Chapter 81

The three words "Luochuan Town" were like a boomerang with strong wind, hitting Qiu Anxin hard.

She had also thought that the bats and crows that weighed on her heart and made her life dark and gloomy had long been asleep. But when the boomerang swept past, and the birds and beasts lurking in the darkness hummed and groaned, she suddenly realized that these beasts had been waiting in her heart for an opportunity to strike, deceiving her and many others.

Yes, she has said it many times, Ranlong is so smart.

It would be fine if he could deceive others, but why did he try to deceive her as well?

-

That day, Ran Long got drunk at the drinking party to test Qiu An. When he woke up the next day in a daze, he didn't care whether the person in the master bedroom was awake or not, or whether he was dressed or not, and he just banged on the door.

After a long while, Yuan Chengyin finally got up, rubbing his sleepy eyes and opening the door. When he saw Ranlong, he angrily said, "What are you making noise so early in the morning?"

Ranlong pulled her pajamas and yelled excitedly, "Luochuan Town! Is that Luochuan Town? The place where Qiu An was born?!"

"Hmm... that should be it. What then? What are you going to do?"

"Of course I'd go there! How could I understand her past better than actually visiting her?"

Yuan Chengyin frowned in confusion: "Are you really going?"

Ranlong was also taken aback by her question: "What do you mean? You finally found out about this place, why don't you go there?"

"Seriously, Qiu An finally escaped from that place..." Yuan Chengyin paused for a moment, as if choosing his words, "'Escape'. Is it safe for you to go there alone?"

Before Ranlong could retort, Yaoling's voice came lazily from the bed: "Who said she was going alone?"

Yuan Chengyin turned around and looked at her: "You want to go with her? No..."

"Why not? I've been to those places many times, and I know how to deal with the locals. Ranlong is determined to go, and nothing you say can stop her. You must be worried about her going alone, right? It just so happens that I can accompany her."

"But……"

"It's nothing to worry about. Don't worry. It's been so many years, and I know Luochuan Town well. It's not as backward as you think. At most, I can just hire another bodyguard. It's fine."

"Then I..."

"You shouldn't go. Someone should be left here to deal with Qiu An. If she can't see Ran Long, she might come looking for you."

“…”

Ranlong was a little surprised. Yuan Chengyin, who was always eloquent and fond of preaching, became tongue-tied when he met Yao Ling and couldn't even utter a complete sentence.

Maybe this is fate. How does that saying go?

There is one way to tie up a monkey.

Ranlong immediately asked Sister Hou for leave. She was anxious to leave and didn't want to delay even for a moment.

After all, every second of delay meant Qiu An would have to spend one more second in contact with Chang Yuqing, which was the last thing she wanted to see.

It goes without saying that Luochuan Town has no airport.

They could only fly there and then take a train. After checking online, they found that there were no flights to Zhilin with a suitable time, so they decided to transfer in Ducheng.

Ducheng is a really great place. It's not exactly in the center of the country, but it's well connected.

Like the name of this city, it may not be able to retain people, but it always brings people across time and time again.

Ranlong hurriedly took a taxi home, picked up two sets of clothes and rushed to the airport. She ran so fast that even the paparazzi couldn't catch up with her. She and Yaoling ran until they almost vomited before they finally caught up with the plane.

In fact, Luochuan Town is even more remote than Ranlong had imagined.

It’s not enough to transfer from a plane to a train, you also have to transfer from a bus to a coach.

Yao Ling did not lie to Yuan Chengyin. What she said was true. She had been to many similar places. She got on the bus that was filled with the smell of cigarettes, gasoline, leather and human body odor without even frowning.

Ranlong couldn't bear it anymore after stepping onto the first step. She hesitated for a while and pulled Yaoling down, discussing with her: "Why don't we rent a car and drive over? We are unfamiliar with the place, and having a car would make us feel more at ease."

Yao Ling saw through her immediately: "This is just the beginning. If you can't stand this, I advise you to go back."

"I won't go back. No matter how difficult the road is, I will go."

But they didn't get on the bus in the end. Ranlong was right; having a car was always more reassuring than having four frail legs.

What's more, no one can guarantee whether there are car rental companies at the destination.

The car climbed one slope after another, going up and down like a roller coaster.

Only then did Ranlong realize what "Luochuan Town" meant. It was something that had fallen on the river. It turned out to be the endless mountains in front of him.

They drove to places where there were roads but no navigation, explored places where there were navigation but no roads, and asked for directions until their mouths were dry.

We drove until the sun set. I forgot who said, "I should have followed the bus if I had known," but no one responded after that.

Maybe they missed the return bus because they took the wrong road, or maybe the round trip bus route was different, but they hadn't seen any bus since they left the bus station.

There was nothing beside the road except undeveloped mountains and forests, and occasionally a few desolate graves. Neither of them mentioned it tacitly.

As the sky grew darker, the atmosphere in the car became increasingly tense.

Yao Ling, who claimed to be experienced, also looked anxious at this time. She looked at her mobile phone for a while, and then leaned on the window to look.

Ranlong's palms were full of sweat, and the steering wheel was a little slippery when he held it.

A thin layer of sweat broke out on her back, and her clothes kept drying and getting wet again, and then getting wet again.

The car was a bit stuffy, but Ranlong didn't dare open the window. Yaoling's side did have a crack, and from time to time, through the crack, the whistling of the wind and the strange cries of birds could be heard. Just listening to it was like being in a horror movie. She didn't dare turn on the air conditioner either, for fear of running out of oil and ending her life here.

Not getting on that smelly bus was Ranlong's biggest regret at the moment.

"Oh no."

Yao Ling's voice suddenly rang out, frightening Ran Long so much that the muscles in his waist began to spasm uncontrollably. After finally stopping, he realized what two words she had said, and goose bumps appeared all over his body again.

Yao Ling lowered the car window and stuck half of his arm out of the window, not knowing what he was doing.

The cry of the strange bird poured in through the open car window, but no further words were heard from Yao Ling for a long time.

"What's wrong? What are you talking about? Don't scare me!"

"There's no signal, and I can't locate it."

The car shook as the driver became nervous. Yao Ling comforted her, "It's okay, don't stop. Keep driving forward. The terrain ahead is higher. You should be able to see the lights of the town when you get there. We're almost there, relax."

If Yao Ling hadn't reminded her, Ran Long wouldn't have noticed that she was clenching her teeth tightly.

There wasn't a single street light along the way, and the task of lighting gradually fell entirely on the car lights.

For some reason, the sky here darkened very quickly, and the distant sky was already dyed pure ink color.

It would be dangerous even if you were sitting on a bus on such a dark road.

Did Qiu An just sit like this again and again?

Ranlong repeatedly told himself not to be afraid, saying that the path he was walking was also the path Qiu An had walked before. However, it didn't seem to work, and his legs continued to tremble unconsciously.

Finally we climbed up the slope and looked into the distance. We could vaguely see a beam of light ahead.

Ranlong drove towards the street light at full speed as if she had been pardoned, but when she reached the street light, she had to stop.

The streetlight illuminates a fork in the road.

Tonight, the moon was hidden behind clouds. Two forking roads stretched forward, then abruptly ended just outside the light. Beyond that, it was another endless, confusing groping in the darkness. And this time, the probability of taking the wrong path suddenly increased to 50%.

The navigation failed and they couldn't tell the direction. What should they do? Will God bless them once?

Just when Ranlong was confused, Yaoling suddenly took out a physical map from his bag.

Ranlong was greatly surprised, and at the same time, he seemed to see the light of hope blazing again -

I'd only ever used physical maps in geography class in middle school. Anyone who could understand a map these days must be a seasoned wilderness explorer.

However, after studying the map for a long time, he finally came to the conclusion: "There is only one road on the map, and the two forks are currently pointing in different directions. We have to choose one first and then explore it to determine which direction it leads to and whether it is correct."

Ranlong's legs felt weak. Out of nowhere, in this desolate wilderness, there was a fork in the road that wasn't on the map. There was a 50% chance of error, and the road was so narrow it was difficult to turn around...

"Or... let's take a look..."

Yao Ling was still fiddling with the tattered map. Ran Long closed his eyes as if praying, imagining how he would determine which way home he would take if he were Qiu An...

She only wished that Joan hadn't walked such a path at night.

So...bus.

There is only one bus to Luochuan Town, and there is always a route that the bus often takes.

She hoped that the bus would not have the leisurely and elegant winding routes.

"Yao Ling, come with me to get out of the car and take a look."

"OK."

Turning on the light of her phone, she suppressed her fear. Ranlong opened the door and got out of the car. She searched along the way with trepidation, and finally she saw a clue -

A cake of cow dung that had been run over by a cart.

"Found it! Yao Ling——"

Ranlong looked up and shouted excitedly, but when he turned around, Yao Ling disappeared out of thin air.

"Yao Ling? Yao Ling!"

Ranlong was so frightened that she ran towards the car. She knew exactly why she was running: Yaoling was nowhere to be seen, so perhaps the car was still safe...

As I ran back to the car, I saw a blue head popping out from the back of the car: "What's wrong with you? Why are you yelling?"

Ranlong was so frightened that her legs went limp and she nearly fell to her knees. She angrily said, "Sister, you scared me to death! What are you doing opening the trunk for no reason?"

Yao Ling said, "I remember I brought a more detailed map of the area, but I think I accidentally put it in the box. I want to see if there is a more accurate route..."

"Looking for shit, I know the way, hurry up and get in the car!"

Ranlong didn't want to stay in the wilderness late at night any longer, so he jumped into the car, touched the steering wheel, and immediately had a sweat mark on his face when he took it off.

After choosing a direction and setting off, Yao Ling asked her, "Are you sure this is the way to go?"

"Yes, I saw the marks left by the bus wheels on the cow dung."

"Are you sure it's a bus and not some other car?"

"Sure, the tread is wide."

"Then how do you tell if it's a bus tire or a tractor tire?"

“…”

"Also, the direction you ran back was the opposite of the direction you went. Are you sure the path we're taking now is the one with the cow dung?"

"Yao Ling."

"exist."

"If you keep whining, I'll throw you out of the car."

"oh."

Tense time always passes slowly. A shabby car with many scars of unknown origin and two strangers who suddenly broke in drove unsteadily into the dark night.

The road ahead was tortuous, but at least no one had ever thought of turning back.