"There's a house over there, let's go take a look," I said, pointing to a house not far away.
The three of us walked up to the front door, which was slightly ajar, and it seemed like someone was inside.
I knocked on the door and called out, "Is anyone home?"
After a moment, footsteps could be heard from inside, and an old man opened the door.
The old man had a wrinkled face and white hair, with an unusual body proportion—his upper body was long while his legs were quite short.
"Who are you?" the old man asked, looking at the three of us with curiosity.
"Hello, sir. We are just passing through and would like to borrow your house to rest for a while," I replied respectfully.
"Oh, so you're travelers. Please come in," the old man said warmly.
The three of us followed the old man into the room, which was very simply furnished but quite clean.
"Please have a seat; I'll get you some water," the old man said.
He took out a few bowls and went outside to fetch water.
"This old man is really strange; why is his upper body so long but his legs so short?" Xiao Xiao whispered.
"Yeah, I find it odd too," A Meng replied.
"Maybe everyone here is like that," I suggested.
Soon, the old man returned with water and poured it for us.
We quickly thanked him and started drinking.
"This water is really good," Xiao Xiao exclaimed.
"Yes, it's sweeter than any water we've had before," A Meng agreed.
"Sir, what is this place? Who are you?" I asked.
"This is Dwarffoot Kingdom; my name is Shortleg Elder," the old man replied.
"Dwarffoot Kingdom? No wonder your upper body is long and your legs are short," I realized suddenly.
"Yes, everyone here is like this; we have gotten used to it," the old man laughed.
"Sir, what do people eat here?" I asked.
"The specialty here is meat, and it tastes very delicious," the old man said.
"Really? Can we try some?" I asked.
"Of course, just wait a moment, I'll prepare it right away," the old man replied.
Soon, he came in carrying a large bowl of meat.
"This is made from Hulong meat, and we added leaves from the plants on the mountain while cooking. It tastes great," the old man explained.
"Thank you, sir," the three of us quickly expressed our gratitude.
They took a bite of the meat, and indeed, it was delicious with a salty flavor.
"This meat is amazing," Xiao Xiao praised.
"It seems like there's salt in this meat, right?" I asked.
"Yes, we always use this kind of water when cooking; it has a very salty taste," the old man said.
"Water? Are you talking about brine?" I was surprised.
"Yes, we have a well here with very salty water that we use for cooking," the old man explained.
"That's really fascinating," I marveled.
"Although this well water is salty, it's hard to drink; it can't compare to the water you drink," the old man added.
"Yes, that water is so refreshing," Xiao Xiao said.
"Sir, could you tell us how to get to the high mountain?" I inquired.
"You want to go to the high mountain?" the old man was surprised.
"Yes," I nodded.
"That place is inaccessible," he shook his head.
"Why?" I asked in astonishment.
"If you head northeast for seventy miles, you'll find a rushing River called Futu River. The water is turbulent and the waves are overwhelming; it's impossible to cross," the old man explained.
"I see," I realized suddenly.
"Even if you manage to cross Futu River, don't expect to climb the high mountain," the old man warned.
"Why?" I exclaimed in surprise.
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