However, when they followed the hoofprints to a steep cliff, their hopes were dashed once again. Below the cliff was a bottomless ravine, with vines hanging down from the top, forming a green curtain. Zhou Ziqi walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down, immediately taking two steps back in fright: "It's too steep, there's no way to get down."

Old Zheng took out his binoculars and scanned the opposite bank: "Look, there seem to be signs of artificial trimming in that grove over there." Chen Mo took the binoculars and looked at them for a long time before slowly putting them down: "It's an orchard, I see peach trees."

This discovery brought both excitement and frustration to everyone. They were excited to finally see signs of human activity, but frustrated because the formidable chasm before them seemed insurmountable. Lin Xia looked at the deep ravine, then at the peach trees faintly visible on the opposite bank, and suddenly remembered a suspension bridge she had drawn in her sketchbook—a bridge she had seen in a travel guide before setting off, said to span a tributary of Luoxia Valley.

"Chen Mo," she suddenly spoke up, "could the suspension bridge mentioned in the guide be nearby?"

Chen Mo paused for a moment, then immediately pulled out a screenshot of the strategy guide saved on his phone. The image was a bit blurry, but it clearly showed a simple suspension bridge spanning the canyon. "If the suspension bridge is there, it should be nearby!" His voice was tinged with excitement. "Everyone, split up and search, look for any traces of ropes or planks!"

V. Emerging from the Valley: When the stream flows into the human world

The search for the suspension bridge proved more difficult than anticipated. The cliff face was overgrown with thorny wild roses, their vines intertwined like a dense, impenetrable net. Old Zheng had a long gash on his arm, blood seeping out and staining his cuffs, but he simply bandaged it with gauze and continued hacking at the vines with his machete.

"Found it!" Zhou Ziqi's voice came from ahead, tinged with excitement and tears. Everyone immediately gathered around, and there, on a relatively gentle cliff face, several rusty steel cables stretched from the opposite bank, secured to two thick cypress trees. Most of the wooden planks that had originally laid on the cables had rotted and broken, leaving only a few hanging forlornly in mid-air, swaying slightly in the wind.

"Is this bridge still passable?" Zhou Ziqi looked at the swaying steel cable, her face pale. Old Zheng squatted down to inspect the cable's anchor points, picking at the rust with his fingers: "The cable itself is fine, it's just that the wooden planks are too rotten." Chen Mo took out a climbing rope from his backpack, tied it around his waist, and secured the other end to a cypress tree: "I'll go first, tie my safety rope, and then you can come over one by one."

Lin Xia watched Chen Mo sway from side to side on the few remaining planks, his body bobbing with the movement of the steel cable, her heart pounding in her chest. The cable creaked and groaned, the sound particularly jarring in the silent valley. Only when he finally jumped to the other side and waved to signal that it was safe did Lin Xia realize her palms were drenched in cold sweat.

The crossing that followed was truly breathtaking. Chen Mo held onto the safety rope on the other side, and Lao Zheng went second. He walked very slowly, carefully testing the weight-bearing capacity of the planks with each step. When it was Lin Xia's turn, she stood on the edge of the cliff, hesitant to take a step. Below her was a bottomless ravine, and in her ears was the whistling of the mountain wind through the steel cables.

"Don't be afraid, look into my eyes," Chen Mo shouted from the other side, his voice broken by the wind. "Hold on tight, I'm holding you!"

Lin Xia took a deep breath and stepped onto the first plank. The plank cracked, startling her. But Chen Mo's voice kept coming from the other side, like an invisible thread pulling her forward. She dared not look at her feet, only staring into Chen Mo's eyes, step by step. When she finally jumped to the other side, her legs gave way and she collapsed to her knees, only then did she realize that tears were streaming down her face.

After crossing the suspension bridge, the path suddenly became clear. A muddy path, worn smooth by countless footsteps, appeared beneath their feet. The trees on either side were clearly pruned, with fallen peach pits and broken branches occasionally visible. After walking for about twenty minutes, they suddenly heard the sound of rushing water ahead, much more turbulent than any stream they had heard before.

"It's the Yellow River!" Old Zheng shouted excitedly, quickening his pace.

The sight before them stunned everyone. A wide river stretched out before them, its waters crystal clear and its bed covered with smooth pebbles. On the opposite bank lay a neat orchard, with peach and plum trees arranged in orderly rows. On the distant hillside, several white-walled, gray-tiled houses were faintly visible, wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys.

"There's a house here!" Zhou Ziqi screamed, tears welling up again, this time tears of joy.

They walked down the riverbank and soon came to a stone arch bridge spanning the river. The bridge railings were engraved with faded patterns, and a huge camphor tree grew at the bridgehead, its shade almost covering the entire bridge surface. After crossing the bridge, there was a winding cement road with faded tourist signs along the side that read: "500 meters ahead in Luoxia Valley Scenic Area".

Lin Xia stared at the sign, suddenly feeling a little dazed. The destination they had been searching for for two days was now appearing before them in such an unexpected way. Sunlight filtered through the camphor tree leaves, casting dappled shadows on the concrete road. The sounds of roosters crowing and dogs barking drifted from afar; everything seemed both real and distant.

"Let's go to the village for a drink of water." Chen Mo smiled, the fatigue on his face completely gone in the sunlight. His backpack straps were worn out, and his trouser legs were covered in mud, but his eyes were exceptionally bright.

Walking on the concrete road, Lin Xia suddenly recalled the campfire the night she got lost. The exploration stories Old Zheng told in the firelight, Zhou Ziqi's tales of the mountain god, and Chen Mo's profile as he intently adjusted the fire—all replayed in her mind like scenes from a movie. She had originally thought this hike was to escape the hustle and bustle of the city, but unexpectedly, after losing her way, she found a more solid connection—a connection with nature, a connection with her companions, and a connection with her own heart.

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