The evening breeze was rustling.
We blocked the only passage down the mountain and then crept into the valley.
To avoid attracting attention, they did not use flashlights and instead traveled by moonlight.
During the journey, Song Laosan also had Zhou Peng translate his words to the others: "When we find the other side, try not to start a conflict. First, capture one of them as a prisoner, and be careful that the other side may have a gun."
The guide was very familiar with the terrain in the area. When we got to the depths of the valley, he led us away from the main road that cars could drive on and took a small path to the side of the hillside.
This is a circular clearing, with piles of dug-out wooden stakes in the valley, which looks like an abandoned storage yard.
"there!"
I climbed the hillside and was the first to spot the clue, pointing in a certain direction.
In a sheltered ravine, several camping tents are lined up in a row, looking like abandoned graves from a distance.
After exchanging a few words with the guide, Zhou Peng whispered, "This place was originally a transit station for storing logs, but it was abandoned because all the trees in the vicinity that met the standards were cut down."
"How long has it been abandoned?"
“It’s been over a year, and he still says that it’s impossible for anyone to live here because there are bears and wolves in these mountains. Even when they are logging, they need guards with guns to protect them from wild animals.”
"That's them."
Song Laosan released the safety of his pistol: "It's too far away, we can't see anything clearly. I'll take some men over to check it out, you guys stay here."
I knew that Song Laosan had been in the army and was more professional in this kind of thing than I was, so I nodded and didn't cause him any trouble.
Soon, Song Laosan led two security guards over there, and about five minutes later, the flashlight beams came from the other side.
I saw the signal coming and rushed over to meet Song Laosan.
At this moment, all the tent curtains were lifted, and one tent had a hole cut in it. It was probably because Song Laosan wanted to go in and catch someone, but he missed.
When I met Song Laosan, he shook his head and sighed, "All the tents here are empty. Inside are only sleeping bags and some garbage. And the sleeping bags are cold. The people must have been gone for a long time."
I shone my flashlight around and indeed saw some mineral water bottles and compressed biscuit packaging. I also shone it on the traces of a campfire on the ground: "They lit a fire here, and the charcoal burned at different rates, which means they stayed here for more than one night."
Old Song shared my opinion: "Yes, there are four tents and seven sleeping bags here, but nothing else of any use. I suspect this place has been abandoned. We can't waste time here; we need to get down the mountain as soon as possible and track down those people."
"Wait a little longer."
I looked at the sleeping bags that had been thrown outside the tent and started to squat down to check them one by one.
Seeing my appearance, Song Laosan interjected, "I've checked everything. There's nothing here. These sleeping bags are all local brands, and there's no sign of use."
"It doesn't taste right."
I picked up a sleeping bag, sniffed it, and then pulled out a hair from inside: "This waterway has a strong fragrance, and there are a few hairs on it. It's obviously been used by a woman."
"Why does this hair look about the same length as Wei Shengnan's?"
Song Laosan took out his hair and compared it to the light source: "But we've known Wei Shengnan for so long, and I've never seen her wear perfume."
Zhou Peng interjected, "Perhaps it's the smell of shampoo or laundry detergent?"
"If it really is them, things are in trouble!"
My heart skipped a beat: "The fact that Wei Shengnan came here means she also knows that Duan Jinyan is looking for the tomb of the Prince of Ze. What we are doing now is to get ahead of them. If they find out where we are and find Yevgeny first, they will definitely go to look for the tomb next."
Old Song rubbed his hands together: "They left in a hurry, and it does seem like they're hiding from us. Since the Yevgeny route is blocked, we have no choice but to take the risk and go to the town to retrieve the information."
While we were chatting, Zhou Peng spoke to the worker for a few minutes and said, "Bosses, this worker said he has a way to help us find the person. He said there's a timber checkpoint at the foot of the mountain with surveillance cameras at the intersection, and the person in charge of watching the cameras is his good friend. But he wants money, 100,000 rubles."
I calculated the exchange rate, and the amount they wanted was less than nine thousand. In my haste, I didn't haggle: "Let him lead the way!"
...
Inside the timber inspection station room, Song Laosan looked at the pickup truck and SUV appearing on the screen and gestured to the administrator to pause: "Have him zoom in on the image!"
The surveillance facilities here are very outdated. The images become incredibly blurry when zoomed in. You can barely make out that there are people sitting in both vehicles. The pickup truck is carrying a diesel generator and several boxes in the back. As for the people inside the vehicles, you can't see them at all.
Just when I felt the trail was about to go cold, Zhou Peng translated the worker's words to us again: "The direction they went was a dead end, at the end of which was only a farm, which was also the only place where people could live."
I asked, "Is it a private farm?"
Zhou Peng shook his head: "No, it's a fairly large village, it just uses the name from the Soviet era."
After thinking for a moment, Song Laosan pointed at the worker and said, "Have him help us rent a truck to haul timber, and then find a way to contact the residents of the farm so that we can stay at their homes. The news must be kept secret, and money is not a problem."
After all this commotion, it was already 2 a.m., and the monkey slowly woke up, but the effects of the medicine hadn't worn off yet, and he remained dazed and kept vomiting.
After being introduced by the workers, we stayed at the home of a villager named Sasha, who was nearly fifty years old. In addition to driving a tractor on the farm, he also went hunting in the mountains.
The average income in the Far East is very low. We agreed to pay Sasha 10,000 rubles a day, which made him very happy. He even took out some cured meat and vodka to treat us.
I don't know if it's because the Russians are inherently fond of drinking, or because of the harsh climate in the Far East, but most of the people I've met since coming here are heavy drinkers, including Sasha.
I was exhausted after a long day, but I still sat down at the table with Sasha after receiving his invitation.
My goal was simple: to get information out of him.
After Wei Shengnan and her group captured Yevgeny, they did not return to the town or choose to leave. Instead, they came to this little-known farm, which made me suspect that the Jin Dynasty artifacts that the town had handed over were likely discovered in this area.
Since Sasha is a hunter, he naturally has to go into the mountains often. If he can't find Yevgeny, trying to get information out of him is a good option.
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