The caravan reached the riverbank, and I had them stop so I could examine it myself. The current looked quite strong, and I was concerned the scout who rode ahead might have misjudged the depth.
Indeed, it was shallow, barely a hand's depth, and the bottom wasn't mud or sand, but something like cement or concrete, laid perfectly flat. It looked like an artificially dug canal!
"What do you call this river?" I asked the captain.
"Reporting, sir, this is the Xi He," he replied.
"...It's this wide, and you call it Xi He (Narrow River)?" I chuckled.
"This river is only three li wide; it's considered quite narrow."
It seems the underworld has abundant water; a three-li wide river is considered narrow.
We pressed on. The cavalry and carriages entered the water. I could feel the current's impact on the wheels, but it didn't impede the horses. When we reached the middle of the river, I got out again to take a clearer look. It truly resembled an artificial canal, so flat and straight.
Bingbing even wanted to take off her shoes and wade, but the cavalry captain warned her about carnivorous fish in the river, known to attack small animals crossing. He advised against entering the water.
"Then why don't they attack the warhorses?" Bingbing asked, confused. The horses wore armor, but the rafts didn't.
"Because the warhorses would trample them to death," the captain said with a smile.
A peculiar logic.
Bingbing didn't understand but didn't press the issue. After the convoy crossed, the forest mentioned by the county officials lay before us.
Initially, the scenery was pleasant, but as we ventured deeper, the light grew dimmer, and the trees became taller and denser. It felt as if we had shrunk. They were tree species I'd never seen before. The clearings had no grass or flowers, just bare ground, not even a fallen leaf. It looked odd, as if some chemical agent had been spread.
"This forest is also called—" I started, then stopped myself. I pointed diagonally ahead and asked in a low voice, "Captain, are there any beasts in this forest?"
"Yes, many," the captain replied. "But most wild animals avoid humans and won't attack proactively. Even if they do, sir, you needn't worry. We have all hunted in this Chang Lin before and are experienced. With your firearm, a few small beasts are nothing to fear."
The captain seemed fond of my rifle, carrying it on his shoulder instead of hanging it on his saddle like the others.
"Let's still be careful," I advised, as I sensed several presences moving rapidly towards us. They felt strange, not like ghosts, more like wild boars.
After about a minute, I saw the presences were less than two hundred meters away. I quickly alerted the captain again.
The captain looked in that direction. "I don't see anything, sir. Are you mistaken?"
"They've stopped. Give me the rifle," I said sternly. Their numbers seemed to have increased. Stopping to observe carefully meant they weren't ordinary passing animals; they were likely coming for us.
The captain handed me the rifle. I climbed onto the carriage roof and peered in the direction of the presences, but the dense trees obscured my view. I didn't rush. I told everyone to rest and stay alert while I lit a cigarette and continued observing with my spiritual sense.
After about half a cigarette, the presences began to move again, not directly towards us, but splitting into two groups, attempting to flank us, maintaining a distance of about two hundred meters.
These were definitely not beasts!
I jumped off the carriage and drew a diagram on the ground. "Look, their current positions. Here, seven or eight. Over there, more than ten. And on this side, about five or six. They're surrounding us from three sides. Captain, do you think these are wild animals?"
The captain looked at my drawing and grew tense. "They don't seem like it. We've never encountered anything like this before."
"Could it be enemies, ambushing us here?" Bingbing asked.
I shook my head. Their presences were different from any enemies I had encountered before. What in the world were they...