"A group of foreigners? Well, there was such a party, though they were strange. Everyone else who rode our rubber dinghy for the rapids entrance looked terrified, screaming their heads off, but this group was stone-faced... Oh, and there was an old man with a high nose and a full head of white hair among them. I found it very odd at the time. He looked quite old, yet his withered arms and legs were as stiff as stone, unmoving in the dinghy. It was uncanny; he was tougher than me! Shortly after that group of foreigners left, the man you described arrived..."

The boatman continued to ramble about the foreigners' actions, but I had already reached a conclusion: for some reason, Ji Ye had taken the rubber dinghy to pursue that group. The reason, however, remained a mystery to me. Had he seen the high-nosed old man and recalled what Qin Bing'er said about the lacquer tree? Even so, why the rush?

"Brother, do you think we can catch up to them?" I asked the boatman, offering him a cigarette.

"Well, that's impossible, but I suppose you could take our rubber dinghy to chase them. The distance for our rapids run is only about forty kilometers, ending at the mysterious Hanging Coffin Cliff... I'm not lying to you, you can reach the Hanging Coffin Cliff by land too, but you'd have to find a ride and it might take some time..."

The boatman was still diligently explaining, but the moment I heard the words "Hanging Coffin Cliff," my mind went blank. I grabbed the boatman's hand and said, "Let's go, we'll take your boat, hurry up!" Startled by my sudden eagerness, the boatman hesitated. Thinking he was concerned about the fare, I quickly added, "We can discuss the price, we won't be deadbeats."

The boatman hastily waved his hands. "It's not the price I'm worried about. I'm just curious about the strange people we’ve encountered today? Those foreigners, the man you're looking for, and you all seem so frantic. Young man, are you shooting a movie or something?"

"Shooting what!" I retorted, torn between amusement and annoyance. "You're a grown man, why are you gossiping like an old woman?" The boatman chuckled sheepishly, tossed us a few life vests, and motioned us toward his rubber dinghy.

The dinghy was similar to those found at ordinary water amusement parks. The moment we sat down, we quickly shrunk into the hull, abandoning any pretense of composure. Only Hua'er, majestic and imposing, lay stretched out at the bow, barking startlingly—sometimes long, sometimes short—in the direction ahead of the gorge. Seeing Hua'er so anxious made me even more worried. Hua'er shouldn't lose control like this, especially in broad daylight. This behavior could only mean that Ji Ye had encountered some serious misfortune. Still, I tried to comfort myself: this was a peaceful world; what danger could Ji Ye possibly face? No, no, I must be overthinking things.

As my spirits rose and fell, the boatman pulled off his sweat-soaked undershirt and yelled a vibrant chant, "Let's go—" The dinghy was released, sliding down a slick chute into the drop below.

My mind had been so preoccupied with Ji Ye's strange actions that I had completely overlooked the thrill of the rapids run. Only when the dinghy accelerated did I realize with a shock that there was a tremendous drop from the "Gourd" opening to the Qingjiang River surface below. The wind howled past my ears, clumps of white mist rushed toward us, and the mountains on either side seemed like two colossal millstones closing in at lightning speed. The powerful humidity nearly suffocated me. I cursed inwardly—this wasn't a heart-pounding ride; it was purely designed to stop one's heart altogether. Qin Bing'er was already screaming in a high-pitched, wavering voice, clutching my waist tightly, her entire body pressed against mine, eyes squeezed shut in terror.

The dinghy picked up more and more speed until, through the haze, I vaguely made out a large mass of milky white rushing toward us. Before I could even scream, the dinghy whooshed right through it. A spray of icy, fine rain drenched my head and body, immediately soaking my face. Only then did I realize that the milky white mass was the swirling fog endemic to the gorge.

I had no patience left to check on Manniao'niao or the boatman. I just held Qin Bing'er tight with my left hand while gripping the handle on the dinghy with my right. I held onto Hua'er's thigh with my right hand, terrified it would fall off. Qin Bing'er’s sharp, clear screams were grating against my eardrums.

Just as my heart felt like it was about to leap into my throat, the downward plunge abruptly halted. The massive spray kicked up by the dinghy shot toward the sky. I had no way to gauge its height, but it felt as if a massive bomb had detonated beside us, exactly like the scenes from the PLA's river crossing campaigns back in the day.

As the water column settled, we found the rubber dinghy had landed in the Qingjiang River. The current here was calm, and the dinghy surged forward before gradually slowing down. The boatman burst into laughter, "Scared 'to the max,' weren't you? It's fine, it's fine, I'm here!" (Nao Huo: Here meaning 'to the extreme.')

I had no energy left to maintain any pretense. My face was cold, my limbs numb. I forced a smile and said, "Why didn't you say it would be this exciting beforehand? We weren't prepared at all."

The boatman steered the dinghy steadily. "See? You were so desperate earlier, wishing you could fly to the Hanging Coffin Cliff instantly, and now you're blaming me? Besides, this is what makes it exciting! If you hadn't come down the Qingjiang, you wouldn't have this heart-stopping experience, right?"

I couldn't be bothered to argue with the boatman. I let go of Qin Bing'er and tried to stand up unsteadily to rub my aching, numb limbs, but I immediately lost my balance and plopped back down into the dinghy. Unwittingly, I landed right on Manniao'niao, who let out a series of strange yelps. I glanced sideways and saw that the fellow had collapsed sprawled in the dinghy at some point; no wonder I thought the boat had gotten smaller. Manniao'niao's face was now deathly pale, one hand raised and trembling violently as if suffering from a seizure. If there hadn't been other living people aboard, anyone seeing this scene at first glance might have thought this was some new-era boat coffin burial, with this one being a wronged spirit whose hand was stuck reaching out like that.

This calm stretch of water was long, and the dinghy's speed gradually decreased, as did the rocking. It was a stillness reminiscent of the calm after the storm. During this time, Qin Bing'er’s expression relaxed, and after a little while longer, she could finally sit up straight. The moment she opened her eyes, they widened, and a voice trembling with awe escaped her lips, "Oh my, the scenery here... it's so beautiful!"

They say that scenery is lovely, but people are lovelier; concern is warm, but the heart’s stirring is better. As soon as Qin Bing'er spoke, the boatman's proud voice followed immediately: "Of course! Anyone who comes here would say the same..."

Once the boatman started talking, he couldn't stop, vividly describing the Qingjiang Grand Canyon, which he claimed was comparable to the Colorado Grand Canyon.

In reality, the section of the canyon we were currently in was just a part of the Qingjiang Grand Canyon, stretching 108 kilometers in total length, covering an area of over 300 square kilometers. The scenic spots within the canyon—hundred-mile sheer cliffs, thousand-foot waterfalls, soaring solitary peaks, primeval forests, and ancient villages—were breathtakingly beautiful. The natural scenic areas primarily comprised the scenery of the Great River Bend, the Front Mountain Cliffs, the Lesser and Greater Dragon Gate Peaks, the Banqiao Cave Cluster, the Dragon Bridge Underground River, the Yunlong River Fissure, the Rear Mountain Solitary Peak, the Yulong Mountain Cliffs, the Chaodongyan Cliffs, the Bronze Basin Water Forest Park, and the Tunbao Qingjiang River Gallery. The peaks here were steep and towering, exuding a spirit of looking up to the heavens and roaring. The water of the Qingjiang at the bottom of the valley was pure and serene, giving one the feeling of rebirth. Within the 6 square kilometers encompassing the Great and Lesser Dragon Gates of Mufu, there were over 30 independent peaks exceeding 200 meters. The still, clear Qingjiang water, with rainbow bridges arching over the ripples and green mountains reflected below, created an illusion of a mirage. Drifting downstream along the Qingjiang by boat, surrounded by swirling mist and dancing white cranes, the scene and the emotion merged, making one feel as if transported to a vast, distant paradise. The magnificent Qingjiang Grand Canyon offered grand spatial openness, rich landscape layers, and constantly changing mountain forms, with the Qingjiang river valley deeply incised. It possessed five unique wonders different from those of the Five Great Mountains: "Qingjiang Rising White Clouds"—unlike the scattered and disorderly sea of clouds found at most famous mountains, the sea of clouds rising from the Qingjiang here resembled a coiling, twisting, hundred-mile-long ascending dragon, richly formed and incomparably beautiful; "Cliffs Circling Peak Clusters"—in typical Karst landscapes, those with sheer cliffs lack peak clusters, and those with peak clusters lack sheer cliffs. The Mufu Grand Canyon not only possesses both but also boasts large scale and high quality. Some cliffs are concave, surrounded by clusters of peaks, while others project outward, seemingly suspended above them. No similar wonder has been discovered elsewhere in the world; "Sky Bridge Connecting Cave Clusters"—there are over 200 caves of various sizes along the grand canyon. Take the Re Yun Cave at Banqiao, for example, separated by a rock wall forming two entrances—one emitting hot air, the other cold air—where heat and cold mingle in swirling vapor. Furthermore, the main hall inside can accommodate tens of thousands of people; there are also matching sky bridges, where water and sky harmonize, figures complement the scene, making it feel like a fairyland; "Fissure Meeting Flying Waterfalls"—the fissure is dotted with strange, multicolored rocks, ancient trees flourish, and clear streams gurgle. Especially shocking and uplifting are the several cascading waterfalls and springs along the fissure walls; "Fissure Meeting Sinkhole"—this place holds the world's longest underground river... It can be said that anyone weary from striving in the turbid world will experience an ethereal detachment here.

In terms of grandeur, the Qingjiang Grand Canyon is indeed comparable to the Colorado Grand Canyon, but in terms of scenic beauty, landscape diversity, layered complexity, and cultural richness, it far surpasses the Colorado Grand Canyon.

The Qingjiang rapids run is about 40 kilometers long, narrowest at 15 meters and widest at over 200 meters. Along the route, one can experience the thrilling dangers of rapid rafting, view the dreamlike Qingjiang Gallery, and experience the rustic and unique Tujia folklore. It has been hailed by many media outlets as the "Number One Rafting Trip in China." During the journey, you pass through 48 dangerous shoals, with the largest drop being 4 meters, crossing 5 gorges. In slower stretches, one can gaze up at the quiet scenery on both banks, while in fast-moving water, waves splash high, and one might accidentally hit a large rock—it's both thrilling and quite interesting...

The boatman spoke with passionate fluency, his words tumbling out smoothly like spitting loquat seeds. Although outsiders might suspect exaggeration, I swear by heaven and earth that the scenery he described was accurate. As he spoke, we admired the beautiful landscapes on both sides, our hearts rising and falling with each shoal we navigated, whether high or low. Accompanied by the boatman's high and passionate chants, punctuated by bursts of screaming, the intermittent chirping of birds echoing in the gorge, and the thunderous roar of the Qingjiang River, we, in our rubber dinghy, passed through thrilling spots one after another—Fu San Tiao, Fish Scale Gorge, Duck Stream Crossing, Rhino Cave, Dragon Vein Gorge, Flying Fox Beach, Lotus Three Shoals, and Man Head Rock—finally arriving at the world-renowned Hanging Coffin Cliff. ==To be honest, these two chapters feel a bit like advertisements, but the subsequent plot takes place in these locations, so it was necessary to spend some effort describing the environment. Readers who don't wish to read this can simply skip it.==