Chapter Six: Shady Mountains

  Su Tong walked out of the hospital, and her whole body was like she had just crawled out of an ice cellar, cold from head to toe. In the past, her colleague and good friend Wang Li always liked to tease her about being stubborn, but she never admitted it. Now, however, she has to reconsider her own stubborn personality and think about whether she should change it or not. As the saying goes, "A hard mouth can get you killed, and a refusal to believe in evil can lead to disaster." Many things haven't happened yet doesn't mean they won't happen, so it's better not to be too proud of oneself.

  Besides, I myself have not been exempt from unexplainable encounters. From last night to now, it's not even 24 hours, and probably not even 12 hours have passed, but I've already encountered two inexplicable things. This doesn't even include today's interview task, which in itself is a scientifically inexplicable event.

  The hospital doesn't have any first-hand information, and Su Tong is not willing to return empty-handed. He wants to get some first-hand information that other families haven't obtained yet, so he has to take a different approach. These seven children got lost during the spring outing in Changqing Mountain Forest Park. Whether there's anything unusual about the place where they were found can only be known by going there in person.

  Su Tong is not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he's not stupid either. At least he understands the principle of learning from experience, especially after going through so many unusual things in one day. If he rashly ran to Changqing Mountain now, that would be foolish.

  Changqing Mountain Forest Park, as the name suggests, the two words "forest" in the name are not called for nothing. It is the largest artificial forest in the suburbs of the local area, with mountains and water, making it a very beautiful place. In recent years, the local government has been trying to promote Changqing Mountain as a famous tourist destination, driving the development of local tourism. However, after several years, the effect was not good, and Changqing Mountain remained unchanged in terms of tourism, always lukewarm. As time went on, the municipal government also gave up on making tourism economy a priority.

  Changqing Mountain Park is not a high mountain, but the forest is very dense. Before graduating from school, Su Tong went on a picnic with his classmates once. The trees on the mountain are mostly decades or even hundreds of years old, with thick trunks and lush branches that stretch towards each other, almost blocking out the sky. Originally, the boys wanted to set up tents and hammocks in the quiet woods, but the girls thought it was too gloomy and dark, as sunlight couldn't penetrate through. At first, it was cool, but later it became cold, so they gave up on the deep forest and moved to a grassy area between the edge of the woods and the road for a picnic.

  Because of the vivid memory of that trip to Changqing Mountain, Su Tong felt even more that he shouldn't go alone, as that place could be described as a beautiful scenic park on the outskirts, or an desolate mountain wilderness. Setting aside all the eerie rumors, even if someone were to jump out from the woods, Su Tong alone wouldn't be able to handle it and needed someone to boost his courage.

  After making up her mind, she gave Wang Li a call, coaxing and deceiving her, adding threats and temptation, and finally managed to get Wang Li to agree to accompany her on an outing. The two agreed to meet at the main entrance of Changqing Mountain Forest Park before going in together.

  Unlike Su Tong's casual and leisurely demeanor, Wang Li was a typical urban white-collar worker, to the point of being almost stereotypical. When Su Tong waited outside the forest park gate and saw Wang Li getting out of a taxi, he was immediately stunned.

  A snow-white blouse, a same-colored A-line short skirt, and on her feet a pair of high-heeled shoes that were at least five centimeters high, with thin heels. This outfit itself was not bad, and it looked pretty good on the slender and elegant Wang Li. Unfortunately, it was completely mismatched with the activity of hiking in the mountains, which was a difference of ten thousand eight thousand miles.

  "My goodness, are your high heels grown on your feet or something? How did you even get here wearing those? Are you planning to climb the mountain with qinggong later?" Su Tong rubbed his temples, looking at Wang Li with a mixture of helplessness and headache as she walked towards him.

  "Go up the mountain?" Wang Li was stunned as soon as she heard this, "No way? You just said on the phone that you wanted to come to Changqing Mountain, but didn't say we had to go into the mountains too! I thought we were going to the park management office! I knew you weren't being so kind-hearted, pulling me along, and it turns out you want to venture into the wilderness!"

  "Look what you're saying, it sounds like I'm going to abduct and sell you! Su Tong looked at her pitiful appearance and burst out laughing, walking forward with his arm around hers, "Forget it, considering we're friends, later on when you can't walk anymore, I'll pull you along, if all else fails, I'll carry you on my back!"

  "Go, go, go! You're just a smooth talker with a heart of stone. Otherwise, you wouldn't have dragged me, such a weakling, to this kind of place!" Little Wang complained, but followed Su Tong inside without any hesitation.

  Although she had a good fighting spirit, wearing high heels to climb the mountain was not easy. Not to mention walking on mountain roads, even walking along the stone steps up the mountain, she started yelling about foot pain after just halfway and needed to stop and rest from time to time.

  "No way, my feet are going to be ruined! Look at this!" Wang Li plopped down on the steps, took off one of her high heels and lifted her foot for Su Tong to see. "It's all red and hurts like hell. You tricked me into coming here, you have to take responsibility for me!"

  "Alright, alright, I'll take responsibility for you! I'll be fully responsible! Then how can I bear this responsibility?" Su Tong asked.

  "Why don't we swap shoes for a while, after all our feet are the same size. Let my toes rest and you can experience my hardships!" Wang Li pointed to the pair of flat-heeled casual soft leather shoes on Su Tong's feet.

  "Alright, I was wrong to drag you out for a hike, let's swap!" Su Tong sat down beside Wang Li, taking off his shoes as he teased her, "Just look at the shoes on our feet and you can tell we're different kinds of people. We're both journalists, but I'm the type who runs around in flats all day, while you're the type who wears high heels and sits in an office."

  "That's because I'm not ambitious and am content with the status quo!" Wang Li changed into flat shoes, suddenly feeling invigorated, stood up and jumped a few times on the spot. "Besides, our old donkey at home can't stop talking about how much he likes my high-heeled look, saying it's especially feminine, especially elegant, especially OL-like!"

  "Go ahead, go ahead, I'll just flatter you a bit, look at how beautiful you are!" Su Tong seized the opportunity to tease Wang Li a few sentences. Lao Lu (Old Donkey) was the nickname of Wang Li's boyfriend, whose real surname was Lv, and he was tall and thin with a long face. Since they started dating in school, Wang Li had always called him Old Donkey, but fortunately, Old Donkey was a good-natured person who accepted this not-so-flattering nickname graciously. The two of them complemented each other's personalities, and their relationship had been sweet and harmonious for years, making them the envy of others.

  After changing shoes, the two continued to walk up the mountain. Although Wang Li had shouted that she wanted to swap shoes with Su Tong and take a break, after swapping, she was still worried that Su Tong would have a hard time climbing in her high-heeled shoes. So along the way, she held onto Su Tong, afraid she wouldn't be able to walk steadily. When they reached the middle of the mountain, where the seven children were found, there was no longer a flat asphalt road to walk on. The two of them supported each other, one holding onto the other, and continued along the stone path that wound through the forest, heading towards the shaded side of the mountain.

  This year's spring came suddenly, as if it was still cold and frosty before, but overnight it warmed up, and the leaves quickly grew from small buds to stretch out. At present, the evergreen mountain is indeed a lush green, with two girls walking on the small stone path in the forest. At first, they felt that the birds were singing and the flowers were fragrant, the trees were shady, and the air was exceptionally good, making people feel very comfortable and relaxed. However, as they walked towards the shaded side of the mountain, the sunlight became increasingly dim, and eventually almost completely disappeared. The light grew darker, and the temperature dropped by several degrees compared to before. The surroundings were particularly quiet, with only the sound of the two people's footsteps and the rustling of leaves in the wind, almost no other sounds could be heard. Occasionally, a bird hiding in the trees would suddenly fly out, startling the two girls.

  "Look at this great place you've brought me to, if a wolf were to suddenly jump out of the woods, I'd be running away in your flat shoes!" Wang Li attempted to ease the tension with a joke, as both of them seemed a bit too nervous.

  Su Tong looked Wang Li up and down, then glanced at his own outfit of a hoodie and jeans, chuckled and said: "I reckon the big bad wolf isn't here, if he could get out, he'd probably be a pervert. Comparing our outfits now, it's hard to say who's more appealing."

  Wang Li immediately puffed out her chest and glared at Su Tong, poking him on the forehead: "You little scoundrel, you're afraid of perverts but still ask me to accompany you. Don't I deserve better as a delicate and lovely woman?! Next time you have some heroic rescue mission, why don't you just ask Little Zhang to come with you instead? He'd be thrilled!"

  After she finished speaking, she suddenly revealed a sly smile: "Oh! I get it! You're afraid that guy still has a crush on you and won't give up, right? What if he comes with you to this place, and then transforms again when he sees the deep mountains and old forests? That would be terrible!"

  "Spare me the nonsense," Su Tong said, intentionally speaking in a harsh tone, feigning anger. "I really overestimated you, thinking you were a heroine of the new era. You can't even handle yourself in the living room or the kitchen, and you think you can take on a mistress or a thug? That's why I brought you here, but look at how you're behaving!"

  "Beat the rascal, there's an old donkey, fight with the little three... What can be fought with the little three? Those who can find the little three are all rubbish men. Why keep the rubbish men?! The spilled water, I don't even want the basin!" Little Wang said with his hands on his hips, speaking in a heroic tone.

  There were two people in Xiao Zhang's mouth, named Zhang Min, who was a photographer at the newspaper office. He entered the newspaper office one year earlier than Su Tong and was considered Su Tong's number one pursuer in the office. He used to be quite fervent but has been better recently and knows how to restrain himself. However, there were some unpleasant things between the two people before, which made Su Tong not very willing to mention this person, let alone deal with him.

  Two people chatted and laughed, and soon they walked to the shaded side of the mountain. This side had no sunlight, and with the tall trees blocking the way, the light was even dimmer. It felt as if it were already dusk, nearing the time when the sky would darken. Only a few rays of light filtered through the gaps between the trees, casting dappled shadows on the ground in a fine, fragmented pattern.

  Su Tong wore Wang Li's high heels for half a day and now her own two feet are starting to ache secretly. In order to maintain balance and stability, her ankles are now sore almost to the point of breaking, and she can't help but secretly sigh in admiration. Some women's love of beauty is really incredibly strong, whether it's going to work or shopping, they can all master wearing shoes with heels as thin as chopsticks, living their lives like they're walking on a catwalk. As for herself, who usually prioritizes comfort and hasn't even fully learned how to put on makeup, she wonders if she's lived her life in vain.

  "Ah, you're looking for that place, right?" Little Wang suddenly stopped in his tracks and pointed forward with his hand.

  Su Tong looked in the direction her finger was pointing, and in front of him, there was a relatively spacious clearing in the middle of the forest. On this clearing stood a three-story small building that seemed out of place. The outside of the building should have had high walls and a large courtyard, but over time, the walls had collapsed on a large scale, and the gate had long since disappeared, leaving only two broken brick pillars still standing there, which were even more striking against the backdrop of the surrounding rubble and broken walls. The condition of the small building itself was slightly better than that of the courtyard wall, at least its surface did not show any obvious cracks or collapses, and it was still relatively intact. However, due to years of neglect, the windows on the building had long since lost their glass, and even the window frames were mostly broken, with some only half remaining, hanging open in the wind blowing from the mountain shade, swaying back and forth, like a series of black holes, or many eyes with only pupils but no whites staring straight at the clearing and forest in front. The main door of the small building faced the direction of the courtyard gate, looking as if it had originally been a very dignified pair of double doors, but now it was tightly nailed shut with wooden boards, like a mouth sealed to prevent secrets from leaking out.

  Su Tong inexplicably shivered and nodded at Wang Li: "Right, it's here."