Ancient Woman Appears in the Deep Mountains

Chapter 34: An Ancient Woman Appears in the Deep Mountains

"Why isn't this snake hibernating? What's it doing on the surface?"

Xie Yixuan muttered to himself, but he didn't dare approach for a closer look, afraid of lightning. He could only stand at a distance. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he felt as if a thin layer of mist had begun to rise around him, the surrounding scenery growing hazy.

It was as if an invisible pair of massive hands were slowly wiping away all existence.

Xie Yixuan surveyed his surroundings, frowning. "Why did fog suddenly appear?"

The weather on this mountain was utterly bizarre. First thunder, then fog for no reason—neither were meteorological phenomena that should occur in winter. Even the snakes, which ought to be hibernating, had crawled to the surface and assumed such strange postures. Could the geology here be special compared to other places?

Fortunately, the fog wasn't too thick yet. Though it somewhat obstructed his view, the impact wasn't significant.

Not far away, he heard a rustling sound. Thinking something was there, he casually pushed aside the shrubbery in front of him to look.

There was actually a human figure not far away!

Xie Yixuan's expression shifted. "How could there be someone deep in the mountains? Could this be the killer Captain Sun mentioned?"

He immediately forgot about the snake in the distance. Besides, that spot was prone to lightning, and he hadn't dared approach it anyway. Xie Yixuan quickly gave chase in the direction of the figure.

At that moment, the gray mist around him seemed to grow denser, and even the surrounding scenery began to change.

Xie Yixuan was still pursuing the person ahead.

The figure was right in front, maintaining a moderate distance. He could make out a rough silhouette but couldn't see the specific details.

Worried about alerting the target, Xie Yixuan followed cautiously.

The figure's pace didn't change at all—neither fast nor slow, walking through the snow. Xie Yixuan gradually felt an indescribable strangeness.

The figure looked far too light on its feet, and its clothing seemed very thin.

As he drew closer, he could finally make out the attire: a white robe, tight at the top, long enough to trail on the ground, with a flared hem like a curved lapel style.

It wore a hat of the same color, with its hair tied up—the spitting image of a scholar's garb.

Xie Yixuan couldn't believe it. Dressed like that in the freezing snow—wasn't it afraid of freezing to death? Even he, a trained man, couldn't withstand the cold.

Let alone the slender figure before him, which looked as if a gust of north wind could blow it away.

Was it cosplaying?

This wasn't spring or summer; it was the bitter cold of winter, and on a mountain where temperatures were even lower.

Wearing that outfit, within half an hour, it would likely suffer temperature dysregulation, even hallucinations, eventually leading to death.

"This person isn't right."

Xie Yixuan studied the figure not far away. Though it seemed illogical, he analyzed that this probably wasn't the killer. With such thin arms and legs, how could it have killed two strong men in such a short time?

For safety's sake, Xie Yixuan couldn't help shouting, "Hey, are you okay? Do you need help?"

He thought his voice would get a reaction from the strange person, but it acted as if it hadn't heard him, still walking through the snow at the same unhurried pace.

Xie Yixuan grew more uneasy. He quickened his steps, soon reaching just behind the person.

"It" still showed no awareness.

Xie Yixuan faintly caught a delicate fragrance—a mix of pine resin and snow lotus, rushing toward him, cold yet clear.

Just then, the person ahead suddenly stopped and slowly turned around.

Radiant as the morning sun rising over the dawn clouds, brilliant as a lotus emerging from clear ripples.

The face before him was exquisite to the extreme. At such close range, there wasn't a single flaw, not even a visible pore. Eyebrows dark without being drawn, lips red without being painted—as if it were heaven's most meticulous masterpiece.

It was a woman!

In that fleeting glance, Xie Yixuan was momentarily stunned, forgetting all the words he had meant to say next.

Realizing he had been staring straight at her, which was terribly rude, Xie Yixuan embarrassedly lowered his head.

"Um, the mountains are dangerous, and you're dressed very thinly. There might also be a murderer on the loose in these hills. Don't worry, I'm a police officer, I mean no harm. Following you just now was only—"

Xie Yixuan rambled on, head down, saying a lot, but he noticed the woman made no sound at all.

When he looked up again, the vast snowy ground held no trace of the woman from moments ago.

Where had such a big person gone?!

Xie Yixuan's pupils abruptly contracted. He looked around—not a single person, not even a ghostly shadow.

"Ma'am, are you still there? It's very dangerous here, and you're dressed too thinly—"

Xie Yixuan shouted at the top of his lungs, but only his own echo answered.

Could it all have been an illusion?

But he had clearly seen the woman's silhouette with his own eyes, even followed behind her the whole way. How could it be a mistake?

Thinking this, Xie Yixuan immediately began searching. Dressed so thinly, it was far too dangerous.

Xie Yixuan pressed on. He didn't find the person. Not only that, but when he returned to his original position, he discovered that the snake he had vaguely seen in the distance had also inexplicably vanished.

No matter how deeply he dug, he couldn't find the person or the snake from before.

It was as if everything had been an illusion.

"Strange, where did they go?"

Just as Xie Yixuan was searching, he ran into Sun Zhenbang and the others. It turned out everyone had gathered to meet up, with only Xie Yixuan missing.

Worried for his safety, they had come looking for him.

Sun Zhenbang saw Xie Yixuan and immediately flared up. "What's wrong with you, kid? Why did you run off for so long? Did you forget the meeting time? Everyone was worried about you. What if you got separated and ran into the murderer, or some danger?"

Before he could finish, Xie Yixuan cut him off. "Captain Sun, I just found a woman in the mountains!"

Sun Zhenbang was stunned at first, then incredulous. "Are you out of your mind? Where would a woman come from in the deep mountains and forests? You've been single too long—even a tree starts looking pretty to you, so your eyes are playing tricks."

The other officers in the team heard this and couldn't help covering their mouths to stifle their laughter.

Xie Yixuan grew anxious. "Captain Sun, really, I absolutely didn't see wrong. At first I thought she was a suspect, so I followed her. But this woman was dressed like an ancient scholar, all very thin and flimsy."

Seeing that Xie Yixuan's expression didn't look like he was faking it, Sun Zhenbang's demeanor turned serious. "Are you telling the truth?"

"Absolutely true. The mountain is too dangerous—we need to find her quickly, or someone might get killed."

Since lives were at stake, Sun Zhenbang set aside his anger at Xie Yixuan for leaving the group earlier. "Alright, everyone split into three teams and start searching immediately. The heavy snow will leave tracks easily."

"If anything comes up, notify me right away."

"Roger!"

The murderer could be set aside for now. There were still people guarding the foot of the mountain, so there was no worry about the killer escaping the forest. The urgent task was to find the woman Xie Yixuan had mentioned as quickly as possible.

(End of this chapter)