Sun Wenqu figured he and Fang Chi were fated to clash, like their birth charts just didn’t match, or else in some past life he’d done something truly unforgivable to this kid.
Hadn’t even known him long, yet all his memories already included getting hit.
This elbow wasn’t that strong, but the angle was vicious, a neat upward knock under the chin.
Sun Wenqu’s footing was already shaky. The knock sent him toppling flat on his back.
That’s it, crack his skull, thirty short years cut off, all for accidentally seeing someone take a piss.
But Fang Chi reacted fast. Just as Sun Wenqu’s feet slipped and he tilted backward, Fang Chi grabbed his collar and yanked him forward.
“Hey…” Sun Wenqu caught the tree, steadied himself, sighed in relief, and rubbed his chin. “What’s with the drama? I didn’t even know you were really pissing.”
“How old are you?” Fang Chi zipped up, turned to him, his voice clearly pissed. “Same age as Fang Ying at least, right? So twenty-eight, twenty-nine?”
Leaning on the tree, Sun Wenqu curled his lip but said nothing.
“Can you act a little like you’re almost thirty?” Fang Chi said, then turned and walked off.
Sun Wenqu stood there dumbstruck a long while.
The shock of being scolded by a teenage boy for the first time left him speechless. By the time he came to and wanted to get angry, too much time had passed, the anger was gone.
“I…” Sun Wenqu sighed. “F*ck.”
When he returned to the trail, the group happened to be setting off again.
“Wenqu, what’d you run off here for?” someone asked.
“Taking a piss,” Sun Wenqu said.
The road ahead grew tougher, steeper, narrower. The forest’s dampness turned the cool air sticky, and soon people who’d felt chilled were sweating.
Still, the scenery was striking, giant tangled roots, bizarrely shaped rocks, dappled sunlight glittering on moss.
At first there was chatter and laughter, but soon the group fell silent. Even the cocky ones pulled out trekking poles, and whenever anyone passed near, you could hear their heavy breathing.
Sun Wenqu felt like an ox, leaning on his pole, trailing several people behind Fang Chi.
Out of twenty-odd, the only one without a pole was Fang Chi, leading the way with a knife in hand, hacking branches and vines.
Fang Chi hadn’t been exaggerating, without a guide this trail was impossible, too many forks, and some side paths even looked better than the main road.
“Little guide, why do those paths look like more people use them?” someone asked.
“Those are firewood and hunting trails,” Fang Chi said. “Don’t take them. And don’t fall behind, if you get separated, phones won’t work here. Signal’s bad sometimes.”
Sun Wenqu glanced at him. The kid didn’t even sound winded, his voice steady as usual.
Feeling he still had some energy left, Sun Wenqu tested himself: “So… if someone does get separated?”
“Stay put and wait for me to find you.” Fang Chi looked at him.
“…Oh.” Sun Wenqu heard his own breathless voice and lost the will to keep talking.
After a while, Fang Chi stopped. “There’s a little pool ahead, clear water, good quality…”
Before he finished, the group perked up, shouting excitedly and rushing forward.
Sun Wenqu hurried a few steps too. He could already hear faint water sounds, mixing with bird calls in the forest, bringing a sudden refreshing rush through his whole body.
“Watch your step!” the leader shouted. “Slippery, go steady!”
Sun Wenqu saw Ma Liang also bounding ahead, laughed: “Liangzi, when you run you don’t stutter a bit!”
Ma Liang grinned back: “Your stamina just, just kills your words.”
“Get lost.” Sun Wenqu quickened, wanting to follow.
“You… wait.” Fang Chi called after him.
“Hm?” Sun Wenqu stopped. All this way Fang Chi hadn’t spoken to him once, calling out now made him wonder if it was another excuse to smack him.
“Here.” Fang Chi pulled a slim silver metal tube from his pocket and handed it over.
“What’s this?” Sun Wenqu took it.
“Whistle,” Fang Chi said. “If you get lost, blow it, I’ll hear.”
“I won’t get lost.” Sun Wenqu gave a helpless laugh. “Do I really look that useless?”
“You look… okay, I guess,” Fang Chi stepped back, gave him a slow up-and-down glance. “Who knows though.”
Sun Wenqu was about to reply when a scream rang out ahead. He looked up, barely processing what was happening before he saw someone sliding down from above like on a chute, legs bouncing, body spinning.
The person’s head was wrapped in a shawl, shrieking all the way down.
The leader tried to grab them midway, but got knocked over instead, luckily without tumbling down too.
“Holy sh*t!” Sun Wenqu froze. After a beat he chose to try intercepting, if that person kept going, they’d either crash into a tree or tumble off the slope.
But he never got the chance. Before the figure reached them, Fang Chi had already stepped aside, hooked his arm under the person’s armpit, and yanked.
The pull dragged him down a bit, but he quickly caught a branch and steadied.
The sliding and screaming both stopped at once.
Two seconds later, the person sat on the ground still shrieking, clawing frantically at the shawl around their head.
Sun Wenqu sighed, went over, and yanked the shawl off.
It was Zhao He.
“I thought it was Zhang Lin,” Sun Wenqu couldn’t hold back a laugh. “Why’d you wrap yourself up too?”
“You okay?” Li Bowen’s anxious voice called down from above.
“Scared me half to death!” Zhao He shouted, her voice breaking into a sob.
Li Bowen was jogging down, but hearing that, he panicked, slipped, and went tumbling noisily down to the ground as well: “Told you not to step on that rock, did you twist your ankle?”
“No.” Zhao He slowly stood up, pants covered in mud and moss.
The little pool was unexpectedly beautiful, small, yet very deep. No telling where the water came from, but it was so clear you could almost see the fallen leaves at the bottom.
Everyone sat around the pool to rest and eat. Ma Liang even pulled two cakes out of his bag, handed one to Sun Wenqu, it was cream-filled, though the cream had already smeared all over the box.
“What were you thinking?” Sun Wenqu found it surreal, eating cake beside a mountain forest pool.
“Ask your sis–sister-in-law,” Ma Liang chuckled. “She packed it. One for each of us.”
Sun Wenqu rinsed his hands in the pool, bit into the cake, then looked back and saw Fang Chi sitting behind him. He lowered his voice: “This water drinkable?”
Fang Chi was busy picking at his fingers. Hearing that, he lifted his gaze: “Go around behind that rock, a few meters further. There’s a spring there, you can drink from it.”
“Where?” Sun Wenqu stood, not sure which spot he meant. “Your hand okay?”
“It’s fine, just a few thorns. Pull ’em out and that’s it.” Fang Chi pulled a bottle of water from his pack. “Drink this.”
Sun Wenqu took it, gulped half the bottle, then crouched by his side: “So where’s the spring? I wanna see.”
Fang Chi stood and led him over the big rock at the side of the pool. The ground there was wet. They walked a bit further, and Fang Chi parted some coarse leaves: “Here.”
Sun Wenqu leaned in for a look and froze: “That small?”
There was a little puddle, about a foot across, its bottom lined with colorful gravel and fine sand. Tiny bubbles rose steadily from beneath.
Staring at it for a while, it looked almost too pretty to be real.
“Mm,” Fang Chi scooped a handful and drank. “That pool water seeps through from here.”
“Let me try.” Sun Wenqu bent down too.
“Forget it.” Fang Chi stopped him. “Just drink mine.”
“Why?” Sun Wenqu really wanted to taste mountain spring water. Back on his home hills there’d hardly been any springs, and when he did find one, the water ran muddy.
“Isn’t your stomach bad?” Fang Chi said. “Don’t drink random stuff.”
Sun Wenqu just looked at him for a long time, then smiled.
“You weren’t faking that stomach pain to fool me, were you?” Fang Chi frowned.
“No. Just… didn’t expect, ” Sun Wenqu broke off with another smile. “I’ll call the others over to try it then.”
“Don’t.” Fang Chi cut him off immediately.
“Hm?” Sun Wenqu didn’t get it.
“If they get excited they’ll mess it up,” Fang Chi still frowned. “That hiking route you talked about, those springs all got dug up, trampled to a wreck. This one… better not let them see it.”
“Alright then.” Sun Wenqu plopped down on the ground. “Guess it’s just the two of us sneaking a little fun here?”
“Fun how?” Fang Chi startled, edging back.
“Playing with water.” Sun Wenqu glanced at him, suddenly broke into quiet laughter he couldn’t stop. “Come on, son, you got persecution paranoia or something?”
“Why don’t you just say you’re crazy.” Fang Chi, embarrassed, scooted back into place and squatted down again.
Sun Wenqu leaned against a stone, listening to the laughter and chatter back at the pool. A strange loneliness washed over him.
“You grew up here?” he asked.
“Yeah.” Fang Chi answered. “Before middle school I lived with Grandpa. I came up these mountains every few days.”
“Never felt lonely?” Sun Wenqu rested his head on his arm. “The air’s good, water’s clear, scenery’s beautiful, sky’s blue, sun’s bright…”
“No.” Fang Chi answered quickly. “All that makes me happy.”
“Really.” Sun Wenqu sighed.
“Loneliness comes from living lonely yourself.” Fang Chi stood. “Come on. Lonely person, we’ve got to get moving. One more hour.”
Whether it was his body toughening, or exhaustion turning to numbness, or Fang Chi’s words striking a nerve, either way, the last hour passed easily. Sun Wenqu just looked at the scenery, snapped photos, checked out strange bugs and berries.
The only regret, he never found those little red-capped mushrooms from Li Bowen’s phone, only a bunch of fungi that looked like vomit. Fang Chi even said they were edible, which grossed him out.
“Alright,” the leader clapped up front, “we’re here! Five-minute break, then we set camp!”
Everyone cheered, dropped their packs, sprawled over the rocks and ground.
“Feels amazing,” Zhang Lin sighed, redoing her makeup in a mirror. “Totally worth it.”
“Back home you’ll get to admire all your artsy shots, mountain gear wrapped in cashmere shawls.” Sun Wenqu laughed.
“You’re the most annoying,” Zhang Lin clicked her tongue. “Bowen shot mine all half-body, super flattering.”
“Stay put here, don’t wander. No signal,” Fang Chi still remembered to caution. “Don’t go in the forest. Too many forks, some hidden by leaves. Slip down and we won’t find you.”
“Oh that’s scary,” Zhao He murmured, checking her phone again. “No signal, for real.”
The campsite had clearly been used before. Big rocks were moved, ground cleared in patches. Not many visitors though, just a trace or two.
It was a rare open space in the mountains. Even better, just past a bend in the path, all those ridges dropped away into a blanket of yellow-green wildflowers.
Watching the sunrise here would be stunning.
After a short rest, everyone began setting up camp.
The tents were small. Couples used doubles; the rest of the guys had singles or doubled up for warmth.
Sun Wenqu and Ma Liang both had singles, which went up easily.
When Fang Chi unpacked, Sun Wenqu finally saw why his bag was so heavy, besides the food they’d all divided up, he carried extra supplies and even barbecue tools.
“I’ll set up a stove.” Fang Chi sorted his gear, then went with the leader to pile stones for a fire pit.
Ma Liang, likely exhausted, collapsed inside his tent with his legs sticking out, eyes closed.
“You got no stamina,” Sun Wenqu kicked his foot. “Me, young and strong, could climb two more peaks.”
“Yeah right. My… stamina never builds up. With you, a prime youth, by night all I can hug is a pillow, can’t compare.”
“Just wait.” Sun Wenqu pointed at him. “Tomorrow I’ll draw your portrait, just your mouth.”
Ma Liang chuckled a long while inside his tent. “Your s–son’s picture… still not done, huh?”
“Done.” Sun Wenqu clicked his tongue. “Just haven’t found a chance to give it to him. Maybe I’ll use it as an apology gift next time I piss him off.”
“You’re… sick.” Ma Liang shut his eyes.
The campsite bustled. People ran around busy with tasks, some girls preparing food, Luo Peng and others dragging tents, Fang Chi and the leader building the stove. Sun Wenqu circled once, found nothing he could help with.
Then he spotted Li Bowen slipping toward the woods.
“Hey, where you going?” Sun Wenqu chased after.
“Getting firewood,” Li Bowen said. “Plenty in the woods. Looks like pine over there, good burning.”
“Don’t go too far.” Sun Wenqu remembered Fang Chi’s warning. “The forest’s deep.”
“It’s fine, not far. You go help back at camp.” Li Bowen waved him off and walked deeper. “I’ll check for mushrooms too.”
Sun Wenqu had turned to head back, but froze at that. After a few seconds’ hesitation, he turned and followed.
“Think there’ll be any?” he asked.
“Don’t know.” Li Bowen walked ahead. “Last time I was in the woods like this. Should’ve asked someone what kind it was, maybe they even sell them in markets.”
“Why not ask your dad.” Sun Wenqu trailed a few steps behind. The forest was denser here, and with the sun dropping, it felt darker.
“I did. He didn’t even remember telling us about that mushroom. Just joking around.” Li Bowen laughed.
“That so.” Sun Wenqu suddenly felt down. What he once cared so much about, something that still lingered in him, the person who’d told him had already forgotten. “Yeah, just teasing kids.”
“We better move quick,” Li Bowen picked up the pace. “Catch the sunset later, it’s huge here, like a giant screen.”
Sun Wenqu bent to gather dry branches, keeping an eye out for that flash of red under the leaves.
They chatted idly as they worked. Before long, Wenqu’s back was aching. No mushrooms, but his arms were full of wood.
“Enough now.” He straightened. “Let’s head, ”
But Li Bowen, who’d been walking just ahead, was gone.
“Bowen?” Sun Wenqu called. No answer. He turned to check behind. “Bowen!”
The forest was silent except for birds and insects. Even the camp noise was gone.
“Sh*t.” Sun Wenqu hurried back. “Li Bowen!”
He’d barely shouted when the ground under him gave way. The thick mat of leaves suddenly hollowed beneath his feet.
***
The stove was done. Fang Chi clapped the dirt off his hands. “I’ve got alcohol in my pack.”
“No firewood though. Wonder if anyone went to gather some.” Luo Peng came over. “I thought about bringing charcoal up.”
“You’d kill yourself hauling it.” Fang Chi laughed, glanced around. “I’ll go grab some.”
“No need,” Zhang Lin was threading meat onto skewers. “I just saw Bowen and Wenqu head into the woods for it.”
“They went into the woods?” Fang Chi instantly turned to her.
“Yeah.” She pointed. “Over there. Probably just by the edge… right?”
“And where are they now?” Fang Chi said, already striding in that direction, snatching up his pack along the way.
“What’s, what’s going on?” Ma Liang heard the voices, crawled out of his tent. “I’ll go with you, ”
“Stay put,” Fang Chi said.
At the forest edge, Li Bowen emerged carrying a huge bundle of wood.
Fang Chi looked past him. No one. “Where’s Sun Wenqu?”
“Huh?” Li Bowen froze. “He didn’t come out?”
Fang Chi fixed his eyes on him: “Where’d you two go?”
“We didn’t go that deep, I just looped around a bit and came out,” Li Bowen panicked, tossed down the firewood, and turned to head back. “I was in front of him, but when I came back out I didn’t see him. I thought he’d come out before me, ”
“Stay put.” Fang Chi strode over, grabbed his arm, and yanked him back. Then he turned toward the people at camp, his voice level but hard: “I told you to stay put, you stay put. I told you not to go into the woods, don’t go into the woods. Anyone who messes around again, get off the mountain.”
Before anyone could answer, Fang Chi shouldered his pack and walked into the forest.
