There was no suspense, no room for resistance; I had no choice but to "wholeheartedly" accept this assignment—going to the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon with Eighty-Seven, Forty-Three, and Thirty-Eight. Of course, my good partner, Li Zeng, would be indispensable in this endeavor.

Speaking of Old Li, I now hated him so much I could grind my teeth. If he had shown more resolve and refused to go, I would have at least had the backbone to resist Chen Ze’s order to assist, or at least found an excuse to return to Lhasa to send a message to Xu Zhiwu, asking him to devise a way to get me out of this damned place and this terrible situation.

But that old fellow buckled at the critical moment, actually saying he was willing to search for that missing scientific expedition team. I understood him less and less. Out of anger, I refused to speak to him.

Eighty-Seven informed us we had another two or three days for rest, during which Old Li and I could chat freely in the room or read books. However, we were forbidden from watching television or using the internet because there was no signal here. Furthermore, we could not leave our small cabin freely; any exit required Eighty-Seven’s personal approval.

This was entirely redundant. Eighty-Seven had made it perfectly clear that he wouldn't agree to us wandering around, because I was a frighteningly violent individual who, once set on something, would pursue it heedlessly. I hadn't noticed this about myself before, but after he pointed it out, I reflected and realized I perhaps was indeed like that.

Seeing me sulking and largely ignoring him, Old Li took the initiative to tell me the reason for going to the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon. "Engineer Luo, do you still remember the lion?"

I shot him a look. "Nonsense, of course, I remember. It has Tibetan Mastiff blood, and its mother’s owner was Master Banqin."

Seeing that I was finally willing to speak, Old Li’s tense expression eased, and he let out a sigh of relief. "That’s right. You remember Master Banqin. Then do you know why I never retired from the communications station at the Gangba Camp?"

Without waiting for my reply, he answered himself: "Because Master Banqin saved my life. He commanded me to guard the foot of Mount Qiangbake within my capabilities, allowing no outsiders near it, and absolutely no one near that abandoned communications station."

To think there was such a deep secret behind this—I immediately became interested. "Why didn't you say so sooner?"

Old Li said bleakly, "I dared not speak sooner. Master Banqin said what is on Mount Qiangbake concerns the stability of the entire Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. He said if the details were carelessly revealed, the resulting karma would prevent him from achieving Buddhahood for all eternity. Think about it; he is the one who saved my life. How could I bring such immense sin upon him? It’s a pity that so many people still went up later... the Japanese too, and the princess of Guge, and so many people died... How much bloodshed did I bring upon him..."

I too grew somber, immediately forgetting my anger toward him, and quickly consoled him: "That wasn't something you could control. You saw how formidable Zhuoma Yangjin and the Japanese were. Even ten Li Zengs might not have been able to stop them."

Old Li shook his head. "No, that's not it. You truly don't know. At the time, I really didn't exert my full strength. I still harbored selfish intentions, wanting to see for myself what the faceless demon, rumored to cause turmoil across the entire Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, would look like, and what disaster it could bring..."

Good grief. Wasn't he always known for his composure and coolness? I never expected his calculation to be this way... "Then... then..." I looked at Old Li, at a loss for words.

"See? Because of my momentary selfishness, I brought so much sin upon Master Banqin..."

I hastily offered a weak reassurance: "No, it's not like that. Doesn't science say that there are no gods, Buddhas, or ghosts in this world?"

Old Li sternly interrupted me. "Can science explain everything? As far as I know, many aspects of Taoism cannot be explained by current science. But I have genuinely experienced it; how do you account for that? Moreover, Master Banqin has his beliefs; I don't understand them, but I must respect them... So I've decided. Since I failed in my duties on Mount Qiangbake, and then fell into the trap of Fuxian Lake, now that the entire secret is about to be revealed, why shouldn't I go? Finding the root cause and devising countermeasures—wouldn't that be the best way to comfort Master Banqin?"

So that's how it was. No wonder he agreed to go without a second thought; this was the reason! I was struck dumb for a moment. Old Li murmured to himself, as if also speaking to me: "Since things have reached this point and there's no escaping it, we might as well go wholeheartedly."

After hearing Old Li’s somewhat forced explanation, for some reason, I suddenly lost the desire to speak. Just as he said, since we couldn't escape, we should just go. Since the decision was made and was beyond our ability to change, what was there to struggle over? I decided to think nothing of it, rest well for the next two days, and prepare for departure.

Eighty-Seven truly kept his word. For those two or three days, aside from sending people to deliver food and drink, he never showed his face again, nor did Forty-Three or Thirty-Eight make an appearance. Wangmu and Chen Ze had already been sent back. Eighty-Seven's rationale was that their presence merely served to convince us of their goodwill and the existence of a powerful, genuine organization. Now that we believed that, they were no longer useful and naturally had to return.

After a brief rest, we set off again. Although I desperately wished to feign death and refuse to go, the cunning Eighty-Seven gave me no such opportunity. He threatened me: "Yamamoto and those European groups know about what happened at Fuxian Lake and are eyeing you. If you go back, the moment you show yourself, they will immediately use diplomatic channels to cause you trouble. By then..." He gave a cold laugh, "...even if your superiors want to protect you, if several nations they cannot afford to offend demand your handover, what can they do? Dare they protect you? At that point, you won't be my man; why should I help you!"

What he said completely extinguished any thought I had of faking sickness to go back.

...

The Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon: The Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon stretches from Daduka Village (altitude 2800 meters) in Miling County in the north to Baxika Village (altitude 115 meters) in Mêdog County in the south. It is 504.9 kilometers long, with an average depth of 5000 meters and a maximum depth of 6009 meters, making it the world's deepest canyon. The entire canyon area is characterized by an extremely harsh environment where glaciers, sheer cliffs, steep slopes, debris flows, and turbulent, surging rivers intermingle. Many regions remain unexplored to this day, earning it the moniker "Earth's Last Secret Realm."

Flanking the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon are the towering Namcha Barwa Peak (altitude 7782 meters) and Galai Peak (altitude 7234 meters). These peaks are strongly uplifted fault blocks, standing majestically tall, piercing the clouds. Glaciers hang from the ridges, clouds perpetually shroud the peaks, and the meteorological phenomena are myriad.

Viewed from the air or from passes like Xixing La, the Yarlung Zangbo River has carved out a sheer canyon amidst the countless snow peaks and lush green mountains of the Eastern Himalayas. It cuts through the mountain barrier, making a remarkable, sweeping turn around Namcha Barwa Peak before plunging south into the Indian Ocean—its magnificence and singularity are unparalleled.

Due to the precipitous terrain, inconvenient transportation, sparse population, and the fact that many river sections are completely uninhabited, coupled with the canyon's constant veil of clouds and mystery, the environment is exceptionally secluded. On many stretches along the canyon banks, sheer rock walls prevent passage, meaning no one has ever hiked the entire length of the canyon to this day.

Of course, this wasn't all the detailed information stored in my mind; it was what Eighty-Seven told us on the way there.

When we left the place where Eighty-Seven held us under house arrest, our eyes were still covered. We were then taken out in an off-road vehicle that looked utterly unremarkable on the outside but possessed ferocious capabilities. I, Old Li, Eighty-Seven, Forty-Three, and a driver, Thirty-Eight, began our journey.

After driving for about three or four hours, they removed our blindfolds. It was an overcast day with a light mist. Mountains surrounded us everywhere, verdant and lush, refreshingly pleasing to the eye. The vehicle traveled along extremely precarious mountain roads. Thirty-Eight drove silently and dutifully, not uttering a single word during the entire trip.

Along the way, whenever Eighty-Seven saw us observing the outside world, he would immediately grab us and start lecturing us with data about the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon. His intention was obvious: he didn't want us paying attention to where we were going. My sense of direction has never been great. After struggling to determine north, south, east, and west, complicated by the car's constant winding turns and Eighty-Seven's deliberate distractions, I was completely disoriented.

Hearing Eighty-Seven talk so animatedly, I assumed he was taking us directly to our destination. Instead, after driving for about a day, he casually informed us we were heading to Nyingchi in Tibet, where we would stay for another two days to wait for two old friends before deciding on the next steps after meeting them.

Hearing this, I immediately boiled over with rage. I hadn't even fully recovered from the ordeal in Yunnan, and now I was being dragged to a place whose exact location I still couldn't pinpoint, subjected to house arrest, and then bounced around violently in a long off-road drive, as if the matter were of utmost urgency. And now, the old man tells me we have to stay in Nyingchi for another two or three days. "Do you think we're made of iron? We rushed here so frantically, only for you to make us rest here for two or three days waiting for people?!" I didn't mince words. "You should have kept us under house arrest for two extra days back then; at least I could have recovered my strength." Actually, what irked me more was that if he had let us rest longer, Old Li and I might have figured out a way to slip away.

Since Wangmu's visit, Old Li had remained in a dazed state, saying nothing, just attending to his own matters. Eighty-Seven was quite wary of him and tried several times to pry information out of me about Old Li, wanting to know what he was thinking. Unfortunately, I was well aware of Eighty-Seven’s petty tricks, and being genuinely annoyed, I certainly didn't give him any pleasantries.

Forty-Three was extremely dissatisfied with our attitude and tried to lash out several times, but Eighty-Seven signaled him to stop in time. I noticed this, and recalling how arrogant Forty-Three had been when he captured us, contrasting it with his current subservient demeanor, I felt a measure of satisfaction.

Thirty-Eight had excellent stamina; he was solely responsible for driving and only took short breaks a few times midway.

As we neared Nyingchi, the population density on both sides gradually increased, and the route chosen became the public national highway, no longer sneaking through wild mountain terrain.

The sight of the constant stream of traffic, and people wearing Tibetan robes and Han clothing, was initially jarring. Having been isolated for so long, seeing these people and objects felt surprisingly comforting and welcome.

Seeing my reaction, Eighty-Seven dropped his cheerful, small-vendor smile. "Don't just enjoy the spectacle; who knows if there are any trackers among these people!"

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