Chapter 10: Overlord of the Valley
Water from the gurgling stream meandered and flowed out from the valley, crashing down from a cliff tens of meters high that resembled a frozen meteor in the sky, forming a silky waterfall off the edge.
Below the waterfall was a deep pool, which flowed a few kilometers down the mountain then curved into a bend by a small mountain village.
In that small village stood an old mansion. A wrinkled Li Laohan sat outside, smoking dry tobacco in silence, his brows furrowed.
"Dad, what should we do? We can't go to the mountain anymore." Li Fei raised his head as if to point at the unbudging mist covering the towering mountains in the distance, a sense of fear lingering in his heart.
"Cough! Cough! Cough…" his father broke into a violent coughing fit. "Find them! We still have to find them!" he proclaimed as he cleared his throat, nodding hard.
Perhaps a bit more than a month ago, four people had suddenly visited the village.
The four had claimed to be travel buddies coming to explore the valley, and had paid Old Li's nephew, Li Ming, a good sum of money to act as their guide.
A month had passed. Li Ming had not returned, and the four travel mates were nowhere to be seen either.
Old Li had thought about calling the police, but there were dozens of kilometers of mountain roads separating their village from the town. Besides, town people would not understand the situation on the other side of the valley as well as a villager would.