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Chapter: A Cliff, A World
The dark night was finally completely swallowed by the bold morning light. Mad Bull lay on the grass, the warmth of dawn shining on the sharp contours of his face, while Fire Lion's deep, piercing eyes were fixed on him.
Fire Lion spoke slowly, "Hey, it's time to wake up."
His voice was low and deliberate, like a rumbling thunder that reached Mad Bull's ears. Startled, Mad Bull jolted awake and instinctively moved away from Fire Lion. He noticed that Fire Lion had woken up before him but hadn’t taken the opportunity to end his life while he was unconscious. Mad Bull focused intently on Fire Lion's eyes.
There was no malice in Fire Lion's gaze. Mad Bull asked in surprise, "You're not going to kill me?"
Fire Lion replied slowly, "Kill you? For a horse? Is your life really that cheap?"
Mad Bull felt a sharp pain in his chest—not from any internal injury but from the earlier collision with Fire Lion that had bruised his ribs. Rubbing his chest, he asked, "Who are you? You don't seem like a villager from Jianquan Village."
"Jianquan Village?" Fire Lion had never known the name of the village he lived in. He chuckled bitterly, "So this place is called Jianquan Village."
Looking at Mad Bull as he rubbed his chest, Fire Lion said, "Stop rubbing it; you're not going to die. If I really wanted to kill you, you wouldn't even have the chance to feel pain."
Mad Bull understood that Fire Lion was speaking the truth. Given Fire Lion's strength at that moment, if he had charged with a weapon instead of his shoulder, Mad Bull would already be reporting to Yama's Hall.
Seeing that Fire Lion bore no hostility, Mad Bull relaxed his guard slightly and glanced around. They were in a bowl-shaped ravine; ahead lay a sea of green bamboo stretching endlessly. In the depths of the bamboo grove, birds chirped and cicadas sang, while colorful wildflowers bloomed vibrantly all around. The rocks on the cliffside took on various shapes, resembling mighty soldiers guarding this secluded ravine.
"What is this place?" Mad Bull asked.
Fire Lion responded, "This is the ravine outside the village. While you were unconscious, I searched for a way up but found none."
Suddenly, Mad Bull laughed. "So that's your reason for not killing me? You want me to help you think of a way out." Realizing this made him feel much lighter; as long as they hadn't found a way up yet, he was safe for now.
Fire Lion did not deny it and calmly said, "How you think is your business. I'm only chasing you to get my horse back. If we don't find a way to get out of here, we'll starve to death."
"Starve to death?" Mad Bull looked around at the lush greenery and said, "This place is vibrant. Even if we can't find game, there should be wild fruits to fill our stomachs."
"Wild fruits?" Fire Lion gestured around and replied, "Do you see any fallen fruits here? There are no fruit trees or animals, but there are some birds in the bamboo forest."
Seeing is believing, and hearing is deceiving. Mad Bull stood up and walked around the area. After a while, he returned with a dejected expression and said, "There really is nothing here."
Mad Bull looked up at the towering cliffs. The cliffs were exceptionally steep; even someone with great agility couldn't scale them.
Realizing his predicament, Mad Bull exploded with rage, "It's all your fault! I'd rather you kill me up there than starve to death here!"
Fire Lion looked at Mad Bull with a calm demeanor and said, "You have no way to get up either? Then you better be prepared. If it comes down to it, I might just eat you."
In response to Fire Lion's threat, Mad Bull suppressed his anger and smiled slightly. "You won't do that. Not everyone can stomach human flesh."
Mad Bull chose a large rock to sit on and continued, "You stole the horse for those villagers. They must know you, right? We can only wait for someone to rescue us."
Fire Lion gazed up at the towering cliff and sighed, "Then it all depends on our luck. If we're unlucky, we might end up nourishing the flowers and grass here."
Mad Bull glanced at Fire Lion and said, "Since we don't know if we'll be rescued, I don't want to die here with a stranger. I assume you feel the same way. I'm Yellow Sand Gang Mad Bull, from Qingyang City."
"Qingyang City!" Fire Lion was suddenly shocked and exclaimed, "This is Desolate Central Plain!"
Mad Bull laughed heartily and said, "Of course! You don't even know where you are?"
"That crack sent me to the Desolate Central Plain," Fire Lion thought in astonishment.
Mad Bull noticed Fire Lion's strange expression and asked, "Hey, what's the big deal? We're in the Desolate Central Plain. Why are you so surprised?"
Fire Lion calmed his emotions and looked steadily at Mad Bull. "It's nothing. I mean you no harm. This is my heartfelt opinion: we need to help each other and get through this together."
Mad Bull couldn't fully trust Fire Lion, but he had no choice. "That's best. I'll go over there, and you can handle things here. If I see anyone, I'll let you know, and I hope you'll do the same."
Fire Lion also didn't completely trust Mad Bull, but it was better for them to separate. "Alright, if there's nothing else, let's not stay too close to each other. You understand what I mean?"
Mad Bull chuckled lightly. "You're not honey, and I'm not an ant. Why would I want to come over to you for no reason?"
With that, Mad Bull walked to the other side and settled under a tree, gazing at the cliff above. "No, I can't just sit here waiting. I refuse to believe there's no way out of here; relying on others is not as good as relying on myself."
Mad Bull got up and began searching for an escape route nearby.
Fire Lion also chose a spot under a tree and took out Madam Jiang's Diary, staring at it intently. He muttered to himself, "Am I really going to die here? Is this where it ends for me?"
He self-deprecatingly tightened his grip on Madam Jiang's Diary and said, "How ridiculous. The old saying goes: 'A thousand acres of fertile land provide only three meals a day.' Even if I had wealth rivaling nations, who could come to save me now?"
Meanwhile, Mad Bull had been searching for half the day and was exhausted. He grew increasingly frustrated. "Where are those villagers? Am I really going to starve to death here?"
To conserve energy, he dared not move much and returned to his previous spot under the tree. Before long, fatigue overcame him, and he fell asleep against the tree. When he awoke again, the moon was high in the sky, and his stomach growled loudly. He patted his belly and reassured himself, "Tomorrow—tomorrow someone will come to rescue us. Just sleep; if I sleep, I won't be hungry."
Mad Bull fell into a deep sleep. The next morning, he was awakened by the sound of rain pattering down. Feeling cold all over, he opened his eyes to find that it was raining heavily; water was pouring down from the tree branches above him, soaking him completely. His throat felt dry in the downpour, and he silently cursed his fate for not being over yet.
Mad Bull quickly cupped his hands to catch the rainwater and gulped it down. After several sips, he felt hungrier than ever, but at that moment, he couldn't care less. He muttered to himself, "Drink more water, and I won't feel hungry."
After the heavy rain, the sun emerged, and within a few hours, the once damp ground was now steaming under the intense heat. Mad Bull huddled in the shade of a tree, feeling both hungry and exhausted. His eyelids fluttered as if he were about to drift off to sleep again, but suddenly he heard the sound of a bell ringing from above the cliff. Instantly, he perked up.
The bell's sound was slowly approaching him. Mad Bull's heart leaped with joy. "Someone is coming!"
He dashed out from under the tree and looked up at the cliffside, shouting, "We're down here! We're down here!"
The bell rang steadily, completely undisturbed by Mad Bull's cries for help. It drew nearer before gradually fading away. As the sound receded, Mad Bull grew frantic like an ant on a hot pan, jumping around in desperation. The cliff was towering as usual; if he gathered his strength to shout, surely his voice could carry up.
But now, with only thirty percent of his energy left due to hunger, he couldn't call out as he usually would. The bell grew fainter; even if it meant tearing his throat apart, he had to try to survive.
Taking a deep breath, Mad Bull's face flushed red as he cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "We're down here!..."
Indeed, there was a villager passing by on the cliff above. The villager was leading a donkey with a copper bell hanging from its neck, carrying goods to sell in Qingyang City. Unfortunately, Mad Bull's desperate cries did not reach the villager's ears. However, the sudden flight of startled birds startled the villager as well.
To avoid any strange occurrences, the villager quickly urged his donkey to move faster and left.
The sound of the bell continued to fade away until it finally disappeared into the distance.
With the ringing gone, Mad Bull sank to his knees in despair, filled with resentment. "Damn it! Is that person up there deaf?"
By the third day, Mad Bull had lost so much weight that he looked like a mere shadow of himself. His lips were cracked and dry like those of a corpse as he sat in the shade of the tree. He recalled all the leftover food he had eaten in the past; if anyone offered him even a morsel now, he would be willing to repay them with his life.
He touched his stomach, which had grown so empty that it no longer complained. In utter despair, he muttered to himself, "I never thought I, Mad Bull, would die here."
Mad Bull faced death, and memories of the past flooded his mind. He gazed at a cluster of bright red wildflowers several paces away and said, "Brother, I’ve disappointed you. Even though I possess the Ox Rings artifact, I have achieved nothing to this day. If you knew that I’ve been killing just to survive in the Yellow Sand Plain, you would surely be deeply disappointed in me."
Thinking of the artifact his brother had fought so hard to obtain for him ignited Mad Bull's will to live. Suddenly, he stood up and declared to himself, "No, I cannot die here!"
Images of Fire Lion flashed through his mind. Mad Bull wondered aloud, "I wonder if that person is dead yet. I hope he’s still alive; if he’s dead, the meat won’t taste good."
He took a step toward Fire Lion's direction. Fire Lion was huddled in the shade, leaning against a tree, motionless. From a distance, Mad Bull observed Fire Lion's seated posture and thought, "He’s not dead yet, but he’s in pretty bad shape, just like me."
With great effort, Mad Bull moved slowly closer to Fire Lion. As he approached, he noticed Fire Lion's eyelids drooping and his vacant gaze fixed on a book.
Mad Bull reached Fire Lion and asked with a frown, "Hey, are you dead?"
Only then did Fire Lion slowly lift his eyes weakly to look at Mad Bull. "What do you want? Has someone come to rescue us?"
Mad Bull scoffed. "Thanks to you, I've rolled into this ravine waiting to die. If I don’t eat something soon, I’ll starve."
Understanding Mad Bull's meaning, Fire Lion managed a smile. "So you want to eat me? Not everyone can stomach human flesh."
Mad Bull's eyes sparkled with determination as he replied, "Of course that doesn’t include me!"
With that, Mad Bull raised his hand and struck down toward Fire Lion's spiritual crown.
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