Chapter 39

Chapter 39

After emerging from the tomb, Xu Muchan noticed that the sky outside was still bright, looking like it was just mid-afternoon.

But when he checked the date on his phone, he realized it was already the second day since they had entered the tomb.

They had gone down into the tomb early in the morning the previous day, meaning they had spent over a full day and night inside.

He himself had been sent back in time because the Wei family's yin and yang residences intersected at the Black River, so it was only natural he hadn't felt the passage of time inside the tomb. But what had Wei Xilou been doing in the tomb all that time?

Liu Gaoming and the others trapped in the wooden tower earlier clearly hadn't gotten there on their own either.

Xu Muchan turned to look at him with a questioning gaze: "Brother, what were you doing in the tomb for so long?"

Wei Xilou looked thoughtful, then let out a faint sigh under Xu Muchan's expectant gaze: "What else could I do? Achan went missing, so of course I had to find him first."

Xu Muchan: "..."

He turned away and ignored Wei Xilou. Fine, if he wouldn't say, then forget it!

Wei Xilou smiled and ruffled his hair, choosing not to mention that it had grown long again and needed a trim, but instead said: "The car will be here soon. It's about a four-hour drive to Leigong Village."

Xu Muchan nodded. The two of them simply packed their luggage, and once the car arrived, they set off for Leigong Village.

The mountain roads in Yundong were rough, so this time they had another Jeep. Xu Muchan rolled down the window and watched several other vehicles pull into the village, with over a dozen burly men jumping out.

Xu Muchan asked quietly: "Who are those people?"

Wei Xilou said: "People Old Man Wei contacted. They're probably from the same security company as Liu Gaoming and the others. They'll handle clearing out and transporting the stuff from the underground vault, and there are also some things in the tomb that need taking care of."

He'd already broken the formation that had trapped the Black River tributary. Once the vault was emptied, this great Wei family tomb, built at some unknown time, would sleep forever beneath the earth.

Xu Muchan listened and got the feeling this company wasn't exactly legit.

But seeing Wei Xilou's indifferent attitude, and since the driver up front was probably from that company too, Xu Muchan could only swallow his worries.

Four hours later, they reached Leigong Village.

Leigong Village was a tiny, remote village halfway up Guiyi Mountain, connected to the outside world only by a steep, winding cement road. The cement road had only been built in the last couple of years. Before that, there was just a dirt road that turned into a muddy mess every time it rained.

The cement road made things easier, but driving the Jeep up the narrow, winding path was still tricky.

Xu Muchan had the driver stop at the foot of the mountain and said: "The road up the mountain isn't fit for vehicles. Let's walk."

Wei Xilou had no objections. He grabbed the luggage and walked up the mountain with him.

By now it was evening. The blazing sunset spread across the mountainside of Guiyi Mountain, with the mountainside as the dividing line—above, a gradient of deep red and orange-pink twilight; below, a sea of forest dyed brilliant gold.

A gust of wind rustled the forest, and startled birds swept past the treetops with crisp calls.

And so Xu Muchan and Wei Xilou walked beneath the endless twilight, through the golden sea of forest.

All the luggage was in Wei Xilou's hands, leaving Xu Muchan happily unburdened. He walked briskly ahead, occasionally turning to walk backwards and look at Wei Xilou, who was lagging behind at a leisurely pace, his face full of joy and excitement.

Wei Xilou asked, puzzled: "Does Achan really like it here?"

He'd thought Xu Muchan wouldn't particularly like this isolated, remote little mountain village.

Xu Muchan shook his head and smiled with his lips pressed together, not telling Wei Xilou why he'd insisted on coming back, or why he was so happy to be here.

This remote little mountain village had raised him, but it had also left him with plenty of memories he didn't want to revisit.

Starting in elementary school, he'd made a plan to leave Guiyi Mountain.

Which middle school to go to, which high school, which university after that, what major to study... After graduating, if he could afford it, he'd go for a master's degree, but if money was tight, he'd find a job first.

Preferably in a big, economically developed city, and once he'd saved up enough, he'd buy a small apartment and settle down.

He'd never return to Yundong, and never come back to Leigong Village.

And in fact, Xu Muchan had followed his plan step by step. He got into his ideal middle school and high school, his grades were far ahead of everyone else's, and he'd eventually get into his ideal university, then settle down in some big city.

If it hadn't been for his blindness and the Xu family finding him, Xu Muchan might have only realized after a very long time that when he'd walked far away and looked back, the first thing that came to mind was actually the crude, cold Mountain God Cave.

Xu Muchan turned around again, walking backwards. The wind lifted his shoulder-length hair, and his eyes, reflecting the sunset, were brimming with smiles.

He didn't tell his brother that he wasn't happy to be back in Leigong Village, but happy to be walking home with him.

When he was very young, walking to and from school alone through the morning mist and dim twilight, he'd fantasized countless times that if only his brother were really his brother, then maybe he could be like the other kids in the village—walking to school with his brother in the morning and walking home together in the evening.

This long, winding path, sometimes haunted by ghosts and spirits, might not have felt so scary then.

Xu Muchan smiled and said to Wei Xilou: "Brother, I've realized for the first time that the scenery along this road is so beautiful."

Wei Xilou looked at the smile at the corners of his eyes and brows, feeling the words carried a deeper meaning. But since Xu Muchan didn't want to say, he couldn't guess for now. He could only grab the young man's hand and pull him close, not letting him walk too fast or too far ahead: "If the scenery's beautiful, then let's take our time. There's no rush."

Xu Muchan let him hold his hand, gently swinging it, and hummed in agreement.

By the time the two of them reached Leigong Village, dusk had already fallen.

Lights had come on in the village, and smoke was rising from a few chimneys. An old person resting under the big tree at the village entrance spotted Xu Muchan and stood up in shock, saying incredulously: "Shan Gong's back!"

That shout was loud, and in an instant, all the villagers came running out, looking at Xu Muchan with unusual warmth, calling out "Shan Gong" one after another.

The so-called Shan Gong was a local term from Leigong Village. Xu Muchan wasn't entirely sure what it meant, but ever since he'd been sent to the Mountain God Cave, the villagers had always called him that.

Because they revered the Mountain God, the villagers also held some reverence for Xu Muchan by association. Normally, they wouldn't let their kids get too close to him, and when they saw him themselves, they'd greet him from a distance with a call of "Shan Gong" before keeping their distance. But if Xu Muchan needed anything, he could go to the village chief and they'd do their best to help.

The two sides maintained a relationship that could barely be called cordial.

But today, the villagers were clearly a bit too enthusiastic. Xu Muchan had a vague feeling they'd been hoping for his return all along.

The two sides weren't familiar enough for pleasantries, so Xu Muchan simply nodded in greeting, then took Wei Xilou's hand and walked through the crowd of eager gazes toward the Mountain God Cave.

Along the way, he saw several collapsed houses, presumably destroyed by the mudslide back in April. They'd been cleared out, but since the owners hadn't returned or rebuilt, the ruins were left to crumble.

Leigong Village didn't actually have many residents. It was remote and hard to get to, so anyone with any means had already moved to the town or the city. The young people who stayed had all gone out to work in the cities, leaving behind only elderly people who had no means of survival and were reluctant to leave their homeland, along with left-behind children whose parents had dumped them in the countryside for their grandparents to raise.

Xu Muchan glanced over the collapsed houses and muttered: "That mudslide wasn't too bad. I wonder if the Mountain God Cave was affected. If it got washed away too, we'll probably have to sleep out in the wilderness tonight."

Wei Xilou said: "It didn't collapse."

Xu Muchan said: "How do you know?"

Wei Xilou said: "Achan forgot, I am the Mountain God of Guiyi Mountain."

Xu Muchan suddenly realized—he'd nearly forgotten about that. He said with a smile: "The villagers worship you every day, yet now that they've seen the real deity, they can't recognize you."

Wei Xilou smiled: "What they worship is a Mountain God who can protect them. As for who that Mountain God actually is, they don't really care."

Xu Muchan figured that made sense, nodded, and was about to speak, but when he looked up, he saw the large locust tree in front of the Mountain God Cave. He immediately forgot what he was going to say and said cheerfully, "We're here! The locust tree's still fine, so the house really didn't get touched."

Xu Muchan hurried forward eagerly, first giving the old locust tree a pat by way of greeting, then pushing the door open and going inside.

The mountain air was dusty, and with the place empty for so long, a choking cloud of dust burst out the moment the door opened.

Xu Muchan covered his nose and mouth and ducked inside. He looked around and said, "It's fine, just dusty. Everything's just how I left it. Looks like nobody came in to mess with anything while we were gone."

Wei Xilou scanned the tiny, cramped room, his brows knitting hard, and said, "One night only."

Xu Muchan caught the disdain on his face and, remembering how fussy this guy had gotten, muttered under his breath, "I lived here for over ten years, and it was just fine."

Wei Xilou didn't bother arguing. He went to the kitchen, grabbed a bucket, and said, "I'll get water."

The little room was coated in thick dust, and without a good wipe-down, even one night would be miserable.

Xu Muchan saw him heading out with the wooden bucket and called out, "Do you know where to get water?"

Wei Xilou ignored him. He'd tagged along to watch when Xu Muchan used to fetch water, but no need to mention something so trivial.

Xu Muchan saw him heading toward the little river out back with a bucket in each hand, so he quickly kicked off his sneakers, rolled up his pants, slipped on his sandals, and ran after him.

"Bro, wait up!"

Wei Xilou, already a good ways off, stopped and turned back from the knee-high weeds. Early-summer mosquitoes buzzed around him, and his pricey shirt, slacks, and leather shoes looked totally out of place in the rustic little village.

Xu Muchan suddenly felt the urge to laugh out of nowhere. He fought to hold it in and reached into his pocket for his phone: "Hold on, don't move, let me get a picture of you."

He pulled out his phone, opened the camera, and snapped a few shots—click, click.

Wei Xilou, clearly not loving the rustic setting, started pushing him: "You done yet?"

Xu Muchan, scared he'd take off, said "Yeah, yeah" while clutching his phone, then hurried to catch up.

He fawningly fanned the mosquitoes away from Wei Xilou: "So many mosquitoes. We should still have some mosquito coils and bug spray at home, right?"

After thinking for a second, he recalled there should be some left over, and relaxed.

The two chatted and joked as they reached the little river. Wei Xilou was clearly no pro at hauling water, but he didn't ask Xu Muchan, who was snapping photos nearby, for help. Counting on his height and strength, he climbed back up the slippery bank with a full bucket in each hand.

Xu Muchan watched with zero guilt as he rolled up his sleeves and hauled the two big buckets along. The buckets were filled to the brim, and water sloshed out as he walked, soaking a good chunk of Wei Xilou's very pricey trousers.

Wei Xilou's brows were knit tight, but he didn't say a word.

Xu Muchan cracked up behind him, holding up his phone to film. When Wei Xilou shot him a dirty look, he covered his mouth with his hand like that would help, but the laughter still spilled out of his eyes.

One hauled water, the other filmed, and they made their way home laughing and joking. As they got close, they spotted a few villagers peeking from behind trees nearby, craning their necks toward the Mountain God Cave.

Xu Muchan and the others had come around from the side, right in the villagers' blind spot, so they couldn't be seen from across the way. Xu Muchan immediately went quiet, signaled Wei Xilou to stop, and said in a low, frowning voice, "I told you something was weird in the village. What are they staring at?"

Wei Xilou listened for a moment, then passed on what the villagers were saying: "Sounds like something happened in the village. They think it's because you left the Mountain God Cave and pissed off the mountain god, so they're scared you'll run off again and want to keep you here."

Xu Muchan was confused: "What weird thing happened in the village?"

Wei Xilou shook his head: "They didn't mention it."

The villagers peered over for a while but ultimately didn't dare get near the Mountain God Cave. With night falling, they soon took off.

Only then did Xu Muchan and Wei Xilou head back. Luckily, the prepaid electricity was still good, so the power hadn't been shut off. Xu Muchan turned on the light, and they cleaned the little room together.

After that, they went to fetch more water and took a shower outside. Xu Muchan pulled the quilt out of the cabinet, shook it out and patted it, then spread a clean sheet and eagerly flopped onto the bed, rolling around.

Back then, the family was too poor, and the cotton sheets had been used for years, the color washed out, but the fabric had gotten thin and soft, clinging to the skin. Later, when Xu Muchan went to Jiangcheng, the bedding set at the Xu family home was pricier and prettier, but he always felt it wasn't as comfy as his old, faded set.

After rolling around on the little bed for a bit, Xu Muchan flipped onto his back and met Wei Xilou's gaze, only then realizing someone was still standing by the bed.

Wei Xilou had just showered, and with no hairdryer around, he'd only roughly toweled his hair dry. The ends hung wet, cold droplets rolling down, making his brows and eyes look damp and dark and the bare skin of his chest look even paler.

Xu Muchan sat up with a jolt, ears going red, not knowing where to look: "Why don't you just wear my pajamas?"

Wei Xilou gave a hum but stayed by the window like a statue, staring at Xu Muchan without moving.

Xu Muchan had just had a quick rinse and, too lazy to put on a shirt, had only thrown on shorts before eagerly jumping onto the bed. It was only now, belatedly, that he realized there was really another person in the house, and he felt a little embarrassed.

Funny thing, after living together for so many years, his brother had probably seen him showering before, and he hadn't felt embarrassed then.

But now, not only were Xu Muchan's ears red, his heart was racing too. He dove into the wardrobe, rummaged around, yanked out a short-sleeved shirt, threw it on, and found another set for Wei Xilou.

Wei Xilou took it, tried it on, and said, "Too small."

Xu Muchan glanced at Wei Xilou's duffel bag: "You didn't bring any other clothes?"

Wei Xilou said, "Only two sets, and I need the other one for tomorrow."

The other set had already gotten dirty from carrying the water earlier.

Xu Muchan had no choice but to compromise: "Then... let's just sleep like this."

He slowly crawled to the inner side and lay down, facing the wall, saying, "The bed's a bit small, so we'll have to squeeze."

Wei Xilou hummed again, and then Xu Muchan felt the spot beside him sink, and a body with a strong presence lay down next to him, almost skin against skin.

Xu Muchan pressed closer to the wall, nearly flattening himself against it.

Wei Xilou chuckled, reached out to pull him closer, and turned him over: "You're practically on the wall."

As Xu Muchan turned over, he inevitably brushed against Wei Xilou's body. His ears grew even redder, and he instinctively arched back, complaining softly, "Too close, it's a bit cramped."

Wei Xilou said in confusion, "I don't think it's cramped; this size is just right."

And he began to ponder whether he should replace the big beds in his Jiangcheng villa with small ones like this.

Xu Muchan was speechless for a moment, then closed his eyes, deciding to go to sleep quickly.

But Wei Xilou, not sleeping himself, wouldn't let him sleep either. Xu Muchan felt cold fingers slip into his collar, and he snapped his eyes open to see Wei Xilou's fingertips hooked around a red string—he had pulled out the Mountain God Amulet from inside Xu Muchan's clothes.

Seeing the two amulets hanging on the red string, Wei Xilou's expression darkened: "Did you get this one at the Wei family's old residence?"

Xu Muchan naturally knew which old residence he meant, and for some reason felt inexplicably guilty and short of breath. He stammered out an "Mm," then secretly glanced up to gauge Wei Xilou's expression. He tentatively asked, "These two should both be for summoning you, right?"

Wei Xilou let go of the string, let out a scoff, and pressed his finger under Xu Muchan's chin, lifting his face: "Besides me, who else would Achan want to summon?"

The position was a bit awkward, their faces too close together. Xu Muchan pulled back slightly and muttered quietly, "Who else could I summon besides you..."

Wei Xilou was barely satisfied with that answer. He pressed his palm against Xu Muchan's back, pulling him into his embrace, and said, "Don't move around; sleep well."

Xu Muchan had no choice but to lean against his chest and sleep.

Perhaps because he was in a good mood, even though he was sleeping on a very cramped, small bed, Xu Muchan slept very well that night. When he woke up in the morning, it was as if he'd had a sweet dream, with a smile still curling at the corners of his mouth.

Wei Xilou was already out of bed. Xu Muchan stretched lazily, sat up groggy, still clutching the blanket, and pushed the window open to glance outside. The sunlight was a bit dazzling—a clear, sunny day.

Xu Muchan sat there for a moment, still wrapped in the blanket, then realized he hadn't heard any noise outside. He yawned, got up, slipped on his slippers, and went out to find Wei Xilou.

Wei Xilou was gone, but the bucket in the kitchen had already been filled with water.

Xu Muchan scooped out some water to wash up. Just as he finished getting ready, Wei Xilou returned. Xu Muchan wiped the water droplets off his face and asked, "Where did you go?"

Wei Xilou said, "Went to the village. Someone in the village died."

Xu Muchan paused, towel in hand, as he hung it on the line, his face turning serious. "What happened?"

Most of the villagers were elderly or middle-aged people left behind, and death was nothing new in these parts. But if Wei Xilou was mentioning it, it meant the person hadn't died naturally.

Wei Xilou said, "The villagers called the police. The officers want to ask us a few questions."

Xu Muchan changed his clothes and went with him to the village chief's house.

The whole village had gathered outside the village chief's house, and two cops were already taking statements.

According to the villagers, around five in the morning, someone who got up to work noticed a person hanging onto the big tree at the village entrance. At first, they figured it was some kid messing around and climbing the tree, but as they got closer, they saw a pool of blood beneath the tree. The body in the tree had been gutted, spread out like a rag over the branches, still dripping blood.

The first villager to discover it was an old man, who passed out on the spot. His family found him and saw the scene, then called the police in a panic.

But after the police arrived, the villagers were split into two camps.

The older villagers insisted that because Shan Gong had left, the mountain god was angry and had sent down punishment. They insisted someone go get Xu Muchan to perform a ritual to worship the mountain god and calm its anger.

The slightly younger middle-aged folks weren't as superstitious, suspecting that some wild beast had come down from the mountains to prey on people.

The cops clearly sided with the wild animal theory. They first calmed the agitated elders, then went around questioning the villagers and taking notes. Xu Muchan, who showed up later, naturally got the routine questioning too.

When the officer heard his name, realization dawned. "Oh, you're that guy. The person who came to pick you up earlier went through the paperwork at our station."

After all, Xu Muchan's family reunion had trended online and was a hot topic in Yundong. The officers at the nearby police station might not have met him in person, but they'd likely heard of him.

"Why are you back all of a sudden?" the officer asked casually.

Xu Muchan said, "It's the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, so I came back to visit."

The officer nodded, finished the routine questions, then lowered his voice and said to Xu Muchan, "If you don't have anything important to do, you should head back soon. There've been several cases of wild animals attacking people around Guiyi Mountain lately, and the place you're staying is pretty remote—might not be too safe."

The officer meant well, and Xu Muchan had indeed planned to head back today anyway, so he thanked him: "Got it. We're heading back today."

Seeing Xu Muchan take the advice, the officer didn't say anything more and went to help his colleague with the records.

But the old man who had just been calmed down and was resting nearby overheard Xu Muchan saying he was leaving, and immediately grew agitated again: "The mountain god is furious! You can't leave! If you go, something terrible will happen to Leigong Village!"