Centered on the cloud that Zhuang Rui had just seen, dark clouds continued to accumulate, growing thicker and more numerous until they completely covered the sky. The once bright sky turned gloomy, as if a celestial dog were eating the moon.
The strong wind made a large tree about 30 or 40 meters away from the car sway back and forth. Zhuang Rui felt that his car, which had just come to a stop, suddenly became lighter and was swaying from side to side. The strong wind, carrying sand from who knows where, rushed in through the car window that Zhuang Rui had not closed.
The thundercloud storm was proving its power to Zhuang Rui and the others, and lightning flashed in the sky, seemingly showing off the only light in the sky.
The thunder roared so loudly that the earth paled in fear, plunging the world into darkness. Only streaks of lightning tore through the sky above everyone's heads, revealing a sliver of light.
"Xiao Zhuang, don't get out of the car! Close the doors and windows tightly, whatever you do, don't get out of the car..."
Gyatso opened the car window and shouted at Zhuang Rui, who was standing right next to him. However, Zhuang Rui could only make out what Gyatso was saying from his mouth, because the deafening thunder and strong winds drowned out all other sounds in the world.
"Damn it, Peng Fei, what are you doing? Go back, go back now..."
Suddenly, Zhuang Rui saw Peng Fei open the car door. The metal door was instantly blown open by the strong wind, and Peng Fei's body was like a piece of paper in the wind, half of his body was blown sideways.
In the instant the wind blew him up, Peng Fei gripped the metal sheet on the car door tightly with both hands, but his body still slammed heavily against the metal door. If the car hadn't been reinforced, the impact would have broken the door.
"Damn it, weren't they saying that tornadoes only happen along the coast?"
Left with no other choice, Zhuang Rui rolled down the electric window. Instantly, the mouth that was cursing was forced shut by the strong wind. The howling wind rushed into the car, and the entire SUV was shaking.
"You little brat, you don't want to live anymore..."
Zhuang Rui reached out a hand, grabbed Peng Fei's collar, and forcefully pulled him into the car, while the two people in the other car also worked together to close the car door.
"Cough cough, Brother Zhuang... Brother Zhuang, if anything happens, we'll die together..."
Peng Fei weakly raised his head and coughed several times. Zhuang Rui saw that blood was seeping from his mouth, clearly indicating that the collision had injured Peng Fei's internal organs.
"Alright, I'm not that easy to die. I'm a man with a connection to Buddhism; even lightning wouldn't dare strike me..."
Zhuang Rui could sense Peng Fei's loyalty and felt a pang of heartache seeing him like that. He took out a bottle of water, opened the cap, and fed Peng Fei the water. As Peng Fei drank, a wisp of spiritual energy emanated from Zhuang Rui's eyes and seeped into Peng Fei's chest.
"This...this wind is fucking strong..."
After taking a sip of water, and with the help of Zhuang Rui's spiritual energy—which could be considered either Buddha's Eye of Truth or not—Peng Fei felt much better. He supported himself with his hands and sat up in the passenger seat. By this time, the little lama had already climbed to the back seat to keep the white lion company.
"Stop talking, get some rest..."
While Peng Fei was conscious, Zhuang Rui dared not use too much spiritual energy on him. The wind outside continued to howl, but it had subsided a lot because the rain had stopped. All he could hear was the howling wind and the sound of raindrops hitting the car.
“Peng Fei, you mustn’t be so impulsive next time. What if something happens? How am I supposed to explain this to your wife…”
Zhuang Rui still feels a bit scared when he thinks about it now. The situation just now was something that no human power could resist. No matter if you are a high-ranking official, a wealthy person, or an ordinary citizen, under the might of nature, you can only bow your head and submit to it, and you can't even have a temper.
"Brother Zhuang, I'm sorry to have troubled you. I was just worried that if something happened, you wouldn't be able to handle it without me by your side. Who knew the wind would be so strong..."
Peng Fei realized that he had acted impulsively. His action of opening the car door not only put himself in danger, but also put Jiacuo and Suonan in danger. With the wind at that time, the SUV was almost overturned.
Zhuang Rui saw that Peng Fei had finally caught his breath. After not hearing Basang speak for a while, he turned around and asked loudly, "Basang, what are you doing?"
Basang's voice wasn't loud, but it was firm as he said, "This is a test from heaven for us. I'm chanting scriptures to bless us all with peace..."
Zhuang Rui shook his head speechlessly. Once something is related to faith, it becomes much easier to understand. Indeed, even the spiritual energy he sees can be connected to the Five Eyes.
Outside the car window, the rain was still pouring down, falling on the grass and stirring up a misty fog, like the thunderous roar of a thousand horses galloping, echoing the thunder and lightning in the sky.
The storm on the grassland came and went quickly. After about an hour, the rain gradually stopped, and a golden ray of light appeared in the dim sky, like a sharp sword cutting through the layers of fog. The sunlight shone through the thick clouds and onto the grassland again.
After a while, the rain stopped and the thunder ceased. The wind was gentle and the clouds were light. The sky had turned a clear blue. If it weren't for the large tree dozens of meters away that had fallen to the ground, one would hardly be able to tell from the rain-drenched grass that the place had just suffered.
It must be said that the grass on the vast grassland has the most tenacious vitality. Such a huge storm has no effect on them at all. When the wind blows, the green grass is like jade, and the raindrops on it slide off the leaves, crystal clear.
"Holy crap, it's turned into a swamp..."
Zhuang Rui pushed open the car door, and as soon as his feet touched the ground, he felt the water up to his ankles. The icy water seeped into his brand-name sneakers. Zhuang Rui bent down and tested it; under the dense grass, the water was more than half a foot deep.
"That's normal. There are many depressions on the grassland, which are lakes formed after heavy rains. In some places with soft soil, swamps will form..."
Gyatso also got out of the car, but he was much more experienced than Zhuang Rui. He got out of the car barefoot and rolled up his trousers to his knees.
"Brother Gyatso, can we still leave today?"
Zhuang Rui was stunned for a moment upon hearing this. He had grown up listening to stories of the Red Army climbing snow-capped mountains and crossing grasslands, and he knew that the swamps in the grasslands were as terrifying as floods and ferocious beasts.
"Hehe, Xiao Zhuang, don't worry, Gyatso could walk this road with his eyes closed..."
Suo Nan also got out of the car, but he was holding a telephoto camera and kept pressing the shutter button on the rainbow that had not yet faded in the sky.
The clouds that had not yet completely dispersed, under the refraction of sunlight and rainbows, presented all sorts of strange shapes, like divine horses flying in the sky, or dragons leaping and tigers soaring, which really tested people's imagination.
Zhuang Rui now truly understands the saying "after the storm comes the rainbow." Indeed, the rainbow that appears after a fierce storm is the most beautiful.
"Xiao Peng, are you alright?"
Seeing Peng Fei get out of Zhuang Rui's car, Suo Nan put down his camera, but then said, "Little Peng, I have to criticize you. Your behavior was too impulsive. You can't do that next time..."
"Brother Suo Nan, I'm sorry, it was my fault..."
Peng Fei readily accepted the criticism. Apart from the young lama, he was the youngest among them. After hearing Suo Nan's criticism, he immediately lowered his head and admitted his mistake.
"Brother Suonan, he knows he was wrong. He just spat out some blood..."
Fearing that Suo Nan might say something unpleasant that Zhuang Rui couldn't bear, Zhuang Rui quickly tried to smooth things over.
Brother Suonan was a very kind person. After saying a few words to Peng Fei in a mild way, he heard from Zhuang Rui that Peng Fei had vomited blood, so he quickly took out a packet of powdered Tibetan medicine from the carriage and made Peng Fei swallow it with mineral water.
"I haven't seen such a big storm in the summer for several years, but we often have blizzards in the winter..."
Gyatso pointed to the fallen tree not far away and said, "Today was really dangerous. That tree was struck by lightning first, and then blown down by the wind. If the lightning had been a little off course, I'm afraid..."
Gyatso's words sent a chill down Zhuang Rui's spine. If the lightning had actually struck the car, everyone inside would probably have been roasted alive.
Chapter 733 Arrival in Zogong
Upon hearing Gyatso's words, apart from the young lama Basang, the others looked rather grim. They had encountered a storm on their very first day on the road; they didn't know how difficult the rest of the journey would be.
Basang suddenly said from the side, "A strange phenomenon has occurred. This is a sign that a Living Buddha is about to be reincarnated. We will definitely find the reincarnated child on this trip..."
"We're not on a journey to the West like in Journey to the West, where we have to go through eighty-one tribulations..."
Peng Fei seemed to be out of danger, and after hearing Basang's words, he made a sarcastic remark.
"This strange phenomenon almost killed us guys..."
Zhuang Rui also pursed his lips, ignoring the little lama's words, and instead looked at Suonan, saying, "Brother Suonan, this place is all flooded, we need to find a place to camp..."
Even though it's July or August now, the temperature at night can drop to three or four degrees Celsius, making it impossible to sleep in the car. Moreover, in the summer, herders live in more scattered areas, so it's rare to encounter them grazing their livestock.
"Gyatso, what do you think?"
Although Sonam was nominally the team leader, when it came to familiarity with the Tibetan region, he still had to heed Gyatso's advice: "It's impossible to cross the grassland tonight, let's find a high place without standing water to camp..."
After this storm, it was already past 5 p.m., and if we delayed any longer, it would soon be dark.
Both off-road vehicles had specially made tires, so even on the muddy grass, they only slowed down a little. Led by Gyatso, they drove for more than two hours on the vast grassland. After it got completely dark, the vehicles stopped on a small hill that was seven or eight meters above the ground.
When they camped at Anzhai, Zhuang Rui and Basang couldn't offer much help. Peng Fei, who was injured, watched from the sidelines. However, the seemingly frail Suo Nan surprised them all. His skillful movements in setting up the tent were like those of a seasoned traveler, showing great familiarity with the task.
Three tents were set up in total. Two were backed by the off-road vehicle, and the other was a three-person tent where Basang, Suonan, and Jiacuo stayed together in a triangle shape, with a campfire lit in the middle.
The temperature had started to drop in the evening, to around ten degrees Celsius. Sitting by the campfire, grilling the mutton he had taken from the car, Zhuang Rui couldn't help but think of that night on the grassland last year.
At the time, the Bai siblings were far away in Hong Kong, and Zhou Rui was also extremely busy in Pengcheng. As for Lei Lei and Qin Xuanbing, they were the ones who benefited themselves and Liu Chuan.
Zhuang Rui once asked Qin Xuanbing when she had developed feelings for him. Qin Xuanbing replied that it was on that night on the grassland. People's encounters are truly amazing. One night brought together two people who seemed mismatched at the time.
"Come on, Xiao Zhuang, have a drink to warm up, it'll get a bit chilly at night..."
A whole lamb was roasted until golden brown, emitting an enticing aroma. Jiacuo skillfully sliced off pieces of meat with a small Tibetan knife, wrapped them in oil paper, and placed them in front of everyone. Suonan took out a bottle of barley wine and handed it to Zhuang Rui.
"Brother Suonan, how about we skip the drinks? There's a good chance of wolves attacking tonight..."
Thinking back to the attack by wolves last year, Zhuang Rui still felt a chill. If Zhou Rui hadn't been well-prepared and had plenty of ammunition, his group might have been eaten by wolves.
"Hehe, it's alright. There's plenty of food on the grasslands in summer, so there won't be any wolf packs. As for one or two lone wolves, with you, the Tibetan Mastiff, there's absolutely nothing to fear..."
Gyatso laughed when he heard this. On the grasslands, the most terrifying thing is not wolves, but the harsh weather. However, summer is relatively better, but in winter, sometimes heavy snow blocks the roads, and it is normal to be trapped in one place for ten days or half a month.
"Alright, let's have a drink then. Wait, I'll go get a bottle of wine..."
Upon hearing Jiacuo's words, Zhuang Rui stood up, went to the car, and took out two bottles of Moutai from the villa's wine cabinet.
"Good wine! Come on, let's switch to Moutai, Moutai is more potent..."
When Suo Nan saw the liquor Zhuang Rui was holding, his eyes lit up. Although he was also a government employee, he worked in a low-paying department and rarely had the opportunity to drink Moutai.
Peng Fei was injured, and the young lama didn't drink alcohol, so Zhuang Rui and the other two quickly finished the two bottles of Moutai. They also ate a whole sheep clean. After adding some firewood to the fire, everyone returned to their own tents to rest.
There was also a sleeping bag in the tent. After lying down, I zipped it up, leaving only my eyes and nose exposed. It was very warm. After driving all day and being hit by a storm, everyone was very tired. Soon, the sound of snoring could be heard from all the tents.
The white lion was crawling outside Zhuang Rui's tent. Although its eyes were closed, its twitching ears showed that the white lion was carrying out its guarding mission.
The night on the grassland was very quiet, with only the rustling sound of the wind blowing through the grass. There was no wolf attack as Zhuang Rui had imagined. He slept until the next morning when he was awakened by the low growl of the white lion. He looked at his watch and it was just six o'clock in the morning.
"Alright, I don't need to prepare breakfast for you..."
Zhuang Rui came out of the tent and found the white lion tearing apart a fat wild rabbit. Perhaps because of the cold weather, the rabbit weighed five or six pounds, much larger than wild rabbits in the inland areas. It was covered in fine gray fur, and its throat had been bitten off by the white lion.
"Xiao Zhuang, this Tibetan Mastiff is the best I've ever seen in my entire life..."
While brushing his teeth, Gyatso saw Zhuang Rui come out and gave him a thumbs up with envy. He had traveled almost all over the Tibetan region, but he had never seen a Tibetan mastiff as majestic as a white lion.
“Brother Gyatso, my white lion is the guardian of the snow mountain…”
Zhuang Rui laughed proudly upon hearing this. The white lion seemed to have overheard their conversation, turned its head and growled a few times before focusing on dealing with the rabbit again.
"Come on, have something to eat. We need to get to Zogang County today..."
After washing up, Suonan brought some dried meat and tsampa. Tsampa is actually roasted barley flour with a little sugar added. It can be eaten by soaking it in boiling water, or by mixing it with barley wine or butter tea and kneading it into small balls.
"Brother Suo Nan, I'm afraid you won't make it today, will you?"
Zhuang Rui had traveled this route before, and it seemed to have taken him three or four days. Although the straight-line distance of this route was not far, the mountain road was difficult to travel. If you were to take a long-distance bus, it would take five or six days.
Gyatso glanced at the sky and said confidently, "More or less, it shouldn't rain today. If we hurry, we can reach Zogang and stay there..."
After breakfast, the group quickly packed up their tents and sleeping bags, and then extinguished yesterday's campfire with water.
Peng Fei refused to get into the other car, so Basang got into Jiacuo's SUV, while Bai Shi and Peng Fei sat in Zhuang Rui's car.
The route led by Gyatso was extremely difficult, sometimes even requiring crossing through a canyon between two mountains. However, the scenery along the way was superb, and occasionally one could see gazelles on the mountainside. The man in the car ahead kept taking pictures with his camera.
Aside from taking half an hour for lunch, the group finally arrived in Zogang County from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m.