Tubuai Island is not large, and the ring road is only about 30 kilometers long. Along the way, there are scattered villages, some with a few dozen households, and others with just a few wooden houses. Most of these houses face the sea, making one think of springtime and blooming flowers, and giving one the thought of starting tomorrow and becoming a happy person.
As they passed through the village, someone shouted to the young man driving, "Hey, Qiqika, business is good today!"
The young man laughed and replied, "Yes, yes, today was great!"
They weren't speaking English, but a very mixed language with a heavy accent.
At first, Qingmu thought it sounded like Malay, with some strangely pronounced French mixed in. But the most amazing thing was that he actually understood it.
These local residents certainly didn't expect that guests from afar would understand this somewhat unorthodox South Island dialect, so they spoke without restraint.
"Where did these pigs come from? And why does that guy have a monster and a picture-book bird on his head?"
"I don't know. He looks Japan, or China, maybe even Muhammad. Who knows!"
Qingmu looked at Su Huilan, only to see her with a half-smile, and he didn't know if she had understood.
After circling the island's ring road for a short while, the car turned onto a small, winding, and bumpy road inside the island.
As they passed through a village, someone asked the young man, " Qiqika, where are you taking your guest? There's no road ahead!"
The young man said with a mournful face, "They're going to Tapu to find the Madman Petru."
The person asking the question simply swung his arm and exclaimed, "Oh, Madman!"
It's unclear whether he was referring to the pirate or to the group of people who went to find the Madman, who were the real Madman.
Sure enough, the road ended there. Qiqika had no choice but to park the car at the end of the road and point to the thicket ahead, saying, "You guys go up from here. I dare not go any further."
"How much further up is it from here?" Su Huilan asked.
Qiqika said, "It's not far. Just go through the woods ahead, there's a hillside. Climb over it and you'll see where Petru lives."
How do I know you're not lying to us?
"Oh, I swear to God, he's right there."
"Swearing won't work, I have to see him."
"That Madman has set traps all around his house. After he catches you, he'll find ways to torture you, making you wish you were dead."
Su Huilan pulled out two US dollar bills and waved them in front of Qiqika, saying, "If you don't take us to our destination, the remaining two hundred dollars will be gone, and you also have to return the hundred dollars you just took, because this stretch of road is only worth fifty dollars."
Qiqika grinned, staring at the banknotes before her. "Alright, alright," she said, "I'll lead you through the woods until you see his house and the library, but I dare not go up that hill. I advise you not to either; you might become prey. You must understand that on this island, private property is inviolable. If you trespass on someone else's territory and get killed, you'll only have yourself to blame."
"Fine, I'll do whatever it takes to find Petru, but if you try anything funny..." Su Huilan glanced at Qingmu, "My friend isn't as easy to talk to Petru!"
Qingmu had no choice but to put on a face and pretend to be a cold and mysterious wizard. The Crow on his head fully demonstrated its acting talent. At this moment, it spread its wings halfway, stared at Qiqika with its deep eyes, stretched out its sharp beak and made a pecking motion towards him, the feathers on its neck suddenly stood up, and an extremely eerie cackle came from its throat.
This cry, accompanied by Mental Power, penetrates directly into a person's subconscious.
Qiqika was really scared. She shivered in the hot weather, and her clothes were soaked with sweat.
"Don't worry... I... I won't lie to you... I'll definitely let you see Pe... Petru..." He was so nervous that his voice trembled and he stammered. He also forgot to use English and instead spoke the South Island dialect that he was more familiar with.
Su Huilan smiled and said, "That's more like it."
Qiqika walked cautiously ahead, leading Qingmu and Su Huilan into the woods.
The forest wasn't very dense; at least sunlight could still penetrate the ground, but it looked very primitive and had a musty, decaying smell.
Qiqika used her hands to push aside the branches and vines blocking her way, muttering something as she walked.
Taking this opportunity, Qingmu asked Su Huilan if she could understand the local indigenous language.
Su Huilan said, "They speak Polynesia. However, this language family is very complex, distributed across islands throughout the Pacific Ocean, including Polynesia, Hawaii, Malaysia, and Indonesia, extending as far north as Taiwan Province. Classifying them into a single language family across such a vast area is inaccurate, but there are indeed strong connections between their languages. What we just heard was a dialect from the Southern Islands of this language family. Since many Polynesia also speak French, they inevitably mix in some awkward French words when they speak."
Qingmu suddenly realized, secretly admiring Su Huilan's erudition. Although he could understand what others were saying, he was somewhat confused. First, he didn't know when he had learned this language, and second, although he understood it, he didn't understand it as thoroughly as Su Huilan.
However, he didn't tell Su Huilan that he could understand, as it was really difficult to explain. Although Qiqika kept her distance from him, she muttered a lot of curses about him and the Boss Coal above him the whole way. Qingmu pretended not to understand and remained silent. In other words, he was an evil wizard in other people's eyes.
Su Huilan listened while glancing at Qingmu every now and then, secretly smiling.
Qiqika would avoid paths that looked easy to walk on, and instead head towards areas covered with thorns or tall grass.
He explained that apart from a few clean areas open to tourists, the rest of the island is very pristine, inhabited by various poisonous insects and plants. The island's native inhabitants can easily identify these things, but tourists often find themselves caught off guard, sometimes even fatally.
Therefore, most tourists visiting the island will form groups and hire a guide, who will be responsible for their safety. Qiqika is also a guide on the island, but he never takes groups. He only takes on individual tourists, which gives him more freedom and sometimes allows him to earn a lot of tips. He calls this personalized service.
After passing through a relatively dense section of the forest, the area ahead opened up. The tall coconut trees could not block one's view, and a bare hillside could be seen in the distance. There were no trees on the hillside, only some rocks of varying heights, piled up like trenches in a battle position.
Qiqika pointed to the hillside and said, "Go over there, and you'll find the place you're looking for."
Su Huilan asked, "What are those stones for?"
Qiqika said, "Those are Tapu, temples set up on the island by our ancestors. Tapu means taboo, and according to the rules, we cannot enter the Tapu territory, so I could only bring you here."
Seeing that Su Huilan didn't seem to intend to pay, he took a few steps to the right, pointing in another direction as he went, and said, "If you really want to see Petru's house, then I can only take you around Tapu from there to give you a quick look, but you still have to come back and go uphill from here, because Petru occupies a canyon bay with cliffs on both sides, and this is the only way through."
He had just finished speaking when Qingmu heard a whooshing sound, followed by a thud, Qiqika fell to the ground.