Continuing оn, еvеrуоne realizеd Diаo Zhuo's judgmеnt was cоrrесt. Аlthоugh thеy didn't seе any more of Brоthеr Long's mаrks, by саrеfullу seаrсhing аlоng thе waу, they cоuld still find trаcеs of human aсtivity and fоotprints. Ву this роint, Вrоthеr Long's staminа must hаve rеасhed its limit аs well. With thе рursuers shakеn оff, he sеemed to hаve spent соnsidеrablе time gathering fооd.
Аlong thе раth, thеу sрottеd mаny mоre Grаve Mоund Mushrооms, аpреаring lеft and right in greatеr numbers and with increasing frеquency. Yеt no onе had thе еnergу to bother digging them up anymore.
Bayunye noticed a wild beehive that had been taken from above a pile of extinguished ashes, and couldn't help but marvel at Brother Long's courage as a foodie. The pupae and honey inside the hive would have provided him with several satisfying meals.
Unfortunately, all electronic devices remained plagued by signal interference, with phones displaying a chaotic array of dates—finally no longer stuck on the legendary doomsday of 2012. The magnetic field in this place was utterly unpredictable; you'd never want to come here a second time in your life. As the saying goes, it truly didn't welcome humans either.
After passing through the darkest hours before dawn, a sliver of pale light appeared in the eastern sky. The ice and snow capping the distant mountain peaks took on a faint blue hue, while mist spread horizontally through the forest. All the earlier heart-pounding tension seemed to settle into calm amid the morning mountain breeze, evoking the poetic imagery of "flat woods stretch vast, mist woven like silk; cold mountains stretch in a line, a heartaching blue."
The group, having rested for a few hours, gradually woke up. Da Qin's gunshot wound prevented him from closing his eyes, and his condition was not looking good. Besides finding Brother Long, figuring out how to contact the outside world and get medical treatment for the injured Da Qin and Fat Monkey had become another urgent priority.
Bayunye collected dew from the trees and casually wiped her face, feeling sore all over. The chaotic battle with the Carnivorous Rabbits the night before felt like a distant dream. She smacked her lips, tasting bitterness in her mouth. The only "sweet treat" they could enjoy now was toothpaste...
While brushing her teeth, she glanced around and spotted Diao Zhuo not far away doing chest-expanding exercises and stretching his muscles. His broad shoulders and strong back muscles were a pleasing sight no matter when. With the toothbrush still in her mouth, she mumbled, "Who bought this toothpaste? The mint flavor is so strong it's like eating wasabi!"
Tan Lin was helping Da Qin apply anti-inflammatory powder. "I remember you complained about the weird taste of the compressed biscuits we bought in Qiangtang, and now you're complaining about the strong mint in the toothpaste. You're harder to please than an emperor. What's Diao Zhuo supposed to do with you in the future?"
Bayunye gargled noisily, toothpaste foam spraying as she spoke. Unfazed, she laughed heartily. "Diao Zhuo wouldn't be tasked with serving an emperor anyway, but serving me, the Empress Dowager, wouldn't be too bad either."
The remark sounded amusing at first, but after a moment's thought, Diao Zhuo walked over and covered her mouth.
She struggled a bit, spitting out the remaining toothpaste foam. "I haven't finished brushing my teeth yet! Aren't you disgusted?"
"If I'm already a eunuch, what's there to be disgusted about?" Diao Zhuo retorted.
Bayunye quickly flattered him, "Even as a eunuch, you'd be the chief eunuch."
The other members of the Rescue Team collectively protested, "Don't drag us into this!"
Ge Mingliang chuckled cheerfully, "Once we're done washing up, let's get moving!"Xiang An rubbed his temples, looking groggy and a bit dazed. "Last night we almost got taken down by rabbits, morale is low. Isn't it time for Master Ba to give everyone a pep talk?"
"Alright, let's sing 'Unity is Strength' one more time!" Bayunye planted her hands on her hips and was about to start singing when Xiang An stopped her. "That song is too rousing—it might attract those people. I remember that song you sang back in Latse. How about we sing that while we walk?"
Bayunye thought for a moment, snapped her fingers, and began clapping to the rhythm as she swayed her head and sang.
For those who had heard it before, memories surfaced, lingering with nostalgia. For those who hadn't, it felt fresh and novel. No one understood the lyrics, but they remembered the lively, cheerful tune and Bayunye's bright, exotic eyes, full of charm.
They found another extinguished campfire and several mountain rat skins. Judging by the clean, precise cuts, it was likely the work of Brother Long, who often cooked. The blood and level of drying on the skins suggested they had been skinned less than a day ago. They were getting closer to Brother Long.
"I wonder if the police have collected the bodies of those two yet," Bayunye said. "As long as they can meet up with Kong Gan and follow the marks we left, they'll catch up with us in less than a day. That is, if they haven't been driven mad by the forest illusions and carnivorous rabbits..."
"They have more people than us, so they might have an advantage."
"Would someone like Kong Gan obediently wait there for the police and help guide them? I bet as soon as we left, he sneaked off. He's probably drinking at home right now."
"If communications hadn't been cut off, the police would have found us long ago. Who would have thought we, Beidou Rescue, would become the ones needing rescue? It's just..."
"I think... I saw Brother Long." Just as everyone was talking, Xiang An's sudden remark sent a jolt through the group.
"Where?!" Bayunye gasped, craning her neck to look.
Xiang An frowned and pointed. "Over there. I just saw him peek out from behind that tree to look at us."
Everyone followed his finger, but all they saw were the same monotonous rocks, trees, vines, and grass. Qi Zi shook his head. "Impossible. If he saw it was us, especially Master Ba, he would have come over already. Unless... he doesn't trust us?"
"I really saw him," Xiang An insisted anxiously. "He peeked out and then pulled back."
For some reason, a chill ran down everyone's spine. Bayunye, who least believed Brother Long would deliberately hide from them, lowered her voice and asked, "Are you sure you didn't see someone else...?"
"Besides us, Brother Long, and those thugs from yesterday, who else could be here?" Xiang An retorted, his face pale.
"Not to mention tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers!" Bayunye joked.
Everyone broke into a cold sweat.
"Let's check it out." Diao Zhuo, a man of action, strode over.
Bayunye, uneasy, followed with Ge Mingliang. Behind the tree Xiang An had pointed to, there was no sign of Brother Long—not even a monkey.
Bayunye turned around and complained, "Xiang An! You were seeing things!" Before she could finish, she noticed the others standing in place, all looking terrified, staring in their direction. Some were even pointing anxiously.
"What are you all looking at?" she asked.Everyone started talking at once—
"Master Ba, behind you!"
"Just now we saw Brother Long peeking out from behind that tree over there!"
"It really was Brother Long!"
"His eyes looked very strange!"
"They weren't moving at all!"
"No expression!"
"He didn't recognize us at all!"
Diao Zhuo and Ge Mingliang looked back but saw nothing.
Had Brother Long also eaten some poisonous mushrooms and gone crazy? Bayunye immediately sprinted in the direction they pointed, and everyone rushed over to search as well. But after looking for a long time, they found no trace of anyone.
"Strange, we clearly saw him..."
"It really was Brother Long. Just like Xiang An said, he stuck his head out, glanced at us, and then disappeared again."
Bayunye scratched her head in frustration and asked Diao Zhuo, "Is it another hallucination?"
"Everyone spread out and search again. Da Qin, Fat Monkey, you two stay here and rest." Diao Zhuo bent down to pick up a long branch, signaling that they could use it later to test whether what they saw was real or not, and also to drive away any snakes or poisonous insects that might be hiding in the crevices of rocks or under fallen leaves.
"To die before the battle is won..." Da Qin plopped down, muttering self-deprecatingly, but he and Fat Monkey could only watch helplessly as the others ran back and forth searching.
"Still holding up?" Fat Monkey asked.
"Yeah, what about you?"
"Can't really walk much, but there's no other choice."
"You don't look fat to me, so why are you called Fat Monkey?"
"My surname is Hou, and I used to be quite chubby..."
"You've lost a lot of weight then..."
"...can't sleep well."
After sitting for a while, the effects of the anti-inflammatory medicine started to kick in, and combined with a sleepless night, Da Qin began to feel drowsy. The figures of his companions moving back and forth swayed like a pendulum, creating a strong hypnotic effect. Just as he closed his eyes to take a short nap, someone patted him on his uninjured shoulder. He opened his eyes and instinctively turned his head, asking, "Fat Monkey, what is it?"
What met his eyes wasn't Fat Monkey's thin, gaunt face, but Brother Long's pale, plump round face, his faint eyebrows resembling those of a court lady figurine from the Shaanxi Museum.
Da Qin jolted, his eyes widening as he abruptly straightened up to shout, but Brother Long suddenly darted away, as if hiding behind him, and vanished completely.
"What's wrong?" Fat Monkey looked at him, puzzled.
"Did you just pat me?" Da Qin asked, still shaken.
Fat Monkey shook his head.
Da Qin thought about it and realized it made sense—Fat Monkey was sitting on his injured side, and no matter how long his arms were, he couldn't reach around the thick tree trunk behind him to pat his other shoulder. If the Brother Long everyone saw earlier was some kind of hallucination, how could he explain the very real "pat" he had just felt?
Gritting his teeth against the pain, he stood up and walked around the tree, but there was no sign of Brother Long anywhere.
When Fat Monkey curiously asked what had happened, he too froze in place.
"Maybe I was just groggy." Da Qin didn't believe in ghosts or spirits either, so he waved it off, pretending he hadn't seen anything. But the unmistakably real sensation of that pat on his shoulder lingered in his mind.
When it came to serious matters, Bayunye was very independent and never thought about sticking close to Diao Zhuo. Diao Zhuo glanced from afar to check her location, then scanned the area for the person he wanted to speak with privately. With a serious expression, he followed that person, trailing them to a spot far away from the others. Quickening his pace, he stepped forward to intercept them.Ah Shui, who was stopped by him, showed no panic and stood firmly in place.
"Let's talk in private." Diao Zhuo spoke politely, but his naturally imposing appearance, combined with his sharp gaze firmly locked on the other and his furrowed brow forming a "川" character, seemed to leave no room for refusal.
Ah Shui had kept his mask and hat on throughout, never removing them even in the most dangerous moments. He adjusted the sunglasses on the bridge of his nose and raised a hand in a "stop" gesture, signaling Diao Zhuo not to waste any more time on him. For the first time, he spoke in front of Diao Zhuo, still deliberately lowering his voice. "I won't harm you."
"Give me a reason to believe you." Diao Zhuo did not back down.
Ah Shui retorted, "Have I harmed her at all along the way?"
"Judging your purpose for being in this team based on whether you've harmed Bayunye—I think you underestimate the scope of my perspective, Diao Zhuo."
Ah Shui raised both hands, appearing open and honest. "Captain Diao, you can search me. See if I'm carrying weapons like those others."
Diao Zhuo wasn't foolish enough to actually search him. Instead, he scrutinized Ah Shui with a gaze full of doubt and inquiry.
The two stood in a stalemate as time ticked by. Finally, Ah Shui asked, "Diao Zhuo, do you think you are a brave and trustworthy man?"
"What do you think?"
Ah Shui lowered his raised hands, glanced around to ensure no one else was watching, and reached into the inner pocket of his clothes as if to pull something out. He didn't retrieve it immediately but deliberately glanced at Diao Zhuo—the other remained calm, even exuding an air of fearless resolve.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth hidden beneath the mask as he pulled the object from his pocket and aimed it at Diao Zhuo...
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