The domestic SUV drove for an hour and a half. After leaving Baoshan, it followed the expressway along the Nu River until it reached an exit, then turned onto a country road that wound around the mountains. Another half hour of driving finally brought them to a village perched high on a mountainside.
The place was called Wazhai, and it was Wang Biao's mother's hometown. Only a few households still lived there. Most of the houses had earthen walls, a style common among the Lisu.
"Old Cat, are you really going to spend a few days here by yourself?"
"You haven't run into some kind of trouble, have you?"
"If anything's weighing on you, just tell me. I'll help however I can." Wang Biao found it a little strange. This college roommate he hadn't seen in so long seemed like a different person.
He had a striking presence and an air of mystery.
Taking Chen Jue with him, Wang Biao used the key he had brought to unlock the old house he hadn't visited in ages.
They pushed open the door and were greeted by a noseful of dust, just like when Chen Jue had first returned to his own old home in Chen Village.
Most people nowadays preferred to flock to the cities, with their dazzling worlds and better material comforts. Few young people could endure the hardships of a remote mountain village anymore.
Countless old rural houses like this were beginning to be forgotten. In a few more decades, they might collapse from lack of maintenance, until even the entire house slowly vanished with the passing years.
"What trouble could I possibly be in?"
"I just came to have some fun and unwind for a few days."
"The town's only a half-hour walk downhill. Are you really worried