"In the twenty-ninth year of the Republic of China, that is, more than 40 years ago, I was sixteen years old and followed the mountain walkers in the village for the first time. ”

"People say you're a monkey and a rat, what are you?" I asked, remembering what people were saying about his age.

"I was born in the fourteenth year of the Republic of China and belong to the rat. ”

"Then the whole village can't tell your age, and you can't figure it out yourself. ”

"I did it on purpose, and I can't live too realistically. ”

"Come to think of it," he added, "it was winter in the mountains. INTERVIEWER The mountain walker's memories are probably all winter. In the seasons other than winter, walking in the mountains is a relaxing and satisfying hike, light and fluttering, and it cannot take root in the memory. ——The place to be is the birch woodland not far from the mountain, where the people of the village often get firewood, close to the lane, and it is the only place where the mountain walkers can drive in. When I arrived, it was about three o'clock, and it felt like five or six o'clock in the mountains. We camped in the valley, pitched our tents, and set up our stoves.

"After dinner, it was already dark, and before going to bed, everyone discussed the itinerary for the next day. Because I was the youngest, I was left to take care of the mules, horses, and carts, and I did not have to go up to the mountains to cut the rafters.

"It gets dark early and late in the mountains. When I heard my companions get up and walk out of the tent one by one, I saw in a daze that it was still dark outside, but the ground was glowing blue.

"After hearing two or three simple conversations like 'It's snowing,' 'Take out the cleats and tie them up,' and 'The rafters can be skimmed down the ditch today,' no one spoke. All I could hear was a chaotic creaking sound in the snow, which was that they were feeding the mules and horses. Then the creaking sound faded away and rose like a march to the sky.

"When I woke up the second time, the sun had peeked out on the ridge in the east and was pouring into the tent.

"As I stepped out of my tent, I noticed a long trail of footprints in the snow, descending down the gentle slope to the east, along the valley floor below our camp platform, all the way west, disappearing behind the rocky cliff at the corner of the valley. The footprints were not very clear, they were imprinted on the snow, and a thin layer of snow was placed on them. Obviously, these footprints were left when the snow had fallen for a while at night, but it had not stopped.

"I followed the footprints. At the corner of the valley, a stream emerges from the col to the south and runs northwest along the valley after the bend. The valley ahead of it became steep under the water of the stream, and the mountain path along the valley became a natural plank path sandwiched between the cliff and the abyss behind the large rock cliff.

"Turning the stone cliff, I saw the footprints again, but after two hundred meters, they were gone. Disappeared on the edge of the stream.

"I took three steps and two steps to the place where the footprints had disappeared, and looked into the stream, which was five or six feet deep, and a man curled up on the snow-covered ice.

I went down into the stream and reached into his nostrils, and there was a faint breath.

I shook his shoulder, but nothing happened. Thinking that he would go back to the tent first to see if there was anything that could save him, he had just taken two steps when the man made a voice: 'Little brother, don't run!'

I froze in place, and I had no idea in my head for a moment.

"The man continued, in a faint voice: 'Come here, little brother, I have something to say.' I walked up to him and crouched down.

"He said, 'Don't be afraid, I'm not a bad person. I said, 'I'm not afraid, I'm just going back to the tent to get something to save you.' ’

"With difficulty, he raised his hand and waved it at me, saying, 'No need to save it, it can't be saved.' I was going to help him, and he waved his hand again.

"He took a few breaths, tried to look up at me, and said, 'Little brother, wherever you come from, whatever you have come here for, go home quickly, before it gets dark.' It's not peaceful in this mountain, it's not peaceful. ’

"At that time, I was stupid and courageous, and I never knew what to be afraid of. I didn't pay any attention to what he said. There are blind bears in the mountains, wild boars, and occasionally snow leopards, all of which I know, but I have never been afraid of. I said, 'It's never peaceful in the mountains.' ’

But what he said next made me feel cold all over. He said, 'There are demons in the mountains.' ’

"I pretended to be calm and said, 'Demons and monsters are all made up by people to scare people. Don't talk about it yet, how the hell did you fall out of here, and why are you still in a hurry in the middle of the night?'

"He looked in pain, gritted his teeth, and said, 'I didn't hurry, I couldn't see the road and fell off when I was running for my life.' My home is in Sichuan. Three years ago, I went to Hezhou to do business, but I lost my capital and had no place to live. In the troubled times, I can't find a job to make a living. Later, the Ma family army recruited Ding, and I went to join the army, all in order to have a full meal. Two months later, the troops were pulled to the area of Anhui in Henan Province to fight Japan, and they were able to win the battle before, but then it became more and more difficult. In the early autumn of last year, the troops suffered a great defeat, most of the people died, and those who did not die were also scattered by the devils, and more than 20 of us went all the way from Henan to Hezhou to beg for food. After arriving in Hezhou, I didn't have a home, a room, or a place to stay. I just thought about going back to Sichuan. After hearing from people, there is no need to detour the avenue from Hezhou, as long as you go all the way to the south and pass through the ninety-nine mountains to Sichuan, I prepared dry food and went on the road alone. ’

"I interjected and asked, 'Why don't you find a companion when you walk so far alone, or walk in the mountains and forests?'

He didn't answer, but said to himself, and it seemed that he had taken a lot of effort: 'After walking for half a month, last night, when I arrived in this area, I saw that the sky was about to snow, so I did not dare to sleep in the field, and I wanted to find a place to shelter from the wind and snow, and I happened to see a cave in the cliff. The cave is five or six feet above the ground, making it a great place to rest. It was already dark. I climbed up the cliff and entered the cave, and in the darkness I saw a push of dry wood in the corner of the wall, and I was secretly happy. Then he took a handful of firewood from the pyre, put it in the center of the cave, and lit a fire. I sat in front of the fire, took out the tea pot from my baggage, and nibbled on dry food while boiling tea. The pyre was behind me, and from time to time I drew some wood from behind to add to the fire. ’

At this, he paused, his eyes full of fear.

"'There's a piece of wood,' he said, struggling as if with all his strength, 'I pumped twice but didn't pull it out, and when I pulled it hard, there was a sudden noise in the pyre behind me. I looked back and saw a human leg bone in my hand, and a skeleton was crushed under the pyre. The moment I turned back, the skeleton sat up with a thud, and swooped down on me, and I rolled on the spot and slammed into the doorway. The skeleton didn't pounce on me, and turned around and charged at me. I hurriedly got up and jumped out of the hole and fell into the snow under the cliff face. At that time, I couldn't care about anything, so I got up and ran as hard as I could. When I ran to the top of the stream, it was too dark to see the road clearly, and I fell down at once. I know I can't do it anymore, little brother, get out of the mountains. ’

Speaking of which, he seems to have exhausted all his strength. Finally he reached out and took something out of his waist and handed it over as if it were meant to be given to me. When I saw it, it was a pistol. As I took the pistol, his hand hit the ice. Just died like that.

"I went back to my tent and got a shovel and buried him on the spot by the stream at the bottom of the stream.

"At this time, under the midday sun, the whole mountain forest appears pure, ethereal, and profound. A few minutes ago, at the bottom of the dimly lit stream, when the man told me about his experience at night, I did feel a pang of fear in my heart. But as soon as I stood in the sun, my courage returned. A strong curiosity drove me step by step to the source of the footprints.

"When I climbed the gentle slope to the east of the camp and crossed the pass, I saw the cave hanging in the middle of the cliff, and there was an old pine half a foot in front of the cave, more than a meter thick. When I got closer, my blood was almost clotting. On the side of the old pine facing the entrance of the cave, a complete skeleton was deeply embedded, more than half a foot deep into the wood. ”