There were generally two roads from Lhasa to Shiquanhe in Ali: the southern route and the northern route. The northern route was somewhat longer but safer, making it the first choice for many first-time self-drivers entering Ali.

After leaving the city of Lhasa, National Highway 318 was subject to speed restrictions all the way. Compared to the magnificent, awe-inspiring grandeur of the stretch entering Tibet, this section offered an unvarying succession of mountains and blue sky, its scenery somewhat less striking. Ba Yunye drove smoothly and steadily, her mind drifting back to a conversation with Long Ge over dinner that evening—

“Here.” Long Ge ladled her a full bowl himself, evidently in good spirits. “A bowl of soul-nourishing broth.”

Ba Yunye blew on it, raised a spoonful — the golden soup was fragrant and steaming. The Motuo stone pot had slow-cooked for four hours; the chicken was tender without falling apart, the ginseng soft and yielding, with a texture like smooth bean paste and a faint, gentle sweetness on the palate. “Just admit it — were you a cook in the reconnaissance unit’s mess hall back in the day?”

Long Ge brushed the question aside with a perfunctory laugh, the fat on his belly jiggling with it. “Any news about Zhang Chenguang online?”

“Still no sign of the person.”

“Didn’t they say they found another body?”

Ma He waved a hand. “It was a foreigner. No way of knowing if it was someone from the same group that went up the mountain that day. By rights, if a foreign national goes missing on Chinese soil, their country should be taking this very seriously — yet not a single person came to file a missing persons report. In the end it was our own rescue teams who went up and found the body.”

Long Ge shook his head, seemingly not very invested in the foreigner’s story. “For ordinary people like us, unlike the police, tracking down a specific person is no easy business. By some coincidence or stroke of luck, they finally managed to find an eyewitness — or perhaps a survivor — of that vehicle accident…”

Ma He said with genuine regret to Ba Yunye, “If only you hadn’t stopped me from striking up a conversation with him back there.”

Ba Yunye said, “Even if you’d gotten the chance, it takes time. You can’t just walk up and immediately ask — Zhang Chenguang, can you tell me how that bus actually went off the road?”

“Then you tell me — what was your plan for getting close to him?”

She thought for a moment, then said with great seriousness: “I would have started by discussing poetry and classical literature.”

Ma He, who knew her habits better than anyone, said, “Great soaring bird rising with the wind — what comes next?”

“…”

“Pitiable, the bones by the banks of the Wuding River — what comes next?”

“…”

“Bright moonlight before my bed — what comes next?”

Ba Yunye lit up. “Suspected to be frost on the ground!”

Ma He pointed his thumb straight downward.

“A pity…” Long Ge said with regret, “I thought this time you might finally find out a few more details about the circumstances of your older sister’s accident.”

Ba Yunye’s elder sister, Ba Xiye, had been the most accomplished person to come out of the orphanage — reading and studying while helping the orphanage director, Ba Yuanzhang, look after the younger children. Her own childhood wish had been simple: to be like her eldest sister and get into university one day. Thinking of this, she drew in a slow breath. “Back then, the internet wasn’t what it is now, and there was no dashcam footage either. The eyewitnesses and people with inside knowledge we’ve been able to track down are far too few. But I absolutely do not believe that Song Whatever-his-name-is — claiming my elder sister was someone’s mistress, that she caused everyone to fall out with each other and dragged her colleagues down with her.”

Ma He said, “But didn’t you look up her former classmates? One of them apparently said she had mentioned… there was someone she was secretly in love with, who was already married with children.”

Under the table, Long Ge gave Ma He a kick hard enough that anyone trying to pretend they hadn’t noticed would have found it very difficult.

Ba Yunye raised a hand slightly, indicating she didn’t mind. “A secret admiration and inserting yourself into someone’s marriage aren’t the same thing. Didn’t you mention you have a secret admiration for Dilraba Dilmurat? Does that mean the two of you are having an affair? Flattering yourself.”

“It’s not a secret admiration with me — I like her openly and proudly!” Ma He corrected indignantly.

She ignored him and sank into her own thoughts, remembering that winter during her first year of middle school, when she had come back from school one afternoon to find Ba Yuanzhang wiping tears while telling everyone: this holiday, your eldest sister Xiye isn’t coming back.

“Now the orphanage has been taken back by the government to be rebuilt and put under centralized management — Ba Yuanzhang’s dying wish has been fulfilled. Whether it’s an accident or a story — if there’s someone who knows, it’s worth learning a little more. If there truly isn’t anyone, then so be it. In any case, I don’t believe she would have interfered in someone else’s marriage.”

Seeing her expression, Long Ge cast a darkened look at Ma He, but Ma He failed to notice. He asked with curiosity, “Didn’t your sister make any kind of contact with the old director before going out on each field expedition? Beyond the three photographs you’ve shown us, didn’t she leave behind anything at all — a letter, some words, a diary?”

Ba Yunye rested her chin on her hand, appearing to turn it over in her mind. Apart from a black-and-white photograph with the location and year written on the back, there was nothing of use. After a moment, she shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Other than the photographs, I truly cannot think of anything else. Besides, if my memory were that good, I’d have gotten into university a long time ago.”

“That Captain Diao Zhuo that Ma He has been singing the praises of — if I understand right, he does geological surveying, which means he’s in the same field as your elder sister.” Long Ge said.

Ba Yunye looked slightly surprised, then gave a loose, carefree laugh. “If my elder sister were still here, she’d practically be of the generation to teach him. Since my elder sister is in his teacher’s generation, does that make him my… grand-pupil? Or my… nephew by proxy?”

“Nephew?” Ma He gave her a withering look. “Who do you think you are — Xiao Longnü? You’re more like Yin Zhiping.”

Up ahead, a checkpoint appeared. A military officer signaled them to stop and check their identification. Ba Yunye pulled herself out of her reminiscing and handed over both her and Ma He’s ID cards.

“They don’t know you’re a woman?” Ma He stared in genuine disbelief, then scratched the back of his head after a moment. “Come to think of it… all they know is that you’re called ‘Master Ba.'”

“Interesting.” Ba Yunye curved the corner of her mouth in a thoroughly mischievous smile.

Ma He scoffed. “It won’t hold for long. The moment you open your mouth, it’ll be over.”

“Then I just won’t open my mouth.” Ba Yunye cheerfully whistled along with the radio, already imagining the looks on their faces when they realized she was a woman, feeling the need to add an extra layer to the joke.

“All right, good luck to you.” Ma He shook his head in resignation. “We’ll see — do you bend first, or does Captain Diao bend first.”

Ba Yunye smiled but said nothing.

“Oh, by the way — Captain Diao… looks like a man of principle.” Ma He said.

“Funny, wasn’t it you who was pushing me to pay attention to him like you were recommending a premium matchmaker’s selection?”

“I was dazzled by appearances.”

Ba Yunye gave a cold snort of amusement. Since leaving the military she had wandered north and south for several years, with a great appetite for adventure and never a thought for anything lasting.

She didn’t dare think too far ahead.

After entering the city of Shigatse, the mealtime had long since passed. Ba Yunye had grown well accustomed to the sensation of appetite having come and gone, and didn’t feel it much. She found a Sichuan restaurant she frequently brought clients to and went ahead to order.

Many Sichuan people had come to Tibet to do business, which was why Sichuan-owned restaurants and guesthouses were scattered throughout cities large and small. Ba Yunye ordered half the menu in spicy dishes and half in mild, then out of the corner of her eye caught sight of Diao Zhuo and a team member who seemed to be named Xiang’an heading in the direction of the washroom, cigarettes being lit as they walked. She exchanged a glance with Ma He, then, keeping her cap and sunglasses in place, strolled after them into the washroom with complete composure.

The two men ahead gave no reaction whatsoever. Since there was only one stall, the fresh-faced Xiang’an even very courteously gestured for her to go first. Ba Yunye was now thoroughly certain — they genuinely thought she was a man.

Inwardly she was nearly beside herself with laughter. She planted her hands on her hips and stood next to Diao Zhuo. This iron-blooded, no-nonsense man had a cigarette dangling from his lips and went about every action a man performs in that particular moment with brisk efficiency. The ash drifted in scattered flakes, a few landing on his sleeve, then sliding off due to the smooth fabric, falling to the floor.

Ba Yunye tilted her head, eyes blinking leisurely behind her sunglasses, gaze traveling downward along the path of the ash, a small smile at the corner of her lips.

Diao Zhuo finally sensed something was off. He glanced sideways at her. Whatever expression his normally very stern face wore, it was now even sterner. In his estimation, this “Master Ba” had been odd from the very beginning — they hadn’t exchanged so much as a word since meeting, which was unusual enough, but on top of that, indoors, the cap and sunglasses never came off. Now, even a trip to the bathroom was apparently a drawn-out affair.

Diao Zhuo buckled his belt, the clasp and zipper clinking together in a crisp metallic sound. He fished out his deep blue cigarette box, gave it a shake, tapped the bottom with practiced ease, and a few cigarettes rose to attention — a wordless offer for her to take one. Ba Yunye shook her head. He looked her over once more from top to bottom, then turned and walked toward the door. Hearing not a sound from behind him, he glanced back.

This Master Ba’s build was actually slimmer than most men — special forces veteran? A note of doubt crept in.

“Something on your mind?” He spoke, his voice low and resonant.

Ba Yunye raised her eyebrow and smiled, small white teeth showing. “If you don’t leave, how am I supposed to pull my trousers down?”

The tone was light, the voice crisp and unmistakably female.

As expected — Diao Zhuo was genuinely taken aback.

Taken aback that Master Ba was a woman.

Taken aback that she, being a woman, had followed him in here.

Taken aback that she had stood there silently watching the entire time and only now, of all moments, said something.

Xiang’an, seeing Diao Zhuo emerge from the bathroom with a distinctly foul expression, was just about to go in when Diao Zhuo blocked his path. “What?”

“I’d prefer you not become the next one to be victimized.”

In other words, the current victimizer was still inside.

Xiang’an was entirely baffled as Diao Zhuo steered him back toward their table. Shortly afterward, he watched Ba Yunye come out, wiping her hands as she walked, sunglasses and cap removed and tossed onto the table in one motion, as she summoned a server with the ease of someone who owned the place: “Hey, don’t just stand there — bring some water over.”

“Master Ba!” The server clearly recognized her and brightened with delight, the level of service rocketing up instantly.

Apart from Ma He, everyone fell into a state of disbelief —

Master Ba was a woman. A fairly attractive one, at that.

Ba Yunye was very satisfied with their reactions and grinned like a triumphant schemer. Something seemed to occur to her, and she glanced over at Diao Zhuo. He wasn’t looking at her, and among the entire group of stunned people, he was conspicuously unbothered — unbothered to the point of near indifference.

Xiang’an finally understood why Diao Zhuo had come out of the washroom looking so strange — he’d been set up by her. He studied Ba Yunye with puzzled curiosity, a flicker of new fascination.

Ye Xun, who had been loudly claiming he was nearly dying of altitude sickness, rallied himself to sit upright and even put on a pair of gold-framed glasses to get a better look. Xiao Zi, who had assumed she would be the only woman on this trip, was pleasantly surprised and relocated herself to the seat next to Ba Yunye.

“So how is it?” Ma He asked the same question again, with the air of a professional matchmaker.

Diao Zhuo’s gaze moved to Ba Yunye. She was sitting across from him, in a posture entirely at odds with her appearance — sprawled with legs apart, the way men sit — and gave a slight smile. “Pretty good.”

Pretty good what?!

Pervert! No — female pervert!

Diao Zhuo’s brow was knotted like a stubborn tangle that refused to come loose.

Ma He cheerfully re-introduced her to the group: “Ba Yunye, known as Master Ba, the number one sister of our club. Do you know why they call her number one sister? Because she’s the only female driver in the club! Hahahaha!”

The previously subdued atmosphere broke apart at once, and everyone launched into questions again.

“Why didn’t you say something earlier?”

“So you’re a genuine, certified female driver!”

“Funny — now that I know you’re a woman, I suddenly think you’re unusually tall, hahaha!”

“How does a woman end up being called ‘Master Ba’?”

Ba Yunye was happy to engage now, and turned the question back on them: “If not Master Ba, what should I be called? Someone come up with something.”

“Sister Ba.”

“Pigsy?”

“… Little Ba!” said Tan Lin.

“Which ‘little’?”

“Aunty Ba?” said Xiao Zi.

“Eight aunts? I may as well be Thirteenth Aunty…”

Ye Xun’s altitude sickness appeared to have made a miraculous recovery; he was positively animated. “How about Grandma Ba?”

Ba Yunye slapped the table laughing. “We’re already in an era where being someone’s mistress is a stretch, and now I’m supposed to be somebody’s wet nurse?”

Ye Xun sighed. “If none of those work… Big Brother Ba is also fine.”

“I’m not a bird~” Ba Yunye said lightly, drawing out the last word with considerable weight, and deliberately looked over at Diao Zhuo as she said it.

Diao Zhuo caught that last word and, registering her malicious look, recalled the scene moments ago in the washroom where she had stood beside him without a word and watched, and felt as though a thorn had lodged itself in his back. He could say, at least to this point, that he had never met a woman this coarse. That single drawn-out word, delivered with that particular emphasis, was cruder than most grown men he knew. Frankly, all of it had come at him too suddenly. This woman was completely unlike every woman he had ever met.

Completely and entirely unlike them.

The food arrived quickly, and everyone temporarily shifted their attention away from Ba Yunye and turned their devotion to the meal.

The reason Sichuan cuisine had taken root everywhere across the country lay in its range: whether you wanted heat or sourness, it had a dish that could conquer your palate, especially when you desperately needed something to eat. In the cold, desolate highland air, the sharp fragrance of Sichuan pepper and chili oil hit pure and clean.

Once everyone had eaten their fill, they gradually returned to their vehicles. Ye Xun’s “altitude sickness” struck again — one moment he couldn’t catch his breath, the next a pounding headache, and he kept asking how much further they had to go.

Diao Zhuo cast him a helpless glance, then turned to Ba Yunye: “Where are we staying tonight?”

Ba Yunye’s eyes immediately took on an amused glint. “Are you asking about just the two of us, or the whole group?”

Diao Zhuo was, genuinely, a man of principle. “All of us.”

Ba Yunye shifted effortlessly back into professional mode, her tone matter-of-fact: “If we push it, we might make it to Lazi County by evening.”

Diao Zhuo gave a nod. “Let’s go.”

“Hold on — I’ll get an oxygen bag for Mr. Ye.” Ba Yunye said, and walked to her vehicle, pulling open the rear.

Diao Zhuo could clearly see that the back was packed with fuel drums, tents, and equipment — there was no oxygen canister in sight. So where was this oxygen coming from? He planted a cigarette in the corner of his mouth and stood with arms folded, watching to see what trick she was about to pull. Her frame was genuinely slender, her movements agile — whatever she did, she did cleanly and decisively, with a self-sufficient sharpness about her.

The cigarette smoke was getting thick. Ba Yunye raised a hand and waved it away, then produced a completely deflated blue oxygen bag and dragged out a portable air pump. She proceeded to pump it full of plain air until the bag swelled up like a balloon on the verge of popping.

Diao Zhuo shook his head with a helpless sigh. He should have known she’d pull something like this.

“Do you normally drive this car?” He gestured with his chin toward the Wrangler, shifting to a topic more suited to talking between equals. “The off-road capability is unquestionable, but you’re hauling clients around — mostly on national highways, so what’s the practical advantage? The ride comfort is poor.”

“The seats have been modified.” Ba Yunye opened the door to let him see. “Adjustable-angle seats, and the rear ones recline to 115 degrees.”

“What about the suspension?”

“The suspension has also been modified — adjustable firmness, nitrogen shocks. And I don’t only drive national highways, either. Some clients come to us specifically because they want to go off the beaten path. A small uninhabited zone here, a Bingchacha crossing there… that’s where this car’s strengths really show.” She grinned. “When you talk about the car, she actually lights up a little — all that female charm goes completely AWOL, not particularly endearing. But if you stopped thinking of her as a woman, you could have a decent conversation. “Other than the seats, I can see you’ve also modified the front and rear bumpers, the side skirts, the headlights, the reversing lights… at least thirty places?”

“Thirty-four, to be precise. Look at this ARB snorkel — it’s extraordinary. This vehicle has pulled at least five others out of shallow rivers in the uninhabited zone, and afterward they all said that when they spotted my car in the distance, it was like watching a savior descend… hold on, I’ll go give Mr. Ye this oxygen first.” Ba Yunye hauled the pillow-sized oxygen bag over to Ye Xun, most likely spinning him some story along the lines of breathing this will cure your altitude sickness — and she convinced him so thoroughly that even Ye Xun, who had been afraid of developing an oxygen dependency, heard her say the supply was unlimited and believed her entirely.

Ye Xun took several deep, contented breaths and looked like a dying man who had just consumed a miracle tonic.

For the rest of the journey at an average elevation exceeding 4,000 meters, Ye Xun never once complained of altitude sickness again.