Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Qu Yixian’s hand pressed tightly against her pants froze, and she abruptly looked up at Sheng Zi.

This was the first time she had really looked at him today.

He had just kicked off his flip-flops, lay back into his sleeping bag, and met her gaze. Thinking she was interested, he continued: “Back then, I was just an amateur off-road enthusiast. I hadn’t even joined the Tianxing Outdoor Club. Even self-driving trips, I only dared to go to established tourist spots. I saw that news on a push notification on my phone.”

“From what I later learned, those two girls didn’t enter Kekexili alone—they followed a convoy and registered for rescue. But on the very first night, something went wrong.”

The three of them had only met halfway through the journey; none of them were familiar with each other.

Sheng Zi had been bored waiting, so he decided to make conversation to pass the time.

He had never been to Nanjiang; talking about local customs would be like pulling the sky down to death. The only thing he could remember was that incident of the two girls from Nanjiang who went missing in Kekexili.

He was blunt and hadn’t realized Fu Xun and Qu Yixian were both reserved on this topic; he just assumed they, though locals of Nanjiang, didn’t know more than him.

So he enthusiastically shared more details.

“If you’ve done your research, you’d know the Xinghui Convoy. They’re the most famous convoy for our Northwest Loop. During peak season, you have to book in advance.” He sighed and muttered, “It’s a pity—now almost no one remembers that accident. It was a line run by Xinghui Convoy.”

Qu Yixian smiled: “Does your Tianxing Club also run lines?”

“We don’t run lines.” Sheng Zi scratched the back of his head, embarrassed: “I’m just the leader of Tianxing Outdoor Club. Off-roading is purely a hobby. Nowadays, with so many short video apps, we just do livestreams for fun. Everyone in the team has a regular job to support their family. Only occasionally do I take on some work, mostly logistics support—nothing else.”

Qu Yixian raised an eyebrow: “Then why do you look down on Xinghui?”

Sheng Zi laughed, a little puzzled that such a pretty girl could speak so sharply.

“You misunderstand. I’m not looking down on them.” He furrowed his brows and explained: “The girls went missing during a very sensitive time—June, when the Tibetan antelopes in Kekexili migrate. The rescue teams went in several waves, searching for a whole week, and were about to give up. The families refused to relent, dragging it out another month.”

“Imagine the cost of that rescue. Just paying the rescue convoy, it ran into hundreds of thousands. I heard that family spent everything to find the girl, but in the end, they didn’t even recover the body…”

“To this day, I’m puzzled. That girl’s disappearance must have been directly related to the convoy. But at the time, there was no news of the family confronting the convoy. The reports about them were only two or three articles. A meteorite that big falling into water is like a paper dropping—you have to admit, it’s strange.”

Qu Yixian felt a heavy pressure in her chest; her expression gradually turned grim.

Sheng Zi didn’t notice her change and picked up his phone to show her his posts: “I haven’t deleted anything; I’ll show you.”

Fu Xun, who had been silently observing, spoke for the first time: “You can still get a signal?”

His deep voice collided with the wind outside the tent, and was gone in an instant.

Qu Yixian felt as if she had just woken from a dream, her heart racing, sweat pouring.

Jiang Yuan’s name was etched into her heart, a scar over the years.

She had stayed in the Northwest all these years, unwilling to believe Jiang Yuan was dead. Suddenly hearing the other side of the story from someone unrelated felt like falling off a cliff again in a recurring nightmare.

She hadn’t even caught Fu Xun’s casual remark, but his voice was like a resonant bell, piercing through her fear and waking her from the dream.

If someone like him existed in ancient times, he would probably be a revered sage sought after by all.

Qu Yixian couldn’t help but glance at him.

In her mind, she thought: “Just not merciful enough.”

——

She stood up, wanting to get some fresh air.

As she lifted the tent flap, she saw a car stop not far away. Its modified headlights shone red and white through the wind and sand, piercing her eyes painfully.

Qu Yixian raised a hand to shield her eyes and shouted angrily, “You little brat, turn off those lights!”

Her voice was light and muffled through the wind, but Yuan Ye could feel his Qu Ye’s anger from afar.

He waved and ordered Xu San, who was driving: “Quick, turn off the headlights! Be careful, or if Qu Ye gets upset, she’ll dismantle all my lights.”

The car entered the camp, and Yuan Ye got out first.

Seeing Qu Yixian waiting outside the tent, his eyes curved like a fox’s: “How long has it been since I got this treatment?”

Qu Yixian glanced at him and sneered, “I came out for some fresh air.”

Yuan Ye: “……”

His eyebrows drooped. Not wanting to argue, he turned to Xu San: “Come on in quickly.”

The tent suddenly felt cramped with two more people inside, no matter how spacious it usually was.

Once Yuan Ye entered, he first looked for Fu Xun.

The first thing he saw was Sheng Zi, already in his sleeping bag near the door—this young man must usually have good food; his forearms were sturdy, his head broad, ears large—a typical man raised in the Northwest.

That only left the other one.

Fu Xun was still sitting cross-legged on the moisture-proof mat, a book upside down beside him that he had been flipping through. At that moment, he looked up, calmly sizing up Yuan Ye.

When Qu Yixian came in, she almost thought she was looking at a frozen picture.

She picked up the military-green backpack she had thrown into the corner, sat cross-legged in her previous spot, and gestured for the two men to sit.

Sheng Zi felt too embarrassed to lie back down… he was large and took up space. With everyone else sitting, him lying down felt like being watched in a compromising position, making even this big man blush.

Everyone settled.

Yuan Ye reached out, his smile obsequious as he looked at Fu Xun: “Mr. Fu, long time no see.”

Mr. Fu?

Qu Yixian hadn’t had time to react when she saw Fu Xun nod, lightly shake hands, and release it quickly.

His expression was normal; he didn’t say a word, yet his natural presence made it impossible to ignore him.

Qu Yixian glanced at Yuan Ye, her tone dangerous: “So the two of you didn’t know each other before?”

Yuan Ye continued fawning: “Kindred spirits, long-time kindred spirits.”

Qu Yixian smiled, subtly twisted his leg once, watching him wince in pain, and then released him, smiling warmly: “Let’s get down to business.”

She pushed the backpack to Xu San: “Take a look. Is this the bag?”

Xu San examined it for a long time before nodding: “There’s a travel journal in it, with the bottom corner of the spine still stuck with a torn library label.”

Qu Yixian had already checked this bag back at the Yadan cluster. Hearing this, she emptied all its contents onto the moisture-proof mat.

Besides the travel journal, there was a dead power bank, a toiletry bag, nail clippers, a small medicine box, a compressed U-shaped pillow, and a thirty-two-page notebook.

It had been too dark in the Yadan cluster, so she hadn’t noticed the notebook. Flipping through a few pages, she found only trivial daily records.

Fu Xun glanced at a few pages in her hand and asked Yuan Ye: “Have you contacted the missing tourist’s family?”

“Before I left, the police had just reached them.” Yuan Ye sounded annoyed: “This kid, I don’t know if he’s really poor or just chasing the novelty of travel, has never stayed in a hotel. After Xu San reported him missing, the police spent a lot of effort verifying his identity.”

“His surname is Xun, Xun Haichao, from Jiangxi, only child.” Yuan Ye bumped Qu Yixian and asked: “Got a cigarette? I’m restless.”

Qu Yixian glanced at him and pulled out a pack, tossing it to him: “Didn’t you quit?”

Yuan Ye was indeed in a bad mood, tapped the pack, and looked at her: “Where’s the lighter? You know what they say—don’t give Buddha something useless.”

——

Sheng Zi had been staring wide-eyed ever since Qu Yixian threw that imported 555 brand cigarette pack.

Although he didn’t run lines, he frequently moved along the Northwest loop, occasionally doing logistics for familiar clients, and had contacts with some convoys.

There were some unwritten rules in that world.

One of them concerned Qu Yixian—“If you recognize Qu Ye, you recognize the cigarettes. On this whole route, she only smokes imported 555s.”

No wonder Yuan Ye felt familiar when he first met her…

Two years ago, at the Alxa Off-Road Heroes Meeting, he had participated as the leader of the Tianxing Outdoor Club and raced against Yuan Ye.

If his wife hadn’t been urging him, he would have had the chance to watch Qu Ye’s “rolling blade” in action.

This “rolling blade” referred to the sand dunes shaped by the wind. The top wasn’t smoothed into a cone like a regular peak, but was vertical like a knife edge against the wind’s direction.

The rolling blade maneuver requires driving along the sand ridge from the side. The angle of entry and the speed must be continuously adjusted according to the ridge’s direction and height. Then, using the vehicle’s inertia, you flip to the opposite sand edge.

The entire process is tricky: too fast and you risk flipping, too slow and you bottom out. It’s a serious test of driving skill.

Back then, Qu Ye’s “rolling blade” in Alxa amazed everyone.

Overnight, it went viral among all off-road enthusiasts.

He felt a bit excited, but recalling just a moment ago how recklessly he had spoken in front of Qu Ye was like a bucket of cold water poured over him, chilling him to the bone.

He was so absorbed in thought that he didn’t respond until Qu Yixian called him three times.

Qu Yixian frowned and repeated, “Got a lighter? Lend me a flame.”

Sheng Zi rebooted his attention, reacting after a few seconds: “Y-yes, yes, yes.” He lowered his head and hastily, politely handed her the lighter.

Qu Yixian took it and tossed it to Yuan Ye, casually saying, “Once there’s signal, let’s add each other on WeChat. I want to check your space.”

Yuan Ye interrupted from the side: “The one with a space is called Qiu Qiu. Don’t you know anything?”

Qu Yixian made a gesture to slash at him, and Yuan Ye hurriedly hugged his head and backed away.

The seat beside her had just emptied when someone moved close again.

Sheng Zi felt a little embarrassed and thought the timing was off, but considering that missing tonight might mean missing a perfect opportunity, he said: “Little Qu Ye, that rolling blade video of yours…”

“Could you show me?”

Fu Xun looked up, genuinely interested: “What video?”