Wu Xie
Pangzi had come back a few hours before nightfall and told them about the arranges he had made for their travel to Banai. It turns out that he had contact someone in the village and told him he was an investor for tourism and wanted to see if the village had the potential to be develop into a more rural resort area.
The man had offer all three of them a place to stay at a reasonable price and all the assistance they may need while they stayed in the village. Wu Xie laughed, but admire the way Pangzi got things done, even when it was nothing more than lies. At least he was impressive enough to have things done in record time and with the support of the locals no less.
The next day they left early and were on their way to Banai and arrived just a bit before nightfall. Once in the village, they were escorted by the man that Pangzi had make arrangement with. He was a lively old man called Yun Gui that liked to talk. He obviously truly wanted for the area to develop into a tourist spot, so he was eager to get into their good side. He even offer to carry their backpacks, but Wu Xie refused, making sure Pangzi refused as well.
They walked over a bamboo bridge that was honestly in need to be fixed, but they had be and seen far worse than a small bridge that didn't have much high. Wu Xie gave Xiaoge a glance from time to time, just to see if he had any sign of remembering been there, but his expression was as unreadable as always.
Mr. Gui then guide them to his residence, which was bigger than they had expected and looked welcoming, well-kept and quite big. It was not a modern house, but it was a good place to stay.
"Well, gentlemen, this is my house. What do you think? Good enough for tourists? It can accommodate not only the three of you, but thirty people if needed." Mr. Gui said and Pangzi gave the house a good look.
"This is a great place, ideal for retirement. Not everyone likes the noise of the big cities, so this is a good alternative for a quiet and relaxed time away from it. I said it's ideal for investment." Pangzi concluded and Wu Xie almost rolled his eyes. Such a good liar...
"Mr. Fatty, you got it right, I assure you. We have been having some tourist from time to time, so we discussed about it and agree that if someone is willing to invest, we can renovate the village and start a tourist business. So we had been waiting for discerning investor like you for a long time." Mr. Gui confessed and Wu Xie smiled slightly. No wonder Pangzi could make last minute arrangement so easily.
"Of course... however I will still have to give it a good look and see if it can be develop properly. Also we will need to see other places in the village that could be of interest for tourist, but this place first, of course." Pangzi said with that convincing business mode of his and as Mr. Gui agree to show them in, Wu Xie smirked, then look at Xiaoge.
"He is a smooth talker... and a good liar too." Wu Xie said and Xiaoge assented in agreement before they follow Pangzi inside the house. Mr. Gui shows them around and assigned them two rooms, as per Pangzi request, one for Xiaoge and him and the other all to himself. If they were inside a tomb or camping out, they would had share the same space, but Pangzi had insisted that he was not going to spend the night in the same room with two newly wed gay couple, not matter how much he likes them.
Wu Xie had blushed and thought it wasn't really necessary for Pangzi to pay for an extra room, because Xiaoge and him where not bold enough to have intimacy while in an unknown place and surrounded by unknown people. He knew for sure that Xiaoge will keep his guard up at all times, instead of undressing Wu Xie to have a hot night sex. It was not like they do it when Pangzi came home last night, anyways.
Regardless of that, Mr. Gui offer them something to drink, as they waited for the dinner to be served in full and Wu Xie used the chance to give the old man the address Mr. Chu had write for him. They had go there to find clues about Xiaoge's past and not for sightseeing or despite Pangzi's opinion nor on honeymoon either.
Mr. Gui read the given address and smiled.
"This is located above our village and have been deserted for a long time... but if you want to go there I can take you in the morning." The old man said and Wu Xie smiled adorably.
"Oh, that won't be necessary, just give us the direction and we can go there on our own. It will give us a chance to see the village and the scenery. We can take the chance to see if it can be expanded too." Wu Xie said quite charmingly and Xiaoge though that Wu Xie was also a good liar, although a more attractive one.
"Oh well... then I will tell you were to go. No problems." The man said while he smiled and Wu Xie give Xiaoge a glance who had a hard gaze on him. Well... sorry, but he could lie too... all was fair in love and war, or so it was said. Thus the matter was decided and soon after, a young woman walked in with their dinner. A lemongrass roasted chicken.
It smell like heaven and Mr. Gui urged to have a taste of it, as well as the other dished that were already served in the long table. Wu Xie was hungry, as they barely eat anything on their journey there, so he took a plate and serve himself from the many dishes offer and prepare another for Xiaoge. However, he thought it was odd for Pangzi, who was usually the first one to grab the food, was simply sitting on his chair staring at...
"Ah, she is my daughter, Yun Cai... she is a good cook, try it, try it..." The man insisted, but Pangzi was too mesmerized by the young woman to taste anything.
"Seriously Pangzi, it's rude to droll like that." Wu Xie though, but then again, he was stupid that way when infatuated with the charms of the opposite sex.
"Xiaoge, here, have some..." Wu Xie said gently as he pass him a plate filled with food he knew he would like.
"Thank you." Xiaoge whisper accepting Wu Xie's pamper and eat some, to have that warming smile back on his lover tempting lips.
Xiaoge ignored Pangzi's sudden desire to recite poetry and finish his plate as soon as possible to be away from it. Then he stood and walked over a wall in where there were a set of old photos shown in a glass display. At his back, Pangzi was now overacting and pretty much asking Mr. Gui for them to become family. Pangzi sure was bold... or just too drunk.
He get a look to all the photos and stopped on a particular one that looks familiar. It was the photo of an old man and a young woman... and he had the feeling he know her, that he had some kind of connection with her, but his mind was still clouded and even when he took the effort to try and remember, he only gained the start of an headache.
"Xiaoge... are you alright?" Zhang Qiling hear Wu Xie ask from his back and he pointed at the photo that had given him the sudden pain and as soon as Wu Xie saw it, he came closer and gently put a hand on his shoulder.
"That's Chen Wenjin... she was with you on that expedition I told you about, back in the Parcel Islands. She was here in Banai in the year 1976, which means that this was taken before she went to the expedition with you..." Wu Xie said to Xiaoge while in surprise.
"I thought that Parcel Islands was Chen Wenjin's starting point... but seen this, she actually started the project in Banai... Mr. Gui! This photo... who are they?" Wu Xie asked the old man that was discussing ways to promote the village with the drunk Pangzi.
"Ah... that one shows the records of the glorious history of my family. You see, that man standing proud there was my father, he die a long time ago and the woman by his side, was the leader of the expedition team that came many years ago." Mr. Gui finish, as he pointed himself in the background of the photo as a kid.
"Expedition team? For what they came here for?" Wu Xie asked a bit impatiently.
"Of that... I'm not sure. I was too young back then to remember clearly, but it was said that they found something in the mountains over the village. It was said that they have been working on it for a few years and then left with no follow-up, so most of the villagers forgot about the reason they came here in the first place." The man said.
"Oh... it's that the beginning of a local story? I will love to hear about that... what about paying you by the word. I'm such a curious man and love this kind of stuff... come, come... tell us everything." Pangzi said and Wu Xie was tempted to roll his eyes. He was just too into his rich fake character, but if it was for Xiaoge... it was still worthy.
"Alright... Yun Cai, come and count my words... and don't miss a single one." The man said as he sat back on the coach with the rest of the Iron Triangle ready to listen to him very carefully.
At first, been a little greedy, the man started with nonsense, but after Pangzi told him to get to the point and assure him that repeated words did not count, he got serious.
"It was a big deal to have an expedition team in our village. We were very poor back then, so the work and payment was welcoming in such harsh times." He begins.
"Mr. Gui, how many members the expedition have, do you remember?" Wu Xie asked impatiently, wanting to get to the point before they could go bankrupt.
"I think it was about a dozen, with the woman leading them. They said that they were an archeological team from the big city and wanted to study the village for some unknown reasons. My father, just like myself now, was the one who made the arrangement and guide them in."
"Then, for how long did they stayed in the mountains?" Wu Xie interrupted again.
"Hum... for about six months, if I remember correctly. They came in and out all the time they were up in the mountains and there was nothing unusual in their work. Well... noting but something my father find it odd. You see, the woman in the picture told the guide my father find for her that he only needed to enter the mountains every three days, no sooner and no later." Mr. Gui related.
"What a bunch of weirdos... why only every three days? Did they chanted spells on the mountains before that or what?" Pangzi interrupted, still half drunk and both Wu Xie and Xiaoge stared at him, so he shut up immediately.
"At first, everything was just fine. The guide obeyed the instruction and go into the mountain exactly every three days... until one day, he needed to help a relative to mow and could not go on the third day, so he thought it will be fine if he go a day earlier... but when he go to their campsite that night, he found no one, nor in the camp, nor in the vicinity, nor in any other place of the mountain he searched for hours. It was like they had simply vanished into thin air and no matter how far he searched, he could not find them."
"Oh, how creepy..." Pangzi interrupted and was once again glared from the other two corners of his triangle.
"The weird part came in the morning. The guide came back the next day, as he was supposed to, expecting it to be empty again, but was completely shocked to see the campsite as lively as ever, with all the members of the team coming and leaving from the tent as usual, as if nothing had happened, as if they haven't vanish from the place the night before. Scared that it had been the work of a mountain god, he keep silent and only shared the story after they left the village for good."
"All right then, I'm up to the challenge and mystery... Mr. Gui, I want to go there myself... see if you can find us a guide as well... it will be well paid..." Pangzi said as he offer the old man a drink and have one for himself.
"Huh? You want to go there?"
"I love a good mystery... don't you?"
"Oh... well, I will see what I can arrange..."
"Good, good..." Pangzi whisper as he felt lightweight all of the sudden.
"About the words... Yun Cai, how many were there?" The old man asked to his daughter, but after she try the count all of them out, she could not tell the answer.
"Sorry, but this time is our gain, old man." Wu Xie thought, as he saw Pangzi fall asleep in the couch.
"Let's continue this tomorrow, my friend here is too drunk. I will take him to his room." Wu Xie offer, but Xiaoge was on his feet instantly.
"I will take him." He whisper and Wu Xie help him to place Pangzi on his back and lay him down on the room Mr. Gui had arranged for him.
"It's late... we should rest too." Wu Xie said to Xiaoge and after they informed Mr. Gui of them going to retire for the rest of the night, they went to their room and hit the bed after having a separate shower, to clean themselves from all the sweat and dirt from their travel.
Wu Xie make sure that Xiaoge was well cover, the night was a bit cold in the mountains after a cold bath and hug him, pulling him close.
"Are you still in pain?" Wu Xie asked to his man.
"Not much..."
"Want some painkillers?"
"No... it's already fading..."
"Alright... then have some sleep. It was a long travel here."
"You too Wu Xie..."
"Mn..." Wu Xie gave him a kiss on his forehead.
"Love you..." Wu Xie whisper as he place his head on Xiaoge's shoulder and Xiaoge in return, give Wu Xie a soft kiss on his lips, then wrapped his arms protectively around him as well.
"Me too... good night." And after he felt Wu Xie relax on his sleep, he let himself rest for the night.
AN: Thanks for reading, only two more days for my vacations, so I may not upload as faster as before. Hope you like it and as always, please take care. 😁💐