The Flower Of The High Mountain Turns Into A Cat And Is Picked Up By A Human Chapter 16
byWhen the footsteps returned, they felt stiffer, lacking the slight human vitality they had when they left.
The sound of the door closing locked the secret inside.
Heng Yuze let out a sigh of relief.
The inn definitely hid a secret, but thankfully, this thing wasn’t targeting them.
Just as he was drifting between sleep and wakefulness, about to fall asleep, a rustling sound appeared in the silence, though he didn’t know when it started.
The sound was a friction, not the sound of rubber soles rubbing against the floor, but a drier, more mechanical sound.
Heng Yuze snapped his eyes open.
Hadn’t it already ended?
And it wasn’t just him; Zheng Lang, who had been sleeping soundly, also seemed to sense something and opened his eyes.
After opening his eyes, Zheng Lang first looked to the side. Seeing that Heng Yuze had woken up before him, and that the cat was sitting upright by the bed, he felt a little annoyed that he had woken up too late.
He got out of bed and went to the door.
At this moment, the intermittent friction sound was already spreading outside the door.
Fearing that Zheng Lang might be in danger, Heng Yuze grabbed his backpack and also went to the door.
Seeing his action, Zheng Lang thought he intended to use the bag to strike whatever was outside, and he was surprised by Brother Heng’s courage.
Meanwhile, the cat still sat by the bed, illuminated by the moonlight.
The two humans stood guard by the door, listening to the strange movement.
This inn was indeed peculiar.
Judging by the sound, the friction seemed to be coming from the floor outside the door, making one imagine something sliding on the ground—was it a snake? A vine? Or something else?
Just as everyone’s nerves were taut, the friction sound disappeared.
The disappearance wasn’t a retreat; the thing hadn’t left at all and was still guarding their door.
Zheng Lang made a gesture, signaling for them to step back and maintain a safe distance.
They stared intently at the door, afraid that in the next second something would burst through the door and crawl into the room.
Zheng Lang was not an atheist; he had encountered many strange things. Although they were mostly superficial and posed no actual danger, he still held deep respect for the truth behind them.
He hoped they would be safe this time too.
Zheng Lang thought this, noting that Brother Heng was beside him. He was a good young man and shouldn’t meet with an accident.
After a while, the sound reappeared.
This time, the position had changed. Before, it was circling on the ground; now, it had climbed to a height level with a person’s head.
Zheng Lang and Heng Yuze’s hearts were pounding, practically leaping into their throats. They continued to back away, retreating to the edge of the bed.
This pressure was far beyond what the previous footsteps had offered.
Even Zheng Lang felt threatened. In all his years of travel, he had rarely experienced moments that made his hair stand on end like this. Feeling uneasy, he regretted being overconfident and staying in this private inn.
“Squeak—”
“Bang!”
The door was suddenly pushed by immense force. There was no sound of gathering momentum; the thing attacked without warning!
Zheng Lang immediately shielded Heng Yuze behind him, his eyes wide, staring unblinkingly at the door.
Heng Yuze had already raised his backpack.
Just as the door was shaking precariously, the gap widening, about to be forcibly breached, a strange, inhuman cry sounded.
“Woo-ying—”
The sound was not like anything a normal person could make, nor was it like an animal’s cry. If anything, it sounded like a human imitating some kind of beast.
Bai Chendeng lightly raised a paw.
He was somewhat familiar with this tone of cry.
And after that strange cry appeared, the friction sound at the door suddenly stopped.
Heng Yuze and Zheng Lang exchanged glances, unsure what was happening outside.
A long time passed, so long that both men’s legs felt stiff, before the door was knocked.
One knock, two knocks, three knocks.
It was a casual three knocks, carrying a sense of mockery and disdain.
Zheng Lang and Heng Yuze held their breath.
Surprisingly, the thing seemed to be merely bidding them a brief farewell.
The friction sound retreated from the high position to the ground, moving away little by little.
This time, the two were exceptionally alert, allowing them to mentally sketch out something slowly sliding away, pressed against the ground, based on the sounds they heard.
Heng Yuze thought of a beautiful snake demon—if it was something like that, with a face covered in blood and bruises emerging from beneath a mass of dirty black hair…
The thought alone sent chills down his spine.
“Is it over?”
Zheng Lang whispered, not expecting an answer, but he no longer felt that spine-tingling sensation. He immediately collapsed backward onto the bed.
He looked up at the ceiling and saw the cat sitting properly, its expression serious. He reached out and lightly touched the cat’s front paw with his finger.
Bai Chendeng sensed more. The thing outside was not a beautiful snake demon. Instead, it was that cry, imitating a certain beast, that he was familiar with.
With the night’s events concluded, Bai Chendeng pushed away Zheng Lang’s poking hand, turned around, and resumed watching the moon.
Heng Yuze only truly relaxed when he saw the cat turn. He sat on the edge of the bed beside the cat and gently stroked its head.
“A scare, but no danger.”
Zheng Lang deeply agreed.
The fright was considerable.
He checked the time; it was already four o’clock.
“We’re leaving tomorrow. We can’t stay at this place.”
Heng Yuze nodded: “Alright.”
The two sat stiffly until the sun rose, not daring to move easily. Only when they heard activity downstairs and the hot sunlight hit their faces did they dare to open the door.
Outside, the proprietress was already fetching water to wash clothes. Strands of hair swayed gently with her movements, and her cheeks were rosy.
Zheng Lang didn’t have the courage to ask the proprietress why she was washing clothes so early. He carried his backpack and luggage, and Heng Yuze behind him was also fully geared up.
The proprietress seemed to know the two wouldn’t be staying. She pushed the stray hair aside, collected the key, and returned the deposit.
The three went through the process in silence.
Before leaving, Bai Chendeng looked up at the second floor.
The room closest to the stairs was slightly ajar, and through the gap, an eye appeared.
It was an eye that seemed almost bestial, lacking much human emotion.
The proprietress keenly noticed the cat’s gaze, pursed her lips, and finally spoke her first words of the day.
“We will be leaving soon.”
Heng Yuze, Zheng Lang: “?”
The proprietress’s abrupt words left the two confused.
Bai Chendeng, however, understood them.
They had been hiding here perfectly well, only preying on men driven by lust. Unexpectedly, after hosting their group, they had attracted the thing from last night.
“Meow—”
Thank you for last night.
The woman didn’t understand but subconsciously nodded.
And the eye in the gap of the second-floor room revealed a hint of delight, curving slightly.
Leaving the Lantern Inn, the two people and one cat returned to the center of the village.
The daytime bustle dispelled the fear of the previous night, giving the two a sense of being back among the living.
They tossed their luggage back into the car and, traveling light, began asking for information about the Daoist temple. The answers they received far exceeded their expectations.
“The Daoist temple? It’s been abandoned for ages. That place has been sitting empty for decades. Why are you asking about it?”
Heng Yuze’s pupils contracted slightly. He suddenly realized he might have trusted Brother Bo too much.
Thinking carefully, although Brother Bo had always said the owner of Chendeng was in the hospital, there was no evidence to prove he was telling the truth. Instead, he himself had rushed to Kuju Village just because Brother Bo said so.
With the Daoist temple long abandoned, his purpose for coming to Kuju Village seemed extremely ridiculous.
Zheng Lang knew Heng Yuze’s purpose for coming to Kuju Village; Brother Bo had told him they were coming to the temple to pray for blessings. Learning this news now, anyone would suspect Brother Bo, who had introduced them here.
Zheng Lang immediately comforted him: “Brother Heng, don’t get worked up yet. Whether this temple is open or abandoned, we need to see it with our own eyes to be sure. Even if it is truly abandoned, maybe there’s still an inheritor alive. It’s too early for us to give up now.”
Heng Yuze took a deep breath, also realizing that Brother Bo shouldn’t have used such a simple lie to deceive him. If the information could be found out with a simple inquiry locally, what was the point of tricking him into coming here?
“Sorry, Brother Zheng, I got too emotional. No matter what the temple looks like now, I want to go and see it.”
Zheng Lang was relieved to see him return to normal.
“That’s right. Come on, let’s go together.”
On the way, Heng Yuze tried to contact Brother Bo. He sent a message on the green bubble app, but got no reply. He called, but no one answered.
He no longer held any hope for the Daoist temple. Perhaps Brother Bo had only tricked him into coming to Xiangxing Town to do a live stream promoting local agriculture.
Despite this, he still had to visit the temple. But without expectations, his mood brightened considerably, and he had the leisure to observe the street scenery.
Walking along the busiest commercial street, the shops were filled with dazzling goods. Besides the most common souvenirs bearing the Kuju logo, there were also local snacks. They smelled tempting, though he wondered how they tasted.
Heng Yuze kept the cat tucked inside his clothes, and fearing the cat might be bored, he quietly read out the interesting commercial slogans around them.
“Every Kuju ornament is a unique pastoral poem… The little Kuju hairpins at this shop look nice.”
“Kuju Cake, slightly bitter at first taste, sweetens upon reflection… It’s a pastry with Kuju added as an ingredient. If you want to eat it, I’ll buy the ingredients and make it for you when we get back.”
Bai Chendeng could see outside through the gap in the clothes, but he didn’t mind Heng Yuze’s willingness to explain things to him. He wasn’t socially anxious anymore.
“Kuju Village handmade clay figurines, capturing the romance of the mountains and fields…”
Heng Yuze was tempted and bought three small clay figurines. He gave Zheng Lang one holding a Kuju flower, kept one hugging a Kuju flower for himself, and saved one sitting on a Kuju flower for Chendeng.
“Conceived by the night, cultivated with ingenuity, the third-generation successor of the Feng family cultivates the rare Night Chrysanthemum. Twelve plant enthusiasts have arrived at the flower room, awaiting the bloom… Oh, this is an advertisement.”
Walking and browsing, the two finally arrived at the Daoist temple.
Looking from afar, the dilapidated building lay on the earth like a dying person. Cracks were like chapped wounds on skin, and dust and mud covered everything, resembling a tomb.
This Daoist temple, which had buried who knows what, had lost the qualification to receive visitors. Who knows how many years it had been closed.
Zheng Lang saw broken wood and shattered bricks and whispered, “Brother Heng, this temple has been smashed. There must be reasons we don’t know about.”
A few thoughts flashed through Heng Yuze’s mind. For a moment, he wanted to climb over the wall to see what the inside of the temple looked like, but in the end, he gave up.
“This also proves that Brother Bo’s words about the temple being very effective and telling me to come and worship were just an excuse.”
Zheng Lang awkwardly rubbed his hands: “Maybe he had another purpose.”
Could he really have just tricked Brother Heng into coming here for a live stream promoting local agriculture? That would be too low-class!
Heng Yuze took out his phone and walked around, taking pictures of the temple’s exterior. Looking at the hundreds of photos on his phone, he knew that this trip to Kuju Village should end.
“Brother Zheng, let’s go.”