Climbing Qingshan Road
“A wise choice,” Xiao Fu said. “Even cats know to hire a translator. So-called professionals are just doing specialized translation, and this job just happens to be part of my calling.”
As she spoke, she took out the notebook from her inner pocket and opened it to the latest record.
“First, let us thank Miss Golson for clearing up a mystery for me,” Little F said in a reciting tone, “that is, why the head.”
"Wait, as a prelude, could you also explain the reason for the suicide?" Xie Wuchang asked.
“That’s not suicide. Humans define suicide as the act of voluntarily ending one’s life under the influence of mental illness, but most of those victims do not meet this definition, so the explanation is invalid.” Xiao Fu tapped the headrest of the driver’s seat with his notebook. “Of course I will consider the limitations of your thinking, but don’t interrupt me because of this.”
“…Please continue.” Xie Wuchang sighed.
“The head is the key. The soul needs to be preserved. The human body preserves the soul, and the whole human body preserves the whole soul. Although the head is the most efficient part of the torso, taking only the head is a practice that reduces hunting efficiency.” Little F said thoughtfully. “I originally thought it was a problem with the hunter’s internal structure, but I didn’t expect the answer to be simpler.”
As she spoke, she looked at Golson's camera and remarked with a sigh, "It's the weight."
“…weight?” Golson repeated.
“There are many arguments that can be used to support this. First, there’s weight. Regardless of age or size, the weight of a human head is consistently around five kilograms, and the weight that carries the soul is relatively even. Second, there’s weight. The human body obeys the brain’s commands. It has been proven that as long as brain power is seized, an individual’s behavior can disregard many physiological and psychological factors. After reaching a contract, it’s not difficult to even get someone to hand over their head. This is the best explanation for the act of offering one’s head.” Little Fu laughed as he spoke. “Then the net of the dream catcher is made of paper. It can only catch prey of just the right weight. Those that are too light will slip through, and those that are too heavy won’t be caught. For example, you, living proof.”
She raised her hand and pointed at Golson. She paused, then suddenly looked down at her camera.
"Miss Gu Wanqiu and we all share the ultimate goal of tracking down the killer. The camera is a crucial clue. Your camera was just an ordinary camera, but it preserved the souls of the victims from Senhu No. 2 Middle School. The evidence is the shared dream depicted by cognition. You were too heavy carrying it; it couldn't take you with it at the time, yet it was connected to you. So you eventually fell out but never managed to leave." Xiao Fu said, then looked at the notebook in his hand. "Such an inflexible existence is naturally not life. Life is something highly malleable."
After she finished speaking, she put down her notebook, picked up a beverage bottle, and thoughtfully gave everyone the time they needed to think.
"...The investigation team probably can't accept these testimonies." Xie Wuchang said after a long silence, "Even if we believe in the existence of the soul, the court needs a definite murderer and a definite cause of death written down on paper before the motive can be determined. Right now, all of these are vague."
"Ideological work isn't within my job scope," Xiao Fu said dismissively, unscrewing the cap of his beverage bottle.
Xie Wuchang sighed deeply, and her breathing triggered a mental process that began to work on her thoughts.
"Should I keep carrying it with me?" Golson asked nervously, holding the camera.
“Such souvenirs are rare. If you don’t want them anymore, you can consider giving them to me,” Little Fran encouraged.
“I just want them to rest in peace,” Golson said softly, “both the ones here and the big one.”
“Then I recommend that you use your country’s local methods, or cremation,” Xiao Fu said. “Under normal circumstances, without a food container, the soul’s return to nature is only a matter of time. Just choose the method you prefer.”
"Can the big one be burned too?" Golson asked expectantly.
“…I haven’t experimented with it, and I have very limited equipment.” Little Fu said, putting away his notebook. “But Senhu City is only so big, where else can it fly to?”
The radio host reported the car accident yesterday evening in a sorrowful and compassionate tone, and said that a memorial service would be held after sunset.
"Did that driver wake up yesterday?" Cheng Xiang asked five times.
“…Actually, I can’t say.” Xie Wuchang couldn’t say for a moment. “Okay, no, but I think it’s normal that he hasn’t woken up yet. I was worried that the situation before would happen again, so I asked Dr. Lin to take a look. She seemed to have gone directly to the hospital with the ambulance. She said that it looks like a normal physiological coma.”
"Isn't she a psychologist?" Cheng Xiangwu asked, puzzled.
“Yes, but she’s from the Municipal Public Security Bureau and is trusted. She’s helped look into that Zhang before. There’s a shortage of manpower here now, so she can make a rough judgment if it’s a similar situation,” Xie Wuchang said.
"It's called combining like terms," Little Fu said with a laugh.
"...Is that how it should be?" Golson asked, puzzled.
This is a troublesome matter, Cheng Xiangwu thought to herself. She needs to find time to resolve this occupational hazard as soon as possible, but the problem is that she can't find the time.
The mountain ahead gradually came into view, obscured by the dampness. The road wound its way up the mountainside and continued northward. Beside the car window, potential landslides, caught in nets, along with yellowed grass piercing through the cracks in the rocks, threatened public transportation safety. Based on historical experience, this area would become muddy due to heavy rains in two months.
The exit before leaving Senhu City on the highway is Qingshan Road. Following the road signs, the road veers off onto the main road and then bumps along a small, overgrown road for about ten minutes. Accompanied by a faint, pungent, damp smell and an unidentified biological odor, the vehicle slowly comes to a stop before the navigation destination, at an abandoned gas station that barely shows any signs of human activity.
The four people got out of the car. There was no road suitable for four-wheel drive vehicles to travel further ahead. The tall and crowded green forest and gravel road did not explicitly state that the road was impassable, but it is likely that they would not announce in advance what they were planning to do.
Thin, twisted vines replaced chains to lock the gasoline gun, and reeds, through brute force, pushed aside the already broken, blackened stone steps and stretched out freely. Tire tracks on the dirt and gravel ground were mixed with clumps of grass that squeezed into every crack. The space that was originally a small convenience store was forced to connect with nature because of the broken glass door. Fallen leaves and gravel drifted in, and judging from the droppings, even some small rodents had taken up residence inside.
Moss grew on all visible parts of the surrounding rocks, and the gas station's signboard was rusted and faded. Without a close look, it looked like some kind of parasitic plant clinging to the rain shelter. In the corner of the convenience store, which was backed by a messy green forest, there was a refrigerator that was almost completely covered by fallen leaves.
The plants have covered almost everything in the gas station, so now anyone who wants to use anything has to negotiate with them first.
"...This is my first time in a place like this." Golson looked at the convenience store, thought for a moment, and then took a picture with his camera.
The shutter sound couldn't drown out the natural white noise, but the artificial one was still jarring. Birds were startled and flew away, but fortunately, they weren't the models.
After she lowered her hand, Xie Wuchang stepped forward and asked, "Gao, may I look at the photo album?"
"Hmm?" Golson turned around, took the lanyard off his neck, and handed over the camera. "Look, be careful not to drop it."
"Of course!" Xie Wuchang took it, looking surprised. "Thank you. It seems you've changed your opinion of us."
"Haha." Golson chuckled, then sighed, "Just consider it a sign that I've grown up."
"...Anyway, I'm glad to see you like this now." Xie Wuchang relaxed his brow and looked at the photo album.
Cheng Xiangwu poked her head out from the trunk of the vehicle and asked, "Xie Wuchang, do you have any bags in your car?"
So Xie Wuchang took the camera back to the car, pulled out a canvas bag with the words "Preventing Telecom Fraud" printed on it from the file bag in the back seat and gave it to her. There was also a stack of leaflets in the bag. Cheng Xiangwu took two and put them in the bag, and put the rest back in the car.
"Would you mind if I backed up the memory card?" Xie Wuchang asked.
"I can't export it, and I can't delete it," Cheng Xiangwu said as she packed things into the bag.
Upon hearing this, Xie Wuchang took out his phone and took a picture of the camera screen. Cheng Xiangwu also leaned over to take a look. The picture he got after a quick glance was visibly faded compared to the original, like an old photograph developed from old film.
"...What exactly is the principle behind this?" Xie Wuchang put his sunglasses on his head, squinted, and repeatedly compared the two sides.
"You should find a professional to take a look," Cheng Xiangwu said, turning her gaze back to the trunk.
“I heard someone is looking for me.” Little F walked over. “Please remember to bring insect repellent spray, in case we return to nature too soon.”
Early summer is not yet the peak season for mosquitoes, but the insects in the mountains often defy human rights year-round. Every human being is born with the right to be enslaved or harmed by nature, without the right to explain, because nature doesn't care and doesn't understand, this is what is called nature.
The satellite signal dropped to a mere bar, the network disappeared, and the four of them set off along the path. They felt like they were going uphill, but if they looked down even slightly, their sense of direction would clash with their visual perception.
"Watch out for snakes," Cheng Xiangwu warned.
"Where?!" Golson exclaimed in surprise. "I feel like they're everywhere. Could they be in the trees?"
Yes, a thin, long, brownish-green stripe twisted among the branches, asserting its presence.
"Uh." Xie Wuchang had already taken off her sunglasses. She was clearly not very familiar with the mountain environment, and her face was mottled in the light and shadows filtering through the leaves. "I brought some spray cannon."
“You’re actually introducing self-defense products to wild animals.” Little Fu chuckled. “The vegetation here isn’t very dense, and those are just forest snakes that roam through trees. They’re non-venomous, and your size already exceeds their hunting capabilities.”
"Oh." Golson breathed a sigh of relief.
"You're relieved that it's not poisonous? You humans are afraid of arthropods just because some of them are poisonous?" Little F asked, her steps light and brisk, seemingly quite at ease with nature.
“…Hey, we have to be optimistic.” Golson tightened her hat, carefully avoiding the branches or other things that were hitting her face, when her collar was grabbed.
"Watch out for snakes." Cheng Xiangwu stepped on the pointed head of a triangular striped snake that was almost blending into the stone path and fallen leaves, lifted its belly and kicked it back into the woods, stirring up a shower of leaves.
"...Do the people who live here usually travel by helicopter?" Gorson questioned through gritted teeth.
"It might even fly," Xiao Fu said, picking some flowers and plants to put away.
As they walked, the group saw several fallen tree trunks and peaks obscured by the trunks. These large, imposing structures were often surrounded by signs of collapse, like bruises on the mountainside.
“Those must be the traces of collapse caused by the vibrations in the mine.” Golson took a few photos. “They look much more real in person than on TV.”
"Did the earthquake in the mining area affect this place as well?" Xie Wuchang frowned. "But the environmental protection project doesn't seem to have taken this into account. I wonder how the residents here are doing."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Xiangwu noticed some very light footprints on the tree trunk, but there were no signs of human footsteps on the path beneath her feet. Could there be monkeys here?
The only residential area here appeared about a fifteen-minute walk away. The stone wall could be vaguely seen from where the four people parked, but it disappeared when you walked into the alley. Only now did it finally reveal half of its true form.
Before me stretched a nearly twenty-meter-long, moss-covered, gray-white brick staircase, leading to a double wooden door. A door knocker dangled from the dark brown planks, and where a plaque should have hung above it, the space was empty, save for the green iron sign reading "No. 1 Qingshan Road" nailed to the side. Unlit black stone lanterns hung from stone chains on either side of the door, swaying slightly even in the stillness of the wind. Stone walls extended from either side, disappearing into the forest without a trace.
There were no vehicles, no pools of water, no sounds, and no people around.
“Although I’ve never been to any fish farms,” Golson muttered to himself, looking up, “this family doesn’t seem to sell fish.”
"It looks more like a religious site or a private residence." Xie Wuchang frowned as well. "Do people here use this staircase to deliver goods? That must be inconvenient for transportation."
“It’s possible to keep a cat,” Golson said thoughtfully.
"...In short, they seem to be a wealthy family." Xie Wuchang turned around. "Let's discuss what to say first. In case they have a strong xenophobic attitude or are resistant to related topics, we should at least be able to get out unscathed."
"Hmm," Cheng Xiangwu replied, then noticed that Xie Wuchang kept staring at her for some reason. "Hmm?"
"She's waiting for you to clearly say, 'I will not collude with my father's family to take advantage of the situation and get rid of the law enforcement officers who are in the way,' do you want to say it?" Little Fran explained considerately.
Upon hearing this, Cheng Xiangwu was taken aback. Turning her head, she found that Xie Wuchang had already taken the sunglasses back. She crossed her arms and lowered her head, fixing herself in a posture where it was difficult to discern her thoughts.
"Why are you thinking about this kind of thing!" Golson said with disdain.
“…I’ve never seen them before.” Cheng Xiangwu didn’t know what to say. “I’ve never even met them, never spoken to them, and never been here.”
"Aren't you going to repeat that sentence?" Little F encouraged. "Go ahead and say it. Civil servants care about attitude the most."
"Alright." Cheng Xiangwu thought for a moment, "I won't let you die here, let's go."
“…Let’s go.” Xie Wuchang sighed, instantly transforming his expression into one of friendliness.
The steps are slippery, mainly because of the moss that is almost part of the pattern that grows on the bricks and stones. You have to take two steps after each step to let your back foot hang in the air. You'll remember this rule after slipping on the steps two or three times.
Standing in the shadows in front of that wooden door, the stench grew even stronger.
"Let me try to communicate first," Xie Wuchang said, lifting the door knocker and knocking three times with a muffled sound, but no one answered the door.
There wasn't even a sound of footsteps. Xie Wuchang took two steps back and tried to look inside the stone wall. The low buildings in the courtyard were hidden in blind spots, unwilling to show their faces, let alone people.
"Is anyone home?" she called out, raising her voice and eliciting a slight echo.
“I heard footsteps. It’s a small quadruped.” Little Fu stood by the stone lantern and looked at the wooden door.
"A cat?" Xie Wuchang asked in confusion, then tried knocking on the door again. "There can't be only a cat, can there?"
A moment later, the sound of hurried footsteps, thin-soled shoes clattering on the stone bricks, echoed from inside the doorway. Approaching the door at breakneck speed, Xie Wuchang sensed something and stepped back. She was right; the heavy wooden door was flung open a crack half a person's width away, the speed so great that it didn't even have time to emit the groaning sound one would expect from an old building.
The newcomer was a young woman wearing straw sandals and a cloth shirt. She looked about the same age as Zhou Mi, but she was thin and wiry. Her wrists, which were gripping the inner door handle, had thick knuckles. Her arms, which were exposed through the wide sleeves of her cloth shirt, had obvious sunburn marks. Her long hair was hastily tied back, and there were some red veins on her cheeks beneath the messy strands of hair.
Looking at those features, Cheng Xiangwu confirmed that this person was related to her father and also to her by blood.
She was still panting. She pushed open the door and took a step back, muttering, "Why are there so many people?" A white cat head squeezed out from under her feet, with one blue and one yellow pupil, followed by a white cat body and tail. It was a pure white long-haired cat with heterochromia.
The cat had just poked its head out the door when a foot with a straw sandal hooked on it lifted it up from its belly. After a moment of dangling in the air, the person who answered the door hugged it tightly. The cat didn't struggle; it simply adjusted its position and lay down.
"Hello, ma'am!" Xie Wuchang greeted her, taking off his sunglasses and speaking with a smile, "Is this your cat? It looks very lively."
"Uh, um," the person replied, head bowed, voice soft and delicate, "What are you doing here?"
She peered through the door at the people outside, her expression more curious than wary, and her eyes widened when she saw Xiao Fu.
“We heard there was a fish farm here, so we came here, but has it stopped selling fish and shrimp?” Xie Wuchang asked with a frown, his voice filled with regret.
"Huh?" The man was taken aback, and clearly became flustered. "You've come to the fish farm? The fish farm, fish and shrimp? Oh!"
She finally realized, "You've come to buy fish!"
But in an instant, her expression fell, and she said with a guilty look, "Ah, I'm sorry, we don't sell fish here anymore..." As she said this, her eyes kept drifting away.
"That's a real pity." Xie Wuchang paused, then continued, "Could we bother your family members for a moment? We have something we'd like to ask them."
"Excuse me?" The person hesitated. "Isn't that inappropriate? Can't you ask me something?"
"Because it happened quite a long time ago, probably more than ten years ago," Xie Wuchang said. "Were your parents not home?"
Upon hearing this, the woman pursed her lips and hesitated. She looked at the cat in her hand and then glanced back at it a few times.
“Right now, my aunt is at home,” she said softly. “But my aunt doesn’t like talking to outsiders. What do you want to ask? Ask me, and if I don’t know, I’ll ask her for you.”
Upon hearing this, Xie Wuchang turned around and glanced at the person behind him.
"Could you please let us in and take a look?" Little Fran asked. "We have quite a few questions to ask, and we won't get any answers by the gate."
Upon hearing this, the man tilted his head back slightly, revealing a delighted smile. "You want to come in?! Sure, but I need to tidy up the reception room first. Anyway, please come in!"
As she spoke, she reached out and pushed the door. This time, the door hinges had a chance to express their stance; after a metallic scraping sound, the person's expression turned somewhat embarrassed. "Haha, this door is a bit noisy..."
"Thank you!" Xie Wuchang stepped inside. "Not at all, this wooden door has a lot of history."
"Eh..." the person replied sheepishly.
With the wooden door gone, everything in sight became bright. Behind the door was a vast, open plain, the ground still paved with stone bricks, but thanks to the diligent sweeper, it was no longer slippery.
Looking inside, the main buildings in the courtyard are a large cluster of triangular-roofed wooden bungalows connected together. The bases are raised about half a meter, and a covered walkway supported by two black stone pillars leads to the courtyard gate. Dried fruits and straw brooms are drying under the walkway. The bungalows block the view, and there is still a long, obscured stretch of open space before the dusty, indistinct mountains and forests come into view.
After crossing the wooden door, the fishy smell became more pronounced, but since the group had gotten used to it along the way, they all felt fine at this point, and at least did not feel the urge to vomit.
"Thank you for your understanding." Xiao Fu said as he stepped inside. Cheng Xiangwu nodded and followed him in. The man stood by the door with a flushed face, saying softly, "It's nothing, it's nothing," while holding the cat and nodding.
"Thank you for letting us in!" After thanking the man, Golson, who was the last to enter, tried to approach the cat. Seeing that it didn't run away, he took out a cat treat from his pocket and handed it to the man. "This is for you."
"For me?! Thank you!" The man was stunned, then couldn't help but grin. He quickly closed the wooden door, threw the cat in his arms on the ground, wiped his hands on the sides of his cloth clothes, and carefully took the long plastic package with a cartoon chicken pattern.
"You're welcome." Gorson looked at the white cat lying on the ground, then looked up and saw the man carefully tearing open the seal with his fingertips and putting it into his mouth.
"Wait—" Golson exclaimed in alarm, reaching out to stop him. "This is cat treat!"
The three people walking in front all turned around when they heard the commotion.
The woman froze in her pre-meal position, her mouth and eyes slightly agape. She glanced at the chicken pattern on the pink strip in her hand, then looked down at the white cat. Almost instantly, the redness spread from her cheeks to her entire neck and shoulders.
"Ah, me." She slowly opened and closed her mouth, raising the hand that wasn't holding the cat treat to clench the fabric at her chest. "Cat treat, ah, yes."
She looked like she wanted to disappear from the spot immediately.
Then, Golson belatedly realized that she had committed a serious crime. She gasped, resolutely pulled a new cat treat from her pocket, tore open the seal, and stuffed it into her mouth in full view of everyone.
“…Recently, it’s actually quite popular for people and cats to eat the same things.” She swallowed the meat paste in her mouth and said with difficulty, “Actually, it tastes alright, and it’s very healthy.”
The white cat looked at her, then turned to look at the person.
"Is that so?!" The man breathed a sigh of relief, so much so that his messy black hair seemed to become even more fluffy in an instant.
“…Yes.” Xie Wuchang said with a smile, “I didn’t expect you to like doing this too.”
"Yes, yes! Hey, this stuff smells pretty good, so I wanted to try it. I didn't plan to eat it all by myself!" The person waved the cat treat in their hand, seemingly explaining to someone.
“…Let’s go inside,” Cheng Xiangwu said. If this continued, Gorson would finish the whole cat treat. Although she didn’t know what it tasted like, she figured cat treats wouldn’t please human taste buds.
"Let's go, let's go!" The man nodded repeatedly, thought for a moment, then bent down and picked up the white cat again. The cat finally got to eat the cat treat.
It takes more than a minute to walk from the wooden door to the connecting corridor, but the huge square is completely empty, without even streetlights.
"It's a rare opportunity to speak with you. My name is Xie Wuchang. May I ask your name?" Xie Wuchang walked beside the man and asked, looking at the cat.
"Oh right, my name." The man seemed to realize that he hadn't introduced himself yet. "My name is Du Huangliang. Hello, I also feel it's rare to meet you. Usually, no one comes here."
“The road to get here is indeed difficult.” Xie Wuchang nodded. “The one with black hair and wearing a fur-collared coat is Ms. Cheng Xiangwu, the foreign friend calls himself Xiao Fu, and this classmate is named Gao Ersen.”
“It’s really rare to meet someone like you in the city,” Little Franz said, turning his head. “This can no longer be considered a coincidence.”
"Oh..." Du Huangliang nodded thoughtfully, "I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before..."
"Which one are you referring to?" Xie Wuchang asked.
"...I'm sorry, I forgot." Du Huangliang said apologetically in a low voice, "It must have been a long time ago."
“…I see.” Xie Wuchang nodded and said nothing more.
"Does this white cat have a name?" Golson asked, leaning closer.
"Yes!" Du Huangliang nodded quickly. "Her name is Alice."
Alice twitched her ears when she heard herself being called.
“…What a fancy name.” Golson was stunned for a while before he said.
"Stylish?" Du Huangliang was a little doubtful about the description. "Is it? But I didn't name it that. It was called that when I first met it."
During the conversation, the group walked through the square and the connecting corridor into the inner room. The room was poorly lit, but at least the lights were on, keeping up with the times. Through the wooden walls, the seemingly omnipresent fishy smell was also greatly reduced.
Du Huangliang quickened his pace, placed the cat treat on the stone slab by the wall, casually tossed Alice to the ground, ran to the cabinet against the wall and rummaged through it, pulling out several pairs of straw sandals exactly like the ones Alice was wearing, and tossing them to the ground one by one.
“Don’t worry, you’re already more hospitable than some of the people here,” said Little F, as he put on the straw sandals. “I’ll remember this experience.”
"Hmm?" Du Huangliang looked puzzled, but then smiled sheepishly. "I made these up myself when I had nothing else to do. I never expected that guests would actually come..."
As soon as Alice landed, she ran to the stone slab. Seeing this, Golson put his leftovers on it and patted the cat's head. The cat twitched its ears but ignored her.
Seeing that they had all changed into straw sandals, Du Huangliang led them towards the first door on the right side of the inner room and ran in first. This was obviously the reception room she had said she wanted to tidy up, but the large space contained only a long wooden table and neatly arranged wooden chairs of the same material, and a wooden shelf of ceramic cups by the window. There was nothing else for her to tidy up.
There was no smell of dust in the reception room. A few wooden floorboards made a slight noise when stepped on, but they were spotless. Presumably, the other spaces that the long inner corridor led to were the same.
"Please sit down, all guests, please sit down!" Du Huangliang pulled out all the chairs, jogged over to the shelf, picked out a few teacups, placed them on the table, and then said, "Please sit down for a moment, I'll go boil some water!"
Little Fu had already taken his seat and was examining his teacup from all angles.
"No need, no need!" Xie Wuchang quickly waved his hand. "It's too much trouble for you, Ms. Du. We'll just drink what we brought ourselves."
As she spoke, she turned her back and nudged Cheng Xiangwu with her elbow.
"Yes, that's right." Cheng Xiangwu took out a bottle of tea from the canvas bag and placed it on the table. Xiao Fu took it with a slight look of disgust, unscrewed the cap, and put it into the antique wooden tea set.
"Oh!" Du Huangliang paused, his gaze fixed on the plastic packaging, muttering to himself, "Is that so? This works too."
“That’s fine!” Golson nodded as he pulled out a canvas bag. “There are also nuts, potato chips, and chocolate. Come on, don’t be shy.”
"Oh, thank you, thank you all!" Du Huangliang said as he shuffled down to sit, like a junior who was too shy to eat snacks at someone's house during New Year's greetings. He carefully looked at Cheng Xiangwu before reaching for the snacks on the table, his mouth agape with barely suppressed excitement.
"...Although I haven't done anything yet, I inexplicably feel a pang of conscience," Golson said, pursing his lips.
“…Mm,” Cheng Xiangwu responded.
"What do you mean by 'return'?" Xie Wuchang asked, puzzled. "We're not here to do anything bad, we're just asking some questions."
"Ah, please ask whatever you like!" Du Huangliang paused, his hand holding the bag of potato chips pausing, and respectfully placed it back on his lap.
"There's no need to feel awkward. It's already abrupt of us to visit without prior notice. It would be our fault if we made the host feel nervous under these circumstances." Xie Wuchang tore open the bag of potato chips, took a chip, and ate it. "Just consider this a casual chat. Miss Du's house is very clean. Do you mean you cleaned such a large area all by yourself?"
"Yeah, since I'm all alone now." Du Huangliang also picked up a piece and put it in his mouth to chew, then his smile visibly widened. "Wow, it's been so long since I last ate this, I miss it so much—"
"That's really something." Xie Wuchang frowned. "You don't look very old, why would your family treat you like this?"
"Like this, to me?" Du Huangliang paused, then quickly waved his hand and said, "Oh no, they didn't do anything to me. The house still needs to be cleaned, and then they're all... all gone."
Her last words were mumbled, but everyone present heard them.
"...I'm sorry to bring up your painful memories," Xie Wuchang said after a moment of silence.
"No, not at all." Du Huangliang waved his hand, trying to explain, "It's just that this is how it is in my family. Our future destinations have been arranged long ago. It's just that in recent years, well, the environment hasn't been very good, so everyone has been leaving in a hurry. I'm the youngest, so I'm still here, but I'll have to leave sooner or later."
"You mean, go down the mountain to find a job?" Xie Wuchang asked, puzzled.
"...Going down the mountain?" Du Huangliang repeated the two words softly, paused, and then said with a smile, "It's not quite the same as looking for a job, is it? You don't earn any money there. But people did occasionally go down the mountain before, and people from outside the mountain would come over, until—"
She pursed her lips as she said this.
"Has something happened that you can't talk about?" Xie Wuchang asked worriedly. "Leaving you here alone must have been a last resort."
"...It's not something that can't be said." After a moment of silence, Du Huangliang spoke again, his voice a little more composed. "It's just due to the environment."
"Is it the work environment? The natural environment?" Xie Wuchang asked.
Du Huangliang did not answer for a moment. She placed her hands on her knees again and remained still for a moment. Her restlessness and panic disappeared in an instant. All that remained on her body was the silence after the shrub was crushed by the fallen tree trunk.
“There used to be a fish farm here. My family and other residents raised aquatic products such as fish, shrimp and shellfish together. At first, it was purely for self-sufficiency. Later, we started doing business.” Du Huangliang said, looking towards the back of the main house. “A long time ago, we chose a natural lake as the breeding site. It was the ancestral lake that our Du family had guarded for generations. It was called Senhu Lake.”
Her gaze pierced through her hair, as if the layers of wooden walls could not block her view. In the midst of their conversation, she had already flown out of the simple and peaceful reception room, eagerly approaching the source of the stench, standing by the lake that had long since disappeared from the map, waiting for something.
“…Senhu.” Golsen murmured the familiar yet unfamiliar name.
“Yes, Senhu is also the name of this city.” Du Huangliang nodded. “Senhu was once a bountiful place, supporting the needs and hopes of all the residents along its shores. It was a great mother lake. The Du family was the family that guarded and managed Senhu, controlling floods during the rainy season, organizing improvements to irrigation methods during the dry season, and managing the lake’s fertility and fishing frequency. In short, all of this happened a long time ago. Later, people stopped relying on aquaculture and moved to areas with flatter terrain and more stable climates to develop. But the Du family will not leave. We cannot live without Senhu, and Senhu cannot live without us.”
Long, long afterward, Lake Mori disappeared.
“Before I was born, the greatest disaster that led to the disappearance of Senhu Lake had already occurred. Mining caused underground tremors, and Senhu Lake, which already experienced a drop in water level year-round, saw its situation worsen after that major tremor, causing it to shrink smaller and smaller.” Du Huangliang’s voice grew increasingly heavy with a sigh, “It became drier and drier, thicker and thicker, weaker and weaker. Government officials came to us saying they would help solve the problem, but how could we possibly believe them? Firstly, the mining development was a government decision, and secondly—”
The build-up of emotions was interrupted here. Du Huangliang bit back the anger that was about to spill out, and finally just sighed, "This is a family matter. Anyway, you all should have been able to smell it when you came. The source of this stench is actually Senhu Lake, which is behind our house. Given the situation, we can't raise anything anymore. Moreover, the summer floods on the mountain have become more and more serious in recent years. After each rainy season, the soil dries up, and we can't grow crops or fertilize the land."
Her worries were soothed by a piece of chocolate she put in her mouth. "There used to be cars coming here, but no one has come since that gas station was abandoned three years ago. The nearest bus station must be far from here. I really appreciate that you still came here to visit. But I'm sorry, we really don't raise fish anymore, and we don't manage the lake anymore either."
"Given the topography of this area, it was only a matter of time before the lake disappeared due to water seeping into the rocks. The tremors merely accelerated that process," said Xiao Fu, holding his teacup.
"Mm." Du Huangliang nodded, looking at Xiao Fu with a hint of shyness. "There used to be a stream here, but it's all gone now. The path you took to get here was actually a river. After it dried up, my family paved it with stones to make a dirt road, but it's probably not easy for people to walk on now. You must have had a hard time, hahaha..."
Her voice grew softer and softer as she spoke, until finally she lowered her gaze and head.
“Normally, drying out due to fissures will manifest as a funnel shape or cracks, but it should never be swampy,” Xiao Fu continued. “Even if previous generations used it as an aquaculture lake and fertilized it for a long time, the soil nutrients in this area could not reach this level of saturation.”
"...Yes, are you saying I'm lying?" Du Huangliang was stunned, and instantly became flustered. "No, I don't know why this is happening. We've always lived like this. I've never seen any other lakes. Wouldn't other lakes dry up like this?"
“That’s what I wanted to ask.” Little F put down his teacup, his tone full of interest. “What’s so special about that lake? But criticism comes from comparison. When no one criticizes what you know or think, everything you understand and agree with is naturally taken for granted.”
“…Hmm?” Du Huangliang looked blank. “I haven’t really gone out much. If you had come three years earlier, my mother would still be here, but now it’s just me, oh right, and my aunt.”
She paused, then carefully looked up at Little F. "If you really want to know something, I can ask for you."
“Before the environmental issues, we have some other questions to ask.” Xie Wuchang continued, “This is the first time I’ve heard of the history you’ve described. The disappearance of Senhu Lake is very regrettable. If it still existed, Senhu City would certainly be proud of it.”
"Hmm! Hehe." Du Huangliang couldn't help but laugh. "Actually, I've never seen it when it was in full bloom. It started to dry up as soon as I was born, but I also think that if it were still here, my family members wouldn't be in such a hurry to leave."
“Yes, I understand you. It’s always better to be with your family.” Xie Wuchang nodded. “We came here to ask about a cat, or rather, some things about a cat.”
"A cat?" Du Huangliang was taken aback. "Alice?"
“It might include that too,” Golson gestured. “But what we’re asking about is a black and white cat that’s about this size, the kind that’s white all over except for its paws. And an orange tabby, the kind with tabby stripes. And a very muscular tabby.”
“Wow! It must be them, Guiguzi, Xihe the Great, Lin Zexu, and a hawksbill turtle named Li Bai that you’ve never seen before, right?” Du Huangliang said with surprise. “How did you run into them? They are indeed cats from here, but they don’t usually stay here. I rarely see them.”
“I’m really curious about your family’s naming criteria,” said Little F.
“…Yes, we ran into him.” Golson uttered with difficulty, “Your cat is really something.”
"I think so too, although I haven't seen cats from other places either," Du Huangliang said with a slightly embarrassed smile.
"Do you know the code of conduct for those cats?" Xie Wuchang asked.
“Eh, I really didn’t know.” Du Huangliang frowned and said, “These cats are all raised by my aunt. She told me to keep an eye on Alice and not let her run away. I can’t take care of the others.”
"...Is there really no way we can pay our respects to your relative?" Xie Wuchang turned to Du Huangliang and said solemnly, "We have something very important to ask about these cats."
"Eh." Du Huangliang was clearly in a dilemma, but she looked at the snacks on the table, clenched her fists and stood up. "I, I'll go and talk to her, just in case Auntie is in a good mood today."
After saying that, she ran out of the reception room.
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