To make a long story short, after returning to Banai, I first treated myself to a good meal, then immediately set off to a nearby county town. I bought some swimming gear and instructed Aguai to take it back, then boarded a minibus heading out of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains. The bumpy ride was agonizing as my anxiety grew; during the journey, I spotted my distant relative, Panma Laojia, who spoke with a heavy Beijing accent. It was clear he had a lot on his mind, as he remained silent, lost in thought. He didn’t recognize me either.

Upon arriving in Fangchenggang, I checked into a hotel and began making arrangements. Having prepared things before, I was aware of the tricks and difficulties involved, so I organized everything methodically. I first called Panzi to have him transport some equipment; he was very familiar with the area and worked efficiently. Then, I asked Wang Meng to fly over immediately to help out; I needed someone to keep watch.

Panzi seemed a bit worried when he heard I needed equipment, so I lied and told him it was for someone else, and that’s when he agreed to help. The items and people arrived five days later. I rented a vehicle in Fangchenggang and directly transported everything to Banai. The mountain roads were incredibly steep, and I could only drive with a C license. This time, I had to grit my teeth and drive a larger vehicle, which was quite perilous; I nearly went off the cliff several times because the road was right next to a sheer wall. The sides of the vehicle were dented, and Wang Meng’s legs were shaking when he got out.

The roads in Banai were all poverty alleviation gravel roads, and I couldn’t drive the larger vehicle any further due to heavy rain, so I had to switch to a smaller one. It took three tractor-trailer loads to get the equipment into the village. Everything went smoothly until I reached the village entrance, where it had already been two weeks since I left.

I had originally arranged to meet Aguai at the village entrance to help transport the items to his home, but when I arrived and unloaded the cargo, he was nowhere to be found. I was already exhausted and felt a bit irritated, so I left Wang Meng to watch the things and went to find Aguai at his house. The building we were staying in, which served as a guesthouse and dining area, was tightly shut. I knocked for a long time with no response, so I headed to the wooden building where he lived.

The door to the wooden building was open; this was where Yuncai and the others stayed. The main hall was similar to ours, but it looked much cleaner since the kitchen wasn’t here. In the corner were some colorful frames they had woven to sell to tourists. There were some New Year paintings on the walls. The two sisters’ bedroom was in the back room, Aguai slept in the side room, and there was a wooden ladder leading to the second floor.

The local customs were simple and honest; the front door was never locked, and the rooms inside had curtains. I called out a few times and cautiously went inside, but found no one there. I yelled upstairs twice, but still no response; it seemed like nobody was home.

I started cursing in my mind, wondering what was going on with Aguai. We had made plans for him to wait for me, and now I couldn’t find him. Had he gone into the mountains? That would be a disaster; he was the only person I recognized here, and I had no idea when he would be back. My blood was boiling, and I didn’t believe in bad luck. Fearing he might be working upstairs and couldn’t hear me, I quickly climbed the stairs and yelled even louder.

There was a bamboo-woven door-like thing between the first and second floors, pressed against the floorboards. I pushed it open and climbed up. Above was a corridor that led to a wooden balcony at one end. The bamboo walls were a bit old and looked like they had been taken from some abandoned wooden building. On either side, there was a room; one was filled with things, all kinds of woven frames and dried animal skins, while the other room had its door closed. I knocked for a long time but got no response, as if there was indeed no one inside.

I took a few breaths to calm myself down; getting angry wouldn’t help. At that moment, I suddenly remembered that behind this door was the room where Agui said his son lived.

His son was only mentioned by Agui; I had never seen him. I sensed that he might have some disability, which is why he rarely showed himself. But why wasn’t he here today? My curiosity got the better of me, and I peered through the crack in the door. I found the inside to be very dim, with many things hanging on the walls, though I couldn’t make out what they were. They seemed to be pieces of paper, but there was indeed no one there, and I didn’t see any daily necessities—just emptiness.

I thought it was strange that his son lived in such a room. How could anyone stay here? I wanted to push the door open to take a closer look, but it wouldn’t budge at all, as if something inside was barring it.

I didn’t have time to ponder these things. I suppressed my curiosity and went downstairs to ask the neighbors. They said Agui hadn’t been seen for a long time, and it seemed he hadn’t come out since he went into the mountains about two weeks ago. However, they weren’t sure because Agui often went out of town to meet clients. His little daughter had gone to her grandfather’s house in a neighboring village due to the continuous heavy rain.

I cursed under my breath; two weeks ago was when I left here. It seemed that after he went back into the mountains, he hadn’t come out again, and it was very likely he had completely forgotten that I told him he needed to come out to pick me up.

So, I had no choice but to pay out of my own pocket and ask a few villagers to help move the equipment to Agui’s place, letting Wang Meng keep an eye on it. Then I thought about getting help from the neighbors to find a guide to go into the mountains myself, taking some manageable equipment with me. Once I arrived, I would have Agui come out to find someone to bring the gear in.

As soon as I inquired, I immediately learned why Agui hadn’t come to pick me up. It turned out that after I left, it rained for several days straight, and the mountains were full of mudslides and muck. Not to mention walking out on foot, even bringing a dozen people with mules into the mountains could result in disaster within seconds. Agui and his group were likely trapped in the mountains.

This was truly unexpected, and I was at a loss for what to do. However, the neighbor told me not to worry too much; Agui knew how to handle things. They just needed to stay by the lake and would only get a bit wet from the rain, so there wouldn’t be any major danger. But if I wanted to go back into the mountains, I would have to wait at least another week, and if the rain didn’t stop, it could be even longer. In this kind of weather, no hunter would be willing to help. It wasn’t a matter of money.

A week later, as I calculated the situation, I realized something was wrong. If Agui hadn’t returned, then they hadn’t received supplies for two weeks, and their food was likely running out. Even if Agui could hunt, whether there would be any game in this heavy rain was still a question.

“Actually, even if they can hold on, I can’t wait to delay for another week. So I offered three times the price, hoping to find someone who values money over their life. In the end, my neighbor got annoyed with my questioning and told me that in this kind of weather, there’s only one person brave enough to go into the mountains, and that’s Old Man Panma. You might as well go and ask him.”