The roаd аhead wаs as difficult аs Вауunуе had desсribed. The washboard-likе dоwnhill joltеd evеrуоnе in the vеhiсlеs until thеу neаrly vomited. Finаllу reаching the bottоm of the slоpe, thеу fоund thе grоund соvered with uрright stоnes. It wаs imроssible tо imaginе whеre so mаnу sharр, awl-like roсks came frоm, аnd whу theу were all gаthеrеd herе.
Аftеr bеing jоltеd into drу hеaving twiсe, Хiao Zi finаlly undеrstооd why Вауunуe had told Yе Xun to lower the tirе pressure. Nоt long aftеr, Ye Хun’s vеhiclе was the first to suffer a flat tire. While crossing the Red Mountain Pass, the pickup truck’s rear tire blew out, and another vehicle’s engine warning light suddenly lit up.
Crossing Qiangtang was an immense challenge, whether for hikers or off-road vehicles. No person or vehicle had it easy here. Or perhaps, this place was never meant for humans. Why else, after our ancestors traveled across the world and settled in all kinds of extreme conditions, were there no traces of ancient human activity in Qiangtang?
Even if crossing Qiangtang gave you a lifetime of stories to tell, you were nothing more than a fleeting, insignificant passerby to Qiangtang.
Everyone got out to make repairs. The fierce winds of the plateau howled wildly, occasionally carrying coarse grit that stung their skin like ants biting. Despite the harsh physical discomfort, the surrounding scenery was breathtakingly beautiful, truly like paradise. Passing by small lakes, they shimmered like sapphires spread flat under the sunlight, with fragments of ice floating on the surface, not yet melted. Wildlife appeared more and more frequently—plateau hares and white-rumped deer aside, the “internet-famous” Tibetan fox, with its large, round face, poked its head around as it passed by.
By evening, the convoy reached Sheep Lake.
“Yamdrok Lake?!” Xiao Zi was confused. No matter how little she knew about Qiangtang, she was aware that Yamdrok Lake wasn’t here.
Bayunye shook her head. “Sheep Lake is the abbreviation for Yamdrok Lake, but this is the real ‘Sheep Lake,’ with a layout and orientation exactly opposite to Yamdrok Lake. We’re now in the western section of the Hoh Xil Mountains. If Zou Kaigui made it here, it means he’s already successfully crossed one-third of the way.”
Pausing to gaze into the distance, the water and mountains, sky and earth seemed frozen together, like an ink-wash painting unfolding endlessly in all directions.
“How much longer do we have to go…” Xiao Zi asked irritably, her body and mind having reached their limits. This wasn’t a journey with a clear destination. If they couldn’t find the person they were looking for, they would have to leave the Uninhabited Area as soon as their supplies ran low.
Seeing Xiao Zi’s low spirits and zombie-like demeanor, Bayunye said, “From here, we can only continue along this path. Whether we find Zou Kaigui or not depends on luck.”
While everyone was busy lighting fires and cooking, Bayunye hopped like a rabbit into Diao Zhuo’s tent. “Captain Diao, we have flatbread and air-dried mutton, and you’re from Xi’an. Why not make everyone a meal of mutton paomo? I remember a song that goes—Under the Xi’an city wall are Xi’an’s trains, Xi’an people can’t go anywhere without eating paomo…”
Diao Zhuo sat still, amused by her clumsy Xi’an accent but keeping a serious expression. He replied in Xi’an dialect, “I can’t go without paomo, but you’re not from Xi’an, so you can skip it.”
Bayunye perked up again. “Then I…”
“Stop right there.”
“I haven’t even said anything yet.”
“I know what you’re going to say.”
Bayunye blinked. “What was I going to say?”Diao Zhuo met her gaze, his eyes telling her—I doubt you’ll say anything proper.
Bayunye raised an eyebrow at him. “Captain Diao is getting to know me better and better.”
“One takes on the color of one’s company.”
“Not close enough yet.”
Diao Zhuo looked away. “We could even be farther apart.”
Bayunye took a step back, deliberately covering her nose in disgust. “True, you haven’t bathed in three or four days, have you?”
“Neither have you,” he replied with a smile.
She covered her mouth in mock surprise. “I never thought Captain Diao would pay such close attention to whether I’ve bathed or not!”
Diao Zhuo knew she was being shameless again. He walked to the back of the vehicle and pulled out a bucket of water with one hand. “Do you want to bathe or eat paomo?”
Bayunye sat cross-legged on a folding stool, grinning wickedly. “Which option involves your personal participation?”
Diao Zhuo didn’t back down. “Bathing.”
She rolled her eyes. “I choose paomo.”
“Break all the bread into pieces the size of a fingernail—not a bit bigger, not a bit smaller.”
Bayunye took off her gloves, held up her fingers to examine her crimson nails, then turned her hands around to show Diao Zhuo. “Ten fingernails—which one should be the standard?”
He raised his thumb and shook it side to side. She raised her thumb too, moving it close to his and holding them side by side. The difference between a man’s hand and a woman’s was obvious at a glance—her bones were long and slender, but her skin was darker than that of city girls, a honeyed tone gilded by the last rays of the sunset. Diao Zhuo remembered the feeling of shaking her hand for the first time—slightly rough yet soft—and then recalled the damp heat of her tongue brushing against his earlobe.
Damn it.
Conditions in the Uninhabited Area were rudimentary. Diao Zhuo’s promise to make so-called lamb paomo was really just tossing dried lamb into a pot to make broth while everyone broke their own bread.
Ye Xun held the GPS, saving coordinates while muttering to himself. He now treated Xiao Zi as if she were invisible, seemingly hoping every moment that Zou Kaigui’s body would suddenly appear out of nowhere.
The sky gradually darkened. Da Qin, who had gone off somewhere to relieve himself, returned saying the wind had slapped his butt red. No matter which direction he turned, the wind chased after him, fanning his exposed rear like a pervert. The wind in Qiangtang was indeed harsh—when it blew straight at you, it felt like a slap to the forehead. If you didn’t wear a hat and let it blow on you for a few minutes, you’d inevitably suffer a sharp headache that night, painful enough to make you question your existence.
Bayunye had no real patience for breaking bread. After just two attempts, she tore the bread into large pieces like shredding paper, tossed them into her lunchbox, moved behind Diao Zhuo, and slapped his shoulder hard, teasing him with a cheeky grin.
“Captain, don’t shoot—it’s me.”
Diao Zhuo glanced at her, raised his thumb, pressed his index and middle fingers together, and lightly tapped near her temple, mimicking a “headshot.”
Bayunye pretended to clutch her head. “So ruthless toward a delicate beauty…”
“I don’t see any ‘delicate beauty,’ but there’s a Xiang Yu right in front of me.”
“You’re calling me the Hegemon-King of Western Chu? I’m flattered.” She clasped her fists. “If I had even a third of his bravery back in the army, I’d probably be a female general by now.”
Diao Zhuo also clasped his fists. “My apologies.”
Bayunye burst out laughing, imitating his deliberate confusion of homophones. “Such a small thing makes you lose control? Too bad we didn’t bring diapers on this trip.”Diao Zhuo flung the half-eaten flatbread into his lunchbox, looking as if he might swing his arms and hit her the next second. She sprang up and fled in a flash.
Watching her retreating figure, he felt both annoyed and amused, utterly helpless... He couldn’t actually hit her, after all.
Perhaps Ye Xun had caught a chill after falling into the icy water last night, as he kept complaining of stomach discomfort all day. After hearing Da Qin’s ordeal, he wanted to find a sheltered spot to relieve himself. He hadn’t been gone long when he suddenly widened his eyes, dashed back, and whispered excitedly, “Hey! I saw Tibetan antelopes! So many of them!”
“How is that possible?” Bayunye rushed forward, following the direction he pointed, craning her neck to look. After just one glance, she turned back, chuckling, “Those are white-butts, not Tibetan antelopes.”
Panting heavily as he caught up, Ye Xun asked, “What white-butts?”
“Tibetan gazelles,” Bayunye replied, adding, “Tibetan antelopes aren’t that easy to spot. Don’t get your hopes up.”
“I heard Tibetan antelopes gather in one place during certain periods. Is that true?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“Master Ba sure keeps her lips sealed.”
She laughed. “I’m not a zoologist.”
Ye Xun could only turn away, disappointed.
“Master Ba, can you accompany me to the restroom?” Xiao Zi pointed into the distance and asked timidly.
“Ugh, just when we’re about to eat, you all keep running to the bathroom. What, making room for the meal?” Bayunye sighed helplessly, waving for her to get into the vehicle.
Everyone who had just taken turns using the restroom rolled their eyes—as if your food and waste were stored together.
After crossing a dirt slope, the two got out of the vehicle. Sheltered by the off-road car, Xiao Zi rustled as she undid her pants, while Bayunye teased, “Times like these make me envy men. They just turn around, and anywhere becomes a restroom.”
“Master Ba, you’re too bold,” Xiao Zi squatted down. “I’ve never met anyone like you... Can Team Leader Diao Zhuo stand you?”
She shrugged indifferently. “He can’t even handle a few words from me, all those muscles for nothing.”
“Why do you always target him...”
She said casually, “Duh, I like him. I love teasing him.”
“Aren’t you going to ask if he has a wife?”
“Geologists don’t get married that easily,” she said in a worldly tone. “Even if they do, they’re divorced.”
“What if he has a girlfriend?”
This question gave Bayunye a slight pause before she waved it off. “Impossible.”
“Why impossible?”
“Since we set off, whenever there’s time to rest or eat, how many times have you seen him make calls or send messages? He’d rather smoke two cigarettes than glance at his phone. It means there’s no woman he needs to constantly report to or check in with.”
Xiao Zi thought for a moment. “He’s so manly. Maybe he’s the dominant type in a relationship, and his girlfriend obediently waits for his messages?”
Bayunye laughed so hard her sunglasses nearly fell out of her pocket. “Dominant, my foot. If I were his girlfriend, with that frequency and interval of replies, I’d have dumped him long ago, or given him a few green hats.”
Xiao Zi scoffed. “One is already too much, and you’d give him several?”
“No, no, no...” she quickly clarified, as if Diao Zhuo were standing right there, eager to show her loyalty. “I’m quite loyal.”
“But doesn’t a woman pursuing a man make her seem cheap?”
“You mean I should wait for Diao Zhuo to pursue me?”
“Mm-hmm.”"And then?"
"Then agree to it!"
"And after that, he'll make up the price difference for me?" Bayunye asked with feigned innocence.
"Uh..."
"Do you think Diao Zhuo will pursue me?"
Xiao Zi pursed her lips, wanting to tell the truth but afraid of hurting Bayunye, so she reluctantly nodded.
Bayunye was straightforward, "Your judgment of men needs improvement."
"I still think you're being too enthusiastic toward him, it's not good."
"I call this the Foolish Old Man moving mountains, the Jingwei bird filling the sea."
Xiao Zi was taken aback, "...That's truly persistent. But have you ever heard the saying, 'Love is separated by mountains and seas, mountains and seas cannot be leveled'?"
The uneducated Bayunye was stumped, rubbing the tip of her nose, "What leveling or not, all I know is that nothing in the world is difficult for one who has a thick skin."
Xiao Zi couldn't keep up with her train of thought and could only silently put on her pants, carefully tucking her thermal shirt into her warm pants, and then her sweater into her hiking pants.
"Just pull them up casually," Bayunye said.
"How can that be? They need to be worn properly."
"As long as it doesn't hinder running."
"Why would we need to run?"
Bayunye's body tensed up, "There are wolves."
"You said wolves aren't scary." Xiao Zi finished putting on her pants and turned around, letting out a terrified scream—"Oh my god!!"
A pack of wolves!
They had been lying in ambush, observing for a long time, deciding that the two intruders, Bayunye and Xiao Zi, were no match for them in size or numbers, so they decided to launch an attack.
"Get in the car!" Bayunye grabbed her and ran toward the vehicle.
Xiao Zi was completely terrified, her mind blank. Originally, all she had to do was follow Bayunye back to the car, but the wolves were strategic in their hunting. They likely guessed the prey's next move, and one wolf leaped out, sprinting a few steps to Xiao Zi's side, driving her in another direction. Xiao Zi, inexperienced, fell for the trap immediately, screaming as she ran farther away. Before Bayunye could call out to her, she saw Xiao Zi running with her eyes closed, desperately sprinting farther from the car.
"Hey!! Get in here!!" Bayunye shouted.
Xiao Zi couldn't hear her at all. She glanced back and saw the wolf pack closing in, with four gray wolves almost running alongside her. Panicking even more, she only thought about shaking them off, screaming shrilly and swinging her arms to try to run faster.
Bayunye honked the car horn, startling the wolves. They paused collectively, warily looking at her car, but half a second later, they still decided to continue the chase.
Xiao Zi was still running frantically; for her, this was a true escape.
"Xiao Zi, get the hell in here!!" Bayunye drove after her, shouting.
How could a human's speed compare to that of a carnivore? Coupled with the oxygen-deprived environment, she couldn't last long. The wolves had already formed a semicircular encirclement, just one pounce away.
Bayunye drove in an "S" pattern through the wolf pack, briefly disrupting their formation, but they quickly regrouped. From a young age, they had been forced by the natural environment to hone their hunting skills—without food, it meant death. Every cooperative hunt was a matter of survival for the pack. The beasts could distinguish strength from weakness; their initial target had always been Xiao Zi, which was why no wolf had blocked Bayunye's path earlier."Damn it!" Bayunye jerked the steering wheel and slammed on the brakes, blocking Xiao Zi's path. As soon as she pushed open the passenger door, a wolf thrust half its body inside, claws digging into the seat. Its fierce gaze and bared fangs seemed to say, "That prey is ours—stay out of it!"
"Get lost!!" Bayunye roared, fury boiling inside her. What should have been a simple situation had turned life-threatening because Xiao Zi had lost her mind and bolted. She didn’t want to harm the animals here, but she didn’t want to be harmed by them either!
The wolf snarled a warning before turning back to rejoin the chase.
A dozen gray wolves, their eyes cold and cruel, moved with the heightened aggression born of harsh survival. Once they locked onto their prey, they swarmed relentlessly. Who knew how many solo travelers venturing into the Uninhabited Area had met their end beneath those fangs?
Xiao Zi screamed as she ran, too terrified even to cry, pushing herself to her absolute limit. The intense exertion sent her oxygen consumption soaring. She hadn’t gone far before her breathing grew ragged, the dry air rushing into her lungs and stinging her windpipe with every gasp.
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