Closer to My True Form Every Day

The driver just thought that Feng Yi looked pretty good, a bit like those young people who were popular in the entertainment circle now. Actually, he couldn’t tell who was who because they all looked the same to him. Recently, he heard that a celebrity was coming to Yangcheng to film a show, thus why he asked the question.

Feng Yi said he wasn’t a celebrity, and he believed him.

That’s right, why couldn’t celebrities even get a taxi?

From what he had heard, there were cars that picked up and dropped off celebrities wherever they went. Besides, no celebrity would go to a place like Mount Xiaofeng, would they? Therefore, the thought of “Am I driving a celebrity?” only lingered in the driver’s mind for a few moments before flying away.

“Why are you going to Mount Xiaofeng? For scientific research? To shoot videos? Or to have an adventure? In the past two years, some Internet celebrities have been there to shoot videos, but the experience wasn’t very good. No one goes there now,” said the driver.

“I’m looking for someone.” Seeing that the driver talked a lot, Feng Yi wanted to get more information from him.

“What’s on Mount Xiaofeng? It’s my first time going there.” Feng Yi asked.

“There are snakes, that’s why it’s called Snake Mountain, and even birds don’t nest there. Oh, there are also many companies related to agriculture and animal husbandry over there, and there are large farmlands and pastures under the mountain.”

“Then if I want to go up the mountain, I can only walk?”

“Not necessarily. I have heard that there seem to be people living on the mountainside, and there will be cars going up and down the mountain. I don’t know the details. If you’re lucky, you might be able to flag down a car going up the mountain. Just pay some money and let them take you for a ride. Well, that’s what I heard anyway.”

“If I go there, what should I pay attention to?” Feng Yi opened a notes app on his phone, preparing to write down the driver’s words.

“What should you pay attention to?” The driver prattled on. “When you go up the mountain, bring more food. Don’t touch anything in the wild because you don’t know whether it’s poisonous or not. There are also animals, so don’t go harassing them even if you’re curious. There are guard drones that come and go. They come out to patrol every day at uncertain times.”

Thinking of something, the driver said again, “Last June, three boys came here to explore. They were high school freshmen. They secretly carried a bunch of things up the mountain to have a DIY barbecue, and they wanted to catch snakes. The drones detected the source of the fire and flew over to catch them in the act.”

“Later those three were arrested and forced to take classes. They even had to take exams on the dense volume of forest management, ten sets of animal protection, etc., and they were not allowed to come out until they passed the exam.”

“What about animal protection?” Feng Yi hadn’t heard it clearly.

“‘Dense Volume of Forest Management’, ‘Ten Sets of Animal Protection’, these are just funny names we came up with. Basically, forest management is forest law, fire prevention regulations, wildfire source management methods, and so on. Animal protection is what the name says. For those related to ecological and environmental protection, an expert created ten sets of test questions. Later, I heard that the three children, with an average height of six feet, were crying when they took the tests!”

After coming to an understanding, Feng Yi wrote down the key words.

The driver continued, “Anyway, the place is a protected area. Don’t touch the animals on the mountain. Don’t worry about the snakes, birds, and frogs. Just treat them as protected animals and stay away for safety’s sake. It’ll be troublesome if you accidentally kill or injure one. Basically, remember— if one breaks the law, ten will be a punishable sentence.”

“That’s… a bit excessive. What if I come across a rat? Can’t I beat it? There have been a lot of rat plagues lately,” Feng Yi asked.

“Are you kidding me? There are rats in Snake Mountain? Snakes are the natural enemies of rats! The tyrants of Mount Xiaofeng are the king ratsnakes which have a voracious appetite for rodents. All the rats on the mountain have long since been eaten!”

“Do you know why people still live on the mountain? The people who live there have to take care of the feeding! They have to transport rats from other places every once in a while, otherwise the snakes isolated in the reserve will starve to death.”

“Oh right, king ratsnakes eat mice.” Feng Yi nodded. “And they’re not poisonous.”

The driver babbled on, “King ratsnakes are what many people call the cauliflower snake. We also call it the king snake here. A long time ago, it was actually raised for food…”

“Now it’s not allowed,” Feng Yi said.

Driver: “In the generation of my grandparents, the elders had a saying that a ‘good snake is a dead snake’.”

Feng Yi: “Now it’s ‘if one breaks the law, ten will be a punishable sentence’?”

“Pretty much.” The driver sighed, “It was fine before, why did the climate change so much? And so many animals died?”

Feng Yi fell silent. He didn’t know how to respond.

During the anomalous climatic period of the past two decades, too many animals and plants disappeared; the common ones became endangered, and the endangered ones became extinct. Those who supported the strictest conservation law didn’t necessarily have pity for those animals and plants, nor did they have an awareness of ecological protection. They regarded the mass extinction event as an early warning. The living conditions of animals and plants were also indicators of the living conditions of humans and were data that the sixth database needed to collect. Therefore, “data” must be well protected. This was a shared understanding.

The atmosphere in the car was a little heavy. But as they got closer to their destination, the heaviness turned to restlessness. There were fewer and fewer buildings on both sides of the road, more and more warning signs, and a sign with a phone number printed on it.

“If you see a snake outside the isolation area, please contact the phone number on the warning sign. It’s very likely that the snake was inside the protection area but escaped,” the driver said.

Feng Yi could see the isolation zone set up not far away, and the further forward they went, the closer the road was to the isolation zone. This was already within the range of Mount Xiaofeng. Feng Yi could see a snake raised up on a large rock in the isolation zone, looking at them like they were loaches that had wandered into a group of snakes. The further in they went, the closer they were to the isolation zone, and the more of those slithering figures could be seen at the edge of the isolation zone.

“There are a lot of snakes here…” Feng Yi’s face turned pale.

The driver was fine, as it wasn’t the first time he had come here, so he wasn’t surprised. “They just like to get close to the edge of the isolation zone to watch the passing vehicles and pedestrians.”

“They’re that bold?”

“This kind of snake is generally bold and fierce. Now that no one dares to eat them, they’re becoming more and more arrogant. Well, we’re here!”

The driver parked the car at the designated spot. Feng Yi would have to walk the rest of the way, as foreign vehicles were not allowed to drive up the mountain.

Seeing Feng Yi’s whole body tense up, the driver patted Feng Yi’s shoulder. “Don’t be afraid, they’re just cauliflower snakes.”

Feng Yi was not comforted. Cauliflowers everywhere might be a local agricultural drama, but cauliflower snakes everywhere made for a horror movie!

The driver looked around the parking lot and parked the car in the smoking area. He didn’t dare to smoke while driving on the road. Mount Xiaofeng had set up a smoking area where people didn’t have to get out of their cars. After lighting a cigarette, the driver watched Feng Yi put on his equipment.

He was armed to the teeth.

Smiling, the driver said, “We have an old saying here, ‘One mile of king ratsnakes, ten miles of non-venomous snakes’.”

Some words, when heard, could have two different meanings.

Ten miles/no/venomous snakes – There were no poisonous snakes here.

Ten miles/non-venomous snakes – There were snakes everywhere! But they weren’t poisonous.

They were pretty much the same!

“Although it sounds exaggerated, king ratsnakes also eat snakes. You’ve got to believe that a glutton’s strength is not to be questioned.”

The corners of Feng Yi’s mouth twitched. “Thank you, Mister, you really know how to comfort people!”

The driver smiled and shook his head. “If you’re so afraid of snakes, what are you doing here? Isn’t this self-abuse?”

“Life isn’t easy,” Feng Yi said softly.

These words immediately touched the driver’s sore spot. With a cigarette in his mouth, his eyes were forlorn as he thought of unpleasant memories. “No one has it easy.”

“Aren’t you afraid of snakes?” Feng Yi asked.

Driver: “What is there to be afraid of if I don’t get out of the car?”

Feng Yi: “…” What fucking sense.

Driver: “As long as I’m in the car, no snake can sneak into my car! I won’t even go to the toilet! I’ll find a place to solve it when I get out of here.”

Feng Yi: “…That’s very rigorous of you.”

Driver: “There’s a saying here, ‘Thunder follows the Waking of Insects¹3rd of the 24 solar terms (节气) in the traditional Chinese calendars, and vast swarms of insects and snakes form’. After the Waking of Insects this year, the elders say that there may be more insects and snakes this year than last. Now that the weather is getting warmer, there are indeed more snakes, insects, and rats on the mountain, so be careful.”

“Thank you, Mister. Please leave a phone number. I will contact you when I want to return. Likewise, I will add extra to the fare,” Feng Yi said.

“Okay.” The driver had a good impression of Feng Yi. He was reluctant to give up such a customer, and he was also a little worried about Feng Yi.

After thinking for a while, the driver said, “How about this? I’ll give you at most three days. If you don’t call, I’ll call you, and if I can’t get through, I’ll call the police, okay?”

“Alright!”

Feng Yi was also worried about his personal safety, and the driver’s idea suited him just fine. After exchanging phone numbers, the driver checked the car again after smoking, and left immediately.

With the bag on his back, Feng Yi turned his helmet uncomfortably, took a deep breath, and went up the mountain holding the snake stick. He had already come this far, what was there to be afraid of?

As he walked further up the mountain, the exclusion nets that had been pulled up were on both sides of the road, and the cauliflower snakes gathered on the other side of the nets had their tongues out, following Feng Yi’s movements.

Two-meter-long cauliflower snakes were not uncommon here, and there were even bigger ones, although Feng Yi did not look at them. All he could feel right now was that the goosebumps all over his body were about to explode. Having lived in the city for more than twenty years, getting close to nature usually meant going to a major scenic spot, or an elegant farmhouse. This was the first time being so close to such a wild ecological reserve, where animals and plants grew in the wild.

In the distance, waves of nameless flying insects could be seen. When Feng Yi walked over, several flying insects landed directly on his helmet visor. Something landed on his shoulder and flew away after a while. Feng Yi could only catch a glimpse of a black figure. It wasn’t summer yet, but these flying insects were already active.

As Feng Yi continued, he saw a guarded checkpoint. It was only after he registered his details that the guard let him go through and up the mountain. He even told Feng Yi the location of the Feng family’s ancestral home.

“There is only one old house on this mountain. It seems to belong to the Feng family, but I don’t know the details. Only one person lives there. If you are talking about that old house, go up this road and you should be able to see it. You can ask anyone you meet along the way, as they all know about it.”

After Feng Yi thanked him, he continued walking up the mountain. Fortunately, he heard an approaching car not far away, and he got a free ride. The two people in the car were from a feed factory at the foot of the mountain and had to go up the mountain for business.

“The ancestral home of the Feng family? Are you looking for Uncle Mute?” one person asked.

“Uncle Mute? Most likely. The elders of the family just told me that the house there is being taken care of. I have something to do there,” Feng Yi said.

The other party looked at Feng Yi’s equipment. “I can tell that this is your first time coming here.”

“You live on the mountain? What is it like?” Feng Yi asked.

The two laughed. Then one of them explained, “Who is willing to live on the mountain now, even if there is Wi-Fi? If you want to eat takeout at night, no one will deliver it to you, not to mention that you’ll be watched by snakes just taking a dump. Would you be willing?

“But the isolation zone?” Feng Yi asked.

“The exclusion nets are right beside. When you’re in the toilet and look out from the window, there are about seven or eight snakes staring at you from the exclusion net not far away. Except for shifts or temporary assignments, we all live in the company dormitory at the base of the mountain. Those who can live safely on the mountain are not ordinary people.”

“Like Uncle Mute?”

“Yes, Uncle Mute is really not an ordinary person. He even enjoys living there.”

“What’s Uncle Mute’s last name? How do I call him?” Feng Yi asked.

“His name? It’s just Uncle Mute. I don’t know what his last name is. Anyway, everyone calls him Uncle Mute. He can’t speak.”

The mountain looked desolate, but the road was well repaired. When the car drove on it, there were no bumps and no stones to be seen.

“There is a vehicle that clears the road every day.” One person explained, “Uncle Mute often asks people to help him bring things. There are not many vehicles going up and down the mountain, but they are not uncommon. We will send you up the mountain first and come back later.”

The car drove up the mountain for a while. After passing the mountainside, the isolation zone gradually moved away from the driveway. Traces of artificial activity could be seen in the woods on the side of the road. The trees planted were clearly planned, some were fruit trees that had already bore fruit, and some Feng Yi had never seen before.

Just as he was thinking, Feng Yi suddenly heard the person next to him shout, “Hey, I see Uncle Mute over there! Uncle Mute!”

The car stopped at the side of the road. Feng Yi looked in the direction they were pointing.

A man who looked about seventy years old and dressed like an old mountain farmer came out of the forest. Probably because he spent a lot of time outdoors, his face was dark with deep wrinkles. He wore cotton clothes and rubber shoes, and was carrying a large bamboo basket on his back. The legs of his pants had half-dried mud prints on them, and a straw hat sat slightly crooked on his head. A few strands of slightly long gray hair protruded from the brim of the hat, swaying with his steps.

The bamboo basket carried was full of freshly picked fruits and vegetables, all special products of the mountain, and most of which were varieties that Feng Yi didn’t recognize.

The young man in the driver’s seat opened the car window and waved to the old man, “Uncle Mute, I’ve brought a guest for you!”

Uncle Mute looked into the car. Feng Yi met his gaze and didn’t see any darkness or depression in his eyes. Uncle Mute wiped his sweat with his hand and smiled brightly at Feng Yi. Then, Feng Yi saw the old man take out a recently released smartphone from his mud-covered pocket——

It was from the same series as Feng Yi’s phone, but the old man’s phone had an extra “plus” in its name. A high-end model that was half a thousand dollars more expensive than the one in Feng Yi’s hand, and extremely difficult to come by.

• 13rd of the 24 solar terms (节气) in the traditional Chinese calendars