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The young man said, “We’ve been here for a while and haven’t seen any wild animals, so maybe there aren’t any. But, please don’t cry out loud anymore, it might attract wild animals.”
“Okay.” Lu Man responded, moving closer to him, and said, “I’m also afraid of snakes. Are there snakes here?”
“Well…” the young man glanced at the lush surroundings under the starlight and replied, “With so much vegetation here, there might indeed be snakes.”
Lu Man instinctively wanted to scream, then quickly covered her mouth, saying, “I’m scared of snakes, I’m scared.”
Perplexed, the young man asked, “You ran so far alone earlier, why weren’t you scared of snakes then?”
After pondering for a moment, Lu Man realized she hadn’t been afraid of snakes earlier. Pouting, she explained, “I was just so scared of dying that I forgot about being scared of snakes.”
The young man smiled, his eyes curving like the crescent moon in the sky. Looking around, he spotted a large protruding rock not far away, about the height of an adult. He suggested, “Let’s rest on that big rock, it’ll be easier to spot snakes there.”
Standing up, he led Lu Man towards the large rock. Seeing a stick in the grass, he picked it up, using it to clear the area around the rock. Once they reached the rock, he climbed up and then helped Lu Man up after much effort.
The night breeze was cool, and the young man considerately changed positions to shield her from the wind.
Touched by his kindness, Lu Man felt her nose tingle with emotion and choked up, saying, “Brother Jiang, you’re so kind. I wish I were your real sister.”
The young man chuckled self-deprecatingly and softly replied, “It’s a good thing you’re not my real sister. My birth mother and I weren’t treated well by our elders, it would have been tough if you were my sister.”
Listening to Jiang Zhanwei’s words, Lu Man softly murmured, “I’ve had a hard time in my family too…”
Looking around, Lu Man suddenly noticed two large, pale yellow flowers blooming on a long stem beneath the large rock. The petals fluttered with the night breeze, creating a peculiar sight…
As she continued gazing, she grew drowsy and eventually drifted off to sleep, leaning against the young man’s shoulder.
When she woke up, the sun was already shining brightly. To her surprise, she was the only one lying on the large rock, and the young man from the previous night was nowhere to be seen.
Startled, she began crying and called out, “Brother Jiang, why did you leave me alone… What should I do by myself… I’m scared… waaah…”
Amid Lu Man’s sobs, she heard the young man’s voice from a nearby big tree, “Why are you crying? I didn’t leave you alone.”
Wiping away her tears, Lu Man saw the young man sitting on a tree branch. Smiling through her tears, she asked, “Brother Jiang, what are you doing up there?”
The young man replied, “The sun isn’t too strong yet. I’m checking for smoke rising into the sky.”
After a while, the young man pointed in a direction and joyfully exclaimed, “I see it! Over there, on the mountainside, smoke is rising into the sky. Guangji Temple should be in that direction. Even if it’s not the temple, there should be a village there.”
Following his direction, Lu Man gazed towards the mountainside, with a blue sky streaked with white clouds on one side and a red sunrise on the other, but she couldn’t see any smoke.
Impressed by the young man, she praised, “Brother Jiang, you’re amazing! I can only see clouds and sunrise, but you spotted the smoke.”
The young man smiled, his expression as clear as the sky. He slid down the tree trunk, stood by the large rock, and said, “Jump down, let’s head to Guangji Temple.”
Seeing the height of the rock, Lu Man’s legs trembled, and she hesitated, saying, “Brother Jiang, I’m scared. I can’t jump.”
Encouraging her, the young man reassured, “Don’t be afraid, I’ll catch you.”
Hesitant, Lu Man said, “Brother Jiang, I’m quite heavy. What if I land on you?”
The young man chuckled and said confidently, “I’m strong and skilled. You have to jump so we can find Guangji Temple and go home.” Seeing her on the verge of tears, he added, “Or you can jump with your eyes closed. Trust me, I’ll catch you.”
With no other choice, Lu Man closed her eyes and jumped. She landed in a warm embrace, her feet touching the ground. Opening her eyes, she found the young man supporting her, smiling warmly, and said, “See, you made it down. Let’s go, we’ll head that way.”
Lu Man suddenly recalled the strange flower she saw at night and decided to go back to that spot. The long stem was still there, but the flowers were gone. At the tip of the stem, two green flower buds, as thick as a finger, were tightly wrapped together. There were no withered petals on the ground. Was what she saw last night an illusion, or was it just a dream?
Deciding not to continue searching, Lu Man followed the young man in that direction.
The young man walked ahead with the stick, tapping the grassy areas. He walked briskly, prompting Lu Man to jog to keep up with his pace.
After walking for a while, it seemed like they were still wandering through the mountains. Lu Man slowed down and said, “Brother Jiang, I’m hungry, thirsty, and my feet hurt.”
Impatiently, the young man responded, “Girls are always troublesome.”
Despite his words, he stopped and scanned the surroundings, spotting a waterfall in the distance and said, “There’s water there, and perhaps some wild fruits.”
Lu Man only saw the waterfall and not the wild fruits. She flattered, “Brother Jiang, you have a good eye.”
They headed towards the waterfall. Although it seemed close, they walked for a while without reaching it. The young man asked Lu Man to hold the other end of the stick, leading her along.
Finally reaching the waterfall, water cascaded down the rocks, flowing through the gap. Not far from the mountain stream, there was a peach tree laden with red and green peaches.
They cupped their hands to drink from the clear spring and then washed their faces.
The young man climbed the peach tree, picked a ripe peach, rubbed it on his clothes, took a bite (wrinkling his face due to its sourness), and remarked, “These peaches are sour, but still edible. Let’s satisfy our hunger, it’s better than nothing.”
Lu Man caught the peaches tossed down by the young man, who picked a few more and stuffed them into his pocket before climbing down the tree.
Sitting on a rock, they ate the wild peaches while looking around. Suddenly, Lu Man spotted a flower about a yard away – a long stem adorned with small purple flowers resembling hanging bells, incredibly beautiful.
Excitedly, Lu Man exclaimed, “Wow, that flower is so beautiful.” and moved to pick it.
The young man quickly pulled her back down, cautioning, “As lovely as it looks, that flower is poisonous. We have similar flowers in the greenhouse at my home – the flower caretaker only allows us to admire, not touch them.”
Heeding his warning, Lu Man refrained from plucking the flower.
As they finished their peaches and rested, they heard a rustling sound from the nearby bushes. Startled, Lu Man cried out, “Snake!” and ran to the other side of the young man.
The young man grabbed the stick, prepared to drive away the snake, but instead, he saw a small yellow head peeking out from the bushes, its glassy eyes staring fearfully at him.