Li Lin led the ox to a place with lush grass and abundant water, then untied the lead rope and let it roam freely to graze leisurely.
Li Lin gazed at the towering, concave-shaped mountain before him.
He thought of what the village elders used to say—this entire mountain range was called Sunset Mountain. As for why it was called Sunset Mountain, nobody knew for sure.
Anyway, generation after generation had passed the name down by word of mouth.
According to legend, fierce beasts and poisonous insects often roamed the depths of the mountain forest, making it terrifying. The adults repeatedly warned them never to go deep into the forest.
The oldest elder in the village used to say that some of their ancestors, unwilling to starve to death, had wanted to go up the mountain to hunt some game.
However, those who went never returned, and from then on, no one ever dared to go deep into Sunset Mountain.
Li Lin could see that deep within the mountain forest, weeds grew wildly, trees flourished, and ancient trees reached toward the sky.
Some of the trees looked to be dozens of zhang tall. Occasionally, various birds swept across the sky, chirping noisily.
It looked peaceful enough, and didn't seem dangerous at all.
Yet Li Lin wouldn't dare to go up the mountain either. Although he usually grazed his cattle here, he only ever dared to do so at the foot of the mountain. The area was big enough, and there was a pond carved out by years of flowing water, making the grass exceptionally lush and rich.
The ox was taking big mouthfuls of green grass, making a crisp chewing sound.
Li Lin lay back on the grass, staring blankly at the sky with unfocused eyes, watching the drifts of white clouds, looking somewhat vacant as if his mind was wandering far away.
"A-Lin! A-Lin!"
"Brother Lin."
"Brother Lin..."
A few calls pulled Li Lin's thoughts back to reality.
Li Lin sat up and looked over to see several close companions from the same village. They often grazed their cattle here and knew each other very well.
Li Lin shouted back, "Brother Tiansheng, Huzi, Erniu, I'm over here!"
He waved his hand.
Within a few breaths, the group gathered together. Each of them led their cattle to a single spot and let them graze freely.
Then they all lay down together on the grass, each instinctively holding a blade of nameless grass in their mouths, looking thoroughly relaxed and leisurely.Li Tiansheng spoke first, saying, "Ah-Lin, why did you come so early today? Aren't you usually someone who loves to sleep in? Did the sun rise from the west today?"
Li Lin shouted back, "Tiansheng, are you allergic to me doing something right? It's a rare occasion that I showed up early, and you still have to mock me?"
Li Tiansheng was three or four years old older than Li Lin, making him the eldest among this group of children.
Erniu's real name was Li Huahua. She was a year younger than Li Lin and second in birth order at home, so everyone liked to call her Erniu.
She looked over and asked, "Brother Lin, how come Li Tong didn't come with you?"
Li Lin replied, "Erniu, isn't playing with me just the same? Why do you always have to look for Tong'er? My little sister went back to our mother's maiden home with her. Why don't I play with you instead?"
Li Huahua said, "I wouldn't want that! Hmph, you're all rotten to the core, not fun at all."
Li Tiansheng smiled and said, "You can't put it that way. We've all grown up together since we were toddlers running around in split-crotch pants. Who doesn't know who? Aren't we all aware of who's genuinely bad and who's just pretending?"
"Right, Ah-Lin?"
Huzi, who had been keeping quiet the whole time, finally spoke up.
With an honest and simple expression on his face, he chuckled, "Erniu, I'm not bad. I'll play with you. I promise I won't tease you, and I'll protect you, heh heh! I certainly won't let anyone bully you."
Huzi's real name was Li Hu, and his nature was honest and utterly straightforward. He was around the same age as Erniu and had always taken it upon himself to protect her.
He followed at her heels every day, usually taciturn and struggling to squeeze out a word for the longest time.
Li Huahua said, "You blockhead, who wants your protection? You're so muddle-headed and not fun at all. The few of you can just go play amongst yourselves. Tongtong didn't come today, ugh, this is so boring!"
With that, Li Huahua sat up and walked toward the pond. Huzi immediately scrambled to his feet and followed her, sticking close by her side every step of the way as if he were afraid she might fly away.
Li Tiansheng and Li Lin exchanged a glance, shook their heads in silence, and lay back down on the grass. For a moment, quiet fell over the place.It was impossible to tell how much time had passed. Li Lin, who hadn't slept well to begin with, drifted into a state between waking and sleeping.
He dreamed he was drinking fine wine from large bowls and eating great chunks of meat. Beautiful women kept him company—what a wonderful life it was. A long trail of drool leaked from the corner of his mouth.
Suddenly.
The sky filled with dark clouds, shifting violently.
"Rumble."
"Rumble... rumble..."
"Rumble."
The thunder rolled in from afar, growing louder and more terrifying by the second. It was astonishingly fierce.
It jolted Li Lin right out of his half-sleep.
The fine wine, the good meat, and the beauties all vanished without a trace.
"So it really was just a dream," Li Lin muttered to himself.
Gust after gust of howling wind swept across the area, bending the surrounding flowers, grass, and trees until they whipped and rattled in the gale.
Li Lin couldn't help shivering. The cold wind made the chill bite even deeper, and he pulled his tattered padded jacket tighter around himself.
Raising his voice, he shouted, "Tiansheng, Huzi, Erniu! It looks like a torrential downpour is about to hit. We'd better head back right now before we get soaked and catch a chill."
Li Tiansheng, Erniu, and Huzi nodded in agreement one after another. Then they each ran off to fetch their cattle, getting ready to head home.
"Crack."
"Crack... snap!"
"Crack."
"Boom... rumble."
"Boom, boom."
The display was terrifyingly fierce, enough to make one's heart leap into one's throat.
The roaring sounds were muffled, rolling heavily across the ground.
Then a wild gale tore through the world, twisting the flowers, grass, and trees across the entire landscape out of shape.
"Squawk, squawk."
"Chirp, chatter."
"Squawk, squawk, squawk."
"Caw, caw..."
Frightened out of their wits, the birds in Sunset Mountain flew about in a panicked frenzy, darting every which way in a desperate bid to escape.
Huge raindrops pelted down in a torrential sheet, stinging slightly as they struck the skin.
The sky suddenly went pitch black, so dark you couldn't see your own hand in front of your face.
"Rumble."
"Rumble..."
"Bang."
Clap after clap of deafening thunder rolled on without pause. Faster than lightning could strike, bolts plunged straight out of the hazy sky, exploding with a deafening roar right beside their ears.
The white mist drifting through the air had already merged with the pitch-black storm clouds.
They blotted out the sun and sky, radiating a ferocious might. Aside from the occasional flash of lightning illuminating the surroundings, nothing could be seen at all.
A tremor of fear crept into the depths of Li Lin's heart. The majestic wrath of the heavens was truly terrifying.
Flash after flash of lightning lit the sky; crack after crack of thunder shook the earth.
The ground shuddered beneath the blows, and the sky itself seemed to weep in terror as massive raindrops came pelting down with a fierce whoosh, mercilessly lashing the earth.
Suddenly.
A bolt of lightning split the vault of the heavens.
"Zat!"
With a sound that tore the entire sky apart, thick and blindingly bright, it struck viciously down toward Sunset Mountain, aiming straight for the bowl-shaped valley nestled in the middle.
"Boom, boom, boom."
A deafening roar shook the air. Terrified, Li Lin instantly dropped into a crouch on the ground.
He clamped his hands tightly over his ears, his clothes soaked through by the driving rain.
His eardrums felt as though they were about to shatter. He could no longer hear any sound at all, only a dull, relentless buzzing echoing in his ears, making his head spin instantly.
After a little while.
The rain stopped. It had come quickly and gone just as fast.
The sky brightened once more. Li Lin fought through his lingering dizziness.
He raised his head and looked up to see white clouds drifting peacefully across the sky, as if the torrential rain and thunder from moments before had all been an illusion.
Yet the flowers, grass, and trees all around were still dripping water, and the ground remained soaked everywhere—reminders that everything that had just happened was real.
In the distance, Huzi was not only leading two oxen but also carrying Erniu in his arms. His honest, foolish expression looked somewhat comical.
Further away stood Li Tiansheng, looking somewhat at a loss, while his ox had completely vanished.
Li Lin himself had kept a tight grip on his rope the entire time. Even though his ox had grown frantic and restless during the thunder, trying to bolt several times, he had managed to keep it from running wild.
Leading his ox, Li Lin made his way toward Li Tiansheng, wading unsteadily through the mud.