was the tourists he’d just done business with.

Luo Ren politely slipped a hundred yuan to Old Ding’s wife. “Sorry, we didn’t have anywhere to eat. Auntie, could you help us put something together? This is for the food—if it’s not enough, we’ll add more.”

Then he added, “No rush. This place is interesting, and we’d like to chat with Uncle for a bit.”

After sending Old Ding’s wife away, Luo Ren calmly sat down on the kang. He lowered his head, leaned toward the dishes, sniffed, and complimented, “Auntie’s cooking smells great.”

Meanwhile, Yi Wan San closed and bolted the door, Mu Dai shut the windows and drew the curtains—smooth and efficient.

Five pairs of eyes fixed on him alone. Old Ding Nine trembled. “Y-you… what is this…?”

“We’re asking about someone. Zhang Guanghua. Remember him?”

Old Ding Nine shuddered. “Don’t know him.”

Luo Ren smiled, unhurriedly picked up his chopsticks, flipped them around, and used the blunt ends to pick up a piece of tofu, chewing slowly.

Homemade stone-milled tofu—pretty good.

He asked, “Then in these mountains… have you ever seen a dog that was… off?”

“N-no… never seen one…”

Luo Ren smiled, set the chopsticks down, pulled out a dagger, and slapped it onto the small kang table with a sharp pa.

Old Ding Nine shook even harder, his tongue tying itself in knots. “I… I…”

He couldn’t handle the pressure. Luo Ren hadn’t even really shown his hand yet, and Old Ding Nine collapsed.

With a sob in his voice, he said, “It really wasn’t me. Back then… back then I didn’t know…”

He rambled incoherently, crying, so frightened he could barely form sentences.

He said it was many years ago, when he wasn’t that old yet. He’d taken an outsider into the mountains—a man who said his name was Zhang Guanghua, from Luomahu, here for an exchange study.

At first, everything was normal. They walked, talked, joked, and laughed.

Later, they sat down to rest, not far from that arborvitae.

Halfway through their break, they heard rustling behind them in the forest. When they turned around, they saw a vague shadow. Zhang Guanghua was startled and thought it was a wolf. Old Ding Nine looked more closely and said it was fine—it was a dog.

Thinking back now, that dog was strange. Its movements were slow, its fur had a pale tinge, as if it hadn’t seen sunlight in a long time. Its eyes stared at them without fear.

Zhang Guanghua nudged Old Ding Nine with his elbow and said, “Hey, I heard… dog meat tastes pretty good.”

A chill ran through Luo Ren. He asked, “Did you… eat the dog?”

Old Ding Nine cried out, “No, no!”

“I’d helped guests get wild game before. I thought mountain animals were fine to eat. And I was greedy—I figured it was probably a lost house dog. No one else was around…”

So the two of them worked together—one with a stick, the other with a stone—and beat the dog to death.

But when they cut it open, both of them were terrified out of their minds.