Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Qu Yixian had the same question.

“What video are you talking about?”

“The rolling blade.” Yuan Ye couldn’t help himself and continued, “He must mean the video of you doing the rolling blade in Alxa a couple of years ago.”

“But I don’t have one. My everyday life is rougher than his. In my circle of friends, at least there’s coffee, cake, afternoon tea, flower arranging, reading, music festivals… She only posts work-related ads and three days of social media updates.”

He finished exposing her, saw Sheng Zi looking regretful, then waved slyly: “But I have it, I can give it to you.”

After thinking a bit, feeling he could stir up more jealousy, he added: “And there’s also videos of this little master doing motocross off-road races.”

Qu Yixian frowned. “How come I didn’t know you had these videos?”

Yuan Ye looked aggrieved: “Back then, when I was live-streaming on-site, you even told me to make it look good. How can you now act like you don’t know me?”

Really?

She didn’t remember it at all.

But is now the time to talk about this?

She glared at Yuan Ye, tapping her finger lightly on the table: “Focus on the matter, stop distracting me!”

Yuan Ye, inexplicably scolded, slumped in the corner like a scolded little wife: “Fine, fine, you continue.”

Where were we just now…

She recalled for a moment and remembered she was pondering going back to the Yadan cluster. After a few seconds of thought, she said, “I suspect Xun Haichao exhausted himself, which is why he abandoned his backpack.”

She pointed to the notebook Fu Xun was holding: “His notebook has a few consumption records: water purification tablets, a headlamp, glow sticks, and a survival whistle. If he hadn’t used up his supplies, it means he chose to carry these when abandoning the backpack.”

Fu Xun had already noticed this earlier but didn’t say anything, thinking the data wasn’t particularly relevant to the current situation.

He raised an eyebrow and added the unspoken part she had in mind: “You think he’s in the Yadan cluster of the Guhe River Valley and want to go find him?”

Qu Yixian hadn’t yet answered when Yuan Ye shouted: “Now? No way, absolutely not.”

“Our team’s rescue force, including the support crew, has all retreated to Dunhuang because of tonight’s sandstorm. It’s not that we don’t want to help, but the weather makes it impossible.” He asked Sheng Zi for a bottle of water, twisting off the cap while chattering on: “The Yadan cluster in the Guhe River Valley isn’t large, but basically, there are no passable roads. Nine out of ten trips get vehicles stuck; the remaining one relies entirely on divine luck.”

Yuan Ye felt he had never spoken this well in his life. Listening to the sand blowing on the tent, he became even more resolute: “Anyway, I don’t agree.”

Qu Yixian waited until he was satisfied before speaking slowly and ominously: “When did I say we’re going now?”

In the desert late at night, a sandstorm was whipping up from an unknown direction. At present, the wind showed no signs of weakening.

Even with perfect luck, entering the Yadan now would risk getting stuck, a blown tire, and poor visibility—not to mention trying to find Xun Haichao without precise positioning and exhausted.

Even she wouldn’t take that risk.

“Tomorrow morning.” Fu Xun curled his fingers, pressing his index knuckle lightly to his brow, glancing sideways at Qu Yixian: “By the latter half of the night, the wind will subside. In the morning, though the weather won’t be great, there will be no problem with the rescue.”

“Break camp at nine in the morning. You now…” He paused, then said: “You can start organizing the plan.”

Organizing the plan.

Qu Yixian chewed on the words. As someone who spent time reading, she noted even idioms were used more grandly by him.

She turned to Yuan Ye: “Do you have any different opinions?”

“No.” Yuan Ye shook his head emphatically, even his glance toward Fu Xun was wide-eyed admiration.

Qu Yixian found his expression familiar, just like when she returned from the rolling blade in the Tengger Desert, and Yuan Ye had looked at her the same way.

This little bootlicker! Climbs walls when he sees them!

Calling him a sycophant is an understatement!

After finishing the serious discussion, it was time to rest.

Qu Yixian was still thinking about what Yuan Ye said on the phone that afternoon regarding Fu Xun. Impatient to leave, seeing him standing there idle, she nudged him with her foot: “What are you still doing? Go set up the tent.”

Yuan Ye looked blank: “What tent?”

“What tent? You actually asked me what tent!”

Qu Yixian laughed angrily: “Don’t tell me you came here empty-handed.”

Yuan Ye looked puzzled: “…Is that a problem?”

Before coming, he had called Fu Xun. Asked what was needed, what was missing, and delivered it along the way.

After all, it was the first meeting; showing up empty-handed wouldn’t look good.

In the desert, unlike other places, water and all usable supplies are the most precious.

But who would have expected Fu Xun to be so hospitable, letting him bring nothing—just coming here was enough…

Of course, Yuan Ye didn’t actually bring nothing. He still brought enough rations, water, and fuel from his own stock.

Qu Yixian laughed bitterly at his expense, and the sound sent a chill down Yuan Ye’s neck. He instinctively felt he had offended her again and was about to recover.

Unexpectedly, she had already stood up, strode toward the exit, paused after two steps, and beckoned him with a finger: “Come with me.” With that, she lifted the tent flap and walked out confidently.

Fu Xun watched her back as she left, lips curling slightly, and said to Sheng Zi: “Did you get the sleeping bag ready like I told you?”

“Go get it.”

—

Qu Yixian, worried about tomorrow’s weather, slept fitfully through the night, never fully at ease.

By the latter half of the night, the wind had indeed calmed.

She closed her eyes, listening to the sound of sand falling outside decrease from a basinful to a handful, finally feeling at ease, curling into her sleeping bag and falling into a deep sleep.

By dawn, the people in the tent were mostly awake.

Xu San had to return to Dunhuang to pick up clients; his company had scheduled this job a week ago. If not for last night’s strong sandstorm, he would have left overnight.

Yuan Ye went out to see him off, also moving the supplies from Xu San’s vehicle onto Tu Le’s support vehicle.

At eight in the morning, the weather showed no improvement. The wind had calmed, but the sandstorm still blocked the sky; visibility was only about ten meters.

Fu Xun, his hair still damp after washing his face, went back to the car to get something and saw Qu Yixian on the phone.

She didn’t care about the layer of sand accumulated on the G-Class overnight. Using the side step and rearview mirror for leverage, she swung up and sat on the hood.

She hadn’t even noticed the car owner was right behind her.

Qu Yixian was coordinating the convoy.

As the leader of the Xinghui team, only Peng Shen above her handled the overall management. Any clients on the loop line handled by Xinghui went through her.

She knew which team members were free or busy better than anyone.

After entering the desert, Yuan Ye also lost signal. They could only contact someone reliable outside; otherwise, operating would be not only clumsy but like being blind and deaf—completely cut off from information.

At nine in the morning, the convoy broke camp on schedule, heading into the Yadan cluster of the Guhe River Valley.

Qu Yixian, familiar with the route, led the way. Yuan Ye and Sheng Zi followed behind the G-Class, keeping pace.

In sandstorm conditions, both lead and following vehicles moved cautiously. A route that usually took an hour took nearly double today to reach the spot where Qu Yixian had found the backpack last night.

In just one night, the earth mound from yesterday’s landslide had been almost entirely eaten away by the wind, leaving only a soil platform foundation.

The sand underfoot was soft, as if a hand could rise from below at any moment, dragging you into the abyss.

Qu Yixian had come hoping to test her luck for new discoveries. After one night, the discovery was indeed significant… the entire Yadan formation had practically relocated.

Yuan Ye, following behind, noticed a mound had been flattened and exclaimed nervously: “I’ve only heard of slow erosion! Last night’s sandstorm was strong, but not this extreme, right?”

Qu Yixian gave him a sidelong glance, annoyed: “Should I take the credit for it?”

“Not necessarily all you,” Yuan Ye said. “I’ve been eating dirt too, from the beginning of the month till now.”

Qu Yixian ignored him, returned to the vehicle, and tapped on the co-driver’s window.

The window slid open with a sound. Fu Xun sat inside the car, silently asking with his eyes: “What is it?”

Qu Yixian smiled sincerely while asking for a favor: “This road is tough. The tires need a bit more air. The G-Class is too expensive; I can’t handle it myself.”

For the first time, Fu Xun heard such a fresh and unusual excuse, and he couldn’t help but laugh: “Is that so?”

Qu Yixian teased: “I feel like when you sit on the hood, you manage just fine.”

Qu Yixian: “…” One really shouldn’t be too arrogant; karma catches up fast.

The main road, running through the Guhe River Valley Yadan cluster from end to end, had been manually built more than ten years ago. After a few years, when it was rerouted, this main road was abandoned.

Over the years, very few people traveled this narrow, dangerous, and complex terrain of the old provincial road.

With fewer travelers, the road naturally fell into disuse.

Last night’s sandstorm made driving even more difficult.

By eleven o’clock, the wind and sand that had raged all night finally stopped.

Once the wind ceased, although sand still filled the sky, visibility inside the storm gradually improved. By one in the afternoon, only a haze-like sky remained.

Sunlight pierced the sand and fell on the ground. July’s heat returned once again.

By two in the afternoon, all rescue teams had arrived outside the Guhe River Valley Yadan cluster.

Qu Yixian commanded the convoy to split into three zones for simultaneous search: the center of the Guhe River Valley where groundwater was still available, a twenty-kilometer fan-shaped area surrounding the valley, and the outer desert beyond the valley.

The search was conducted in a carpet-like pattern, moving gradually outward from the center. If nothing unexpected occurred, the one-hundred-kilometer radius search was expected to be completed within a day.

No later than dusk.

The living could be found, the dead would be seen.

—

In the late afternoon, during the final stage of the search, on a small soil mound seventy-two kilometers away, the sand grains moved ever so slightly.