Chapter 212: Wild Deer

Early the next morning, we finished packing our essential supplies. He Yu found a breakfast joint, and the four of us sat around a table eating while chatting idly with the lady running the shop. After listening for a while, I realized He Yu had put quite a bit of thought into picking this place.

The proprietress’s grandfather had been a logger long ago. Back then, there had been a logging camp deep in the woods of Emu’er Mountain, though after all these years, the camp had long since been abandoned.

He Yu asked the woman for the general location, and we planned to start our exploration in the area around that old camp. As soon as we finished eating, we wiped our mouths, stood up to pay, and headed for the door, but the woman hurriedly called out to stop us.

“What are you going to Emu’er Mountain for?” she asked, grabbing He Yu’s arm. “Those woods are deep. If you’re a research team, just stick to the outskirts. Whatever you do, don’t go deep inside. Those old logging camps are all derelict, there’s nothing to see. It’s dangerous in there; you’ll get lost and never come out!”

I gave a light chuckle and smiled at her. “Don’t you worry, ma’am. We aren’t going deep. We’re just going to have a look around the edge.”

I shot He Yu a look, and he immediately caught on, chiming in to back me up. “Exactly! Look at all this beautiful white snow. We just want to walk around and take some photos. No need to see us out, ma’am. Rest assured, we won’t go deep into the woods!”

After bidding the lady farewell, we left the county seat and began heading into the mountains along the route marked on our map. As soon as we started walking, I knew we were on the right track. Just as the woman had said, there had been many loggers here before, and there were indeed dirt paths trodden into the snowy plains. Following these paths through the thick snow saved us a great deal of energy.

Walking in snow is entirely different from walking on level ground. The top layer is thick powder where every step leaves a deep print, but if you step too hard, you hit ice. One slip and you’re face-down in the dirt. We were all dressed warmly, wearing gloves, scarves, hats, and goggles. A constant wind blew across the plains, keeping us in a state of being simultaneously cold and hot. The cold came from the wind that would occasionally whistle down our collars; the heat came from the exertion, which left our backs soaked with sweat.

After walking along the dirt path all morning, the monotonous snowy landscape finally showed some change. Rows of fir trees and the withered branches of nameless trees, heavy with white, began to poke out from the snow. Seeing the dense forest, I pulled down my face mask and exhaled a cloud of white vapor.

Old Qian flopped down on his backside and shouted through his thick mask, “I can’t do it! Let’s rest a bit! My young masters, I can’t walk another step. Do you guys actually have a specific goal? Is this tomb really that hard to find?”

He Yu ripped off his goggles and kicked Old Qian in the rear. “You’re tired already? We’ve barely been walking, and we haven’t even entered the forest yet. If you really can’t hack it, just head back on your own. And stop prying. What, you don’t trust us?”

“No, no, no,” Old Qian said, waving his hands frantically. When He Yu ignored him, he turned to flatter me. “Not at all. Look, the Young Master has misunderstood me. I have no ulterior motives. It’s just, you see, the Shaking Dragon Classic says that to find a dragon, one must look at the surrounding mountains. Every layer of mountain is a gate, and only these mountains can ‘hide the wind.’ Only when the wind is hidden can there be a great tomb. As they say, hide the wind and obtain the water. But look at this place – it’s wide open everywhere. How could there be a tomb here?”

I pulled my mask and goggles back on and waved to Lu Ayao and He Yu. Lu Ayao immediately strode forward to lead the way. Before leaving, He Yu patted Old Qian on the shoulder.

I gave Old Qian a thin smile. “You’re the one who insisted on following us. Back in Henan, I never said we were looking for a tomb. We haven’t even entered the forest yet; it’s not too late for you to regret this.”

With that, I turned and caught up with the group, continuing toward the fir forest without looking back.

Old Qian followed behind, calling out to me as he scrambled to my side. “No, wait… where exactly are we going? That lady said not to go into the woods, said we’d likely get lost. With just the few of us, is this… is this really okay?”

I ducked under a large, snow-laden leaf and kept walking. “If you’re scared, go back by yourself.”

Old Qian kept pace with me. “That’s not what I meant. I’m just worried that if we lose our way, this godforsaken place has no villages or shops for miles. It would be terrible if something happened to you, Young Master.”

“Bah! What are you babbling about? If you can’t say anything useful, shut up,” He Yu threatened, dropping back a few steps. “What could possibly happen to us? Besides, the lady said this used to be a logging site with plenty of old workers. How is that a godforsaken place?”

The three of us were bickering in the back when Lu Ayao suddenly stopped up ahead. He made a gesture for silence, which gave the three of us a start. Thinking something was wrong, we all began scanning our surroundings.

We had officially transitioned from the snowy plains into the mountain forest. We had been walking for less than half an hour. Aside from the firs and larches every few meters, the sun was shining brightly, and the ground was a sheet of pure white. Other than the occasional bird call, there wasn’t a soul in sight.

He Yu scanned the area, and once he was sure there was nothing strange, he went over and tentatively asked Lu Ayao, “Wh-what is it?”

Old Qian and I also drew closer to listen.

Lu Ayao frowned. “I keep feeling like someone is following us.”

I found this utterly baffling. We all looked back but saw nothing. This wasn’t like the misty mountains of Yunnan; the sun was out in full force, and there wasn’t much in the way of large cover. There were only tree trunks behind us, so we could see clearly for at least a hundred meters.

“There’s nothing there, Old Lu. We aren’t in a tomb right now. Are you being a bit too jumpy?” He Yu teased, patting Lu Ayao on the shoulder.

I laughed and gave He Yu a smack. “Get lost. Stop being a smart-ass. No matter the time or place, it’s better to stay alert.”

Then he turned to Lu Ayao and said, “But we just looked around here, and there’s nothing else besides us. Old Lu, could it be that you’re just not used to the northern climate yet? Maybe you didn’t sleep well last night and it was just an illusion?”

“Hey! I think that might be it!” He Yu agreed.

Lu Ayao didn’t insist on his version of events. He had indeed been feeling under the weather lately due to the change in environment, and coupled with his inability to adapt to such cold weather, he had been eating very little at every meal. He nodded and said, “It might have been my imagination.”

Old Qian gave a little chuckle. “Since everyone is fine, let’s keep moving!”

After that small interlude, we continued forward. We trekked through the woods for another three or four hours before we finally reached the abandoned logging camp.

Stumps littered the area in a vast clearing, some even with tools left behind on them. The sunlight was gradually fading, and the surroundings began to grow dark. As we walked past the felled stumps, we discovered a steep downward slope behind the logging camp. An old, dilapidated wooden cabin stood halfway down the slope.

The evening wind was growing stronger. Old Qian hurriedly said, “The wind is too strong out here, and it might start snowing heavily again soon. Let’s get inside to take shelter first and continue tomorrow!”

We all agreed with him.

As we were heading down the slope one by one, I glanced back at the stumps in the logging camp and froze. At some point, countless pairs of eyes had gathered among those stumps. Greenish glimmers were staring straight at us from the center of the clearing.

When I stopped, He Yu stopped too. He looked back and let out a frightened curse.

“Holy shit! What are those things!”

I squinted to get a better look and told him, “Don’t be scared, they’re deer.”

A herd of wild deer had appeared out of nowhere. They weren’t eating bark; they just stood there, staring at us for a long time. They looked like eyes floating in the air, which was indeed quite eerie in the dim light.

“Forget about them, I’m freezing. Let’s just get inside!” He Yu pulled me down the slope.

Once inside the cabin, we shut the door. It was a vacant building; the back door and windows had been sealed shut with several layers of thick wooden planks nailed into place. However, it looked like it had been abandoned for a long time. We closed the door, and Lu Ayao quickly started a fire on the floor. The group huddled around to warm up.

I took off my gloves and warmed my hands while asking He Yu, “Aren’t wild deer supposed to be afraid of people? Those deer saw us but didn’t run. Why? Aren’t they afraid we might be hunters and blast them with a gun?”

“Who knows? Maybe times are better now and the locals don’t hunt deer much anymore?” He Yu took out a few cans of rations and placed them by the fire to heat up.

Nearby, Lu Ayao used some broken wood from the floor to fashion a simple door bolt. He finished installing it on the door in no time, and it looked quite sturdy. With the bolt in place, we could ensure the wind wouldn’t blow the door open while we slept at night.

He Yu gave me a sinister grin. “What’s the matter? Were you scared just now?”

I kicked him. “Who said I was scared? Weren’t you the one who shouted louder? I just thought it was a bit strange.”

“Give it a rest and stop overthinking. It’s just a bunch of deer.” He Yu handed me my bowl.