Chapter Ten The Old Man

  After hearing what I said, Sheng Ge took a deep breath and solemnly said, "Little Han, you can't go down that road again. My father... my father..."

  "Sheng Ge hesitated and said, which made me very anxious. 'Sheng Ge, what's wrong with Liu Dajie? You'd better say it.'"

  "Sigh, you'd better ask him yourself, I'm not very clear about the specifics either. However, a few months ago after my father went on a mountain patrol, he came back and often said some irrelevant things." Sheng Ge trailed off, sighing as he spoke.

  What's the point of talking nonsense? A sentence from Sheng Ge made me a bit confused, then I let Da Zhuang take Liu Gang and Ali to go out for a walk. There are many vendors around here, with countless strange and interesting little things.

  Watching Da Zhuang and others leave, I and Sheng Ge walked into Liu Dajie's house.

  The house is not big, inside there is only a bed, a wardrobe, and a table. Old Liu is reclining in a rocking chair, holding a newspaper in his hand, completely unaware that I and Sheng Ge have entered.

  Grandpa Liu no longer has the vigor of his youth, and white hair has crawled up to the top of his head.

  Looking at Old Man Liu's appearance, I silently sighed, life is like this, limited time, limited youth, years flowing like water, the long flow of life always slips away from one's fingertips.

  "Father, look who's here." Sheng Ge walked up to Mr. Liu and said, only then did Mr. Liu realize there was someone in the room, he slowly turned his head to look at me, a hint of hesitation flashed across his eyes, but it quickly changed to enthusiasm.

  "Is that Xiao Ke? Xiao Ke has grown up." Old Liu stood up from his rocking chair, and the newspaper in his hand was also thrown onto the table.

  I quickly went forward to support Liu Dajie, and I didn't know how he recognized me. Before that, I hadn't told Liu Dajie that I would come, nor had Sheng Ge told him the news of my arrival. Hadn't my appearance changed? I sneered with a smile.

  "Old man, how did you recognize me? I'm Xiaoke." I smiled and bowed my head. For Liu Dage, I felt only respect and gratitude in my heart. Back then, due to a moment of curiosity, I almost didn't make it out of the Fourth Daughter Mountain. If I hadn't run into Liu Dage, I would probably have become one of the steps beneath the endless white snow of the Fourth Daughter Mountain.

  Mr. Liu excitedly patted my shoulder, carefully looked at my face and then carefully looked at my body. Just when I was about to feel embarrassed, Mr. Liu patted my shoulder again and said, "Not bad, not bad! You were such a small kid back then, and now you've grown so big! Time really flies!" As he spoke, Mr. Liu gestured to indicate how short I used to be.

  As for Old Man Liu, I have a feeling similar to that of being with family. Old Man Liu gestured for me to sit on the heated kang, while Sheng Ge found an excuse to slip away to cook dinner, leaving only Old Man Liu and me in the room.

  "Xiao Ke, how did you think of this? How are your parents? I remember they were doing business, how have they been in recent years? Are they getting bigger and better?" Mr. Liu patted my shoulder and said.

  "This time, apart from coming to see you, I also have something else to take care of. My parents are doing pretty well lately, and they always mention you, saying that if it weren't for you back then, they would probably have lost their beloved child. But how about you, old master? It's been so many years since we last met, and your hair has turned white a lot!"

  Upon hearing my words, Old Man Liu chuckled and said, "Indeed, people age quickly. Just looking at you young folks, full of energy and vitality. I still remember when you were a kid, you ran up the mountain by yourself, to places even locals didn't dare to go. You little monkey, how could you have gone in? I don't know what to say about you. What brings you here now? See if old me can help you with anything."

  I scratched my head with a bit of embarrassment, "Look at you, it's been so many years and you're still calling me Little Monkey. This is just between us two, if my friends heard this I'd be laughed to death. Old man, to be honest, I came here this time thinking of going to Four Niangzi Mountain again, from the back route."

  Before I could finish, Old Liu interrupted me: "What? You're going to climb up from the back mountain road again? Little monkey, you almost didn't make it last time because of that route. Let me tell you, Four Maiden's Mountain is not what it used to be."

  Hearing Mr. Liu's words, I couldn't help but feel puzzled. What changes could a mountain undergo? Could it even produce ghosts?

  "What's wrong with the Fourth Daughter Mountain?" I asked.

  Old Liu took out his pipe and lit it with a match. "The Four Niangzi Mountain is not the same as before, I'm a mountain ranger, you know that too. A few months ago, one evening, I went to patrol the mountain as usual. That day, heaven knows what happened, but it actually snowed on the Four Niangzi Mountain."