"I heard it," I replied, pricking up my ears and quickly scanning our surroundings.

The area was lush with towering green trees and thriving grass. Compared to the foot of the mountain, and the plains we had traversed earlier, this cliffside was bursting with life—it felt rather like a hidden sanctuary, a true Shangri-La.

My intuition warned me that such a stark difference must signal something extraordinary. So, I pointed toward the dense woods and said to Little Shū, "Don't you think this place is a little strange?"

"Mm," Little Shū nodded, replying, "You notice the anomaly in the vegetation distribution between the lower and upper mountain, right? Generally, a mountain's plant distribution mimics latitudinal zones; as you ascend, sparse vegetation and shorter plants are the norm due to uneven distribution of UV rays, wind, sand, soil, and moisture. In a typical area, the woods would be lower down, with shrubs higher up, because the base of the mountain has richer soil and more moisture to nourish the forest. But here, it’s exactly the reverse. The forest is at the summit, and the shrubs are at the foot. It suggests the peak soil is somehow more fertile. This defies the rules." Little Shū explained it coherently and thoroughly. I nodded in agreement, adding, "And there was a human voice too..."

Before I finished speaking, a light chuckle echoed from the woods: "Heh heh, I'll catch you..." It sounded like the same man from before.

I started to move forward to investigate, but Little Shū grabbed my arm and pulled me back. He leaned close to my ear and whispered, "This forest is eerie. Don't go in. We're safer standing right here."

Saying that, he found a rock, sat down, and stared intently at the woods as if watching a movie.

"This is too much!" I muttered, thinking, It’s just a patch of woods; charging through won't necessarily lead to danger. It would be better to meet someone and ask for directions.

Just as I was debating whether to abandon Little Shū and investigate myself, a woman's voice pierced our eardrums.

"Hahaha, can't catch me, I just won't let you..."

This time, I froze. A string of question marks involuntarily popped up in my mind. Could this truly be a hidden paradise? A man and a woman living out an idyllic life in Eden?

Unable to suppress my curiosity, I cautiously took a few steps toward the woods, trying to see who was playing hide-and-seek.

Strangely, I couldn't see anything. When I looked into the woods from the edge, I could clearly see tree after tree, tree behind tree. Logically, the further I advanced, the clearer the view should become, but the closer I got to the treeline, the blurrier the scene became—so indistinct I couldn't make out any objects at all.

How could this be? I held my palm up in front of my eyes and waved it, noticing my hand was perfectly clear, even the fine lines of my fingerprints discernible. I turned back to look at Little Shū; he gave me a sly, knowing grin, as if mocking me for ignoring his warning.

Defeated, I retreated and sat down next to him.

"When I got to the edge of the woods, my vision blurred; I couldn't see anything inside clearly," I said to Little Shū, feeling chagrined.

He still wore that strange smile. "I noticed that from the start, which is why I stayed sitting here and didn't advance."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I was already displeased, and hearing that he had experienced the same thing but kept silent only made me angrier.

"Didn't I tell you not to go in? Since you were so persistent, I used the opportunity to verify whether it was my eyes acting up or if the forest itself was the problem. It seems it’s the forest’s issue; both our eyes are fine. No need to worry!" Little Shū chuckled, trying to soothe my irritation.

At that very moment, a woman flashed out from the woods. She wore a moon-white dress, a string of deep-red prayer beads coiled from her elbow to her wrist, her long hair flowing, her eyes clear, and she stood with her back to the forest, staring at us with a delicate smile.