Chapter 6
"You live in a really haunted building!" she said in surprise.
We both read the contents, and it basically said that after the building was built, a newlywed couple moved in, and not long after, the bride jumped from the building. No one else was present at the time of the crime, and there were no signs of foul play. But what was strange was that the bride looked like she was in great pain before her death, and her entire expression was distorted.
"I have to move when I get back." I asked why the rented houses there were so cheap, and it turned out that they were specially rented to outsiders like us who didn't know about that.
"This is too immoral. Even a haunted building is being rented out." Zheng Yunyun said indignantly.
"It seems that our building is actually full of tenants. It seems that they don't know about this."
Knowing what had happened in my rental, I was a bit distracted. Zheng Yunyun noticed my low spirits and stopped talking. I lay down on the bed and quickly fell asleep, probably because I was too tired today.
The next day, we packed up and set off again. We started from YT City, followed the national and provincial highways, first to Guiyang, and then transferred to our destination, ESYZ Autonomous County.
I'd never heard of this place, and I had no idea how Mao Jianming knew they had what they were looking for. But I figured if something was extinct out there, there was a good chance we'd find it in this sparsely populated primeval forest.
The six of us took turns driving, so it wasn't too tiring.
Unfortunately, the weather wasn't kind. As soon as we entered Guizhou, a light drizzle began to fall. This is quite normal in the mountainous southwest, where the mountains are steep and the weather can change rapidly. We had no choice but to find a place to rest, but the navigation system indicated we were in the middle of nowhere. It seemed we had no choice but to set up camp.
This was my first time camping in the wild, and everything felt new to me. I was in a group with Zheng Yunyun, who had obviously encountered this situation many times. The tent was set up very quickly, and I could only help a little, as she did most of the work.
The drizzle soon stopped, and we found a lot of firewood, but it was a little wet from the rain and couldn't start a fire. Finally, I don't know where Zhang Song found some dry firewood, and he used a flint and steel to quickly start a fire.
It was already dark, and the six of us were sitting around the fire, bored. Seeing the atmosphere was a bit awkward, I took the initiative and asked Mao Jianming, "What kind of plant are you looking for?"
Zhang Song was also very curious, after all, Mao Jianming didn't tell us specifically what he was looking for.
"What we are looking for is a legendary grass called Bili," said Mao Jianming.
"Xi Li? Aren't there a lot of that stuff?" Zhang Song said.
"Brother Song, this isn't the kind of Ficus microcarpa you're familiar with. The Ficus microcarpa I'm talking about is mentioned in the Classic of Mountains and Seas: 'Eating it relieves heartache.' It's a medicinal herb specifically used to treat angina. It's described as having leaves similar to black chives, growing on rocks or clinging to trees. If we find it, we'll use current technology to cultivate it, extract its medicinal ingredients, and develop a new drug for angina. Currently, the domestic market for angina treatments is largely controlled by foreign countries, and our mentor has dedicated his entire life to developing new Chinese medicines."
"Aren't all the things in the Classic of Mountains and Seas legends?" I have also heard some rumors about the Classic of Mountains and Seas.
"It's true that most of them are legends, but there are also prototypes. Our professor's research revealed that the place where this species of lychee grows is in a place called Xiaohua Mountain. So our professor and his team went to Shaohua Mountain in Shaanxi Province to search for it, but they searched for decades without success. Later, we discovered through literature that the current Shaohua Mountain is not the Xiaohua Mountain mentioned in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, but Mount Eshan."
I have great admiration for these scientific researchers, who often risk their lives to conduct research in the mountains, and may return empty-handed.
"Our supervisor has led his team into Eshan. He called me two days ago and said they had made new discoveries. He asked us to wait until the scientific research project was approved and then go to Eshan to join them. I know you two can't sit still, so I brought you here as well," said Mao Jianming.
"By the way, Jianming, we have been together for so many days, but we still don't know what your two friends do." Zhang Yu said.
The atmosphere warmed up as soon as the conversation started. The fire reflected everyone's face, and we all gained a new understanding of each other.
"I have opened a bakery now. You all know this. The bread you have eaten these two days was all bought from the store by me," I said.
"I know that. It tastes really good. I will buy from you often in the future. You have to give me a discount then." Zheng Yunyun narrowed her eyes into slits.
"I just retired from the army and haven't found a job yet." Zhang Song said in a deep voice.
"I can tell at first glance that Brother Song is a safe person," said Zheng Yunyun.
Indeed, Zhang Song has a burly build, and he looks very strong in his camouflage uniform. I feel at ease with him around.
Hearing this, Zhang Yu was a little unconvinced. He showed off his biceps and said, "I'm strong too!"
When we saw him like this, we all burst into laughter, and our laughter spread throughout the woods.
That's how we got to know each other. By midnight, everyone was tired, so we left two people on guard while we went back to sleep. We'd encounter these kinds of situations many times while camping, so we split up into groups: Zhang Song and I, Mao Jianming and Li Bin, and Zhang Yu with Zheng Yunyun. Tonight, Mao Jianming and Li Bin were on guard, while Zheng Yunyun and I returned to the tent, pulled up our sleeping bags, and went to sleep.
Outside, Mao Jianming and Li Bin were chatting. They thought, given the current situation, if there were no delays along the way, we'd be able to reach Eshan in a day or two. The crackling of the campfire, mixed with the sound of their conversation, quickly led me to sleep.
But tonight I had a dream. I dreamed I was at home. Under my bed, there lay a rotting corpse. Her hair slowly crawled out from under the bed, along the legs, and onto my bed, wrapping itself tightly around me. I couldn't break free, and I tried to find the evil-repelling beads, but I couldn't find any.
At this moment, I saw her face clearly. Besides the blood, I saw that her eyes had been stabbed with something and her tongue had been cut out. She came close to my face, and I covered my face, not daring to look at her.
The room was quiet, and the hair tied around my neck disappeared. I thought she was gone, so I peeked through my fingers, only to find she was smiling at me.
I woke up suddenly.
Zheng Yunyun, who was next to me, was also awakened by me and asked me what was wrong.
I was breathing heavily.
Outside the tent, Mao Jianming also quickly ran over and asked me what happened.
I said it was okay, I just had a nightmare.
Only then did they feel at ease to leave.
Zheng Yunyun said, "Did what happened last night affect you?"
"Yeah." I replied.
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