The officer said, "It was the General's direct order that you die on this hilltop. You still want to see him? Aren't you trying to get me killed too, to be buried with you?"
I replied, "I don't care. I promised my brothers before I came here that if I don't return tonight, they will surround this place. You have over ten thousand mu of poppies here. You should weigh which is more important."
The officer scoffed, "Stop bragging. This is the Ten Thousand Mountains. The government forces, even with thousands or tens of thousands of men, couldn't break in. Your Myanmar brothers are only a few hundred, right? They probably wouldn't even reach the foot of the mountain before we eliminate them. And ten thousand mu of poppies, huh? Come and try if you don't believe me."
I said, "Have you heard of Unit A? Does their existence depend on numbers? A single operative can destroy your entire battalion. Hundreds of men, I think it's unnecessary. For your little lot, ten or eight would be enough."
Unit A was an organization that struck fear into the hearts of all who heard its name. Every member was a former special forces soldier, possessing eighteen skills. Airplanes in the sky and tanks on the ground were nothing to them, let alone light and heavy weapons, which they could use the moment they held them. They never appeared in large groups, but it was no exaggeration that one of them could destroy one or two companies.
The officer gave me a look of disbelief, saying, "You think you can even mobilize Unit A? Stop playing the mystic here!"
I said, "Turn on my phone, and I'll make a call to see if what I'm saying is true."
He replied, "I'm sorry, there's no signal here at all. Besides, I must follow my superior's orders and escort you two to the Qinglong Cave ahead. Today, you will be with those Qinglong and Bailong. You know the beautiful stories of the Green Snake and White Snake, their homeland is on this very mountain. Today, you two young brothers are in for a treat."
I knew what he meant. It was likely a snake's den. I hadn't expected these beasts to be so wicked.
I said, "It doesn't matter. Life or death is the same wherever it happens. I'm just reminding you, if you don't report what I've said, and this place is attacked by Unit A, the responsibility might fall on you. Don't say I didn't warn you."
The officer said, "Still so much nonsense when death is at your doorstep. Rest assured, you don't need to worry about what happens here."
With that, he waved his hand, and several soldiers came to escort us further up the mountain.
This time, we weren't blindfolded. Perhaps they figured it was pointless whether we wore eye coverings or not; we were already as good as dead, so who would care what a dead man saw?
I glanced at Wen Siqiang. He showed no expression, just as he had said, his life was tied to whomever he followed. Since I was determined to walk to my death, he had no other choice but to comply.
The Qinglong Cave he mentioned was quite far. We walked for quite some time but didn't reach it. Although the path was difficult, there were no steep inclines; the entire journey was quite gentle.
On both sides were bushes taller than a person. Two soldiers in front were using long sticks to beat the branches, likely to drive away snakes and insects. We could hear the rustling of crawling creatures running away.
It was early summer, the prime season for snakes. The vegetation was dense, the food chain complete, so it was natural for snakes to be present.
I neither feared nor liked snakes. I hadn't encountered them much, so I had no strong feelings about them.
I thought to myself, I won't bother you, and you shouldn't bother me. If we're together, we're together. What's the big deal?
Little did I know, the snakes didn't think that way at all!
It was then I realized I had been naive once again.
We arrived at a mountain ridge and stopped at a higher point.
One of the soldiers removed our handcuffs. To my surprise, they didn't put on new ones. Weren't they afraid we'd run away?
Two soldiers had already cleared the weeds and branches ahead. Several men pushed us forward.
There were only two of us, but they were six, and all armed with pistols. Even if we tried to run now, we wouldn't be able to.
Before I could even consider making a move, we had already reached the edge of a cliff. If they hadn't been guiding us, we might have stepped right over.
From the moment they unlocked our handcuffs to here, it was only about two meters. The grass was too high; we couldn't see the cliff ahead.
They began to tie ropes around our waists. I was confused; weren't they just going to push us down? Why use ropes?
I looked into the cliff. It wasn't particularly deep, about twenty meters. However, it curved inwards like an inverted hook, with the mountain wall receding inward. It was likely that the snake hole was right beneath our feet!
Pushing us down to simply die there would be too easy. Making us wish we were dead would be more satisfying.
Several soldiers secured us with the ropes, then fixed one end to a tree trunk behind us. Watching their practiced movements, I thought these bastards must have done this many times before.
I wondered how many other unfortunate souls had been sent down like us.
Seeing how familiar they were with the process, it was likely quite a few.
After securing the ropes to the tree, two soldiers at a time grabbed the ropes and pushed us towards the edge of the cliff. Then, one man held the rope, while the other held my belt and began to lower me, telling me to hold on tight as he lowered me. Suddenly, my body was suspended in the air, and I gripped the rope hard to avoid a head-first fall.
I saw Wen Siqiang being lowered in the same manner next to me. Once we were suspended, they increased the speed of the rope. In a short while, we were lowered to the bottom of the valley.
After we were lowered, they cut the ropes above. The leader said to us, "Have fun, you two. There are plenty of interesting animals inside. If you're lucky, you might even encounter leopards."
A shiver ran down my spine. Wasn't this supposed to be Qinglong Cave? And it wasn't just snakes, but other animals too?
Wen Siqiang grabbed my arm and whispered, "Boss, look over there."
I followed his gaze and saw, at the base of the opposite cliff face, several piles of white bones, gleaming bone-white in the sunlight.
This definitely wasn't the work of snakes. Seeing them scattered haphazardly, I guessed they were likely the work of leopards.
I looked around. It was a natural pit, about the size of a basketball court, surrounded by sheer cliffs. The place where we were lowered was the lowest point, but on this side, there was a cave entrance. The top of the entrance was an overhang, making it impossible to climb out.
The cave entrance was quite large, as big as a room. About ten meters inside, strange rocks blocked the way. It was likely that the Qinglong and Bailong they mentioned were hiding within.
We hadn't seen any of the animals they mentioned yet, not even a bird. It was likely that even birds dared not fly down, and if they did, they wouldn't leave alive.