Chapter 79: Qinling Divine Tree Chapter: Monkeys

I thought about it and really had no choice. Competing with monkeys for things in the old forest, we had no chance of winning. If we wasted time, there might be other losses. Moreover, although we lost some things, none were critical—like the glow sticks, we can use torches instead. So I nodded and said to Old Itch, "You're right. I don't know how deep this place is. Once it gets dark, our path will be even harder. But you, you son of a bitch, have to keep a better eye on your stuff and stop falling for those monkey tricks."

Old Itch thought about what just happened and his anger surged. He waved his hand at me and said, "Alright, don't mention it. This feud is set. If I didn't have urgent business, I would skin that monkey king."

We tightened our backpacks, shouted loudly to drive away the monkey troop, and continued walking into the narrow path. The monkeys, seeing us leave, thought we were fleeing and jumped onto the cliffs on both sides, chasing us while making mocking sounds. Old Itch turned back and cursed, "Fuck your mothers, you bunch of monkeys, don't be smug! If I have the chance to come back, I'll catch you all and eat you!"

That group of monkeys, seeing him yell, chased even more vigorously, especially the monkey king, who struck a victor's pose and stayed very close, trying to pounce again when I wasn't paying attention. Old Itch got furious, picked up a stone from the ground, and threw it at the monkey king's nose. That hit was quite heavy, nearly knocking the monkey king off the cliff. Unexpectedly, the monkeys, enraged from shame, picked up things from the ground and threw them back. Soon I got hit on the head by several stones and mud clods. I had to use my hands to protect my head and started running wildly, sighing inwardly. Today was as embarrassing as it gets; luckily no one else saw it, or I'd have to bash my head against a wall to save face. We ran wildly for about the time it takes to smoke half a cigarette before stopping. I saw that we had completely entered this narrow ravine. The "single thread of sky" above had become a "single strip of sky" because the gap between the two cliffs had narrowed further. The cliff tops on both sides felt like they were pressing down, sending chills up my spine, and I wished I could get out of here immediately. Walking further, this feeling intensified. At this rate, if I hadn't inquired beforehand, I would have thought that the cliffs joined together at the deepest part. I remembered what the old guide had said and asked Old Itch, "By the way, did that old man last time tell you what the ghost soldiers in this ravine are? And when did that legend start?"

Old Itch said, "Ghost soldiers are just soldiers from the underworld. What constructive things do you expect from old folks like them? I think they just heard it from the older generation. Anyway, it's been passed down through generations. Every place has different versions of such legends. As for when it started, it's already impossible to verify."

I said, "Then did he mention the most recent occurrence? When was it?"

Old Itch laughed, "I didn't ask that many questions. Old Wu, you're not scared by him, are you? Don't worry, though those people all speak with such conviction, no one has actually seen ghost soldiers. I think it's just a rumor spreading by word of mouth."

I didn't agree in my heart and said, "You can't say that. In these deep mountains and old forests, anything can happen. Maybe we'll unluckily encounter them. You better stay extremely alert. At the first sign of trouble, forget everything and just run back."

I've heard many legends about ghost soldiers, and plenty of bored people have made guesses. The more famous one is the "Startled Horse Trough" in Yunnan, said to have been dug by the Southern Barbarian King Meng Huo. The place still exists; during thunderstorm seasons, sounds of weapons clashing and fighting can be heard... Old Itch also mentioned some other things. This path has been rarely traveled since the late 1970s, yet not a single weed grows, as if it's trampled by horses every day. A few years ago, someone wanted to build a scenic spot here, but every time the construction team came, it would rain heavily. It happened every time, leaving the leaders with no choice but to give up. We continued deeper, gradually growing numb from walking. Who knows how long this mountain crack is? The deeper we went, the darker it got, and the temperature dropped. It felt eerie, with a very obvious ominous feeling. At some point, the monkeys behind us stopped following. Suddenly, the entire mountain crack became terrifyingly quiet, leaving only the howling of the wind and some other indescribable strange sounds. This feeling made us very uncomfortable. Old Itch and I came up with an idea: one person would tell a brain teaser to distract ourselves and avoid being affected by the weird atmosphere. Even so, I still felt very uneasy, and the more we went in, the more obvious this unease became. Several times I even felt that the sliver of sky above us could disappear at any moment, and we would be trapped forever inside the pitch-black mountain. I was lost in wild thoughts, and I don't know how long we walked, when suddenly, Old Itch, who was walking ahead of me, stopped. I couldn't react in time and bumped into his back. It was a hard bump, and I was a bit annoyed, asking him, "What's the matter? Why did you stop without saying anything?" He turned around, his face pale, his mouth trembling for a long time, unable to utter a single word. Seeing him like this, I knew something was wrong. This guy had seen the world, and his reaction suggested he had encountered something again. I quickly slapped his back to help him catch his breath. After he recovered, he grabbed me and stammered, "Old Wu, a... ahead... it seems like there's a hand..."

Hearing this, I was stunned. "What hand?" I thought, and quickly poked my head over to look.

At this moment, I had even mentally prepared myself to see a ghost hand floating in the air. But when I first looked, I didn't see any hand at all.

For a moment I thought this guy was messing with me again, and I was about to get angry, when suddenly I saw that so-called hand. Instantly, my scalp went numb, my head buzzed, and I almost bit my tongue.

It turned out that the mountain crack ahead was blocked by a strange object. One could only climb over it from above. Unbelievably, what blocked our way was actually a gigantic human hand.