Cloud sat beside the mute oil bottle, and from a distance, I couldn’t tell if she had spoken to him. The fat guy stared straight ahead, and I teased, “You’ve had a breakup, take it easy.”

The fat guy dismissed it, saying, “Aren’t you in the same boat?”

“Don’t even start!” I retorted angrily, “I’m not as twisted as you; I’m not interested in little girls.”

The fat guy patted me on the back: “I believe you, buddy. You’re definitely a loyal person.” With that, he handed me a drink and got up to take a leak. Soon, a long stream of water could be heard behind us, endlessly flowing; I couldn’t tell how long he had been holding it in.

I couldn’t help but chuckle, and after a while, I grew tired of laughing. I settled down and gazed at the lake under the moonlight, suddenly feeling that coming here might be a kind of fate.

Looking at the picturesque scenery of the lake and mountains, who would have thought such strange things had happened here in the past? And while we laughed heartily, who would know that we were actually burdened with so much? Everything in the world seems simple, yet humans appear to be the most complex, and this complexity is something they resist but cannot escape.

Fools worry themselves; it’s all just fools worrying themselves. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and thought about my previous state of mind, then compared it to my current one. I found the image of myself back then, stumbling through so many mysteries, rather amusing.

The fat guy returned from relieving himself, shivering as he walked back. Seeing that Cloud was still over there, he curiously remarked, “Has that girl not come back with her nose rubbed in the dirt yet? Her perseverance is commendable.”

I said, “You know, maybe our buddy actually likes that type. They’re probably exchanging tokens of affection right now.”

The fat guy replied, “That won’t do. They’re so far from us; what if some monster comes out of the lake and drags them away? I wouldn’t be able to save them. I should go protect them.” With that, he tried to head over.

I pulled him back, saying not to disturb them. The mute oil bottle might already be feeling overwhelmed; his mind is surely filled with questions right now. I’ve been through this kind of thing too, and it’s better for him to be alone. If you listen closely, Cloud isn’t saying anything; maybe she’s just keeping him company while they look at the sky.

The fat guy sat down and listened carefully, but he heard Cloud singing on the other side. Both of us fell silent; the gentle lake breeze brought a delicate melody, a song from the Yao ethnic group, sung softly but clearly.

No one spoke anymore. I thought to myself that Cloud was really something, so I sat down, looked at the stars in the sky, and listened.

Thin clouds drifted across the sky, and my state of mind quickly calmed like the lake water. Gradually, in the ethereal song, I entered a state of trance.

I was in a daze, not knowing how long had passed when suddenly the singing stopped. My heart stirred, and I opened my eyes. The mute oil bottle had stood up, looking at the lake, while the few dogs that had been lying around in boredom also raised their heads to look in the same direction.

The fat guy was still resting with his eyes closed. A Gui sensed something unusual, and I nudged the fat guy awake. Just then, I heard a “thud thud” sound coming from the direction of the lake, as if several large-footed legs were walking towards the shore from the shallow waters.

The dogs all stood up, alertly staring in that direction. These hunting dogs were well-trained, and not a single one barked. The胖子 and I exchanged glances; I bared my teeth at him, and he pointed to the flashlight beside him, signaling for me to hand it to him. 阿贵, however, was motioning for us to sit quietly and not to be nervous, saying softly, “It’s okay; it seems like a wild animal is drinking water.”

“What kind of wild animal? It sounds pretty big,” 胖子 asked in a low voice.

阿贵 picked up his hunting rifle and told us to stay still while he quietly made his way into the darkness. 云彩 followed behind him. As soon as 胖子 saw that hunting was about to happen, he couldn’t hold back and gave us a look. I also wanted to see, so I quietly followed a few meters behind.

When we reached the edge of the oil drum, we vaguely saw some conditions of the lake’s surface. We searched for the imagined wild animal but found nothing. Perhaps this wild animal just made a lot of noise while drinking water but wasn’t very big. We scanned the area with the flashlight, following the sound, but as we searched, we realized that the sound was coming from all directions and had a rhythm, which didn’t seem like it was made by an animal.

“It’s not a wild animal; what is that sound?” 胖子 murmured to himself.

“The sound of the tide,” 闷油瓶 said.

We looked at each other in surprise. Could such a small lake have tides? Was the moon particularly large today? Looking up, we could hardly see the moon at all.

阿贵 put down his rifle, and we walked toward the lakeshore. When we got close to the waterline, sure enough, the lake water was rhythmically undulating, like waves lapping against the shore, but the amplitude was small. The sound of the animal drinking water was actually the sound of water hitting the rocks.

I looked at the rocky shore beneath my feet and noticed that the water level had dropped. The ground was wet, which meant that during the time we had been chatting and while 云彩 was singing, the water level of the lake had been continuously decreasing. I walked from the wet line all the way to the water’s edge and found that there were at least a dozen steps; the water level had dropped significantly.

“What’s going on? Is the lake bottom leaking?” 胖子 squinted into the distance.

I was quite familiar with geography and knew this was a geographical phenomenon. I said to him, “This is probably the siphon effect.”

“What’s a siphon? Is it some kind of liquor?”

“It seems this lake is indeed connected to an underground river, and there might be a much larger lake nearby that is connected to it. Influenced by tides or atmospheric pressure, this lake experiences a kind of interconnectivity. For instance, if we consider the small lake and the large lake as magnets, and if the siphon effect is caused by the moon’s gravity, then the moon is like a large magnet. The larger lake would experience a stronger pull, creating a pressure difference between the two lakes. Thus, the water from the small lake would be drawn into the large lake, causing the water level in the small lake to drop.” I looked up at the sky and suddenly realized something.

No wonder we couldn’t find any traces of bodies; if there is a siphon effect here, and if there are siphon tides every night, then the bodies from years ago might have been drawn to the center of the lake. It’s just like the principle of a flushing toilet.

Not just bodies, but everything in the lake would be drawn to its center. No wonder I felt that there was nothing but stones by the lakeside.

The bottom of this lake has a significant drop, very steep. As long as something slides down, it won’t be pushed back when the tide comes in. If stones hadn’t been used to weigh it down at that time, it would surely have remained in the deepest part of the lake center.

Thinking of this, I couldn’t help but feel a bit frustrated. I had no idea how deep the lake was, and we hadn’t brought any scuba gear. If the water was too deep, we would be returning empty-handed. However, after a moment, I felt a surge of encouragement. Free divers can reach depths of over a hundred meters; although we lack that level of expertise, diving down twenty or thirty meters shouldn’t be a big problem. As long as the lake isn’t absurdly deep, we should be able to go in and take a look, but we would need someone who is a good swimmer.

It wasn’t easy to come all the way here, so no matter what, we had to give it a try. Swimming to the middle of the lake shouldn’t be too difficult. With that in mind, I asked them, “How long can you hold your breath?”