Whеn thеy set оut, thе skу hаd аlready dаrkеned. With lives аt stake, еvеrуоnе disrеgarded rеst. One by one, the high bеаms lit up likе flowing stаrs, sрееding aсrоss thе grаsslаnd of thе buffer zone. Оutsidе the windоws, fierce winds sсrapеd against thе glаss with а hоwling "wоо-wоo" sound, осcаsiоnаlly аcсоmpaniеd bу wolf сries from unknown dirеctions.
This timе, with mаnу hands оn deck, therе wаs nо feаr оf gеtting sераratеd. Вaуunyе, as usual, lеd the Rеsсuе Tеаm mеmbеrs, while the two hеrders each guided thе policе, medicаl pеrsоnnel, аnd a squad of soldiers, splitting up to search.
Surrounded by pitch darkness, the search was extremely difficult, with gales carrying sand like knives. They passed through the buffer zone and set up camp in a sheltered spot to rest, planning to resume the search as soon as the sun rose the next day.
The herders couldn’t understand Mandarin. After roughly learning about Ye Xun’s disappearance, one of them, with a grave expression, fingered prayer beads in one hand and spun a prayer wheel in the other, saying that people should always hold compassion in their hearts—even if they suffer themselves, they must not harm others. This world operates on karma; harboring evil thoughts will never lead to liberation. Besides, no one can truly describe the face of Qiangtang—it changes in the blink of an eye.
Hearing this, Bayunye stared blankly at the water about to boil.
Brother Long, whether boasting or not, once said that years ago, while leading clients on a trek through the Badanjilin Desert, the map clearly showed a Hai Zi just three kilometers away, yet they couldn’t find it no matter how hard they tried. The second time they went, the Hai Zi inexplicably appeared right where it couldn’t be found before.
Her eldest sister had mentioned it too.
That time, they seemed to have just returned from Lop Nur. As a child, she didn’t know what Lop Nur was. Only after growing up and broadening her horizons did she learn what kind of forbidden land it was and how many pioneers had lost their lives there. Her eldest sister hadn’t even ventured deep into the restricted area that time, yet she looked as if she had narrowly escaped death. Where they went afterward, she had little memory, only recalling that they all seemed quite accomplished.
Knowledge changes fate—she had little learning to speak of and had merely scraped by until now.
"Worried about the gasoline?" Diao Zhuo’s voice cut through her thoughts.
Bayunye snapped back to attention, deliberately sizing him up a few times before resuming her teasing demeanor. "Worried about myself. The cooked duck hasn’t even been tasted a few times, and here I am, running around again."
"The chopsticks were handed to you. If you didn’t dare take a bite, who’s to blame?" Diao Zhuo glanced at her sideways.
"You’re too modest," she snorted twice.
Diao Zhuo cleared his throat to ease the awkwardness.
Bayunye changed the subject, telling him about Brother Long’s findings from his visit to Kanxia Town. "That’s basically the situation. He’s not a policeman, so he couldn’t pry open those people’s mouths. He could only guess that Zou Xiaowen is no longer alive."
"The body suspected to be Zou Kaigui hasn’t been sent for testing yet. Once the results come out and Ye Xun is arrested, I believe some insiders will start talking."
"Why do they only speak up when they see a body?" she asked, puzzled.
Diao Zhuo replied with worldly wisdom, "Dead men tell no tales—many things can be pinned on the dead."
"Then we’ll wait and see," Bayunye said, though deep down, she held little hope. She only felt sorry for Zou Xiaowen. Whether she was truly trafficked or had already passed away, she was a pitiful child. May she stay far away from such people in her next life.
The water in the pot began to boil, interrupting their conversation. Bayunye turned off the gasoline stove. Perhaps because the tent was relatively warm, she also took off her woolen hat. A garish shampoo fragrance wafted out, and she scratched her head helplessly.
As the scent drifted over, Diao Zhuo’s heart stirred.The scent was cheap, but what mattered was the person it clung to.
He looked at her, seeing her head bowed as she tore open the plastic wrapper of the instant noodles. Her bangs covered her lashes, and her nose bridge was higher than most women's, giving her a strikingly handsome beauty.
He recalled how she had slept in the passenger seat during the sandstorm. Or rather, he would often think back to that image in the future. She was truly serene as a maiden, wild as a madwoman.
Diao Zhuo wasn’t the type to constantly weigh pros and cons, but now was not the time for emotions or desires. She was likely the same. But if the day ever came when restraint was unnecessary, he wouldn’t hold back either.
He lifted the tent flap and bent down to step outside.
"Leaving so soon, sir? Won’t you stay a little longer?" she asked, wearing that mischievous smile again.
"Your shop has no wine, so I’ll go elsewhere."
"Then you’d better be careful. Too much of someone else’s wine might lead to losing yourself."
"At your place, it might be even easier." Diao Zhuo stepped out.
Bayunye couldn’t help but laugh.
As dawn broke, everyone was already packed and ready to go.
A light snowfall overnight had turned the surroundings into a vast expanse of white. With the sun’s rise, the snow began to melt, mixing with mud and turning the dirt road churned up by the vehicles into a muddy mess. Crossing the buffer grassland, the vegetation grew sparse, with clumps of grass scattered here and there. Among the uneven terrain, yellowish-brown hares and marmots scurried about foraging.
As the vehicles neared Ulan Ul Lake, Bayunye spotted a group of Tibetan antelopes leisurely trotting by. Moments later, the walkie-talkie crackled, and someone shouted, "We’ve found something!"
Bayunye looked in the direction they pointed and saw a dark speck at the bottom of a distant slope. Hippo peered through binoculars and exclaimed, "A black pickup truck!"
Bayunye stepped on the gas, and over a dozen other vehicles converged on the spot from all directions. Wheels churned through ice, snow, and mud, some rear tires slipping uncontrollably on turns as if riding a skateboard. On downhill stretches, mud splattered everywhere, drenching the vehicles.
Closer, and closer. Bayunye, driving at breakneck speed, was the first to stop. She rushed out of the vehicle—it was indeed the pickup truck Ye Xun had driven away!
The others arrived one after another, stepping out of their vehicles. Medical personnel even brought out stretchers and oxygen tanks, ready to administer aid.
The black pickup truck, stuck in a mud pit, was eerily quiet. The fogged-up windows made it impossible to see inside clearly, but upon closer inspection, the body of the truck seemed to tremble slightly, like a dying maggot making its final struggle.
Bayunye took a swift step forward, ready to try pulling the door open. Just as her hand reached out, another hand shot through the air, gripping her wrist and yanking her backward. Stumbling, she turned to see Diao Zhuo holding her firmly, saying, "Be careful."
Hippo discovered a body bag containing a corpse in the truck bed. He reached out to touch it—the body was still there, but after days of travel, it had likely decayed even further.
Diao Zhuo tapped lightly on the window with his knuckles.
The inside of the vehicle remained silent.
Bayunye reached out again, intending to try opening the door. Suddenly, with a thump, a convulsing hand inside slapped against the window, fingers clawing frantically as if in agony or desperately trying to grasp something.
Bayunye gasped, a chill running from head to toe. She pulled at the door, but it didn’t open. The hand inside continued to struggle, and her scalp tingled as if doused with a pound of peppercorn water, making her almost jump.
Diao Zhuo banged on the window several times, but the person inside still hadn’t unlocked it."Smash it!" He gestured with his chin toward the car window, and Da Qin and the others rushed over with window-breaking hammers.
"Is that... Ye Xun?" Bayunye asked, still shaken.
"Hopefully it's him." Hippo widened his eyes, his face full of fear. "It can't be Zou Kaigui, right..."
"Damn it, don't scare people!" Bayunye punched Hippo on the shoulder.
"Stop fooling around." Diao Zhuo glanced at them.
The glass shattered with a crash, and everyone frantically pulled away the fragments. Inside the driver's seat, Ye Xun was flailing his limbs wildly as if in great pain, his mouth wide open like a goldfish out of water. However, there were no other wounds or blood on his body.
The car door unlocked from the inside, and everyone worked together to drag Ye Xun out of the vehicle. His stomach was swollen, as large as a full-term pregnant woman's, and transparent liquid suddenly gushed from his mouth in bursts. Medical personnel pressed on his stomach, causing him to vomit even more liquid. From its color and smell, it seemed to be plain water.
"Why does it look like he's drowning?" Bayunye frowned, staring at Ye Xun in confusion.
Everyone quickly turned him over, laying him face down on the ground with his abdomen elevated, and helped press on his back. Unconsciously, he spat out water mouthful by mouthful but remained unresponsive, as if struggling to breathe, and eventually passed out. Medical personnel performed artificial respiration and chest compressions on him. After several rounds, he finally stabilized and continued to vomit water on his own.
Everyone gathered around Ye Xun, leaving Bayunye with no room to intervene. He turned and walked to the pickup truck for a closer look. Inside, all the seats and floor mats were completely dry. Looking back at Ye Xun, who was still vomiting water, his condition when dragged out of the car was exactly the same as when he had fallen into the ice hole before.
If they hadn’t arrived in time, it seemed Ye Xun would have drowned alive while sitting in the car!
How on earth did he swallow so much water?
Bayunye looked around. The area was covered in melting snow, and Ulang Ul Lake was at least three or four kilometers away—there was no way the water could have reached here.
There was no time to investigate further. Everyone hastily set up a tent and carried Ye Xun inside to lie down. Ye Xun was freezing cold, unable to speak, and could only shiver and cough incessantly, his gaze unfocused.
The local herders leading the way smoked their homemade tobacco and discussed something among themselves. Eventually, they seemed to reach a conclusion that satisfied them all and began kneeling in worship. From their conversations and prayers, Bayunye gathered that they believed something very sacred existed here.
With professional medical personnel present, the Rescue Team didn’t need to crowd inside the tent. They walked over to the pickup truck and were shocked to see that the body bag and other items in the truck bed were soaked, as if drenched by a heavy rainstorm.
Judging by the amount of snow around, it should have snowed lightly last night, not rained heavily.
Diao Zhuo touched the liquid on the vehicle and sniffed it—it had no unusual odor.
"This is too bizarre." Bayunye completely forgot his earlier threat to beat up Ye Xun, now solely focused on figuring out why he seemed to be drowning inside a sealed car.
"Ah—help! Water!! Water!!" A piercing scream, like a pig being slaughtered, suddenly came from the tent. Everyone rushed over to find Ye Xun struggling in terror, with several people unable to hold him down.
He screamed wildly at the top of his lungs, and even though Diao Zhuo, Bayunye, and others stood right in front of him, he acted as if he didn’t recognize them, consumed by his madness.Bayunye wasn't as patient as the others. She stepped forward and slapped him hard across the face. "Stop screaming! You nearly got us killed, and we're not screaming!"
Everyone except the Rescue Team was stunned, regretting not having stopped her earlier. Diao Zhuo and the others, however, showed no reaction to her action. If she hadn't taken matters into her own hands, it would have been abnormal.
After being slapped, Ye Xun finally quieted down. His unfocused eyes seemed to clear up a bit. After mumbling for half a minute, he suddenly blinked. "Master Ba... Captain Diao, you..."
As he spoke, he tried to stand up and run.
Bayunye reached out and knocked him down again. "Good, you recognize me. You're not going anywhere anyway. How did you end up like this?"
Ye Xun pursed his lips and looked around. Not only were several members of the Rescue Team standing nearby, but there were also many unfamiliar police officers, soldiers, and others. His eyes darted around before he suddenly fell silent. After a long pause, he finally said, "I got lost. I followed the GPS route and location, but no matter which way I went, it was wrong. Yesterday evening, when I drove here, I felt something was off. The car wouldn't move, and the sky suddenly turned dark. It was cold—unbearably cold... I wanted to get out and set up camp, but the car lock seemed broken, and I couldn't open the door. I had to turn the heater to the highest setting, but it was still freezing."
"What happened next?" Bayunye asked.
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