When night falls, the mountains and forests are silent, save for the intermittent chirping of insects and the occasional sharp chirping of birds. Fang Liang raised his head to look at the dim moonlight shining through the cracks in the clouds, and pinched his fingers to calculate the time. On the fifth day, this was the fifth day that he had entered the deep mountains and old forests of Daliang Mountain in Sichuan Province.

The friend who went into the mountain with him completely disappeared four days ago. Now, he was alone in the boundless forest, and despair almost overwhelmed him.

Although he didn't want to spend more time in the forest, he was unfamiliar with the terrain and couldn't continue in the woods after dark. He put down his backpack and sat down beside a stout, old pine tree, ready to survive the long night.

As soon as he closed his eyes, he heard a rustling sound in the bushes not far away, as if some behemoth was moving rapidly nearby. Fang Liang's heart was shocked, he stood up with his hands on the ground, and tensed his nerves to look in the direction where the voice came from. The light was so dim that he couldn't see anything, only that it was coming with a fierce force.

The only weapon you have at hand to defend yourself is a cane made of tree branches, and using it against the beast is obviously self-defeating. He still had an outdoor knife in his backpack, but there was no time for him to rummage through it.

The person who came did not show up, and Fang Liang did not dare to act rashly. He listened quietly, his ears closely following the direction in which the sound was moving. After about half a minute, the voice suddenly disappeared, and Fang Liang didn't let his guard down, because he knew that the thing hadn't gone far, it had just stopped somewhere.

He reminded himself in his heart that the more times like this, the more he couldn't panic. If he ran now, the thing would probably pounce on him at lightning speed. He wasn't sure that he would be able to escape in the dark mountains and forests, and he would be even more completely lost if he ran around in such light. As a result, the hope of getting out of the mountains and forests has become even slimmer.

After a moment of stalemate like this, Fang Liang suddenly heard a crisp whistle, followed by a girl's slightly reproachful reprimand. It was the language of the ethnic minority, and Fang Liang couldn't understand what the other party was saying at all. He was very surprised, thinking to himself that it was so late, there were still girls in the mountains and forests, could it be that it was a villager who lived nearby?

Just as he was thinking, a small black dog jumped out of the bushes diagonally opposite, holding a hare with a drooping head in its mouth, presumably the rustling sound was the sound of this guy hunting. Finding that he had lost a bit of his soul by a beagle, Fang Liang couldn't help but despise his cowardice in his heart.

At this time, the owner of the hound also came from the bushes.

She was a young girl of about sixteen or seventeen years of age, of medium height, well-proportioned, dressed in a simple and light camouflage outfit, and holding a *. As the distance narrowed, the girl's face gradually became clear under the light of the flashlight. Her skin is a little dark, and she looks like she lives at a higher altitude all year round, but this does not affect the girl's delicate facial structure, especially the round and large eyes, which look very clever and cute.

In order to hide the embarrassment just now, Fang Liang took a few steps forward and asked tentatively in a very slow voice, "Hello, are you a villager who lives near here?" Can you take me out of the woods? I can pay you. ”

The girl didn't speak, frowning and looking at Fang Liang seriously. Looking at Fang Liang's dress, the girl guessed that he was a hiking enthusiast who came to the mountains to seek excitement. She had occasionally seen people dressed similarly in other places, but they were now in a very remote location, and it was very easy to get lost, and even the people who lived in the village all year round rarely moved around here, let alone outsiders who were alone.

Seeing that the girl didn't react, Fang Liang was a little anxious. He thought that the girl could not understand Mandarin, so he quickly took out a few bills from his pocket, gestured with his hand and said, "Can you take me out of here?" I'll give you the money. As he spoke, he was about to stuff the money into the girl's palm.

The girl was stunned for a moment, then quickly dodged back and said, "I can understand Mandarin." ”

"yes, that's great." Fang Liang scratched his head in embarrassment and begged again, "Can you help me?" I'm lost......"

Although the girl is young, she has a flexible mind and is very vigilant. She looked at Fang Liang with a slightly distrustful look and asked, "Who are you?" What does a person do when he runs to such a place? ”

Seeing that the girl seemed to regard herself as a bad person, Fang Liang immediately explained: "I came to explore the mountains and forests with my companions. Four days ago......" Speaking of this, Fang Liang's eyes suddenly dimmed, "We met a bear in the woods, and my companion distracted the bear alone in order to protect me, creating an opportunity for me to escape. Since then, we have lost contact ......"

"You're ......," the girl's brow furrowed even tighter, and her expression of suspicion was mixed with sympathy. Shaoqing, she said to Fang Liang very worriedly: "If what you said is true, I'm afraid that friend of yours has already ......."

"I've got to find him!" Without waiting for the girl to finish speaking, Fang Liang said in a firm tone, "You take me out of here, and I'll seek help from the local police." Whether my friend is in danger or not, I'm going to find him! ”

The girl stared at Fang Liang's pale and haggard face in surprise for a while, revealing self-blame in exhaustion, but there was still a glimmer of hope. She finally stopped doubting, smiled kindly and said, "It just so happens that I am going home too, so you can follow me with confidence." With that, she whistled, and the beagle came to her alive.

"Thank you!" Fang Liang breathed a sigh of relief, and his sad face showed his first smile in many days. After walking a few steps, he asked the girl curiously, "What's your name?" It's so late, how did you come to such a dangerous place alone? ”

"My name is Xi'er, and I am an ethnic minority in a nearby village. I grew up hunting in the mountains and forests with my father, so I am familiar with the terrain. And wherever I go, Blackie will follow me to protect me, so I'm not scared at all. Xi'er glanced at her dog proudly and continued to explain: "This dog is a unique breed in Liangshan Prefecture, Sichuan, commonly known as Liangshan Hound Dog. You don't have to look at its small size, its appearance is not fierce, but it is very agile and a good hunter. ”

"That being said, you went into the mountains alone, aren't your parents worried about you?"

"They......" Xi'er paused and replied a little perfunctorily, "I sneaked out by myself, my family is used to it, it's not a big deal." ”

Is that so? Fang Liang felt that Xi'er seemed to be hiding something, but because they met for the first time, he couldn't casually ask about the situation at the other party's house, so he continued to talk about the topic of this mountain forest.

In fact, Fang Liang didn't tell Xi'er the truth. It's true that he was separated from his friends, and it's true that he was attacked by wild beasts, but he and his friends didn't go into the mountains for exploration. They follow a set of coordinates of unknown significance, through which his friend wants to investigate something. Because Fang Liang likes to hike on weekdays and has some experience in wilderness survival, when he heard that his friend wanted to go to Liangshan, Sichuan alone, he felt uneasy and followed. They didn't know about the situation beforehand, and not asking the locals about it was the biggest mistake they made on the trip.

He wanted to ask Xi'er now, if he knew what that set of coordinates meant, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt that such a question was a bit abrupt. What's more, he didn't remember that set of coordinates, and the map he carried with him had been lost when he was fleeing for his life.

After thinking for a moment, he asked Xi'er in a different way: "No one usually comes to the forest near here, has something strange happened?" ”

"Strange things?" Xi'er was a little puzzled, but still thought for a moment and said, "I haven't heard any strange rumors. It's so easy to get lost, not many people want to come in the first place. Especially three years ago, the local government repeatedly reminded the villagers living nearby that the forest was infested with wild animals and was very dangerous, and told everyone not to come in. ”

"Then you still ......"

"I'm fine." Xi'er said with a smile, as if she was very confident in her abilities. Fang Liang shook his head with a smile, and then asked, "Then have you seen any suspicious people nearby recently?" ”

"Like you?" Xi'er glanced back at him, a playful expression on her face. "I haven't seen anyone other than you. However, I went to a relative's house in the county seat some time ago, and I can't answer your question exactly. ”

"Oh......" Fang Liang was a little disappointed, then remembered something, and hurriedly asked, "By the way, doesn't your father often come to hunt in the woods?" ”

At the mention of her father, Xi'er's heart seemed to be pricked by something, and the smile disappeared from her face in an instant. After a long time, she slowly spit out a sentence, "He is missing, and he is ...... in this forest."

Hearing this, Fang Liang was taken aback, and eagerly asked Xi'er how and when Xi'er's father disappeared, but Xi'er just sighed and shook her head, unwilling to say anything more. This was the end of the conversation between the two men.

Along the way, Fang Liang followed closely behind Xi'er, and Xiao Hei ran to the front to show them the way. Under the twists and turns, Fang Liang could no longer distinguish the direction at all.

Although they didn't make too many stops on the way, it was already the next morning when the two of them walked out of the forest.