The night on Shifang Mountain seemed to arrive particularly early. Just past the hour of Shen, the sky gradually darkened. Bian Kui said, unsurprised: “Inside the mountains isn’t like outside. Once the hour of Shen passes, you need to find a place to sleep early. There’s a clean clearing in the center of the forest ahead. We’ll stay there tonight.”
Everyone had no objections. Walking to the center of the forest, they saw several smooth bluish stones that were indeed somewhat cleaner. Everyone retrieved food and water from their packs. The food had been prepared at Laotan Kou—there was no meat, only hard, thick flatbreads.
Bian Kui smiled as if he had anticipated this: “In a poor place like Laotan Kou, you can’t buy meat, but I have some. Anyone who wants to eat can come take a look. I’ll give you all a discounted price, hehe.” Bian Kui lifted the wolf pelt bedding inside his bamboo basket and took out the topmost yellow hemp paper package.
Inside the paper package was a full load of dried beef and cured meat. Bian Kui sniffed it, making a drooling, ugly expression.
Li Si glanced at it once. The mother and daughter pair didn’t even look. Gongyang Yan swallowed a mouthful of saliva, then looked toward Uncle Chang. Uncle Chang nodded slightly, and Gongyang Yan bought back one jin of dried beef. Bian Kui said it was discounted, but in reality it was outrageously expensive—more than twice as expensive as outside the mountain. Seeing everyone starting to eat, Bian Kui hurriedly shouted again: “Don’t rush, don’t rush! Besides meat, I also have wine here. The finest Green Snake Tip from Qingzhou—drink one cup and forget your worries, drink two cups and feel like floating on clouds, three cups down and you’ll be a true living immortal! Special discount during the mountain entry period, five taels for a small jar. Who wants some? Who wants some?”
Li Si laughed and glanced at Bian Kui, who was hawking his wares with animated expressions. This man was treating Shifang Mountain like a marketplace for doing business. Although somewhat noisy, compared to the original deathly stillness of Shifang Mountain, Li Si still preferred this kind of lively human energy. To show his support, Li Si bought a small jar of Green Snake Tip. Uncle Chang also bought a jar.
Bian Kui put away the silver with the face of a smug, shrewd merchant, then like a magician pulled out two bitter peaches and continued hawking. After selling the peaches, there were green fruits. After selling the green fruits, Bian Kui actually pulled out an entire piece of glutinous rice cake. In the end, the Fat Daoist bought the glutinous rice cake.
Li Si couldn’t help but wonder whether Bian Kui’s bamboo basket was stuffed entirely with food and drink. The others also occasionally stared at the bamboo basket, but what Bian Kui finally pulled out truly wasn’t food or drink, but rather a roll of coiled black incense. Bian Kui said quite generously: “To thank everyone for your repeated patronage, I’ve decided to give everyone a roll of insect-repelling incense for free. This insect-repelling incense not only drives away insects and ants, but even smaller beasts will immediately turn and run when they smell it. However, it’s completely harmless to people. The fragrance is mild and even aids everyone’s sleep deep in the mountains.”
Bian Kui lit the insect-repelling incense, and after a while, they indeed could no longer hear the rustling sounds of insects and beasts around them.
Night slowly surged forth, bringing its customary cold body. On the first night of Shifang Mountain, Li Si hadn’t expected he would sleep soundly, but perhaps he was truly tired, or perhaps Bian Kui’s insect-repelling incense had played an unexpected effect. In any case, Li Si fell into a deep sleep. Dreams followed—in the dream were large, large patches of falling goose-feather snow. Li Si stood alone on a shockingly vast plain, gazing up at the firmament. The entire world suddenly became black, red, and white, alternating back and forth in an instant. From behind came bone-chilling cold laughter. Li Si abruptly turned around and saw only a white body burning with raging flames.
“Who’s there?” An urgent voice woke those sleeping. Li Si also woke up and saw it was Gongyang Yan shouting.
Bian Kui rubbed his eyes, yawning: “Young Master Gongyang, what did you see?”
“There are human shadows in the forest—there, and over there too. More than one—many flickering human shadows. What the hell kind of ghostly things are they!” Gongyang Yan’s eyes bulged wide; he didn’t seem to be confused from sleep.
The others peered into the forest. Uncle Chang silently entered the forest to investigate but found nothing. Uncle Chang returned and said: “You probably mistook tree shadows for human shadows. People entering the mountain for the first time always have such experiences. Don’t worry.”
Gongyang Yan shook his head: “I didn’t see wrong. They were definitely floating white shadows.”
Bian Kui suddenly said: “White shadows… could it be Shifang Mountain’s white fog poison miasma?! It can’t be. According to past patterns, the poison miasma shouldn’t appear for another half month. But you can never rule out accidents. Young Master Gongyang, are you certain you saw floating white shadows?”
Gongyang Yan nodded.
“Better safe than sorry—everyone pack up and leave immediately.” Bian Kui hurriedly organized his bamboo basket. Li Si had heard Bian Kui mention Shifang Mountain’s poison miasma at Laotan Kou, but he hadn’t imagined Bian Kui would fear it so much. Li Si asked: “Is the poison miasma here really that terrifying?”
While urging everyone on, Bian Kui answered: “Shifang Mountain’s poison miasma is a hundred times more terrifying than poisonous snakes and poisonous grass, because once the poison miasma discovers you, it will keep staring at you and following you! Until you run yourself to exhaustion, then it will swallow you whole. Previously, Laotan Kou had over a dozen guides, but every year some would be swallowed by the poison miasma. Now only three of us remain.”
The seven people finished organizing, and Bian Kui led everyone to flee toward the southwest direction.
“What are the white shadows?” During the journey, Gongyang Yan couldn’t help asking.
“Every time the poison miasma appears, those things also come out. The village elders say the white shadows are the wronged souls of people who were trapped to death in the poison miasma back then. These wronged souls cannot be reborn, so they became malevolent spirits that use the poison miasma to specifically harm people.” Bian Kui glanced back and involuntarily quickened his pace.
Just as Bian Kui had said, before long, the place where the seven had rested was shrouded in a thick, murky white fog, which surged toward Li Si and the others at a considerable speed. In his fluster, Bian Kui took the wrong path and led everyone to a cliff edge. Below the cliff were jagged, sharp stone bones. Uncle Chang demanded: “What do we do?”
Bian Kui looked at the chaotic miasma pressing close before his eyes. In an instant, his mind went completely blank, and he stammered, unable to speak.
Li Si made a decisive judgment: “Return the way we came. If we’re fast enough, we can still make it.”
“Right, right.” As if struck by a sudden blow to the head, Bian Kui snapped to his senses. Everyone rapidly retraced their path. The poison miasma was already close at hand, swaying its ethereal white, highly poisonous shell as it rolled toward the group. The stench of putrid decay assaulted their faces. The poison miasma that arrived first pressed down on their heads like invisible giant stones.
Li Si said: “Walk crouched down, and absolutely don’t breathe in the miasma.”
Li Si held his breath and pulled the hand of the person beside him, moving step by step out of the poison miasma’s blockade. Suddenly, A’Mu was tripped by scattered rocks and rolled down the stone slope. Mi Ta was anxious and frantic but had no way to help. At the critical moment, a chubby hand grabbed the falling A’Mu.
A’Mu, her soul not yet settled, saw that the person who had grabbed her was actually the slovenly Fat Daoist.
“Be careful,” the Fat Daoist grinned, but his smile was truly ugly.
“Thank you,” A’Mu said softly, looking at the Fat Daoist’s tattered, patched Daoist robe.
Everyone escaped the first wave of the poison miasma’s surprise attack without major incident. After about half a shichen, the poison miasma was finally left behind them. Uncle Chang exhaled a long breath: “There’s clearly no wind, so why does the poison miasma move so fast?”
Bian Kui licked his lips and said: “The wind is blocked behind the poison miasma, so naturally we can’t see it. But the wind at this time all blows from the Rotten Swamp in the east—it’s foul wind. It’s best not to smell it or see it, otherwise you’ll definitely feel sick and vomit.”
“Rotten Swamp?” Li Si asked puzzledly.
“Shifang Mountain has its back to the cold Northern Sea, and the Rotten Swamp lies between the Northern Sea and Shifang Mountain. The sea wind blows to the Rotten Swamp and then sweeps up onto Shifang Mountain. That sea wind can be ten times more fierce than the mountain wind, which is why the poison miasma moves so fast.” Bian Kui took out his water pouch and took a drink. “Every year at the end of winter and beginning of spring when the Northern Sea changes, that’s when Shifang Mountain’s most ferocious poison miasma appears. More than half of the outer mountain will be shrouded in poison miasma. It lasts for about two or three months altogether.”
The poison miasma appeared increasingly massive. Li Si’s eyes gazed into the depths of Shifang Mountain: “Is the inner mountain also affected by the poison miasma?”
Bian Kui’s face carried awe: “The outer mountain’s poison miasma can’t enter the inner mountain, but the inner mountain has its own poison miasma. That kind of poison miasma tinged with peach blossom color—I only saw it once when I was small. My grandfather told me that once you enter the Peach Blossom Miasma, even your bones probably won’t be found.”
“The Peach Blossom Miasma seems to be controlled by hellish demons, ruling the inner mountain year-round. Moreover, the Peach Blossom Miasma’s toxicity and speed are incomparable to the outer mountain’s poison miasma, which is why we call the inner mountain the ‘Land of Death’s Prohibition.'”
“Land of Death’s Prohibition,” Li Si repeated.
Gongyang Yan’s eyes brightened: “Bian Kui, have you heard of Xingtian City in Shifang Mountain?”
“Xingtian City!” The corners of Bian Kui’s mouth twitched twice. “Xingtian City—I’ve only heard of it in rumors from the older generation. That’s a city under a thousand-year curse, a city of heavenly punishment! How did you come to know of it?”
“Uh, we also heard others spreading rumors about it. Since we couldn’t distinguish true from false, we’re just asking.” Uncle Chang answered in place of Gongyang Yan. Gongyang Yan said no more. Li Si looked at this master-servant pair and muttered to himself: “Xingtian City should be in the inner mountain, right?”
Bian Kui grinned: “Yes, but it’s better not to speak of it anymore.”
The seven people fell into a strange atmosphere of silence. Just when Xingtian City was mentioned, the mother Mi Ta’s face suddenly stiffened. Her daughter A’Mu stole a glance at the Fat Daoist who had saved her. The Fat Daoist went his own way, paying no attention to anyone’s conversation, just rolling his white eyeballs and walking.
Everyone numbly walked for three or four shichen. That demonized poison miasma completely blocked the sun outside the great mountain, making the seven people feel as if they were walking in an abyss that would never see daylight. Cold air gradually rose from the soles of their feet. Just at this moment, Bian Kui spoke: “Thank heaven and earth, Fuwa Village has arrived.”