Translation: Folk Strange Stories Part 1: Miao Township Wu Zu Chapter 5 Section 3: Eating Man Pond

"After walking for about two hours, we could hear the sound of running water ahead. Old Wang asked the guide, 'Old Lin, is there a spring in these mountains? It's a good opportunity to rest for a while.'

The guide hesitated before saying, 'It's not a spring. It's a waterfall, and there's nothing special to see there. Shall we skip it?'

Following the guide, Li Yan immediately expressed some emotion, 'There's a waterfall? Old Lin, let's go have a look. I've never seen what a waterfall looks like in my life.' Zhang Yunwei and Li Jiadong, who were behind, chimed in, 'Let's check it out. It'll be nice to cool off by the waterfall.'

'Well, boss, it's not that I don't want to take you there, but... that place is really spooky.' Lin the guide seemed a bit anxious; his words were somewhat incoherent. 'Spooky? Do we have something spookier than our Commander Wang?' Liu Jingsheng asked with a smirk, glancing at Old Wang, 'You're in your thirties and still single; that's spooky enough, isn't it?' He and Old Wang were comrades of the same age, and they had no reservations with each other.

'Liu Jingsheng, can you please not include me in your talk? If you don't want to provoke me, can't you just keep your mouth shut?' Old Wang was having a hard time in front of outsiders. These people had experienced life and death, and the last thing they believed in was 'spooky' things. However, there was one exception. As soon as Lin mentioned the spooky waterfall, my right eyelid started twitching continuously, and images of my 'Auntie' from childhood and the 'Water Ghost' from a few years ago kept popping into my mind.

'Old Lin, can you explain what's so spooky about this waterfall?' Lin the guide sighed, reached into his jacket pocket, fumbling around but not pulling anything out. I found this familiar; I smiled slightly and tossed him half a pack of 'Junwei' cigarettes, saying, 'Old Lin, smoke these.'

Lin the guide took the cigarette pack, pulled one out, and sniffed it under his nose, 'Heh, Junwei, you can't find these on the market.' After saying that, he didn't hurry to light it up, but instead tucked the cigarette behind his ear. He made a gesture as if he was going to toss the cigarette pack back to me.

'You can keep it.' I waved my hand, 'These cigarettes are specially supplied to the military. I have plenty.' Lin the guide hesitated for a moment, but after some polite words, he put the half pack of cigarettes in his pocket. Liu Jingsheng saw that he didn't light up the cigarette and took out a lighter, handing it to him, 'Old Lin, go ahead and light it.'

Lin the guide pushed the lighter back, 'I can't smoke now. It's the season for frequent wildfires. If a fire starts, it would be a disaster. We forest police have a habit of not bringing fire when we go into the mountains.'

Lin the guide's pace slowed down, and he got to the point, 'Regarding that waterfall I mentioned earlier, the local Miao people call it the 'Man-Eating Pool.' In the past, not counting now, I've been a forest ranger here for twenty years, and I've almost been able to retrieve a corpse from the pool under the waterfall every year. From what I've seen, the bodies could cover the entire pool.'

'Are you kidding me, Old Lin? How many people live in these deep mountains and forests? How could so many people die?' Song Chunlei had a skeptical look on his face. 'Chunlei, why are you talking? Don't interfere with our storytelling. Old Lin, don't mind him; continue with your story.' Liu Jingsheng said playfully.

Lin the guide didn't mind the teasing and continued, 'Most of these corpses are not locals. Some of them have been underwater for a long time before floating up. Even the local Miao people, despite the drought, dare not fetch water from there. When they hear the sound of the waterfall, they turn back immediately. That place has become a forbidden area for them.'

'Cut!' Song Chunlei was about to argue back, but he was scolded by Old Wang, 'Song Chunlei, shut your mouth! Old Lin, please continue.'

'Last year, I even saw a foreigner with blonde hair retrieved from the pool. At that time, he hadn't been swollen by the water yet; his facial features were clearly visible. The city's Public Security Bureau and Foreign Affairs Office sent people here, and they investigated for three months without finding out where he came from. In the end, the bureau classified it as a foreign tourist who accidentally fell into the water and drowned.'

Old Wang, although skeptical of the spooky tales, was now somewhat unsure, 'So many people died, and the Public Security Bureau didn't investigate further?' 'They did investigate; how could they not?' Lin the guide broke a twig blocking the path, 'They investigated many times, and they even brought in water police from other places, repeating dives in the pool for more than half a month, but they still found no clues. In the end, it was left unresolved.'