The Back Mountain

The group stood on the path not far behind the Wooden House, waiting for half an hour.

Guo Mu had already grown bored and crouched on the ground, playing with dry grass.

Only then did they see the middle-aged man pushing a wooden cart over from the direction of the Wooden House.

The cart seemed to be filled with offerings. A cowhide was pulled tightly over the top, its four corners hooked onto protruding gears beside the wheels.

The cowhide was stretched taut, without a single wrinkle.

"L-let's go." The middle-aged man struggled to push the cart up the slope, then wedged a stone against one of its wheels.

"Big brother, the village chief told us to wait here for him. He also gave us this." Zheng Wuyou stopped the middle-aged man, who was about to continue on, and snatched the stone from Wen Dian's hand, holding it up for him to see.

Hu Yu had wanted to stop her. What if it was some kind of lifesaving talisman?

But when the middle-aged man saw the stone, he froze for a moment.

Then he immediately gave a simpleminded grin and added, "Oh, look at me, forgetting something like that. The village chief really is thorough. Outsiders have to pray for blessings before entering the back mountain. Otherwise, it'd be a grave offense!"

As he spoke, he wedged the wheel again, intending to take the stone from Zheng Wuyou.

Zheng Wuyou pulled the stone back and forced a smile. "Just tell us how to do it."

Seeing that she had no intention of handing it over, the middle-aged man awkwardly withdrew his hand.

He gripped the cart handles again, no longer bothering to put on a friendly face.

His expression was no longer warm and amiable.

"Each person bows once facing northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest, then tosses the stone onto the ground. If the clan mark lands face up, it means the ancestors agree. If it lands face down, you're on your own once you go in."

So he couldn't keep up the act for long after all.

Zheng Wuyou tossed the stone into the air and caught it, watching the middle-aged man with interest.

Her gaze made the middle-aged man feel a chill down his back, so he hurriedly pushed the cart toward the back mountain.

He had to get out of the back mountain before sunset.

"This place is full of ridiculous rules. Who's going first?" Hu Yu watched the middle-aged man's back and curled her lip in disdain.

"One person is enough." Zheng Wuyou caught the stone she'd tossed.

Playing riddles, was he? This was rather interesting.

Hu Yu looked confused at first, then suddenly understood. "So we just need to figure out which sides correspond to the directions?"

"The directions... Didn't he say east, west, south, and north?"

He'd only just said it. How had she already forgotten?

Wen Dian licked his dry, cracked lips.

Whenever something like this came up, people started wondering whether their memories were playing tricks on them.

Especially when they had to work it out backward.

"No, no, it was southeast, northeast, southwest, and northwest!" Guo Mu struck a thoughtful pose again.

Who could have guessed a minute ago that this sentence would stump everyone?

"Big sister... I remember him saying northeast and southwest." Wansi stepped out from behind Zheng Wuyou, sounding certain.

Compared with when she'd first arrived, she was already much bolder.

"That's even more ridiculous. You can't bow in a smooth sequence that way." Guo Mu started to go over and tap the little girl on the head, hoping she'd stop causing trouble.

But when he saw Zheng Wuyou's look, he shrank back.

"Her version goes clockwise." Zheng Wuyou sighed and was the first to face west, toward the setting sun. She clasped the stone in both hands and bowed counterclockwise.

She ended facing north.

Without hesitation, she tossed the stone onto the dirt. It rolled over twice.

With a clack, the side without a mark faced the group, pointing toward the sky.

"Are they messing with us? They ask for our help but won't let us in!" Guo Mu had guessed this would happen from the start. He angrily threw the dry grass to the ground.

Zheng Wuyou didn't answer him. Instead, she crouched and patiently explained to Wansi, "Wansi, I'm giving you a difficult task. You'll go with big brother Miao Laisheng, Uncle Cai, and Hu Yu to the Old Zhu's family and rescue First Wife. Can you do that?"

Wansi turned around and happened to meet Miao Laisheng's eyes. She obediently nodded.

"What do you mean? Are we splitting into groups?" Hu Yu didn't understand why she was doing this.

The old man who smoked opium had clearly said they had to go to the back mountain. What if those who didn't go were punished?

"Right. He only said there weren't enough people. He never said this was a task for everyone." Zheng Wuyou stood up and handed Hu Yu the paper Zhu Li had given her. "The Zhu family can't be trusted. When the stone lands mark-side down, that means we should go in."

Zheng Wuyou stepped onto the path, strewn with yellowed dry grass, and followed the wheel tracks toward the back mountain.

Wen Dian and Hu Yu followed behind her.

In the end, Hu Yu switched groups with Guo Mu.

Zheng Wuyou knew Hu Yu was worried that if she stayed behind, the punishment might fall on her.

The crows above them startled and flew past. A black feather, iridescent in the sunlight, drifted lazily down on the air currents.

The trees overhead formed an arch that blocked out the sky, leaving much of the path in shadow.

The dry bark on the trunks looked ready to peel off at any moment.

Now and then, they stepped on a piece of bark. It cracked beneath their feet.

The sound startled a flurry of movement from the surrounding woods.

After the three of them had followed the path for about half a mile, Wen Dian braced himself against a tree trunk, intending to rest for a moment.

But in the next instant, he heard a strange noise behind them.

He turned around warily, only to find the old woman from the Zhu family and the old man who smoked opium hunched over as they came up from the foot of the mountain.

After walking on for a few more miles, the three of them finally reached the Zhu family cemetery in the back mountain.

Wen Dian's legs ached. The two old people had climbed the mountain without stopping.

Afraid of losing them, the three of them had followed without daring to rest.

Gravestones of all shapes and sizes stood haphazardly throughout the cemetery, varying in height and depth. The most conspicuous spot was at its center.

A huge circular stone disc stood in the middle of the cemetery, so large that it would take three or four people to surround it.

The center of the disc was hollowed out, with a raised pillar inside. Inscriptions they couldn't read covered the pillar.

The inscriptions had turned black, standing out sharply in the slanting sunlight on the mountainside.

From the side, the device looked like a sundial.

But it wasn't as finely made as one.

"Since you're here, help him put the offerings up!"

For once, the old man wasn't smoking his opium in front of them.

He gestured for the only man among the three of them—Wen Dian—to help the middle-aged man take the offerings out of the wooden cart.

With Zheng Wuyou's permission, Wen Dian nervously went forward.

He and the middle-aged man lifted the cowhide covering the four corners. But the moment he saw the offering, he froze.

The offering was none other than...

Sun Wu's corpse, the one they'd left in the Wooden House.

Sun Wu's hand hung over the edge of the cart. Zheng Wuyou immediately recognized the watch on his wrist.

Sun Wu's face was deathly pale as he stared up at the sky. His unfocused eyes seemed fixed on the figure still running along the riverbank.

Why was Sun Wu the offering?

After spending a day together, Wen Dian couldn't bring himself to let his companion's corpse become an offering in this cemetery.

He clenched his teeth and turned away, unable to look at the cart again.

But the old man harshly scolded him for slacking off.

"This is a grave offense against the ancestors!"