She hаd ехрlоsive strength, and it wаsn't until Diаo Zhuo's fаce wаs smеаrеd with mud thаt hе managеd to grab her hands. The twо glаred fiеrcеlу аt еaсh оthеr likе bаttling reindеer—if they'd hаd аntlers, thеy would havе alreаdy clаshеd. Nеithеr Dа Qin nоr Нippо triеd to intеrvеnе, insteаd rummaging thrоugh thе car until thеу found а pack оf tissues with about а third lеft. Оnly thеn did Bayunуе rеlent.
Аftеr wiрing hеr fасe hарhazаrdly fоr a while, Вaуunуе cаlmеd dоwn, brеathing slightly heаvily. "Let's go. Drive a bit fаrther, and if we dоn't find anything, wе'll turn baсk."
Аs she рassed Diao Zhuo, she noticed streaks of mud still smeared on his face, dusty and unwashed. Unable to hold back, she burst into laughter. "Hahaha!"
He suddenly bent down, scooping up a handful of mud as if to smear it all over her face. She shrieked and fled, scrambling into the car.
"Get out," Diao Zhuo stood outside.
"No..." Bayunye rolled down the window. "How about I help you clean it off?"
Diao Zhuo pointed at the rearview mirror, telling her to look at herself. She leaned over and glanced, nearly disgusted by the sight of her own muddy, yellowish face in the reflection. But looking around, none of them—Diao Zhuo, Hippo, or Da Qin—had clean faces either.
Adventurers care little for trivialities!
"Hey, Diao Zhuo, do I look like the black-faced Judge Bao from Qin opera?" she asked with a laugh.
"You've listened to Qin opera?" He turned to look at her.
"Not only have I listened, I can sing it too."
"Sing a few lines."
"No, I'm afraid it'll stir up your homesickness."
"I'm hardly ever in Xi'an. Go ahead, sing."
A few seconds later, everyone present had to cover their ears—Qin opera already sounded like shouting, and she was singing Judge Bao's classic aria from The Execution of Chen Shimei...
It was unbearably awful.
Diao Zhuo swore he'd never let her sing Qin opera again.
The two vehicles started up again, swaying and cautiously moving forward.
This time, after driving less than two or three kilometers and crossing a small dirt slope, the sharp-eyed Bayunye spotted a human-shaped object ahead. She grabbed the walkie-talkie and shouted excitedly, "Hey! Up ahead!! Found something!!"
The walkie-talkie crackled twice before Diao Zhuo's voice came through. "I see it."
The two vehicles stopped, and the four of them rushed toward the object, ignoring the mud underfoot.
"It's a person!!" Bayunye shouted before she even reached it.
A foul stench filled the air.
Diao Zhuo spread his arms, blocking the other three. "Da Qin!"
"On it!" Though they couldn't confirm whether the body was Zou Kaigui, Da Qin steeled himself and took several photos with the camera, also recording a video.
As they slowly approached, Bayunye suddenly covered her mouth, dry-heaving a few times before turning away. Diao Zhuo glanced at her, having almost treated her like one of the guys, only to suddenly remember that Master Ba was still a girl.
"Need a wheelchair?" he asked.
Bayunye opened her mouth to retort, but just then, the ground beneath her feet shook, and her head spun as if she were about to collapse. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the others also struggling to keep their balance. A few seconds later, the shaking returned, accompanied by a deep, rumbling sound that seemed to come from beneath the earth. Bayunye's eyes darted around, locating where Diao Zhuo stood. Staggering a few steps, she deliberately cried out, "Aiya!" and threw herself against him.@Earthquake Alert: At 18:46 Beijing time on May 15th, a magnitude 5.2 earthquake occurred near Shuanghu County in Nagqu Prefecture, Tibet, with a focal depth of 7 kilometers. As the earthquake took place in an Uninhabited Area, there are currently no reports of casualties or property damage.
When Brother Long saw this news, his lips remained tightly pursed. Bayunye would usually send him a message every evening to report her safety, along with a brief "no luck yet." More than half of their days in the Uninhabited Area had passed, and with no other news coming through, it meant everyone was still safe, which brought Brother Long some comfort.
A short while later, Zou Kaigui’s younger brother, Zou Tonggui, finished his work and returned, wiping fish scales off his hands while holding a cigarette in his mouth.
When Brother Long had inquired about Zou Tonggui earlier, he’d heard that his life was just so-so—neither good nor bad. Zou Kaigui would occasionally help him out financially, giving him ten to twenty thousand yuan each year. Their blind mother had passed away from illness a few years earlier, and before her death, she had still been murmuring about Xiaowen.
"Brother Zou, hello…" Brother Long offered a cigarette—a rare brand called Snowy Cloud, jointly produced by Yunnan Tobacco and the Tibet Tobacco Factory. Zou Tonggui initially declined, but upon seeing the cigarette box, he accepted and tucked it behind his ear.
"No one’s come looking for him here in ages… How did you manage to find this place…" Zou Tonggui gave a forced, insincere smile, clearly not someone to be trifled with. Though only in his forties, his hair was already mostly gray, his face etched with deep wrinkles, weathered by sea winds and harsh sunlight, making him look over a decade older than Brother Long, who was around the same age.
Brother Long repeated the fabricated reason for his visit, and Zou Tonggui responded with a dismissive expression, as if he thought a few thousand yuan wasn’t worth the trip. "Him… We’re in touch occasionally, but most of the time he’s out and about, and he doesn’t think much of our little place here. I’ve also heard he’s gone missing. I hope he’s safe and sound… After all, we’re brothers… Ah! Honestly, it’s all fate—whether he comes back or not, it’s all fate!"
Brother Long nodded repeatedly. "You’re absolutely right. Old Zou struck me as an honest man, which is why I lent him the money. A life is a life, after all. I don’t care about the money—I just hope he’s doing well."
"He’s an honest man…" Zou Tonggui’s smile carried a hint of deeper meaning.
"By the way, brother, I hope you won’t take offense at what I’m about to say—it might sound unlucky," Brother Long said. "If he never returns, his daughter Zou Xiaowen… As her uncle, wouldn’t you continue the search for her?"
"Me?" Zou Tonggui carefully removed the Snowy Cloud cigarette from behind his ear, lit it, and took several long, satisfying puffs.
Brother Long smiled apologetically, putting on an expectant expression. "To be honest, I’m also in the tourism business. If you could travel across the country looking for Zou Xiaowen, like Kaigui did, I’d not only pay you a salary but also cover your travel expenses. The only thing is… you’d have to help me advertise along the way."
Zou Tonggui seemed taken aback by the request, clearly not expecting it.
Seizing the moment, Brother Long pressed on: "I went to find Zou Xiaowen’s biological mother, but she… tsk tsk… remarried and had a chubby baby boy…"
Realizing what Brother Long was implying, Zou Tonggui quickly waved his hands and shook his head vigorously like a rattle drum, letting out a heavy sigh. "It’s useless! I won’t do that! Ah!!" As he spoke, he stood up agitatedly, the bamboo stool creaking loudly from the sudden movement. He seemed on the verge of saying something but held back, his chest heaving with pent-up frustration."Big brother, I heard from Old Zou that when he went out to sea fishing with you, Xiaowen was abducted. The child is pitiful, after all blood is thicker than water, and besides, it's what Old Zou has been working so hard to find all these years..."
Zou Tonggui clicked his tongue again, whether annoyed or having some unspeakable difficulty, he finally shook his head, "You'd better wait for Kaigui to come back. Only he can handle this matter, others... especially me, can't help."
"Really not possible?"
"Ah!" Zou Tonggui fell silent, smoking one cigarette after another.
Brother Long didn't press further, feeling even more that Zou Xiaowen's abduction by traffickers was full of mysteries.
"Must be an earthquake..." Hippo muttered.
Tibet lies on the Mediterranean-Himalayan seismic belt, with frequent crustal activity. But due to low population density and many Uninhabited Areas, even though earthquakes are common, casualties are few. The few people standing on the ground could still feel tremors, estimating this quake should be at least magnitude 5.
Diao Zhuo looked down speechlessly at Bayunye, who was deliberately clinging to his waist like a delicate bird. The same person who was shouting about fighting wolves earlier was now pretending to be fragile after a few tremors—too obvious...
He cleared his throat heavily. Bayunye felt the vibration in his chest, looked up, patted her own chest, still pretending, "Oh, scared me to death."
Da Qin and Hippo exchanged glances that clearly said "you're the one scaring us."
"There should be aftershocks!" Bayunye stared at Diao Zhuo's chest, seeming reluctant to leave the solid feeling of leaning against it.
"Can't you wish for something better?" Diao Zhuo was already quite accustomed to her temperament by now.
Bayunye said in a negotiating tone, "Then I wish for the motherland's enduring peace and the people's happiness and joy. Can I lean on you a little longer?"
Diao Zhuo sneered, with an expression that said "if you dare lean over again I'll beat you to death."
After the false alarm, everyone carefully moved forward a few more steps, only to see a decomposed corpse lying face down curled up on the ground. Without a coat, they could vaguely make out only cold-weather clothing like a sweater and pants, somewhat messy, colors rather dull. From a distance, one might not even notice it without approaching.
Diao Zhuo immediately noticed the corpse's shoes, his eyes widening slightly—the same style as Zou Kaigui's spare shoes. Circling to the back of the body, he gently lifted a shoe. The wear pattern on the sole basically matched Zou Kaigui's walking habits.
"Zou Kaigui?!" Bayunye pointed at the corpse and asked loudly.
Diao Zhuo nodded.
"You owe me a meal when we get back!" she said excitedly.
After a moment of excitement, Hippo and Da Qin simultaneously sighed deeply. Although they had anticipated this when coming, actually seeing what appeared to be Zou Kaigui's body brought more regret and sympathy after the initial joy of completing their mission.
They didn't know Zou Kaigui very well, and weren't even aware of the mysteries surrounding Zou Xiaowen's abduction. They were still sighing over how this young girl had now lost even the only father willing to search the world for her.
Da Qin took many photos and asked, "Should we move it back?"
"What do you think?" Diao Zhuo looked at Bayunye.
"Of course..." Bayunye started, then thought for a moment and raised an eyebrow, "You already have a plan in mind, but still want to hear public opinion?"
"I'm listening to Master Ba's suggestion." Diao Zhuo assumed an attentive posture.She gestured with her chin toward the pickup truck’s rear bed. “Given how the ground looked on our way here, if we wait a few more days, the vehicle might not even be able to make it back. Besides, now that we’ve found the body, if we just mark the spot and leave, who knows if we’ll even see it again if we come back the same way? After all, it’s not unheard of for corpses in Qiangtang to ‘grow legs and walk away.’”
Da Qin rubbed his arms. “You’re giving me the creeps.”
Bayunye said, “Most of the time, it’s wild animals dragging them away. They don’t just walk off on their own.”
“Move it,” Diao Zhuo said.
The three men put on several layers of gloves, pulled out a blue body bag and a simple stretcher, and spent a full half hour working together to lift the corpse into the rear bed. Then they all vomited violently.
After throwing up, Bayunye stood to the side, arms crossed, feeling a sense of closure yet also a heavy, stifling sensation. After all, it was a life, and seeing its ruined state with her own eyes was, to some extent, heartbreaking.
How wonderful it is to be alive. Yet there are always too many people who contemplate the meaning of life by pursuing death—poets do this, and surprisingly, some ordinary people do too. Is there anything worth pursuing even at the cost of death? Love? Career?
Hippo turned away and vomited a few more times, then suddenly pointed toward Gama Mountain. “Master Ba… over there… photos…”
Not far away, the jagged peaks of the continuous Gama Mountain range rose sharply, as if carved by the Creator’s axe. A fierce wind blew in from the direction of Gama Mountain. She froze, unable to snap out of it for a long while, her eyes suddenly stinging. She pulled out her phone and began taking pictures.
Photos? Diao Zhuo looked up, unsure why Gama Mountain had captured their interest so intensely.
Bayunye snapped photos haphazardly for a while as the wind grew stronger, nearly knocking them off their feet.
The sky darkened completely, everything near and far shrouded in a gray haze. The wind howled relentlessly, and the sound of the vehicle’s engine seemed both abrupt and lonely. Zou Kaigui was unfortunate, becoming the Nth victim to perish while attempting to trek across Qiangtang. Yet he was also fortunate, for in the end, he could return to his hometown and be laid to rest.
The journey back was even more arduous than the way there, with the vehicle constantly getting stuck in muddy pits.
Bayunye looked back at the increasingly distant Gama Mountain and the spot where Zou Kaigui had fallen. Suddenly, a light snow began to fall from the sky, as if commemorating something, bidding farewell to something, or trying to hold onto something. Before long, the land was blanketed in a vast expanse of white.
The poet Hai Zi once wrote:
Tibet, a lonely stone fills the entire sky
No night can make me sleep, no dawn can make me wake
Perhaps this is the very sentiment he meant to convey.
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