The temperature swings in Alxa were severe — by midnight it was bitterly cold, and the wind was relentless, howling past the windows with a sound like distant weeping drawing steadily nearer. Tucked beneath warm covers, the two rolled about in a tangle. What should have been a tender, intimate moment seemed, with these two particular people, more like a battle between two evenly matched forces, always carrying the flavor of a contest with a winner to be determined.
All women in this world are like walled cities — what appears to be a gentle moat conceals a fortified stronghold within. Direct assault will not breach it. You must slowly erode the defenses, or wait for her to open the gates of her own accord and welcome you in.
The bedside lamp came on. Ba Yunye turned over and lay facing upward. “You absolute—”
“You still dare to curse at me,” Diao Zhuo said. His arm was being used as her pillow, but at this he reached for his pack of cigarettes and the lighter, and then, catching that remark, he put them back on the nightstand, threw off the covers, and looked as though he was about to launch a fresh offensive.
Ba Yunye hugged herself and curled into a ball. “Idiot — don’t you know that hitting and scolding are signs of affection?”
“Just say you love me directly.”
Ba Yunye pretended not to hear.
Diao Zhuo pressed over her. “Say it!”
“Words said in bed — do you actually believe them?”
“You say it first. Whether I believe it is my business.” He pressed her hands down on either side.
Ba Yunye looked up at him. His eyes were dark as ink, and the shape of his brow and the corners of his eyes were exactly as she liked them. Her heart warmed. She sniffled, still stubbornly refusing to give in: “I’m cold. Let go.”
He put one arm around her waist and pulled the covers over with his other hand.
She raised both arms and wrapped them around his neck, holding his gaze. His body was burning hot, his muscles solid, the stubble that always seemed to be just barely there still prickling as always, and the way he looked at her was like supple vines — wrapping around her, one coil at a time, drawing her in.
“I…” She found her voice had gone slightly hoarse. And then she suddenly thought of that eating-show influencer who made a living from being adorably coy, and imitated his style: “Of course I love you, meow~”
A few seconds later, his kiss fell again. She resisted a little, pushing at his shoulder. “I’m done…”
“You started it.”
“You can really be gotten to by that kind of trick?” She clearly remembered that she had tried the same coy act on him before, and he had looked at her with an expressionless face and told her to speak like a human being.
“Yes.”
“…Show some restraint, young man.”
Diao Zhuo’s hand slipped under the covers — crack!
“You hit me! That’s domestic violence!”
“Who could ever really overpower you?” Diao Zhuo leaned down to her ear. “Unless Master Ba is willing.”
“I… *@#%&!”
Diao Zhuo covered her mouth with his hand. She shook her head furiously in protest. He released it, and replaced it with a kiss to silence her nonstop chatter.
Old Wang had been entrusted by Diao Zhuo to take them to see Maiden’s Lake today. Diao Zhuo had also specifically asked him not to reveal the plan in advance. Old Wang assumed Diao Zhuo was trying to court Master Ba and had cooked up something romantic — he kept his lips sealed accordingly, saying only that meeting like this was fate, that they were practically colleagues, and as a goodwill gesture he was throwing in a desert adventure for them, just to make friends, and that it would be resource-sharing going forward.
“All very mysterious…” Ma He was eager with curiosity. “Can you find agates out there on the road?”
“If there were agates there for the taking, do you think you’d be the first to get them?” Old Wang laughed heartily. The route to Maiden’s Lake this time passed through sections he had taken hundreds of groups through before, so he felt especially confident, and was in a very relaxed mood.
Ba Yunye arrived fashionably late, rubbing the back of her neck as she walked, yawning. She had no idea what time she’d fallen asleep the night before — she had been using Diao Zhuo’s arm as a pillow, and woke up that morning with a crick in her neck, so that turning her head at all was painful.
Long Ge, seeing her state, laughed. “Those last few nights in the field you had no choice but to sleep in the vehicle. Last night you finally had a proper bed, and you still managed to give yourself a stiff neck.”
“The bed was proper. The company was not,” Ma He quipped.
“Go to hell,” Ba Yunye shot back as usual, but there was a note of unease in her heart — afraid that one of them might truly have a problem, and afraid of the rift that might open between them as a result.
Old Wang was outside the whole affair; seeing everyone had finished eating, he called for them all to get in the vehicles.
The wide national road was lined on both sides by low, flat buildings. Past the toll station, turning right would take you all the way into the Badain Jaran scenic area. A towering statue of Genghis Khan stood at one side of the road — the hero of an age, seated in a posture of commanding ease, his gaze still tender and imposing after a thousand years, looking out over the vast riding grounds of the nation he had once ruled.
It was an overcast day, with sunlight filtering in and out through a thick layer of cloud, falling like translucent gauze curtains. In this part of the world, that kind of light is called the light of Buddha.
Old Wang said that the round trip to Maiden’s Lake was two hundred kilometers, and along the way they would pass seven or eight lakes — including the famous purple lake and the deep-blue heart-shaped lake — as well as Bilutu Peak, the highest point in the desert. Without stopping at the other lakes, the journey could be done in a day, though most visitors chose to spend a night out in the desert.
“I’ve never seen Maiden’s Lake in October before,” Old Wang said, clapping Diao Zhuo on the shoulder. “Whether it shows itself or not — that’s down to your luck. Best of luck to you.”
Diao Zhuo gave a nod. All he needed was a set of coordinates.
Old Wang’s curiosity got the better of him. “That Master Ba of yours… beautiful, that’s for sure, and there’s an energy about her — tsk tsk — she’s not the kind of person most people can handle. Not the kind most would dare go near! She’s formidable. I once ate a type of chili pepper in Hunan — I didn’t know what it was at first, and by the time I felt the heat, it was too late. After that, no matter where I ate spicy food, nothing came close to that pepper’s effect on me. Master Ba is that kind of chili pepper.”
A look of quiet agreement crossed Diao Zhuo’s face.
With about twenty kilometers still to go before reaching Maiden’s Lake, the number of visitors dropped off noticeably — they had entered the deep interior of the desert, where lakes were sparse compared to earlier stretches, leaving only endless dunes and the sculpted ridgelines that nature had carved with masterful precision. Vegetation was scarce, and looking out across the expanse it was utterly desolate. For a hundred kilometers in every direction, only their two off-road vehicles could be seen winding their way forward.
Long Ge drove behind Old Wang across the rolling sand ridges. Old Wang’s vehicle dipped in and out of view along the undulating terrain, a long pole topped with a small red flag guiding the vehicle behind.
“What’s this Maiden’s Lake Old Wang mentioned?” Long Ge asked.
Ba Yunye sat in the back seat, her tone calm. “He mentioned it when he was going on about something. It sounded like it might be one of the places in the photographs my sister left.”
He nodded. “Worth going to have a look.”
“Never would have thought Master Ba’s elder sister had done a trek through the Badain Jaran,” Ma He mused. “Geology is a good line of work — you get to roam all over the world. Not so different from what we do.”
“Inner Mongolia is one of the country’s major mineral-producing regions,” Long Ge said, rubbing his double chin. “There might be more buried in the Badain Jaran besides underground water.”
Ma He slapped his thigh and started fidgeting with barely contained excitement. “Why didn’t you say so earlier! I didn’t bring a shovel or a pickaxe today!”
“Relax — other than Master Ba’s man, which one of us has a mining permit?” Long Ge said, laughing.
“Speaking of which, Master Ba, what do you think?” Ma He turned around to ask. “If Maiden’s Lake turns out to be the heart-shaped lake in the photograph, what does that mean?”
“Something like what Long Ge said — treasure buried underground, like a gold deposit.” Before she had met Diao Zhuo, Ba Yunye had genuinely thought along those lines.
“Just my luck — I missed another chance to get rich overnight.” Ma He slumped in the passenger seat, thoroughly dejected.
Long Ge was visibly unmoved, apparently entirely indifferent to any talk of gold or silver deposits.
After an indeterminate stretch of time, the walkie-talkie crackled with static, followed by Old Wang’s excited shout: “There it is! There it is! It’s here! Maiden’s Lake!”
Ba Yunye’s heart leapt straight to her throat. Long Ge floored the accelerator, and the vehicle surged forward.
The off-road vehicle crested the ridge, and every pair of eyes was immediately captured by the breathtaking sight below. At the very base of the sand slope, a heart-shaped lake appeared as if conjured from nothing, its color shifting in gradients from the palest pink at the shore to deep violet at its center. The entire lake looked like a translucent crystal that God had carelessly dropped into the depths of the desert. Most miraculous of all, a small group of white wild camels were wandering leisurely along the lakeshore, their elegant silhouettes reflected in the mirror-still water, the whole scene resembling a painting rendered in oils.
Old Wang was beside himself with delight and astonishment. “Maiden’s Lake and white camels! Your luck is extraordinary… Last time, a client threw double the money at me to bring them out here, and when we arrived, not a drop of water — forget white camels!”
“It’s actually here…” Ba Yunye was a little stunned herself. She even pressed her palms together in a gesture of reverence. Perhaps, in ways unseen, fate had its own design.
She glanced at Diao Zhuo. He gave her a look that said leave it to me.
Everyone climbed out of the vehicles and walked toward Maiden’s Lake. Seeing the group descend, the white camels scattered in all directions, in the manner of creatures who knew better than to pick a fight.
Ma He was still shooting video to upload to Douyin later. Long Ge walked circuits around Maiden’s Lake, dipped his fingers in the water, licked his fingertips, and immediately spat — salty.
Diao Zhuo and Ba Yunye stood off to one side. Ba Yunye said quietly, “This is the place in the photograph.” Diao Zhuo checked the coordinates: 41°11′15″N, 102°21′19″E.
Ba Yunye looked at the long string of numbers and felt her eyes crossing. She thought — even if the three photographs could be combined into some kind of code, there was no guarantee she’d be able to understand what it meant. Besides, standing at the lake’s edge versus standing at its center would yield different data, with inevitable discrepancies of seconds.
In the distance, Ma He called out with curiosity: “Old Wang, why did you name this lake ‘Maiden’s Lake’?”
Old Wang held his cigarette and launched into his story. “When I first came across it, I thought — isn’t this exactly the kind of thing young girls love to look at? I went back and boasted about it, and sure enough, all sorts of women who’d come out to the desert wanted me to take them to see it. Never managed it once. After a while, I stopped bringing clients out this way — I was afraid of them thinking I was scamming them, and a bad reputation travels. Then I thought about it again, and reckoned — this thing is like a sheltered girl who’s never seen the world, too scared to let anyone look at her. One thing led to another, and I ended up calling it Maiden’s Lake.”
“That’s actually gender discrimination,” Ba Yunye said, raising an eyebrow at his account. “Maiden’s Lake — so you’re saying it’s timid and squeamish, embarrassed to be seen? Why not call it the Lake of Three Obediences and Four Virtues, or the Chaste Martyr’s Lake?”
Old Wang almost choked with laughter. “No discrimination intended whatsoever — purely to attract customers. Maiden’s Lake — it sounds lively and charming, the kind of name that makes you want to go.”
Ba Yunye shook her head, tracing the outline of Maiden’s Lake with her hand. “I don’t think ‘Maiden’s Lake’ is a fitting name,” she said with a grin. “I have a name that suits both its shape and would make people even more eager to come see it than ‘Maiden’ ever could—”
“What is it?” Old Wang asked.
“Buttocks Lake!”
The words had barely left her mouth when the center of the lake began to churn and bubble from below, foamy ripples spreading across the pink surface — as though it were lodging a vigorous protest against the name the female rogue had given it.
“Master Ba!” Ma He shouted from his vantage point up on higher ground where he was filming the panorama. “They say lakes like this that wander and drift have a kind of spiritual presence — you’d better not say things carelessly. Have you forgotten what happened to Ye Xun? The way he ended up all strange and delirious, and then got ‘drowned in his own car’?”
Ba Yunye heard this and actually felt a twinge of unease — she rubbed her arms as if cold, though she couldn’t quite let it go. “But it really does look like a giant backside,” she muttered to Diao Zhuo. “And it can’t even let a person say so…”
Diao Zhuo, who had been deep in thought, surfaced and smiled faintly, then deliberately stepped back a few paces. “You say it then.”
You son of a— So his plan was to stand aside and watch the forces of nature exact whatever consequence was coming her way?
She shot him a glare and held her tongue.