The two of them ran down in just a few steps. What greeted their eyes was still that open space, two long benches, and a small stall. The stall owner seemed to be packing up, moving around to tidy things up. When he saw them, he asked in surprise, “Why are you back again?”

　　“Old Newman’s back is too steep, we didn’t dare to cross.”

　　“So you’re going back the way you came?” He looked a bit surprised.

　　“Yeah, how long will that take?”

　　“At least two hours…”

　　The stall owner answered honestly. Seeing their miserable, pitiful expressions, he paused, then added, “But I know a shortcut that can save you a lot of time.”

　　Hmm?

　　The girls’ first reaction wasn’t excitement, but caution. Deep in the mountains, just one man and two women—if something happened, there’d be nowhere to run.

　　He sensed their wariness and immediately fell silent.

　　“……”

　　“……”

　　The atmosphere was extremely awkward for a moment. After a while, the two exchanged glances, and the taller girl finally asked, “How do we take that path?”

　　“Go to Xianren Pond and turn right. Walk a few more minutes and you’ll find it. The path isn’t paved, but it’s easy to walk. Just follow it down and you’ll reach the big square at the mountain gate.” He didn’t mind and explained in detail.

　　“Are there, um, snakes or anything?” The shorter girl was still cautious.

　　“No, just a lot of mosquitoes. Oh, here, take this…”

　　The stall owner suddenly pulled a small item from his pocket and handed it over. “It can keep mosquitoes away.”

　　They leaned in to look. It turned out to be a cloth pouch, dark gray, about the size of a palm, tied shut with two thin strings. Feeling it with their hands, there seemed to be something round inside.

　　The girls were puzzled and just about to ask, when the man bent down, gave a strong heave, and hoisted a carrying pole onto his shoulder. On one end was a stove and pot, on the other end a table, chairs, and a box—it looked extremely heavy.

　　“All right, I have to go too. Bye!”

　　Though he was thin, he was very strong. He waved his left hand and steadily walked into the woods. After a couple of turns, he disappeared from sight.

　　“……”

　　The girls stared wide-eyed, standing there in a daze for a while, not knowing what to say.

　　“Caw!”

　　“Caw!”

　　A gentle breeze blew by, and somewhere birds or crows called out. The dark forest rustled, branches and leaves swaying as if mountain spirits were about to appear.

　　“Let’s, let’s hurry up and go?”

　　“Yeah, I think so too!”

　　They both shivered, then almost broke into a run as they left the place.

　　……

　　The so-called Xianren Pond was just a shabby pond, not even worthy of being called a pool.

　　Taking advantage of the remaining daylight, the two girls quickened their pace. When they reached Xianren Pond, they turned right and indeed found a small mountain path. Though it wasn’t paved, the dirt was firm, winding deep into the woods.

　　They hesitated for a few seconds, but decided to go in.

　　Inside, the trees were even denser, weeds everywhere. They didn’t dare look around, just rushed forward as if fleeing for their lives. The taller one was a bit braver and led the way, while the shorter one, much more timid, clung tightly to her friend’s sleeve.

　　“Ah!”

　　Suddenly, the one in front gasped and stopped abruptly. The one behind almost bumped into her, startled, and quickly asked, “What’s wrong?”

　　“…Snake.” she said with difficulty.

　　“Snake?”

　　The one behind didn’t get it at first and craned her neck to look. Sure enough, a green snake over half a meter long was coiled by the side of the path, seemingly resting with its eyes closed.

　　“Ah!”

　　This girl screamed even louder than before.

　　As the saying goes, trouble comes to those who seek it. The green snake lifted its head, spotted them, then slithered toward them, flicking its tongue. Its damp belly slid over the grass, making a strange and chilling rustling sound.

　　“Wh-what do we do?”

　　“I don’t know either!”

　　On the verge of tears, the girls wanted to run, but their legs were shaking so badly they wouldn’t move. They could only watch as the green snake drew closer.

　　Three meters, two meters, one meter… Just as it was about to reach them, the snake suddenly stopped, as if frozen, pausing for a moment. Its vertical pupils seemed to show disgust, then it twisted its body and slithered away along the grass.

　　Come on!

　　They were already nearly scared out of their wits, their minds blank from the shock, completely bewildered. After a long while, the taller girl finally managed to say, “Go! Let’s go!”

　　“Okay, okay!”

　　Maybe some kind of hormone had kicked in—jogging turned into running, running into a full-on sprint. They didn’t care about anything else, just heard the wind whistling past their ears.

　　No idea how long they ran, but eventually they burst out of the woods and found themselves at the big square.

　　By coincidence, their group had just come down as well. The Leader Smith was stunned at first, then overjoyed, exclaiming, “Oh wow, you’re okay! I only started to worry after you left. It’s getting dark soon, and you two had such a long way back—I was about to ask the police for help…”

　　He rambled on for a while before finally remembering to ask, “By the way, how did you get here so fast?”

　　“We asked a local and took a shortcut down,” the tall girl said.

　　“Wow, awesome, sis!”

　　Leader Smith gave a thumbs up.

　　Now that everyone was together, the group prepared to head back. Usually, people start descending the mountain in the afternoon—rarely this late.