Chapter 2

Chapter 2

July, Dunhuang.

Due to road construction, sand and dust filled the air along the entire stretch from the south of the Wild Camel Protection Area to the Han Great Wall ruins at Yumen Pass.

Just a few meters away, the national highway was a soil road flattened and compacted by a bulldozer. This narrow two-way lane was clogged for several kilometers by trailers transporting materials.

It was noon, the sun at its fiercest.

The air conditioning inside the car was on full blast, but under the scorching sunlight, it still carried an unavoidable heat.

Qu Yixian twisted open her thermos and took a sip of water, her gaze calm as she looked out through the layer of yellow dust coating the car window.

In the distance, the edge of the desert appeared hazy, as if a patch of oasis lay there.

But only those who traveled this route year-round knew that the edge of the desert was still desert.

Qu Yixian licked her lips, picked up her phone, and glanced at the signal. The near-zero signal bar still showed one bar intermittently.

Bored, she rummaged through the compartments and pulled out a water pen. Finding no paper, she made do with a slightly yellowed, old business card, beginning to calculate the cost of this traffic jam.

From Dunhuang to Yumen Pass, one-way eighty-four kilometers, round trip multiplied by two, fuel at two yuan per kilometer…

Her pen paused; she glanced disdainfully at the yellow dust outside the window.

Right, she’d also have to calculate a car wash fee.

As she flipped to the front of the card, about to write, she paused slightly and studied it carefully.

The yellowed card had obvious history; the corners of the printed text were stained brown, like a cigarette touched by a flame. The stain ran through to the name, making it illegible. The only clear thing was the string of mobile numbers beneath the name.

Looking at it… it seemed oddly familiar.

Before she could recall further, the car window was knocked twice. Through the fine yellow dust, a thick palm print appeared immediately.

A temporary traffic officer standing beside the car leaned down, looking through the print at Qu Yixian inside, urging her to catch up with the car ahead and pass through the congestion quickly.

Qu Yixian pressed the accelerator; as she moved forward, the tires rolled over the uneven soil compacted by the trailers, advancing a few dozen meters.

Then the car stopped again, stuck in the jam.

Luckily, the signal returned slightly. Just as she pulled up the handbrake, her phone rang. She glanced at the incoming call and answered.

Yuan Ye had called more than ten times before getting through this one, his mood bad, his voice loud: “Master Qu, you’re still stuck in traffic?”

“Stuck, yeah.” Qu Yixian lazily lifted her eyelid, switching the phone to her left hand.

“Listen, I need to tell you something,” Yuan Ye cleared his throat, his tone immediately serious: “Xu San picked up a customer today, going to the Yumen Pass scenic spot. But the road was blocked! The customer didn’t want to wait, got out, and walked on their own.”

Qu Yixian narrowed her eyes, sitting up a little straighter: “When did this happen?”

Yuan Ye: “A few hours ago.”

The voice on the other end hesitated a few seconds, then lowered: “Xu San didn’t want to allow it, but once he opened his taxi, he couldn’t refuse the customer. Still, he couldn’t fully relax, so he left the customer a number, telling them to call immediately if needed. It was just now…”

“Xu San got the call.”

Qu Yixian’s brow twitched violently. She glanced at the high sun, muttering under her breath: “Damn fool, looking for trouble.”

Even through the phone, Yuan Ye could feel Qu Yixian’s surging anger. His heart shook; he hurriedly continued: “After Xu San got the call, he reported it immediately. The police have already sent rescue. But the person has been walking in the desert for hours; the water is probably all gone. By the time help arrives, it might be too late. You happen to be on this route—keep an eye out.”

Qu Yixian remained silent, gauging the clearance of the undercarriage and the slope height. Within the narrow passing distance, she braked and released, driving the Cruiser straight down the slope onto the desert beside the highway.

As she left the highway, the traffic officer waved a prohibition sign and blew a loud whistle at her.

The whistle was sharp, clearly audible even through the car window.

Yuan Ye heard it too, pausing, then cautiously asked: “Master Qu?”

Qu Yixian leaned over, taking the Xinghui Rescue Team ID from the glove compartment, pressing the window down while speaking rapidly: “Is Xu San nearby? Have him take the call.”

After speaking, she pulled up the handbrake, half-leaning out of the window, showing the approaching traffic officer the ID: “Sir, time is urgent. Please understand.”

The Xinghui Rescue Team had a formidable reputation on the Northwest loop. In recent years, they had cooperated with the police in countless rescues. Their emblem was so well-known that even a three-year-old child would recognize it.

The traffic officer looked skeptically at the ID in her hand, furrowing his brow, unconvinced.

Qu Yixian?

He only knew there was a Master Qu on the Northwest Loop…

He lifted his eyes, scrutinizing Qu Yixian a few more times, licking his lips, and asked, “Are you the team leader on the Loop?”

Qu Yixian let out a light laugh: “Yes.”

The officer squinted: “Your surname’s Qu too?”

Your too?

Qu Yixian’s smile stiffened slightly. Once again, she clarified for herself: “There’s only one Qu leading on the Loop.”

She pointed at herself: “That’s me, female.”

Once back in the car, Yuan Ye’s mocking laughter rang out mercilessly: “On the Northwest Loop, everyone recognizes Master Qu, not the person. Let alone your name—bring it up and all they know is Five Years of College Entrance Exams, Three Years of Simulation.”

Before Qu Yixian could react, Yuan Ye hurriedly handed the phone to Xu San, as if it were too hot to hold: “Hurry, don’t waste time. Tell our ‘Five Years of College Entrance Exams, Three Years of Simulation’ what happened.”

Childish!

Qu Yixian didn’t respond, just rolled her eyes.

Xu San took the phone, greeted lightly, and after hearing Qu Yixian’s reply, said: “The customer’s surname is Xun, twenty-five, just graduated from graduate school, about 1.75 meters tall. Wearing a blue standard softshell jacket, carrying an army-green backpack. I drove him halfway, and he asked me if there was any insider channel to book tickets for Yumen Pass and the Yadan Devil City joint entry.”

“The Dunhuang tourist spots aren’t exactly flush with cash. I don’t have insider access. I said I could contact a travel agency for him at ten percent off. He thought that was too expensive and planned to bypass the ticket gates and sneak in. On top of that, the road was jammed. Near Yumen Pass, he got out and walked along the highway. When I got his call, he said he was out of water and lost in the desert. By the time I called back after reporting to the police, his phone was off. I guess the battery ran out…”

“Sneaking in?” Qu Yixian hadn’t spoken, but Yuan Ye listening almost exploded: “For a few bucks’ ticket, risk your life?”

Qu Yixian let out a scoffing laugh, mocking: “Every year, plenty of these self-important backpackers try to cross alone.”

Yuan Ye was momentarily stunned, his tone uncertain: “No way… what’s going on in their heads?”

Xu San sighed: “He said he’d biked across Motuo before. This year, he’s doing the Northwest Loop to scout for next year’s trek to Langta. According to his plan, he was supposed to cross the Altun Mountains back to Qinghai in the end.”

The desert alongside the highway wasn’t easy to drive on; rocks kicked up by the tires clattered against the chassis, rattling all the way.

Qu Yixian slowed, tilting her head to glance at the sun: “From Dunhuang to Yumen Pass is over a hundred kilometers. Even with good roads, it takes over an hour. Not to mention he’s lost in the desert, unlocatable. By the time rescue arrives from Dunhuang, even angels couldn’t save him.”

Speaking of rescue, Yuan Ye reconnected the call: “I’ll check if anyone else from the team is near Yumen Pass.”

Qu Yixian didn’t respond.

She had traveled this loop from Dunhuang via Yumen Pass and the Han Great Wall ruins to Yadan Devil City so many times, she could drive it with her eyes closed.

Yumen Pass along the ancient Shule River Valley headed west, with an oasis. The Han Great Wall ruins were less than ten kilometers from the oasis. Following the beacon towers westward, ten kilometers later, you’d reach Houkengzi. That was the end of the Shule Valley, the riverbed dry, yellow sand weathered like ancient fabric, inch by inch.

Desert and Gobi stretched as far as the eye could see.

Yadan Devil City was about fifty kilometers west of the valley.

July wasn’t the sand season, but even a slight breeze could move fine sand like waves over mountains. Any footprint or clue could vanish instantly in the wind.

Once he veered off course here, finding him again would be nearly impossible.

Qu Yixian hung the ID around her neck, speaking softly: “I’ll go look first, but Yuan Ye…”

“Relying only on the convoy, it won’t be easy.”

Her voice was cold and stern. Yuan Ye fell silent, momentarily lost for words.

Searching for a lost person in the desert was like finding a needle in the ocean.

This he understood.

Qu Yixian had already driven out of the traffic jam. She swerved left, and the Cruiser immediately charged up the high ground, climbing the loosely packed stone road.

She glanced up, using the rearview mirror to check behind.

The cars behind kicked up a cloud of yellow dust; beyond this sand barrier, the traffic jam stretched long and unmoving.

——

The traffic jam was already very close to Yumen Pass. Qu Yixian didn’t take long to reach the scenic area.

In front of the small square city of Yumen Pass was a viewing platform, built on a slope. Through the naked eye, a meadow and marsh could be seen ahead.

The meadow was trapped in the valley, becoming sparser the farther west it went.

Qu Yixian adjusted her direction, making a loop around the outside of Yumen Pass. She drove very slowly, carefully observing the ground for any footprints.

Footprints, unlike tire tracks, were clear and deep, not easily covered by wind and sand.

The young man’s footprints were roughly forty centimeters, the tread of his sneakers deeper. Even if the walker weighed two hundred pounds, the footprints outside Yumen Pass would vanish quickly in the desert wind and sand.

But Qu Yixian was unwilling to skip this observation.

Further west, yellow sand mixed with gravel; as the sand coarsened, traces became even harder to follow.

After completing the loop, Qu Yixian didn’t waste any more time. She headed west along the valley, beginning her search toward Yadan Devil City.

Before setting out, she calculated her fuel and travel distance, charging the satellite phone while sending Yuan Ye a text: “I’m searching west from Yumen Pass. Fuel only enough for 500 kilometers. Need resupply before sunset.”