Book 8: Chapter 36: A Solo Adventure
As soon as Xiao Xia left Ironhead Mountain, she headed strait towards Naman Village.
The distance from southern Sichuan was much closer compared to going from the north like they did last time when handling Guan Zheng’s case. However, due to the lack of convenient transportation options, it took much longer.
Xiao Xia barely slept in days. She was afraid Ruan Zhan’s soul would wake up, afraid she would forever lose her chance to save him. Therefore, despite her exhaustion, she still desperately tried to make up for lost time. This suffering was nothing compared to the pain of losing Ruan Zhan.
However, the heavens seemed to be against her. No matter what form of transport she chose, issues cropped up. Planes and trains were delayed, cars broke down along the way. Even taxis managed to go the wrong way. She burned with anxiety, wanting nothing more than to fly straight to Naman. By the time she finally reached the village at the foot of the mountain, her body was ready to give out and it was already deep in the night.
She hurriedly ate a bowl of noodles and drank some water to avoid starving along the way, and considered whether or not to make her way into the mountains at night. Time waited for no one so she naturally wanted to act immediately. However, the mountain forest was dangerous at night. The road terrain was already tough without considering what might be lurking in the dark. She wasn’t afraid of something happening to her, but rather that Ruan Zhan would be done for if something did.
Just as she was pacing around the town entrance trying to make up her mind, a loud mechanical noise drew her attention. Turning around, she saw a brand new red tractor driving from the town to the outskirts. She was clearly standing in the way.
She instinctively went to move out of the way, but a flash of inspiration caused her to hurriedly run back and wave the car down. The person driving the tractor obviously didn’t expect her to do this, and didn’t slow down at all. They could only pull the emergency brake. Looking at the approaching front of the car, Xiao Xia closed her eyes in horror. She heard a sharp screech, and when she opened her eyes again, the tractor was only half a foot away from her. If the person driving the tractor had braked half a second later, she would have been hit directly.
The person driving the tractor was stunned for a full minute before coming to his senses. He glared at Xiao Xia, looking very angry, and shouted a string of regional dialect at her. The other people sitting on the tractor also started talking all at once. Xiao Xia understood none of it but knew they were cursing her. But since she was at fault, and also needed their help, she could only listen while putting on a friendly appearance, repeatedly bowing in apology.
She couldn’t quite distinguish the clothing of the ethnic tribes, but based on her experience of staying in Naman Village for a while last time, the person driving the tractor and the seven or eight people in the small trailer behind seemed to be from Najin Village, a neighboring village of Naman.