Man Niao Niao walked along, ingratiatingly sharing anecdotes about the Tujia Daughters' Festival that the average person would never hear.

It was said that in the very early days of the Daughters' Festival, due to the extremely low status of women who suffered years of beatings from men, much sorrow and resentment accumulated. After the festival began, many young women and married ladies, dissatisfied with reality and resigned to their marriages, made extremely bold choices. They used the annual occasion of returning to their maternal home on the 12th of the seventh month for the Yue Ban festival to arrange meetings with their lovers, thus developing a specific cultural phenomenon of "returning home" to meet lovers. On the 12th of July, lovers would either confess their feelings at the Daughters' Festival gatherings or secretly rendezvous by the woods or streams to soothe their longing. On the mountaintop, specifically on the third of the fifth month or the ninth of the seventh month, lovers could conduct business, eat, and sleep together without restraint. In the dense mountain forests or the cornfields, those who were particular would set up a small shelter; the less concerned might engage in sexual activity wherever they stood. Over time, this practice seemed to be tacitly accepted by society and became a custom, turning the Daughters' Festival into a time for lonely hearts to meet and secretly dally. Historical records state: "The Tusi chieftain resided deep within ten thousand mountains. Regarding farming, going out, men and women traveled together without regard for kinship; upon meeting on the road, regardless of gender, singing served as the medium for intimate connection, even with a husband present, showing no fear or hesitation." This was a true reflection of that time.

On the day of the Daughters' Festival, parents were more lenient with their daughters, and husbands more so with their wives, allowing them to openly meet old lovers. Parents would use the excuse of visiting relatives for the Yue Ban and purposely stay away, leaving the daughter's lover free to call. A girl might intentionally say, "Don't come, my parents aren't home." The man, hearing the unspoken message, would understand that since the parents had gone out visiting, he could come. Once inside, the man and woman would flirt and banter playfully. The woman usually wouldn't fasten her belt that day. She would say, "Don't be rough (meaning: teasing or pulling), I haven't even tied my sash." The man would take the hint, and they would become 'intimate.'

It must be said that in the birthplace of the Daughters' Festival—an area famously described as "one foot treading three provinces, the cock's crow heard in four counties"—such legends were not entirely unfounded. However, at this moment, did I have the leisure to listen to Man Niao Niao, this slow-witted fellow whose head was full of dregs, vividly recounting these tales?

So, I interrupted him without ceremony, "Why are you spouting all this dirty talk? We need to find Ji Ye right now; don't forget we have more important matters to attend to. If you're capable, wait until the official festival starts, and you can come here to find yourself a wife."

Qin Bing'er also seemed extremely impatient. We had mostly heard what Man Niao Niao was saying; the young tour guide had already given us a brief rundown. Did we really need him to elaborate? "Right, why are you wearing such an ugly mask?"

Before Man Niao Niao could answer, I snapped back irritably, "He was already ugly to begin with. Putting on this grotesque mask just makes the ugliness beautiful, it's the same principle as negative times negative equals positive."

Man Niao Niao, thick-skinned as he was, clearly understood my insult, yet he completely ignored the blow. Instead, he seemed rather proud, saying, "You two wouldn't understand this! I got this from an old man who performs Nuó Tang rites; not everyone is blessed enough to have one."

Qin Bing'er actually fell for it and asked curiously, "What is Nuó Tang rite?"

Exceedingly impatient, I quickly stated, "It's the dance performed to worship the ancestral deity of the Tujia people, the Nuó God!" Seeing my irritation, Qin Bing'er murmured an 'oh' and dropped the line of questioning.

"Wait, I remember something!" Man Niao Niao suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Qin Bing'er and I both jumped and stopped, "What is it?"

"Did you two just mention a foreigner with a high nose bridge?"

I was so angry I nearly jumped up. So, Qin Bing'er had said all that, and Man Niao Niao hadn't absorbed a single word! Seeing me about to lose my temper again, Man Niao Niao quickly said, "I remember now. When I was outside watching the Nuó Tang performance earlier, something strange did happen!"

"What strange thing?" Qin Bing'er and I asked in unison.

"It's not exactly strange, I suppose. After I got the Nuó mask from that old man, I accidentally overheard two young women whispering. They were saying something about a weird old man whose nose was so high he couldn't even fit on a Nuó mask, and they laughed hysterically. At the time, I thought, what's the big deal about a big nose? It's when that thing is big that it counts! You think the weird old man they were talking about could be the one we're looking for?"

Hmm? Does this mean that group of foreigners really did come to Suobuya? I quickly asked Niao Niao, "There shouldn't just be the old man with the high nose bridge in their group, did you see anyone else?"

"How would I know? I only made a guess based on what I overheard those girls saying and comparing it to what you described. Whether they are the group is still uncertain. You have to understand, among us locals, there aren't that many people who can't wear a Nuó mask because their noses are too big."

I hated this kind of ambiguous guesswork the most, wanting to curse Man Niao Niao roundly but finding no suitable words. Just as I was at a loss, Hua'er, that little helper, suddenly popped out from somewhere. Seeing Man Niao Niao, it involuntarily bared its teeth in a vicious grimace. But its focus was clearly not on venting my anger through it; rather, it frantically tugged at my trouser leg, pulling me deeper into the stone forest.

My heart gave a lurch. Could Ji Ye be in danger?

Thinking of this, I had no patience left to waste talking nonsense with Man Niao Niao. I left Qin Bing'er and Man Niao Niao behind and followed Hua'er, rushing frantically toward the depths of the stone forest.

I remembered the young tour guide saying that the Suobuya Stone Forest was shaped like a giant gourd, and the exit of the "gourd" led to the entrance of the Qingjiang Grand Canyon. Hua'er kept dragging me deeper into the forest. Had Ji Ye abandoned us and gone to the canyon first? He was such a capable person; surely he wouldn't run into danger?

That's what I thought, but I dared not slow my pace at all, running wildly after Hua'er. After running for about the time it takes to smoke one cigarette, we finally reached the end of the stone forest, and a magnificent, majestic canyon finally appeared before my eyes.

To be honest, although I was a native of Xidu, I had never personally visited the Qingjiang Grand Canyon, often compared to the Colorado Grand Canyon in America. My knowledge of its grandeur, strangeness, peril, and beauty was only gleaned from various sources. It couldn't be helped; the situation of "not seeing the true face of Lushan Mountain because one is right within it" occurs in many contexts. People living in the mountains really don't feel much interest in specifically going to see the ravines formed by those mountains. But in reality, when I finally stood at the edge of the Qingjiang Grand Canyon, I was stunned speechless by the view.

I don't know if the Qingjiang Grand Canyon was formed by an earthquake, but I could imagine that such a place of supernatural craftsmanship must be the masterpiece of the hand of God. Originally, Xidu was full of high mountains and uneven terrain, but the Qingjiang Grand Canyon looked as if someone had split it open between the peaks with a sharp axe. Moreover, it looked like more than just one swing; the cuts were clearly visible... I truly couldn't find the right words to describe it. If it were shrunk down many times, the canyon looked like a winding trench someone had carved into a floorboard, axe strike by axe strike. Since it was a trench created by chopping, there must be many places where the chopping wasn't neat, and those scattered, strangely shaped, yet extremely precipitous, odd rocks within the canyon were formed based on this very principle. White clouds swirled in the canyon, and the sound of rushing water roared—and remember, this was only the very entrance section of the Qingjiang Grand Canyon. That sound of water was clearly the result of the unrestrained, untamed surging of the Qingjiang River, the mother river of the Tujia people.

The strangest thing was that outside the gourd-shaped exit of the Suobuya Stone Forest was a waterfall. If viewed from a distance, it looked exactly like the overturned wine gourd of Zhang Guolao, with rich, fragrant liquor pouring turbulently into the trench split open by the axe!

Man Niao Niao and Qin Bing'er caught up to me and found me standing there motionless, not even noticing Hua'er pulling desperately at my pant leg. They found it very strange. Man Niao Niao thought I had spotted something unbelievable, or perhaps that Ji Ye had indeed met with misfortune. He hastily grabbed my arm and asked anxiously, "Ying Ying, what's wrong, what's wrong? Did you see An Ge? Where? Where?"

I snapped out of my trance and realized Hua'er was about to rip my trouser leg off. I said with a pained expression, "I didn't see Ji Ye!"

"You didn't see him? Then why are you standing there looking like a lost soul? You scared me into thinking you'd lost your spirit!" Man Niao Niao complained.

"Look, there are some boatmen over there! Let's go ask them if they've seen Uncle An!" Qin Bing'er, seeing I was otherwise fine, glanced over and spotted several boatmen wearing orange life jackets, shouting loudly.

One of the boatmen seemed to know what we were thinking and yelled back, "Hurry up, hurry up! Come experience the thrill of the Number One Rapid in China! Fair prices, expert skills, guaranteed safety and excitement!"

I glanced over and saw a huge wooden sign sentimentally inscribed with large characters: The Number One Rapid in China—Qingjiang River Rafting Adventure. And my Hua'er was standing under that sign, barking fiercely at me.

Seeing the unusual look on Hua'er’s face, my mind jolted. Could it be that Ji Ye had gone rafting? Of course, I knew Ji Ye wasn't as reckless as Man Niao Niao, who would rush into anything fun without a second thought. If he had left us in such a hurry, he must have encountered something unusual. So, what exactly was this unusual thing? Could it be that group of foreigners?

Qin Bing'er had already run to the sign and was questioning a sturdy, well-built boatman, "Brother, have you seen a man in his forties with a white-flecked beard come through here?"

The boatman’s eyes focused when he heard Qin Bing'er’s words. Looking embarrassed, he scratched the back of his head and said, "Wait a moment, let me think... Oh yeah, was that person dressed rather strangely, with a weird knife hanging from his waist and some jingling gear?"

Qin Bing'er was taken aback. I rushed to ask Man Niao Niao, "Did Ji Ye put on that whole outfit again?"

Man Niao Niao was also stunned. "He wasn't wearing it when he was with me; he was dressed like a normal person. His gear was still in his bag!"

My heart gave another lurch. I rushed up to the boatman and described Ji Ye’s appearance. The boatman confirmed emphatically, "That's right, there was definitely a man like that who got on Yang Lao Er’s rubber raft to run the rapids. And he looked like he was chasing someone, in a real hurry, urging Lao Er to paddle faster, wasn't that right, Lao Er!" Another boatman answered from a distance, confirming that what the boatman standing before us said was true.

"Chasing someone? Right, Brother, did you also see a group of foreigners?" I quickly pressed on, trying to confirm the suspicion in my mind.