Chapter 11: The Enigmatic Cave of Flower Mountain

The next day, Jiang Yuan was ready by eight in the morning. She packed some homemade spicy pickled radish her mother had made, hopped on her electric scooter, and headed to Tunxi city. At the nearby Tianrunfa supermarket, she bought a box of milk, bananas, red-fleshed pomelos, dragon fruit, and Kyoho grapes. She also picked up a variety of loose cookies—all treats her grandmother could enjoy.

While paying, her gaming partner "Isle" messaged her on WeChat, asking if she had set off yet. Jiang Yuan replied she was still shopping but would arrive soon.

Tianrunfa supermarket was less than a five-minute ride from the Crown Hotel. After buying the gifts for her grandmother, she quickly rode her scooter to the hotel entrance.

Jiang Yuan: "I'm at the hotel entrance."

Isle: "Wait a moment, I'll come down right away."

She parked her scooter, carrying the fruits and milk, standing just outside the hotel lobby. Instinctively, she brushed her hair, tousled by the breeze.

The day was bright and sunny with a gentle wind—perfect for a road trip.

She called her grandmother back in Chengkan village to say she was bringing a friend to visit. Looking up, she saw Cheng Yubai emerge from the hotel, wearing black sunglasses, dressed casually yet stylishly, with a DSLR camera slung over his shoulder. His long legs carried him leisurely forward.

Jiang Yuan hung up and waved at Cheng Yubai. "Hi, what a coincidence! We meet again. Aren’t you fishing in the village with your uncle today?"

Cheng Yubai lifted his chin slightly and walked over. "I’m out with a friend today, just wandering around. Did you come to find my uncle?"

Jiang Yuan replied, "No, I also made plans with a friend. My friend is staying at this hotel."

Cheng Yubai nodded. "Oh."

His eyes scanned the hotel entrance but saw no other girls. He pulled out his phone and messaged their gaming partner: "I’m outside. Where are you?"

Jiang Yuan saw the message and replied, "I’m right at the hotel entrance. Are you here? I don’t see you. What are you wearing?"

Cheng Yubai immediately called on WeChat.

Jiang Yuan answered, "Hello?"

Their voices overlapped in the phone’s speaker.

Cheng Yubai instinctively tilted his head and squinted at Jiang Yuan, asking, "Where are you?"

"I’m right at the hotel entrance. I’m the only girl here. Can’t you see me? I’ve got several bags of fruit at my feet—a red bag with the Tianrunfa logo—and a box of milk. See it?" Jiang Yuan glanced around as she spoke, noticing Cheng Yubai’s expression was priceless—eyes fixed on the red bag at her feet, phone in hand, silent.

She found it strange but didn’t dwell on it, continuing to ask their gaming partner on the call, "Still can’t see me? I’m raising my hand now, waving."

Cheng Yubai saw Jiang Yuan raise her hand and wave three times.

He pressed his fingers to his forehead, then said into the phone, "I see you—you’re right in front of me."

His voice on the call and his words matched perfectly. Jiang Yuan suddenly looked up at Cheng Yubai’s face. Their expressions mirrored each other—both dumbfounded and utterly bewildered.

Swallowing hard, her mouth opened wide enough to swallow an egg, her voice filled with shock and disbelief: "You’re Isle?"

Cheng Yubai recalled meeting Jiang Yuan that night outside the Linjiang First Floor restaurant. It wasn’t a coincidence—the person she was waiting for back then was him.

He cleared his throat softly and said the same four words: "You’re Ruyi?"

Jiang Yuan was speechless.

The silence was thick and awkward.

Both wished they could vanish on the spot, delete WeChat, and pretend they never met.

A minute later, Jiang Yuan burst out angrily, "Cheng Yubai, the internet celebrity you mentioned—could it be me? And the elder you talked about is your uncle?"

Cheng Yubai, embarrassed, feigned an expressionless face. "You mean the weirdo guy is me?"

Jiang Yuan fumed, "Aren’t you the weirdo? How could you mistake me for being with your uncle? Now I get what you meant by those sarcastic remarks. How on earth did you connect me with your uncle? Are you out of your mind?"

Her tone was sharp, and Cheng Yubai felt humiliated but held back his retort. He knew their gaming partner had just returned home, and there was clearly a misunderstanding regarding his uncle’s supposed admirer, but he hadn’t yet pieced it all together.

Ashamed, Cheng Yubai asked, "So, who’s the internet celebrity?"

Jiang Yuan sighed, "Of course, it’s my mom!"

Cheng Yubai wanted to cover his face. "…"

After a moment, Cheng Yubai apologized: "Sorry, I didn’t get the situation right and misunderstood you. So, um, are we still going to Chengkan together?"

Jiang Yuan wanted to turn and walk away but recalled the old Chinese saying: once here, you might as well stay.

She muttered, "I already called my grandmother and told her I’m bringing a friend to Chengkan today. If you don’t want to go, I’ll just take a taxi myself."

Cheng Yubai crouched down, picked up all the fruits and milk at her feet, and offered to help, hoping to improve their rapport. "Let’s go. I rented a car just ahead."

Jiang Yuan followed behind, scratching her head in frustration. She longed to vent online—what was going on? She’d been mistaken for a fortune-chasing internet celebrity by none other than her gaming partner, someone she’d known online for at least a year. She was so embarrassed she felt like she could dig up an entire Pacific Ocean with her toes.

After walking several steps, Cheng Yubai opened the car trunk, placed the milk and fruits inside, then added his black backpack and DSLR camera.

Jiang Yuan slid open the front passenger door and buckled up.

Before getting in, Cheng Yubai thought over their recent WeChat exchanges filled with mutual misunderstandings, feeling both awkward and amused.

Once inside, Cheng Yubai broke the silence, "Help me with navigation. How long will it take to drive over there?"

Jiang Yuan fiddled with the GPS. "We’ll take Huashan Road, cross Huashan Bridge, then drive along Tun Guang Avenue. It’s about 33 kilometers, roughly 45 minutes to Chengkan."

Cheng Yubai nodded, "Alright, buckle up and let’s go."

Jiang Yuan nodded.

Once the engine started, silence fell again, broken only by the GPS voice. The atmosphere inside the car made Jiang Yuan feel restless, so she pulled out her phone, pretending to be busy to ease the discomfort.

After ten minutes, Cheng Yubai noticed a roadside sign and tried to spark conversation: "The sign says this road leads to Huashan Mystery Grotto."

Jiang Yuan glanced out the window. "Yes, we’re about to cross Huashan Bridge. To get to Huizhou District or She County, you have to go over Huashan Bridge. If you don’t cross, it’s only seven or eight more minutes to Huashan Mystery Grotto."

Cheng Yubai asked, "Is it fun?"

Jiang Yuan smiled, "It’s pretty interesting. On our way back from Chengkan, if you’re interested, we can stop by Huashan Mystery Grotto. It’s well developed now, with lots of light shows at night. But the most fascinating part isn’t the light show—big cities have dazzling night displays, which can’t compare. The real allure is the mysterious underground palace.

"No one knows how it was formed, and that mystery remains unsolved."

Cheng Yubai leaned in, intrigued. "What do you mean?"

Jiang Yuan explained, "Many karst caves in China formed naturally, but Huashan Mystery Grotto was artificially carved. Thirty-six stone caves have been discovered, their walls marked by chisel marks from ancient times. The structure is vast and strange—grand and majestic, with caves within caves. But there are no murals, no Buddha statues, no inscriptions. When were all those stones quarried? Where were they transported? Ancient transportation wasn’t as advanced as today, so how did they move everything? It’s full of mysteries that spark curiosity."

Cheng Yubai admitted he’d never been but found it intriguing just hearing about it.

Jiang Yuan added, "Surprisingly, along with the Egyptian pyramids, Bermuda Triangle, and Noah’s Ark, Huashan Mystery Grotto lies on the mysterious 30-degree north latitude line. It’s known as the ninth wonder along this line. Some say it was carved during the Western Jin Dynasty, over 1,700 years ago. Such a large-scale artificial cave system has no historical records—that’s quite fascinating, isn’t it? Observing the grotto and guessing its secrets is the real joy of visiting."

Cheng Yubai saw the approaching Huashan Bridge, about to cross and leave the road to the grotto. He said regretfully, "The more you talk, the more I want to see it. Can we visit Huashan Mystery Grotto first, then head to Chengkan? Will we have time?"

Jiang Yuan replied, "Ah, better to go back and see it later. It’s caves, so day or night, it’s the same. But my grandmother is probably preparing lunch now. If we visit the grotto first and then go to Chengkan, we’ll be late for lunch."

Cheng Yubai sighed, "Alright, we’ll check it out on the way back. You’ll have to tell me more about it. Has no one ever uncovered anything after all these years?"

Jiang Yuan said, "There are guesses. The oldest theory says Huashan Mystery Grotto was a secret military base during King Goujian of Yue’s campaign against Wu between 494 and 473 BC. According to historical records, the Yue army had about 49,000 soldiers training secretly outside, needing a massive cave to hide them. Huashan Mystery Grotto’s location and underground space fit that need.

"Others say it was a garrison during the Eastern Han Dynasty. General He Qi was sent by Sun Quan to subdue the mountain tribes in Yixian and Shexian counties. Since Huashan Mystery Grotto is near the Xin’an River—underneath Huashan Bridge—the upper reaches of Xin’an River were later named Tunxi, now Tunxi City. So, the grotto was used to station troops and store weapons."

"There’s also speculation that stones from Huashan Mystery Grotto were transported by wooden rafts along the Xin’an River to Hangzhou, then through the Grand Canal to Beijing, used in building the Ming Dynasty’s Ming Tombs. This is supported by inscriptions on the underground palace walls at Dingling Tomb stating, 'Stones from Huizhou, wood from Liuzhou.'"

"Other guesses include the Jiuli tribe theory. Anciently, people said there were cave dwellings in the north and stone caves in the south. Carving stone mountains into homes preserves fertile land and mountain shapes, while offering warmth in winter and coolness in summer—ideal habitats. Huashan Mystery Grotto has stone houses, corridors, stone bridges, halls, stone water pools, and cisterns."

"Oh, and a tourist from Shanghai once wrote to our mayor suggesting the grotto might have been a fire-worship altar."

Cheng Yubai chuckled, "Fire worship? Like the Persian fire cult? That guy’s imagination is something else."

Jiang Yuan laughed too. "It’s a bold guess. Fire worship was introduced to China during the Northern Wei period and flourished in the Tang Dynasty. Many followers and abundant incense. It might have spread to Huangshan back then."

They chatted about all manner of topics, the earlier awkwardness unexpectedly eased. After finishing their talk about Huashan Mystery Grotto, silence fell for a few minutes. Then, at a moment, they glanced at each other simultaneously.

They both laughed, breaking the tension completely.

Cheng Yubai took the initiative to apologize, "Sorry for the earlier misunderstanding and the harsh words. Don’t take it to heart—I was being a fool."

Jiang Yuan snorted twice. "After you added me on WeChat, you probably didn’t check my Moments. Otherwise, you’d know I returned from Shanghai the same day as you."

Cheng Yubai: "Sorry, sorry."

Jiang Yuan: "Forget it, I forgive you. But you have to buy me bubble tea and make it up with a hotpot meal. Otherwise, this isn’t over!"

Cheng Yubai: "Definitely. You pick the place, I’m buying."

Jiang Yuan: "That’s more like it. So, the elder you mentioned is your uncle? Hey, don’t get the wrong idea. My mom isn’t chasing your uncle. He came to her first, loves her cooking, but she hasn’t accepted his pursuit yet. He’s still in the observing phase, no promises made. I’ll tell my mom to send him away so your family won’t think she has ill intentions."

Cheng Yubai said, "After dinner at your place the other night, I kind of understand my uncle now. It’s not your mom’s fault; blame her delicious cooking."

That finally pleased Jiang Yuan, and she was willing to chat more during the drive.

Cheng Yubai said, "I still don’t get it—what exactly is Huangshan? Sometimes I think it’s a mountain, other times it sounds like a city. Then there’s Huangshan District. It’s all so confusing. And Huizhou—I know it refers to ancient Huizhou, but you also have a Huizhou District. Are the names just randomly assigned?"

Jiang Yuan laughed heartily, acknowledging many tourists were equally perplexed. She explained:

"Previously, Huangshan City was called Huizhou. Later, to boost the fame of the Huangshan Mountain, they renamed Huizhou City to Huangshan City to promote tourism. Huangshan City now has three districts and four counties. The three districts are Tunxi District, Huizhou District, and Huangshan District. The four counties are Xiuning, She, Yi, and Qimen. The Huangshan Scenic Area is in Huangshan District. The most developed tourist spots are She County and Yi County, where Hongcun and Xidi villages are. Does that make sense?"

Cheng Yubai: "Got it. Which county is Yucun village in?"

Jiang Yuan: "Xiuning County."

Cheng Yubai: "Then my ancestral home is in Xiuning County, Huangshan City?"

Jiang Yuan snapped her fingers. "Smart, exactly right."

Cheng Yubai: "What fun places are in Xiuning County?"

Jiang Yuan replied, "Qiyun Mountain, a Taoist holy site. Also, the ancient city rock of Wanan, and the Wanan compass, a famous intangible cultural heritage. Plus, Mulitong Village in Xikou Town, the most beautiful high-mountain village in Huangshan, known as the ancient village in the clouds. It’s built on a ridge with cliffs on three sides, seemingly isolated from the world—a hidden fairyland. Watching the sea of clouds there is spectacular."