Li Mazi and I exchanged looks. Even though they didn’t welcome strangers, they didn’t need to loathe them, right?

Did Zhao Wuyang exaggerate the situation?

Li Mazi pointed at his head, signaling that the fellow in front of us had some mental problem.

Zhao Wuyang didn’t notice Li Mazi’s teasing. He continued talking, “We struggled until midnight. We were tired and hungry. The weather in that mountainous area was too cold, so it wasn’t suitable to camp outside. The girl, Xiao Sisi, almost lost consciousness. If we didn’t find a place to rest, I feared she would become sick. Xue Peng, the other male member, started to blame us. I interrupted him, telling him that since we were here, there was no use complaining. We should take the time to find a place for Xiao Sisi to rest.”

Since Zhao Wuyang was some sort of doctor, he displayed the kind heart of one.

I agreed with him, nodding, “So, where did you stay?”

Zhao Wuyang took a deep breath and said, “In the most impoverished house of the village. The entire place was filled with straw, and the house looked so shabby that it could collapse within the next minute. There were no electric lights or tap water in the house, although there were some candles available. In addition, the blankets were all filthy. Despite these lackluster conditions, Zhang Qinghai was forced to beg the house’s owner to be allowed to stay. The people living in the village were all self-sufficient. They didn’t need any money, and they didn’t even recognize cash. In place of money, they wanted our belongings. Zhang Qinghai had to give the old fellow his watch, a travel radio, and some daily necessities. The man then agreed to let us stay the night.

The family consisted of an old couple living with a madwoman. The woman looked around thirty years old. She often screamed, and she had an iron chain around her neck, which held her in the house like a dog. We were taken aback since we never knew that there were people living like animals in our society.”

Zhao Wuyang was the type of person who had been sheltered ever since he was young. His current worldview was made of positive and happy encounters. He never experienced the dark side of society. That was why he couldn’t accept it when he saw the woman being chained like a dog.

Nonetheless, this wasn’t the only case of atrocities being committed. In this world, there were more instances of cruelty than could possibly be counted.

Li Mazi snorted lightly with a disdainful look on his face.

Zhao Wuyang glanced at Li Mazi, saying sadly, “Master, you might think that I’m a hypocrite, but I really couldn’t accept it! Perhaps our faces showed our shock, but the old fellow recognized it. He told us the woman was actually his daughter. Ever since her mental illness flared up, they had to chain her inside the house. His daughter was dangerous, and she often went out with a scythe, slashing people. The other folks in the village were scared and forced him to send her to the mountain where she would live her life alone, but the old fellow couldn’t do that. That was why he had to adopt such a wretched and inhumane method. Although it looked cruel, he could still keep his daughter alive.

“We understood the situation when the old man explained. While his wife was cooking supper for us, I asked him about his daughter. The old man told us that when she was a little girl, she was very intelligent. People adored her. However, when she became a teenager, she went to the mountain to play with her friend. When she came back, she became crazy! The elders in the village said that she must have seen something there and was so scared that she lost her mind. She was lucky that she came back alive. The other girl who went and played with her in the mountain disappeared. They had no news about her until now. Her body was never found. When the incident happened, the villagers gathered together and traversed the mountain to search for her. In spite of their efforts, they found nothing. Not knowing where to search, they visited and questioned the mad girl. Aside from crying and hiding underneath the table, she didn’t say anything. People eventually gave up and didn’t search for the poor girl anymore.”

I figured that what the madwoman experienced and what Zhao Wuyang encountered must’ve been related. Otherwise, he wouldn’t talk about the woman that much.

I listened to him attentively.

Zhao Wuyang continued, “The living conditions in that village weren’t very good. The old woman had to exert a lot of effort to cook four dishes for us, including a plate of scrambled eggs. It was the best they could do. We had been hungry for the entire day and were famished. That’s why I could eat three ink-black steamed buns in a row. Although Xiao Sisi was a picky girl, she also ate a steamed bun.

After the meal, I checked her temperature, noticing that she had a slight fever. I asked the folks to boil us some warm water to wash Xiao Sisi’s face and help her cool down.”

“Oh, you’re very caring, aren’t you?” Li Mazi smiled despicably. “How was it? Was the girl’s face soft enough?”

Zhao Wuyang blushed. “I cared for her as a doctor. When I take care of my patients, I don’t have dirty thoughts.” His clear and honest explanation raised my opinion of him by a good deal.

Li Mazi laughed. Apparently, he despised Zhao Wuyang. I was afraid that Li Mazi would embarrass himself, so I shooed him away to play with my computer.

Without Li Mazi, Zhao Wuyang felt better. He looked at Li Mazi’s back, asking me with uncertainty in his eyes, “Is he really a master? I feel he’s too strange.”

I smiled. “If you want someone’s help, don’t doubt him. If you doubt him, don’t use his services. As you’ve entered our shop, we’ll help you! Tell me, what did you encounter? Who told you to come here and find Master Zhang?”

Zhao Wuyang nodded and continued talking, “Actually, I had traveled to many areas, and I had experienced the harsh conditions in the Northwestern regions, too. To me, that tiny village wasn’t a suitable destination for a trip. I didn’t know what Zhang Qinghai was thinking and why he wanted to take us to that place. Xue Peng and I spent a morning checking out the entire village. We even asked the people if there were any recommended places to visit around their village. They all looked at us as if they were looking at a bunch of idiots, telling us that except for mountains and poor villages, there were no scenic or tourist attractions around this area. Xue Peng and I felt strange when we learned this. We went to question Zhang Qinghai. He told us that when he did his research, he saw a scenic area nearby, but now he realized that there might be something wrong with the information he got on the net.

“Zhang Qinghai was an experienced backpacker. He wouldn’t make such a basic mistake. I believed that he had a goal in mind when he took us here. However, since he didn’t tell us, we couldn't guess the reason. I secretly confided to Xue Peng, telling him that when Xiao Sisi’s fever subsided, we must leave immediately!

Yet, the next day, Xiao Sisi’s situation didn’t get better. It was getting worse. She had a severe fever, and she was unconscious. We had used all the fever relief pills we had brought, so I went to ask the house owner about it. He told us that there was no clinic in this village and that we would have to cross a mountain to go to a village with a pharmacy. Zhang Qinghai decided to take us to buy the medicines and asked the host family to take care of Xiao Sisi.”

I didn’t know if it was the way Zhao Wuyang talked or if he did it deliberately, but I felt that his words were somewhat strange.

Zhao Wuyang then continued the story.

He thought it was odd. They just needed to buy some medicine. Why would he take all of them to the mountain? At least, one of them had to stay to take care of Xiao Sisi, right? Zhang Qinghai explained that it would be better if the three of them went together in case there was an incident. Xiao Sisi staying in the old fellow’s house was safe and beneficial for her. To earn the old man’s favor, Zhang Qinghai even gave him his camp flashlight.

Zhao Wuyang and Xue Peng didn’t have any other option. They had to accompany Zhang Qinghai to the mountain. When Zhao Wuyang arrived at this part, he had to drink some tea to soothe his throat.

“The old man gave us a map on which he had circled a place, telling us that it was the forbidden area of the village and that we shouldn’t enter that area. We should buy the medicine and return immediately. Zhang Qinghai agreed happily, but when we climbed the mountain, he deliberately took Xue Peng and me to that forbidden area. The place was dark, and it was freaking cold. The trees there were taller than the other areas, hiding all the sunlight. When the wind blew, the leaves would rattle, sending shivers down my spine. I felt scared and asked Zhang Qinghai to hurry and buy medicine first. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. We shouldn’t go to their forbidden place.”

“And Zhang Qinghai didn’t listen to your suggestion…” I smiled, chiming in.

Zhao Wuyang couldn’t smile. He nodded stiffly, “Zhang Qinghai said that we should explore the place as we were already there. It could even be the paradise they mentioned. He suggested that perhaps the forbidden area had some secret that the village folks didn’t want us to know. Xue Peng couldn’t resist the temptation, so he agreed with him.”

“You also followed them?” I looked at him.