Chapter 52: Xiezhi [8]
There is a hole
The speed of the storm was faster than Zhang Qiu could have imagined, and the formation was getting bigger and bigger. The vehicle that just arrived in front of the broken walls was less than ten meters away from them. Five or six people just got out of the car and could not walk forward. The wind blew made their bodies morphed in. They were holding the handles of the car tightly. Unexpectedly, the storm was getting stronger and stronger, and the whole body of the car was shaking.
The sand pervaded in the air by the wind and hurt their heads. If they hadn’t buried their bodies in it, they might have been blown away. Zhang Qiu kept his head down and could only hope in his heart that there would be no casualties and everyone could get through this.
Who knew how long it took, but the howling in the ears slowly stopped. After a while, the sand was pushed away, and Li Shu pulled Zhang Qiu’s arm up. Zhang Qiu’s head was still dizzy, and he was holding Xiao Jiang in his arms. Through the crack in the front wall, he could see that the two vehicles had been scraped far away. The whole vehicles rolled into the sand in the distance.
Zhang Qiu could not help but breathed a sigh of relief once he saw that all of them were okay.
Next to them, the late-comers director and the few people lay on the ground. They came late and had no time to dig holes. They wished they could all retreat in and now they were shivering. Kangba called them several times but they were not responding, and so he hurried forward. Kangba was big and vigorous; he picked up one by one in one hand like pulling radish. The two girls were white-faced and white-lipped, in a state of shock and dehydrated at first sight. The director’s plump body was trembling. His face was dull when he spoke to Kangba. Obviously, he had not recovered. As for Bai Guangan, he had fainted.
Kangba asked his younger brother Aishan to give the girls to sip sugary water and let them rest for a while. He was going to check the outside situation himself. Zhang Qiu and company went with him. The outside situation was a frenetic scene. The vehicle was overturned and stuck in the sand. All the six people in the other vehicle were missing.
Zhang Qiu knew Kangba’s calm face meant the situation was not good, but they met the living six people face to face a while ago.
“The vehicle isn’t there. Maybe they gripped tightly to the vehicle and were blown away together?” Zhang Qiu asked.
Kangba shook his head and sighed, “It’s dangerous.” That was what he said, but he still planned to go over there to find the people.
The camels were frightened, but because they were tied up they did not run. Now they were huddled in the corner. Kangba reassured the camels slowly, uncovering their blindfolds and he looked worried. Zhang Qiu asked what was wrong. Kangba said, “There are too many people and not enough camels. And there is food issue.”
The director was terribly frightened when he heard that the six people were missing. His face paled, and was particularly believed in Kangba. He quickly said, “We still have food in our car. We can send some people out first, make emergency call, and then you can pick it up again.”
Pixian Hui Wang sneered, “And which part are you?”
The director wanted to go back, but when he saw that most of the people behind Pixian Hui Wang were tall, he put up with it. He hesitated and did not speak. It was obvious that he wanted Kangba to send their crew back first.
Kangba looked around and shook his head. “It was so messy just now. I also don’t know where we went. We have to find the right way. We can’t go back today.”
For Zhang Qiu, the desert looked all the same. They had rushed over here in a hurry and Zhang Qiu thought they had returned to the ruins where they crew was first filming. Now, when he looked carefully, it’s really not the same place. Although it had been eroded by sandstorm and it’s not the same as before, but yet he could still make out the building previous tall and imposing style.
“Let’s go find the people first and get the food back from the car. I’ll find my way around later and try to get out again tomorrow.” Kangba decided.
For today’s sake, it could only be as Kangba said. The two brothers pulled two camels to go out. The director was afraid that Kangba would abandon them and run away. He hastily asked if they needed help. As soon as Zhang Qiu saw the director’s pudgy appearance which more or less inconvenience, he said that it be would be enough if they go and left Aishan here to watch over the others. If there was any situation, they could help and not messed things up.
The director repeatedly said, “This idea is good, this idea is good.”
Li Shu and Zhang Qiu followed Kangba out to move things. Pixian Hui Wang, Lu Feng and Hua Ting searched for traces of the six people nearby while Xiao Jiang was thrown to Qi Xi. As a result, they had not taken a few steps, and Qi Xi followed them while carrying Xiao Jiang and said, “Helping you.”
Zhang Qiu looked at Qi Xi’s slender body and skeleton that were not strong enough for him, but he said nothing.
Kangba didn’t want to ride a camel. They walked all the way. It was not far. They arrived in less than half an hour, at the place where the vehicle was stuck deep in the sand. All the way, they had seen no one, just like it was a wrong place. Zhang Qiu went to go and pull the door apart. It was all sand and nobody was there.
When they got around the vehicle, several people separately looked for people. They didn’t dare to go far, but they didn’t get anything. Those six people really seemed to disappear from nowhere. Zhang Qiu’s heart was anxious.
When no one was found, Kangba had to think for the people who were there, “Get something out first.”
Zhang Qiu heard Kangba’s affirmative meaning. He was afraid that those six people had more bad luck than good luck. Kangba had been looking for an angle to overturn the vehicle, only to see next to it was Qi Xi, who was holding Xiao Jiang in one hand, put one hand on the vehicle with only a half of it exposed, and turned the vehicle over from the desert burial with a gentle effort.
Zhang Qiu was staring at him. He was too powerful, even stronger than Li Shu. Kangba was also stunned and looked at the man who was more beautiful than a girl. Qi Xi turned the vehicle over and said, “Take whatever you want.”
Only then did Kangba get over it, but the door was crushed and could not be opened at all. Qi Xi took the handle in one hand, moved his wrist, and then they heard the click. The whole door was torn down.
Adeptly skilled. Zhang Qiu remembered that Qi Xi had done it that night in the car accident.
With Qi Xi here, they were very convenient, and Li Shu had hardly done much. The food on the director’s car was very plentiful, and there were all kinds of fruits packed in fresh-keeping boxes. When Zhang Qiu saw them, he couldn’t help saying that the star treatment was good. Some boxes were crushed. They picked up what they could use and carried them back on the camels’ back. Then, they went back.
This entire trip took them until in the afternoon. On the way back, Zhang Qiu still had not given up, once again searched on the way back. There was still nothing on the way.
Bai Guangan was still asleep, and another young girl passed out. Kangba supplemented Huoxiang Zhengqi Water1 and gave first aid. After a while, the young girl woke up, her face was still not looking good, and everyone looked dull.
[1 = Huoxiang Zhengqi water, the name of Chinese medicine of a heat-relieving agent]
“It seems that we have to leave at night.” Kangba made up his mind.
They couldn’t wake up Bai Guangan, the director was also afraid. Six people had died in a film crew. Now, if the man was gone too, he shot not a damn thing. This film was really overwhelming him. He didn’t know how to explain it when he went back. It’s especially painful to think of these.
The atmosphere was suddenly depressing. Everyone was sitting in silence. Xiao Jiang was also uncomfortable. He looked weak and weary through illness. Zhang Qiu was worried to death. Others could go out and send to the hospital, but his family’s Xiao Jiang was in a special situation. He didn’t know whether he could eat or not the medicines from the hospital.
Li Shu knew what Zhang Qiu was worried about. He embraced Zhang Qiu’s shoulder and said, “He’ll be fine in the evening.”
Zhang Qiu’s mind was slightly settled. He hoped it would get dark soon. Kangba settled them down and rode a camel to find the way.
It wasn’t long before the sun set and the hot temperatures went down. There was a cool breeze at night. The wind was blowing with sand, and they dared not speak much. They could hide behind the walls better, with lights hanging and eating beef jerky and baked steamed bread.
Xiao Jiang was much more energetic. He came out of Zhang Qiu’s arms and sat cross-legged beside him, gnawing on the baked steamed bun in a particularly nimble manner.
A good appetite meant he was fine. Zhang Qiu handed beef jerky and water again. “Eat slowly, don’t rush.”
Until more than 9 p.m., Kangba had not returned, but Bai Guangan woke up. He was not in high spirits. He sat in the corner and tore up a jerky. When the director saw that Bai Guangan was okay, he was relieved. Now, he was really afraid if Bai Guangan was gone.
At ten o’clock, Kangba still had not returned. Aishan was in a hurry to find him but Li Shu stopped, “In case he comes back when you go. Trust him.”
Aishan nodded casually. “My big brother often goes in and out here. He’ll be all right.” Who knew whether he was to telling himself or them.
At night, after being tossed around for a day, not only they had physical fatigue but also tense spirit. Li Shu saw Zhang Qiu was sleepy and rubbing his eyes, he wrapped his coat around Zhang Qiu. “Sleep.”
“And you?” Zhang Qiu was too sleepy to open his eyes.
Li Shu stroked Zhang Qiu’s head. “I’ll go to bed later.”
Zhang Qiu lay down his head. He was really sleepy. He held Xiao Jiang tightly in his arms. When he heard Lu Feng talking to Senior Brother to sleep, he fell asleep in a daze.
Zhang Qiu and the company occupied a corner at the back of the broken wall. The crews were opposite them. Aishan could not sleep there. He could only listen to the low wind in the air and looking at the bright stars.
Li Shu had been sleepless, holding Zhang Qiu against the broken wall. At the side, Pixian Hui Wang closed his eyes but who knew whether he was sleeping or not. Lu Feng and Hua Ting were tired all day and fell asleep early, but Lu Feng did not sleep very well. He woke up once in ten minutes and touched Hua Ting in his arms and fell asleep again.
The whole space was quiet except for breathing and wind.
Zhang Qiu fell asleep very soundly and dazedly felt he was pulled by someone. He heard a mournful inhuman scream. Frightened to trembling, he woke up in an instant. He did not know what was going on. A bloody shadowed figure like it was skinned came up to him. He was pulled up behind, and a foot was stretched out behind him. The bloody thing in front of him was kicked away.
Only then did he see the situation clearly. He did not know what had happened. Two bloody things came in here where they were at. They were human beings, but they were obviously dead. When he looked at the one attacking him just now, it had no eyes, only two bloody holes.
They were zongzis.
But where did the zongzis come from? Zhang Qiu had no time to think about it. The Zongzi, who had just been kicked by Li Shu, came running over again. The soul of a deceased had not yet dispersed, and there was a scream outside. It was a woman’s voice. It should be the director and his companies were going to run away. He didn’t expect there should be another zongzi outside.
Li Shu pulled out a dagger and inserted it into the Zongzi’s head.
The Zongzi fell to the ground. Li Shu pulled out his dagger and it splashed blood on Li Shu’s hand. His skin was corroded and blackened. Zhang Qiu’s heartbeat stopped for half a beat. “There’s something wrong with its blood. Quickly dress it.”
“Don’t come here.” Li Shu stopped Zhang Qiu with another hand that was not injured. He didn’t care about the injury on his hand at all. He looked out with cold eyes and said, “Go out and have a look.”
Only then did Zhang Qiu realize Xiao Jiang was not there!
He ran out quickly. The moonlight was bright here, and Zhang Qiu saw Xiao Jiang jumping onto a zongzi’s head with his claws on. He was so frightened that he lost his soul and he shouted, “Xiao Jiang, come back!”
Xiao Jiang heard Daddy called him. He stepped on the Zongzi’s head and flew over. Zhang Qiu felt heavy in his arms. Holding Xiao Jiang, he checked all the injuries and found nothing, only then he was relieved.
The director shouted for help and without thinking, he grabbed the person closest to him to block the zongzi for him. Zhang Qiu heard Lu Feng shouting Hua Ting. He knew that the director had grabbed Senior Brother. Li Shu had already taken out the dagger and went over. Next moment, Lu Feng blocked without thinking and his arm bled.
Zhang Qiu heard something behind him, but he had not yet responded, and Xiao Jiang in his arms jumped out. Looking back, he saw two bloody zongzis surrounded his son. He immediately lifted the dagger and made a surprise attack from behind. He held the dagger and went to the back of the zongzi fiercely. He was well-trained by now. He was in a hurry, but thought that there was a problem with its blood; he dared not pull out the dagger hastily. The zongzi had already fallen down.
Xiao Jiang also got rid another one.
At the front, Li Shu also came back. Hua Ting was all right and carrying Lu Feng. Lu Feng’s wound had healed slowly. Zhang Qiu guessed that Li Shu had dripped his blood on Lu Feng’s wound. Lu Feng’s face was not looking good; it was black and blue.
The ground was full of corpses, and the wind blew a bloody stench.
The director was so frightened that his legs went weak. He came up when he saw that Li Shu was skilled. Hua Ting wished he could give the director a stab of the dagger. The director hurriedly steered clear and dared not speak. The young girl next to him cried once it was safe. “Sister Wang is gone, everybody is gone. What is this place? I want to go back, I will never come here again…”
It was the makeup artist, who was the first to have meeting with catastrophe. Zhang Qiu didn’t feel comfortable to listen to the young girl’s crying. He looked around. “Second’s wife and Qi Xi are missing.”
“When those things came, the two men you mentioned ran there with Bai Guangan.” The director now wanted to make up for his mistakes. He talked to Zhang Qiu in a good voice, pointing the direction inside the broken wall.
Li Shu scanned the bodies on the ground. “There are six zongzis here.”
“Six. My darling, I’ll say that’s scary. I was sleeping well and suddenly burst out…” The director was horrified at the thought of what had just happened.
Zhang Qiu heard the number, “The six people who disappeared in the afternoon?”
Li Shu nodded. “Go find the missing people first.”
They passed through the broken wall, and the makeup artist might be the first to suffer. That mournful inhuman scream came from the makeup artist, who fell to the ground and was gnawed beyond recognition. The young girl cried in a low voice; her face was white and her lips were black.
The camels were killed, scattered, dead, and the whole sand was red with blood.
They gathered up the food and water on the ground and took away everything they could carry. Following the direction of which the director had pointed, they arrived at the biggest building behind them, which should be a temple. The broken columns supported the top of the arc above. The broken ones still stood as if they were guarding something.
Up the stairs, Zhang Qiu saw a stone statue in front of him, which looked like a woman, but the face could not be seen because of the sandstorm erosion. Under the moonlight, the shattered place above his head seemed ghostly.
Aishan suddenly knelt down in front of the stone statue, kowtowed his head and said something in their language.
Li Shu looked around. Zhang Qiu, holding Xiao Jiang, followed him to find the people. He saw a hole behind the stone statue. It was dark and deep. He said quickly, “There is a hole here.”
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