Chapter 354: Ladder

In the deep mountains and forests, I suddenly saw a stone staircase that seemed to have no end in sight. What was going on?

If it were a ghost story, this stone staircase would not be so simple - it is obvious that this stone staircase with fresh traces of chiseling is extremely simple in appearance. The stone slabs that make up the stairs are sprinkled with fresh mud and sand to prevent slipping, and there are small pits carved out by humans on the cliff on the left, which are probably "handrails" used for leverage.

The stone staircase is very steep, and some parts seem to be almost vertical at 90 degrees. It is surrounded by swirling clouds and a daunting abyss on the right.

They were currently at a position that might be close to the middle of the mountain, and judging by visual observation, they might be closer to the top of the mountain.

"What happened?" Zha Lan couldn't see anything now, so Su Yun's sudden stop made him a little confused and uneasy.

This was the first time Su Yun had seen such a bizarre scene that was so close to a classical Chinese ink painting. She even forgot about her own situation for a moment and was so engrossed in appreciating the miracle created by the fusion of nature and man-made things that she finally said, "There is a very long stone staircase right in front of us."

"Can you see clearly where it leads to?" Zha Lan asked with some joy.

"I can't see clearly, but I estimate that we should be able to reach the top of the mountain by going up, and we should be able to find the mountain road we took before, or the road leading to somewhere else by going down..." Su Yun said his own speculation, "This stone staircase with traces of human intervention is definitely man-made, but whether there are people living on the top of the mountain or just some ancient temples, I really can't tell."

The marks on the stone stairs are not very old, so it is likely that someone would walk on them occasionally - but it is impossible to tell whether these are marks of mountain people traveling or villagers going up the mountain to worship.

"Then what are you going to do? Go up or down?" Hearing the hesitation in Su Yun's words, Zha Lan continued to ask.

"This is really a problem." Su Yun sighed, "Our current location is a typical 'easy to climb up the mountain but difficult to descend' terrain, and even if we follow the stone steps down and find the way, we don't know how long it will take to find a village with people, and it's almost dark now..."

"So are you planning to try going up and see if anyone lives on the top of the mountain?" Zha Lan himself lived in a suburban villa far away from human habitation, so he was no stranger to the idea of ​​trying to find someone to stay with. After all, he would occasionally get so engrossed in hunting that he would forget the time, and would try to take his dog and prey to find a nearby family to stay with for the night before dark, and then go back after daybreak.

No matter in which country or region, the forest at night is never a safe place. There are all kinds of unknown dangers such as sudden rainstorms at night and wild animals hiding in the dark for food... Wasn't it because of these reasons that Su Yun was willing to take the trouble to drag him into the cave before?

"But if there's no one living on the top of the mountain and we can't find food on the road, we'll go hungry tonight." Su Yun frowned and replied, "There are basically no hunters in China now."

"You can't think like that." Zha Lan felt around the stone steps and continued, "The traces are very fresh. Even if no one lives there, it could be a temporary hut for hunters or forest guards. It should store some emergency supplies."

"For both you and me, going down is more difficult than going up." Recalling how Su Yun walked that day, the strength she had to hold on to when walking from a high place to a low place was slightly more than when walking on a flat road or from a low place to a high place. Zha Lan naturally understood that Su Yun's current injury was not suitable for walking down. "Besides, you just said that the terrain here is easier to go up than to go down, and we don't know how long it will take to find a place with people if we walk down..."

"Well, why not try your best to go up there? At least you can rest for one more night and recover better. We can continue going down tomorrow morning."

"If there are supplies up there, that would be even better - we could even stay up there for a few more days. Your injuries don't make it suitable for you to move around too much."

Hearing him think so much about her and analyzing the situation in a more detailed way than herself, Su Yun, knowing that Zha Lan had much more experience in surviving in the wild than herself, gritted her teeth and nodded: "Let's go up and give it a try."

Su Yun did what he said. He instructed Zha Lan to hold on to him, and then he and he moved forward with difficulty.

After walking for about ten minutes, the sky became darker and darker, and the fog that originally obscured the surroundings gradually became thicker and thicker... However, the sudden light of fire on the top of the distant mountain made Su Yun feel refreshed.

"Someone lives upstairs!" Su Yun happily told Zha Lan the good news.

People's minds nowadays are not that complicated, and most people in the wild will help each other, so Su Yun is more inclined to speculate that the two will get help from the residents on the top of the mountain.

"Then we have to hurry up. The darker it gets, the harder it will be to walk - although it doesn't make any difference to me now." Knowing that there are people living on the top of the mountain, Zha Lan rarely felt like joking.

Hope is the most powerful thing that can motivate people. Gazing at the light on the top of the mountain, Su Yun and Zha Lan gritted their teeth and climbed up. Finally, when it was so dark that they could only see their outlines with their hands, they crossed the last stone step and stepped steadily onto the flat soil on the top of the mountain.

In the dim environment, they could only see a low earthen-walled house in front of them. Smoke was rising from the chimney above the roof, bringing with it a sweet smell that excited the two of them who had been hungry for most of the day.

A mountain spring in front of the house reflects the stars in the sky, sparkling and sparkling like a galaxy falling into the world.

Next to the house was a vegetable field, where one could vaguely see the shadows of chickens and the occasional chirping of chickens. When Su Yun turned to look to the other side, the big yellow dog sleeping in the corner suddenly barked alertly in their direction.

The barking of the dogs immediately broke the fairyland-like atmosphere on earth.

Su Yun and Zha Lan were both startled, and at this time an old man who looked to be in his sixties hurried out of the house. His figure holding a kitchen knife was very eye-catching in the dim light.

"We are strangers who got lost in the mountains and came here to watch the panda show!" Su Yun quickly revealed their identities.

Considering that words like "tourism" and "tourist" may not be clear to an old man of this age, Su Yun chose the simplest and clearest words.

As Su Yun continued to explain, the old man slowly put down the kitchen knife in his hand, took out a crudely made small lamp from the house, and slowly walked over. When Su Yun saw the old-fashioned blue cloth shirt on the old man, he was also startled by Zha Lan's blue eyes and deep facial features that were different from his own.

"He is a foreigner, and foreigners look weird." Anyway, Zha Lan's Chinese is only half-baked, having learned a little from a translator for the convenience of traveling, so Su Yun "ridiculed" him a few times without any hesitation.

After confirming that Su Yun and the other man were not bad people, the old man named Liu Guokang invited Su Yun and the other man into the house and introduced Su Yun to his wife Xu Shaoying.

Xu Shaoying was an old lady who looked very kind. After hearing Su Yun say that they had been hungry for most of the day after getting lost, she scooped out a large piece of lard from a tightly wrapped jar when cooking, and then took out a few skewers of bacon and put them in the pot to stir-fry. The aroma was so appetizing that it made people salivate.

Not only did she use precious lard and bacon, but she also said apologetically that it was too late to cook any delicious dishes today, but she would definitely kill a chicken and cook a dish to entertain their guests tomorrow.

"No, no, you're too polite!" Su Yun waved his hands repeatedly: This era is not the good times like in later generations when there is no shortage of meat and eggs. Meat, eggs, oil, etc. are definitely rare and good things.

"We haven't met anyone for a long time. Since we're here, it must be fate. We must have it!" Old Master Liu Guokang patted the table and spoke with a hint of mountain city dialect. He invited the two to drink some of their home-brewed rice wine to warm up. "I'm really sorry, but the children at home have all gone down the mountain. There are no extra cups at home, so you can only drink from the plates."

"No, no, no, we are the ones who disturbed you. Thank you so much for your warm hospitality." Su Yun hurriedly thanked them a few more times, and then invited Zha Lan, who looked confused, to drink the rice wine in the dish.

While they were drinking, old lady Xu Shaoying came over with the cooked dishes. She apologized for the poor hospitality and asked the two to eat more and faster. Su Yun felt even more embarrassed when she heard it.

"By the way, sister, you are from a big city. We two old people want to ask you something - by the way, that old man in the capital... is he in good health?" While drinking rice wine and eating, old man Liu Guokang suddenly asked.

Seeing the concern and expectation on the faces of the two elders, Su Yun was slightly stunned, then lowered his head slightly and told them the news that the great man had passed away in 1976.

As Su Yun continued to talk, the concern and expectation on the faces of the two elders suddenly disappeared, and were replaced by sadness and grief: "How could this happen? He is such a good and powerful person..."

After much persuasion, the two sad old people were persuaded. Su Yun drank some more wine and then followed Mr. Liu's lead, helping Zha Lan to another small room to wash up.

There is no other way. She is the only one here who can translate for both parties, and she can only do more work for those who are more capable.

I fetched a basin of hot water to help him wipe his upper body, then changed him into an old-fashioned blue cloth shirt that Mr. Liu had borrowed. From then on, he had to figure out how to wash himself.

After Zha Lan finished washing up, Su Yun led him to the next room, then limped back to the small bathroom, filled a basin with hot water and washed up thoroughly.

After washing up, I felt so relaxed, as if I was reborn.

When Su Yun came back to the room with a crude little lamp, the two elders had already gone to bed in their own rooms. However, Zha Lan and her friends who were night owls from big cities, although physically and mentally exhausted, also had a kind of excitement of surviving a disaster, and found it difficult to sleep.

There are several beds in this room. It was the room where the children of the two elders slept before. Originally, the rooms were separated for boys and girls. However, as their children moved down the mountain and lived separately, the other larger room was used to store miscellaneous items. So Grandpa Liu could only temporarily place the two of them in the same room - and given Zha Lan's current condition, it was not good to let him live in a room alone.

"What's wrong with you? Can you dress yourself?" The old-fashioned blue cloth shirt had cloth buttons and cloth belt, which was different from the current modern clothes in terms of the way of wearing, so Su Yun asked casually.

"I've just never seen this type of clothes before. I'm not stupid." Zha Lan replied speechlessly.