At the village entrance, a bonfire crackled, and near it, a little girl, about the same age as Ah Li, dressed in a blue calico skirt, was blowing soap bubbles. String after string of bubbles floated from her lips toward the flames, catching the intense firelight in a dazzling, beautiful spectrum.

If the village was truly as isolated as Old Qin had claimed, then the bubble solution in this little girl's hands had almost certainly been bought by Old Qin from the market town to give to them.

Wang Jue and I moved soundlessly to the girl’s side. She was so lost in her bubbles that she didn't notice us standing there.

“Little girl…” Wang Jue called out softly, careful not to startle her with our sudden appearance.

“Hmm?” The girl turned, still startled, and looked at us with surprise. “You aren’t from the village! Where did you come from?”

“We are just passing through, we got lost. We wanted to ask where this place is,” Wang Jue lowered his voice, trying to sound as gentle as possible.

“Oh, finally, more people are lost! Do you have any bubble solution or a bolenggu?” She naively held out a hand, asking us for toys.

That word, “finally,” spoke volumes. Wang Jue unzipped his backpack, pulled out a lollipop, peeled the wrapper, and placed it in her hand. As he did, he winked at her and said, “We didn't bring any toys this time, but we brought something tasty. Why don't you try it?”

The girl took the lollipop and touched it to the tip of her tongue: “It really is sweet…”

Before the "sweet" sound could fully emerge, a middle-aged woman materialized from nowhere and slapped the lollipop out of her hand onto the ground, roaring, “How many times have I told you not to take things from strangers? You’re like an idiot!”

The little girl first froze, then covered her face and burst into tears. I looked at the lollipop lying on the dirt, an indescribable feeling welling up inside me.

“Where are you two from?” After dressing down the girl, the woman turned to me and Wang Jue with a fierce glare.

I replied sheepishly, “We are lost, just trying to find out what this place is.”

Hearing that we were lost, the middle-aged woman softened slightly, dropping her aggressive tone and introducing herself. “This is Jingyin Village. My name is Gui Fang, and this is my daughter, Gui Zhi.”

I thought to myself how quickly this woman could change her demeanor, flipping from a tigress to a doting mother in an instant.

Wang Jue, unbothered by the earlier incident, seized the opportunity to engage her in conversation. “Sister-in-law, you look so blessed. If you hadn't introduced yourself, we never would have believed you’ve had children.”

Gui Fang beamed at the flattery, happier than if she’d won the lottery, and eagerly invited us to rest at her home, as if the lollipop incident had never happened.

We followed Gui Fang to a small farmhouse courtyard. Hanging on the gatepost was a small Bagua mirror. Wang Jue quietly nudged me with his elbow and then nodded toward the mirror. It was identical to the one we had seen at Hua Jinlan’s house.

Recalling that night we dealt with the zombies, goosebumps involuntarily rose on my arms. I worried if this was yet another ghost village!

Gui Fang led us into the main hall and seated us, placing us according to status. She spoke to us with a pleasant expression. “Where are you two from, and where are you headed?”

Wang Jue responded calmly, “We are cartographers, checking for topographical changes in this vicinity. The old maps show a mountain near here, and we’ve been searching all day without finding it. When the sun set, we both got turned around.”