With frequent unexpected developments during the trip to Western Hunan, Meng Jinsong had to abandon his initial idea of “operating low-key” and contacted Guishan Zhu of the Greater Wuling area.
The Mountain Ghosts followed a custom of “Zhai, Zhu, She, Chao.”
The headquarters was called Zhai, where the one who sat on the Mountain Ghost throne resided. “Mountain Osmanthus Zhai” was supposedly using a homophone for discretion, but it was practically announcing to the world that it was the “Mountain Ghost Zhai.”
One mountain range had one Zhu. Here, “mountain” referred to a mountain range rather than a peak. “Returning Mountain” (Guishan) used the reversed homophone of Mountain Ghost to indicate its position one level below the Zhai.
She (lodges) were established at mountain peaks, mostly building teahouses or inns for Mountain Dwellers to exchange resources. Liu Guanguo’s “Cloud Dream Peak” was the mountain lodge of Mount Wuling. Starting from the “She” level, names weren’t restricted to include the character “She,” but were required to reflect mountains in some way, so lodge names often contained characters like peak, cliff, cave, or ridge.
The Mountain Ghosts’ homes were called “Chao” (nests) because, in ancient times, those mountain monkeys and wild ghosts in the deep mountains all lived in nests, taking the character “Chao” to remember their origins.
If we were to use people as an analogy, Zhai would be the heart, She the flesh and blood, Chao the skin, and the Zhu below Zhai would be the skeleton that could handle Mountain Dwellers’ births, deaths, illnesses, and support the body to stand: the Mountain Ghosts had abundant financial resources but didn’t keep idle people. In ancient times, the Guishan Zhu hung a “Hundred Trades Chart,” based on the Tang Dynasty’s division of society into 360 trades. The huge chart was filled with black and white figures outlined in ink, such as butchers from the meat trade, masters from the leather trade, craftsmen from the ironware trade, or team leaders from the coroner trade. Once someone entered a trade, they would be colored in, with the standard of evaluation being “all trades occupied, all colors filled, no high or low, no noble or humble, all encompassed.” A Mountain Dweller, from the moment of birth, could draw a substantial monthly “mountain salary,” though this salary was considered a debt. Only after choosing a profession and entering a trade could “previous debts be cleared, and the mountain salary doubled.”
For the manager of a Guishan Zhu, a vacancy in the Hundred Trades Chart was quite “face-losing.” One can imagine how desperately they would plead, “Please, we still need a pig slaughterer in our area, please choose this trade.”
Since they weren’t working for subsistence, Mountain Dwellers who entered trades had the leisure to carefully refine their skills to perfection. For instance, cattle butchers often became like Cook Ding, while chefs were no inferior to Yi Ya. In simple terms, elites emerged in every trade. With such a large group of people available for assignment, it’s not surprising that Guishan Zhu could handle Mountain Dwellers’ births, deaths, illnesses, and disasters. Although in today’s society with its extensive development and refined industries, some fields require highly specialized talent that even the Mountain Ghosts can hardly fully provide, they still manage to handle about 70-80% of needs more or less adequately.
The first reinforcements to arrive at Ba Hang Village were dispatched from the nearby Greater Wuling Guishan Zhu, numbering about thirty people. After examining the scene and tracking clues, several people transported Liu Sheng’s body back to the Zhu for cosmetic restoration and preparation for the subsequent funeral, while others followed Meng Qianzi back to Cloud Dream Peak.
That night, Cloud Dream Peak was brightly lit but filled with complete silence despite being fully occupied.
All the Mountain Dwellers staying there knew the big boss was on the third floor. Suddenly finding themselves in the same lodge as the highest level, they couldn’t help but feel constrained and cautious: footsteps were lightened, even using “tiger pads”; speech was hushed, with gestures replacing sounds whenever possible; bowls and chopsticks were handled gently, as if Cloud Dream Peak were made of playing cards that might collapse at the slightest noise.
This atmosphere even affected Meng Jinsong. When he arranged sentries around the area, he kept his voice down the entire time, feeling like he was committing a theft. Looking down from the top floor, people came and went outside the building, but in eerie silence.
After returning to her room, Meng Qianzi first took a bath.
According to Xin Ci’s idea, a 38° bubble bath was the ultimate stress reliever, but unfortunately, Meng Qianzi emerged as if her bones had been dissolved, listless and weak. After coming out, she leaned against the arhat couch, seemingly glued to it, not moving for a long time, emanating an aura that warned people to keep their distance.
Xin Ci paid no mind to this, busily helping her blow-dry her hair and apply hair oil.
When her hair was half-dry, Xin Ci turned off the hair dryer and comforted her: “Don’t worry, things will eventually become clear. A life for a life—Liu Sheng won’t have died in vain.”
Meng Qianzi remained silent. Even if they discovered the cause of death, Liu Sheng wouldn’t come back. Such a young man, his life so abruptly ended by a small paring knife. What was even more lamentable was that only in death did she learn what he looked like. Before that, to her, he was just a Wuling Mountain Dweller, someone who ran errands and handled tasks.
She murmured, “I still haven’t figured out who has a grudge against us.”
Xin Ci said: “The truth is somewhere out there—you just haven’t found the thread yet.”
Isn’t that stating the obvious? Meng Qianzi was irritated and didn’t bother looking at him.
Xin Ci smiled cheerfully and continued trying to console her.
“Can that Jiang Lian find the golden bell by himself?”
Meng Qianzi snorted: “Who’s relying solely on him? We haven’t stopped our search. I just think he has some skill and brains… might as well use him. He’s an outsider, with a different perspective from ours, so he might discover something we’ve missed.”
“What if he’s being duplicitous, trying to trick us?”
Meng Qianzi gave a light laugh, half-leaning on the low table with her chin in her hand, giving Xin Ci a sidelong glance. “Young man, you’re still quite green.”
Xin Ci was annoyed: “We’re about the same age!”
Meng Qianzi said, “Haven’t you noticed that Jiang Lian has been trying to reason with us all along?”
Yes, and he did so quite logically. Xin Ci thought Jiang Lian was quite composed. In today’s situation, if they had been dealing with someone hot-tempered, inarticulate, or muddle-headed, the confrontation might have had unimaginable consequences.
“He wants to reason when facing problems and can explain his reasoning clearly, which means he’s a reasonable person. And reasonable people have a hurdle they can’t get past.”
Xin Ci was puzzled: “What is it?”
“Reasoning.”
Xin Ci looked completely bewildered. Her repeated use of “reasoning” was more confusing than tongue twisters like “black fertilizer will evaporate.”
Meng Qianzi explained: “Precisely because he’s reasonable, no matter how eloquent or persuasive he is, when it comes to my chain, he’s in the wrong. True, he took it unintentionally and lost it unwittingly, but he did take it, and it was lost while in his possession. So he can only search for it, unless he denies responsibility—but reasonable people can’t shirk responsibility.”
There seemed to be some logic to that. Xin Ci pondered: “But what if he’s incompetent and ultimately can’t help? Will we keep his two friends captive indefinitely?”
Meng Qianzi gave him a sidelong glance: “If he can’t help, am I supposed to keep feeding them for nothing?”
She brushed her long hair behind her ear. Even if Jiang Lian couldn’t recover the golden bell, she probably couldn’t take serious action against him. Intimidation was one thing, but could she kill him? Hardly.
But just “letting it go” was hard to swallow: “When the time comes, I’ll find a way to make him suffer a bit. Otherwise, it would be too easy for him. Even an unintentional mistake is still a mistake—he should pay some price.”
As she spoke, she turned to look at the Mountain Ghost painting on the wall: “Isn’t that right, Grandmother?”
In the ink painting, distant mountains and waterfalls were faintly visible, with a vigorous green pine in the foreground. A magnificent tiger with a “王” (king) mark on its forehead was lying limply on a thick branch, as if resting, with a young woman lounging against its back. She had bare shoulders and feet, with flowing clothes, one hand lazily supporting her chin, a seductive gaze, and a charming smile.
Meng Qianzi gestured to Xin Ci: “See? My grandmother agrees with me.”
Xin Ci felt he had too many complaints and no way to express them. Just as he was feeling vexed, Meng Jinsong pushed open the door, holding an iPad and a stand: “Qianzi, Great Aunt wants to talk to you.”
Great Aunt… Gao Jinghong?
Meng Qianzi suddenly sat up, staring at Meng Jinsong, mouthing the question: “Did you tell her everything?”
Meng Jinsong cleared his throat: “I told her about Liu Sheng’s matter. As for the rest, you can use your judgment.”
From ancient times to the present, matters of life and death have been of paramount importance. In the past, when a Mountain Dweller died violently, the news had to be sent urgently to Mountain Osmanthus Zhai, traveling 800 li. This rule had never changed—at the latest, it couldn’t be delayed overnight.
Such a conversation was one that even Meng Jinsong had no right to overhear. He took Xin Ci out with him.
Meng Qianzi quickly sat upright, smoothing her hair and straightening her clothes before finally setting up the iPad that had been lying face down on the low table.
On the screen, Great Aunt Gao Jinghong was putting down a coffee cup.
She was over seventy-five years old, but because she took good care of herself, she looked only about sixty. Her complexion was rosy, with short silver-gray hair permed into a fluffy, casual style, reminiscent of the hand-pushed wave pattern popular in the Republican era. She wore a well-tailored white round-neck jacket with gold buttons, pearl earrings with gold rings on her earlobes, and a light coral red on her lips.