In the Hengduan Mountains, there are indeed human settlements, though their existence is generally unknown to outsiders. Many places in the world, even those with harsh environments, are inhabited by people, whether it's on the peaks of the Andes or amidst the sands of the Sahara. Wherever other life forms exist, humans are usually found.
Although the environment in the Hengduan Mountains is harsh and much of it is unsuitable for cultivation, it offers secluded places where one can hide away from the world. Thus, despite the sparse population, people still reside here, albeit cut off from outside information.
Their only channel for receiving information from the outside world is through radios. After all, they cannot use televisions in the mountains. Even with signal receivers, they wouldn't be able to watch any programs, as many television stations have ceased to exist, and signal coverage is non-existent in the deep mountains.
Therefore, the most suitable channel for everyone to learn about the outside world has become the radio. However, generating electricity in the mountains is not easy. Most people use solar panels to charge their batteries. Many households have stored diesel generators, but even with these generators, they cannot find any diesel fuel.
"All residents of the Hengduan Mountains, listen up. We will be scattering poison from the air and ground to kill insects. During this period, please store drinking water and do not drink raw water, as the water will be poisoned. From now on, all food must be washed thoroughly before eating. I repeat, we will be scattering poison from the air..." a broadcast voice came from the radio.
"These people are truly despicable. They're actually going to poison us! How are we supposed to survive in the mountains now?" someone exclaimed in fury after hearing the radio announcement, unable to fathom such a turn of events.
"There's no other way. There are simply too many insects in the mountains, and I can't deal with them alone. Others can't do it either, especially those damned fruit flies. Once they fly out, they'll immediately harm people outside. Their choice to use poison to kill insects is unavoidable," someone finally said, trying to comfort the angry individual.
"If only they had come here for local research. If they had investigated, they would have discovered that we already have a way to deal with these insects – by coating ourselves with a medicinal solution. What kind of insects would dare to attack us then? This would have been good for them too. But the people outside are too arrogant; they're not even willing to find out," the angry person retorted, still seething and unwilling to have their life disrupted. However, they were powerless and could only begin storing clean water in their homes.
It turned out that the people living in the Hengduan Mountains had long been subjected to insect attacks, particularly fruit flies that could parasitize humans. Being parasitized by these fruit flies would be a fate worse than death. However, the inhabitants of the Hengduan Mountains had used their ingenuity to find a solution: a special herb. When its juice was extracted and applied to the body, it could resist fruit fly attacks.
This extracted herb juice had a strong defensive effect against fruit flies. Once fruit flies approached and smelled the scent, they would easily die. However, this herb was completely harmless to humans. Therefore, by widely cultivating this herb, the fruit fly attacks in the Hengduan Mountains could be repelled.
Unfortunately, communication between the inside and outside of the Hengduan Mountains was poor. People within the mountains could only passively listen to external broadcasts but could not actively contact people outside, nor could they bring this herb out. Thus, they were now facing this awkward situation: the outside world was preparing to poison, while the people inside already had a method to prevent insect attacks but lacked the ability to share it.
"It seems we can only store water now. If we have no water to drink after they poison it, we'll die of thirst," the mountain dwellers could only helplessly begin to store water.
Within these mountains were scattered human settlements. Though few, people did indeed reside there. Their meat was obtained through hunting, and if they wanted vegetables, they would go up the mountain to dig for wild greens. At least they had sufficient stored frog skins.
The children in the mountains had never seen the outside world. They had lived in the mountains since birth and had never interacted with outsiders. In their minds, the area they lived in was the entire world.
One day, four or five children ran up a hillside to play. On the hillside were also caves they had dug. If they spotted mutated birds in the sky, they would immediately hide in the underground caves to avoid being captured by the birds. This was their leisure time, as they usually helped their families with farm work.
On this particular day, these children suddenly saw a dense mass of people in the distance. The clothes they wore were uniformly made and appeared to be dark green. They might not have been easily recognizable in the forest, but their sheer numbers were overwhelming. A continuous stream of people appeared before the children, instantly filling them with fear.
"So many people! Could these be the bandits the adults talk about? There are too many of them. If they find us, they'll surely kill us!" The children were overcome with fear and immediately turned and fled towards their village.
Just then, a figure suddenly descended from the sky, landing directly in front of the children.
"Don't be afraid. I just want to understand the situation here. Where are your parents? Take me to them," Shen Feng, who had descended from the sky, said to the children immediately, trying to calm their emotions.
However, the children were very scared. After all, they had never seen outsiders before. All they had seen were people from their own village.
"Great King, our village has no extra food. Even if you go to our village, you won't find any food. It's best to leave quickly," one of the bolder children immediately refused Shen Feng's suggestion, having no intention of leading Shen Feng to their village.
Shen Feng said helplessly, "I'm not a bad person. What do you think I am? Don't call me Great King, and don't call me a hero."
Shen Feng never expected to be perceived as a mountain bandit by these children. It was truly exasperating. He was a very upright person, yet in the children's eyes, he seemed to have become a villain.
Upon hearing this, the children did not believe him. Instead, they uttered a rather logical statement: "No good person ever says they are a good person. Only bad people, to trick children, will actively claim to be good. So, according to this logic, you are a bad person."
Shen Feng was speechless. He then said to the children, "It seems you know absolutely nothing about the outside world. I am Shen Feng, the City Lord of Yuzhou. Otherwise, who else could fly freely in the sky?"
Shen Feng had initially thought his reputation was widespread enough that stating his identity would surely win their trust, making things simpler. He could then obtain more accurate information about the terrain from the locals, as they lived in the mountains and would surely be more aware of the fruit fly nests.
"We haven't heard of you!" Unfortunately, the children exchanged glances and all shook their heads, none of them having heard of Shen Feng's name.
"Is that so? I thought I was known to every man, woman, and child globally. I didn't expect the people in the mountains not to recognize me!" Shen Feng was also quite helpless.
Shen Feng took out his walkie-talkie and spoke to the advancing people, "You can continue your march here. I haven't found any danger, and there aren't many birds in the sky. Even if there were, I've already killed them. Please be careful in the woods."
Yang Chang's reply quickly came through the walkie-talkie: "Understood. We will continue to advance. Please take care of yourself, City Lord."
Shen Feng thought for a moment, then took out a gold coin from his person and handed it over, saying, "If you take me to your village, this gold coin is yours. If you think it's not enough, I'll give you more later."
"Isn't this just a yellow stone? What value does it have? It's not as practical as a piece of meat," the children responded with disdain for the gold coin, completely unimpressed.
"You little guys really have no culture. You look down on something so valuable. Haven't you ever been out before?" Shen Feng couldn't help but say.
"We've lived here since we were born. We know nothing about the outside. Are you from the outside?" These children clearly had no dealings with outsiders and immediately revealed what they knew.
"That's right, I am from the outside. This time, I have a very important mission: to kill all the insects in these mountains. The simplest way is to poison the water and kill the insects," Shen Feng said seriously.
Shen Feng had expected to be welcomed by the children after stating his purpose. After all, living in the mountains, they would surely be threatened by insects and could be parasitized at any moment. Eliminating this danger should have earned him their welcome.
However, upon hearing this news, the children's faces immediately showed fear, and they shouted loudly, "You're a bad guy! You're going to poison the water and kill us all! You're a devil, get out of here!"
Shen Feng quickly explained, "I'm clearly helping you. I didn't expect you to mistake my good intentions for malice and think I'm here to harm you. What is wrong with the world now?"
The children stubbornly replied, "We don't need your help. We already have herbs to deal with these insects, and now you want to poison them. It will only bring us trouble. We've already stored water in every household because of you."
This was the first time Shen Feng had heard this. He then began to inquire in disbelief, "You say you already have herbs to deal with the insects in the mountains? You're not lying to me, are you? People outside haven't even developed drugs to kill insects, and you've managed to discover one."
"If you don't believe us, follow us to the village. However, you must hand over your weapons to us for safekeeping," one of the bolder children pointed to the black longsword at Shen Feng's waist and said.
"I'm afraid you won't be able to lift my weapon. Don't let its size fool you; it's very heavy," Shen Feng said with a smile, unbuckling his scabbard and tossing it to the children.
One of the children caught the longsword and was knocked over by the impact. However, he patted the dirt off himself, stood up, and holding the longsword, said, "This sword is a good thing! It's so heavy, it must be durable. It would be great for chopping firewood; it could last for decades!"
"You little frogs, sitting in a well and seeing nothing of the world, you've never seen anything like this. This thing is used for killing people, not for chopping firewood," Shen Feng couldn't help but say after hearing this.
"Enough nonsense, hurry up and follow us to the village. You'll see that our village has very magical herbs, and many villages come to us for medicine!" the child said unceremoniously. In their view, even if the other party could fly, their threat was gone now that his weapon was in their possession.