Yunya County, as its name suggests, is surrounded by mountains with an altitude of over 1,000 meters. With steep cliffs and seas of clouds, both the scenery and the steepness perfectly satisfy the hobbies of many mountaineering enthusiasts, making it an absolute happy hometown.
So when Song Mengmeng and her group arrived in Yunya County at dusk, the road leading into the county was still completely congested.
Now that they were getting closer, Song Mengmeng and the others weren't as anxious as before.
As the traffic jam gradually cleared, they finally made it into the county town before nightfall.
The county town here is somewhat similar to the ancient towns I've visited before, only on a larger scale!
A winding river flows through the city, dividing the urban area into old and new parts.
Song Mengmeng and her friends' destination was the old town on the other side of the river.
Most of the buildings along the street are two- or three-story wooden structures, their mottled exteriors bearing the marks of time.
They originally wanted to stay at the guesthouse where the incident had occurred, but their suggestion was rejected. Not for any other reason than that the guesthouse had closed down after the incident and hadn't reopened since.
So in the end, Song Mengmeng and her friends had no choice but to stay at another guesthouse not far from that one.
They were greeted by a woman who looked to be in her forties. She introduced herself as Ms. He, saying she was a long-time resident of the county. After checking in and asking her to help prepare dinner, the two sides became somewhat acquainted.
So when the last dish was served, Hu Da changed the subject and asked about the murder that had happened at the guesthouse next door.
"If you ask me, there must be some misunderstanding about this."
Guo Jie and her husband are known throughout our county for their excellent relationship. They've been together since they were children, and they've never even argued, let alone raised their voices or blushed.
Who would have thought that something like that would happen that day?!
When asked about her neighbors whom she used to see all the time, Aunt He sighed and shook her head. Even now, she still finds it hard to believe and has some doubts about what happened back then.
What about marital discord...?
This is no joke!
Even if two people are having relationship problems, such a thing would never happen between them!
But now that the decision is finalized, there's no point in saying anything more. Aunt He sighed, then brought out two long bamboo tubes from the inner room, smiling as she proudly showed them to Song Mengmeng and the others, saying, "This is a local specialty, bamboo-tube rice wine. It's all homemade, would you like to try some?!"
This wine is made using traditional methods; you can smell its rich, sweet aroma as soon as you break the seal.
Song Mengmeng and the others did not refuse. They thanked Aunt He, and then Aunt He got up and went to the side to get a few earthenware bowls, pouring a bowl for each of them.
"You said you're here to investigate that matter?!"
"It's been so long, can they really still find out?!"
After hearing about Song Mengmeng and her group's background, and considering that police officers had already made prior arrangements, Aunt He, who had some understanding of their identities, hesitated.
She hesitated for a while before speaking: "Actually, when you asked if anything special happened, I thought about it carefully and there really was one thing."
I just don't know if this counts as anything special.
"Please speak."
Upon hearing Aunt He's words, Song Mengmeng immediately became interested, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the woman in front of her, waiting for her next answer.
"Sister Guo and her husband are Miao people. In fact, most of the people in our county are Miao. Every year on the third day of the third lunar month, it is the birthday of one of their shamans."
On that day every year, they would go to the altar in the mountains to worship their ancestors.
That day, Guo Jie and the others went for the whole day, just like in previous years.
Actually, there's nothing strange about that. What's strange is that when Sister Guo came back in the evening, she actually came to sit at my place for a while.
I remember that day very clearly. It was drizzling, and business wasn't great. I had just cooked two dishes and was about to finish eating when she came over. I pulled her over, and we sat down together, had a couple of drinks, and chatted for a while.
I heard her say that she didn't know what was wrong with her, her mind was a little dizzy, as if another person had suddenly moved in.
My only thought at the time was that she might be too tired from worshipping the shaman all day, so I didn't think much of it and just advised her to finish her drink and go back to rest.
Less than a month later, that tragedy happened!
Now, whenever I look back, I can't remember much of anything else, but this one thing is the one I remember very clearly!
Her later erratic behavior was completely different from her previous personality!
Aunt He's face still didn't look too good when she mentioned what had happened before.
She wasn't lying about this; she had indeed forgotten many things. But the one thing Sister Guo said to her when she sat down still sent chills down her spine.
"Where is their altar?!" Hu Da put down her wine bowl and looked up at Aunt He. If what Aunt He said was true, then it was really necessary to take another look at what the witch god worshipped behind the scenes was.
When this was mentioned, Aunt He didn't really know much about it, but she didn't hide it. After thinking for a moment, she pointed to the left and said, "It's said to be in the mountains. Only the Miao people themselves can actually go there. We outsiders have no right to know about those things."
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