Chapter 6 Triple Clouds

  The next morning, just as the sky was getting light, they set off.

  The morning in the mountains is always humid, if it weren't for everyone wearing a thin raincoat outside, they would have been soaked through several times with just their summer clothes. In addition, there are no large carnivorous animals such as leopards or tigers on Paiyun Mountain, but it's famous for having snakes, so each person still hangs a cloth bag containing realgar powder around their waist. As for long-sleeved shirts, long pants, rain boots, trekking poles, mosquito repellent and the like, they are all basic equipment that goes without saying.

  Su You and the three others were fully armed, while Du Ying looked relaxed, as if he was just going for a stroll in the backyard. Considering that Jiang Siqi might have a backache, he didn't even bring his bamboo basket today, only wearing a waist pack, making him look even more lightly equipped. Su You saw that he was wearing short sleeves and asked if he wanted some wind oil or something, but Du Ying simply caught two buzzing mosquitoes with his bare hands to answer him.

  What a genius!

  Su Yu thought that when he was a kid, he could run wild and free, to the point where his parents wanted to break his legs; but now it seems like he's not even one ten-thousandth of what he used to be! "Brother, you're so awesome!" He followed at the back of the group - because he had to take care of Jiang Siqi who was walking in the middle - his admiration was beyond words. They thought this mountain was hard to climb, but to others it's just a piece of cake!

  "It's nothing, just got used to it since I was a kid." Du Ying's voice came from above. He was climbing up a small slope, one hand grasping the tree trunk on the slope and the other reaching out. Jing Sheng gave him a hand and jumped up, while Jiang Siqi was pulled up.

  "This ground is so slippery." Jiang Siqi felt embarrassed, muttering to himself. But since Jing Sheng had already given him a strong contrast, he spoke with particularly little confidence.

  Su retreated a small step, then used his three-step layup skill, jumping up one-two-three. "It's all unknown how many years of fallen leaves," he comforted Jiang Siqi, "it's normal not to make it!"

  Du Ying stared at them and smiled. Climbing a mountain is physically demanding, jumping around will get you tired faster. But since the three of them were just here to have fun and weren't in a hurry, he didn't say anything to spoil the mood.

  The branches of the mountains are intertwined, and the clouds and mist are hazy. At a glance, you can't see the end. The three people's field of vision is limited to within tens of steps around them, and they dare not walk randomly, but are curious, so their attention shifts to the trees on both sides.

  "Say, Du Ying, you've grown up here since childhood, so you should be familiar with what's on the mountain, right?" Jing Sheng asked. "I won't ask you about the bamboo, but what kind of tree is this one by the edge?"

  Du Ying turned his head and glanced at him, "Tian Tang, we all call it Tian Ci."

  "What's Sweet Prick?" Jiang Siqi glanced over and found that the fruit blooming on the branch was indeed shaped like a thorn, and he became curious too, "Can it be eaten?"

  "It can be made into dried fruit, and the flavor of jam is better. Add some salt and stir-fry it, making a snack that's even more delicious than melon seeds!" Du Ying replied, "But that's an autumn thing to do, now the days are still early!"

  Su Yu supplemented the fruit with salt, and finally lost. If he hadn't tasted Du Ying's craftsmanship before, he would have cut off that it was dark cooking. "What about that one?" He pointed casually.

  "Maple fragrance, this is fun." Du Ying also stretched out his hand to point, letting them see a large lump of gel-like substance condensed at the fork of the top branch, "Resin, do you see?"

  The three of them stopped and nodded together.

  "If you're bitten by a snake or something, suck out the venom and apply it to the wound after it's been neutralized. You'll be fine in half a day!" said Du Ying.

  Three of you look at me and I look at you, our eyes all fell on the yellow pouches at each other's waists.

  "Don't look anymore, there's no snake on the edge of the maple tree!" Du Ying smiled, "If you want to, bringing a piece of rosin is absolutely more useful than realgar!"

  Then the three of them watched as Du Ying swiftly climbed up the tree and plucked a small piece for each of them. Su You put his own piece into his pocket, but couldn't help asking: "Does this tree produce plum blossoms?" How come he had never heard of it?

  "But it's really beautiful after Frost's Descent! The leaves will change color then. It looks great whether you're looking from the top of the mountain or the foot!"

  There are people who can make sense of everything, and with them as guides, even the most arduous and dull roads become easy to walk. Although Jiang Sheng is skilled at wilderness survival, the vegetation and terrain in the north and south are completely different, and he deeply felt a sense of awe. As for Su You and Jiang Siqi, who only described the forest as "forest", they were even more amazed.

  They quickly climbed up, naturally unaware of the situation behind - the fog was getting thicker and thicker, with whispers and women's laughter coming from afar; a fragrance floated by somewhere and blew away.

  The morning passed quickly. At lunchtime, Du Ying led three people to climb up to a small open space.

  "It's okay," Du Ying climbed onto a boulder to take a look, "We'll rest at noon and walk some more in the afternoon. We can reach our destination before sunset. There are supply points on both the mid-slope and the summit. We should be able to make it to the one on the mid-slope tomorrow."

  Jiang Siqi broke out in a cold sweat, parched with thirst. He looked around and found a small pool of water beside him, crystal clear to the bottom. "Is this water drinkable?" At this moment, he had completely forgotten about his argument with Du Ying yesterday.

  "This is the upper reaches of Jiuxi Stream, a national-level drinking water source protection area," Du Ying replied, "Of course you can drink it!"

  Jiang Siqi was half-believing and half-doubting, so he scooped up a handful to try. "Really sweet!" He exclaimed with excitement, "It's much better than the soda water made from tablets!"

  Watching the river, Si Qi was busy filling water, Su You couldn't help but smile, still a child! Turning his head again, he found that Jing Sheng had already quickly taken out the tripod and set up the SLR. Facing the direction of the telephoto lens, the grass and trees were shrouded in mist, clouds rose and haze filled the air, it was really beautiful.

  "It's already noon, why hasn't the cloud dispersed?" Su You asked. Usually it was others who asked him, but as soon as he entered the mountain, he became a curious baby himself!

  "You've forgotten, this place is called Paiyun Mountain!" Du Ying explained, "The old folks say that on this mountain there are three layers of clouds: one layer in the mortal world, one layer on the mountain, and one layer in the sky. What we're seeing now is the lowest layer. Legend has it that if you see all three layers unfolding under sunlight, you can ascend to immortality by treading on the clouds!"

  "If you climb to the top, can you see all three floors?" Su You continued to ask.

  "That's hard to say. At least, the old folks in our village have only seen two layers of clouds at most." Du Ying said regretfully, "You also know that things passed down from ancestors have mostly become legends now! However, there really is a temple on the mountain top, and I'll take you to see it after we climb up!"

  Su nodded slightly. If it were someone else, they would probably continue to ask what the myth was and what the temple worshipped, but unfortunately, he was an atheist who treated myths as jokes and didn't care at all. In his opinion, as long as the scenery of Yunshan was good, this trip wouldn't be in vain.

  Just as he was thinking about these things, Su You suddenly noticed that the entire mountain was covered in green trees, except for a small valley to the right of the cloud-covered peak, which had a missing patch, like a black hole. "What's going on with that pit?"

  Du Ying paused for a moment. "Oh, there was originally a very large Qinggang oak tree there, said to have a history of over a thousand years. In the past, every year we would go to offer incense and pray for a good harvest in the coming year."

  "Before?" Su Youming keenly grasped the key point.

  Du Ying paused again. "In recent years, it has been producing fewer and fewer branches, and this year after the spring began, not a single one, completely withered. According to tradition, we cut down dead wood, dry it into silver charcoal, and plant new saplings." As if he felt that this topic was too heavy, he smiled again, "From ancient times to the present, silver charcoal has always been only for the imperial family! Only hundred-year-old or older Chinese oak can produce silver charcoal, the rest can only be called white charcoal. The silver charcoal produced from thousand-year-old ancient trees is probably the best Chinese oak silver charcoal that our village has ever produced. Now that there is no emperor, every household can keep it for their own use, and it's actually a great advantage!"

  Su You let out a soft "ah". He wasn't an emotional person, but at this moment, seeing the pit, a very uncomfortable feeling emerged from his heart. "What will you do in the future?"

  "What can we do?" Du Ying said with a hint of gloom, "The village has been getting smaller and smaller. Now that Qinggang is gone, the remaining people either leave or stay to entertain tourists. After I graduated from college and returned to the village, I thought it was just a matter of time before I left too."

  A moment of silence, both gazing into the distance. Jiang Siqi had already fetched water and was about to bring a bottle to Su Youzhen, but after hearing these words, his excitement was also suppressed.

  "Let's have lunch and take a rest, we still need to continue climbing this afternoon!" Du Ying was the first to come back to her senses and called out to everyone.

  Under the scorching sun, no one felt like setting up a tent or taking out sleeping bags, so they found a shaded spot near a massive boulder to huddle together. Du Ying took out flint and seasonings from her waist pack and roasted some thick mushrooms they had picked that morning, the aroma alone making their mouths water. Su You and the others were thoroughly satisfied, and couldn't help but feel that even if it was just stir-fried vegetables, as long as Du Ying made it, it would definitely be delicious!

  The afternoon went relatively smoothly, with nothing out of the ordinary happening. At around 4:30, the four people arrived at the location Du Ying had in mind. Du Ying gathered firewood, Jing Sheng went to a nearby stream to fetch water, while Su You and Jiang Siqi were responsible for setting up the tent from their backpacks. Just as they were doing well, the two people who stayed behind at the campsite suddenly heard a woman's shrill cry: "Pervert!"

  "Is that the sound of the river?"

  Su You and Jiang Siqi stared at each other, and the next second they took off running down. Although Jing Sheng sometimes talks too much, he's never lacked girls chasing after him, so how could he be mistaken for a pervert this time?