No one knew since when the people of Ke village had been calling that hill the Witch Hill. Perhaps the name had existed for a long time, as almost all the village elders shook their heads when the children asked why the hill was given such a mysterious name.

The village school was nestled against the hill, not far from its base. It could be said without fear of a lightning strike that since the school was built until now, after countless generations of schoolchildren carrying their bags to school, not a single child had dared to set foot on Witch Hill.Witch Hill was located at the end of Mountain Road, covered with dense, dark vegetation. Due to the lack of visitors, the hill had an even more eerie and enigmatic appearance.

Every day, the students from the village school enjoyed the game of leaning their heads out of the windows, casting curious and excited glances up the hill, engaging in random discussions. Of course, they saw everything that could be seen on a hill: large birds flying in flocks above the trees, occasionally swooping down and then fluttering back up like leaves tossed in the wind, patches of yellow flowers whose exact type was unclear, squirrels scurrying through thick bushes and occasionally darting into open spaces, and squirrels gathering nuts. In summary, they saw a bit of everything, which also meant they saw nothing in particular. To match the name of the hill, what the children saw could be described as utterly perplexing.

When this story begins, Nguyên and Kăply were observing the hill from the classroom window."I don't see anything scary!" Nguyên said. He was sixteen years old, the boldest kid in the village.Kăply, a little younger and slightly less bold, nodded in agreement. "Especially when you're standing right here."Nguyên felt offended and turned to look at his friend. "I've tried going up the hill a few times."Nguyên's revelation startled Kăply, who shuddered and felt a strange, unsettling sensation stirring in his stomach. He looked at Nguyên with wide eyes."Really?" Kăply asked."Really!" Nguyên put a finger to his lips. "But don't you dare tell anyone!"Nguyên pointed to a cluster of trees halfway up the hill, lowering his voice but unable to hide his pride."I've ventured up to that spot.

"Kăply shivered, feeling as if some eerie creature was writhing and growling in his stomach. It looked at Nguyên with narrowed eyes:

So you're still safe to leave?

Nguyen grabbed Kăply's hand and tapped the soldiers on their chests, saying,Then you see it too. I'm standing right in front of you.The bell signaling the start of class interrupted the questions that were about to escape from Kăply's mouth.Kăply sat down, angrily flipping through the book.

The sound of papers rubbing against each other filled the air, rustling indignantly. Nguyen nudged Kăply in the hip and said,Take it easy! Watch out for Silverbeard!Mr. Beard has been teaching at this school for a long time. Both Nguyen and Kăply's father also studied with Silverbeard when they were children. It seems that even Nguyen and Kăply's grandfather studied with Silverbeard when they were young.

My favorite sayings always start with the word "then":Back then, your father was much smarter than you.At that time, your grandfather was not as violent as you.

In the past, your grandma didn't wet her pants when she was yelled at like you do now.

Every time the teacher glared at the noisy students and cleared his throat two or three times in a row, the kids knew he was about to say "back then," so they each found their own way to close their mouths.The villagers of Ke are very proud of Mr. Silverbeard. As the oldest person in the village, he is loved and respected by both the young and the old. Some claim he is one hundred and five years old, while others say one hundred and twenty. Some even exaggerate it to one hundred and eighty, surpassing the record in the Guinness Book by several decades. In reality, nobody knows exactly how many years Silverbeard has been in this world. Silverbeard himself is unaware. And this isn't peculiar to just this village. Nguyen's grandfather can't recall whether his age is ninety-two or ninety-four, and Kăply's grandfather isn't certain if he's truly ninety-nine or one hundred and two. In Ke village, people live long lives, and those who live long often suffer from a peculiar ailment where hardly anyone remembers their exact age. Therefore, nobody questions how old Mr. Silverbeard is. If someone were to claim he is two hundred and fifty-seven years old, no one would object. Objecting would be like questioning what happened when Nguyen's grandfather and Kăply's grandfather used to carry their school bags and, when they approached their teacher, were forced to kneel down and even fainted. To this day, they are old and still fearful of him.

Kăply, nudged by Nguyen, remained seated, still. He disliked hearing the phrase "Your grandfather didn't like making a fuss in class like you did."

He sat there, motionless, no longer speaking incoherently, but his stomach churned like a blazing fire. His friend's story was reaching its conclusion when it abruptly ceased, leaving him feeling uneasy. It was as if a piece of cake that was in his mouth had been snatched away.

On the blackboard, Mr. Silverbeard began teaching geography. "Before diving into world geography, students must first learn about Vietnamese geography. And before delving into Vietnamese geography, one must study the geography of the province they reside in. However, the province is not the smallest unit. Therefore, prior to exploring the geography of your province, you must learn about..."

Silverbeard paused, his eyes sparkling, waiting for his students to complete the rest of the sentence. It was a favorite habit of the teacher.

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Numerous voices rumbled with knowledge:

Master, Ke village.

Silverbeard expressed his satisfaction by striking the ruler on the table with a resounding "bang."

"Correct! Today, we will delve into the details of Ke village."

Ke village, known by everyone. The children were like a pack of cubs, leaving no corner of the village unexplored or untouched, except, of course, Witch Hill.

However, as described by Mr. Silverbeard, Ke village presented a whole new image:

"Your Ke village, or rather mine, has the shape of a horse. The horse's head is in the north, the horse's tail in the south, the horse's belly in the east, and the horse's back in the west. The horse's head is adorned with a shrine to worship the deity Tam Giap, who played a pivotal role in the village's establishment. Ke market lies in the horse's belly. The residential area stretches from the horse's neck to its navel, divided into six sections..."

Nguyen and Kăply widened their curious eyes, savoring every word from their teacher. Kăply stopped struggling with his notebook and crossed his arms on the table, acknowledging that Silverbeard was an exceptional teacher. They had never before encountered someone who could talk so thoroughly and captivatingly about Ke village. However, there was one thing Nguyen and Kăply were eager to know, yet despite sitting with their necks craned all day, they had not yet heard the teacher mention it—Witch Hill.

Witch Hill stood behind the school, toward the west. However, Mr. Silverbeard continued discussing the horse's head, tail, and belly, without mentioning the horse's back.

"What about the horse's back, sir?" came the voices from five or six students in the rows of tables.

"What mischief has jumped into my throat!" Silverbeard exclaimed, glaring. "Did you know that, back then, your grandfather..."

But realizing that a multitude of students were all speaking up at once, causing him to lose track of where to direct his gaze, Mr. Silverbeard lazily scanned his eyes from left to right, then right to left. His thick, white beard fluttered like the wind. Finally, in front of his students' frightened faces, he let out a sigh and lowered his voice:

"The horse's back? It is the mountain. It is the cliff. As a mountain, there is nothing special to discuss!"

The teacher punctuated his sentence by striking the table with a resounding "bang" once again, causing the books resting on it to jump. The startled students jumped as well, and when they regained their composure, they understood that it would be foolish to ask another question about the forbidden horseback.

"Tomorrow, I will climb the hill again!" Nguyen whispered into Kăply's ear on the way back.

"Alone?" Kăply asked, concerned.

"Yes, alone, if you don't come," Nguyen replied, looking at Kăply with anticipation.

But Kăply remained silent. Clearly, Kăply and Nguyen were close friends, but if they were so close that Kăply would accompany Nguyen to venture up the eerie and potentially dangerous hill, Kăply needed some time to think.

"In my opinion, there's nothing dangerous up there!" Nguyen suddenly said, as if reading the hesitation in Kăply's heart. "It's just trees and the wind blowing. Well, maybe a few small animals. Small animals don't pose any harm."

"Birds, again!" Kăply added.

Nguyen's voice turned cheerful and melodic. "Well, you know, harmless things!"

However, Kăply couldn't be easily swayed. The things mentioned were indeed harmless, but they were tangible. What about the invisible things? Eventually, Kăply had to voice the worries in their heart.

"But if that's the case, why is the hill called Witch's Hill?"

Kăply's question furrowed Nguyen's brow. Their voice sounded deflated, like a burst bubble. "I don't know that!"

They quickly added, "And the entire village of Ke is probably ignorant too!"

Clearly, Nguyen was trying to reassure Kăply that it was natural and there was no need to worry about the peculiar name. However, it was evident that Kăply didn't share the same sentiment.

"According to me, there must be someone who knows," Kăply said.

The eyebrows on Nguyen's forehead immediately furrowed into a straight line. "You mean Mr. Silverbeard?"

"Oh, the teacher knows everything!" Kăply exclaimed. "I don't know how many years I've lived in this village, probably since before our grandfathers were born. I dare say even my great-grandfather learned a lot when he was a child."

Nguyen reached up and pulled at a strand of hair. "But you also noticed this morning, he acted as if he didn't want to mention the Witch's Hill."

"That's why I suspect you know something about it!" Kăply spoke, sounding like they were merely guessing, but their firm voice revealed their readiness to swallow their words if their guess turned out to be wrong.

Nguyen bit their lip, causing wrinkles to form on their face. It was unclear whether their expression was due to the dark thoughts in their mind or if they had accidentally bitten too hard. "Are you going to tell me before deciding whether to go up the hill or not?"

If you apply the images that Mr. Silverbeard just depicted earlier this morning to describe the terrain of Ke village, his house would be located at the... rear end of a horse. It was a small wooden house situated in the southwest, on the outskirts of the village. The house stood alone beneath an ancient banyan tree, far from the bustling residential area of Ke village in the east. It appeared proud, cold, and mysterious, akin to a shrine. The people of Ke village took Mr. Silverbeard's secluded lifestyle for granted, assuming that an elderly man like him deserved to live in such a place, provided, of course, that he passed away fervently.

Now, the old man's eyebrows shot up when Nguyen and Kăply suddenly appeared at his doorstep. The expression on the teacher's face conveyed to the two children that they were doing something that likely hadn't occurred in a hundred years.

"How dare you come here without seeking my permission? Do you know that back then... back then..." Master Silverbeard was so furious that he couldn't finish his favorite sentence. Perhaps the generations of Ke villagers had never witnessed such anger from him. His thick beard quivered, his nose turned red and dilated, and his eyes bulged and darted, as if they would jump out of their sockets and pierce through the skulls of the opponents.

Nguyen and Kăply had pale and blue faces. Nguyen thought fearfully, "He looks exactly like a lion," as they stared at the top of his head, half-expecting a full mane to sprout from there.

"Sir..." It took Kăply a moment to peel off the invisible masking tape that seemed to be plastered across their mouth. However, they could only utter two syllables before falling silent, glancing down at their feet as if to verify whether they had remembered to wear shoes when they left home in the morning.

Nguyen chimed in, supporting Kăply with a flattering tone that clearly sought to appease. "We thoroughly enjoyed your lecture this morning," Nguyen said, their eyes probing Silverbeard's expression, and their heart leapt with joy as they observed the teacher's forehead gradually relax.