The gray-eight team had long since vanished, leaving only shovels and picks behind—each group carrying sacks, as if expecting to find a fortune in gold and silver waiting for them to collect. Simon’s gear was also all in place, with two reflectors alone already in use; the models’ makeup was so heavy that their features were barely visible—Lei Liuxi couldn’t tell which one was Qiao Meina anymore. Meng Jinggu still kept saying, “Absolutely stunning,” while giving her usual compliments. One model scowled and replied, “You’re so terrible.” It seemed the non-ferrous metals would gain even more luster. Chang Dong finished checking the vehicle, tossed the tool kit into the back compartment, and casually closed the rear door, then called out to Lei Liuxi, “You can get in now—we’re….” Lei Liuxi suddenly sighed. Following her gaze, Chang Dong noticed: Fat Tang’s car had returned—arriving at an angle, having braked sharply, the passengers nearly tumbling out of the doors, staggering toward them. Chang Dong stepped beside Lei Liuxi, puzzled as to how even a simple turn-around could go so wrong for Fat Tang. Ye Liuxi said, "If you can't shake it off, how many times have you tried now? I tell you, if you can't shake it off three times, then you'll never be able to shake it off—try to fall in love with him, then." As he spoke, Fei Tang had already reached him, pale and with bluish lips: "Dong... Dong-gong... I can't find my way. The flags... the markers... they're all gone." Chang Dong guessed: "Last night the wind was so strong, maybe it blew them away." Fei Tang stammered: "No, it's not just that. The wheel tracks... the tracks are strange too." — Fei Tang remembered clearly: when he had entered the previous night, although the path had been winding, there had been no way back. Today, when driving out, he saw many sharp bends—clearly meant to go forward—but the tracks twisted, turning around a mound of earth, then going back. After several such turns, Fei Tang shivered and realized he was circling back. Even more frightening, by the end, the two tracks disappeared altogether before reaching a certain Yadan mound. Fei Tang stepped down with a brave heart, only to notice something unusual: typically, when vehicles approached a mound ahead, they would leave a gap between their tracks and the edge of the mound. But these two sets of tracks were perfectly straight and uninterrupted—seeming as though the wheels had pressed directly *into* the mound, or as if the vehicles had suddenly been swallowed whole by it. "Then turned to call out to Ye Liuxi: 'Come over, there's something I need to say.' Ye Liuxi followed him to the other side of the vehicle. Chang Dong paused, thinking it over, and decided she wouldn't need to worry about being nervous: 'This morning I checked the GPS and satellite phone—neither of them could pick up a signal.' Ye Liuxi nodded: 'Is that normal, or not?' 'Not normal. Afterward, I'll check the tire tracks and look for clues about Kong Yang. You stay here at the camp. With so many people around, someone needs to keep things steady.' Ye Liuxi replied: 'Alright.' Chang Dong had nothing more to say, so she turned to leave, only to add: 'Just be careful. If you die out here, I'll have no one reliable to discuss matters with.' Ye Liuxi lay on a canvas chair, the knife resting beside her, flipping through a fashion magazine she had just borrowed from the other side. Fei Tang suddenly stood up and walked toward her. When he reached her, he knelt down, his hands trembling as he grasped the edge of the chair: "Xī jiě." Ye Liuxi casually replied: "Anything?" "I actually wanted to steal something when I first sneaked into your car. I knew all along you had a mammalian-headed jade pendant—seen it on the surveillance footage. After arriving in Luo Bu, I kept thinking about making a move, but just never got the chance..." He slapped his own face hard: "I went blank. I shouldn’t have had such bad intentions." Ye Liuxi set the magazine aside: "Just get straight to the point." "Xī jiě, could you help me? I don’t want to die. This place… this place… it’s just… strange. Everything feels eerie. Something bad is bound to happen…" Ye Liuxi interrupted: "So it’s just that I’m supposed to protect you, is that it? Then what can you offer me?" "Fei Tang took a deep breath and swallowed a lump of saliva: 'Just say what you need, and I'll do whatever you ask. Treat me like a sidekick—whatever comes my way, I'll take it.' 'Why me? There are so many people here. In terms of personal connections, you know Chang Dong better, don't you?' 'I've looked at everyone. The Gray Eights are the most numerous, but they just show off—empty formalities. Meng Jingu is a solid man, but not particularly bright. The ones who truly count are you and Dong. I know Dong's capabilities well; I'm not so sure about yours. So I'm betting on you.' Ye Liuxi stared at Fei Tang. His neck was bulging with veins, and he was sweating profusely—nearly having a full-blown panic—yet he hadn't even taken time to plot a strategy. She smiled: 'Then, Fei Tang, let me give you a little guidance.' She gestured toward a few of the camps. 'With so many people here, if something goes wrong and we have to evacuate, we can only take one. I'd choose Chang Dong—not because I have a special bond with "If I have a seven-out-of-ten chance of survival, then with him joining me, it might rise to nine out of ten." "You said you'd rather be my sidekick—let me put it this way, not as an insult—when things are safe and stable, having a well-behaved pet dog is certainly ideal, one who always follows your wishes. But if things are turbulent and dangerous, wouldn't you rather have a wolf dog with sharp teeth and a strong presence at your side?" "Look at yourself—just a chicken without claws. What good are you to me? Ranked after Changdong, I'd pick Hui Ba—he's tough. After Hui Ba, I'd pick Meng Jin Gu—he's at least strong. Where do you fit in?" She reached out and gently patted the slightly swollen face of Fei Tang, who had been struck: "I also think something bad is going to happen here... perhaps you'll be the first one to go." Fei Tang's Adam's apple rolled, and his body went stiff. "But it's not all hopeless. To break through the wolf pack, you have to be fiercer than the wolves. If you don't want to die, you must keep growing your teeth—by then, you might not even need to follow me. In fact, I might have to go out of my way to win you over." —By late afternoon, filming for Simon's team concluded, and the four groups from Hui Ba returned one after another. Watching them return was like watching a play: their bags, once full, now hollowed out, came back just as empty. One group arrived with heads bowed, another with complaints. Only the group led by Huo Ya, heading west, though their bags were also empty, carried a subtle shift in expression. The members fell silent, as if turned into a group of mute gourds, entering the tent without a word. Chang Dong returned last—his vehicle arrived precisely at mealtime. At Hui Ba’s camp, the large pot was steaming with heat, while at Meng Jin Gu’s end, the city-style gas stove provided a more refined, quiet warmth. As for Ye Liuxi, she had no intention of cooking at all. She sat wrapped in Upon getting off the vehicle, he learned that Hai Ba had already come by, as usual, and that someone would be sent to bring dinner shortly. Chang Dong only needed a few sentences to explain his day to her: "I didn't make any significant discoveries. Fei Tang mentioned the tire tracks, which I also checked—he wasn't lying. However, there's one rather odd thing he failed to notice..." Previously, Chang Dong had assumed that the tracks left when he arrived were natural, simply following them would ensure he wouldn't go astray. Yet the reality was that after driving just over a kilometer outward, his tracks disappeared entirely. "Fei Tang probably didn't examine them closely—he thought all the tire impressions were similar. But my tires were specially customized and modified; their tread patterns differ. The tracks broke off abruptly after only a short distance, with no trace left behind at all. As for the curved tracks that remain, I feel they don't belong to any of the vehicles in this camp." In the shadows, someone suddenly trembled. Chang Dong noticed it was Fei Tang, hunched over, tucked against the backlit area of the camp's lights—he had initially thought it was a stone. He didn't bother to hide his irritation: "What are you doing, hiding there? Can't you just sit in a good spot? What if we lose you again—no one would even notice." FAT TANG said nothing, just standing there, as if he were completely at the mercy of anyone's scolding. YEFU LIUXI treated FAT TANG as if he didn't exist, and gestured toward GRAY EIGHT'S camp: "They should have a big haul today." "Did GRAY EIGHT tell you that?" YEFU LIUXI shook her head. She had asked GRAY EIGHT, and he had replied: "All for nothing—no ancient coin found at all today." Yet YEFU LIUXI knew GRAY EIGHT's temperament well. If he truly had come away empty-handed, he would have been cursing loudly enough to make the entire camp hear. Now, not only had he remained silent, but he seemed in a surprisingly good mood. Could it really be that he had no harvest at all? Moreover, when she asked what he had eaten today, he replied: "I'm having my first meat meal—carrot and lamb soup." Chang Dong smiled wistfully—by now, with Ye Liuxi, it seemed nothing could be resolved without a fight. "This isn't exactly satisfactory either," he said. But he hadn't a clear idea of what would be better. Instead, Fei Tang, after sitting quietly for a while, rose without a word, picked up his luggage, and headed back toward Gui Ba's tent. As soon as he reached the door, he was stopped by Gui Ba's people, whose voice, especially Huaya's, was the loudest: "Hey, you're still here! I thought you'd gone back home to hug your mom. What a coward you are—go on, get out of here!" The group burst into laughter. Chang Dong heard this and hesitated, wanting to call Fei Tang back, but Ye Liuxi waved him off: "No, let him be—each person has their own way of making it." Then Fei Tang shouted loudly: "What's the matter? Didn't I point the way for you all to come here? Ah? Are you afraid now? I'm just a guy who deals in antiques—I know how to recognize things, that's all. With my eyes, I can tell Huo Ya said nothing at all. After a while, someone inside must have spoken, and the tent flap rose, and Fei Tang was suddenly carried inside. —— Just as the night before, shortly after dinner, the wind blew up, and as soon as the wind started, everyone in the camp vanished—some went into the tent, others boarded the vehicles. Inside the vehicle, the space was cramped and unsuitable for carving the skin. Chang Dong used a notebook to pad out sheets of paper and carefully sketched with a fine-line pen. Ye Liuxi grew restless, still far from her usual bedtime, with nothing to occupy her but occasionally hitting Chang Dong. ——You're always carving, carving, carving. With all that time, couldn't you at least exercise? ——Don't you have any friends, Chang Dong? It makes sense—she's reserved and has unusual hobbies. ——One shadow puppet requires over three thousand cuts. Are you going blind already? When you grow old, you'll see nothing at all... Chang Dong said. Occasionally, when he glanced at her through the rearview mirror, she seemed utterly boring—now sitting cross-legged, now lying down. Eventually, she settled down and began drawing her eyeliner with a pencil. Once finished, she moved close to Chang Dong, brushed her hair aside, tilted her head to one side, and said, "Look." She had drawn a scorpion at the corner of her eye—delicate strokes, its claws raised high. As she blinked her lashes, the entire scorpion seemed to tremble gently, as if it were real. By habit, Chang Dong said without thinking, "The scorpion's tail has a hook—extend it a bit longer, and it'll look even better." "Really?" Ye Liuxi reached over and handed him the eyeliner pencil. "Hook it." Chang Dong took the pencil. It was liquid, and the brush tip was fully saturated with ink. To draw a clean line, he had to keep his hands steady—any tremor would leave a wavy, smudged trace. He lowered his head and saw her long lashes standing upright, moist and fresh. Suddenly, a tapping sound came from the window He shivered, his collar raised high, his face nearly buried in it: "Dong, today, Gray Eight and his companions—well, they didn't just dig. It seems they argued with each other—over a disagreement, they started fighting, each wielding a spade, and in the struggle, one lost his balance, and the spade cleaved right through a block of the yellowed, wind-eroded terraced land, revealing a dark, shadowy corner of a coffin inside!" Chang Dong vaguely made out that the painting depicted a map of travelers, each official wearing chains; some struggled forward, while others... had twisted and fallen to the ground.