Chapter 304: Epilogue

What followed was uneventful.

We were gasping for breath, looking at each other, feeling as if everything that had just happened was a dream. Fatty, his face deathly pale, urged us to hurry, not daring to stop for a moment. After that, I was basically in a daze, especially toward the end. I can only give a rough account of what happened.

We hardly paused at all, making our way back to the water channel exit we had come from. Choosing a direction, we began to search along the stone walls for another exit.

Six hours later, we entered another water channel opening. Enduring our hunger, the three of us simply kept our heads down and walked without saying a word, so as not to waste energy.

"Without food, relying on body fat, you can last one to two weeks. Only the first few days are hard," Fatty said. "I've been through this before—just endure it, and it'll be fine."

At first, I doubted whether we would ever make it out alive. At the same time, I suddenly understood why Third Uncle called this journey a "road of no return"—the distance was simply too long. The food one person could carry was nowhere near enough for the entire round trip; he had already foreseen the extreme hardship of the return journey.

Marching on an empty stomach through the channels, Fatty's plan was to get out within a day, but going upward was much more exhausting than going down. After two days of starvation, we couldn't take it anymore and started figuring out solutions. Edible things here were very limited: dried tree roots and bugs in the crevices. According to the survival manual, when you're in the wild without food and unsure what's safe to eat, bugs are the safest bet. So we started trying to catch some to eat. But even the bugs here were scarce and very tiny—more like snacks, barely enough to nibble on.

Poker-face had been in a daze the whole time. He got a little better later, but still couldn't remember anything. We told him what had happened several times, but he couldn't grasp it. Fortunately, we no longer needed to support him; he could follow us on his own.

We managed to survive another three days eating bugs, and finally saw live tree roots appearing on the shaft walls. Fatty judged that we must be very close to the surface. After wandering around, we found several vertical shafts leading upward. Fatty climbed up and discovered that it was the grove of pagodas we had passed when we first entered the rainforest.

The openings here were too small for us to squeeze through. So Fatty used a bullet to chip out a small hole, then performed a directional blast to crack the stones between several openings, allowing us to barely squeeze out.

Above ground, everything had changed completely. The water level in all the swamps had dropped to its lowest point, exposing mud and gnarled tree roots. The sun was blazing, and all the venomous snakes were underground—it should have been the safest time.

The rainforest was sunny, with birds singing and flowers fragrant—a scene that could easily create the illusion of a beautiful paradise, making one think it was a fairyland. But we knew that this brief tranquility was absolutely an illusion. The more peaceful it seemed, the less we could afford to rest.

We calculated the time; we absolutely couldn't get out of the canyon before dark. At most, we could reach the middle section of the canyon. If we encountered any obstacles, our three exhausted selves would surely suffer casualties.

All three of us had survived through countless hardships, and I really didn't want anyone else to die at this critical juncture. But now that things had come to this, there was no better option—just give it our all. Fortunately, the crested snakes in the canyon were not too numerous, and we could cover ourselves in mud. This stretch of the journey was entirely a matter of fate.

What followed was a long trek. There's no need to go into detail about that part—I really don't want to bring it up. We crawled and struggled through the mud, all of us wounded, with ticks crawling all over us but no time to deal with them. After nightfall, it was even more tense; at any sound, we immediately quickened our pace.

We took a day and a night to swiftly cross the canyon and return to the Gobi Desert. Sure enough, we saw Dingzhu Zhuoma and the others waiting outside. It felt like we had been reborn. As soon as Fatty left the canyon, he nearly fainted. And Dingzhu Zhuoma and the rest almost couldn't believe their eyes when they saw us.

Outside the canyon, we rested for three days. Everyone was dazed and exhausted. During those three days, I thought of nothing and had no worries. At the time, I felt that sleeping was the most important thing; everything else was rubbish. And for the first time, I truly felt a sense of relief, as if those mysteries, everything still unsolved, had nothing to do with me anymore.

Poker-face still showed no improvement. He would either huddle in the tent in a daze or lean against a rock staring at the sky. We all sighed, but there was nothing we could do. None of us had expected that after all his searching, this would be the outcome.

Panzi, however, was unexpectedly rescued by Zhaxi. He lay in another tent, sometimes conscious, sometimes unconscious. I didn't dare tell him about Third Uncle. Zhaxi said that Wenjin had told them a few things, and they knew how to avoid snakes. When the signal smoke went up earlier, they had also entered the camp to search. They found the camp in the jungle and discovered Panzi there.

I calculated the timing. It should have been the day after we went to catch Wenjin. I thought that if we could just get through that one night, we would have met Zhaxi, and things would have turned out completely differently. Unfortunately, that night had too many variables.

We rested for two more days, and then Zhaxi told us we should set out. According to his memory, we were now in the middle of a Devil's City ring. The Devil's City had strange mechanisms set up, so we would need precise navigation. Once we got out, there might be roads on either the east or west side; as long as we reached a road, we could call for help. At that moment, I really wanted to know what had happened to Third Uncle and Black Blind, but I had no energy left. Zhaxi said they might have come out through another entrance, or they might not have come out at all. But there was nothing more we could do now.

Without a vehicle, we had to walk. What we lacked most was manpower. The water had been brought by Third Uncle's large group; after they left, a lot remained, but we couldn't carry it all. Moreover, considering the long, drawn-out trek, the water we could carry wouldn't last until we found a road.

Fatty said, "Cut the food in half, abandon the tents, and use all the extra space to carry water. It's fine to eat less—without water, we can't last a few days."

So we did just that, carrying a large amount of water and setting off to cross the Gobi. The initial stage was inevitably tough, but it was a different level of hardship compared to trekking through the rainforest. Four days later, we walked out of the Devil's City. After another week, we finally reached a road and flagged down an SUV driven by some travel enthusiasts. Using a military vehicle's phone, we got in touch with Jude Kao's people. About thirty hours later, a convoy from A Ning's company arrived and rescued us. Everyone collapsed. Some cried tears of joy. What kind of journey this was—probably only those who experienced it truly knew.

On the way back, Fatty leaned against the car and suddenly started singing: "Climbing the high peaks, gazing at my hometown, the yellow sands stretch for miles. Where does the camel bell sound come from, each note striking my heart—"

His raspy voice actually sounded nice. Suddenly, I felt a surge of emotion and sadness. In

After returning to Golmud, I weighed the matter repeatedly and wrote an email to my Second Uncle, explaining everything from beginning to end. Half an hour later, Second Uncle called and told me he knew about it, that I must not tell anyone about this matter, and that I should not get involved anymore — he would handle it, and told me to return to Hangzhou immediately.

Naturally, I couldn't go back immediately — Fatty, Poker-face, and Panzi all had to stay in the hospital for a while.

Fatty was exhausted; after a few IV drips of nutrients, he recovered. Panzi was lucky to be alive. I told him about Third Uncle's situation, and he beat his chest and stamped his feet in anguish. I was completely drained myself and couldn't say much to him. He checked out of the hospital before fully recovering and returned to Changsha, saying he wanted to wait for news of Third Uncle. I told him to notify me immediately if he heard anything.

The worst was Poker-face. After being hospitalized, he had regained consciousness, but we discovered he couldn't remember anything. Excessive stimulation had left his mind very confused, and the doctor said he needed to rest quietly.

Originally he could remember only a little, but now he didn't even recognize who I was. This feeling was really devastating. Seeing him like that, I couldn't bear to look any longer.

I was the last one to return home. After taking a hot bath, I idly looked through the accumulated letters and suddenly discovered that one of them was actually sent by Third Uncle.

My heart stirred. I looked at the date and found there was no postmark. I immediately unfolded it and found it was a long letter.

Dear Nephew: By the time you read this letter, I may have disappeared without a trace, or I may already be dead.

I don't know if you have already learned the truth by now, but I know that no matter what, I owe you an explanation.

Now, I am about to do something. This matter is my destiny, and I cannot escape it. I feel this might be my last time. I have already destroyed my career for this. If I don't find the answer this time, then I would rather choose death.

The things you want to know, I have written below. You can read them slowly. You have probably always been very puzzled as to why I deceived you again and again. After you finish reading, you will understand — it's because I myself am a deception.

I am truly sorry, but no matter how you see me, you will always be my dear nephew. You must believe me — everything your Third Uncle did was actually to protect you. I never intended to harm you, nor did I ever intend any harm to your Wu family.

Perhaps I have actually become Wu Sansheng, or maybe this mask has been worn for too long and can no longer be taken off.

I am similarly sorry that in this letter I cannot explain all the details. What I want to say is that in this matter, everything that happened has an inevitable cause. And I, actually, am merely an accident. The mix-up at that time led to all of this, and by the time I was deeply entangled, there was no way to turn back.

Regarding the Xisha incident, there was actually an even bigger secret hidden beneath it, and the background of Wenjin and her team was far from simple. When I investigated them, I discovered that several of them had no background at all—no one knew where they came from or what they used to do. If you dig deeper, you'll find that there must be something concealed behind this expedition team; everything is unfathomably deep. So later, if you still find yourself caught up in this matter, you must look at what happened to me to understand the price that must be paid for pursuing this secret.

I would prefer that this matter ends here. Now that you know the truth, you can continue with your life—don't get entangled in it again. I know that when you look back over the whole affair, you'll still find a great many puzzles, but those no longer have anything to do with you.

Finally, as a parting word, remember this well—it was a saying left by your grandfather: "What is more terrifying than ghosts and gods is the human heart."

Then follows a very long account of the events described by your Third Uncle, from Dunhuang onward, which is almost identical to what Wenjin said. I read on silently, and after finishing it, I couldn't stop the tears from streaming down my face.