Chapter 20: Unraveling the Threads to Find the Key to Break the Deadlock!
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A gentle breeze brushed against Zhang Hao’s face as he gazed at the familiar cliff before him—yet at this moment, it seemed extraordinarily strange. His clear eyes were filled with bewilderment.
Who am I... Where am I?
What am I... supposed to do?
These heartfelt questions only deepened the confusion in his clouded mind, making it even harder to comprehend the situation.
If his memory served him right, he should have been leading the funeral procession along the forest path back to the foot of the mountain.
So why... was he back here again?
What startled Zhang Hao even more was that he couldn’t recall what he had been doing moments ago, or even the path he had just walked.
His memory was showing signs of distortion.
“This... how did we end up back here again?” a voice murmured softly amidst the crowd.
Immediately, the murmurs erupted into chaos, as if everyone’s deepest fears had been ignited all at once, dredging up their most terrifying worries.
“Maybe... maybe we’ve disturbed something bad. The elders often say the mountain is full of... unclean spirits.”
“Perhaps the noise from today’s funeral was too loud, and it angered that thing? Could it be punishing us? It must be, it has to be.”
“That’s impossible! There’s no such thing as mountain spirits or monsters—that’s just old folks scaring kids. We’ve never had this happen before, so why now?”
“Are we... trapped here forever? I want to go home. My child is waiting for me.”
“Don’t say that! We’ll get out, for sure. There must be something causing this. If we find it, we’ll get rid of it!”
“Please, spare us. We’re all poor souls. If you let us go, we’ll offer incense every day and never disturb you again!”
Sobs, quiet whimpers, terrified cries, and trembling pleas filled the air, vividly displayed among the crowd.
Zhang Hao abruptly turned around and saw many kneeling, crying desperately toward the dark forest behind them.
His pupils constricted sharply as a cold shiver ran down his spine.
Indeed, the worst fear had come true.
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Encountering such strange phenomena in the mountains requires one thing above all: calmness. One must remain as composed as possible.
Once panic sets in, one is doomed.
The chance of escaping the mountain vanishes completely, and you may never find your way out.
“Haozi, what’s happening? How did we end up back here?” Gao Hai’s voice trembled with fear, his eyes darting nervously to either side.
Even he was shaken.
And truly, who could stay calm witnessing such an eerie event on funeral day?
“Don’t panic, don’t panic. Everyone must calm down first,” Zhang Hao urged quickly.
Gao Hai nodded in confusion, then hurried into the crowd to soothe the people.
Zhang Hao, however, moved to the back of the procession.
Standing before the forest path, his back to the crowd, his gaze burned like a torch into the depths of the shadowed woods—dark, silent, untouched by sunlight.
What had just happened was too strange to explain with science.
At the start, following the funeral procession through the forest, everything felt normal.
But as they walked, something shifted. He suddenly felt emotionally blocked, his thoughts slowed, a haze clouded his vision—as if he had lost direction and purpose.
Then he caught a glimpse of the piercing sunlight—and suddenly found himself back at the cliff.
Zhang Hao knew clearly: they had fallen into a mountain “ghost wall.”
In the "Mountain Trekking Chronicles," this phenomenon is called: “Encountering the Mountain Spirit.”
As the name suggests, they had met a mountain spirit—an elusive creature that blinds the eyes, confuses the senses, or outright controls its victims.
But “Encountering the Mountain Spirit” is a broad term, encompassing more than a dozen different manifestations documented in the Chronicles.
For instance, seeing familiar faces or deceased loved ones in the mountain.
Or finding what appears to be treasure but turns out to be animal dung or some bizarre object.
Or witnessing strange events like fox weddings or weasel coronations—odd, surreal happenings.
And the current situation itself can be categorized into several types.
One possibility is being truly controlled and toyed with by a mountain spirit, trapped endlessly in one place.
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Another is the presence of a powerful mountain deity nearby, who, to protect itself from discovery, causes such phenomena.
Yet another is having angered the mountain god, who punishes the trespassers.
Each scenario requires a different solution.
This is why Zhang Hao stood before the forest path, carefully recalling every detail of what had just occurred.
He wanted to uncover the root cause and devise a fitting response.
As his thoughts drifted, he patiently reviewed everything.
Just as the crowd’s noise began to subside, and his own mind finally stilled, relaxing his tense nerves—
Suddenly, Zhang Hao remembered: just before his thoughts clouded, he had seen something “floating” before his eyes.
Yes—floating.
He hadn’t noticed it at the time because it was intangible, colorless, and tasteless—both unreal and yet somehow real. In that instant, his mind had already begun to falter, leaving no time to react before it vanished.
He also recalled glancing surreptitiously at the villagers, who were already dazed and confused—suggesting they had been affected even earlier than he had.
The reason he was affected later?
He looked down at the straw sandals on his feet.
Most likely, they had played a role.
These sandals were woven from special materials, designed to prevent getting lost or trapped in the mountains, offering some protection against “Encountering the Mountain Spirit.”
But this time, he wasn’t alone—he was leading a large group.
That greatly diminished the sandals’ effectiveness.
Hence, he too was caught.
With this realization, Zhang Hao finally pieced together the cause and effect.
He turned to face the fearful, vacant-eyed villagers behind him, took a deep breath, and shouted with authority:
“Everyone, I know what’s going on. Follow me and obey my orders, and we will surely get out of the mountain!”