"Brother Xiaoyuan, Runsheng, our berths are over here! Whoa, it's a soft sleeper compartment—Brother Liang, what a big spender!"
Xue Liangliang smiled at Tan Wenbin. "It's not the Spring Festival rush. Soft sleeper tickets aren't that hard to get."
The compartment had four berths—two upper and two lower—and the four of them had bought out the entire room.
Once the train pulled out of the station, Li Zhuiyuan climbed up to an upper berth. Xue Liangliang took the upper berth opposite him, while Runsheng and Tan Wenbin settled into the lower berths.
By now, Tan Wenbin had already pulled out an exercise book, set it on the small table, and started working through problems.
"Hey, doing homework the second you board the train?" Xue Liangliang teased. "Working this hard, going to our Haihe University would be a waste of your talents. You ought to apply to those two top schools in the capital."
Tan Wenbin answered earnestly, "My foundation is weak and I've wasted too much time. If I can get into Haihe, I'll be burning high incense to thank heaven."
"You need incense?" Runsheng offered, holding out a stick of incense.
Xue Liangliang reminded him, "Runsheng, if you want to smoke, go to the vestibule between the carriages."
"Right, got it."
Runsheng put the stick back into his tin case. This was incense specially made for him by Auntie Liu, wrapped in a layer of paper, short but thick.
He got up, pushed open the door, and walked out to the vestibule between the carriages. Two men were standing there smoking. Runsheng drifted over, pulled out a tinder tube, twisted off the cap, and blew on the embers.
The tinder tube was also made by Auntie Liu; after all, lighting such short, thick incense sticks with matches was a hassle.
Once the incense caught, Runsheng took a puff and blew a smoke ring. A rich fragrance began to diffuse, most of it carried away through the gap in the carriage door.
Seeing this, the two men beside him were full of curiosity.
"Bro, what's he smoking?"
"See, that's where you're out of the loop. It's like in the movies—a cigar."
Having finished the stick of incense, Runsheng headed back. On the way, he saw a white-haired old woman in black sitting on a small folding seat in the aisle, with a little girl in red standing in front of her.
"Grandma, I'm hungry."
The old woman let out a sigh and wiped away tears with the back of her hand.
Runsheng felt around in his pocket, fished out a few pieces of candy, and handed them to the little girl.
"Thank you, big brother!" The little girl smiled happily.
Returning to the soft sleeper compartment, Runsheng lay down and took a nap.
When he woke, his stomach was rumbling. He asked the others, and finding they were all hungry too, he brought out the food he had packed from home.
There were dry provisions, cured bacon, and a bottle of liquor.
Li Sanjiang had slipped in the liquor, saying that sipping a little drink on a train while watching the scenery pass outside had real atmosphere.
None of the four young men drank it, however.
After eating, Tan Wenbin went right back to his exercises without stopping.
Li Zhuiyuan and Xue Liangliang chatted while gazing at the passing scenery outside the window. Most of the time, Li Zhuiyuan listened while Xue Liangliang talked, as if they were holding a late-night dorm bull session.
From rural house construction to living standards across the country and even industrial development planning—Xue Liangliang's major was hydraulic engineering and architecture, but he knew a bit about other fields as well, even if he was hardly an expert.
Still, in this era when information was so difficult to come by, knowing this much was an impressive skill in its own right.
As night gradually fell, the scenery outside faded from view, and only the conductor calling out stops at intervals let them know where they were.
Xue Liangliang climbed down from his berth, saying he was going to buy boxed meals.
On the way, he encountered an old woman in black with a little girl in red standing beside her.
"Grandma, I'm so hungry."
Xue Liangliang walked past them to the dining car and bought ten boxed meals with meat. Carrying the large bag on his way back, he pulled out one meal and handed it to the little girl as he passed her.
"Thank you, brother!"
Xue Liangliang smiled, walked back into the compartment, and divided the boxed meals among everyone.
He and Xiaoyuan each had one, Tan Wenbin ate three, and Runsheng downed four.
Li Zhuiyuan found that the food in the white plastic containers tasted surprisingly fragrant, especially the braised pork with wheat gluten—it was delicious.
Having finished three boxes, Tan Wenbin loosened his belt and let his belly out. Stuffed full, he brought his exercise book back out, planning to digest by doing math problems.
Even after four boxes, Runsheng still hadn't had his fill, but there were still dry provisions and salted bean paste brought from home, enough for him to top off his stomach.
After the meal, their chat session resumed. By day it had been realism mixed with future development forecasts; by night it turned to dramatic retellings of history.
Li Zhuiyuan could join in on this topic, though he mostly let Xue Liangliang speak. Only when Xue Liangliang asked, "Who was that person again?" or "What was the name of that place they fought at?" would Li Zhuiyuan provide the exact answer.
With such an attentive and knowledgeable straight man to play off of, Xue Liangliang had the time of his life holding court.
It wasn't until late into the night that everyone finally fell asleep.
When they woke the next morning, Runsheng went to fetch water for everyone to wash up. Tan Wenbin finished washing first, and as the train happened to pull into a station, he hopped off to buy breakfast for the group.
Along the way, he met a grandmother and granddaughter; the granddaughter was crying to her grandmother that she was hungry, while the grandmother wiped away tears in sorrow.
On his return, Tan Wenbin gave them several steamed buns and stuffed baozi, along with a plastic bag of soy milk.
The soy milk came in a bag, so after carrying it back, Tan Wenbin tore an opening in the corner and poured it into everyone's cups.
After breakfast, Xue Liangliang took several engineering design blueprints out of his backpack. Seeing them, Li Zhuiyuan left his berth and joined Xue Liangliang, sitting side by side to look over them together.
To Xue Liangliang's surprise, Xiaoyuan could actually understand the notations and figures, so he took the opportunity to explain some professional technical knowledge to the boy.
Near lunchtime, a train attendant walked through hawking roasted sweet potatoes on behalf of a vendor. Li Zhuiyuan went into the aisle and bought a bag.
It wasn't the attendant selling them; she was merely helping by shouting the offer, after which the vendor on the platform stepped over to take the cash and hand over the goods.
Carrying the bag back, Li Zhuiyuan passed an old woman. She sat there with a wooden, blank expression.
At her feet rested an urn-shaped object wrapped in cloth, looking suspiciously like an ash urn.
Li Zhuiyuan did not linger and returned to the soft sleeper compartment.
As Runsheng ate the roasted sweet potato, his heart ached. "How can they charge this much?"
While eating, Runsheng even carefully licked the inside of the sweet potato skin, terrified of wasting a single crumb.
Around one in the afternoon, the train pulled into another station at a small county called Mishui. Then the loudspeaker and PA system began announcing that a landslide had occurred on the tracks ahead, and the train could not proceed for the time being.
Passengers could remain on the train to wait, or refund the remaining portion of their tickets and disembark here.
After questioning a train attendant to pinpoint the exact location of the blocked section, Xue Liangliang judged that reopening the line would likely take a day or two, so he led everyone off the train.
Exiting the station, they first found an eatery to have a meal. The roasted sweet potatoes from noon had digested too quickly, and they were all hungry again.
A slogan was pasted on the exterior wall of the small restaurant: "Kill highway bandits and road tyrants—no crime, only reward!"
While they were eating, a lone diner sitting nearby overheard Runsheng's accent, smiled, and stood up to ask in the Nantong dialect. To their surprise, they had run into a fellow townsman.
The man's surname was Zhu, his full name Zhu Yang, and he was a long-haul truck driver. Upon learning that the four had come from the train station and were heading for Shancheng, he warmly invited them to ride in his truck all the way there.
After all, he spoke their hometown dialect and genuinely drove a cargo truck loaded with steel cables. Most importantly, he was straightforward:
He wouldn't charge them a cent; it was just pooling together for company, so the road wouldn't feel so unsafe.
After finishing the meal, Xue Liangliang picked up the tab for Zhu Yang, went to a small store to buy some drinks and two packs of cigarettes, and handed them to him.
With that, everyone boarded the truck.
The cab had been modified with a bunk board behind the seats where the driver could lie down and rest.
Though space was still cramped, everyone managed to squeeze inside.
Tan Wenbin could no longer do math exercises, but he pulled out an English vocabulary booklet and began memorizing words.
Runsheng was deeply envious of the truck driver's occupation and sighed, "Must be nice, earning money while traveling the length and breadth of the country."
Zhu Yang gave two dry laughs and replied, "No matter how much of the country I see, I'm stuck sitting in this little cab. If it weren't for my wife and kids back home, I wouldn't gladly trap half my life in here."
Li Zhuiyuan noticed several thick books stacked beneath Zhu Yang's seat—mimeographed pirated copies. Apparently, he relied on these to pass the time.
In addition, Li Zhuiyuan saw two steel pipes and a knife.
In those days, such items were standard equipment for long-haul truckers.
As dusk approached, the truck entered a mountain road. But as they drove along, Zhu Yang felt something was wrong. He pulled over, climbed down, and cursed:
"Heartless bastards! A nail punctured the tire."
Tan Wenbin asked in confusion, "Did a nail fall from a vehicle ahead?"
Zhu Yang gave a cold snort, lit a cigarette, and pointed ahead. "Walk a bit further, and there'll probably be a repair shop right up the road."
Tan Wenbin's mind was sharp. Instead of saying "What good luck," he immediately cursed, "Shameless, isn't that?"
Zhu Yang sighed. "This already counts as the gentle approach."
Then he looked at Runsheng. "Come back me up. We'll put on a tough front and press the price down."
"Deal!" Runsheng said.
Zhu Yang led Runsheng forward to find the repair shop. Tan Wenbin stayed in the cab memorizing vocabulary, while Li Zhuiyuan and Xue Liangliang walked over to the roadside.
Below was a slope leading down to a river. Because the leaves had begun to wither and fall, their view was surprisingly clear.
Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help admiring, "The feng shui here is excellent."
A crouching dragon and perching phoenix, a place endowed with spiritual energy. In ancient times, this would have been an ideal spot to build a village or town, though with modern transportation, it felt rather out of the way.
Xue Liangliang's occupational hazard kicked in, and he nodded. "It really is a good spot. Perfect for a small hydroelectric power station."
Sure enough, there was a repair shop not far ahead. Soon Zhu Yang and Runsheng returned, accompanied by a middle-aged man and a young apprentice.
At first, Li Zhuiyuan thought Zhu Yang was putting on an act, as he was extraordinarily warm toward the repairman.
Gradually, however, Li Zhuiyuan realized he wasn't faking; Zhu Yang was genuinely pleased, because the man's quote wasn't outrageous at all—in fact, it was very reasonable.
At that price, even if the nail really had been scattered by this repairman, Zhu Yang would have had to praise him: "Well scattered!"
Finally, the puncture was patched. Zhu Yang tried to offer a pack of cigarettes, but the repairman declined, taking only the agreed-upon payment.
Still, the repairman murmured casually, "It's getting late, and there's less traffic on the road. Don't drive any further ahead. It's not peaceful up there."
Curious, Zhu Yang asked, "What do you mean?"
The repairman shook his head. "Hard to say."
Zhu Yang gathered his courage. "We have plenty of people. We'll be fine."
"They have shotguns."
Zhu Yang fell silent.
The repairman pointed down below. "Remember that small lane on your way here? Turn into it, and there's a village. Rest there for the night, and tomorrow when it's daylight and there are more vehicles, drive on."
Zhu Yang asked, "Is that where you live?"
"No, I live further ahead."
"This..."
"Sigh, believe it or not, it's up to you."
The repairman walked away with his apprentice.
Zhu Yang got into the truck and rummaged beneath the seat for his "weapons," but after hesitating, fear won out. Sticking his head out the window, he told the group:
"To be safe, let's back up a bit, rest for the night, and wait for daylight."
As they turned around to drive back, Tan Wenbin remarked, "I've heard my dad talk about things like this before, but I never imagined it would be this extreme."
Keeping an eye out for the small lane, Zhu Yang replied, "Actually, it's usually not this extreme. We just happen to have run into it. I took this job on my own this time and couldn't travel in a convoy."
Runsheng, on the other hand, was quite excited. "This is the jianghu!"
They found the small lane. Not long after driving down it, a small village appeared, numbering only a few dozen households, many with lights still on.
Zhu Yang said apologetically, "Bear with it and rest for the night, everyone. We'll set off at dawn, and tomorrow it'll just be one push on the gas to reach our destination."
He had no intention of entering the village or seeking lodging; he merely wanted to park near inhabited human dwellings to rest.
Parking along some desolate, godforsaken roadside would be truly dangerous.
Zhu Yang had dry rations in the truck, and Runsheng had some in his snakeskin bag. Everyone grabbed a bite and prepared to rest.
Li Zhuiyuan and Xue Liangliang slept in the cab, while Runsheng, Tan Wenbin, and Zhu Yang slept with the steel cables in the open truck bed, covering themselves with jackets and plastic sheeting.
Originally, Tan Wenbin could have slept in the cab as well, but declaring that he was a policeman's son, he insisted on staying outside to keep watch.
Li Zhuiyuan slept lightly and soon woke up, intending to relieve himself outside.
He opened the door and climbed down. The latter half of the night in the mountains was genuinely freezing, making him rub his arms instinctively.
Having had several past experiences where stepping out to pee at night led to trouble, Li Zhuiyuan was extremely cautious about getting up at night in unfamiliar surroundings. The moment he stepped down, he went to find Runsheng.
Runsheng was holding a steel pipe, his eyes wide open, wide awake.
Seeing him, Runsheng immediately rolled over, hopped down from the truck bed, and joined him.
Neither dared wander far, taking just a few steps. Runsheng loosened his belt; Li Zhuiyuan didn't need to, as he wore elastic-waist pants.
Once they finished, Runsheng even brought out a bottle of water and poured some for Li Zhuiyuan to wash his hands.
"Heh, filled it from the stream."
"Brother Runsheng, are you sleepy?"
"Not sleepy, no problem at all. I can just sleep in the truck during the day."
"Then I'll sit with you for a bit."
Climbing into the truck bed, the two sat back in the corner where Runsheng had been staying.
Tan Wenbin's snores were loud, sounding like a solo performance in the quiet night. After all, he was keeping up the grueling study pace of a senior high schooler while enduring the wear and tear of travel—how could he not be exhausted?
"Wait..."
Li Zhuiyuan's ears twitched. He heard no sound from Zhu Yang. Even if the man didn't snore, there ought to be breathing sounds at least, shouldn't there?
Getting up, he walked over to the corner where Zhu Yang had been sleeping, lifted the plastic sheeting, and found only a jacket underneath. The man was gone.
"Huh?" Runsheng was bewildered too. "Did he go take a crap?"
"Brother Runsheng, did you two talk earlier tonight?"
"No. I thought he was just sleeping there under the blanket and plastic sheeting the whole time."
"When did you officially start keeping watch?"
"After Binbin fell asleep and there was no one to talk to, I kept an eye on the surroundings by myself. Could he have gotten off while we were peeing just now?"
"He might have gotten off much earlier too."
"He wouldn't have gone into the village, would he? Thinking sleeping out here on the truck was too rough, so he went in to find a room?"
"Then why wouldn't he tell us?"
"Afraid he'd have to pay for our lodging?" Runsheng shook his head as soon as the words left his mouth. "He wouldn't do that."
Though they hadn't known Zhu Yang long, he was decent enough—for example, giving up the cab for Li Zhuiyuan and Brother Liang to sleep in while sleeping in the back himself.
Besides, most importantly, even if he wanted to lodge in the village, he wouldn't have had to pay; Brother Liang had consistently shown himself to be generous and knowing how to handle social situations.
They waited for a good while longer, but Zhu Yang still didn't return.
Li Zhuiyuan went to wake Tan Wenbin and Xue Liangliang, and they all gathered in the truck bed to discuss the situation.
Such a reaction was perhaps a bit jumpy and paranoid.
Fortunately, all four of them had experienced weird occurrences before, so none of them thought it was making a mountain out of a molehill.
"Should we go look for him?" Xue Liangliang suggested.
"No," Li Zhuiyuan rejected the idea flatly. "Until Zhu Yang returns, we'll take shifts in pairs and take turns napping. Let's make it to daylight first."
Everyone agreed.
Next was passing the time minute by minute. Finally, pale light broke on the horizon, and visibility improved considerably.
Yet their hearts grew heavier, because Zhu Yang still hadn't returned.
By the time the sun had truly risen and eight in the morning arrived, there was still no sign of Zhu Yang.
Even if he had gone into the village alone last night to find lodging, he should have returned by now.
How could a truck driver stray so far from his truck?
Tasting dry rations, Tan Wenbin said, puzzled, "Did this guy really go missing? Or is he confident none of us knows how to drive a truck?"
They continued waiting. When ten o'clock rolled around, they finally decided they had to do something. One way or another, they needed to search for him.
And the first place to look was undoubtedly the small village ahead.
"Has anyone noticed?" Li Zhuiyuan swept his gaze across the other three. "From this morning until now, not a single villager has passed in front of our truck."
There was only this one road leading out of the village to the main road, with mountains behind the village.
The truck was parked beside the road within sight of the village entrance.
Of course, one could argue that the villagers lived off the mountain and were completely self-sufficient, with little need to interact with the outside world.
Yet stacked on top of Zhu Yang's disappearance, this observation made all of them uneasy.
Li Zhuiyuan said, "Let's go. We'll head into the village together to look."
"Should someone stay to watch the truck?" Xue Liangliang asked.
Li Zhuiyuan shook his head. "No need. If the cargo or fuel gets stolen, so be it. If we find Zhu Yang, we can sort it out later; it's not our fault anyway. If we leave someone behind to watch the truck, what if that person vanishes too? Or what if the one left behind waits and waits and the searchers never return? Imagine how terrifying and anxious that would be."
Xue Liangliang and Tan Wenbin exchanged a look and nodded. Indeed, just imagining that scenario was chilling.
The four of them climbed down and walked toward the village.
Li Zhuiyuan felt the team was actually quite easy to lead; at least their thinking aligned.
Perhaps this was because he had spent so much time around Great-Grandpa—suddenly being paired with so many normal companions actually took some getting used to.
The villagers' houses weren't dilapidated, with obvious signs of living inhabitants, and when their truck drove in last night, they had clearly seen plenty of lights on. Yet as they walked in, not a single figure could be seen.
Tan Wenbin murmured, "Do people in this village all wake up this late? Sleeping in even in broad daylight?"
Xue Liangliang looked around. "Should we keep going in to check?"
Li Zhuiyuan stopped in his tracks and said, "No. Let's back up."
The others didn't ask why, following the boy back toward the village entrance.
Only when they reached the first house by the entrance did Li Zhuiyuan stop. "Brother Runsheng, go knock."
"Right!"
Runsheng stepped up to the door and knocked with his left hand.
Inside his right sleeve, he concealed a steel pipe.
Xue Liangliang and Tan Wenbin each carried a concealed knife and steel pipe as well. When getting off the truck, they had brought all of Zhu Yang's gear along.
Of course, before encountering any real danger, they couldn't brandish these weapons, or they'd look like bandits looting a home.
*Bang, bang, bang!*
He knocked for a long time, but no one answered.
Runsheng turned back and called out, "Xiaoyuan, looks like nobody's inside."
"Knock harder!"
"All right!"
Runsheng began banging hard on the door, rattling the boards loudly.
Still no reply from within, and no reaction from the neighbors either.
"Brother Runsheng, break it down!"
"Got it!"
*Crash!*
The door was kicked open by Runsheng.
Li Zhuiyuan and the others walked inside.
Such conduct was undeniably improper, but no one in the group accused Li Zhuiyuan of being overly paranoid.
If it truly turned out to be a misunderstanding, at worst they could pay compensation and apologize.
Unlike the outside, where items were still hung out to dry, the interior was thick with dust, looking completely abandoned for ages.
On the bed in the bedroom, there was a large patch of sticky residue.
Runsheng leaned in to sniff it and said with certainty, "Xiaoyuan, that smells like corpse fluid!"
Li Zhuiyuan trusted Runsheng's judgment. "Come on, let's open another house."
*Crash!*
The door to the second house was kicked open by Runsheng as well. Dust blanketed the room just the same. Bowls and chopsticks still sat on the dining table, holding food long turned moldy.
One could vaguely tell that the final meal had been noodles.
The bed in the bedroom didn't have that filthy residue, but after sniffing the air, Runsheng walked to a wardrobe and pulled open the door. Inside, across several shelves, lay congealed, solidified sludge.
"Still corpse fluid."
By now, Tan Wenbin and Xue Liangliang had drawn their weapons. There was no need for hesitation; what normal village had residue of corpse fluid in its homes?
"Brother Xiaoyuan, what do we do next? Keep opening more boxes?"
"No."
Li Zhuiyuan stepped out of the house, signaled the others to follow, and headed straight out of the village.
Xue Liangliang and the others caught up and asked in a low voice, "We're leaving just like that?"
"Yes."
"We're not looking for Zhu Yang?"
"Once we get out, we'll report it to the police."
"Oh, okay."
Li Zhuiyuan gave up decisively. He had no intention of continuing to explore this village; there was no need to take unnecessary risks before they were properly prepared.
However, when the four walked some distance out of the village, they were all dumbfounded.
The truck was gone!
Tan Wenbin said, "Could Zhu Yang have come back and driven off? We went looking for him, and he left without waiting for us?"
"No." Xue Liangliang crouched down and pointed ahead. "Not only is the truck gone, even the tire tracks have disappeared."
Tan Wenbin asked in confusion, "How could that be?"
Xue Liangliang stood up, brandishing his knife in his right hand and resting his left hand on his hip. "We're in deep trouble this time."
If cargo or diesel had been stolen from the truck, that would be normal. It wouldn't even be unthinkable if a thief who knew how to drive had hotwired the ignition and driven the truck away without keys.
The problem was, what thief would sweep the ground clean after stealing something? Who was that dedicated to their work?!
Li Zhuiyuan walked over to where he and Runsheng had relieved themselves the previous night. He remembered Runsheng had pissed a small hollow into the dirt, but now, that depression was nowhere to be seen.
"I think the truck probably wasn't stolen. It might still be where it was. The ones not in the 'original place' are the four of us."
When these words were spoken, the other three stared at each other in astonishment.
Xue Liangliang immediately followed the line of thought. "Then Zhu Yang didn't disappear after all?"
Li Zhuiyuan nodded. "It's possible that right now, Zhu Yang is searching for the four of us who went missing."
Xue Liangliang waved his hand. "That's too absurd, too bizarre."
"Brother Liang, however absurd it is, can it be more absurd than what you've experienced?"
"That..."
Tan Wenbin scraped the sole of his shoe against the dirt. "Then where on earth are we right now?"
"Brother Runsheng, the luopan."
Runsheng immediately took out the luopan and handed it to Xiaoyuan.
Holding the luopan, Li Zhuiyuan began observing the surrounding feng shui and atmospheric qi.
The result was... completely normal.
He checked again, but still found no anomaly.
"Brother Runsheng, support me for one minute."
"Understood."
Li Zhuiyuan closed his eyes, lightly covered his face with the luopan, and after a brief sway of his body, leaned against Runsheng.
Runsheng caught him, gripped Li Zhuiyuan's arm, and began counting the seconds in his mind.
Li Zhuiyuan walked the yin path.
The surroundings had not changed, except Xue Liangliang and the other two were gone.
Then Li Zhuiyuan heard a commotion coming from the village.
He turned and looked toward the village. He saw numerous silhouettes moving about, many gathering around those two houses at the entrance.
Voices shouted in fury:
"Who smashed my door? Who the hell smashed my door?!"
"My door was smashed too! Who did this?!"
Suddenly, a gust of yin wind blew past, chilling Li Zhuiyuan into a shiver. The people in the village instantly fell silent.
They were still there, having not vanished. But in the next moment, like figures in a silent film, the crowd turned in unison and began marching down this road toward the outside of the village.
A sharp pain struck—time was up. Runsheng was waking him.
Li Zhuiyuan opened his eyes and said without hesitation, "Run!"
With the truck gone, there was no luggage to carry. Without a second word, everyone followed the boy in a sprint.
Bursting out of the small lane and onto the main road, Li Zhuiyuan chose the direction they had come from and led them uphill.
All three realized the situation had turned dire. No one questioned him; they kept pace tightly, their weapons gripped firmly in hand.
It was fortunate that they didn't encounter any passing vehicles along the way; otherwise, any driver would have mistaken them for highway bandits.
"Keep running a bit further—don't stop!"
These words were aimed at Tan Wenbin and Xue Liangliang. Li Zhuiyuan had built up endurance through horse stance training and breathing cultivation, while Runsheng's physical constitution was absurdly robust to begin with. Tan Wenbin and Xue Liangliang, on the other hand, leaned closer to typical, out-of-shape college students.
A short burst of speed was fine, but in a long-distance run, they quickly became breathless.
Li Zhuiyuan urged them to persevere because, according to past experience, such uncanny phenomena usually operated within a defined boundary—just like at Zheng Haiyang's home, where stepping outside the courtyard meant safety.
This time, they should only need to per—
Li Zhuiyuan halted. Runsheng stopped as well.
Xue Liangliang and Tan Wenbin bent double, gasping for breath.
"Brother Xiaoyuan, did we make it out?"
"Xiaoyuan, are we safe?"
Receiving no immediate answer, the two looked up on their own, only to see the very same lane they had just escaped from.
Even though they had run so long in the direction they had come from, they had wound up right back where they started.
Li Zhuiyuan turned around. "Let's try running in this direction."
As he said this, the boy lacked conviction, seemingly having already foreseen the outcome.
The others felt the same. As they ran, everyone was subdued, and this time their pace was slightly slower, drained of the desperate urge to escape danger swiftly.
In the end, running from the opposite direction, they returned once more to that same lane entrance.
"Down the slope!"
Since the road wouldn't lead them out, they would head down the hillside.
Going down the slope was dangerous and steep. Clinging to tree trunks, they shifted downward step by step.
Li Zhuiyuan kept his eyes fixed on the river below. Yet their clear view from the road had only existed because they were looking down from high ground; once they actually stepped into the woods, their line of sight was obstructed.
When Li Zhuiyuan parted the dead branches and withered leaves in front of him, he discovered they had ended up right back on the small lane.
Ahead was the clearing where they had parked their truck last night, and a short distance further uphill lay the village.
Tan Wenbin collapsed to the ground.
Xue Liangliang managed only a couple more stumbling steps before sinking onto his knees. Swallowing hard, he asked, "Xiaoyuan, is this a ghost wall?"
"More or less. It should count as a kind of miasma. Let's take a rest, everyone."
The four sat down on the ground.
Before long, the sky grew overcast, threatening rain.
Left with no choice, they pulled themselves up. Entering the village was out of the question, so they sought shelter beneath a large tree to keep from getting soaked to the bone if rain poured down suddenly.
At this moment, Tan Wenbin actually managed to fish an exercise book and a pen out of his trousers pocket.
Sitting with his back against the tree, he laid the booklet across his lap and genuinely began doing math problems.
The sight made everyone chuckle, and even Tan Wenbin himself cracked a smile.
In truth, doing homework was just an excuse; his real purpose was to lighten the gloomy mood.
Xue Liangliang said with a touch of helplessness, "I feel like I've passed my bad luck on to you guys. Xiaoyuan, every time you're with me, my bad luck drags you into trouble."
"Brother Liang, don't say that. You'll make me blush."
Judging by past frequency, it was really hard to say who was dragging whom into trouble.
Li Zhuiyuan wondered if it was his own fault—after the dead-flippers around his home village flared up and then quieted down, now that he was traveling far from home, had he begun drawing them in again?
Tan Wenbin yawned and said, "Looks like the old folks were right about checking the almanac before traveling. If I'd known, I would've bathed, burned incense, and calculated an auspicious date before setting out."
Runsheng lit a stick of incense and planted it into the soil in front of him.
Tan Wenbin couldn't resist rolling his eyes. "What good is burning incense now?"
The dark clouds grew heavier, the moisture in the air thickening until rain seemed imminent.
Li Zhuiyuan, who had been brooding over how to break out, looked up and froze instantly.
Across Xue Liangliang's face lay a texture like waterlogged, rotting wood. Even though Li Zhuiyuan didn't normally read the physiognomy of those close to him, this facial omen was so blatant it was practically a gimme question on a test. While not the exact same thing, it was close to the catchphrase street fortune tellers loved to use: "I see darkness over your forehead!"
This was a sign of being plagued by foul luck, fortune hitting rock bottom, disasters striking in relentless succession. Typically, only dying people on their sickbeds bore such a face, because for them, any tiny accident or blow could snuff out their life flame.
Li Zhuiyuan immediately looked toward Runsheng and Tan Wenbin, finding that both of them were the exact same.
Then wouldn't I be the same?
The four of them had traveled together as one body; if rotten luck struck, they would surely share it.
Reaching out, he picked up the knife Xue Liangliang had set in front of him and used the blade as a mirror to inspect his own face.
At once, a violent wave of nausea surged through him.
Though he wasn't calculating his own destiny and the omen was clear and obvious, reading one's own physiognomy was taboo.
Above all, the boy had already internalized what he had learned into second nature. Even if he only meant to take a casual glance, his mind had automatically spun into full operation—just as anyone seeing "one plus one" would calculate the answer without thinking.
Casting the knife aside, Li Zhuiyuan closed his eyes, easing his dizziness and nausea.
Once he recovered, Li Zhuiyuan opened his eyes, deep confusion and suspicion filling his gaze.
For he had discovered that his own physiognomy was completely normal—utterly unlike his three companions, whose oil was burnt dry and whose lamps were guttering out.
"Brothers, I have a very serious question to ask you."
All three raised their heads, looking at the boy and waiting for his question.
"On the way here... did you three secretly do something together behind my back?"
Chapter 58