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墨書 Inktalez
"Ah Xiang" shouted to "A San," "Let's find a dry spot and sort out our backpacks."
It was then that I noticed all the backpacks were soaked in water. Most of the items inside were water-resistant, but some equipment, like the Metal Detector, couldn't get wet. If that broke, it would be even harder for us to locate ancient tombs that couldn't be pinpointed by feng shui.
The backpacks, now heavy with mud and water, made it difficult for us to move. We quickly hoisted them onto our backs, black muddy water streaming down our bodies. "A San" pointed in a direction and led the way.
Jack and I had lighter packs, allowing us to struggle along behind "A San" and "Ah Xiang." The two Mountain Folk carrying the heavier loads were having a tough time; while they were skilled at climbing mountains, traversing this marshy terrain relied solely on their strength with no technique involved. Both of them were short, and under the weight of their packs, their legs sank deep into the mud, making their progress slow and arduous. Unable to watch them struggle any longer, Jack and I turned back to help carry part of their load; otherwise, they might not make it out.
As a result, our pace slowed down significantly, leaving us far behind "Ah Xiang" and "A San," with the distance between us growing. Fortunately, they didn't leave us completely in the lurch; as we passed a thicket, they cut off a few branches about two meters long and as thick as their wrists and tossed them to us. With those branches, we could at least stabilize ourselves a bit better and pick up our speed.
Jack was ahead of me. Each time he pulled his leg out of the mud, I noticed something clinging to him that looked different from the black muck. As I pondered what it could be, I suddenly felt a tingling sensation on one of my legs. Pulling it out to inspect, I nearly fainted—there was a leech attached! It was utterly disgusting. During my time working in Archaeology in the Southwest Region, I had encountered leeches before and had developed some immunity to them. But seeing so many leeches clinging to me was like sesame seeds stuck on a pancake; anyone would find it unbearable. Frustrated, I cursed loudly.
Jack glanced back at my raised leg and said, "You've got more than I do," before turning back to continue walking.
I shot an annoyed glare at his retreating figure. Was he trying to provoke me?
Looking back at the two Mountain Folk behind me, they wore indifferent expressions. Was I being overly dramatic?
From where we entered the valley beneath the cliffs to the nearest hill was about two thousand meters away. It took us over an hour to reach it as we navigated around a muddy pit. "A San" had stuck branches along the way; otherwise, we would have walked straight into it. I couldn't see any difference in that area but was willing to trust the professionals' judgment.
Once we left the pavement, our first task was to remove the leeches from our bodies. There were too many; rinsing with water revealed that most of them were fully engorged with blood—one end swollen like a finger while the other remained embedded in our flesh, continuously sucking blood. They resembled a swarm of vampires; it felt like they were about to burst.
With a slap of my hand, most of the engorged leeches fell off automatically. However, some clung on stubbornly despite my attempts to knock them off. I had no choice but to take out my lighter and burn each one off individually. Pulling them off directly could leave their mouthparts embedded in our skin; without medical treatment here, infection was likely and could lead to death. Thankfully, everyone else knew this too; their methods for removing leeches were even simpler than mine. The two Vietnamese each held a cigarette—taking a puff before singeing a leech off—as if they were just playing a game.
The worst part was those two Mountain Folk. They were short, and at first, they sank into the water because their backpacks were too heavy. When they finally got to shore, they discovered that their lower bodies were covered in Leeches, with a few clinging to their Eggs as well. The two of them had no choice but to strip down, gritting their teeth to protect their vital parts; even I felt a pang of sympathy watching that scene.
Everyone's legs were covered in blood. After quickly treating our wounds, I opened my backpack to check on some water-sensitive equipment. Fortunately, knowing that this area receives plenty of rain, I had taken adequate waterproof measures, and there was no water inside the instruments.
By the time we repacked the equipment and hung our wet clothes out to dry, the sun was already setting in the west. It was clear we wouldn't reach our intended destination today; instead, we would have to spend the night in this place where we had only traveled a few kilometers.
This hill wasn't large, only a few dozen meters high. We laid our things out on a flat, smooth rock by the shore, while dense jungle loomed just seven or eight meters away. In this humid and nearly enclosed environment grew countless broadleaf and vine plants, and I couldn't spot two identical plants at a glance. The vegetation here was generally tall; not far from me stood a Sky Tree with a diameter of nearly one meter and a height exceeding thirty meters.
Clearly, we were stuck here. If this hill was isolated within the swamp, we wouldn't be able to leave unless we planned to feed ourselves to the Leeches. Ah Xiang was extremely angry about this and yelled at A San. It must have been harsh words; I couldn't understand his Vietnamese. A San kept his head down, afraid to retort, clearly intimidated by Ah Xiang.
In truth, it wasn't A San's fault. When I looked down from the cliff, I hadn't realized that it was actually a swamp below. The grass was so thick that it completely obscured what lay beneath; I hadn't even considered how high the temperature and humidity would be here.
After venting his frustration, Ah Xiang turned to me in Chinese: "We have to spend the night here. Which of you two will accompany me to explore this area? We need to find a place to stay for the night and check out the path below."
I hadn't expected Ah Xiang would drag me into this task, but looking at the two Mountain Folk, they had no reason to refuse either. Those two had been badly bitten by Leeches on their thighs; walking was already a challenge for them after just cleaning their wounds under the sun. It seemed he didn't trust leaving me and Jack alone here since he and A San could easily handle this task themselves.
I glanced at Jack; he shrugged nonchalantly. I wasn't sure how Jack was holding up; I had an advantage in endurance and still had strength for exploration. So I said to Ah Xiang, "I'll go. I suggest we head to the top of the hill first; we should be able to see the entire area from there."
"Agreed."
We quickly gathered our things—mainly tightening our pant legs and securing them into our damp shoes—each taking a machete before stepping into the forest.
The hill wasn't big, but the path was difficult to navigate, primarily due to the vines everywhere. Not long after entering the woods, light faded as the trees overhead blocked almost all sunlight with their varying heights. The vines were hidden among waist-high grass, forcing Ah Xiang and me to advance cautiously step by step. The hill wasn't steep or high, yet we couldn't pick up our pace at all.
I lowered my head, focusing on cutting through the dry branches and vines blocking the path. Suddenly, I heard Ah Xiang behind me say, "What was that sound?"
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