We arrived on the seventh day in the morning, and there were only two of us left on the entire train. After arriving at the station, a man wearing a green military uniform led us to complete the handover procedures.

  The first feeling after getting off the train was cold. In this season, people in the south can still wear shorts and tank tops, but here people have already started wearing long-sleeved shirts. My friend and I were left alone by the railway, with someone saying they would come to pick us up, but then ignoring us. It wasnt until noon that I finally saw a donkey cart appear on the horizon, driven by an old man with a rifle on his back, white beard, and a loud mountain voice singing a little ditty as he slowly approached.

  His surname is Miao, and he seems to be familiar with the people at the station. Those people politely completed the formalities with him, and then led another person out of the house. This person is said to have arrived two days earlier than us, very tall and fat, and besides his luggage, the most eye-catching thing on his shoulder was a long string of red chili peppers, like a machine gun during wartime.

  This fat mans surname is Shi, and his name is interestingly called "Shi Gandang". The person most interested in this name is Cha Wenbin, because Shi Gandang is a noun referring to a stone tablet usually erected at street corners, especially at the wall of a T-junction or other places considered unlucky, used to ward off evil spirits.

  In the past, ancient people believed that Tai Shan stone had the effect of suppressing evil spirits, so they would carve the words "Tai Shan Shi Gan Dang" on the stone, and some would also add lions and tigers as auspicious beasts in relief to suppress unlucky customs.

  Ancient people said: "The teacher is fierce, the stone dares to block, what it does not invade, the dragon has not finished." Legend has it that during the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of Han climbed Mount Tai and brought back four blocks of Mount Tai stones, placing them at the four corners of the Weiyang Palace to ward off evil spirits. Mount Tai was considered a sacred mountain that protected the world, so its stones were believed to have the spirit of protecting families. Later, the Mount Tai stone was personified, with the surname Shi and the given name Dang, also known as General Shi. Later, it evolved into carvings of human figures called Shi Dang.

  So this fat guy opened his mouth and said that from now on, we would call him General Shi. This persons hometown is in Sichuan, and he has been living in the Chengdu Military Region compound since childhood. It is said that his grandfather was a founding general, as for why he came here, it must be because of that incident.

  Those two donkeys are not enough to pull our carts, and that Stone General alone can exhaust the donkey. Fortunately, its the first time weve set out, so everyone still has a bit of freshness, so except for letting Yuan Xiaobai and those who follow Miao Dajie ride in the cart, the three of us men just rely on our legs.

  The village is quite far from this station, Old Miao said he left yesterday evening and didnt arrive until this morning. That place belongs to the junction of Daxinganling and Russia, located in a mountain valley, where loggers used to live, after Japan invaded Northeast China, refugees gradually entered the mountains, slowly forming a village with over 100 households.

  All the way, Old Man Miao told us that there were wild men lurking in that place, so it was named Wild Mens Village. He wasnt a native of the village, but one of Zhang Zuolins soldiers at first. After Northeast China fell to Japan, he refused to leave and joined the local anti-Japanese resistance forces, fighting against the Japanese with real swords and guns. Once, he got injured and his unit was defeated, so he ran away in confusion along the mountain ridge, fainted in the forest and was rescued by a girl.

  Although the two had a significant age difference, the girl liked men with blood and took good care of his injuries. After Japans defeat, Miao Dage returned to Yeren Village and married the girl. For the first few years after their marriage, they didnt have any children, thinking that they wouldnt have any for this lifetime. More than a decade later, his wife discovered she was pregnant, and both were overjoyed, but fate played a trick on them - Miaos wife died in childbirth, leaving behind a daughter before passing away.

  The road to the Wild Mans Village is far more difficult than I imagined, the northern mountain roads are completely different from those in the south, seemingly flat but impossible to reach the end, that donkey has been half-fed and started to get angry. No wonder, it hasnt closed its eyes since yesterday until now, at this moment its so tired that it just steps on the spot and refuses to move forward.

  When they came out, Old Man Miao asked his daughter to bake some large pancakes. Now its just right to take them out and distribute them among the children to eat. Looking at the distance, there are still several big mountains. Old Man Miao estimated that he couldnt make it back tonight, as the livestock were too tired. He said: "Lets rest for a while, there is a temple on the mountain in front, we will spend the night there and continue on our way early tomorrow morning."

  This newcomer is unfamiliar with the local customs, and we few have no opinion, all relying on Master Miao to make arrangements. After resting for more than half a day, the sun has already begun to set in the west, even Xianyu Xiaobai got off the carriage just to reduce the load for that donkey, and some of the luggage that could be carried were also taken by each person.

  We were all mountain kids, and Shi Gan was even the eldest son of a military compound, very physically capable. We underestimated Yuan Xiaobai, a girl from a wealthy family in the city, thinking she would be spoiled, but it turned out that she could keep up with us boys. In the end, we arrived at the so-called "temple" on schedule.

  From the outside, its really dilapidated, located on a slope by the mountain road, with a row of houses scattered sparsely, and the original scale shouldnt be small. Its just that those houses have been completely covered by dense forests, some thick tree trunks directly piercing through the roofs, and weeds are as tall as people.

  This place would be hard to find if no one brought you here, Old Miao said he came here once when he was a guerrilla fighter and stayed overnight, at that time he was being pursued by the enemy and only remembered there was a big temple here.

  The temple gate only had half left, hanging crookedly on the door. The other half was long gone, and at the entrance, there was a wooden sign with a spider web wrapped around it in a ball. All that could be seen vaguely were some insect and bird-shaped symbols. I didnt recognize the character, so I asked: "Whats that character?"

  Old Miaos hand held a flashlight, the kind that uses two No. 1 batteries, and the light wasnt very strong either. As he shone it upwards, Cha Wenbin beside me said: "Its an immortal character."

  "How did you know?" I was a bit surprised. Hes about the same age as me, and this font is really something that I couldnt recall any teacher ever teaching us.

  "The master has taught." As he said this, he paused for a moment, perhaps thinking of Ma Suifeng who was still locked in the cowshed, and didnt say anything more.

  Grandpa Miao led us several people in, but unexpectedly, as soon as we stepped through the door, no one was willing to go any further.

  "How can we see clearly no matter how we look?"

  Old Miao held a flashlight in his hand, and at this moment, the light shone in, only to see a vast expanse of fog, nothing could be seen. A corner of the yard emitted a series of "gurgling" sounds. My courage has been relatively large since I was young, seeing this situation, I didnt dare to move forward, and I just stuck tightly to Old Miaos side.

  "Shi Da Pangzi looked around and said: This place wont be haunted, will it?"

  Old Miaos face changed color and he shouted at Shi Baozi: "Dont spout nonsense, such things are not to be said in the mountains!"

  Yuan Xiaobai said, "This mountain has a lot of humidity, and the temperature difference between morning and evening is also large. Its normal to have fog at this time. The flashlights color temperature isnt enough, and its penetration power isnt strong. Maybe making a torch with some dry firewood would be better."

  Shi Baozi nodded and said: "Right, right, makes sense, lets make two torches."

  We each held a torch, and the fire had a certain dispelling effect on the fog. The courtyard was very large, and it had been decades since Master Miao came here, so he didnt remember the details from back then. There were many Buddha statues in the courtyard, some of which only had bodies without heads, while others were half-buried in the ground, leaning to one side or lying on their sides. The Buddha statues were entwined with various vines and creepers. At least in my eyes, I would rather live in the forest outside than this place, its a bit too eerie.

  But Miao Dàyé insisted that we should stay here, he said this place is full of tigers and wolves, and since we are all still children, if anything happens to us, he will be responsible. To be honest, hearing those "gulps", my legs started to tremble a bit, and Yuan Xiaobai seemed to be not so calm either, she was tightly leaning against me.

  Shi Baizi didnt know whether he was trying to boost his courage or if he really wasnt afraid, but he charged towards us and yelled: "What are you all standing there for, go in!" Just shouting slogans wasnt enough, he probably wanted to show off his leadership qualities, so he took a step forward first. We all stayed where we were. Suddenly, there was a loud crash, and then a black shadow rushed straight at Shi Baizi, causing the flames on his torch to scatter everywhere, just after it had been lit.

  "Ah yo, damn it, what the hell is this!"

  "Bang" again, this time Shi Hunzi only felt a pain on the back of his hand, and the torch in his hand fell to the ground. This finally made him furious, he turned around and rushed towards us, shouting: "Can you bear to see your comrade being bullied like this?"

  Its not that we didnt want to help, its just that we were completely at a loss as to what to do. Heaven knows what kind of evil thing that was. His words had barely fallen when I heard another "thud" sound, and all I felt was a gust of wind rushing straight towards my face...