Chapter 8

Chapter 8

“Alive?” Fu Xun asked.

Qu Yixian strained to feel: “Dead.”

No warmth, no breath, no pulse. Apart from trapping her ankle, there was no movement.

Fu Xun raised an eyebrow: “Not a snake?”

Qu Yixian hesitated for a few seconds, then slowly shook her head: “Not.”

A couple of years ago, when she led a geological survey team into the desert, she had encountered a similar situation.

The one bitten had been a recently graduated female teammate. At the time, Qu Yixian was in the rear trunk counting supplies. From hearing the scream to feeling the snake’s scales sweep across the ankle was just a few seconds, yet the memory remained vivid.

In her memory, the snake scales were wet and cold. The body wasn’t smooth, even slightly rough with sand grains. The sweep across the ankle was sharp, slippery, and stinging.

What was trapping her ankle now was not the same thing.

Fu Xun squatted silently, his hand falling on Qu Yixian’s lower back through a glove. He pulled her closer and leaned in to probe.

Her knees and below were buried in the soil. Not knowing what lay beneath, she hadn’t dared move carelessly.

Seeing this, she couldn’t help but speak: “You’re going to handle it bare-handed? Maybe get some tools—wrench, Swiss Army knife—at least some… killing power.”

Before she finished, Fu Xun interrupted: “Where is it?”

Qu Yixian caught the impatience in his tone, feeling her goodwill dismissed, and replied irritably: “Legs are about 1.8 meters long. You figure it out.”

Fu Xun was momentarily stumped by her retort, glancing at her: “Your height rounds to 1.69 meters. The other three inches went to my legs?”

Qu Yixian was baffled.

How did he know her height rounded exactly to 1.69 meters?

This guy’s eyes must be made of knives—so sharp.

“No time.” Fu Xun twisted the flashlight, shining it into the soil.

The soil layer wasn’t deep.

The real risk was the overhanging soil platform above their heads, ready to collapse at any moment.

Darkness fell faster. Beyond the deep gully, the last trace of light disappeared among the Yadan formations—pitch black.

The wind swirled up from the gully, through narrow paths, shaking faster, gradually producing a roar like a dragon. The already swirling sand thickened, blinding and suffocating, like being trapped in a ghostly hall.

In moments, dusk transitioned to deep night.

Fu Xun didn’t hesitate. He looked down, met Qu Yixian’s eyes, and said: “Be alert.”

A prompt, yet a warning.

Qu Yixian hadn’t yet registered the meaning when she saw him bend down, hands fast as lightning, directly probing into the soil, accurately gripping her ankle.

She held her breath, silent.

In the flickering flashlight, he twisted his wrist, then with a twist and a snap, effortlessly pulled the thing trapping her foot from the soil.

It was a military-green backpack.

Apparently buried for some time. At first, in the flashlight beam, she couldn’t tell the color, but once he shook off the top layer of sand, it became clear.

Seeing it, she felt embarrassed.

Qu Yixian’s pride was shattered, awkwardly.

She had thought she encountered something dangerous, yet it was just a backpack.

She felt that Fu Xun was not just her personal grim reaper, but a little devil from the underworld, specially targeting her… Otherwise, how could he, in a single day, in front of her, strip away all her face and dignity?

Wait…

A backpack.

Qu Yixian suddenly realized—the lost tourist, wasn’t he carrying a military-green backpack?

She instinctively looked up at Fu Xun.

Under the car lights, sand grains were whipped up by the wind, swirling sharply in midair. Even at a distance, she could see the fine sand rise with the wind and fall when it stopped, spiraling and stumbling toward the car.

He stood backlit, silent and restrained.

Suddenly, Qu Yixian’s restless mood calmed. She grabbed the backpack and said, “Tow the car first.”

Then figure out what to do next.

——

This was a big deal. Qu Yixian hesitated, unable to make a decision.

Inside the backpack, aside from personal items, there were no identification documents. Clearly, it had been deliberately stripped of anything that could identify the owner before being discarded.

Qu Yixian guessed that the tourist, exhausted, had no choice but to lighten his load.

Then he very likely hadn’t gone far.

But on the other hand, the weather was bizarre and harsh, and the terrain seemed capable of swallowing all life.

Staying was too dangerous.

She glanced back at Fu Xun, who was remotely operating the winch, scratched her head, and called Yuan Ye.

Yuan Ye was just about to contact Qu Yixian. Seeing the incoming call, he answered happily: “Master Qu, do you think we’re in sync? I was just about to call you.”

“Yuan Ye.”

Hearing the taut tone in Qu Yixian’s voice, Yuan Ye straightened his back instinctively: “Yes, I’m listening.”

“I need to confirm something with Xu San,” Qu Yixian said. “I may have found the backpack he abandoned.”

Yuan Ye could only catch half of it—intermittent wind noise surged into the receiver. His heart skipped a beat with a bad premonition: “Master Qu, did you run into a sandstorm?”

He had been about to warn Qu Yixian—Gansu winds, and in Dunhuang, a sandstorm would likely kick up in the late night, letting her decide whether to retreat or stay. Judging by the wind noise on her end, the gusts were probably only getting stronger.

“Yes, I did,” Qu Yixian said, pursing her lips. “Forty minutes from now, have Xu San call me and tell him I need something from him.”

Yuan Ye shivered slightly.

Master Qu’s calm tone made it sound as if she had already made a decision.

He thought for a few seconds: “Alright, I’ll personally take him there. It won’t take much effort anyway.”

Qu Yixian considered it and nodded.

She felt awkward asking Fu Xun to risk his life, but Yuan Ye owed her a life, so sending him was less stressful.

After hanging up, Qu Yixian stepped back to the car.

Seeing Fu Xun removing his gloves, she leaned against the car door and smiled: “I’ll drive the next stretch.”

Fu Xun turned.

The light from inside the car traced her features like distant mountain shadows.

She was actually very beautiful.

Her beauty carried a hint of aggression; smiling and not smiling, her aura completely changed.

Especially when standing in the wind and sand, brow slightly arched, eyes holding a lazy smile—there was a wild, defiant quality, as if she looked down on all living things.

It was a bold magnetism, impossible to look away from, like a sword drawn from fire, sharp and glaring.

——

Qu Yixian was very familiar with this terrain. Light and shadow seemed to affect her little.

She avoided soft sand traps that could snag the car, often navigating the ridges at tricky angles, passing through narrow lanes.

Fu Xun paid special attention to her acceleration and braking.

She mostly used light braking to control the car’s speed. When the tires accidentally sank into a sand dune, she didn’t blindly press the accelerator. With a balance of throttle and brake, she soon drove out of the ancient He River valley, covered in windblown sand.

The camp was set up outside the Yadan formations, fifty kilometers west of the sand ridge, on open, dry, leeward terrain.

By the time they returned, Sheng Zi had already pitched the tent and was tightening the screws.

Qu Yixian deliberately sought a little revenge when parking.

The car traced a tire mark on the open ground, then she backed it into the camp, perfectly flanking the Patrol Cruiser and the Patrol X-Trail, sheltering the tent between the two vehicles.

Before turning off the engine, she couldn’t resist patting the steering wheel a few more times and unabashedly praised, “Money really is nice.”

Fu Xun got out first and inspected the camp.

Sheng Zi had plenty of outdoor camping experience, so the campsite selection was reliable. Out of caution, Fu Xun still inspected everything carefully.

Qu Yixian, with nothing else to do, helped Sheng Zi carry supplies from the support vehicle into the tent, trip after trip.

When Fu Xun returned, he heard Qu Yixian telling Sheng Zi inside the tent, “I’m not sleeping here tonight.”

He lifted the tent flap and went inside.

Sheng Zi had brought an extra sleeping bag and mat. Seeing Fu Xun enter, he hurriedly cast him a pleading look for help.

Fu Xun paused for a moment before asking, “Then where will you sleep?”

“Yuan Ye will come later tonight.” Qu Yixian slightly lifted her chin and pointed to the backpack she had placed in the corner: “I still need to confirm a few things.”

Fu Xun didn’t charge rent. Whether she stayed or not didn’t matter; he just gestured for Sheng Zi to place the sleeping bag in the corner and prepare dinner first.

Normally, when the two camped, they’d set up a stove and cook some staple food or noodle soup.

Tonight, the wind and sand were too strong. Forget lighting the stove—if food did cook, a gust of wind would dump a whole pan of yellow sand in, like sprinkling cumin. Eat it or not?

They had to make do—instant noodles it was.

Qu Yixian had only eaten a steamed bun with mutton soup for breakfast and was starving. She had thought “making do” meant dry rations… but this “making do” was much better than what she had eaten during her exposed desert expeditions.

Even the instant noodles came with a braised egg and a sausage. Not to mention three cans of tuna and fresh fruit distributed among them…

Just smelling it made Qu Yixian want to ask Fu Xun: “Boss, are you still looking for an assistant?” She could handle laundry, cleaning, and guarding—extremely high value for effort!

After satisfying their hunger, Qu Yixian wasted no time preparing for the next entry into the Yadan formations of the ancient He River valley.

She didn’t fight unprepared battles or make unnecessary sacrifices.

Having just come from the Yadan formations, she knew how dangerous they were.

On one side was the fragile salt-crust ground prone to trapping vehicles; on the other, deep gullies carved by water. Searching for someone in this terrain was almost impossible.

Moreover, Yuan Ye’s vehicle had just been purchased in June and apparently didn’t have a winch installed.

If it got stuck, it would be trouble.

She sat cross-legged on the mat, frowning in frustration.

Sheng Zi returned from washing up. Seeing Fu Xun reading, and with Qu Yixian appearing idle, he spoke first: “Miss, you dared to go into the desert alone?”

Qu Yixian hadn’t been called “Miss” in a long time. It took her a moment to realize Sheng Zi was talking to her, and she nodded: “I know this area well.”

Sheng Zi misunderstood her meaning: “You’re a local?”

“No,” Qu Yixian said. “I’m from Nanjiang.”

“From Nanjiang?” Sheng Zi glanced at Fu Xun, eyes lighting up: “Boss Fu is also from Nanjiang.”

He was excited and immediately asked, “I wonder if you’ve heard—several years ago, around this same time, two female university students from Nanjiang went on a graduation trip to Kekexili. One of them went missing, and she still hasn’t been found.”