Standing before the bamboo grove once again, I looked out over the scene. Today’s sunlight wasn’t exactly bright, yet this bamboo forest still gave off the same faint, elusive green glow as yesterday. At a glance, it had an oddly hypnotic effect.
Father emerged from the back of the SUV, carrying a long fishing rod over his shoulder, and called out to me.
I turned my head and saw him toss a few compressed energy bars my way. I hurriedly stepped forward to catch them, barely keeping them from falling to the ground.
“Hey, nice reflexes! That’s youth for you.”
The corners of Father’s usually expressionless mouth lifted slightly.
“Got everything with you? You eat a lot—breakfast alone isn’t enough to fill the gap between your teeth. I’ve got more rations in the trunk if you need them. Go help yourself.”
“No need, this is plenty. I’m not going in there to camp—I’ll be out soon. I doubt I’ll get lost.”
I glanced down at the energy bars in my hand. All chocolate flavored.
When I used to go fishing with Father, I’d occasionally get to enjoy one. The taste was surprisingly decent—a far cry from the military rations and canned goods my uncle used to give me.
The only downside was that these compressed rations needed to be eaten with water—chewing them dry would leave them stuck in your throat, impossible to swallow, turning your face beet red with effort.
I set down my adventure backpack, took out a rope, a small toolkit, and a piece of dark cotton cloth, then stashed the energy bars in a corner and zipped everything up. Preparation complete.
At some point, Father had wandered off toward a small artificial pond not far from the bamboo grove. Was it owned by someone? I didn’t see any fish pens or temporary huts nearby—it might have been abandoned.
As for whether it was legal for Father to fish there, I didn’t think too hard about it. That was his concern. Besides, it wasn’t a life-and-death matter.
Straightening up, I slung the zipped backpack over my shoulders again, gazing solemnly at the flat path animals had trampled through the entrance of the bamboo grove.
My challenge now was to enter this mysterious bamboo grove and find the old lady rumored to predict the future, and ask her to answer my questions.
Questions about my strange childhood experiences on the mountain behind our house, about whether Catgirl really existed, and about whether I’d fall seriously ill again in the future…
Though I knew entering the bamboo grove came with real risk, I still wanted to take the chance.
What surprised me was that Father, Mother, and Uncle weren’t as opposed as I’d imagined. Instead, they silently allowed me to set out, watching from behind and waiting for me to return.
“I really shouldn’t make them worry…”
I took out my phone from my pocket for one last look. Zhi Nian had already sent a string of emojis that morning, urging me to hurry home and go shopping with her, and to visit the newly opened arcade nearby.
I’d already seen her messages in the SUV before I got here, and had planned to reply right away.
But an inexplicable sense of unease had come over me, and the text I’d typed out was left unsent in my drafts. I closed the chat instead.
Once I came out of the bamboo grove, regardless of whether I got my answers, regardless of whether I saw that mysterious old lady, I would set aside all these worries and spend time wholeheartedly playing with that cute little Catgirl.
Thinking this, my footsteps naturally fell in line with the animal tracks at the entrance.
Slowing down, I studied the ground. Judging by the paw prints left in the mud, it looked like they belonged to a small cat-like animal.
Compared to my uncle, my skills at identifying animal tracks were mediocre. As my teacher in such matters and a half-professional science vlogger, he was far more skilled.
I’d only picked up a few basic tips during our trips together, barely enough to distinguish what kind of animal left which tracks, and which way they were headed.
The feline tracks didn’t run the length of the path. As I ventured deeper, I kept my eyes low, looking for more.
There were still quite a few tracks at the entrance, but farther in, they thinned rapidly.
A few steps further, and they faded until nearly invisible. I had to crouch down and squint to make out faint impressions in the dirt, as if someone had deliberately tried to erase them.
Taking the opportunity, I stopped and tied my rope to the nearest sturdy, tall bamboo, hanging the dark, eye-catching cloth as a marker to guide my return.
Looking back now, I could still see the mountains and the rutted road outside, and even spot the flag stuck in the ground by some mischievous kid at the entrance. Next to it was the official warning sign—I remembered it saying something about poisonous snakes and insects and forbidding entry.
But from my last experience in this bamboo grove, I hadn’t seen even an ant. The whole place was eerily silent, with only the sound of wind rustling through the bamboo leaves.
I shook off my wandering thoughts, took a deep breath, and pulled out my compass. In my right hand, I gripped the spade I’d borrowed from my uncle, and headed into the grove.
For some reason, the compass my uncle had given me kept twitching erratically, forcing me to slow down and use the sun overhead to confirm my direction and heading.
Last time, the compass had also acted strange, but not as intensely—just an occasional twitch before resetting itself.
I didn’t know if it was a problem with the compass itself, or if, as the experts claimed, it had something to do with the magnetic field here.
As an ordinary person, all I could do was grit my teeth and press on.
The path was smooth, with no hills or dips. The dirt underfoot was as soft as cotton, with no bothersome animal droppings or thorny branches in sight.
The deeper I went, the stronger the scent of bamboo became. It made my head feel light and a bit detached.
To be precise, it was like being disconnected from reality—a dreamlike sensation, as if I’d become a two-dimensional character in an anime. I didn’t need to worry about dirty ground, sharp grass poking my ears, or insects crawling inside my clothes. I could simply lie in the grass and gaze at the sky, like a carefree protagonist drifting into sleep…
“Crack!”
Just as my consciousness was slipping away, I quickly raised the spade and whacked my right thigh with the back of it.
The sharp pain made cold sweat break out all over me. Luckily, I’d managed to ease up at the last moment—otherwise, I might have fractured my own bone, or at the very least, left a bruise that would make walking difficult.
Snapping back to my senses, I hurriedly took out some medicated balm and dabbed it on my nose, temples, and the back of my neck, making sure the strong mint scent would mask the strangely enchanting aroma of the bamboo grove.
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