Su Yi watched as Ye Beizhi walked up the small path along the mountain's base, his doubts growing stronger. On the first day of the new year, what was his neighbor doing all the way out here? Was it a coincidence, or was there another reason?
The more Su Yi thought about it, the more it bothered him. Just as the bowl of Yangchun noodles was being brought to him, he decided he didn't have the time to eat. He casually tossed down two copper coins and hurriedly followed his neighbor up the mountain path.
The noodle shop owner didn’t even have time to call out before Su Yi was already in the distance. The owner walked over to the table, picked up the two copper coins, and stuffed them into his pocket, muttering to himself, "Officials are something else, alright. They pay for food but don’t even eat it. What kind of behavior is that?"
Su Yi had no idea what kind of impression he had given the noodle shop owner. He quickly reached the entrance of the path, but Ye Beizhi was already out of sight. He was certain that Ye Beizhi must have gone up the mountain, so he hurried on.
Su Yi was a frail scholar who spent more time sitting by candlelight than moving around, so he was already out of breath after just a few steps. Looking up, the path wound its way up the mountain and disappeared into the distant forest. There was no sign of Ye Beizhi anywhere.
Gritting his teeth, Su Yi put his hands on his knees and continued to climb. After only a few more steps, a sudden loud noise came from the mountainside above. Already exhausted, Su Yi's legs went weak, and he fell straight to the ground in fright.
Above his head, countless birds took off from the dense forest canopy as they were startled into flight. Su Yi's eyes widened. "W-What is going on..."
Swallowing hard, Su Yi knew deep down that something significant was about to happen. He didn’t have the luxury to rest any longer. Bracing himself against the ground, he scrambled to his feet and continued onward.
Despite the wintry chill, Su Yi was already drenched in sweat from climbing the steps. He was carrying his warm and thick official robes after taking them off during his journey.
Panting heavily, he looked back and could clearly see the busy streets behind him. He estimated that he was about halfway up the mountain.
Su Yi finally noticed something amiss after he took a few more steps. On one side of the path, several large trees had been broken and lay fallen in the forest. He cautiously approached to inspect them. The strewn trees showed signs of being recently snapped. He opened his mouth slightly in surprise, then looked up ahead.
A path of twisted trees seemed to stretch into the depths of the forest. Although he hesitated for a moment, he seemed to make up his mind and followed the path, seeminly recently carved through the forest, further up the mountain.
The ground was somewhat slippery underfoot, nearly causing Su Yi to trip several times. He clung to the tree trunks as he made his way deeper, stumbling with every step.
At last, after walking for quite a while, he saw an area of untouched trees ahead. It seemed there was nothing here except for the forest. Su Yi breathed a sigh of relief for no apparent reason and was about to turn back when he noticed something unusual in the corner of his eye.
"Who's there?!" Su Yi shouted, whipping his head around.
Behind a large tree, he spotted a large hand was sticking out in his line of sight, as if someone were lying there.
Su Yi swallowed hard and lightened his steps as he slowly walked over. He loudly called out, "Come out! I can see you!"
There was no response from behind the tree. Su Yi had reached the front of it, and with one last deep breath, he suddenly jumped out!
In the middle of his jump, Su Yi saw what was behind the tree, and his face instantly turned pale with fright. His weak legs gave way as he landed, and he collapsed to the ground.
Behind the tree, a headless corpse lay sprawled on the ground, its severed head lying on one side and facing Su Yi, eyes wide open in death. Blood tinted the earth beneath the body a reddish-brown, and a pungent smell hung in the air.
"Aaaah! It's a d-dead, a dead body!!!" Su Yi screamed in terror. Scrambling backward on all fours, he stammered, "A dead body, a dead body, a dead body! I-I need to report this to the authorities!
"It must be him! He must be the one who did it! What was his name again? Right, it was Ye Beizhi, it’s Ye Beizhi! How dare he murder someone? How dare he murder someone!"