Chapter – 102 - What Is Hidden On Top Of The Fifth Mountain?

Beibei spent some more time roaming around the valley and mountains before she came across Nanate and Kunwa. The people of this valley did not mind her going about the place, not even when she was took the rope bridges to take a look at the other mountains.

However they instantly stopped whatever they were doing, seemingly going on high alert as soon as she put one foot on the floating stone bridge, watching her aggressively. Beibei took back her lifted foot and walked back the way she had just come, deep in thought.

Unlike the rope bridges which seemed to simply connect the different mountains together, these stone bridges seemed to have a different purpose. Of the seven mountains, the fifth mountain was the tallest. And the peaks of all the other mountains were connected to the top of this fifth mountain via these stone bridges.

The bridge was actually made of large, flat stone slabs, placed one before the other, with all the stones floating in the air. There were no handrails or support, but despite looking flimsy and precarious, it was astoundingly sturdy and stable.

Beibei was still wondering what could possibly lie at the top of the fifth mountain, and how she should go about finding it when she crashed into someone. Holding her nose and blinking her tears back, she looked up to see Kunwa, panting hard and grinning even harder.

"Can't you see where you are going?!"

As soon as she spoke, she realized the futility of it. If she had not seen the people of tribe speaking in signs, she would have seriously thought she had damaged her throat in the fight. Kunwa gave her a sympathetic glance, and was then slapped aside by Nanate. His eyes sparkled as he looked at Beibei, but being more reserved than Kunwa, he merely smiled and gestured to her to follow him.

Walking away from the tribesmen, who were still appraising them guardedly ever since she tried to walk up the stone steps, they moved to the banks of the river. The soft porous sand stretched around the flowing stream. Unlike normal rivers and lakes, the water here had a milky color, and one couldn't gauge its depth simply by looking at it.

Nanate sat down on a large rock protruding from the ground, and taking a broken twig in hand, started scribbling on the ground. Beibei sighed, realizing their medium of communication had just become more complicated!

"There is a strange sound wave absorbing stone in these mountains. That is why no sounds can be heard here. Also the wind, which is the only thing we can hear, is actually very strong. Even if the sounds were not absorbed, the wind itself would drown out all sounds. It is worse at the top of the mountains."

Beibei wrote the scribbling on the ground and nodded. She had realized something in those same lines during her walk around the mountains. She sat down on the ground cross legged, and picked up another broken twig to write her thoughts.

"I guessed so. How long has it been? How is yours and Kunwa's injuries? Is there anything else you have discovered around this place?"

"It has been five days. You were unconscious for five days. We both have more or less recovered, though Kunwa's shoulder wound still needs a bit more time. The people are neither hospitable nor unfriendly. They took care of our wounds, send us three meals a day, and also gave us some fresh clothes. They also don't really mind us going about their mountain. Only.....they will become very aggressive if we try to walk up the stone bridge, or try to climb to the top of the fifth mountain. Also, they don't care enough to answer us even if we keep screaming at them with all our might."

"Yes! I find them rather unfriendly and ill-mannered! They also don't want us to learn their gestures and sign language! As soon as they see we are observing them, they will stop their communication and glare at us with hostility.....as if we are about to steal their precious sign language!"

"When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

"Ummm....what is Rome?"

Beibei blinked in surprise, then frowned. Where in the world did that come from? And what in the world was Rome? The sentence came so easily to her, and sounded so familiar.....but she couldn't remember seeing a Rome anywhere on any of the maps of the lands! She shook her head to clear it.

"Never mind.....you get the point, right?!"

Kunwa glanced at Nanate, then nodded.

"But how do we find out about the Hidden Families, if they are going to be this uncooperative? Do you have any plans?"

Beibei frowned deeper, looking down on the sand as she used her stick to draw circles on the sand. She had actually come here based on a whim. Or rather, her intuition kept telling her to come and search for the Hidden Families. She wondered if there was anything fruitful to be learned in this particular journey....but since she had risked all of their lives to come here, she had to keep moving forward.

The black and pink hog came rushing towards, them chasing each other in fun, and tripped over each other to roll over the sand. Beibei glanced at them, her eyes softening unconsciously. Though these beasts belonged to the two boys, she always felt very warm whenever she saw them. Reaching out she dusted the sides of the pigs, scolding them incessantly, then poked their foreheads.

Nanate stared at her silently, wondering why he felt happy when he saw her smile. She rarely smiled this freely, without inhibitions, without any lurking craziness or viciousness. Especially, when she was with these two pigs, she seemed to forget herself, and turned to another person. And he.....liked this person?!

Hurriedly moving his eyes away, he turned to stare at the flowing stream. His heart was beating very fast. This was not a new revelation. He had understood his strange emotions a long time ago. But in the face of being her friend and team member, he never did manage to open his mouth and speak out these feelings. Yes.....he was scared. Right now, everything was wonderful, everything was perfect. He didn't want to speak up and destroy this beautiful harmony. He wanted to enjoy this for a while longer. Especially since he had long understood that Beibei herself had no special feelings for either of them.

Kunwa took another twig and tapped it on both Blacky and Pinky's snout, then turned to Beibei.

"I remembered something I read a long time ago. Both the Visionless Path, and this valley...the senses of a person seem to be hindered. Though we can say it is because of the stone, but it should still not be so largely effective. But it is said that when something in an area gains consciousness, it will often hinder the sensory perceptions of the other creatures living in or passing through the area. Do you think there could be some kind of spiritual consciousness in this place?"

Beibei looked around thoughtfully. That did seem like a logical analysis. After all, this place rarely saw visitors. Moreover these people themselves were very introvert, and didn't like intermixing with the outside world. It would be the perfect place for a spiritual being to be born and nurture itself, without being discovered.

"I'll take a look at what is being kept hidden on top of the fifth mountain tonight. Maybe we'll have some answers after that."

The three of them looked at each other. Both Kunwa and Nanate were familiar with Beibei's spiritual consciousness, and that she could send it out of her body at will. So realizing her plan, they nodded in assent. Kunwa wiped of all signs of their writings from the sand, then looked around cautiously to check if anyone had eavesdropped. However, the people really did not seem to be bothered with their doings. Either they themselves were too strong and didn't consider them a threat at all. Or they were just too gullible since visitors rarely came.

When Beibei returned back to her allotted dwelling, she immediately wanted to turn around and go out of the room. Because the three women were still sitting in the corner, staring at her with those three pairs of unblinking, creepy eyes. She could also sense a tinge of hostility which was not there before. That must be because she had tried to go up the stone stairs.

Beibei sighed and came out. She couldn't stay here. Not just because it was extremely uncomfortable, but since she planned to move her spiritual consciousness out of her body, her physical body would be undefended and open to any form of attack here. She needed to be with Kunwa and Nanate, so she could leave her body with a peaceful mind.

Nanate and Kunwa had been given separate rooms, on different mountains. They weren't sure if it was a purposeful move on their part, but due to the need of the hour, they decided to go against this distribution, and all of them piled together in Nanate's room, which was the largest.

Unlike her room mates, these boys did not have to share their space with the members of the tribe. So as the light in the sky turned dim, and darkness descended, Nanate took up the lookout position at the entrance with Blacky, whilst Kunwa and Pinky settled down leisurely on either side of Beibei.

Beibei focused for a while, then felt her spiritual consciousness separating from the body. She walked a few rounds around the cave, getting used to the sudden change in her being, as she looked on at the various antics of the men and their pigs.

Then she walked out of the open entrance and into the night. The people of the tribe were still awake, but most had retired to their separate dwellings. Some lived in huts made of stone and grass and branches, whilst there were many who preferred living inside the small and big caves in the mountain itself.

Beibei wandered around, making sure none of the people could sense her spirit moving about them. She could not remember exactly what had happened at the end of their fight with the creatures of the dark.....but she could sense some changes in her spiritual consciousness....like she had evolved and become more stronger.

Finally, she walked up the narrow, trodden path of the third mountain and stood at its peak. This was the second shortest mountain. From here she could see the top of the fifth mountain too. It wasn't too clear, but she felt as if the top of the mountain was not actually a part of the whole fifth mountain. Instead it seemed to be a separate entity, unconnected and floating some distance above the actual top of the fifth mountain.

Was this the reason that the other mountains were connected to this peak via these stone bridges? But how was the fifth mountain itself connected to the top? If it was not connected at all.....then why did the people stop Nanate and Kunwa from climbing up the fifth mountain? Or....what they were searching for.....could it be linked to this fifth mountain?!

Beibei lifted her right foot and stepped onto the first slab of the floating stone staircase. Pausing to make sure no one around noticed anything different, she boldly walked on, one step at a time, till finally there were no more steps before her. She was standing on a flat stone porch, quite a bit wide, facing a wide and tall door on the other end. The entire architecture was made from rough cut rocks, and somehow gave off a very holistic feeling. Beibei frowned subtly. What was this building? Why did it feel like a temple?!