The two walked along the mountain road for another quarter of an hour.
In the distance, they saw an illuminated sign standing at the village entrance.
Neatly printed on it were the words "Mount Tai Liu Family Guesthouse."
An arrow was drawn beside them.
A yellow dog was tethered beneath the sign, basking in the sun. When it saw Wen Ning and Lu Ming approach, its ears pricked up, and it barked at them.
Partway through barking, it seemed to sense the demonic aura on Lu Ming and tilted its head, studying him for a while.
Lu Ming waved at the yellow dog, and it wagged its tail.
Then it rested its chin on its paws again and went back to sunbathing.
The guesthouse was a self-built, two-story house, with several jujube trees planted in the courtyard.
An old man in floral shorts sat on the threshold, waving a paper fan as he listened to a comedy routine on the radio.
Seeing the two young men approach, he asked with a cheerful smile,
"Looking for a room? We happen to have one left. South-facing, plenty of sunshine. There's even a shuttle to Mount Tai first thing tomorrow morning. You'll be sure to catch the sunrise over Mount Tai."
Wen Ning looked at the owner and said,
"We're not staying. We're looking for someone. Has a stranger stayed here these past few days? He carries a drawing board and said he came to Mount Tai to sketch."
The owner's cheerful smile vanished at once.
He set his fan down on the table.
The comedy routine on the radio was still delivering its punch lines.
But he clearly had no interest in listening anymore.
"Don't know. Go to the police station if you're looking for someone. I run a guesthouse, not the