“Is that true or false?”“It’s true, of course. It’s a real video!”“Where is this place?”


  “Look, they even marked it out on the map.”


  “Brothers, shall we go and have a look?”


  “Yes!”


  In the past couple of days, a place called the Valley of Thousands of Medicine had suddenly risen to fame on the internet.

  It was located in the depths of the jungle. It was a real retreat from the world, a hidden paradise. The only way in and out was to cross a suspension bridge suspended above the turbulent river. From there, one had to follow a small path into a canyon.

  This information was not just in written form. It was accompanied by pictures, which suddenly boosted its credibility.

  Some people were always willing to venture into remote places, so more and more people began heading for the Valley of Thousands of Medicine. They encountered many strange things on the way there, such as their car’s tires suddenly giving out, a person suddenly fainting, a strange blood-covered person falling from the sky, and so on. These abnormal events were posted on the internet by those who had wanted to go to the Valley of Thousands of Medicine but couldn’t. It caused another bout of heated discussion.

  Some speculated that it was a place protected by gods and a pure paradise, so it could not be disturbed by outsiders. Some said that these things were purely coincidental while others guessed that these things were the works of the Valley of Thousands of Medicine’s villagers, who had deliberately done so to avoid being disturbed by outsiders.

  The more this went on, the more it aroused some people’s curiosity. The number of people exploring the Valley of Thousands of Medicine increased instead of lessening.

  “What? The number of people is increasing?”


  “Yes, I’m afraid continuing like this is not the way to go!”


  “It must have made them more curious.” Miao Xihe sipped on a cup of clear tea.

  “We can’t stop them from coming in.”


  “Shall we let them in?”


  “Let them in,” Miao Xihe said.

  “Huh?”


  “Let them in so they can regret coming in,” Miao Xihe lightly said.

  “Yes,” Miao Qingfeng replied.

  He didn’t know what the chief was going to do, but from his words, he seemed to have made up his mind.

  “Have our people take a good look into this. There’s something suspicious about this.”


  “Yes, I’ll leave now.”


  “Alright.” Miao Xihe acknowledged him with a wave of his hands. “Go on, go on.”


  Under the glow of the setting sun, a group of five people overcame many difficulties and finally saw the suspension bridge over the river and the vaguely visible stockade at the other end of the bridge.

  “It’s the Valley of Thousands of Medicine! We’ve finally found it!”


  They passed the rickety suspension bridge, stood at the mouth of the valley, and saw the scene inside.

  The ancient road was paved with slate. There were bamboo buildings with smoke curling up from them, and green mountains on both sides. It was truly a scene of a peaceful and quiet hidden paradise.

  “What a beautiful place!”


  “Yeah, it’s exactly like the one in the pictures.”


  They didn’t forget to immediately post it on their social media accounts.

  “We found the Valley of Thousands of Medicine, a place of legends. It’s as beautiful as a painting.”


  “It’s a hidden paradise.”


  “Thousands of miles, a day’s rush, and bumps all along the way were all worth it!”


  “Let’s go in and have a look together.”


  The five of them passed through the valley and came to the stockade. They saw the people in the stockade, dressed in a pair of homespun cloth, leisurely walking.

  “Hello.” They came forward to greet the people there.

  After hearing their voices, a man in his 40s looked at the five of them and opened his mouth to say something, but they didn’t understand.

  “Well, what does he mean?”


  “Could it be a local dialect?”


  “It must be!”


  The five of them were stunned. No one could understand what the man had said, and the man couldn’t understand them either. There was no way to communicate.

  “What should we do?”


  “Well, let’s go around and find a place to stay.”


  “Wait, it’s getting darker. Why don’t we find a place to rest for the night first?”


  “Yes, let’s hurry up.”


  The sun was about to set.

  “Alright, but we’ll have to wander around looking as well.”


  The outsiders wandered around the stockade and met a dozen people. However, they couldn’t communicate with them because of a lack of a common tongue.

  “Well, we’ll have to sleep in the tent tonight!”


  “Look, what a big lake!”


  They had seen the Soothing of Gods Lake. Under the setting sun, the blue waves were sparkling and rippling. It looked calm and peaceful.

  “What a beauty!”


  They immediately took photos of it and posted them on social media.

  “It was a worthwhile trip. Look at the lake. It’s so beautiful. One could get drunk looking at it!”


  “It was absolutely worth the trip!”


  As night fell, they still couldn’t find a suitable place to stay in. People had come forward and asked them, but they couldn’t understand what was being said.

  “Shall we make do by the lake tonight?”


  “Let’s not sleep by the lake. The wind is chilly here. Besides, there might be some rules and customs here. Look, there are statues by the lake.” A young man, who seemed to be the leader, pointed to a stone statue by the lake. It appeared to be a man with a big fish under him.

  “Where shall we go?”


  “Let’s just sleep at the entrance of the village. When I came in, I saw a vacant lot there.”


  “Alright, we’ll go there.”


  The group went back to the entrance of the stockade. They found a large open space that was relatively flat with a cliff on the side.

  “This place shall do.”


  They took out the tent they had with them, set it up, and lit a campfire.

  The day’s journey had tired them out. After eating something, they agreed to take turns and stand guard in groups of two. The others drifted off to sleep.

  The night passed silently.

  The next day, when the group got together, they realized that one person was missing.

  “Oh, where is Xiao Ming?”


  “He went into the tent last night!”


  “What time?”


  “At 3 a.m. when we changed shifts. I saw it with my own eyes!”


  “Look around again!”


  Some of them were a little anxious.

  “Xiao Ming!”


  They split up, shouting out his name as they looked around.

  “Here he is!”


  Under a tree at the mouth of the valley, they found their comatose companion.

  “Why is he there?”


  “What’s the matter with him? Is he unconscious?”


  A companion examined him and said, “He’s still breathing and has a normal heartbeat.”


  “Alright, hurry up and take him to the hospital.”


  “Sh*t!”


  They had finally made it there, but they hadn’t even had time to take a proper look at the beautiful scenery. Although they were full of unwillingness to leave, they had no choice. The life of their friend was more important. They carried their companion and quickly went across the suspension bridge. They returned to their car and sped away.

  Not long after they left, several figures appeared at the mouth of the valley.

  “Did he die?”


  “No, he’s just going to be in a coma for a few days.”


  “That’s good.”


  “If it were up to me, few people dying would be fine. This wave of trouble is gone, but there will be another wave. When will it end?”


  “The chief has given his orders,” Miao Qingfeng coldly said. “We have to do as we’re told.”


  This saga would not be over anytime soon.

  As the five outsiders were driving back, two more became unconscious.

  “What’s happening?” The two left were flustered. If there were any more problems, they would all fall unconscious inside this jungle, where there were no signs of any shops or villages to be seen for miles on end.