The dwarf died deep in the cave, and only Yi Shi was with him before. Everyone’s eyes turned to the disheveled woman.
“Did you kill him?”
Yi Shi shook his head: “Earthquake, he ran away.”
Tu Laogui looked at the bald man, who after a few seconds of silence said, “It looks like he died from a fall. There’s a big dent on his head, and his brain is exposed.”
“What?!” Lin Erde, in disbelief, ran in to take a look and then came out covering his mouth. “Damn, he really did fall to his death. What should we do? Drag him out?”
“Will you bury him?” Tu Laogui’s tone was cold, causing Lin Erde to shiver and repeatedly shake his head. “No, no, let the dwarf rot in the cave. No one will know, even if he becomes a skeleton.”
“Let’s move to another place.” Tu Laogui stood up.
“Huh? Can’t we stay a bit longer?”
Lin Erde’s words were immediately met with a harsh glare from the bald man, who slapped him on the head. He almost fell over, looking quite aggrieved. “I was just asking…”
The bald man squatted next to Tu Laogui: “Where to, Laogui”
Lin Erde interjected, “Let’s head north, we should follow the planned route and reach Bei Cheng’an earlier.”
As dawn broke, the group was driven deeper into the mountains. With the dwarf dead, the man in the leather jacket took over as the escort, and the kidnappers remained three in number. They were moving from Southern Cheng’an Mountain toward Northern Cheng’an Mountain. Lin Erde’s destination was the undeveloped wilderness he longed for. From his childhood experience, he firmly believed that this area was a no-man’s land and would not be easily found.
There were originally 17 children in the group, but only 13 remained. The boy with broken ribs couldn’t walk, and the bald man wanted to leave him in the mountains, but Yi Shi stepped up, voluntarily offering to carry him.
Lin Erde crossed his arms: “Ha, do you think I’m stupid? What if you run away with him?!”
He wasn’t staying either; the dwarf’s death was definitely related to this woman, and maybe she was the one who killed him. Unexpectedly, the bald man kicked him: “Shameful, can’t even keep an eye on a woman!”
Xiao Shitou was picked up and handed to Lin Erde: “Watch over his son. With him around, this woman won’t dare to play tricks.”
Yi Shi’s hands were freed, and as soon as he held the child, he noticed his face was abnormally flushed. Checking his condition, he frowned: “Do you have any medicine? He’s running a fever.”
“Damn, are you going to manage eating, drinking, and also headaches and fevers?!” The bald man showed a look of disgust, “So what if he dies? Stop being so meddlesome!”
Suppressing his anger, Yi Shi silently carried the child and walked at the front of the group. Cheng’an Mountain was covered in evergreen plants, and even in winter, it looked lush. There were two peaks ahead, one high and one low, nestled together. Yi Shi narrowed his eyes and finally determined their location.
They were approaching Lover’s Peak, where the first batch of children was discovered. The narrow passage between the two mountains was Lin Erde’s burial site. Yi Shi couldn’t help but wonder, who killed Lin Erde? After being shot, he was pushed from a height—besides these hostages, who else could hate him so much?
Lin Erde, holding Xiao Shitou, walked in front and suddenly turned around to look at Yi Shi, saying, “Don’t get any ideas. With the dwarf’s fate as a warning, I won’t come near you, no matter what.”
The man in the leather jacket sneered, “He brought it on himself! Trying to take all the benefits, he got his comeuppance.” He looked around, “Where are we going?”
“To the temple.”
“Temple?” The man in the leather jacket’s expression changed, “Why the hell did you pick such a place?!”
Yi Shi, carrying the child, was replaying the investigation details of the kidnapping case in his mind. Until he received the information, the word “temple” had only appeared in one child’s testimony and was later dismissed as “incorrect location.” He hadn’t paid it much attention at the time, given the many misleading routes in a complex case. Now, being in the middle of the case, the destination was exactly that “incorrect” temple.
Perhaps… the location is correct, but the space is wrong.
A strange thought crossed Yi Shi’s mind, and he was momentarily stunned. Was it finally time to verify his and Yu Qian’s previous speculation?
——
The route Lin Erde found was not a proper path. While water flows downhill and people go up, he led them into a depression. The depression was overgrown with camphor trees, and the higher ground was filled with red pines and other resilient plants. The sky above was almost completely blocked, and the cold, damp air constantly seeped up from the ground, making the stones smooth and shiny, even more so than if they were waxed.
The man in the leather jacket slipped again and was about to curse. Lin Erde, supporting himself on a pine tree, smiled, “We’re almost there, just ahead!”
After an indeterminate amount of time, daylight broke, and sunlight streamed through the gaps, forming rays. The child in Yi Shi’s arms had fallen asleep from exhaustion, and his complexion had slightly improved. Yi Shi checked his forehead; he was still feverish, though not as hot as before.
He had to hold on; they would be home soon. Yi Shi silently repeated this to himself.
The two leading the group were actually chatting:
“Hey, those cops are useless, aren’t they? They still haven’t found Cheng’an Mountain.”
“Would you be more comfortable if they found us?”
“The three that Laogui took are all dead, planning to throw one away each day. With such a big commotion, the cops will definitely search the mountain. I think we should rush to Northern Cheng’an.”
“I don’t handle the travel arrangements, ask Lao Er.”
Lin Erde had already heard: “Rushing at night is even more dangerous! Now there are drones and those thermal imaging devices! During the day, with many tourists around, we’re less likely to be noticed. Who would come out to climb a mountain when chickens haven’t even crowed?”
The man in the leather jacket sneered, “We’re not that late ourselves. Aren’t the eyes of the villagers on the mountain better than drones?”
Lin Erde patted his chest and assured them that he was very familiar with Cheng’an Mountain. After Lover’s Peak’s scenic spot was canceled, no one lived in this area. The remaining farmers on the mountain were all concentrated in the south, near the scenic area, each household vying to run farm stays. He had personally verified this before coming.
Ahead, white walls and green tiles became faintly visible, and the Xiao Ci Temple, which had been partially hidden like a half-concealed pipa, finally revealed its mysterious face. Lin Erde led the way, went for a look, and after a while, waved them over.
Yi Shi continued walking at the back, with the child in his arms sleeping soundly, burying his face in Yi Shi’s embrace. He smiled and, when he looked up again, his gaze inadvertently swept through the camphor forest and spotted a figure.
Amidst the deep green branches, the figure was climbing up a tree with agile and skillful movements. Sparse patches of light hit his profile, creating a blurred halo and evoking a sense of déjà vu.
The camphor tree was about twenty meters high. Without any protective gear, the figure climbed to the middle of the tree using only his hands and feet, reaching along the branches to pick a pine cone and toss it into a small bamboo basket behind him.
There was still a pine cone on a branch further out. The boy stretched his arm as far as he could but couldn’t reach it. So, he shook the tree trunk roughly, causing a series of noises.
Yi Shi felt inexplicably anxious and immediately looked at the bald man ahead. With such a big commotion, he should have looked up and noticed the boy. But the bald man passed by the camphor tree without seeing the boy.
Meanwhile, Xiao Shitou, being dragged along, looked up and noticed the stranger, showing a look of surprise in his eyes and frequently glancing back at Yi Shi, trying to convey a message.
Only the two of them could see it. In Yi Shi’s understanding, only one situation could explain this— the boy did not belong to their current world.
“What are you dawdling for? Move!”
The man in the leather jacket angrily reprimanded. The others had moved ahead, and Yi Shi was still standing there with a child, lagging behind. Didn’t he fear angering the bald man, who might shoot him?
Yi Shi’s cold gaze shifted over, lingered for a few seconds, then returned to the camphor tree.
People have curiosity and herd mentality. When a man on the street looks up at the sky, others around him will stop and imitate his actions to figure out what he’s looking at. Following Yi Shi’s gaze, the man in the leather jacket saw only trees and birds and couldn’t understand what Yi Shi was looking at.
“Can you see him?” Yi Shi suddenly asked.
“Who?”
“A child,” Yi Shi tilted his chin slightly, “on the tree.”
The man in the leather jacket looked around, confused. In this desolate mountain, where would anyone come from? And on the tree? He felt inexplicably uneasy and irritated: “… Damn it, are you moving or not?! Stop pretending!”
Yi Shi smiled, this time unusually obedient, and continued walking forward with the child. The boy began shaking another branch, and pine cones fell, one of which rolled to Yi Shi’s feet.
Yi Shi picked up the pine cone. The boy’s brows furrowed as he finally noticed Yi Shi. His eyes revealed surprise, and he instinctively turned to look around, eventually meeting Yi Shi’s gaze. His eyes were deep and dark, as if they were pools of ink.
The boy quickly descended to the ground, picked up the fallen pine cones, and tossed them into his bamboo basket. He picked them up along the way and brushed past the man in the leather jacket, who didn’t even have a reflection in his eyes. He then stood before Yi Shi, slightly shorter than him, and raised his eyebrows slightly: “Are you lost?”
Yi Shi was surprised that he spoke to him, paused for a moment, and slowly shook his head.
“It’s going to rain heavily soon, and the mountain isn’t safe. It’s best to leave early.” He pointed to Lover’s Peak, “Do you need me to lead you out of the mountain?”
Yi Shi instinctively looked up and noticed the sky strangely divided into two states. Above his head was bright sunshine, while above the boy was dark, rolling clouds. The last time he encountered such a peculiar phenomenon was in the Southern Cheng’an cemetery.
…Cemetery?
Yi Shi’s eyes suddenly widened as he carefully recalled every detail from that day. The boy’s face overlapped with that of the boy who went to the grave with his mother and also with the figure sunbathing on the hillside on the day of the kidnapping. He finally understood where this sense of déjà vu came from—it was their third encounter.
“Is your last name Chen?” Yi Shi asked. If he remembered correctly, the name on the tombstone was “Chen Shuwu.”
The boy looked slightly surprised, “How do you know?”
Yi Shi gave a faint smile, “We’ve met before.”
To the man in the leather jacket, Yi Shi’s smile appeared chilling. What’s going on with this guy? Standing there talking to someone? Could it… really be a ghost?
The man in the leather jacket’s heartbeat quickened, and in a panic, he pulled out his knife and shouted at Yi Shi, “Are you going to leave or not?! Trying to scare me? I’m not afraid…”
Yi Shi turned around and looked at him with an innocent expression, “If you’re not afraid, then come over here.”
“Who are you talking to?” The boy tilted his head and looked ahead with a confused expression.
Sure enough, they could only see themselves. Yi Shi subtly realized that, at this moment, he was standing in the middle, seeming to be a bridge between two worlds. The man in the leather jacket and the boy couldn’t see each other; only he could communicate smoothly with both worlds.
“Come on, then!” The man in the leather jacket mustered his courage and took a few steps forward. Yi Shi whispered to the boy, “Pick up a small stone and throw it strongly to a spot three meters directly ahead.”
The boy casually picked up a thumb-sized stone and threw it as instructed.
The stone hit the man in the leather jacket’s shoulder. His thick coat protected him, so it didn’t hurt, but it was creepy. What just happened? How did the stone come flying even though this guy didn’t move?
Yi Shi coldly smiled again and whispered, “This time, raise your wrist 30 degrees, still at the same spot, and throw it.”
This time, the man in the leather jacket saw clearly; a stone flew out from behind Yi Shi. The boy also noticed something strange—the stone didn’t fall in a parabolic arc but hit some transparent object, bouncing off and changing direction.
The man in the leather jacket covered his right temple, his face turning pale as he stepped back. The boy maintained an unusually calm demeanor for his age and asked, “Is there something over there? Can you see it?”
“Yes.” Yi Shi lowered his voice, “What’s today’s date? What time is it? Any recent news about kidnapping cases?”
“December 13, and right now…” The boy, without a watch, estimated by the light, “It’s almost 5 o’clock. What kidnapping case?”
Yi Shi breathed a slight sigh of relief. The passage of time was the same on both sides, and there were no reports of any cases. Although he didn’t know the details, it was at least a good sign.
“Do me a favor and call this number after we go down…”
Thunder rumbled from the darkening sky. The boy strained his ears to listen, “What?”
Before Yi Shi could speak again, the bald man pointed a gun at Xiao Shitou from a short distance, “If you don’t leave, I’ll shoot your son!”
“…” Yi Shi thanked him and walked toward the Xiao Ci Temple with the child. The man in the leather jacket tried to avoid him, but Yi Shi suddenly called him over and handed the child to him.
The man in the leather jacket was unwilling to take the child, but Yi Shi hit his soft spot with one sentence: “You’d better hold him. If he dies, the first one they’ll come after is you.”
The man in the leather jacket’s expression changed. Recalling the eerie scene from earlier, he reluctantly took the sleeping boy.
The Xiao Ci Temple was almost hidden in the pine forest. Inside was another world, at least twice the size of the temple. In Lin Erde’s grandfather’s generation, the temple had a resident abbot and several monks who chanted sutras every day, and local villagers often came to donate. Later, during the famine years, the monks either died or fled, and the small temple was abandoned in the deep mountains, becoming a relic of half a century.
The most difficult part now was dealing with the bald man. Once he was taken care of, the remaining two were no threat. Bald Ghost usually didn’t come during the day, and by the time he discovered anything, Yi Shi would have already contacted the police in Shanghai.
Whenever Yi Shi had this kind of self-rescue idea, strange accidents always occurred, and this time was no exception—the earlier boy had followed him, standing outside the courtyard of the Xiao Ci Temple, moving through the crowd to stand opposite Yi Shi.
“Are you going in? I heard it’s haunted inside,” the boy said.
“Haunted?”
Yi Shi’s voice wasn’t loud, but it easily drew everyone’s attention. The man in the leather jacket’s face changed suddenly, and he whispered a few words to the bald man.
“Yes, the old carpenter at the village head told me. There’s a small temple in the mountains that’s a resting place for vengeful spirits. On rainy days, you can see them wandering inside,” the boy said, looking up, “Where’s your child?”
Yi Shi didn’t have time to make an excuse when a raindrop fell from the sky, spreading into a large splash on the ground. More raindrops quickly followed, falling like strings of pearls, accompanied by a howling wind that made the camphor trees rustle loudly.
The rain came suddenly and violently, but only behind the boy. The area where Yi Shi was remained calm, with bright, warm sunshine pouring into the valley, stripping away the horrifying exterior of the Xiao Ci Temple and revealing its serene and tranquil ancient charm.
“With such heavy rain, even ghosts wouldn’t dare to come out,” the boy shrugged, “Let’s go inside to take shelter.”
As he spoke, he grabbed Yi Shi’s arm. At that moment, the clear sky suddenly turned, dark clouds swallowed the blue sky, and torrential rain poured down like a galaxy, the rain curtain dense and spectacular.
Everyone was startled by the sudden rain. It was so bizarre—the previous moment it was sunny, and the next it was storming?
What was even more terrifying was the lightning across the sky, and a tall, slender figure appeared abruptly, as if it had suddenly grown out of the ground.
The man in the leather jacket had already collapsed, shouting “Ghost!” Lin Erde, with a pale face, pointed to the Buddha statue inside the temple: “Quick, quick, get to the Buddha! Ghosts dare not approach deities! … Don’t run off by yourself! Take the hostages with you! If they’re gone, we’ll become ghosts ourselves!”
The two of them were in a panic, dragging three or four children into the temple, while the two teachers had already run into the Xiao Ci Temple, trembling beside the Buddha statue. They were afraid of vicious people but even more terrified of elusive ghosts.
The entrance to the underground passage was behind the Buddha statue. Lin Erde and the man in the leather jacket used all their strength to push the Buddha statue aside, forcing the hostages into the passage, while the bravest, the bald man, was left outside to deal with the situation.
Among the three, only the bald man remained calm. He stood in the rain with his arms crossed, his entire body soaked but unmoving. His eyes glared fiercely at the boy, and his right hand slowly moved towards his waist.
Yi Shi had already anticipated his move. He grabbed the boy’s bamboo basket and threw it over, spilling half a basket of pine cones. The bald man blocked it, but his chest ached sharply, and his neck was grabbed and forcefully pressed down onto the ground.
He was stunned for a few seconds, thinking to himself: Is this a woman?! Which woman has this kind of strength!
Yi Shi took out the knife that had been used to threaten the dwarf and aimed it at the bald man’s right hand, stabbing down without hesitation. A thunderclap drowned out his scream. Yi Shi’s expression was stern as he twisted the bald man’s left wrist, easily dislocating it.
The boy witnessed the entire scene in shock. After disabling the bald man’s hands, Yi Shi turned around with a somewhat ferocious expression, “Go quickly! The farther you run, the better!”
The boy hesitated for a moment, but not caring about the pine cones and bamboo basket, he dashed into the rain.
With his right hand nailed to the ground and his left hand hanging limply by his side, the bald man, pale and screaming in agony, demanded, “Who are you?!”
“Kindergarten teacher.”
Yi Shi’s face was expressionless as he felt for the gun strapped to the bald man’s waist, pulling it out. The moment he held the gun, his eyelid twitched.
He swiftly removed the magazine with one hand, checked it with a glance, then reinserted it, his gaze dark and grim.
It was truly unexpected that he had been threatened by a gun with no bullets for several days!
