Chapter 5: The Observer and the Hunted

 

It was a call from Maiduo's store. Peng Ye answered, terse: "Hello?"

"Beep...beep..." The line went dead.

He tried to call back; the line was busy. He pocketed the phone, his brow furrowed.

---

Cheng Jia, impatient, slammed the receiver down. After a few seconds, she redialed, only to find the line engaged.

"How much?" she asked the girl.

The salesgirl waved a hand. "The call didn't connect, no charge."

Cheng Jia wordlessly leaned against the door, lighting a cigarette. The girl watched her with open curiosity, but when her eyes met Cheng Jia's cool, indifferent gaze, she stuck out her tongue sheepishly and turned away, smiling.

"Do you sell cigarettes here?" Cheng Jia asked. Her Marlboros were dwindling, and supplies here were meager.

"For sale," the girl replied, pointing to the glass cabinet.

Cheng Jia pushed the Marlboro pack forward. "Do you have this kind?"

"No, but look at these." The girl enthusiastically pointed out the local brands. Cheng Jia watched, silent, unimpressed. The girl's chatter soon faded.

Cheng Jia's eyes rested on a pack. Just as her finger neared the glass, she spotted a smudge of ash and pulled her hand back. "How much is Yuxi?"

"Soft 20, hard 30."

"How does it taste?"

"Hmm... very strong."

Cheng Jia looked up, meeting the girl's eyes. "Have you smoked?"

"...No... I heard it from someone." The girl rubbed her head, a contented smile on her face.

"Oh." Cheng Jia returned to staring at the indifferent cigarettes. Just as the girl reached to lock the cabinet, Cheng Jia spoke: "Give me a pack."

"Yuxi?"

"Mmm."

"Soft or hard?"

"Hard." Cheng Jia's mouth curved into a silent, private smile.

The girl, bewildered by the sudden shift in mood, pulled out the cigarettes, wiped the dust off, and handed them over. Cheng Jia pocketed the pack and stepped aside as a customer entered. Leaning against the doorframe, she watched the townspeople flow past.

She inhaled a light puff of smoke, her mind drifting to last night. The latter half of the night had been sleepless, punctuated near dawn by a hazy, lustful dream about the man with the bronze skin and black eyes. His fingertips were rough, and their imagined friction against her skin had caused a rhythmic throb in her chest.

She woke feeling relaxed, the exhaustion of her travels gone, like a junkie's fleeting high.

The heat on her fingers brought her back. The cigarette was done. She tossed the butt and ground it beneath her toe, pressing harder and harder until it was a flattened dent in the dirt.

That man is quite interesting, Cheng Jia mused.

The store was empty again. Cheng Jia turned and found the girl watching her. When caught, Maiduo grinned openly, unabashed.

Cheng Jia sighed gently. She pointed to the shop sign. "Your name is Maiduo?"

"Yes, Maiduo."

"Mmm... nice name."

"Hey, everyone says so!" Maiduo smiled broadly.

Cheng Jia merely raised an eyebrow.

"What's yours?" Maiduo countered.

Cheng Jia looked her straight in the eye. "Guess."

Maiduo was speechless.

"How old are you?" Cheng Jia pressed.

"Twenty. You?"

"Older than you."

"..."

"How's business here?" Cheng Jia asked.

"Good. I earn enough to live." Maiduo's smile was pure happiness.

Cheng Jia nodded silently, studying that simple, profound contentment. "Can I take your picture?"

Maiduo covered her mouth, a little shy, but happily agreed. Cheng Jia snapped several photos.

"Are you traveling for fun?" Maiduo asked.

"I guess so."

"Wow!" Maiduo's eyes sparkled. "I'm so happy for you."

Cheng Jia gave yet another silent nod. "I'll try calling again."

She redialed, but this time, the number gave the dead tone of no service. "Do you know a car rental place?" she asked.

"Yes, turn right ahead."

"Okay, goodbye." Cheng Jia gave a casual wave and turned. She walked a few steps, then paused, turning back. "I'll send you the photos after I develop them. And the grandma in the house in front."

"Okay, thank you!"

---

Maiduo was happily restocking shelves when a cheerful shout came from outside: "Little Maiduo!"

It was Sixteen and the patrol team. Maiduo ran over, thrilled. "Brother Sixteen! Brother Pengye! You haven't been here in ages."

"Miss us?" Sixteen teased.

"Yes!" Maiduo's eyes curved into crescents.

"We missed you too," Sixteen said, nudging Nima. "Someone missed you especially much." Nima stiffened, furious, but Maiduo hadn't caught the end of the sentence.

Shitou handed Maiduo a supply list—from small necessities like cookies and chili sauce to massive items like basins and rice cookers.

"Are you heading back to the protection station?" Maiduo asked.

"Yep."

"Ouch." Maiduo straightened suddenly, knocking her head on a hanging frying pan. "There was a woman heading your way just now. She rented a car. Maybe you can catch her."

Sixteen looked at Peng Ye. "Could that be the photographer HQ asked us to assist? But why would she detour through Qiangtang?"

Peng Ye asked Maiduo, his voice flat. "What did she look like?"

"She's so pretty, taller than Brother Shitou, and her face is as white as the snow on the mountaintop. Oh, and she smokes."

Peng Ye's mind went instantly to the "family planning supplies dealer."

Shitou quickly asked, "What was she wearing?"

"A black jacket. She seemed bored, just stood here and talked for a while."

"What did she say? What was her temper like?"

"She didn't talk much, but she seemed nice."

Shitou breathed a loud sigh of relief. "Phew. That's not the woman we met."

"Who did you meet?"

"Don't even mention it. A Yaksha," Shitou insisted. "A female Yaksha."

Peng Ye felt the need to correct him. "Not a woman. A female demon."

Maiduo, looking up from counting goods, noticed Nima. "Ni Ma, what are you doing hiding back there?"

Nima, whose eyes had been following Maiduo constantly while she was busy, suddenly looked aloof. "Oh, just texting," he lied smoothly.

"Sending a message to your girlfriend?" Peng Ye asked, a rare hint of humor in his voice.

Nima was instantly flustered. "Ah?!"

"Ni Ma, do you have a girlfriend?" Maiduo asked.

Nima stammered, his ears flushing crimson. "No! Brother Qi's just messing with me! I don't have a girlfriend! Where would I find one?"

Sixteen poured fuel on the fire. "Maiduo, you don't know, but girls who like Sangyang chase him all the way to the station!"

Nima kicked him. "Stop talking nonsense! It's not true!"

Maiduo only giggled. "How could there not be? You're so nice, of course lots of girls like you." Nima’s face went scarlet, and he fell silent.

The men finished loading the supplies. After only a dozen minutes—the longest stop they'd made in three months—they were ready to leave. Nima lingered at the edge of the group, watching Maiduo, his eyes growing redder.

As they began to walk, he suddenly broke away, running back to the counter. Without a word, he shoved a small paper bag into Maiduo's hand and fled. Maiduo opened it: dried Rhodiola rosea and a plastic hairpin.

Nima reached his brothers, panting, eyes still burning red. Peng Ye said nothing, just rubbed his head, pulling him close by the shoulder. Sixteen and Shitou followed suit, reaching up to affectionately rub the top of the younger man's head.

Cheng Jia followed a winding, narrow alley until she found what was unmistakably a car repair shop.

A thin, wiry man was sitting outside, spitting out melon seeds. The shop was small, the walls dark and greasy, full of rusted tools.

"Do you rent cars here?" Cheng Jia asked.

The man raised a skeptical eyelid. "Rent. Where are you going?"

"Hoh Xil, Dajie Conservation Station."

"Tough road." The man stood, radiating an air of impending hardship. "But you're lucky. I've got a car. Rental is 1,000 yuan, 30,000 deposit. Great value. This car will smooth out any road."

Cheng Jia was completely unfazed. "It's a dirt roller."

"I like your humor," the man said, leading her to the back. "Listen, out in the no-man's land, you'll hit storms, sandstorms, ice. If you don't have a good car, you're stranded. Mine is the absolute best."

He pointed to a tattered red jeep with a missing rear window.

Cheng Jia gave him a cool look. "Boss, you're saying the exact opposite of what I see."

The man stammered. "The rental fee is 500, deposit 5,000."

"Don't lowball me! Amateurs like you only look at looks. Superficial! This car has great tires, high chassis, four-wheel drive... Look, I like you. Twenty thousand total. No less."

"What brand is this?" Cheng Jia asked. "I'm unfamiliar."

"Beijing brand! The best jeep in China! No other jeep dares to use the name 'Beijing'!" The man spat. "Who drives these? Leaders! High-ranking officials! This car could easily climb Mount Tai."

"Mount Tai?" Cheng Jia asked innocently.

The man stiffened. He realized he'd met an expert. "Alright. Fifteen thousand, no less. And the deposit is refundable."

"If the car breaks down, you can't refund the deposit."

"...Uh, it won't break. It can't break."

"If I remember correctly, this is a 2020 model. I drove one seven or eight years ago," Cheng Jia observed. She walked around the wreck. "Tires replaced, headlights replaced, throttle repaired... 5,500 is too high."

The man looked defeated. "Should I just give it to you?"

---

Cheng Jia chose the jeep anyway. She had no other option. Besides, her first outdoor photography trip in Africa had been in this same model. This car would accompany her on her final, desperate journey before being scrapped—a worthy end.

Stepping out of the shop, the vague feeling of discomfort she’d dismissed earlier solidified: she was being followed.

She paused at a stall selling ox-bone combs, glancing back, but saw no one suspicious. She bought a comb, walked a few dozen meters, and slipped into a nearby alley lined with tea shops.

She quickly entered a shop, sat by a low window, and pulled down her hat brim.

Soon, she heard the sound of steady, rapid footsteps.

Through the brim of her hat, Cheng Jia watched the follower. He was tall, his figure easily recognizable as he stopped, searching the crowded alley for her.

The air was thick with the aroma of milk tea and ghee.

Cheng Jia waited a few seconds, then called out to his back, her voice clear and precise: "Hey!"

He turned sharply. She lifted the chopsticks in her hand, her eyes locked on his. "Are you looking for me?"

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