As I rode forward, I followed the direction indicated by the fat guy. Through the sparse trees, I saw a bustling scene by the lake with about thirty people and over fifty horses—a large horse team. Those people were setting up tents by the lake, seemingly planning to spend the night there. Among them, a woman was unfolding something that looked like a radar and adjusting it. Through my binoculars, I recognized her as none other than A-Ning from Hainan.

I cursed under my breath; this woman had come here too, which meant our assumptions were correct. The people my third uncle wanted to delay were probably this group. I wondered what a dredging company was doing coming inland.

The monk, Huashang, also spotted the horse team below, his expression changing. He quietly asked Chen Pi and A-Si what to do. Chen Pi and A-Si glanced over, smirked disdainfully, and said, “This is good; it shows we haven’t taken the wrong path. Let’s keep going and ignore them.”

I used the binoculars to scan the crowd, but I didn’t see my third uncle. However, if he had indeed fallen into their hands, he likely wouldn’t have much freedom and might be locked up in a tent. What made me uncomfortable was that among those people below, nearly half were carrying five or six rifles, and I also spotted satellite phones and many advanced devices. The fat guy, eyeing the guns greedily, said to Chen Pi and A-Si, “Old man, you said not to buy guns, but look at them armed to the teeth. How are we going to deal with them if it comes to a confrontation? Are we supposed to use a basin as a shield and sanitary pads to hit them?”

Chen Pi and A-Si glanced at him, shook his hand, and laughed, “In our line of work, we never rely on numbers. Once you cross the snow line, you’ll know you made the right choice following me.”

Our conversation was conducted in dialect, and Shun Zi, who struggled with Mandarin, couldn’t quite understand. However, he had been a guide for many years and knew not to listen too closely to what the guests said; hearing too much might get you silenced.

We continued upward until we came across some dilapidated wooden houses and barbed wire gates, with slogans written on them proclaiming “The territory of our motherland is sacred and inviolable.”

Shun Zi informed us that this was a supply station for the snow mountain outpost. After the multilateral talks, several outposts had relocated, leaving this place abandoned. The outposts along the snow line were also deserted, and if we wanted to go up, we would have a chance to take a look later.

That night passed without incident, and we made do with what we had for the night. The next morning, we got up early to continue our journey. Shun Zi found it strange that there were so few tourists willing to push themselves so hard, but we were getting paid for it.

When we got up, it had already started to snow, and the temperature dropped sharply. Southerners rarely adapted well to such weather. Except for the fat guy and Ye Cheng, everyone else was stiff with cold.

As we moved higher, crossing the snow line, we finally saw the accumulation of snow. At first, it was sparse, but as we ascended, it grew thicker, with fewer trees and more rocks. Chen Pi and A-Si mentioned that this was evidence of engineering work that had been done here.

By noon, we were surrounded by white. The snow on the ground was so thick that there was hardly any path left; we relied entirely on Shun Zi to lead the horses through. Suddenly, a strong wind picked up, and Shun Zi looked at the clouds and asked us if we should stop here for today. The weather seemed to indicate a strong wind, and it would be risky to go further up.

Chen Pi and A-Si exhaled, waved his hand, and told him to wait. We stopped to rest, ate some dry rations, and a few of us wandered around to take in the scenery.

We are now on the ridge of a low mountain, where we can see the primitive forest we passed through earlier. He gazes into the distance, then points to a large area of low ground and says to us, “In ancient times, tombs were usually built using local materials. Look at this vast forest; it’s clearly been cut down at least a century ago, unlike the surrounding areas. Although our journey here has been arduous, there haven’t been any particularly difficult obstacles. There must have been some major ancient projects nearby, and this mountain range has been altered. Our general direction is correct; we need to keep going up.”

Ye Cheng asks, “Old man, there are more than a dozen peaks in this mountain range, all accessible from here. How do we find it?”

Chen Pi A Si replies, “Just walk and look. Where the dragon’s head is located, there will definitely be anomalies. The place where the earth vein stops is the dragon’s den. There are many mountains here, but there’s only one earth vein. We are currently following the earth vein, so I’m not worried about not finding it; it will just take some time.”

Following his gaze, I only see patches of trees and can’t discern any differences, feeling a bit ashamed of myself.

Turning to look at the dull oil bottle, I see him staring intently at the snow-capped mountain ahead. His brow is slightly furrowed, as if he is worried about something. I know asking him would be pointless, so I turn around to chat with the胖子 (Fatty).

When Shun Zi hears that we need to go further up, he sighs and shakes his head, saying that we can’t ride the horses anymore; we’ll need to use horse-drawn snow plows. In fact, winter in Changbai Mountain is the most convenient time for transportation; except for blizzards, we can generally reach anywhere a horse can go with a snow plow. However, once the wind picks up, we have to follow his orders without question; if he says to turn back, we absolutely cannot argue.

We all nod in agreement, unload our luggage from the horses, and place it onto the plow. Once everything is ready, Shun Zi calls out and cracks his whip, leading the way. Our horses automatically follow behind, and we rush through the snow.

At first, riding the snow plow feels quite fun, like being pulled by a dog sled. But after a while, I don’t know if it’s because the wind has picked up or if it’s just hard to move on the plow, but my extremities become extremely cold, and I feel as if I’ve lost all sensation.

Because it’s a mountain path, the horses run unsteadily. The胖子 (Fatty), being too heavy, falls into the snow several times, causing us to stop and wait for him repeatedly.

We continue on like this until the sky darkens, and the wind grows stronger. The horses slow down even more. We have to put on wind goggles to see ahead; everywhere is filled with white snowflakes, and I can’t tell if they are falling from the sky or being blown off the snow-capped mountains. The sound of the wind fills my ears; when I try to speak, opening my mouth lets the icy wind rush in, and as Fatty puts it, even the curse words freeze in my throat.

As we run, Shun Zi’s horse suddenly stops ahead. I vaguely sense something is wrong; it’s only two in the afternoon, yet the sky has darkened. We push against the wind to reach Shun Zi’s side, where he is rubbing his neck and looking around, his brow furrowed deeply.

We gather around and ask him what’s going on. He clicks his tongue and says, “The wind is too strong; it seems like there’s been an avalanche here, and the terrain has changed. I’m not quite recognizing it anymore. Also, look, the snow compressed ahead is from the mountain above; it’s too deep and too loose. If you step in, it’ll reach the horse’s belly, and the horse won’t go forward. There are air pockets under this kind of snow, making it easy to collapse; it’s very dangerous. We can’t walk in a group.”

“What should we do?” Pan Zi looks at the sky, “Looking at the weather, it doesn’t seem good. Can we go back?”

Shunzi looked at the sky and then at us, saying, “It’s hard to say. But once this wind picks up, it won’t stop for two days and nights. We’re definitely facing a dead end here. The abandoned border outpost isn’t far ahead; we can take shelter from the wind and snow there. I think going back is already too late, so we should walk over.”

The胖子 pressed down on his earmuff hat and cautiously took a step, only to find himself sinking into the snow up to his thighs. Struggling to move forward, he cursed, “Damn it, this is torture.”

We put on our snowshoes and, braving the wind, pulled the sled through the snow with great difficulty. This place was a wind tunnel, situated between the ridges of two mountains, and the wind was particularly strong—no wonder there were avalanches. We headed into the wind tunnel. Shunzi said we could reach the outpost in an hour, but it was unclear whether we were moving too slowly or if Shunzi had taken the wrong path altogether. By the time it was past six in the evening, we still hadn’t seen any sign of the outpost.

Shunzi turned around in confusion and suddenly exclaimed, “Oh no, I know where the outpost is!”

We gathered around him, and his face was extremely pale as he said, “How did I not realize this? This indicates a small avalanche; the outpost must be buried in the snow, right beneath us. No wonder we couldn’t find it after searching for so long!”

Panzi sighed and muttered something; from the shape of his mouth, it looked like he said, “Damn it!”

The胖子 shouted, asking Shunzi, “What do we do now? Our horses are gone; are we really going to die here?”

Shunzi pointed ahead and said, “There’s one last hope. I remember there should be a hot spring nearby, located in a hill. The temperature is very high. If we can get there, we can survive for several days with our food. That hot spring is at a higher altitude than here, so it shouldn’t be buried in snow. If we really can’t find it, then we’ll just have to rely on our will to survive and walk back step by step.”

“Are you sure about that?” The胖子 began to doubt Shunzi.

Shunzi nodded, “This time, I’m absolutely sure. If we can’t find it, you can deduct my wages.”

I couldn’t help but smile bitterly to myself; if they really deducted his wages, he’d probably have to wait until his next life for that opportunity.

Everyone looked gloomy but continued to follow Shunzi uphill. The sky grew darker as we walked, and Shunzi pulled the rope, tying each of us to it, because visibility was so low we couldn’t see each other, and our voices were inaudible. We could only rely on the rope to keep us together.

As I walked, my vision started to blur, and I couldn’t see clearly at all. The people in front were getting farther away, while those behind were lagging further back. When I realized I couldn’t see anyone on either side, my heart sank, and I thought to myself, had we made a mistake coming into the mountains at this time? Were we going to die here?

But it seemed Shunzi was still moving steadily. Although I couldn’t see him, I could feel the direction of the rope was firm. He must have gotten used to the wind and snow, and following him should be safe.

While I comforted myself, I continued moving forward when suddenly, a dark figure appeared in the snow mist ahead. In my dazed state, I couldn’t make out who it was. After taking a few steps, that shadow suddenly tilted and fell into the snow.

I hurried over to take a look and found that it was Shunzi collapsed in the snow.

The muffled oil bottle behind me caught up and quickly helped him up. We supported him while tightening the rope, calling for the others to gather around.

As soon as the fat guy saw Shunzi, he made a very strange expression and shouted, “What the hell kind of guide is this? Not only does he not know the way, but we’re about to faint before he does! What are we supposed to do?” He wanted to curse some more, but the rest of his words were carried away by the wind, lost to who knows where.

I looked around, and my God, the situation had completely spiraled out of control. A strong wind, filled with a lot of snowflakes, was swirling around us, crashing against the rocks. I couldn’t see anything a meter away, and the footprints we had made when we arrived had almost instantly been blown away by the wind. We couldn’t tell east from west, and the fierce wind pressed down so hard that we couldn’t even lift our heads; if we stood up, we would be blown over.

Everyone’s faces were pale, and Chen Pi Ah Si’s eyes were like grains of rice. It seemed the old man had already entered a semi-comatose state in such an extreme environment. Even if Shunzi didn’t collapse, he certainly wouldn’t last long.

Panzi said, “We can’t just stop and wait to die. The hot spring might be nearby. Let’s extend the rope and spread out to search. If we find it, we’ll pull the rope as a signal.”

We scattered in all directions, and I didn’t even know which way I had chosen. As I walked, I felt dizzy, a numbness spreading from my limbs to my entire body.

I had seen many movies that said that on a snow-covered mountain, a person would become increasingly drowsy, and if they fell asleep, they would never wake up. People would also experience many hallucinations, like imagining steaming hot food.

I desperately reminded myself of this, but I couldn’t hold on at all. With each step, my eyelids felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead, drooping down.

Just when I was at my wit’s end, I suddenly heard the fat guy shout. The wind was so loud that I couldn’t make out what he said. I turned around and saw his shadow flash and then disappear. The muffled oil bottle immediately turned around and noticed that the rope on the ground suddenly jerked. His expression changed, and he shouted, “Not good! Untie the rope, someone has fallen into a snow pit!”

Before he could finish speaking, the snow beneath his feet suddenly collapsed, and he was yanked into the snow by the rope, followed closely by me.

We were like a bunch of grapes, one after another pulled into the snow by the fat guy, tumbling around, not knowing how long we rolled before finally stopping.

My eyes were filled with snow, and I couldn’t open them at all. I could only hear Panzi telling us not to move; he was at the back and would climb down first.

At that moment, I suddenly heard Ye Cheng shout, “Wait, wait! What the hell! Don’t go down; what is that thing coiled up in the snow?”