Chapter 212: Wild Deer

Early the next morning, we packed up our essential supplies. He Yu found a breakfast joint, and the four of us gathered around a table to eat, chatting idly with the owner as we did. After talking for a while, I realized He Yu had put quite a bit of thought into picking this place.

The owner’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, it had long since been abandoned.

He Yu asked the owner for its general location, and we planned to start exploring the area around that old camp first. As soon as we finished eating, we wiped our mouths, stood up to pay, and turned to head out, but the owner hurriedly called back to stop us.

“What are you going to Emu’er Mountain for?” She grabbed He Yu’s arm. “Those woods are deep! If you’re a research team, just stick to the outskirts. Whatever you do, don’t head deep inside. Those old logging camps are all derelict; there’s nothing to see. Going into the woods is dangerous. You’ll get lost and won’t be able to get out!”

I chuckled and smiled at her. “Don’t worry, ma’am. We aren’t going deep inside. We’re just going to look around the edges.”

With that, I shot He Yu a glance, and he immediately caught on to back me up. “Exactly! Look at how beautiful all this white snow is. We just want to walk around and take a few photos. No need to see us out, ma’am. Rest assured, my buddies and I definitely won’t go deep into the woods!”

After bidding the owner farewell, we left the county seat and began heading into the mountains along the route marked on our map. Once we got going, I knew we were on the right track. Just as the owner had said, there had been plenty of loggers working here before, and there were indeed dirt trails trodden into the snowy plains. Following these trails through the deep snow saved us a great deal of effort.

Walking in snow is entirely different from walking on level ground. The top layer is thick snow where every step leaves a footprint, but if you sink too deep, you hit ice, and a slip will send you eating snow face-first. We were all dressed warmly, wearing gloves, scarves, hats, and goggles. A constant wind blew across the snowy plains, keeping us in a state of being cold and hot at the same time. The cold came from the wind sneaking into our collars from time to time; the heat came from the exertion, which kept our backs soaked with sweat.

After walking along the dirt trail all morning, the monotonous snowy landscape finally showed some change. Rows of fir trees and the white-covered branches of dead, nameless trees poked out from the snow. Seeing the dense forest, I pulled down my face mask and exhaled a puff of white mist.

Old Qian plopped his butt straight onto the ground and shouted through his thick mask, “I can’t take it! Let’s rest a minute! My young sirs, I can’t walk another step. Do you guys actually have a clear target? Is finding a tomb really this hard?”

He Yu yanked off his goggles and kicked Old Qian in the rear. “You’re tired already? How long have we even been walking? We haven’t even entered the forest yet, and you can’t walk anymore? If you really can’hack it, just go back on your own. Stop asking all these questions. What, you don’t trust us?”

“No, no, no,” Old Qian said, hurriedly waving his hands. When He Yu ignored him, he came over to flatter me. “Not at all! Look, the Young Master has misunderstood me. I have no second thoughts. It’s just, you see, as the Shaking Dragon Classic^[1] says, ‘To seek a dragon, look to the surrounding peaks; each surrounding peak is another gate.’ Only surrounding peaks can shelter the wind, and only by sheltering the wind can there be a great tomb. As the saying goes, ‘Shelter the wind and gather the water^[2].’ 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 clear the path. Before leaving, He Yu patted Old Qian on the shoulder.

I chuckled at Old Qian and said, “You’re the one who insisted on coming along. 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 called after me as he hurried to catch up, edging over to my side. “Wait, where exactly are we going? That boss lady said we shouldn’t enter the woods, that we’d probably get lost. With just the few of us, can we… can we really pull this off?”

I ducked beneath a large, snow-laden leaf and kept walking. “If you’re scared, you can 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 ahead and no inns behind. It would be terrible if something happened to you, Young Master.”

“Bah! What are you babbling about? If you don’t know how to talk, keep your mouth shut,” He Yu threatened, dropping back a few steps. “What could possibly happen to us? Besides, that boss lady said this place used to be a logging site with plenty of old workers logging here. How is this a godforsaken place?”

The three of us were chatting back and forth behind him when Lu Ayao suddenly stopped up ahead. He raised a hand for silence, giving all three of us a start. Thinking something was wrong, we all began looking around.

We had officially left the snow plains and entered the mountain forest, walking for less than half an hour to reach this point. Aside from the firs and larches spaced every few meters, the sun was shining brightly, and the ground was a sheet of pure white. Other than the occasional bird call, there was nothing else to be seen.

He Yu scanned our surroundings, and once he was sure there was nothing strange, he walked over and tentatively asked Lu Ayao, “W-what’s wrong?”

Old Qian and I stepped closer as well, gathering around to listen to him.

Lu Ayao frowned and said, “I keep feeling like someone is following us from behind.”

I found this utterly baffling. The rest of us turned around, but we didn’t see anything. Unlike the foggy, mist-shrouded mountains of Yunnan, the sun was out in full force right now, and there were no large obstacles blocking the view. There were only tree trunks behind us, so we could see clearly for a hundred meters around.

“There’s nothing there, Old Lu. We’re not inside a tomb right now. Are you being a bit overly tense?” He Yu teased, patting Lu Ayao on the shoulder.

I laughed and gave He Yu a smack, saying, “Get out of here. Stop cracking jokes. No matter when, it’s always better to keep your guard up.”

Then I turned to Lu Ayao and said, “Still, we just checked the area, and there’s nothing here besides us. Old Lu, could it be that you’re not used to the northern climate yet, didn’t sleep well last night, and imagined it?”

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

Lu Ayao didn’t insist on his point. He had indeed been feeling under the weather lately due to the change in climate, and coupled with his inability to adapt to the freezing 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.

Tree 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 me get inside!” He Yu pulled me down the slope.

Once inside the cabin, we shut the door. It was a vacant building; the rear door and windows had been sealed shut with several layers of thick wooden planks nailed into place, though it looked like it had been abandoned for a long time. Lu Ayao quickly started a fire on the floor, and we gathered 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 who’d 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 be sure 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. It’s just a bunch of deer.” He Yu handed me my bowl.