My sleeve was pinned to a tree by an arrow. I saw several arrows appear at Manjing's feet, and quickly drew my pistol, aiming it forward.
"Woof woof!"
A dog barked, the woods ahead rustled, and then a figure slowly emerged.
She was a girl who looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old.
She was wearing a coarsely woven garment, which revealed her long, slender legs.
This little girl is very pretty, but living deep in the mountains and forests for many years has made her skin dark and her complexion doesn't look very good.
The girl, holding a longbow drawn taut, stared at me warily: "Who are you? Why are you trespassing on forbidden ground!"
The monkey arrived just then, and seeing the two large mastiffs beside the girl, it stubbornly retorted, "Forbidden zone? I'm a Chinese citizen, this is Chinese territory! It's not some experimental base or military control zone, why can't I come in?"
"What a coincidence, this really is an experimental base!"
The girl looked at us coldly: "You've entered a place you shouldn't be in. Leave this place as soon as possible and don't cause trouble for yourselves!"
I frowned at the girl: "Experimental base? What department's experimental base is this?"
"Young Master Duan, don't listen to his nonsense. Look around, which experimental base has no markings or security guards, and instead has a little girl dressed in such simple clothes, carrying a bow and arrows for defense?"
The monkey glanced at the girl and said, "I think she's clearly making up lies to fool us!"
I also felt there were flaws in the girl's story, so I said, "Young lady, we came here with no ill intentions. We just want to find Ping'an Village. If I'm not mistaken, you are from Ping'an Village, right?"
The girl frowned at me and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? What Ping'an Village? I've never heard of it!"
"Little girl, there's no point in lying at a time like this."
Jiang Man then stepped forward: "Last night, we were attacked by those paper figures, and today we've encountered this again. If I'm not mistaken, you're the one controlling them, aren't you?"
"So what if it is?"
When Jiang Man exposed the girl's lie, she readily admitted, "I don't care where you learned the name Ping'an Village, but outsiders are not welcome in the village. You've already trespassed into the forbidden area of Ping'an Village and cannot go any further. If you do, according to the rules of Ping'an Village, you will be killed without mercy! So if you don't want trouble, you can leave now!"
Seeing how naive this young girl was, easily tricked out of her secrets by Jiang Man's words, I spoke softly and gently, "Young lady, we entered Ping'an Village with absolutely no ill intentions! Moreover, you took all our equipment. If we leave now, we won't be able to get out. So, could you please help us rest in Ping'an Village for a while and leave once we've recovered our strength?"
"We can return your belongings, but you cannot come any closer! Intruders will be killed on sight. This is the rule of the village, and no one can break it!"
The girl pointed to the arrows in front of Manjing and said, "I have already drawn the boundary. Ping'an Village will not kill innocent people indiscriminately, but it will absolutely not be lenient towards intruders. Don't force me to take action!"
I smiled as I looked at the arrows on the ground: "Little girl, you just said that you stopped us to uphold the rules of the village. In other words, if we don't pass these few arrows, you won't kill us?"
The girl seemed to sense my ill intentions and asked coldly, "What are you trying to say?"
I chuckled and said, “Look, here’s the situation. You said that once we get past these arrows, you’ll kill us. But if you drive us away now, I’ll go out and announce to everyone the route to Ping’an Village. I know every signpost like the back of my hand, and I’ve left tokens at key locations. Once I announce the news, countless people will come to disturb the peace of Ping’an Village. Then you’ll have to deal with even more people.”
The girl's face darkened: "Then I'll kill you right now!"
"Whoosh!"
As the girl spoke, I flicked my wrist and planted a throwing knife not far from her feet.
"Woof! Woof woof woof!"
The two large mastiffs sensed my hostility and barked their teeth at me, barking incessantly.
I gestured with the gun in my hand and continued to the girl, "I know your archery is very accurate, and your two dogs are very loyal, but there are so many of us here. You can't possibly kill us all at once, can you? If even one of us manages to escape, it will be a disaster for Ping'an Village. Are you really prepared to gamble the safety of Ping'an Village with me?"
The girl pulled the bowstring back again: "Are you threatening me?"
"Your understanding is not wrong; I was indeed threatening you."
I looked into the girl's eyes: "The question now is, did my threat have any effect on you?"
The girl thought for a moment, then released the bowstring: "You want to enter Ping'an Village? That's not impossible, but I must warn you, Ping'an Village is not a place that just anyone can go. Don't regret it once you get there!"
I was only looking for clues about the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace in Ping'an Village, and I didn't want to be enemies with this little girl. Seeing that she had put away her hostility, I also turned off the safety of my pistol: "So, you're willing to let us in?"
"Like you said, it seems I don't have a better option."
The girl snapped her fingers and patted a mastiff's head: "Notify the village that outsiders have arrived."
"Awooo!"
As if understanding the girl's words, the mastiff howled and disappeared into the woods.
I pulled the arrows from the ground and the trees, walked over and handed them to the girl, then looked around: "I'm curious, where are your special friends? And how do you control them?"
“You are just an illegal intruder in Ping’an Village, not our friend. I have no obligation to answer your questions.”
The girl coldly tossed out a sentence, then disappeared into the woods, moving effortlessly through the dense foliage.
We followed the girl for about half an hour before finally arriving at the front of a mountain wall.
This is a cliff more than 20 meters high, with a waterfall cascading down, revealing a cave that is faintly visible behind it.
Seeing the girl standing still, I asked her, "Is this the entrance to Ping'an Village?"
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