Got eaten
“My camellia at the door grew a whole handspan overnight!”
“Huh, you’re bragging again. Yesterday you even said your cat looks like a dog.”
“I’m serious! If you don’t believe me, go see it at my place.”
“Ha, who would believe a big mouth like yours?”
“I really mean it…”
When Wen Xian went downstairs, she happened to hear a few women chatting idly. As she appeared, four or five women under the sun umbrella in the courtyard looked over at her.
A woman in her early thirties with curled hair and light makeup greeted her warmly: “Pretty lady, going out?”
It was the innkeeper of the place where she was staying.
Wen Xian smiled and nodded. “I want to borrow a basket. I’m planning to go up the mountain.”
The innkeeper pointed to the storage room under the stairs. “Go check there. My mother-in-law keeps everything inside.”
Wen Xian looked and indeed found all sorts of tools, back baskets, brooms, and more. She picked one of medium size, showed it to the innkeeper, and headed out.
From behind came voices at a moderate tone: “She’s definitely going to pick mushrooms. These tourists have no manners and are always looking for cheap stuff.”
“Exactly, they pick everything. Then what are we supposed to eat or make money with?”
From the tone, it was clear he was quite annoyed, and his voice wasn’t exactly quiet, at least Wen Xian, who had just reached the door, heard every word clearly.
The innkeeper quickly spoke up: “Oh, mushrooms are way past season now. Besides, it’s rained for a whole month, whatever’s left is probably rotten. What’s there to pick? The young lady just wants some fresh ones.”
She glanced at Wen Xian’s back as she hurried to add, worried. Because of the pandemic, tourism had been tough these past few years, and finally having a long-term guest meant she couldn’t afford to drive anyone away.
Wen Xian didn’t mind. She had asked before coming and only came after the innkeeper confirmed.
Outside the inn stretched a quaint street paved with neat square stones. It ran east to west, lined with old-style buildings, no more than three stories high. They looked a bit worn, but this was actually a historic southern town. Though remote, it was quiet, leisurely, and had a pleasant climate, perfect for relaxing and a short stay.
She had arrived at the end of September, but her luck wasn’t great. After seeing the sun for just a few days, it had rained continuously for a whole month. Today, the sky was clear, and she was eager to go explore the mountains.
“Hey, beautiful, long time no see! Where are you headed? I’ll go with you.”
Wen Xian turned her head. A young man in his early twenties was smiling at her.
He was tall, with slightly dark skin, fairly plain features, thick lips, and small eyes. The way he looked at her made her uneasy.
He lived next door at the youth hostel. On her first day, he had greeted her like they were old friends and even offered to carry her luggage, which she had refused.
Later, when it rained, the travelers at the youth hostel were stuck too, but they had plenty to do, murder-mystery games, board games, barbecues, parties. Every time there was an activity, he invited Wen Xian, but she always declined, and eventually he stopped asking. She hadn’t expected to run into him again today.
Several young men and women were lounging in rattan chairs outside the hostel, lazily soaking up the sun, each with a cigarette in hand.
Wen Xian refused again: “No thanks, I’m just going for a walk.”
The man stood up and walked toward her. “Don’t be so polite, beautiful. It’s dangerous for you to go alone, having a man with you is different. And I could—”
Wen Xian’s gaze grew slightly cold, just as a somewhat rough male voice interrupted: “Skinny, didn’t you hear her? She said no. Stop acting all eager.”
The speaker had sharp, defined features, was bare-chested under a punk-style short-sleeve shirt and denim vest, and had a muscular build. Even sitting down, his strong, long arms made it clear he wasn’t short.
When he met Wen Xian’s eyes, he smiled and waved his hand holding a cigarette toward her. “Don’t be afraid, beautiful. He just talks too much. Go on your way.”
He was clearly the leader of the group. The man called “Skinny” sulked back into his seat but leaned close to the muscular man. “Brother Lian, I’m talking about her. Doesn’t she remind you of the class beauty back in our day?”
Wen Xian was undeniably pretty, just over 1.6 meters tall, slim and proportionate, with delicate, soft features. Her shoulder-length hair had natural waves, somewhat reminiscent of early Hong Kong and Taiwan actresses. Her usual expression was cool and aloof, her presence striking yet effortless, making it hard for people to look away.
The man called Brother Lian glanced at her again. Smoke blurred his expression. Wen Xian nodded politely and turned to leave. From behind came Skinny’s disappointed voice: “I knew it the moment I saw her. Too bad she’s even colder than our class beauty, she wouldn’t give me the time of day.”
A woman with short, ear-length hair holding onto Brother Lian’s arm sneered at Wen Xian’s retreating figure. “I’ll never understand men’s taste, why do you always go for these bland, pretentious types?”
Her voice wasn’t low, and Wen Xian heard it clearly but ignored it.
The inn where she was staying sat at the end of this street. Not far ahead were nearby fields, and beyond the fields lay the forested mountains she intended to explore.
It wasn’t until then that she finally relaxed, though a bit resigned as well. She had chosen such a remote little town precisely to avoid being disturbed, but fate hadn’t cooperated. Looks like when she returned she would need to find another place to stay.
Thinking this, she looked up at the distant, rolling mountains. The lush, verdant forests made her momentarily doubt the season, but recalling that this place was called the “Spring City” eased her doubts. She curved her lips into a small smile and stepped into the forest.
As expected, it was the plants that brought her the purest sense of joy.
Meanwhile, Skinny’s expression still carried a hint of dissatisfaction.
A friend nearby laughed at him: “So what if she looks like your class beauty? Didn’t you see she’s ignoring you completely?”
Skinny rested his hand on the arm of the rattan chair and smiled wryly. “Well, she was my first crush, the class beauty after all.”
They say that student-era crushes are the most beautiful, but unfortunately he wasn’t handsome, and the class beauty had never looked kindly on him. At the time, he had been somewhat insecure, too timid to pursue her shamelessly. But once out in the real world, things were different, people’s thoughts and actions changed, and his courage had grown considerably.
Yet, the beautiful woman still paid him no attention.
As he pondered this, he suddenly felt a tingling at his fingertips. Turning his hand, he realized he had brushed against a tree behind the rattan chair.
The flowers looked like trumpets, five or six clustered together. Though orange, the color was rich and vibrant.
Skinny touched a petal, and it shivered as if ticklish. Surprised, he instinctively sat up to look more closely. Just then, a breeze swept through, making the clusters of flowers sway and dance, absolutely stunning.
He couldn’t help but chuckle at himself for being so fooled, almost imagining the flowers were alive.
At that moment, Brother Lian flicked his cigarette butt away and said, “No matter who she looks like, you still need to know your limits. Don’t mess around.”
Skinny shook off the thought of the flowers and gave an embarrassed smile. “Don’t worry, Brother Lian. I’m just teasing a little with my words.”
“Mm.” Brother Lian stood up. At over 1.9 meters, he nearly touched the sun umbrella. Stretching lazily, he said, “Let’s rest here one more day. We’ll set off tomorrow.”
The others nodded in agreement.
They were all cycling enthusiasts. A few months ago, they had planned online to ride from the East Sea to the West, and when they reached Spring City, the rainy weather had forced them to stay over a month.
After speaking, Brother Lian entered the youth hostel. Skinny watched his back and muttered under his breath, “You chased her too, didn’t you?”
His voice was low, so the others, busy talking, didn’t hear him, except the short-haired woman, whose expression immediately darkened.
But Skinny didn’t notice. He glanced toward the mountains where Wen Xian had disappeared, still feeling a bit unsettled. Bored, he leaned back on the rattan chair, staring blankly.
Unseen by him, the orange flower branch grew visibly before his eyes, creeping up along the back of the rattan chair behind him. Slowly, one branch lifted and inched closer to the exposed skin of his neck.
Meanwhile, Wen Xian had already entered the forest.
This place truly lived up to its reputation as the “Spring City.” Even in autumn, the flowers, plants, and trees in the mountains were as lush as in spring and summer. Walking along the trails, stopping here and there, she came across many beautiful flowers and plants. Mushrooms were indeed scarce, after quite a while, she had only managed to pick a few.
She felt a little disappointed; after all, she had seen videos online of people here gathering mushrooms in large handfuls.
Just as she was about to take a short break, she suddenly spotted a porcini not far ahead.
Wen Xian was overjoyed. She crouched down to examine it carefully: a deep brown cap, a plump white stem, about the size of her fist, absolutely adorable. Instantly, all her earlier frustrations melted away.
She admired it for a while before carefully pulling it up and placing it in her basket, thinking that her trip was already worthwhile.
But when she looked up, she saw two more just ahead, and another a little further, and even farther still, more appeared.
Wen Xian was ecstatic. And so it became: picking mushrooms, picking mushrooms, picking mushrooms…
It wasn’t until her basket was overflowing that she finally regained her senses.
Partly frustrated that she had brought the wrong tools, she looked up, and froze.
Somehow, she had walked all the way to the mountaintop, where the highest point was dominated by an enormous tree.
The tree wasn’t particularly tall, but its trunk was incredibly wide. Wen Xian felt tiny in comparison; perhaps even ten people holding hands might not be able to encircle it.
The tree’s canopy hung like a dark cloud over the trunk, blocking the sun and covering an area of at least three or four hundred square meters. Beneath its shadow, no other trees grew, only grass and mushrooms hugging the ground.
It radiated the aura of a king, domineering and proud, as if ruling over the entire forest.
Wen Xian stared at it for a long moment before regaining her senses, curiosity stirring, how had she never heard that a giant tree grew here?
At the same time, she felt lucky to witness such a spectacle.
It was just noon, the sun blazing brightly overhead. After climbing the mountain all morning, she was both tired and hungry. The shade beneath the enormous tree seemed almost magical, drawing her in to rest.
Unable to resist the temptation, Wen Xian stepped into the shadow, and at that moment, it was as if the wind had stopped. The plants and trees behind her swayed and leaned back, as though afraid of something.
She didn’t notice these strange movements. The moment she entered the shade, a chill enveloped her. The temperature was so low that goosebumps rose on her exposed neck.
She looked up. The tree’s leaves were oval and slightly elongated, tapering to sharp points, somewhat resembling the ornamental plant she knew as the “evergreen,” though she had never seen one this large.
The leaves were densely layered, letting not a single ray of sunlight through. Every leaf she could see was intact, no holes, no damage whatsoever.
Wen Xian was astonished and a faint sense of unease crept into her mind. Could this tree be poisonous, she wondered, since not a single insect dared touch it?
Instinctively, she stopped. Perhaps it was best not to get too close.
“Whoosh—!”
A sharp tearing sound suddenly pierced the air. Several branches seemed to come alive, lunging at her with lightning speed. Wen Xian’s eyes widened in shock, and she froze, only to be ensnared in an instant, dragged rapidly toward the trunk.
The thick base of the tree suddenly split open, revealing a dark, gaping hole. Without hesitation, the branches flung Wen Xian straight inside.
“Ahc!”
Her terrified, short scream vanished the moment the opening closed.
Silence quickly returned. Only the scattered mushrooms on the grass and her overturned basket rolling nearby marked that something extraordinary had just occurred.