Chapter 55: Visitors in the middle of the night

The doorman had fallen asleep from drinking, but he was just an ordinary person. My master and I didn’t wake him up, and we just continued to drink two more cups of wine in a sullen mood.

It was hot in the summer, but the town was close to the mountains, so it was a little better. After all, the mountain breeze brought a burst of coolness, but it was still a little stuffy in the small gatehouse.

After finishing the bottle of wine, my master and I were also almost drunk. We simply walked out of the gatehouse and climbed to the roof of this small house, preparing to spend the night there.

My master has always been a man with a clear mind and a practical approach to solving problems. After listening to so many stories about the town, he soon fell asleep next to me, snoring loudly in the cool mountain breeze.

It was only two minutes later… but I have always been a person with a heavy heart, unable to sleep because I was thinking about this and that. I simply sat up, lit a cigarette, and stared at the “brilliant” night sky at the foot of the mountain.

It is very bright. This is probably a night that people who have lived in the city all their lives will never see again. The twinkling stars seem very close, and a shimmering silver band blends perfectly with the darkness. That is the Milky Way… Whenever I am in this kind of mood, my thoughts will drift far away, wondering if there is a kind of existence called “cultivator” among the stars in the Milky Way. If there really is, what stage have they reached?

This world? How amazing is this universe?

However, after a while, I would laugh at myself. Why do people in their forties sometimes still reveal such childishness?

The contrast between the bright sky and the dark town is striking. Looking around, there is not a single light in the entire town… It seems a bit lonely and desolate, and behind this desolation hides a kind of darkness that will lead to deep unknowns. I don’t know why I thought of this sentence? Instead of using the word “deadly silence” to describe this town, isn’t it more appropriate?

I laughed when I threw away the cigarette butt. In fact, why do I have to think too much? Every event has a reason? The sound of my master’s snoring reminded me that there is a realm in life. If this second is quiet, then I will enjoy this second of quiet. The only prerequisite is that I have never given up anything I want to do.

With the sound of my master’s snoring, I felt extra at ease… I put away my scattered thoughts and closed my eyes to get ready for bed.

But it was not easy to fall asleep under the snoring. After all, after half an hour or so, I was still tossing and turning. I finally felt a little sleepy, but then I suddenly heard a faint sound of footsteps coming from the depths of the town.

At first I didn’t pay any attention to it, thinking that I was ‘hearing things’. But as the footsteps got closer, they became clearer and clearer, and suddenly I was wide awake and a little nervous. I subconsciously wanted to wake my master up, but then I thought better of it and just pretended to be asleep, lying flat on the roof.

I was nervous because of the situation in which I and my master found ourselves, and I had to be on guard against something. Moreover, this town was somewhat mysterious… I didn’t wake my master because I didn’t feel any danger in my heart, so there was no need to make a fuss. My master’s snoring was still the best cover, at least it wouldn’t scare the snake.

I could tell that the footsteps were deliberately kept quiet, and if I wasn’t listening carefully, I wouldn’t have been able to hear them at all. But I’ve always had good hearing, and the town was so quiet that I was able to hear it faintly before.

But I don’t know if it’s because my master’s snoring was so loud that it carried a long way, so the footsteps gradually became less cautious.

Hearing a footstep slowly approaching you in the dark is not a good experience at all. It is always accompanied by an unknown tension, especially when the footstep suddenly stops not far from you, which makes the feeling even more strange.

The person was below the guard post, and I was above it. Because the guard post was a small, flat room, I could see through my squint that there was a hunched figure looking at us.

My spiritual senses have always been strong, so this feeling of being stared at made me feel particularly uncomfortable. Because that gaze fell on me, it was as if it had turned into a physical examination of me, making me break out in goosebumps.

However, Master was as if nothing had happened, sleeping even more soundly. He even snored twice, mumbled something that no one could hear clearly, and made me laugh and cry.

Perhaps the master was sleeping so soundly that he once again “encouraged” the person who came. Suddenly, a bright light hit the place where the master and I were sleeping. I was quick to react and quickly closed my eyes, breathing steadily and pretending to be sleeping soundly.

But in my heart I was cursing, who is so rude? Using a flashlight to shine on people while they sleep.

The flashlight beam lingered on my face and my master’s face for a while, and then it was finally taken back by the person who came. Then I heard a slight sigh. This sigh was not sad from time to time, but was full of a certain kind of worry.

Worried? Worried about what? Is it about me and my master? Obviously not… However, I didn’t feel any ill will from the person, but only that he was carefully observing us, as if to confirm something? So, I also slowly became less guarded.

After staying for more than a minute, the man turned and left. The sound of his footsteps reminded me that he was really gone. I couldn’t help but get up slightly out of curiosity and take a closer look. Although there was no light, it was a starry night after all. I vaguely saw that the man was an old man, and from his clothes, he was a Hmong from this town.

Why did he come to observe me and my master in the middle of the night? I was full of curiosity, but I didn’t have an answer. I thought about it for a while, and finally fell asleep.

The next day, I woke up very early, when it was still dim. I was woken up by the coolness of the morning dew, because this was after all a town with a mountain as its backing.

I turned around and saw that my master was already sitting next to me smoking a pipe. It wasn’t the kind of tobacco that my master usually smoked, just regular tobacco leaves. On the road of escape, you can’t be so picky, and some tobacco is good enough.

“Master, so early?” I greeted my master in a daze.

“Let’s talk about it downstairs.” The master’s face was calm, and I couldn’t tell what it meant. What did he mean by “let’s talk about it downstairs”? Obviously, he had something to say to me.

But the master didn’t say much to me, and jumped off the roof directly. I could only follow him.

In the gatehouse, the old man from the northeast gatehouse was still sleeping soundly. I could hear the shouts from outside the gate… At this time, my master said to me, “Chengyi, go pack your things. Let’s go up the mountain now.”

“Going up the mountain so soon? It’s still early in the morning, and the dew is heavy on the mountain.” To be honest, I didn’t sleep very well last night, and now my back and shoulders are aching. I still want to rest in the car for a while.

Instead of answering my question, the master asked me, “Didn’t a ‘guest’ come to see us last night?”

“Master, you knew?” I was taken aback. At that time, if I remember correctly, Master was sleeping soundly. How could he have known?

“Do you think I was really asleep? I was actually awake when the footsteps got close to me, but if I didn’t pretend to be, who knows what would have happened? This town is not peaceful… let’s leave as soon as possible. In this situation, it’s better to avoid trouble.” Master told me this, but a flash of inexplicable guilt flashed in his eyes.

Yes, this is Master’s guilt. I won’t be mistaken, but I’m a little confused. What is Master guilty of?

But my master didn’t say much anymore. Instead, he told me to wash up, eat something, and get ready to go to the mountains. As for where we were going, I’m afraid only my master knew.

An hour later, we had everything ready and set off with a backpack each, half as tall as a person, which contained more professional equipment, including a tent for sleeping. I thought this time on the mountain should be better than the last time.

Because we woke up early, it was only about 7 o’clock when we looked at the time. The doorman was still sleeping, so we didn’t wake him up and just set off.

After leaving the government office building, my master and I realized that this town is quiet at night, but it also wakes up very early in the morning. When we walked down the main street of the town, there were already quite a few pedestrians on the street.

Just like when we first arrived, these people were still looking at us, their eyes distant and with a sense of violence… Unlike other places, the people in this town just looked at us, and no one came up to talk to us.

I felt uneasy being looked at like that. Even though I had a good impression of the Hmong people, I couldn’t stand being looked at so recklessly. I wanted to explode several times, but I suppressed my anger and just kept walking.

The town was not big, and we were heading straight for the mountains, so we soon reached the entrance to the mountain pass.