Chapter 63 Epilogue

Nothing interesting happened after that.

Gasping for breath, we looked at each other, feeling as if everything that had happened was all just a dream. Fatty’s face was deathly pale as he said that we should leave quickly and not stop for anything. Everything after that was mostly a blur for me, especially towards the end, so I can only vaguely recount what happened.

We hardly stopped at all as we made our way back to the waterway, chose a direction, and started looking for another exit along the stone walls.

Six hours later, we entered another waterway. Enduring our hunger, the three of us trekked along without saying a word, trying to conserve as much energy as possible.

“Without food, you can survive off of your fat for a week or two. It’s the first few days that are the hardest,” Fatty said. “I’ve experienced this kind of thing before; all you have to do is endure it.”

At first, I doubted whether we could even get out of here alive. Now I suddenly understood why Uncle Three had called this a “journey of no return”—the route was too long, and a person couldn’t carry enough food with them to make a round trip. Clearly, he had foreseen how arduous the journey back would be.

Fatty had estimated that we would only have to march through this waterway on an empty stomach for a day, but going up was much harder than going down. After starving for two days, we couldn’t bear it anymore and began thinking of a solution. Our food options here were very limited, consisting of only dry tree branches and those swarms of bugs in the cracks between the stones. Survival manuals said that when there was no food in the wild or if you weren’t sure if something was edible or not, then eating bugs was the safest option. So, we began trying to catch some of the bugs in the waterway. But there were very few bugs here, and they were all very small, probably about the size of melon seeds.

Poker-Face was still in a daze, and although he improved a little bit, he still couldn’t remember anything. We told him what happened several times, but he couldn’t seem to understand it. Fortunately, he could walk on his own now, so we didn’t have to carry him anymore.

After another three days of surviving off of insects, we finally saw living tree roots clinging to the shaft walls. Fatty figured this meant that we were very close to the surface, so we wandered around until we finally found the openings to several vertical shafts. Fatty climbed up one and found that it was part of those stone pagodas we saw when we passed through the forest.

The square holes were too small for us to fit through, so Fatty used a few bullets to create a small directional blast that cracked the stone enough for us to squeeze through. Once we were finally out, we found that the terrain outside had changed beyond recognition—the water level in the swamp had dropped to the lowest point, exposing the stagnant mud and sinister-looking tangle of tree roots. With the sun shining brightly overhead and all the venomous snakes underground, this was probably the safest time of day.

The sunlight streaming through the trees, the birds chirping all around, and the fragrant scent of flowers in the air made it easy to believe that this was a paradise on earth. But we knew that this tranquility was all just an illusion—the more peaceful it seemed, the less we could rest.

After doing some quick calculations, we found that we definitely wouldn’t be able to get out of the canyon before dark. At most, we could only make it about halfway through. Plus, we were so exhausted that if we ran into any problems, we’d definitely suffer casualties.

The three of us had survived through untold hardships, so I didn’t want anyone to sacrifice themselves this late in the game, but it seemed that all we could do now was try our best. Fortunately, there weren’t many cockscomb snakes in the canyon, and we had plenty of mud to cover ourselves with, so the journey now would all depend on luck.

What followed after that was a long trek. There’s no need to go into detail about it, and I really don’t want to recall it anyways. Traveling through the mud while injured meant that we ended up covered in ticks, but there was no time to deal with them. We became even more anxious after nightfall, speeding up any time we heard a noise.

It took us a day and a night to quickly cross through the canyon and return to the desert, where we saw Dingzhu-Zhuoma and the others waiting for us. Fatty almost fainted as soon as he saw them, and I felt like I had been reborn. Dingzhu-Zhuoma and the others simply stared at us, hardly daring to believe their eyes.

We rested for three days outside the canyon, everyone dazed and exhausted. I didn’t think or worry about anything during these three days. All I knew was that sleep was the most important thing, and everything else was rubbish. For the first time, I truly felt relieved, as if all the mysteries that hadn’t been solved yet had nothing to do with me.

Poker-Face showed no signs of improvement, either huddling in the tent in a daze or leaning against a rock and looking up at the sky. We all sighed, but there was nothing we could do. No one expected him to end up like this after reaching the end of his pursuit.

To our surprise, Pan Zi ended up being rescued by Tashi. He was lying in one of the other tents, sometimes conscious and sometimes not. I didn’t dare tell him about Uncle Three’s situation. Tashi said that Chen Wen-Jin told them how to protect themselves against the snakes, so when they saw the smoke signal, they also entered the basin. After searching, they found the camp and stumbled across Pan Zi.

Based on the timeframe, I figured they must have arrived the day after we tried to capture Chen Wen-Jin. If only we had held out for one more night, we would have met Tashi, and things would have been completely different. Unfortunately, there were simply too many variables at play that night.

After resting for two more days, Tashi told us that we should set off. Based on what he could remember, we were now in the middle of a ring of devil cities. Strange traps had been set up in these cities, so we had to accurately navigate our way through. Once we were out, there would be highways running both east and west, so as long as we could make it to one, we could call for help.

I also wanted to know where Uncle Three and Black Glasses were, but none of us had any energy to spare to look for them. Tashi said that they may have come out from another entrance, or they may not have come out at all, but there was nothing we could do now.

Without a car, we had no choice but to walk, but the thing we lacked the most at this time was manpower. Uncle Three’s team had brought a lot of water here with them, but even though most of it was left behind after they set off, we couldn’t take it all with us. In addition, after calculating our travel time, we estimated that the water we could carry wouldn’t last long enough to get us to the highway.

Fatty suggested that we halve the rations, throw away the tents, and use all the extra space to carry the water. After all, we would be fine without food for a while, but we could only go a few days without water.

Following his advice, we loaded up our backpacks with water and set off across the Gobi. It was inevitably difficult at first, but compared to our march through the rainforest, it was leagues better. We walked out of the devil city four days later, and finally reached the highway after another week. We flagged down a military transport that was passing by, used their phone to get in touch with Qiu Dekao’s people, and about thirty hours later, a convoy from A Ning’s company arrived to rescue us.

Everyone collapsed as soon as we saw them, and some people even cried with joy. Only those involved would know what kind of journey it had been. On the way back, Fatty leaned back against the seat and suddenly started singing, “Climbing the peak to gaze at my hometown, the yellow sand stretches for thousands of li. Somewhere the camel bell rings, the sound touching my heart.”⁽¹⁾

His broken, gong-like voice sounded quite pleasant, and I suddenly felt a burst of deep sadness hit me. In an instant, my vision blurred with tears, and everything that happened flashed before my eyes like a dream. It almost felt like I could hear the voices of those who were lost forever, echoing in the vast desert around us.

After returning to Golmud, I debated for a while before deciding to write an email to my Uncle Two, explaining everything in detail. Half an hour later, Uncle Two called me and told me that he already knew about it. He also warned me not to mention this matter to anyone and told me not to worry about it anymore—he would handle it. Then he ordered me to go back to Hangzhou immediately.

Of course, I couldn’t just go back right away—Fatty, Poker-Face, and Pan Zi all had to stay in the hospital for a while.

Fatty was suffering from overexertion, but quickly recovered after receiving a few bottles of nutrient solution. Pan Zi was very lucky to be alive. When I told him about Uncle Three, he was immediately overcome with grief, but I was too exhausted to console him. He returned to Changsha before he was fully recovered, saying that he would wait for news about Uncle Three. I asked him to notify me immediately as soon as he heard anything.

The one in worst shape was Poker-Face. He finally came back to his senses after being hospitalized, but we found that he couldn’t remember anything. The massive shock he must have received left him very confused, but all the doctors said was that he needed to rest.

He hadn’t remembered much right after he came out of the meteorite, but now he didn’t even recognize me. This left me feeling utterly devastated, and I found it harder and harder to see him as the days went by.

I was the last to return home. After taking a hot bath, I idly looked through the mail that had accumulated during my absence and suddenly found that one of the letters was actually from Uncle Three.

Feeling my heart thump, I looked at the date and saw that there was no postmark. I immediately opened it and found that it was a long letter.

Nephew,

By the time you read this letter, I may be missing or even dead.

I don’t know if you know the truth by now, but I know I owe you an explanation anyway.

I’m about to do something, something that is my destiny. I can’t escape it. I feel that this may be my last act. I’ve chosen to ruin my business for this matter, and if I don’t find the answer this time, I’d rather choose death.

I’ve written all the things you want to know below, so take your time reading them. You’ve probably been wondering why I lied to you time and time again, but after reading this, you’ll finally understand—it’s because I myself am a lie.

I’m very sorry, but know that no matter what you think of me, you will always be my nephew. You must believe me when I say that everything I did was to actually protect you. I never once thought of harming you, nor did I intend to harm the Wu family.

Maybe I actually have become Wu Sanxing, or maybe I’ve worn this mask for too long and I can no longer take it off.

I’m also sorry that I can’t explain all the details in this letter. But I do want to say that there are unavoidable reasons for why everything happened the way it did. In fact, what happened to me was just an accident. A strange combination of circumstances led to these events, and by the time I became deeply involved in this matter, there was no way out.

In fact, there’s a bigger secret hidden behind what happened in Xisha. Wen-Jin and her team’s backgrounds aren’t that simple either. When I investigated them, I found that some of them had no background at all—there was no information on where they came from or what they did before. If you investigate further, you’ll find that there was something else behind this expedition. The whole thing goes unfathomably deep, so if you’re still involved in this matter in the future, you should look at what’s happened to me. Only then will you know the price you have to pay to pursue the truth behind this secret.

I hope this matter ends here for you, and that after you know the truth, you’ll move on with your life and stop getting involved in it. I know that when you think back on everything that happened, you’ll still find a lot of puzzles, but those have nothing to do with you.

Finally, for my last parting words, I ask that you remember what your grandfather said:

The only thing more terrifying than ghosts and gods is the human heart.

-Your Uncle Three in Dunhuang

What followed was a long and detailed description of everything that happened to them, which was almost identical to what Chen Wen-Jin had told me. I read it all silently, and by the time I was done, tears were streaming down my cheeks uncontrollably.

<Chapter 62><Table of Contents><Chapter 64>

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TN Notes:

(1) The song is “Dreaming of Camel Bells” and is sung by Fei Yuqing. Translation of the lyrics can be found here. 

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Bear with the weird chapter count. This is technically the end of “Season 1” as NPSS called it, but the licensed version merged this chapter and the next one so in order to not screw up the volume 6 stuff on the site (and confuse new readers coming straight from the licensed version), I’m just going to call the next chapter 64. Whenever Tiffany gets around to checking it, I might do some reformatting on the Vol 5 and 6 tabs and pdfs/epubs, but for now I’m taking the easy route. Future merebear can deal with that headache lol.