As morning came, mist churned below the mountain, completely obscuring the path down. They wouldn't be able to descend for now. After a hasty breakfast, the first rays of sunlight brought an unexpected transformation to their surroundings.
When sunlight hit the sea of clouds, a magnificent rainbow appeared, stretching across the entire basin like a celestial bridge. The group stood at one end of this ethereal arc, while the other seemed to connect directly to the faintly visible Mount Qifeng.
"A celestial bridge..." Wenbin was nearly frantic with excitement. If the morning mist was the "ceiling of heaven," wasn't this rainbow precisely the "immortal bridge" from the prophecy? And what lay at the other end? Wenbin was desperate to descend the mountain now, as if he'd found a lifeline in this revelation.
By the time the sun had fully risen, the clouds churned even more violently, rolling toward their campsite. Within moments, they were engulfed in a sea of white mist, unable to see each other and relying solely on voices for orientation.
"Everyone sit down where you are and don't move," Wenbin called out. "Visibility is poor—one misstep and you could fall off the edge. Even immortals couldn't save you then. Let's wait until the sun grows stronger and disperses the mist before we move."
The group had no choice but to sit on the ground. Within minutes, water droplets formed on their hair, evidence of the density of the fog. To prevent accidents, Wenbin called roll every five minutes to check on everyone. Fortunately, apart from the heavy mist, nothing unusual occurred. After an hour, the sun's power began to show as visibility slowly improved. Two hours later, when the mist had completely dissipated, they looked at each other—all completely soaked. Yiran was particularly affected; her lighter clothing now clung to her figure, causing her to blush deeply. Luckily, they had brought some camouflage clothing in their packs, and everyone except Wenbin changed into dry clothes.
Standing once more at the edge of the basin, they gazed down. The mist had vanished entirely, revealing the village they had glimpsed in the moonlight the previous night. Through binoculars, they could see clearly: a settlement of about a hundred households built with wooden structures and homemade clay roof tiles, centered around a well. But something was odd—no matter what angle they viewed it from, some part of the village always remained hidden behind trees or buildings. The complete layout was impossible to discern, as if deliberately concealed, though in a way that defied exact explanation.
Wenbin quickly reviewed various classic texts on formations, feng shui, and cardinal directions in his mind, but couldn't connect any of them to what he was seeing.
After preparing their gear, they found a small mountain path not far from their campsite, based on Old Zhuo's recollections. The trail wound down toward the valley below.
To call it a path was generous—no one had traveled it for decades. Brambles and wild grass grew everywhere, forcing Yichao and Xiong to clear the way with machetes. The wet, slippery conditions made progress painfully slow. After descending about a hundred meters, both people and mules nearly slipped several times, forcing them to proceed with extreme caution, one person holding onto another.
Another fifty meters down, the soil began to dry out. Apart from some unidentifiable flowers and grasses, there were fewer obstructing trees.
"Could it be that the mist only exists at the top, but not down here?" Professor Wang asked Wenbin.
Looking at the vegetation around them, Wenbin replied, "It seems that way. Notice how the plants get shorter as we descend into the valley. We appear to be moving from a dangerous area to a safer one, but this village is so strange—everyone should remain vigilant!"
Upon hearing this, Yichao and Xiong checked their weapons. One led the front, the other guarded the rear, with Wenbin in the middle. After another hour of walking, the terrain gradually leveled out, indicating they were approaching the valley floor.
Throughout the journey, they spotted only an occasional butterfly—not even mosquitoes were present. Despite it being the hottest time of year, a cool breeze pervaded the valley floor. But they knew that seemingly safe places often harbored the greatest dangers, so they remained cautious, too focused on reaching the village to appreciate the beautiful scenery. After another hour, they finally arrived at the village entrance. Two stone horses, weathered by time, stood at the gate alongside two stone guardians—imposing and solemn, like protective deities that commanded respect. The archaeologists immediately perked up at the sight, especially Professor Wang and Yichao, who rushed toward the stone figures.
The stone figures were crafted to realistic proportions. After studying them carefully, Professor Wang determined they were made of granite, explaining their remarkable preservation after thousands of years. The human figures were approximately normal size, except for their distinctly square heads and extraordinarily large eyes, giving them an almost post-modern artistic quality. Based on their attire, they were undoubtedly ancient Ba-Shu people, though Professor Wang couldn't immediately determine their exact historical period. He instructed Yichao to photograph the statues from various angles, and the two became completely absorbed in their archaeological enthusiasm. This gave Wenbin and the others a chance to rest quietly by the roadside.
Xiong mentioned he would gather some firewood and headed into a nearby grove with his machete. The morning's descent through the mist had left everyone thoroughly soaked.
Wenbin took out his compass to examine the feng shui of the area. To his surprise, he let out a puzzled sound, walked a few steps, and adjusted the position several times. The compass needle seemed to be malfunctioning, trembling continuously without settling. Wenbin looked up at the sky—the mist had completely cleared, and the sun hung directly overhead. It seemed he would have to wait until nightfall to observe the stars.
Compass malfunctions weren't unheard of—they typically occurred in places with strong magnetic interference. But no matter how magnetic fields might change, the positions of stars remained constant. Wenbin put away his compass and was about to join Professor Wang when a sudden gunshot shattered the valley's silence.
Wenbin's smile vanished. After such eerie quiet throughout their journey, a gunshot was alarming. He called out to Yichao: "Something's wrong—that must be our blind brother! Come with me quickly!" He then instructed Professor Wang and Yiran: "This place is very strange. Stay right here—don't wander off."
Yichao, a former reconnaissance soldier with experience in Tibet, grabbed the hunting rifle without hesitation and quickly followed Wenbin into the grove.
Judging by the sound, the shot had come from not far from their resting place. As the two men rushed through the grove, something moved ahead, coming toward them. Yichao raised his rifle and aimed, finger poised on the trigger, ready to fire.
The movement drew closer, but the tall grass and trees, standing higher than a person, obscured their view. They could only sense that whatever it was coming toward them. Yichao, skilled at judging distances by sound from his reconnaissance training, signaled to Wenbin that it was less than thirty meters away. Neither dared to move, waiting in place, when suddenly they heard an "Ouch!"
Wasn't that the blind man's voice? Wenbin called out, "Blind brother?" The voice responded, "Oh, you're here! Come give me a hand!" The two ran over and found that he had shot a wild boar weighing about a hundred pounds. The blind man grinned: "I came to gather firewood, spotted this fellow, and dropped him with one shot. Let's drag him back, clean him up, and stew some wild boar meat."
The three of them hauled the boar out of the grove. But when they returned to their campsite—wait, Professor Wang and the little witch were gone.
The blind man had just emerged from the forest and naturally didn't know what had happened, but Wenbin and Yichao were concerned. When they had entered the grove, the two missing people had been right outside—one studying the stone figures and the other resting on the ground. It had only been about ten minutes, so where could they have gone?
Wenbin shouted their names as loudly as he could. In the vast valley, only echoes answered him. Yiran might have wandered off, but Professor Wang was an experienced field researcher who would never leave the team without notice. The three men examined the site but found no signs of struggle or attack. All belongings remained untouched exactly where they had been left. Even the two mules were peacefully grazing. So why were the people missing?
The three looked toward the village ahead. Wenbin decided they should check inside—perhaps Professor Wang had discovered something interesting and taken Yiran to investigate. It was the only comforting explanation he could think of, though if they were really in the village, they should have responded to his shouts. Without stopping to pack up, the three men ran quickly toward the mysterious settlement.
A winding path led to the village. Being fit men, they reached it quickly. The houses scattered around were mainly stone-and-wood structures, long neglected and mostly dilapidated. The three called out for Professor Wang and Yiran while searching the area, but were met with only silence. According to Old Zhuo, no one had lived here for decades. Fortunately, it was still daylight—at night, few would dare stay in such an abandoned place.
The village wasn't large. After more than half an hour, they had searched it completely without finding anything. An uneasy premonition settled over Wenbin. He felt something indescribable about this place—a feeling he'd had since first looking down from the mountaintop. It wasn't fear, but a sense of loss. Yes, that was it—as if a legend had once existed here, only to vanish from history without reason, like those lost civilizations in deserts where no one knows who built them or why they disappeared.
Suddenly, Wenbin felt as if he had fallen into an ancient, unknown world, entering a mysterious realm completely different from anything he'd encountered before.
They searched once more but still found no one. Wenbin looked toward Mount Qifeng in the distance, wrapped in mist, wondering if the two could possibly have gone into the mountains. How could two grown adults disappear in broad daylight, right under their noses? To ensure the missing people could find them if they returned, the three decided to wait at the village entrance where they had rested earlier.
Looking at the wild boar, the blind man cut off two hind legs, selected the best meat, and started a fire to cook it. Unfortunately, none of them had much appetite. They waited until the sun was nearly setting, with no sign of the missing pair. During this time, they made several more trips into the village to search, all without success. One thing seemed certain—the missing people couldn't have left the mountain range; if they had disappeared, it must have been somewhere in this village.
As sunset approached, Wenbin decided to consult divination. He took out a turtle shell of indeterminate age, clasped it between his hands, and tossed it onto the ground. The blind man watched with wide eyes, wondering how this could possibly help find people.
Yichao asked impatiently, "Wenbin, what does the divination show? Any news?"
After contemplating for a moment, Wenbin spoke slowly: "The hexagram doesn't look good. This is the 'Gou' hexagram. If I'm not mistaken, the two of them are now at the fourth line, which states 'no fish in the pouch, misfortune arises.'"
"Misfortune? Are you saying they're in danger, brother?"
Wenbin nodded, picked up the turtle shell, and cast another divination. Looking at the shell, he said: "This is the third line of the 'Weiji' hexagram, indicating 'improper position.' The fourth line of the 'Gou' hexagram means 'not entering the stream.' Both imply encountering danger and disaster. Their best strategy now would be to remain still rather than move, which might help them avoid the danger. I wonder where Professor Wang and the others really are."
He continued, "According to the divination, although they're in danger, they're still in this world. We can be fairly certain they're alive, though their exact circumstances remain unclear."
Yichao was startled after hearing this. He didn't doubt Wenbin's abilities—if Wenbin said there was danger, it was almost certainly true. "What should we do now?" he asked.
Wenbin looked at the surrounding mountains. The sun was about to set. Making up his mind, he said, "We wait here. This village is likely hiding something strange. Tonight we'll go back in and see what we can find!"
Wenbin told the others to eat well—regardless of what happened, they needed to find some clues tonight, so they should build up their strength. The two reconnaissance men had extensive wilderness experience and were skilled at roasting meat. Soon they were heartily eating the delicious wild boar. Wenbin took out some dried food from his bag to nibble on. Since his daughter's death, he had almost completely stopped eating meat. After dinner, the three checked their equipment. The two "scouts" attached miner's lamps to their heads—these provided excellent illumination with a beam that reached several hundred meters.
Wenbin tried to look up at the stars to check their position, but found only darkness overhead. How strange—the day had been so sunny, so why were there no stars visible at night? The blind man also looked up, shining his light skyward, revealing a white mass above them. It seemed fog had already settled in for the night, only a few dozen meters high but forming a thick layer, probably the same phenomenon they'd witnessed that morning.
The sense of loss grew stronger in Wenbin's heart. This village's construction must have special significance. From the mountaintop, certain areas remained invisible, and now at night when he wanted to check the stars for orientation, they were obscured. The place remained shrouded in mystery, creating a feeling of helplessness, like "not recognizing the true face of Mount Lu, only because one stands within the mountain." But that hardly mattered now—if Professor Wang and Yiran were still in danger, they needed to explore the village again tonight. Whether they faced humans, beasts, or ghosts, they had to discover the truth.
Before setting out, the two men prepared their ammunition and organized essential items. Wenbin gave each of them a Celestial Master talisman, instructing them to burn it or throw it in the direction of anything that felt wrong. With his Eight Trigrams bag on his back and Seven Stars sword in hand, he led the way into the village.
Wenbin remained cautious. The three stayed together, proceeding carefully. During their daytime search, they had noticed several unusual ancestral halls distributed in the four directions of the village. All had been locked. Despite it being daytime, peering through the cracks revealed only darkness inside. They had called out from the doorways but received no response before moving on.
This time, with Wenbin leading, they first approached one of these ancestral halls. All such halls typically had a plaque and couplets at the entrance. Earlier, Wenbin had noticed this one had no plaque, only a pair of weathered couplets: "Supporting the people and illuminating a thousand years; Harmonizing yin and yang, protecting this place."
Upon reaching the hall, he signaled everyone to remain quiet. Wenbin pressed his ear against the wall and listened for some time but discovered nothing. The door still bore traces of red paint and was secured with a large bronze lock that had turned green with age. The door rings were also bronze. Yichao's headlamp illuminated the door, and he exclaimed softly, "Look, aren't these door rings shaped exactly like the faces of those stone figures we saw at the village entrance?"
Following his gesture, they saw that indeed, both door rings featured a square face with exceptionally large eyes. Each mouth held a bronze ring, with the huge bronze lock hanging from the rings! The village apparently had a special reverence for this facial design.
The blind man clicked his tongue. "I have to say, I hope my ancestors didn't all have heads like this—square heads and big eyes. They don't look anything like me or my father..."
Yichao playfully smacked the blind man's head. "You don't understand—this is abstract art. I've studied some ancient Ba-Shu culture. There aren't really people with square heads! Come on, let's open this lock. Right, Wenbin?"
Wenbin ignored the two jokers and grasped the bronze lock. It was heavy, an ancient type with a bronze core passing through the rings and hooking on both sides. This mechanism shouldn't pose much difficulty for the three of them. As Wenbin lifted the lock, the blind man noticed something else and called out excitedly, "Look, look at the strange shape of this lock! It's made to look like some kind of monster!"
Wenbin looked down and was greatly alarmed, staring intently. This wasn't just any monster—it was Taotie, the same creature he had seen in his dreams. "If I'm not mistaken, this is Taotie, one of the four great evil beasts of ancient texts. Someone used this creature as a lock design. This ancestral hall must be no ordinary place. Be extremely careful once we're inside! Don't wander off and don't touch anything."
When the blind man heard that his ancestral village's hall might be inauspicious, he immediately protested. How could this Daoist come here and criticize everything about his ancestral home, even saying the ancestral hall was tainted? Yichao, more patient, explained: "According to legend, when the Yellow Emperor fought Chi You, Chi You was beheaded and his head fell to the ground, becoming Taotie. Later, Taotie became a totem carved on various sacrificial vessels. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, it was commonly engraved on ritual bronzes. The creature has a fierce head with piercing eyes, a prominently projecting nose, and curved beast horns or legs on its head. The curve direction seems to follow no fixed rule—sometimes curving inward like sheep horns, other times outward like ox horns. It has a huge mouth with saw-like teeth, slightly curved and hooked inward, or sometimes tightly closed. Usually depicted facing forward in a crouching position, with its body arched and head touching the ground, it has a pair of sharp claws like dog or tiger paws on both sides, and a pair of fleshy wings similar to ears. The Classic of Mountains and Seas says this creature ate humans. Wouldn't you call that an evil beast? Your ancestors were quite unusual to use such a creature as a guardian!"
Wenbin made a gesture for silence and whispered, "Let's open the door, but don't disturb anything here—not even a blade of grass."
For this type of bronze lock with a spring mechanism, they weren't sure if the spring had failed after so many years of rust and decay. Yichao found a hairpin in his backpack, worked it into the keyhole and manipulated it for a few moments. With a "click," his face broke into a victorious smile. "Done!" Opening locks wasn't difficult for an archaeologist with reconnaissance training, especially such antique ones. They gently placed the removed lock on the ground, and Wenbin tried pushing the door, but it wouldn't budge! Could it be secured from behind?
He motioned for all three to push together. With a slow, ancient and solemn creaking sound, they opened the ancestral hall that had been closed for countless years. Even with their combined strength, they only managed to create an opening wide enough for one person to pass through. A cold draft of air rushed out at them, causing all three to shiver. Yichao directed his light inside, but a large stone monument in the center blocked their view, making it impossible to see what lay beyond.
Wenbin closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment but detected nothing unusual. The three carefully entered and approached the stone monument. With three beams illuminating it, they finally saw its true form: a pitch-black stone slab resting on a strange creature with a sheep's body and human face. A pair of wings extended from its sides, supporting the huge black stone. The three immediately recognized it as the same design as the bronze lock: Taotie!
If the presence of Taotie imagery in this village had already confused Wenbin, what he saw next was even more difficult to explain—a massive Eight Trigrams diagram carved into the enormous stone monument! How could the Eight Trigrams be carried by this ancient evil beast? What kind of Dao was this?
Yichao instinctively drew a dagger from his bag to get a closer look, but felt a force pulling at the blade. His dagger was forged from meteoric iron—how could this be happening? Wenbin stopped him: "I see now—this large stone must be a lodestone! When I first entered this valley, my compass malfunctioned. I suspected a powerful magnetic field, but didn't realize it was coming from this. Based on the compass's vibrations, there must be more than one such large magnet! Be careful, don't touch anything."
Yichao gave the blind man a skeptical look, wondering what kind of people his ancestors were to create something so mysterious, with evil beasts and magnets. "Wenbin, what should we do now?"
Looking at these unfamiliar objects he had never seen or heard of before, Wenbin was momentarily at a loss. Eventually he said, "I don't understand the meaning of this—why an Eight Trigrams diagram would appear in a village ancestral hall, supported by a Taotie. Some ancient peoples did worship evil beasts, but the Eight Trigrams has traditionally been used to ward off evil. Why would these contradictory elements exist together? Let's look deeper inside!"
He motioned for the others to move around the monument. As soon as they passed it, the sight revealed by their lights startled them once more: rows of coffins arranged neatly in the inner room. This room had no doors, only a few pillars supporting the beams. Even the most naive person would now understand what this place really was—not an ancestral hall at all, but a public burial ground!
The coffins were clearly arranged according to specific rules. Most striking was the one in the center—a massive bronze coffin! It was extraordinarily large, more than twice the size of the ordinary wooden coffins beside it. Small bells decorated each of the front corners, engraved with thunder cloud patterns. It occupied the room's center, impossible to miss. Seven oil lamps sat beneath the coffin, with traces of incense and candles around it. As an archaeologist, Yichao understood the significance of a bronze coffin—this object was likely thousands of years old. A Spring and Autumn or Warring States period bronze artifact, appearing in a small village in the Ba-Shu region! Who was important enough to warrant such a large bronze vessel? And who possessed the skill to create something so massive? Before they could contemplate these questions, Wenbin had already signaled them to retreat.
Among the three, Wenbin was naturally the expert on mysterious objects of unknown origin. Without hesitation, they carefully withdrew to the doorway without incident. Wenbin then had them help close the door and secure the bronze lock before finally breathing a sigh of relief. It was only then that Yichao noticed Wenbin was drenched in sweat.
Yichao wanted to express all the questions racing through his mind. Seeing the equally incredulous expression on the blind man's face, he could only wait for Wenbin to speak. Why had he ordered them to retreat? This village contained too many mysteries!
Before Yichao could speak, Wenbin said: "I don't understand the meaning of this arrangement, but I can confirm that whatever is in that bronze coffin is not something we can handle. With my abilities, if we had approached it today, we might never have left this village."
The blind man had been profoundly shocked by every step of this journey through his ancestral home. This "barren land" held so many mysteries—why had his father never mentioned any of this? His questions were mounting, and he desperately wanted to leave the valley immediately to demand answers.
Seeing Wenbin's expression, Yichao knew he wasn't exaggerating. In his years of archaeological work, he had encountered strange things before. Plus, his father had repeatedly instructed him to follow Wenbin's guidance in uncertain situations. "Wenbin, is there something unclean in that coffin?"
Wenbin nodded: "Since entering this village, I've felt that while it's strange, it's unnaturally quiet. In such a remote, abandoned place, it would be perfectly normal to find wandering ghosts taking refuge here. But I haven't detected the slightest spiritual presence. This can only mean one thing—something exists here that transcends ordinary ghosts—an Evil Deity!"
"An Evil Deity?" they asked.
"If I'm not mistaken, that ancestral hall is actually a public burial ground," Wenbin explained. "Bronze in ancient times was associated with royalty and naturally had evil-repelling properties. A bronze coffin of this size, even with the Eight Trigrams to suppress it, still required the Taotie, a supremely malevolent beast. Did you notice the door? The material appears to be the legendary golden silk nanmu wood! Whoever was buried with such ceremony exceeded the funeral standards of ordinary earthly emperors. Though I don't know who it is, it's certainly beyond my ability to handle. If we had disturbed that coffin, we might have broken the arrangement set here by the ancestors. In my view, this entire village is likely a massive and complex formation designed to suppress some evil entity."
Yichao grew anxious upon hearing this. "But what about Professor Wang and Yiran?"
Wenbin looked up at the pitch-black sky above, then said with determination: "Yichao, whoever created such an elaborate arrangement here was no ordinary person. Look—this place is designed so that starlight is never visible, preventing anyone from uncovering its secrets. But no matter how clever the formation, there must be flaws. While they're still alive, we need to continue searching. Based on the abnormal reactions of my compass, there should be similar stone monuments elsewhere. Let's check them one by one, paying special attention to these ancestral halls. Stay focused, and remember—don't touch anything here."
After a final glance at the locked door, Wenbin led the two men toward the center of the village. Since the compass was useless, Wenbin took a thin hemp rope with a small bell attached from his bag before departing. He laid it along the ground from the entrance of the burial hall, hanging a bell at intervals along the path. The others didn't understand the purpose but trusted that Wenbin had his reasons.
The rope extended all the way to the village center, where Wenbin began walking toward another direction. During the afternoon search, they had noticed another large building there. The village contained four such structures, positioned in the cardinal directions—north, south, east, and west. The northern one was the burial hall sealed with the Taotie lock that they had initially thought was just an ancestral hall. Sure enough, at the southern building, they found a door secured with an almost identical lock, though the couplets on the door were different, and the lock had a different design. This one depicted a strange creature with a tiger's body but fur carved like a dog's, a human face with pig's tusks, and a long trailing tail—truly terrifying in appearance.
Yichao took one look and said, "Wenbin, is this beast the Taowu?"
Wenbin examined it carefully. "Yes, this should be the Taowu."
Xiong, completely bewildered, asked: "What are you two talking about? Isn't this just a tiger?"
Pointing at the lock, Wenbin explained: "Although it has a tiger's body and claws, look carefully—it has a human face with boar tusks. This is Taowu, said to be the incarnation of Gun, one of the ancient evil beasts. Let's open the door and see inside!"
With their previous experience, opening this door was easier. As expected, the interior revealed an almost identical arrangement: a black Eight Trigrams stone monument, except that the supporting beast was now Taowu instead of Taotie. Moving past the monument, they again found a row of coffins with a nearly identical bronze coffin in the center. After carefully withdrawing, Wenbin laid another hemp rope.
Next, they opened the burial halls in the eastern and western directions. Except for the different beasts on the locks, the arrangements inside were identical. The western lock featured Hundun, and the eastern one bore Qiongqi!
After seeing all this, Wenbin was drenched in cold sweat. It was completely beyond his expectations. The four great evil beasts of ancient times—Taotie, Hundun, Qiongqi, and Taowu—were each guarding a massive bronze coffin in this small, remote village, with four extremely rare natural lodestones carved with the Eight Trigrams to suppress them. These four beasts were synonymous with extreme malevolence, each representing the transformed spirits of four "great villains"—the Three Miao tribes, Huan Dou, Gong Gong, and Gun. All had been killed for rebelling against those in power, and though their spirits lived on, the authorities labeled them as "demons"—the four great evil beasts!
The formation created by these four malevolent deities exceeded the production capabilities of humans of that time. How could such a small mountain village possibly have smelted such enormous bronze artifacts and arranged this massive formation of four divine beasts of extreme malice? What was it designed to contain?
The four hemp ropes converged precisely in the middle, directly above the ancient well. Wenbin tied them together at the center of the well and hung his remaining bell there.
He reasoned that since this was a formation, it must have been created by someone. Professor Wang and Yiran had disappeared without explanation, which was likely connected to this strange great formation. Now they were in a passive position, so they might as well embrace it fully—waiting like someone watching a tree stump for rabbits. If anything appeared tonight, it might disturb the thin ropes. After finishing the setup, Wenbin spotted a nearby house, the closest one, and motioned for the others to hide inside.
The wooden house, neglected for years, assaulted their noses with the stench of mildew as they entered, but they had no choice now except to wait silently. After extinguishing all lights, the entire village plunged into endless darkness. This lost village was instantly swallowed like the depths of hell. The three adjusted their breathing to make as little noise as possible. They waited and waited, not knowing how much time had passed. After maintaining the same position for so long, all three had numbed legs, especially since Wenbin had instructed them not to urinate for fear of creating odors. The discomfort was immense.
The outside world offered nothing but absolute blackness and profound silence—a silence so deep it could drive one mad. If the other two hadn't been trained as reconnaissance soldiers, they would have broken down by now.
Yichao checked his luminous watch; the hands were approaching twelve o'clock. He gently tapped Wenbin's hand, asking silently if they should take action. Wenbin pressed his hand down, signaling to remain still and continue waiting, even until dawn if necessary. He knew the divination had indicated they needed to remain still to overcome movement. At this moment, patient waiting was their only option.
"Ding-dong, ding-dong!" rang sharply through the silent village, a sound so crisp it could slice through the dark. Wenbin felt a jolt of anticipation. The moment they had waited for all night had finally come. Without a word from him, the others flipped on their spotlights, clutched their rifles, and burst through the creaky old door, racing towards the ancient well—a beacon in the night.
Wenbin was right on their heels, heart pounding, not daring to relax for even a second. Their spotlights cut through the shadows, turning night into day in an instant. But just as they cleared the doorway, "SPLASH! SPLASH!"—the echo of water being violently displaced hit their ears. "Trouble! Move, move, move!" Wenbin barked, urgency in his voice.
Their training kicked in. They sprinted toward the well as if their lives depended on it, adrenaline fueling their steps. Before the light even hit its target, Xiong, sharp-eyed as ever, caught a flicker of movement—a shadow darting at the edge of the village. Instinct took over; he aimed and fired. The gun's kick rocked him back, but when he looked again, the figure was gone. Wenbin had seen it too, but priorities were clear: the well first. He cast a quick glance toward the shot and barked, "The center... on the double!" Xiong had no choice but to lower his gun and dash toward the heart of the village.
Chinese Words/Phrases in Chapter 11 The Lost Village
Character Names and Titles
- Zha Wenbin (查文斌) - Main character, a Daoist practitioner
- Leng Yiran (冷怡然) - Daughter of Director Leng, nicknamed "little witch"
- He Yichao (何毅超) - Son of Mr. He, friend of Leng Yiran
- Professor Wang (老王) - Leader of the archaeological survey team
- Zhuo Xiong (卓雄) - Son of Old Zhuo, nicknamed "the blind one"
- Old Zhuo (老卓) - Father of Zhuo Xiong, owner of the farmhouse inn
Locations
- Mount Qifeng (蛴蜂山) - Mysterious mountain mentioned by Old Zhuo
- The Lost Village (失落的村庄) - Abandoned village where the story takes place
- Ba-Shu region (巴蜀地区) - Historical region in southwest China
Mythological Creatures
- Taotie (饕餮) - Gluttonous beast with only a head and no body
- Taowu (梼杌) - Creature with a tiger's body and human face
- Hundun (混沌) - Chaos beast resembling a faceless sack
- Qiongqi (穷奇) - Beast with ox horns and tiger body
- Four Great Evil Beasts (四凶) - Collective term for Taotie, Taowu, Hundun, and Qiongqi
Historical Figures
- Three Miao tribes (三苗) - Ancient tribal federation
- Huan Dou (涿鄂) - Legendary rebellious figure
- Gong Gong (共工) - Destructive water god in Chinese mythology
- Gun (鯀) - Father of Yu the Great, executed for failing to control floods
- Chi You (蚩尤) - Ancient tribal leader who fought against the Yellow Emperor
- Yellow Emperor (黄帝) - Legendary ancient Chinese sovereign
Daoist Practitioners and Sects
- Celestial Masters (天师) - Historical Daoist sect mentioned in the story
- Primal Chaos (混沌) - Concept in Daoist cosmology
Divination Tools and Objects
- Luopan compass (罗盘) - Feng shui compass used by Daoists
- Turtle shell (龟壳) - Used for divination
- Seven Stars sword (七星剑) - Ritual sword used by Wenbin
- Eight Trigrams bag (八卦包) - Bag containing Daoist tools
- Lodestone (磁石) - Natural magnet used in the formation
Ritual Practices and Techniques
- Gou hexagram (姤卦) - Divination hexagram meaning "encounter"
- Weiji hexagram (未济卦) - Divination hexagram meaning "not yet completed"
- Hand signs/seals (掐诀) - Ritual finger gestures used in Daoist magic
- Talismans (符咒) - Paper charms with magical properties
- Eight Trigrams (八卦) - Fundamental philosophical concept in Daoism
- Formation (阵法) - Magical arrangement of elements for protection or containment
Cultural and Historical References
- Golden silk nanmu wood (金丝楠木) - Rare and valuable wood used for imperial structures
- Spring and Autumn period (春秋时期) - Historical period in ancient China
- Warring States period (战国时期) - Historical period in ancient China
- Classic of Mountains and Seas (山海经) - Ancient Chinese text documenting mythical creatures
- "Not recognizing the true face of Mount Lu" (不识庐山真面目) - Famous Chinese saying about perspective