Ye Liuxi strode straight into the tent. Li Jiniao clutched the cloth bag containing the paper shadow insects, huddled in the corner, waiting for her. Ye Liuxi first wrapped the lampshade in a plastic shell, adjusted the light to brightness, then rotated the direction of the illumination—aiming it at the mid-to-high section of the side tent fabric. Originally, a bonfire had been lit outside, but the commotion had scattered the flames, leaving little light. Inside, the light grew ever brighter, and Ye Liuxi’s silhouette became clearly visible on the side fabric. As the moment approached, she crouched down, pretending to tie her shoelaces, and remained seated—Li Jiniao then released the insects at the right time. The insects flew low, following the curve of Ye Liuxi’s body upward. Ye Liuxi observed Li Jiniao’s gestures and swiftly moved, rolling to the dimmer side of the tent. The insects lifted her up, and from inside, the scene seemed a little odd, yet the shadow cast appeared to be a different effect altogether. Outside the tent, the commander of the Yulin Guard glanced at Ye Liuxi's clearly agitated figure and quietly breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled politely at Chang Dong, saying, "The things we've been asked to do from above—we can only follow orders; we may have to disappoint someone." Chang Dong smiled and replied, "I'll go in and talk to her." Before entering, he glanced at the time on his phone. Nine thirty. The commander watched Chang Dong enter the tent and called over the closest sentry, indicating the tent's location, "Keep a close eye on things—everyone else is fine, but Ye Liuxi and that leading man mustn't have any mishaps." The sentry looked toward the tent and just happened to catch sight of Chang Dong and Ye Liuxi standing face to face, as if speaking. As they talked, Ye Liuxi's demeanor grew increasingly agitated, and he pushed Chang Dong gently. "Oh," said the sentry, "they're having a row now." The commander of the Feathers also glanced over: "Indeed, that woman wasn't happy back then—she even slammed the car door. She's quite temperamental." He patted the shoulder of the sentry. "I'll go check out the spot where the frontline shield net went down. You take charge here." The sentry nodded and stood his ground, initially scanning the surroundings warily. After a while, however, his gaze seemed almost glued to the tent. That woman's figure was truly impressive—well-proportioned, with a graceful curve from front to back, and an exceptionally slender waist. Yet, neither of them seemed embarrassed—both had already reached out and embraced each other. The sentry smiled with quiet satisfaction, eyes shining with excitement, thinking to himself that if only they'd kissed it would have been even better. Just moments ago, the woman's stiff demeanor had disrupted the flow of the scene, and now, here they were, making up for it. Chang Dong was so embarrassed his forehead was sweating. With them so close, he couldn’t make out the formation of the scouts—only that they buzzed around like flying insects. He felt ordered about from one end to the other, as if he were a shadow puppet being manipulated on stage, and his movements were even more clumsy than he’d expected. In the corner, Ye Liuxi was holding back laughter until her stomach ached. Seeing Chang Dong smile, he suddenly felt relieved. If this were her last memory, at least, she was smiling. A sharp tearing sound came from the tent flap beside Ye Liuxi, where a blade from outside had cut through. Soon, Ah He came in with a look of urgency, giving a “good” gesture. This meant there were no fixed sentries outside, and the mobile patrols had passed—safe for now, they could proceed. Ye Liuxi turned to Chang Dong and said, “Chang Dong, I’ll go first.” She reached out to steady the tear in the tent flap. Chang Dong's body went stiff; blood surged to his face, and for a moment he forgot he was performing. Without thinking, he took a large step forward, knelt down, and tightly embraced her from behind. He knew she was intelligent, so in her presence these past two days he had been especially restrained—speaking and acting as always, trying not to reveal a single emotion. Yet even at this final moment, he couldn’t hold back. There were so many things he wanted to say, but time wouldn’t wait. Ahuo was waiting, and Fei Tang and Ding Liu too, and Li Jiniao was still playing his game. Eyes were fixed outside the tent, watching. It was almost ten. At ten, Liu Guang would guide him. He took the blanket from beside him, shielding the tear in it, and finally checked the time on his phone. The digits had just jumped from 21:59 to 22:00. Chang Dong stood up. Li Jinao was still immersed in his own task, his eyes fixed on the small figure, his gestures shifting constantly: the shadow play, the sound relying on the suona flute, the silent drama relying on hand signals—all required technical skill. To avoid being booed by the audience, the technique had to be flawless. Chang Dong called out, "Li Jinao." Li Jinao jumped, "Ah?" Chang Dong said, "I've counted the number of figures moving outside the net and the number of figures killed—everything matches. Right now, outside, it should be relatively safe. From now on, I won't be able to attend to you. Take your supplies with you, manage your own pace, and whenever you see an opportunity, escape with Ah He. Thank you." With that, he pulled the curtain open and stepped out. A faint glow shimmered on the ground ahead, winding and flowing, pausing and then moving again, as if waiting for him. Ahuo came toward him, holding her stomach, looking as though she had eaten something off-putting and had to rush to the restroom frequently. As she passed by Chang Dong, she gently tapped him with her elbow. Chang Dong smiled. Everything went smoothly; Liu Xi had already left. After walking a few steps, he turned back and looked at the tent again. There, Liu Xi’s silhouette was slowly settling down, brushing her hair with her hands, the long strands gently flowing out. Li Jinao’s shadow puppetry was truly lifelike—had it been performed on the Hui Street in Xi’an, the audience would surely have been packed so tightly they’d have broken through the doors, and Xiao He would probably have woken up laughing. Yet, he probably wouldn’t be returning now. … Liu Guang led the way straight to the tent in the corner, swaying gently in the wind, the tent shaking slightly. Inside, no light was on, and there was no sentry outside—making it all the more quiet and eerie. Chang Dong remembered that when the camp was in full chaos and everyone was bustling, this tent had always remained calm, like an observer from the sidelines. Long Z The stream of light advanced, slowly climbing up the tent fabric, reaching the roof, and finally gathering into clusters, like small bulbs blossoming at the apex, one by one illuminating every corner of the tent. Inside the tent, no one was there. — After stepping out of the fireline net, Ye Liu had been running steadily deeper into the pile of bodies and terraces. She had run too hard, and the arrows in her legs ached faintly. After some distance, she spotted a tall, sturdy terrace and leapt up, springing several times to reach the summit, then scanned the landscape around her. Fei Tang and the others would drive, not straying far—according to their agreement, their headlights would blaze brightly, circling steadily in the vicinity so that she could quickly locate them, approach, and board the vehicle promptly. Once on board, she would immediately release the small hunters to follow closely—she need not worry about the cavalry following her, for even at high speed, no vehicle within the region could match the off-road performance of Changdong’s vehicles, especially since only her own could breach the pass. There they were—two vehicles, weaving in and out in the distance. The wind and sand scattered the sounds of the engines so that even the headlights appeared hazy. Ye Liuxi exhaled, relaxed, and was about to step down from the earthen platform when a woman’s voice suddenly came from behind: “Ye Liuxi.” "As soon as she spoke, she realized her question was redundant—Dragon Zhi's appearance, especially at this time and place, clearly signaled that the plan had been compromised. Dragon Zhi smiled, "Chang Dong is quite sharp, but no matter how well-prepared the plan, it can't withstand the presence of a traitor among his own people." A traitor? Ah Hu? Or Li Jin'ao? Ye Liuxi's heart raced—both of these people had been with Chang Dong all along. "Who?" Dragon Zhi raised her index finger to her lips, softly exhaled, and glanced toward the two vehicles that were now wildly circling aimlessly nearby.—"Just look." ——This was the third time Fei Tang had made a complete about-face. The feathered guards on the vehicle behind had finally lost patience; as they passed by, someone stuck his head out and shouted, "You're just wandering aimlessly—how many times have you turned around now?" Fei Tang shouted back, "I'm doing this for a reason—just follow me!" "After letting out that roar, I felt absolutely great—then I slammed the accelerator down. Turning to see Ding Liu still crying, I asked, 'Little Liu, are you serious? You're still crying?' Ding Liu replied, 'You have no idea what I'm going through—I'm just so deeply immersed in this scene that I can't stop. Oh my goodness, I'm crying so hard my nose is running!...' Since there wasn't a tissue nearby, Ding Liu kept wiping her nose continuously and then reached out to wipe her tears off her palms. Suddenly remembering something, she said, 'Hey, Fat Tang, slow down a bit—let me go check on Gao Shen. Dong said he placed a booklet on his person and asked me to give it to Xi Sister.' Fat Tang slightly eased the gas pedal: 'Go on, hurry over there and check on Old Gao—don't let him feel stuffy.' Ding Liu spat at him, wobbled to her feet, and staggered half-walking, half-crawling into the back compartment. When everyone’s posture was all out of whack, she and Dongge had to hold each other up, cradling Gao Shen into the vehicle. Fei Tang was constantly worried about being searched, so he covered Gao Shen tightly with a blanket. Ding Liu silently murmured “Amitabha Buddha” over and over in her heart, fearing that the constant shifting and moving would somehow injure Gao Shen. She lifted the blanket. With the limited space inside the vehicle and Gao Shen’s long arms and legs, the undamaged limbs had to be folded or curled as much as possible—she pried her arms away from Gao Shen’s chest and searched him over, only to be baffled: “Nothing’s missing.” Fei Tang said, “Let’s check his pockets again—maybe we missed something.” Ding Liu sighed impatiently: “Are you crazy? That’s a thick, sturdy volume—how could I have missed it? It’s not just a piece of paper. I wouldn’t have overlooked it.” "Honestly, I can't find it. She groans again and climbs back to the passenger seat: 'Is my brother Dong getting older? Is his memory failing? It's not even missing—wait, what's on my hands?' She lifts her palm and brings it close to the light inside the car. A faint red, delicate, like plum blossoms—probably smudged there. She sniffs—it's slightly salty, which makes sense, since she'd just wiped her hands with tears... Where did she smudge it? Didn't she just lift the blanket, grab Dong's arm, and then reach across to his body? Ding Liu's heart suddenly leaps. She remembers that on Dong's arm, there was a cluster of slender plum blossoms, the color of the petals exactly matching the one she'd smudged on her hand. But that pattern had been there for years—how could it have faded? Could it be...? Ding Liu's lips instantly lose all color, her voice trembling: 'Fatty... Fatty Tang?' Fatty Tang is busy making random detours: 'Huh?' Ding Liu’s scalp tingled with shock; she didn’t dare disturb the vehicle behind, her voice barely a whisper: “This person… this one is so profound—she’s faking it. It’s all a pretense.” The wind from the broken window rushed in, filling the cabin with a noisy chaos. Fei Tang couldn’t hear her, shouting over the din: “What did you say?” As Ding Liu stepped closer to him, ready to speak, she suddenly screamed. She saw two large hands suddenly extend from the back seat, gripping Fei Tang’s neck tightly and lifting him upward—on Fei Tang’s arm, the tattoo was completely smudged! Fei Tang, caught off guard, struggled, kicking and thrashing wildly, and the vehicle suddenly lost control, slamming into the adjacent earthen platform— —Ye Liuxi watched the off-road vehicle collide with the platform, feeling as though her cranial cavity had been upended. The wind and sand rushed in fiercely, seeping through the cold, penetrating all the way to her chest. She fixed her gaze on Long Zhi. Long Zhi chuckled: “You all know each other well. Just a few words and a few gestures, and But for those severely injured and unconscious, it's different—just make their appearance and features look authentic, and having them lie still is sufficient. They don't need to open their eyes or speak, yet they still catch every word and sound. Isn't such an insider truly impressive?