Chapter Sixty: The Millennium Polygonum Root

It was utterly unexpected that the burly man with broad shoulders took first place. Many had assumed it would be the boy from elsewhere, He Zhixing, but to their surprise, it was Liu Tian, the big, muscular fellow, who claimed victory.

When Liu Tian descended with the others and only four returned, Mad Lai asked, “Where’s the fifth? Where’s my brother, He Zhixing? Why isn’t he with you?”

One of the group kindly replied, “We don’t really know. When we got up there, he was nowhere to be seen. I heard someone say he accidentally fell from the mountaintop. He might already be dead.”

Mad Lai grabbed the man fiercely. “What did you say? That can’t be! He Zhixing won’t die. I don’t believe it…” Without another word, he hurried toward the stone mountain and began to climb.

It took all of Mad Lai’s strength to scale the peak. Peering down the edge of the rectangular pit, he gasped, “Good heavens, it’s so high, so deep, you can’t see the bottom. If someone fell down there, how could they possibly survive?”

Just then, two more men arrived. Before Mad Lai could speak, one said, “We were sent by Suqing’s cousin to find out about the boy. In truth, our cousin has her eye on someone, and that someone is your brother. To be honest, she doesn’t like Liu Tian at all.”

He paused, then continued, “Actually, Liu Tian is the son of our Miao village’s priest. All the villagers know this, but since you’re new here, you might not.”

Mad Lai responded, “Oh, that explains why she chose my brother to participate. But my brother…he fell from the mountain. No, I must find him…”

Mad Lai searched around the mountain, but to no avail. The cliff was too steep to descend, and night had fallen, leaving everything pitch dark. He had no choice but to return with the others, planning to resume the search at dawn.

******

In Miao Village, festivities were in full swing. The burly Liu Tian, celebrating his victory, personally went to Suqing’s house to formally propose marriage. Suqing was beside herself with worry—the suitor she dreaded had come so quickly. Like an ant on a hot pan, she didn’t know what to do. The man she loved had fallen from the cliff and was missing. In her chamber, she anxiously clutched her sister’s shoulder. “Yun, what should I do? I don’t want to marry him.”

The girl called Suyun didn’t look much like her, except for the eyes—perhaps one took after their mother, the other their father. Suyun suggested, “How about you delay the wedding for a day? You can claim the winner was supposed to be that boy, so everyone needs to wait to see if he returns. If he really doesn’t come back by tomorrow morning, then you’ll marry Liu Tian. It’s already late today, so postpone the wedding to tomorrow afternoon. That gives us another day. Have people search for the boy again tomorrow morning—maybe he’ll be found.”

******

“Alright, that sounds good. Go and tell Father and Mother. I’m sure they’ll support their daughter…”

Suyun conveyed her sister’s wishes to their parents. The elders went out to Liu Tian and his father and said, “Our daughter doesn’t wish to marry today. Please return tomorrow afternoon.”

Liu Tian was reluctant. “But this is the custom here. We always fetch the bride at this hour. Why not today? I want to see Suqing now.”

Suyun stepped forward. “Brother Liu, there’s no need to rush. My sister hasn’t refused you, but the first place was supposed to be that boy, so she must be sure whether he’s alive or not. If he doesn’t return by tomorrow morning, my sister will marry you tomorrow afternoon. Surely a man like you can wait just one more day?”

With so many bystanders watching, Liu Tian didn’t want to lose face. He consulted his father, who nodded. “Very well, I’ll wait one more day. I’ll come again tomorrow afternoon.”

The wedding party dispersed, and Suqing’s worries eased—at least for a while.

At first light the next day, her two cousins sought out Mad Lai, bringing long ropes with them. They planned to descend the cliff to search. They secured the ropes and carefully lowered themselves into the rectangular pit, searching for any trace of the boy.

******

As for He Zhixing, he had been the first to reach the mountaintop last night, only to be ambushed and knocked down. In that brief moment, he glimpsed his attacker—it was the priest. He hadn’t expected the priest’s martial skills to be so formidable. By the time he realized, it was too late; he could only resign himself to falling into the pit.

The wind roared past his ears. He thought despairingly, “Ah, my life is so short. Who will save me? Farewell, Yufang… Farewell, my son… Farewell to all who love me…”

His heart felt utterly dead. He closed his eyes, ready to accept his fate. After all, everyone must face death someday, but he hadn’t expected it would come for him so soon.

******

Just as he lamented his fate and shut his eyes, waiting for death, his falling body struck a protruding stone in the pit. The impact rattled him, “bang, bang”—his poor body suffering even before death, as if fate demanded he be battered and broken first.

He groaned in pain, gritting his teeth, trying to endure the agony. He reached blindly, hoping to grab a rock, but they were too slippery and he couldn’t hold on. Suddenly, he grasped something—some kind of plant.

It was a vine, thick and plentiful, draped securely over the protruding rocks and forming tangled nests. The vines were as thick as eggs, woven into a net that halted He Zhixing’s fall. The force tore many of the upper vines, but he finally stopped, tangled in the lower roots—a harrowing escape from death.

He rested for a while, regaining his strength, then carefully released one hand to look around. He saw several main roots, as thick as bowls, extending down five or six meters to a patch of soil in a recess of the cliff.

He Zhixing followed the roots down, landing on the small patch of earth at the root base of the giant vine. At last, he stood safely in a pit carved from the cliff, surrounded by vines. When he stepped out and looked around, he saw only a bottomless abyss.

At his feet, around the vine roots, grew some crystalline, grass-like plants—slender as pinky fingers, sparkling green with half-elliptical leaves. He sniffed them; a delicate fragrance wafted up.

Could these be spiritual plants? He Zhixing plucked a leaf and bit into it. The taste was pleasant—sweet and slightly tart, with a lingering fragrance. He reached into his deep pocket for a small wooden figurine of a beautiful woman. Channeling his inner energy, he tested it, and waves of spiritual essence surged in, infusing his body. He Zhixing was overjoyed and began to heal his wounds.

After some time, he finished his meditation and tried channeling energy into the vine plant. Impossible! The spiritual energy flowed endlessly… Could this be a legendary celestial treasure?

Recalling the knowledge in his mind and comparing it, he concluded that the vine might be none other than the thousand-year-old Polygonum multiflorum.