Two days later, on Friday.
After class, Lu Qing headed to her dormitory when she suddenly received a call from Wang Yanjun.
"Qingqing, you don't have any plans for this weekend, right?"
Lu Qing: "No, what's wrong?"
Wang Yanjun: "We have to go to Jizhou; something happened there."
Judging from his tone, the matter seemed quite serious.
Lu Qing's gaze darkened slightly: "It's related to Nian Chun."
Wang Yanjun: "Yes, we'll talk about the specifics later. Gu Xicheng should already be on his way to pick you up. The plane tickets have been bought, and the three of us will go together."
"good!"
The fact that Wang Yanjun was willing to drop everything and rush to Jizhou suggests that this matter is far more serious than initially thought.
Lu Qing put the book back in the dormitory, then packed a few clothes and came out.
After picking her up and Wang Yanjun, Gu Xicheng headed straight to the airport.
On the way, Wang Yanjun briefly explained the situation to them.
"A colleague from the Jizhou branch sent word that the person who went to look for Nian Chun has gone missing."
"His mother passed away in the spring of that year, leaving only his father and his younger brother at home. His brother was three years younger than him, a bachelor, and unemployed."
The family's livelihood mainly came from Nian Chun, or rather, from the money Nian Chun squeezed out of Cheng Li.
The Jizhou branch sent two people to look for Nian Chun, but they lost contact after a day and a night. Later, the branch sent two more people to look for him, but those two people also disappeared.
Before they went missing, the Jizhou branch had received a distress message from them, but it only contained two words: "Help." Nothing else.
The Sky Eye system was able to detect that their last known location was their hometown, Huangni Village, in the spring of that year.
This village is deep in the mountains, and transportation is very inconvenient. Without a local guide, you wouldn't be able to find it at all. Our trip probably won't be very smooth; you'd better be prepared.
Gu Xicheng and Lu Qing nodded slightly.
After arriving at the airport, the three boarded the plane and took a nap on board.
After getting off the plane, I boarded a train, and the train ride took more than two hours.
I felt extremely uncomfortable after getting off the train because there was only one old-fashioned bus from the county to the town.
Jizhou is located in a plateau region, and the mountain roads are bumpy. The car's shock absorption is insufficient, and it can make people nauseous.
The three met Ding Jinghuan, a colleague sent by the Jizhou branch to pick them up, at the train station exit.
"Hello Captain Ding, I am Wang Yanjun from the General Administration!"
"These two are Gu Xicheng and Lu Qing, both from the Investigation Bureau."
Ding Jinghuan greeted him with a broad smile and a warm handshake:
Hello everyone!
"You've had a long journey, so I've booked a hotel for you nearby. Rest for a while before you set off again!"
Wang Yanjun: "Captain Ding, you don't need to be so polite. Business is important. Please take us there first!"
Ding Jinghuan nodded: "Alright! But be prepared, the journey ahead will be much more uncomfortable than the train or plane ride."
"It's alright, we're in pretty good shape!"
Wang Yanjun was quickly proven wrong.
Ding Jinghuan led them onto the bus. The first half hour was fine, but the road became increasingly bumpy afterward.
Even the healthiest person would feel extremely dizzy sitting on it.
Wang Yanjun was so jolted that he vomited.
Ding Jinghuan quickly found him a bag to catch the vomit, looking completely calm.
"Do you two want some? I also have some plastic bags here!"
Gu Xicheng and Lu Qing shook their heads. They were alright; although they were indeed dizzy, they didn't feel nauseous.
"People from other places may feel a bit dizzy when they first arrive here and take a bus, but they'll get used to the bumpy ride after a while."
Ding Jinghuan patted Wang Yanjun on the back while laughing.
After vomiting, Wang Yanjun rinsed his mouth with mineral water and lay on his seat like a corpse.
"Captain Ding, do we... do we really have to take this bus? Can't we find a vehicle with better shock absorption?"
Ding Jinghuan pointed out the window:
"Just look outside and you'll see!"
The three of them turned to look, and were shocked the next second.
This bus was actually driving right along the edge of a cliff. The road was just the width of the bus's two wheels. If it had veered even slightly to the left or right, the bus would have rolled right off the cliff.
Why is this road so narrow?
Ding Jinghuan: "There's no other way. There's only one road leading to the county, and it was only with great difficulty that we managed to open it up. There are still many winding intersections ahead."
"Who else, besides seasoned drivers who've been driving this road for decades, would dare to drive on such a road!"
“Look at the old man driving, he’s 65 years old this year. His son is sitting next to him, he’s 48 years old. He’s been driving for 10 years, and the old man has never dared to let him drive.”
Lu Qing was somewhat puzzled:
"Since the road is so difficult to travel, why doesn't the government try to dig a tunnel or widen the road?"
Ding Jinghuan sighed:
"This was the idea more than ten years ago: the authorities wanted to dig a tunnel through to make it easier for the villagers to get in and out."
But unexpectedly, when the tunnel was blasted, the workers were also killed inexplicably. Later, the expert team all contracted the virus and collapsed.
Our investigation bureau discovered something was wrong, so we sent people to investigate.
The final investigation revealed that something was hiding at the bottom of the mountain, and that opening the tunnel had disturbed it.
"What is it?" Gu Xicheng asked.
Ding Jinghuan shook his head: "I don't know. They just say there's something, but nobody knows exactly what it is."
At the time, the elders of the Taiyi Sect did not believe in superstition and insisted on forcibly investigating. As a result, they went in and never came out, and they could not even call their souls back.
They never mentioned building a tunnel again, and they didn't even dare to widen the road.
Fortunately, there aren't many people in the town. Although the bus ride is uncomfortable, everyone has gotten used to it over the decades.
The old man who drives has passed down his skills from generation to generation; as long as he's there, people from the town can come and go.
Lu Qing couldn't help but feel curious about the mysterious thing hidden at the bottom of the mountain.
Could this be related to the missing people from the Jizhou branch?
Or perhaps it's related to the spring of the year?
Lu Qing stopped thinking after a while because she was too dizzy.
She tried her best to keep her balance, but the constantly jolting bus was shaking her brain to its core.
"When we... go out... let's use... talismans...!"
"I'd rather... exert more... effort than... be jostled around again... ugh~"
Lu Qing finally couldn't hold it in and vomited.
"Old Ding, how much longer until we reach our destination?"
Ding Jinghuan: "Almost there! Fifteen minutes at most, just hang in there!"
When the bus arrived at their destination, Gu Xicheng, Lu Qing, and Wang Yanjun were all so nauseous that they didn't want to say a word.
As soon as they got out of the car, the three of them ran to the roadside and spat out a mouthful of sour water.
Ding Jinghuan went to the nearby convenience store and bought them a few bottles of drinks:
"Come on! This is a local specialty plum juice. It's very effective in relieving motion sickness. Drink some!"
The three of them drank plum juice and sat on a bench to rest for a while before they recovered.
It was already dark, and they weren't feeling well, so Ding Jinghuan found a small hotel for them to rest for the night.
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