Chapter 10

Wufeng Mountain is not a tourist attraction.

It is merely one of the many mountains in Yunnan Province, lacking both the dramatic and picturesque scenery and the legends of human culture.

Finding this wild mountain far from the city took a great deal of effort on Yue Heng's part.

First, he found a taxi willing to enter the mountains in the nearest county town, and then he rode to a small town near Wufeng Mountain.

Next, he took a tricycle along the rugged mountain road to a small village.

It took more than four hours in total!

The tricycle driver, an uncle, told Yue Heng that the area around Wufeng Mountain was all primeval forest, and most of the villagers had long since moved away. The risk of entering the mountains alone was extremely high.

He kindly warned Yue Heng not to take the risk.

Yue Heng thanked him and said he was there to take pictures of the primeval natural scenery.

He wouldn't do anything rash.

After the tricycle left with black smoke, Yue Heng observed the surrounding terrain.

Wufeng Mountain consists of five peaks of varying heights.

The mountains are not very high.

The entire mountain is covered with lush forests, with a very good ecosystem.

The small village is located below the second peak.

Yue Heng did not enter the village.

He took out a machete he had bought on the way and headed towards the fourth peak.

Swinging the machete to cut through the obstructing weeds and vines, Yue Heng roughly explored the area around the fourth peak.

He returned to the village entrance as it grew dark.

The village was quiet under the cover of night, with no signs of villagers' activities.

All the windows of the houses were dark.

It made one feel uneasy.

This was clearly an almost abandoned village.

Actually, such villages can be found all over China, as people are moving to cities.

Yue Heng thought for a moment and decided to go into the village.

Without transportation, he couldn't walk back to the town at night.

The best choice was to stay in the village for the night.

As the saying goes, the brave are fearless. Even in an uninhabited village in the mountains, Yue Heng was willing to spend the night alone.

Woof! Woof!

After walking a few hundred meters along the stone-paved path, he suddenly heard barking ahead.

Someone?

Yue Heng's eyes lit up, and he quickened his pace.

After walking a bit further, he saw light coming from a village house ahead.

Sure enough, someone was living there.

The large yellow dog guarding the door barked even louder at the sight of Yue Heng, the unexpected visitor.

Yue Heng stopped and heard someone shout something from inside the house.

Then an old man with gray hair came out and patted the yellow dog's head.

He saw Yue Heng and looked surprised.

"Hello, sir."

Yue Heng took a few steps forward and politely asked, "Can I stay at your place for the night?"

He added, "I can pay."

The old man smiled and said, "No need for money, come in."

He spoke with a heavy local accent, but Yue Heng could basically understand: "Thank you."

The old man's house was quite large, with three tile-roofed rooms and front and back courtyards.

The surrounding houses were clearly all abandoned, and the entire village seemed to be left with only this one family.

The old man shooed the yellow dog to the side and warmly invited Yue Heng to sit in the main room.

At this moment, an old woman wearing indigo-dyed clothes came out of the kitchen.

She brought a copper teapot and poured a steaming cup of tea for Yue Heng.

She smiled and said a few words to Yue Heng.

Yue Heng couldn't understand.

"My wife is inviting you to have tea," the old man explained. "The tea leaves are grown and processed by us, and they taste quite good. Try it."

Yue Heng took a few sips.

Indeed, it was good.

The old man then said, "Young man, have you had dinner yet?"

"If you don't mind, join us for dinner."

Yue Heng couldn't refuse the old man's hospitality and thanked him repeatedly.

The old couple treated Yue Heng, the stranger, like a distinguished guest.

The old man instructed the old woman to bring out the dishes and brought out homemade rice wine.

He chatted with Yue Heng while they ate.

The old woman's cooking wasn't particularly good, but the cured meat and pickled fish cooked with chili and mountain mushrooms were quite distinctive.

Combined with the cold mixed wild vegetables and sweet rice wine, Yue Heng enjoyed his meal.

After a few cups of rice wine, the old man opened up.

It turned out that this village was really left with only the old couple.

All the other villagers had moved to the town or county, including their children.

Apart from during the New Year, very few people came to the village.

However, occasionally, a few adventure-seeking hikers would appear.

The old man clearly regarded Yue Heng as a hiker, but he was surprised by his age.

Yue Heng looked too young.

The old man also advised Yue Heng not to go into the mountains.

Because no one goes up the mountain now, the original mountain path has long disappeared, and it's easy to get lost.

Two years ago, three hikers went missing while climbing the mountain. Fortunately, they were found by a rescue team from the county, or the consequences would have been dire.

"There are wolves in the mountains too!"

The old man lowered his voice and said, "We haven't seen them for decades, but they've reappeared."

He told Yue Heng that his younger uncle had been taken by wolves.

His mother had carried her few-month-old brother into the mountains to cut firewood and was attacked by a pack of wolves.

His sister fought hard and survived, but his brother disappeared without a trace.

They never found his body.

Later, the village organized a hunting team to eliminate the wolves in the mountains.

The old man had been a member of the hunting team.

Talking about the past, he was quite emotional.

He never thought that after so many years, the wolves would reappear.

Awooo~

As if to confirm the old man's words, a distant wolf howl suddenly echoed into the room.

The yellow dog in the yard immediately started barking fiercely!

The old man's face changed: "These beasts!"

Yue Heng suspected that if the old man had a hunting rifle at that moment, he would have rushed out without hesitation to fight the wolves to the death.

But now, aren't wild wolves a protected species?

Seeing Yue Heng's expression change, the old man thought he was afraid and comforted him, "You don't need to be afraid if you stay here. These beasts generally don't come to the village."

"If they do, they can't get into my house!"

Yue Heng was a bit embarrassed: "Uh..."

How could he be afraid of wolves? He was just thinking that if he encountered a wolf attack tomorrow, would killing it be illegal?

Self-defense shouldn't count, right?

After the wolves howled a few times, there was no more noise.

It was getting late, so the old man instructed the old woman to tidy up the room where his son used to stay.

He let Yue Heng rest.

That night, Yue Heng didn't sleep very well.

He was a bit excited.

Although Yue Heng's willpower had been honed to be as strong as a rock, he knew what he would face the next day.

It would be a miracle that would change the entire world!

Being able to sleep at all was already a sign of his strength.

The next morning, Yue Heng got up early.

After a unique breakfast, he bid farewell to the old couple and left.

Before leaving, Yue Heng secretly left a few hundred yuan under the pillow.

Because if he had given the money directly, the old couple would have refused.

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