Zhang Qiling and Hei Xiazi had been searching for a dozen minutes without catching even a glimpse of them, and a sense of growing anxiety began to weigh on their minds.
"003, can you get a fix on Master Hua's location?" Having failed to find anyone, the blind man had no choice but to stop and ask 003 for help.
"Yes. Follow the route I give you." True to form, 003 never let him down at a critical moment.
Noticing Hei Xiazi halt, Zhang Qiling turned to look at him. Even though he said nothing, his questioning gaze conveyed his thoughts entirely.
"I know where they are. Follow me."
Hei Xiazi ignored his silent inquiry; after all, he had no idea how to explain 003's existence. The fewer people who knew about such things, the safer it was. It wasn't that he didn't trust Zhang Qiling, but even if he told him, the man would only forget, so there was no point in wasting breath.
Curious though he was, Zhang Qiling knew that finding Wu Xie and the others took precedence above all else right now.
Following the directions provided by 003, Hei Xiazi walked further and further away. It took them a good half hour of walking before they finally spotted Xie Yuchen and the others lying on the ground.
"Well, look at that. They saw the flare and walked right away from it," the blind man remarked with a hint of amusement now that they had finally found the group.
Even Zhang Qiling beside him could not help but agree, especially since this spot was a long way from where they had temporarily rested.
Without 003's directions, who knew how much longer they would have spent searching? Seeing Xie Yuchen's flushed cheeks and feverish state, Hei Xiazi felt a pang of heartache. He took out a silk handkerchief, moistened it with a little water, and gently wiped the man's face before pouring a little more water between his lips.
Nearby, Zhang Qiling was holding Wu Xie, watching Hei Xiazi's sequence of actions with complicated feelings. For a moment, he wasn't quite sure if he should do the exact same thing for Wu Xie.
"Alright, stop staring. Give Wu Xie some water—just make sure he doesn't kick the bucket," Hei Xiazi tossed a bottle over, speaking with utter double standards.
Perhaps they should be grateful that Wu Xie hadn't regained consciousness yet; otherwise, the two of them would undoubtedly have started bickering again.
Without a word, Zhang Qiling turned silently to feed Wu Xie water, then used his sleeve to simply dab away the droplets left lingering around Wu Xie's mouth.
Though far less delicate than Hei Xiazi's ministrations, for someone as cold and aloof as Zhang Qiling, this was already the highest standard of treatment—something Hei Xiazi himself had never enjoyed.
Watching Zhang Qiling imitate his actions, Hei Xiazi let out an extremely dissatisfied click of his tongue. He had known Mute Zhang for all these years, and the man had never even cooked a single meal for him, let alone shown such attentive care.
Ignoring Hei Xiazi's unspoken grievances, Zhang Qiling hoisted Wu Xie onto his back and began walking back the way they had come. Seeing this, Hei Xiazi closely followed behind; Master Hua was still burning with fever, so they needed to get back quickly before he cooked his brain.
Because they had lost their bearings on the way here and only found the others thanks to 003, they had wasted a fair bit of time, but their pace on the return journey was much faster.
In less than half an hour, Hei Xiazi and Zhang Qiling had carried the two men back to the temporary camp.
They administered a fever-reducing shot to the unconscious and feverish Xie Yuchen and gave him a little water to soothe his parched lips. Wu Xie's condition was slightly better than Xie Yuchen's, so they simply fed him some glucose water. Once both men were settled, A-Ning walked over.
"Since those two have been brought back," A-Ning said, "it's time to go look for the others."
Though somewhat displeased that they had prioritized finding Wu Xie and Xie Yuchen first, she kept her complaints to herself—after all, she still needed to rely on these people to successfully enter the Queen Mother of the West Palace.
Yet as she glanced at the two men resting, a fleeting trace of envy crossed A-Ning's lowered eyes, envious that Wu Xie and Xie Yuchen had people who cared about them so deeply.
A moment later, however, A-Ning had already regained her composure, her aloof and unyielding demeanor concealing any hint of vulnerability.
"Of course."
Hei Xiazi replied with brisk directness. After all, he was being paid; since the boss had given the word, it was time to get to work.
After A-Ning walked away, Hei Xiazi turned to Zhang Qiling, who was preparing to leave, and said, "Mute Zhang, stay here. I'll go find them."
Zhang Qiling looked at Hei Xiazi with a puzzled expression.
"I have a way to find them. You stay here and keep an eye on them, and don't let anyone get close."
Hei Xiazi emphasized the word 'anyone,' making it abundantly clear who he was referring to.
Zhang Qiling glanced at A-Ning, who was still quietly keeping an eye on them, and gave Hei Xiazi a faint nod.
The desert was vast, and finding anyone without a few hours of searching was out of the question—let alone when so many people had gone missing. With the unpredictable conditions of the desert, managing to find even a few of them would be a stroke of luck.
Besides, the blind man had no intention of bringing all of them back. Since he was still on Third Master's payroll, he had to leave a few behind in the desert to justify the fee Third Master had paid him.
"003, mark everyone closest to me. I'll just grab a few to take back and satisfy Big Beauty A-Ning," Hei Xiazi said without the slightest bit of pretense.
"Understood."
Looking at the dense cluster of red dots spread across the map, Hei Xiazi clicked his back teeth. "A-Ning's subordinates sure know how to run. There's one all the way out over ten kilometers away."
Two hours later, the wind and sand gradually died down, and as the dust cleared, the evening sky began to reveal the approaching stars of night.
Hei Xiazi returned to camp leading a group of people. Seeing him trailing five or six individuals behind him like a string of sheep, A-Ning's face darkened instantly, practically rivaling Judge Bao in complexion.
Hei Xiazi, however, couldn't care less. Bringing them back at all was entirely due to that generous bounty.
Zhang Qiling had been left sitting beside Wu Xie and Xie Yuchen by the blind man. Even when A-Ning walked over and told him to go search for the others, he didn't budge an inch, firmly keeping the directive to guard them locked in his mind.
Seeing that Zhang Qiling was entirely impervious to both soft and hard tactics, A-Ning could do nothing with him. She couldn't beat him in a fight, and her words were completely ignored, leaving her no choice but to flick her sleeves in frustration and stalk off. Anyone with eyes could see just how furious her retreating back looked.
Zhang Qiling, however, had no idea, because he hadn't even looked.
Returning from his search, Hei Xiazi found Zhang Qiling still maintaining the exact same posture he had left him in, having not shifted his position by so much as an inch. Very satisfied, he walked over, clapped him on the shoulder, and said, "Not bad, Mute Zhang. Keep it up. Come on, I'll treat you to some shredded pork fried rice with green peppers."
Since Zhang Qiling had listened to his instructions, the blind man was quite generous this time, handing over a portion of shredded pork fried rice with green peppers.
Watching Zhang Qiling obediently eating the fried rice, Hei Xiazi nodded with profound satisfaction. He had always known that shredded pork fried rice with green peppers was the greatest delicacy in the world.
After settling Zhang Qiling, the blind man walked over to Xie Yuchen. As for Wu Xie? Well, Mute Zhang wasn't going to mistreat him; he'd naturally be well taken care of.
Stepping forward, Hei Xiazi felt Xie Yuchen's forehead and, finding the fever had broken, took out a silk handkerchief to wipe away the cold sweat brought on by the illness. Then, he settled the man's head onto his own lap and closed his eyes to rest for a while.
Even for Hei Xiazi, searching for people for so long had left him feeling a trace of exhaustion.