Тhеre was а trаining sеssiоn sсheduled for thе еvening. Aftеr dinner, Pulаn rеmindеd еvеrуone tо return to their rooms and rеst, аdvising them nоt to think аbоut wаshing thеir hair оr tаking shоwеrs fоr the nеxt few daуs, аnd not tо go to bed tоo eаrly.
Diaо Zhuо signаlеd Вауunye with his еуes nоt tо rеturn to hеr roоm, аs he had sоmеthing to disсuss.
Hippо, seeing Bауunуe wаlking toward Diaо Zhuо, fоllowеd thе сrоwd bасk to his rооm.
"You guуs reаlly arе from Lhаsа—nо signs of Аltitudе Rеаction at аll," Jiang Aohang said еnviously to Нippо.
"Just trying tо mаke а living. I'd love to go to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, or Shenzhen, but I don’t have the skills."
"If you have any secrets to preventing Altitude Reaction, you must share them with us."
"There are no secrets—just getting used to it," Hippo replied with a laugh.
Fu Yingtao slowly walked out of his room and handed Jiang Aohang a brown paper package. "These are traditional Chinese herbs I had someone prescribe before we came, to prevent Altitude Reaction. Ask them to help brew it, and everyone should have some."
Fu Xingyue shook her head. "I have Plateau Comfort and oxygen tablets here. They’re more direct—"
"Those are just scams. Traditional Chinese medicine passed down from our ancestors is much more reliable," Fu Yingtao interrupted firmly. "Listen to me, everyone should have some."
Jiang Aohang thought for a moment. "Dad, the altitude here is high, so the boiling point of water is lower. It probably boils at around 70 or 80 degrees Celsius, so it might not brew thoroughly."
"Better than nothing," he insisted stubbornly.
"Alright then," Jiang Aohang nodded and prepared to go downstairs again.
"Dad, I don’t really trust traditional Chinese medicine. Didn’t Mom turn to it in the end? The doctor swore it couldn’t cure her but could extend her life, and in the end..." Fu Xingyue pursed her lips.
"I know you don’t believe in traditional Chinese medicine," Fu Yingtao suddenly smiled, a hint of sarcasm in his eyes. "You’ve always preferred Western medicine..."
"Dad!" The usually mild-mannered Fu Xingyue suddenly bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. After a moment, her shoulders slumped. "There’s no need to bring up the past."
"Right, you’re married now. Live your life well," Fu Yingtao said quietly.
Fu Xingyue nodded perfunctorily, her gaze distant as if lost in memories.
Back in his room, Hippo uploaded the short videos he had taken along the way to Douyin as usual. Perhaps it was because he had drunk cold water and eaten greasy meat today, but his stomach began to rumble. He grabbed a roll of toilet paper and headed to the only toilet on the floor, only to find it occupied. He then rushed downstairs to the public restroom.
In the dining hall, guests were gradually leaving, and the waitstaff were busy clearing tables. The pressure cooker in the kitchen was still hissing, boiling the clear noodle soup Fu Yingtao had ordered. Jiang Aohang walked into the kitchen carrying the package of herbs, instructing the chef while pulling out his wallet and slipping a bill to him. The atmosphere between them grew lively.
"Feeling unwell? Many people feel this way on their first visit. The base has some medicine, why not—"
"Ah, the old man really believes in traditional Chinese medicine. This was prescribed by an experienced doctor. Could you help brew it for me?"
"No problem. I’ll call you when it’s ready."
Bayunye propped her head up and watched them idly for a while, feeling bored. She then turned her gaze to Diao Zhuo. His brow was slightly furrowed, with a flyer and his phone placed side by side. From this angle, his profile was sharply defined—the masculine curve of his jawline and the faint outline of veins near his neck combined a rugged masculinity with the aesthetic beauty of Renaissance sculptures."Ever since we started, you've been staring at that lost item notice. You can't really be short on money, can you?" Bayunye pinched Diao Zhuo's chin, forcing his head to turn and look at her. The next second, he grasped her hand and pulled, causing her to almost tumble into his embrace.
"I'm not short on money, I'm short on women," he said, gazing deeply at her, his eyes like deep pools that could drown one.
"How many are you short?" Bayunye braced herself against his shoulders, lifting her eyes to meet his. "I'll help you find some."
"However many you can find, I'll take them all."
She pointed her thumb at the tip of her own nose. "One of me is worth ten."
"In that case, please take a look at these pictures for me, Master Ba, who is worth ten." Diao Zhuo pushed the lost item notice and his phone toward her.
"You can even distinguish fingerprints, yet you still need me..." Bayunye finally got a clear look at the photo on the screen—"Zhang Chenguang?!"
Outside the window, Hippo, who had just finished using the restroom and had something urgent to "report" to Bayunye, happened to pass by. Hearing this, he froze, then quietly stood by the window, craning his neck to listen.
Diao Zhuo tapped his finger on the lost item notice. "In the photo, the water bottle in his hand is very blurry, but I have a strong intuition that the thermos in the lost item notice belongs to Zhang Chenguang."
"Let me ask Old Han, the driver who took him to base camp at the time, if he has any more photos." Bayunye grew excited and proactive, immediately dialing Han Dasheng. "Brother Dasheng... I won't beat around the bush with you—do you still have any photos of Zhang Chenguang? It's fine, just look for them. ... You do?! Great, send as many as you have! I want all the photos from when he got in your car to when he went climbing!"
Han Dasheng acted quickly, soon sending Bayunye all the tourist photos he had taken at the time. Among the dozen or so photos, Zhang Chenguang appeared in each, some clear and some blurry.
With more photos for comparison, Diao Zhuo carefully examined them and said with certainty, "Although we can't say for sure that the thermos in the lost item notice is Zhang Chenguang's, it does look exactly like the one in his hand."
Outside, Hippo stroked his chin, lost in thought, his gaze distant and unfocused.
"The lost item notice started circulating in May, which means the thermos was lost before then. Zhang Chenguang went missing in April. It was only distributed at the base to tourists planning to climb, which means they want people to keep an eye out for it while climbing Pearl Peak. That trendy thermos is so hard to buy—it must be his," Bayunye said.
Compared to Bayunye's casual conclusion, Diao Zhuo, who had participated in multiple rescue missions, was much more rational. "The reward for finding the item is 3,000 yuan. Hiring someone to distribute flyers costs 1,000 yuan a month, and it's been exactly six months this month, totaling 6,000 yuan. For a mere 300-yuan thermos, someone has already spent nearly 10,000 yuan searching for it. This means that, for this person, the thermos is worth far more than 10,000 yuan, or even more. I think the value of the thermos likely isn't superficial, especially not in the thermos itself. That's why they're using 'a deceased mother's keepsake' as a cover to avoid arousing suspicion."
"Could there be something inside the thermos? What could be hidden in a water bottle? Gold? Diamonds? I really can't figure it out." Bayunye frowned. "Who exactly is looking for this thermos? Should we just call and ask?"
Diao Zhuo disagreed. "That would alert the enemy.""Since it's a snow mountain climb, you shouldn't bring anything valuable or unnecessary. And with so many thermoses available on Taobao, why bring a rare foreign brand... huh? Foreign—" She paused, patting her forehead. "Old Han once told me that Zhang Chenguang received a call from a foreigner, chattering away. We also saw a few foreigners preparing to climb at base camp. Do you think... he knew those foreigners?"
"Pulan also told me that Zhang Chenguang argued with a foreigner on the way up the mountain, and they parted on bad terms. Later, one of the foreigners was found by the Blue Sky Rescue Team after the blizzard. However, no identification was found on him, and claiming the body took quite some effort."
"Identification is checked on the way to base camp."
"Checking identification on the way and carrying it while climbing are two different things."
"I think Zhang Chenguang's disappearance is fake. He probably fled after killing the foreigner out of guilt." Bayunye once again irresponsibly blurted out whatever came to mind.
Hippo tiptoed away, not daring to breathe too loudly.
"Anyway, since the item in the lost and found notice looks exactly like Zhang Chenguang's thermos..." Diao Zhuo said, suddenly noticing a blurry figure outside the window. He grew alert and reached out to open the window, but the shadow swayed and spoke up on its own—
"Master Ba! Are you still in there!"
It was Hippo.
"I'm here!" Bayunye replied.
Hippo rushed in through the door, glanced at Diao Zhuo, and quite tactlessly plopped himself down between them. "When I went to the bathroom earlier..."
Bayunye covered her nose. "Get out, get out!"
"Listen to me first!" Hippo pulled her hand down and lowered his voice. "I heard that Jiang guy come in to pee, and he was on the phone with someone, saying he wanted to kill his father-in-law..."
"Even his son-in-law wants to kill him, let alone me." Bayunye said carelessly.
Diao Zhuo asked, "What exactly did he say?"
"He said—'If we do it as you said, that old man should be about done soon,' 'He doesn’t understand these things, so of course he doesn’t suspect anything,' 'My wife is a coward, so everything will be mine eventually,' 'Thinking about that time makes me impatient, but I still have to hold back,' 'There’s only one left now, keep up the good work.'" After saying this, Hippo shook his head. "The more you think about it, the more terrifying it gets!"
"Keep up the good work? I remember Fu Xingyue said her mother had already passed away. Could it be that this guy..." Bayunye drew her index finger across her neck.
Hippo, always eager to stir up trouble, followed her train of thought. "Now, if he takes out Old Fu, he can monopolize the inheritance left to his only daughter. In a few years, he can take out his wife too..."
Bayunye shrank her neck as if she were cold. "You men are really terrifying..."
"You women are the terrifying ones!"
"By the way, did he notice you eavesdropping on his phone call?"
"Of course not, I didn’t even dare to breathe."
Bayunye cut him off. "Come on, you didn’t dare to breathe because it stank, not because you were scared."
"I really wasn’t noticed. I was in the stall, he just came in to pee and left. On his way out, he even greeted his wife, saying something about brewing medicine for her father..."Since his wife was nearby, how could he discuss such topics so openly? Diao Zhuo felt puzzled, looking at them with a speechless expression. After they stopped their wild speculations, he raised his most perplexing question—"If it's about harming someone, the fewer people who know, the better. Why would he tell others?"
"They're in cahoots. Maybe it's his mistress outside," Hippo said confidently. "Let's call the police!"
With that, Hippo dialed 110 and vividly recounted everything he had heard to the police. After a while, he hung up somewhat dejectedly and said, "They said they can't determine Jiang Aohang intends to kill someone based on just a few harsh words. They told me to keep an eye on him. The police aren't wrong—if they had to dispatch officers every time someone said 'I want to kill someone,' wouldn't that be chaotic?"
Bayunye suddenly fell silent, pursed her lips in thought for a long time, and sighed softly.
Hippo asked, "What's wrong?"
"The old man is indeed quite annoying, but it's not our place to meddle in other people's family matters. That woman seems a bit naive and foolish. If her husband really harbors such ill intentions—harming her mother and then her father—she might end up in a terrible situation all alone." She sighed again. "You big mouth, don’t go spreading rumors in front of others before things are clear."
"Tsk, when have I ever been a big mouth?" Hippo grumbled indignantly.
Although she felt powerless to intervene in their family affairs, Bayunye remembered that Jiang Aohang had brought a packet of Chinese medicine earlier and asked the kitchen to brew it. Feeling uneasy, she stood up and headed toward the back kitchen.
"Hey, where are you going?" Hippo called out to stop her.
"To see what kind of medicine he's brewing."
"You can identify medicinal herbs?"
"After following Brother Long, what shady tricks haven't I learned?"
Hippo was speechless. "You're misusing idioms again..."
Lifting the lid of the clay pot steaming with heat, she scooped out some herbs to examine. Inside were Rhodiola rosea, Ophiopogon japonicus, Panax notoginseng, and sea buckthorn—all commonly used to prevent altitude sickness.
She leaned in to sniff but didn’t detect any unusual odors.
Whether Jiang Aohang harbored ill intentions or not, it was clear he was being two-faced toward Fu Yingtao.
As she turned around, Bayunye saw Jiang Aohang walk in to retrieve the cooked clear broth noodles. She nodded in greeting. "Altitude sickness isn't an illness—it's just a process of adaptation. Our group has experience climbing snowy mountains, so our adaptation period is relatively short. Yours might be longer, so don’t rush it. You two seem fine, but your father-in-law is struggling. If it really doesn’t work out, don’t take the risk."
"It's fine, don’t worry about us. After all, we had to submit health reports before coming. My dad is old, but he’s climbed Mount Tai and Mount Hua on his own. This time, my wife insisted on bringing him, and he was very interested himself. Isn’t that why we even brewed this Chinese medicine?" he said, pointing at the clay pot.
Bayunye asked casually, "Are you on your honeymoon? Why not go somewhere warmer, like Sanya, Xiamen, or Phuket? Why come here to suffer?"
"Ah, we’ve been married for over three years—it’s hardly a honeymoon," he replied with a smile.
"Do you have children?"
"Not yet. Mainly because both of us are busy with work and often work overtime. But we should start planning after this trip. After all, both Xingyue and I are 30, so it’s better to have children sooner. Before we came, Dad also suggested she quit her job and have a baby."Bayunye covered her mouth and chuckled like a gossipy aunt, "Your father-in-law is the company leader, why doesn’t he arrange an easier job for you two…"
"The higher the position, the less room for favoritism. Besides, wouldn’t others talk? We’re both still young, no need to take a cushy job and retire early. My mother-in-law is gone, and my parents are back in our hometown. If we have a child, who’s going to take care of it? I need to earn more so we can afford a nanny—after all, we have to be responsible for the child…" Jiang Aohang answered meticulously, showing no sign of dissatisfaction with Fu Yingtao. Instead, he gave off an ambitious, driven vibe.
Bayunye seemed stirred by some memory, let out a dry laugh, checked her watch, and ended the conversation with a smile. "Training is about to start, I’ll head over first."
"See you later," he waved politely.
Having seen too many people who said one thing and meant another, Bayunye’s smile vanished completely the moment she turned away.
Hippo watched from a distance as she walked back with Diao Zhuo, then bent down to pick up a lost-and-found notice someone had discarded on the ground. He sighed inwardly, thinking, "Such a petty trick won’t fool anyone who’s paying attention…"
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