Hearing Old Li’s almost panicked account, I instead lost the interest to investigate further. Since the place was crawling with snooping characters anyway, let them do as they wished. Besides, we weren't mere fish on a chopping block; we still had a martial arts master like Eighty-seven around.

With a sigh, I drew the curtains closed and returned to sit on the bedside, staring blankly. Old Li also walked over, hesitating as if he wanted to speak but couldn't quite manage it. With him, if he hadn't figured out what he wanted to say, he wouldn't say it; if he was unwilling to speak, even death wouldn't make him open his mouth. Therefore, I didn't press him, just sat there lost in thought, waiting for him to bring it up himself.

After a long while, Old Li finally stammered, his tone suggestive, "Technician Luo, when do you think Zhuoma Yangjin will arrive?"

I glanced at him sideways, seeing his extreme embarrassment, and couldn't fathom why he was acting so coy. Logically, it should have been me feeling awkward when Zhuoma Yangjin's name was brought up. "What? Do you need to see her about something? Didn't she say she’d be here in a couple of days?"

Old Li hesitated again. "Then she'll have to bring her handmaiden, right?"

I gave him a look. "Of course. Didn't you see Wangmu already met us? How could the High Priest let her venture out alone in such an uncertain situation?"

Old Li still wavered. "That might not be certain. Look, she was alone on Mount Qiangbake."

Huh? This was a little strange. Why was he so fixated on Zhuoma Yangjin? "Old Li, what exactly are you trying to say? Be direct. I genuinely don't understand what you're trying to express."

Old Li's ears instantly flushed crimson, and he murmured low, "I... I was thinking, if she brings a handmaiden, will she look for someone with experience to guide her?"

Now I was even more bewildered. "Experienced? Experienced in what?"

Old Li looked at me dejectedly, helpless. "You know, a handmaiden who has gone through all this with us. Having her close by would surely be much safer."

"Oh—so that's it." A light dawned on me. The handmaidens who had been through this with us were only Wangmu Zhuoga from beneath the ruins of Guge and Yanzi. So, he was hoping Zhuoma Yangjin would bring Yanzi along. "Oh—" I continued, "This... this question. I never heard that she was Zhuoma Yangjin's handmaiden. Isn't she directly under Tashi's command?"

Old Li clearly understood that the "she" I referred to was Yanzi. Upon hearing this, his eyes immediately dimmed, his expression desolate. "Right. She definitely won't come."

Seeing his demeanor, I almost teased him, "When did our Zeng Li become so sentimental?" But thinking of Zhuoma Yangjin, my heart ached inexplicably, twisted up. She was utterly unfathomable to me; sometimes I thought her calculating, hard to gauge, but at other times, she possessed a child-like innocence and the pure bravery of a young girl. At first, I believed many things were just traps she had set, and I held resentment towards her. But after hearing Eighty-seven's explanation—that she was genuinely unaware of many affairs—a great weight seemed to lift from my chest, bringing relief that she wasn't some malicious schemer. Yet, after the relief came bewilderment: how was I supposed to face her, this person who loved me with such courage? Perhaps, without realizing it, I had developed subtle feelings for her?

Forget it. I sighed inwardly, shaking my head. "We are people from different worlds." I said this to Old Li, but I was also saying it to myself.

Old Li kept his head down, silent. I couldn't find anything to comfort him, so silence descended upon us again.

Just then, Eighty-seven woke up. He turned over, let out a yawn, stretched his limbs, and then sat up. He looked at the silent Old Li and me, then got up to wash.

Forty-three and Thirty-eight returned soon after, as if timing their arrival with Eighty-seven’s waking. They were perfectly punctual. As soon as they entered, Forty-three announced, "Excluding our own people, there are three other groups. Zhuoma Yangjin's, and one each from Japan and Germany."

Eighty-seven grunted indistinctly while brushing his teeth, indicating he understood.

Forty-three waved his hand, and Thirty-eight immediately approached the washing Eighty-seven, holding a stack of documents with both hands. As Eighty-seven washed his face, Thirty-eight rapidly flipped through the pages for him to see. By the time Eighty-seven finished washing, he had already scanned the whole stack. Thirty-eight then respectfully stepped back and neatly organized the documents.

I highly doubted whether Eighty-seven had clearly seen what was on those papers, given he seemed to process one page per second.

After he was done tidying up, Forty-three had the hotel send up breakfast. Only then did I remember that I hadn't eaten either. It seemed Eighty-seven held considerable status and position, yet he was remarkably worldly and utterly without airs. When breakfast arrived, he invited everyone to eat together. Forty-three and Thirty-eight didn't decline, sitting down comfortably to partake. This didn't feel like the deferential behavior of servants towards a master, as before.

After the meal, Old Li and I were still idle, but Forty-three and Thirty-eight became busy. People kept knocking on the door to see them, handing them items, or pulling them out to the balcony for whispered exchanges. They deliberately kept us out of earshot, and Old Li and I were certainly not so dense as to eavesdrop.

Eighty-seven remained exceedingly calm, completely adopting the persona of a petty street vendor. He pulled Old Li and me into a game of Dou Dizhu (Fight the Landlord). His luck was terrible; he kept drawing weak hands. Whenever this happened, he’d laugh loudly, smack the table, curse his parents and ancestors, displaying the perfect mannerisms of a vulgar rogue. He paid absolutely no mind to who entered the room or what Forty-three and Thirty-eight were doing.

As for me, although my hand wasn't bad, my mind frequently wandered, watching who came and went, who Forty-three or Thirty-eight went to entertain, and what they were saying... As a result, I lost at least five out of every ten hands. Eighty-seven managed to profit quite a bit from this.

Eighty-seven mocked me. "Luo Lian, so many people coming and going, can you keep track of them all? Focus on the cards when you're playing. Otherwise, I’ll make you lose your pants."

I burst out laughing. "With that pile of trash cards you have, you think you can beat me? Come on, if I don't make you lose everything down to your shorts, I really won't believe it." Before the words were even finished, the door was abruptly pushed open impolitely, and a strong, fishy odor flooded the room. I frowned, muttering inwardly about someone so ill-mannered. Looking up, I saw a short, thin, dark-skinned man with a crew cut, looking travel-worn and panting heavily at the doorway, completely out of breath, his expression deeply anxious.

Before Forty-three and the others could step forward, Eighty-seven tossed his cards aside and rushed to meet the newcomer, helping the man to the sofa and personally pouring him a glass of water. Only when the man’s breathing stabilized did Eighty-seven ask, "Old Five, what has you in such a hurry?"

The man called Old Five took the glass, drained it in one gulp, wiped his mouth, and handed the cup back to Eighty-seven, gesturing for a refill. Only then did he notice Old Li and me, looking suspicious. "Who are these two? I didn't know about them."

Eighty-seven explained, "Oh! Those two... they are both legendary figures; don't underestimate them. Here... here... have another glass of water. Have you eaten?"

Old Five looked at Old Li and me with lingering distrust, scrutinizing us up and down without speaking.

Eighty-seven chuckled. "Old Five, the people I bring, can you still not trust them?"

Old Five remained uneasy, wanting to speak but stopping himself. He stood up and pulled Eighty-seven towards the balcony. As he passed me, another wave of potent fish odor washed over me—truly unbearable!

As soon as Old Five reached the balcony, Forty-three and Thirty-eight immediately retreated and closed the door again. It seemed Old Five was quite an important figure; otherwise, why would Eighty-seven have to personally escort him?

It seemed Forty-three noticed I was paying attention, especially my displeasure at the fishy smell clinging to the man. He sharply called to Old Li to continue the game. Old Li played along perfectly.

...

Eighty-seven and Old Five murmured together on the balcony for a long time. Then, Eighty-seven personally escorted Old Five to the door. Only after watching him walk quite a distance away did he return, his face split in a smile. He said nothing else, simply urging us to continue our game of Dou Dizhu. Forty-three and Thirty-eight resumed their tasks.

I couldn't quite hold back my curiosity anymore and tested the waters tentatively. "That person just now... is he a fisherman or a fishmonger?"

Eighty-seven just looked at his cards, replying vaguely, "Uh-huh, sells fish. From the area around Fuxian Lake."

Fuxian Lake? Hearing those three words instantly gave me a headache. Something bad must be happening; otherwise, why would Old Five travel all the way from Yunnan to Linzhi in Tibet?

Hopefully, nothing bad is happening. I wanted to stay quietly for a couple of days and wait for Zhuoma Yangjin!

Eighty-seven threw down a card: "Seven of Diamonds! Luo Lian, you're distracted again!"

Since he was unwilling to elaborate, I couldn't press further, so I played cards half-heartedly, but a persistent sense of foreboding lingered: Old Five must be connected to someone we know. Absolutely!

We played for a while without any real stakes or clear winners and losers. In the meantime, Forty-three and Thirty-eight each went out once and returned without any noticeable change. They were too normal—so normal it was almost showing off, which was infuriating!

Finally, Eighty-seven noticed my inattentiveness and asked, "Luo Lian, how long have we been playing cards, and how long have you been drifting off? Have you taken a liking to some village girl and started daydreaming about romance?"

"No, no..." I quickly denied it.

Eighty-seven placed his cards on the table and stared at me with a sly smile. "Ah... I knew you young folks were overly curious. You're definitely wondering who all these people arriving today are, and what Old Five’s background is, right?"

I frankly admitted it. "Yes. I suppose anyone in our position would be curious about people as mysterious as you."

Old Li nodded in agreement.

Eighty-seven leaned back on the sofa, languidly. "We have to be mysterious. I’ve told you before we are personnel from the Ninth Branch of the National Security Agency. If you don't believe it, what can I do?"

Seeing I still looked unconvinced, he said with extreme seriousness, "It's true, we really are from the Ninth Branch of the National Security Agency. From the very beginning, this department never intended for anyone to know about it."

I remained silent.

Old Li spoke up. "Even if that's true, what are all these people here for? Since you’re asking us to go to the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon together, we are comrades in arms. There's no need to be so secretive; just tell us plainly that we are outsiders right to our faces."

Eighty-seven smiled. "It’s not that we treat you as outsiders; it’s that we are still gathering intelligence on these matters. Only after we consolidate it can we tell you the truth. Also, the person you are very concerned about—Old Five—he is my man, primarily in charge of affairs around Fuxian Lake. And he brought some good news that I suspect you'd be very eager to hear."