Chapter 38

Ruan Qing was now certain of one thing: her father and grandfather hadn’t lied to her—her hometown’s scenery was indeed beautiful. The verdant mountains stretched on endlessly, exuding a vibrant energy. The two of them scouted from a distance to pinpoint their entry point into the mountains, then drove past Ruan Qing’s home village and entered the forest from there.

“I didn’t appreciate it when I was a child,” Ruan Qing said. “I just thought there were too many mountains and it was boring. There was nothing to eat, drink, or play with, so I didn’t like coming back to the countryside. Back then, my grandfather was still alive and would solemnly tell me that this place was our roots, that our family genealogy was kept here, with the names of all our ancestors recorded in it.”

“I got a little curious and wanted to see the family records. But guess what?” She laughed bitterly. “It made me so mad! I didn’t talk to my grandfather for days after we went back home.”

Recalling the incident, Ruan Qing added, “My grandfather tried to make it up to me by secretly buying me lots of chocolate behind my mother’s back. I would sneak off to eat it, and I was only found out because I ended up with a toothache from cavities.”

Even now, Ruan Qing felt a twinge of annoyance when she thought about how her name hadn’t been in the family records. But when she talked about her grandfather buying her chocolate in secret, she smiled. Remembering that he was no longer around, her expression turned wistful.

While Ruan Qing recounted these family stories, Nian Qi listened intently, piecing together an image of her family’s characters and personalities in his mind.

After driving for a while, they reached the end of the road and had to continue on foot. They walked for some time until even the trails disappeared, leaving only wild terrain in the depths of the mountain, making it difficult to proceed.

After a while, Ruan Qing checked the time and said, “This isn’t going to work. At this rate, when will we find the cave?” Nian Qi thought to himself that, at her leisurely pace, it might take three or four days. Luckily, Ruan Qing realized it herself. “This won’t do. What now? Do you have any ideas?”

The city was her domain, but out here in the wilderness, it was better to rely on an ancient expert. Nian Qi had mentioned before that he was accustomed to camping out and cooking in the wild. As an ancient wanderer, he was undoubtedly better equipped for this than she was.

In a gentle tone, Nian Qi offered the most practical solution: “Why don’t you head back first, and I’ll keep looking?”

Ruan Qing looked at the sky and scuffed the ground with her toe, saying nothing. She understood. There was no way she would willingly relinquish control over this venture. Sensing this, Nian Qi added humbly, “I’m just worried you’ll get exhausted. The parts of the mountain with trails and those without are completely different, and it’s much harder to go down than up. Plus, it’s dangerous. I thought I could scout ahead, and once I find a suitable spot, we can both come back to set it up. What do you think?”

Ruan Qing’s expression softened. She considered it and acknowledged that trekking through unmarked trails was not at all the same as hiking on man-made paths. But since they had already come this far today, they decided not to separate and continued searching until sunset before heading back down together. The afternoon had turned into a mountain excursion.

They reached the car before dark and drove back to the neighboring town. During dinner, Ruan Qing sighed, “The props might not be enough.”

“The things we prepared,” she explained. “I underestimated what it takes to live in the mountains. It won’t be enough.”

Nian Qi asked, “What kind of setup are you envisioning?”

Ruan Qing started counting on her fingers, “If you’re living alone in the mountains, you need rice and flour, right? And you need containers to store them. At the very least, you need a water jar or a basin—otherwise, what will you use to drink water? Ugh, my head hurts!” She realized that her initial plan had been overly simplistic. Disguising things like this wasn’t as easy as throwing on a few clothes and using a couple of rusty knives. She felt naive and worried.

“This isn’t difficult,” Nian Qi said.

“How will you manage it?” Ruan Qing was skeptical. “It’s not easy to buy things around here, and there’s no secondhand market. Will you age new items to make them look old?”

“No need,” Nian Qi replied. “There are a few villages along the way, aren’t there?” After they exited the highway and passed the national and provincial roads, they entered the countryside. They had seen some villages along the route.

Ruan Qing asked, “Are you suggesting we buy household items from the villagers?”

“There’s no need to buy,” Nian Qi said, “We can just pick them up.”

Ruan Qing was speechless.

It was too noticeable during the day, but under the cover of night, it was perfect. They checked into their hotel, cleared out the car trunk, and bought two travel bags similar to those seen during the busy Lunar New Year travel season from a nearby store. With a mix of excitement and nerves, Ruan Qing drove Nian Qi to one of the villages they had spotted from afar earlier. He didn’t want her to get too close, as the car’s headlights would be too conspicuous. He instructed her to park in a dark spot and turn off the engine, saying, “Wait for me here.”

Ruan Qing felt a rush of anticipation mixed with anxiety. “But you…”

Carrying the bags, Nian Qi reassured her, “Don’t worry about me. Lock the car doors and don’t open them for anyone.”

In this pitch-black place, who could possibly show up? Ruan Qing gripped the steering wheel tightly, watching as Nian Qi’s figure leaped into the night and vanished. She was a bundle of nerves. When life becomes too comfortable and predictable, some people crave excitement. Ruan Qing was one of those people. Living in a modern society where her needs were met and her life was stable, she found herself drawn to the idea of experiencing the ancient world—seeking challenges and thrills, doing things that modern rules forbade.

Now, clutching the steering wheel, her heartbeat quickened. She suspected that when Nian Qi said “pick up,” he might actually mean stealing. Like in those TV shows where fugitives, while on the run, snatch pants from one yard, a shirt from another, and slip on a hat to change their appearance. If that was the case, this was indeed thrilling! But her years of moral education made her feel conflicted—exhilarated yet troubled.

Suddenly, she realized she should have given Nian Qi some cash! Frantically, she opened the glove compartment and rummaged through it—she remembered keeping some emergency cash there. Sure enough, she quickly found a wad of bills. When Nian Qi returned, she planned to ask if he’d taken the items. If he had, she’d ask him to go back and slip the cash under someone’s door, turning theft into a purchase.

If they were in ancient times, Nian Qi would surely wear a black outfit, stealthily leaving a silver ingot on someone’s windowsill before disappearing into the shadows.

Ruan Qing took a deep breath. The scene was so romantic!

Nian Qi moved swiftly.

Ruan Qing had been waiting in the car for about forty minutes. She was so bored that she started scrolling through her phone, when suddenly, there was a tap on the window. Since leaving the county road, the small road had no streetlights. The distant village had some lights, but the parking spot was pitch dark. The sound startled Ruan Qing so much that she almost dropped her phone.

“Open the trunk,” said Nian Qi.

Ruan Qing unlocked the trunk and stepped out herself. “Let me see.”

“It’s about enough,” Nian Qi said, unzipping the bag to show her. The contents left Ruan Qing speechless. Broken jars, cracked basins, shattered tiles, frayed straw ropes, torn burlap cords, a leaky iron pot, and damaged straw baskets. There were even bundles of dried hay, dark and grimy—items devoid of any modern value and too old and dirty to be useful.

“Where did you get this stuff?” Ruan Qing asked.

“From the trash pile,” Nian Qi replied matter-of-factly.

Ruan Qing was stunned.

“You thought I stole it,” Nian Qi realized, chuckling. “These things aren’t worth stealing. I told you, picking them up is enough.” Rural areas aren’t like cities; broken items like these could easily be found around the village or at the base of someone’s yard wall. No need to steal. She had overthought it.

There was no mysterious, shadow-walking figure; just a man collecting discarded items under the cover of night. It wasn’t romantic or exciting in the least. And it was trash. Ruan Qing instinctively stepped back a little.

Nian Qi found this even more amusing. He sealed the bag and shut the trunk. “That’s why I told you to stay out of this. You couldn’t handle it.” This was true; she wouldn’t even replace the dustbin of her robotic vacuum without being grossed out.

Back in the car, Ruan Qing handed Nian Qi three disinfectant wipes. “Will this stuff really work?”

“It’ll do,” Nian Qi said. “It’ll be enough to set up a convincing scene. Tomorrow, we can buy some coarse grains.”

In truth, every household in the village had grain, often stored in jars in their yards. If he wanted to steal, it would have been easy for him. “I was worried that there might be hidden cameras, which could cause unnecessary trouble,” Nian Qi admitted. “So I didn’t take the risk. Better to buy what we need.”

In reality, rural areas don’t usually have that many cameras. But Ruan Qing, knowing he was bold and experienced in different ways, chose not to point this out. Instead, she said seriously, “Exactly. We’re not short on money, so there’s no need to do anything illegal. We solve everything the right way.”

As if the plan to stage a background story wasn’t her idea to begin with.

This wrapped up their day. Ruan Qing had realized earlier that afternoon that her plan would need to be postponed by one or two days, maybe even longer. There was so much prep work involved; it wasn’t as easy as she had imagined, thinking everything would be sorted by tomorrow.

They drove back to the hotel in the county.

“Don’t shower tonight. Bear with it,” Ruan Qing said. “No, wait, you should wash your hands at least.”

A wild mountain man couldn’t be squeaky clean; there had to be some oil and grime for authenticity. Details mattered!

“I don’t mind, as long as you’re okay with it,” Nian Qi said, feeling a little uncomfortable. He knew that being on the road came with its challenges, but sharing a room with Ruan Qing, with only an arm’s length between their beds, was still unsettling. At least at home, she had her own bedroom with a door she closed and locked.

Ruan Qing had no other choice. This small county had only one rundown hotel. She had already checked; there weren’t even any suites, and one ID could only book one room.

But unlike Nian Qi, she wasn’t that uneasy. With a simple “I’m going to shower,” she grabbed her clothes and went to the bathroom. After living under the same roof with him for over ten days, she felt a deep sense of security around him and didn’t mind sharing the room.

But if, by chance, the mood shifted and he wanted something to happen… well… there’s an old Taoist saying: “The Great Way is without way; let things take their course.” Amitabha.