On the road back to Fuzhou, Nick and his group rested in a village near Yanping Prefecture. The weather was fine that evening, and he wandered around nearby without any particular destination, simply wishing to enjoy the pleasure of a walk.
Just then, he saw five people approaching in the distance. Their behavior caught Nick's attention, because they were not following the mountain path. Instead, they wandered about at will, climbing a small hill one moment and running back down the next. As they stopped and started, they sometimes stared at the ground as if detecting something, and sometimes looked around as if studying the scenery.
Nick kept wondering what they were doing, but could not make sense of it. They drifted about aimlessly and eventually came near Nick's group, yet none of them gave them so much as a glance. So Nick followed them, wanting to get to the bottom of it.
Two of them always walked at the back, carrying baskets filled with food, incense, and candles. They looked younger, like apprentices.
The third was older. He looked anxious and deeply focused, his eyes fixed on the compass in his hand.
Of the two people at the front, one carried a small bronze gong and a bell, while the other held a stick and occasionally pushed aside the grass on the ground, as though searching for hidden treasure.
The two old men talked as they walked, but Nick could not make out what they were saying. Eventually, they sat down in a pavilion for weary travelers and shared the food from their baskets.
Were they out roaming by candlelight at night?
Nick entered the pavilion as well. It happened to begin raining then, and taking shelter from the rain was a good excuse. Under the guise of casual