After sleeping until nearly 11 a.m., Chang Dong felt as though he had recouped all the fatigue of the past few days during that one restful slumber. Considering the time zone difference, which put Hami two hours behind Beijing time, it wasn’t particularly late.
Skipping breakfast seemed practical. After freshening up, he decided to linger for a while and combine lunch into his schedule.
Just as he finished washing his face, there was a knock at the door and Ye Liuxi’s voice saying, “Housekeeping.”[mfn]In the raws, it’s also written in english which makes it sound fancier- as if she’s cleaning for an international hotel [/mfn]
In upscale hotels, they’d call it “housekeeping,” but in modest inns, cleaning staff wouldn’t show up until you checked out. This hotel, in that regard, was just average.
Chang Dong opened the door, and there stood Ye Liuxi, leaning casually against a housekeeping trolley as though it were a luxury car. Her hand rested on the handle of the broom sticking out from the side pocket of the cart. With her confidence and charisma, she almost made it seem glamorous.
Housekeeping wasn’t just about sweeping floors. Many hotels had detailed guidelines specifying how each area should be arranged—for example, the placement of items on the left and right sides of the sink, or ensuring the power cord for the kettle was neatly wound, never left hanging.
Even a melon vendor would need one or two days of training before being able to do it properly.
“Do you know how to do housekeeping?” Chang Dong asked.
“A veteran employee just showed me how to clean two rooms. It’s easy… I’ve already cleaned several on my own. When I asked the guests if they were satisfied before leaving, everyone said they were. Some even asked for my number, saying that being a housekeeper didn’t suit me and they’d find me a better job.”
She mused, “Talent doesn’t stay buried, no matter where it is.”
Chang Dong pushed the door fully open. “Then let talent come inside.”
“Chang Dong, you know, some well-mannered guests answer ‘no need’ when you ask if their room requires cleaning…”
“Well, I’m not particularly well-mannered,” Chang Dong replied. “My room needs cleaning.”
He emphasized the word “needs.”
Ye Liuxi entered the room.
Her movements were quick and efficient, with no signs of slacking off. In short order, she tidied the bed, fluffed the pillow, and straightened the desk. Spotting the assortment of carving tools and leather strips scattered across the surface, she immediately recognized that he had been working on leather carving again.
Then her gaze landed on an open sketchbook depicting Bailongdui: a Sima Road stretching for dozens of miles, symmetrical mounds, and the sand-draining eye—its uncanny resemblance left her feeling slightly unsettled.
Flipping through more pages, she found hand-drawn illustrations and notes that resembled a journal but had a stern and minimalist style. There were detailed route maps with daily driving distances, rough sketches of lodging locations, key observations, and several ideas marked with question marks, awaiting further exploration.
No wonder his analyses always seemed sharp and straight to the point—he was meticulous and didn’t waste time on frivolities.
Chang Dong walked over, putting away his carving tools and the semi-finished leatherwork into his case. Ye Liuxi turned to him and asked, “When are we going back to Bailongdui?”
“Heading back is simple,” Chang Dong replied. “We just follow the Harlow Highway further down. But the problem is, if all we keep encountering are the same earthen mounds, shadow puppet coffins, and tire tracks, how do we move forward? Are we going to keep relying on your blood to go in and out indefinitely?”
He felt they needed a fresh breakthrough.
“What’s your plan, then?” Ye Liuxi asked.
“Let’s take a new approach. On one hand, we’ll continue searching for clues on the ground. On the other, we’ll look outward and ask around for information about Yumen Pass. Someone must know something.”
If the ritual of “entering the pass with shackles” had truly started during the Han Dynasty, that meant it had been over two thousand years. If Yumen Pass had been behaving strangely all this time, there had to be legends or rumors left behind.
——
The timing felt right, so Ye Liuxi returned the housekeeping cart to the linen room and joined Chang Dong to head out for a meal.
As they passed through the parking lot, Chang Dong took note that Fei Tang’s car was still absent.
Near the hotel, he found a restaurant specializing in Da Pan Ji[mfn]spicy chicken stew 
[/mfn]. Since it wasn’t peak dining time, the restaurant was quiet. They chose a corner table by the window and ordered a medium portion of potato and green pepper chicken, two servings of meat noodles, and some cold appetizers: spicy sour noodles and vinegar-drizzled okra.
Chang Dong considered ordering more dishes, but Ye Liuxi stopped him, saying, “That’s enough—this is already far more than I usually eat.”
Though it wasn’t an extravagant lunch, her face radiated with satisfaction.
Once the food was served, the two began eating. Sunlight poured through the glass, casting a golden glow on Ye Liuxi, illuminating the strands of her hair as they shimmered in the light.
They had only been eating for a short while when Fei Tang’s number appeared on Chang Dong’s phone. He answered casually, “Hello?”
But the voice on the other end wasn’t Fei Tang—it was hoarse, rough, and sounded particularly aged, though still strong and vibrant. “Is this Chang Dong?” the voice asked.
Slowly, Chang Dong put down his chopsticks. “Who’s calling?”
Ye Liuxi also paused, her chopsticks still holding some noodles.
“The name is Liu, Liu Qi,” the voice replied.
“And what’s your connection to Hui Ba?” Chang Dong asked cautiously.
Liu Qi chuckled. “Straightforward man. Hui Ba is from my hometown. In fact, we’re distant relatives. If there’s trouble, I help him out, and when he strikes it rich, he lets me enjoy the benefits.”
Chang Dong responded with a neutral hum. “So, what do you want from me?”
Liu Qi’s tone was steady and composed. “Brother, don’t worry. I just want to have a conversation and ask you some things. Hui Ba’s underlings are worthless—they let someone die and didn’t even bring back the body. They fed me a pile of nonsense I didn’t care for, so I’m looking for someone sharp to give me real answers.”
“You haven’t been giving my friend any trouble, have you?” Chang Dong asked.
“Not at all, we invited him over politely. He got a bit worked up himself and ended up injuring himself—it has nothing to do with us.”
“Where are we meeting?”
“At Dadong Guan, across from the auto repair shop. There’s a game room called ‘Tian Gang Di Hu.’ Just ask, and you’ll find it. I’ll be there all afternoon.”
Chang Dong glanced at Ye Liuxi. “Am I heading over solo, or will we make it a duo?”
“Up to you, brother. As long as you don’t bring the cops, you can show up with a whole mahjong table of people if you want.”
“Alright, see you later.”
Chang Dong hung up the phone and turned to Ye Liuxi. “Let’s finish eating first.”
At that, Ye Liuxi slurped up the now-cooled noodle she had paused on earlier. “So, Fei Tang got caught up in something?”
“While looking for the cook’s hometown contact, he didn’t make many calls before someone popped up. Turns out, the contact is conveniently local. Should’ve guessed—it’s too much of a coincidence.”
“Is it trouble?”
“The other side seems steady. We’ll approach it calmly too.”
——
Dadong Guan.
The auto repair shop wasn’t operating today, making it quiet—as was the street. Only the heavy glass doors of “Tian Gang Di Hu” opened to reveal a burst of noise and activity.
The clatter of dominoes being shuffled echoed incessantly. Waitstaff carried fruit platters back and forth, while at many tables sat gaudily dressed women, cracking sunflower seeds. Known as “Xi Gu,” they accompanied players in conversation, sometimes going further with their actions. If the winners were pleased, they might offer a small “reward of joy.” And if mutual interest sparked, they could move to another setting for deeper interaction.
Someone guided Chang Dong and Ye Liuxi through the bustling lobby into the private room area, all the way to the last room at the end of the corridor.
As the door was pushed open, the card table inside had just been cleared away. A layer of white linen covered the tabletop, with nothing on it but a teacup, fresh water was steaming in wisps from its surface.
A man in his fifties sat at the table, slouching with his legs folded onto the chair, wearing a black padded jacket commonly seen on older folks.
He gestured to them, “Sit.”
Judging by his voice, this must be Liu Qi, though he didn’t appear particularly old.
Chang Dong took a seat, scanning the room. Aside from Liu Qi, there were only two or three underlings present.
“Where’s my friend?” he asked.
“He’ll be here.”
After a moment, shuffling footsteps were heard from outside. Chang Dong turned to see Fei Tang enter the room.
His face was bruised and swollen, with a split at the corner of his mouth. He walked with a noticeable limp.
Those injuries didn’t seem self-inflicted. Before Chang Dong could say anything, Ye Liuxi had already pushed her chair back and gone to meet him.
Fei Tang’s eyes reddened as he stammered, “Sister Yexi…”
“You useless fool,” Ye Liuxi said. “Listen up, I’ll teach you right now.”
“If you’re being chased by wild dogs, first assess the situation. If you can take them on, then fight them off. If not, act submissive, put on a friendly face, and when they let their guard down, hit them hard with a brick and keep going until you win. Got it?”
Fei Tang didn’t dare smile. His facial muscles twitched, inadvertently pulling at the wound on the corner of his mouth, making him wince in pain.
Ye Liuxi sat back down in her chair and scolded, “Pathetic. You’ve embarrassed me.”
Then, lifting her head, she smiled gently at Liu Qi. “Sorry about that, hope you don’t mind.”
Liu Qi studied her for a moment. “You must be Miss Yexi? It’s been many years since I’ve been active in the scene. I don’t pay much attention to who’s in the spotlight these days.”
“I did some digging on your background over the past couple of days. I heard that years ago, you drove a truck and faced three highway robberies. You took three fingers as payment, and even warned that anyone targeting your truck again would lose their heads. Ruthless, weren’t you?”
Ye Liuxi froze for a moment.
Liu Qi picked up his teacup, blew on it softly, and took a light sip.
“In a no man’s land, a lone woman with a truck—it’s obvious what kind of intentions those people had. Losing their fingers was a small price to pay. But here in the city, there are rules to follow.”
Ye Liuxi wasn’t really paying attention.
Taking people’s fingers? Back then, she was far more brutal than she was now. It wasn’t a lack of legal awareness—it was a complete disregard for it.
Suddenly, she heard Chang Dong call her, “Liuxi?”
She turned to him.
“Help clean up Fei Tang’s wounds. When we leave later, those who know him might believe he hurt himself, but outsiders might think your people attacked him. Liu Qi, would you mind lending us a first-aid kit?”
Liu Qi chuckled and gestured for one of his men to fetch it.
Chang Dong got straight to the point. “Between Hui Ba’s men and Fei Tang, there are plenty of mouths to explain what happened. So why are you looking to talk to me?”
Liu Qi placed his teacup back on the table.
“They said they dug up a coffin in the yardang area. Hui Ba lifted the lid and his neck got sliced. Does that make sense to you? And yet, when Miss Yexi lifted the lid, nothing happened. Why did Hui Ba die doing the same thing?”
Chang Dong gave a wry smile. It did sound ridiculous when said out loud.
“But the stranger part comes after that,” Liu Qi continued. “When I asked why the body wasn’t brought back, they said it was gone. Bailongdui isn’t unfamiliar to me. Years ago, I used to catch snakes—there are pit vipers in Lop Nor, so I’ve been in and out of the area a few times. That’s why people call me Liu Qi.”
Only then did Chang Dong realize that in the past, within opera troupes, brothels, and grave-robbing circles, there was a tradition of respecting five spirit animals, each addressed as “ye” (master). For example, the weasel was “Huang Daye,” the fox was “Hu Sanye,” and the snake was referred to as “Liu Qi.”
“In that place, you won’t even find snakes, let alone birds. Last year’s tire tracks can still be seen this year. If a corpse were left there, at most, it’d turn into a mummy. But for it to disappear overnight? That’s laughable, isn’t it?”
Chang Dong didn’t argue. “So what do you think happened, Qi ye[mfn]Master Ye/ grandpa ye/ just a way to address someone older [/mfn]?”
Liu Qi adjusted his padded jacket. “I think they unearthed something valuable. I’ve seen this kind of thing many times before. Greed corrupts people, and bad things tend to happen.”
Chang Dong was about to speak, but Liu Qi pressed his hand downward, signaling he wasn’t finished.
“But that doesn’t quite add up. If Hui Ba had been done in by his underlings, why didn’t they just flee? Instead, they came back to report to me. With his intelligence, Hui Ba could have made up a much more convincing story. And your friend here? He’s unrelated to Hui Ba, so it’s unlikely they conspired. Now, with the two of you here, you’re saying the same thing as well…”
“So I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s all true.”
Chang Dong remained composed. “Since it’s true, can we leave now?”
The first-aid kit was brought in. Liu Qi responded, “No rush, Miss Yexi still needs to treat this young brother Fei Tang’s injuries. Let me share a story with you.”
“This story happened over ten years ago. Back then, I was still catching snakes in Lop Nor. One day, I came across a dusty and disheveled man carrying a burlap sack on his back. But the sack wasn’t filled with food or drink—it was packed with notebooks and papers. The man told me he had a peculiar hobby: venturing into remote and strange places to record bizarre incidents.”
