Extra 2...

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As we drifted into the valley depths, there were more and more houses on both sides. Somehow, we didn’t see anyone the entire way, and only the dull sounds of the horn accompanied us. I couldn’t help but feel that the whole valley was full of hostility, and I wondered if all kinds of crossbows were aimed at us.

But that didn’t make sense. Tribal disputes weren’t so tense, after all, and there were only a few of us. It was kind of unreasonable to alert the whole village.

After drifting quietly for a while, I saw a pass up ahead that looked like a black tiger. A huge stone had been carved into the tiger’s head, and there were rocks piled beneath the water’s surface all along the route, making it look like a reef. There was only one way through this mile-long stretch of river, which was why you needed a local guide. This layout prevented other tribes from sailing straight through and easily reaching the core area of the village.

A village had been built on the water right before the pass, and I could see the water on one side of the valley was full of rocks. Part of the cliff must have collapsed, and the debris had piled up at the bottom. The village was built on stilts that had been stuck in the rocks, enabling the buildings to sit two meters above the water, where rafts were docked. The wooden stilts in the water were covered with rattan baskets, which should have been a specialty here. These rattan baskets would be transported to market, where the Yi people could exchange with the Han for gunpowder and raw opium. There was a black stone on the cliff rock in front of the village that had been carved into a ferocious tiger head, and it was half submerged in the water. It must have been a black tiger totem unique to the Black Yi here that was meant to act as an important deterrent to outsiders.

The multi-storied buildings in this water village extended out along the cliff, and even went up it. There were forty or fifty of them all densely packed together, and it looked like they could be accessed using stone steps that had been cut in the mountainside, or some hidden way underneath. The buildings were attached to the cliff in a staggered formation, and the second rattan rope connected them to another dense group of buildings on the opposite cliff wall.

I still hadn’t seen anyone, which was incredible considering mountain people worked from sunrise to sunset.

As far as I could tell, there was a wharf in the deepest part of the valley, which must have been the village’s core. Since we were outsiders and the locals were guiding us to the village’s center, the buildings here must have been meant to act as a sort of checkpoint. The mountain-like man stopped the boat, but didn’t signal us to disembark once we had gotten closer.

The Yi youth exchanged glances with everyone, and then started shouting at the village in the local dialect. I couldn’t understand what he was shouting, but it was probably something about businessmen coming to collect herbs or something.

After shouting for a moment, there was no response, and the whole village was very quiet.

What was going on?

Pampered Guy whispered, “Where’s everyone gone? Is your village usually like this?”

At this time, the Yi youth began to realize that something was wrong. He looked around and called a few more words in the local dialect.

The sound of the horn continued, but other than that, we didn’t hear anything else. The Yi youth said, “No way. There are hundreds of people living in this water village. And the horn is still blowing. Where is everyone?”

Everyone looked at each other in dismay, and Smoker clicked his tongue. He apparently hadn’t thought of such a situation.

“Claw, go up with Asa and take a look.” Smoker ordered. Off to the side, the man who had used the clawed hook before responded, and then got ready to dock. Smoker said to Asa, “If you pull any tricks, those of us outside will level your village.”

The Yi youth sneered. Once we got closer to the stilts, he quickly climbed up, with Claw following close behind. The two of them made it into the village, and Claw spit out a mouthful phlegm. Then, the two of them called out a few times and turned to look into the buildings’ windows.

Smoker turned to the big boatman and gave him a look, and the big guy slowly pushed the boat back against the current. As he slowly maintained a distance from the village, Smoker said softly, “Phoenix, you, Big Brother Zhang, and Snake Ancestor go into the water and check. This village is all wrong. We can’t trust that boy. You all go and ambush first. We’re too passive on the boat.

I didn’t know who Big Brother Zhang and Phoenix were, but I saw the woman tut. She clearly didn’t like the idea. On one side, Poker-Face had opened his luggage, and took out a small thing similar to a life jacket. I wondered if it was the legendary shuikao (1).

As we continued to go against the current and stay away from the village, the woman unexpectedly took off her Yi costume, leaving only a close-fitting outfit on. She quietly slipped into the water and held the edge of the raft with one hand. I also moved and opened my rattan suitcase, finding that there was a black and blue snake inside that was as thick as my arm. I slowly put the snake down into the water, took off my coat, put the “shuikao” on, and sank into the water. Poker-Face slipped into the water at almost the same time. The serpent twisted its body in the water and then wrapped around me.

It appeared Snake Ancestor was my nickname.

<Extra 2.3> <Table of Contents><Extra 2.5>

*****

TN Notes:

(1) One-piece diving suit made by the ancients with fish skin, sea scorpion skin, or shark skin.

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