Mengliu smiled. ‘I can’t say for sure.’
The sun was directly overhead, pale and weak. He looked at his watch. Eleven forty-five. His heart banging, he clawed through the bushes and looked out. Each tree was like a human shadow, but there was nothing on the road. He felt frozen, barely able to control his fingers. Time seemed to have come to a standstill. The wind blew from time to time, raising a dust-storm of snow. White clouds puffed from the three conspirators’ nostrils. It seemed they could see each other’s eyes through their sunglasses. Without knowing who reached out first, three pairs of thickly gloved hands were suddenly stacked one upon the other. With this action, their hearts were filled as with a divine mission.
There was a loud roar in the distance.
‘Avalanche,’ Yuyue said, as if it were as common as rain.
‘If you get caught, don’t say anything. Don’t mention anyone
else’s name,’ Mengliu instructed Suitang, as if he were a surgeon addressing his staff at the operating table. Then he stared at Yuyue and said solemnly, ‘Don’t say anything to Michael until we come back.’ He released his hands from theirs, then took off his gloves and sunglasses and readied for action. ‘Wait for us.’
Yuyue nodded, and also removed her gloves, rubbing her hands and cracking her knuckles. ‘I’ve had practice in free combat.’ She had a lot of confidence.
‘The cable car will only stop for five minutes. Attack furtively, don’t confront anyone head-on,’ Suitang said. ‘Just one blow, then leave his life to fate.’
‘Sh!’ Mengliu pointed to two figures in the distance. Suddenly, they could hear nothing but their own heartbeats. Perhaps he had been squatting too long. Mengliu’s legs felt weak. He tried to stand but could not, as if branches had hooked onto his clothing, or plants had wrapped around his body. He heard the crunch of footsteps on the snow, getting closer and growing louder, until at last they were a mighty force thundering on his eardrums. His breathing became laboured and he was dizzy. He forced himself to control his trembling. It was like a nightmare from which he could not wake.
‘You wait here, I’ll settle it.’ Perhaps perceiving Mengliu’s fear, Yuyue deviated from the plan. She looked at her watch, then calmly went out and greeted those who approached. From a gap in the bushes Mengliu could see their lower bodies. Yuyue spoke the local dialect, occasionally mixing in an English word. She laughed heartily, as if meeting and chatting with old friends. As they joked, someone suddenly gasped, and Mengliu could just see Michael’s escort clutching his hip, then staggering to the ground as if drunk.
She made easy work of the escort.
‘Michael, they want to go over and have a look around for a while. You and I can wait here for them to come back. You don’t mind, do you?’ She pointed to the people who had just emerged from the bushes.
Michael looked bewildered. ‘Have I somehow offended you? When…? Why should I be denied the chance to enjoy the benefits of the nursing home?’ His face was still crimson, his cheeks trembled as he spoke. ‘Yuyue…don’t be manipulated by these outsiders. Surely you’ve figured out that they don’t have beliefs. They’re just cowards, right to the core.’
‘Michael, attacking them will serve no purpose for you,’ Yuyue replied, laughing. She saw that Mengliu and Suitang had propped the collapsed escort against a tree trunk, so that he looked like he was having a nap. ‘I can’t vouch for them to come back.’
Michael moved close to her and said softly, ‘You heard the avalanche, right? I guess the funeral procession has been buried alive. A large-scale epidemic will soon break out. The medical team will retreat tomorrow. Swan Valley is doomed…I suggest you also go somewhere safe. It’s better that you come to the nursing home with me and stay for a period of time…See, the cable car is coming.’
The car had come to a stop just above the edge of the cliff, like a steel cage for a wild beast, with thick bars. The automatic doors propped open. A chill emanated from the empty cage.
Michael suddenly ran toward the car, but tripped on a branch. By the time he recovered, his hands had been tied behind his back.
‘Sorry to do this, Michael. If you’re lucky, you won’t have to suffer for long.’ Mengliu bound the director and the escort back to back, then gave the tape to Yuyue, in case she deemed it necessary to tape their mouths shut. He realised that the heroic self from his fantasies had emerged. His legs had stopped shaking. His mind was clear, he wasted no effort. He had dealt with the current scuffle with amazing efficiency, and now caught Suitang’s hand and headed toward the cable car.
As soon as they entered the car, the doors snapped shut. The floor beneath them was made of wooden planks, affording them a view of the misty abyss through the gaps when they looked down. Mengliu was frightened half to death. He had not heard Yuyue’s final words clearly, though he had a faint notion it had been something about the avalanche. All of his energy went to quelling his fears. No matter how cold it was to the touch, he had to keep a firm grip on the iron railing. The cable car trembled violently, then started up, swinging slightly. It moved very slowly, but they could not overcome their fear to appreciate the grandeur around them. The strange rocks, towering trees, the cliff and its crevices covered with white flowers, and the gorgeous smoky clouds held nothing for them.
Suitang did not dare to look anywhere other than at Mengliu’s chest, yet she seemed to see everything. ‘Put your gloves on,’ she said, shivering.
He opened his arms, but kept one hand on a pole, afraid to let go. He didn’t feel the cold. The truth was, he was afraid of heights. He was afraid to take an aeroplane. Even climbing a ladder set his legs trembling, and standing on the three-metre-high platform at readings had always made him dizzy. Now he was flying, and it was like suddenly reaching a climax. His spirit went back in time and the woman before him turned into Qizi. They were in the police bus going to their interrogation, their bodies close, but not looking at each other. She was gazing at the buttons on his chest in the same way as Suitang was now. He bent and looked at her eyes, and her lips, and thoughts of love surged through him, wishing the journey would go on forever, that the vehicle would never stop.
‘Come, hold me. Close your eyes. Imagine we are on a boat…’
But before he had finished, the gliding cable car stopped convulsively. The entire cage vibrated.
Now the cable car was hanging above the abyss and shaking gently.
If they so much as breathed, it rocked.
He had felt the urge to urinate when he first boarded the car. When Suitang screamed and grabbed hold of him, Mengliu nearly wet his pants in fear. His face was as pale as a zombie’s, his mouth was tightly shut. Hoping to hide his complicated feelings, he squeezed out a smile, but it only made him look even more ghastly.
Suitang lay collapsed in his arms for several minutes before gathering her senses. Now she beheld an earthly paradise. Everything was bathed by the sun in a warm coating of yellow. They were above the clouds, close to the heavens.
‘Ah…you see that cluster of clouds? Just like a castle.’ She tried to stand firm, without leaning on anything, as if she were on level ground.
He turned cautiously to see her castle, and it was indeed as magnificent as a heavenly palace, as if a beast guarded the gate and fairies floated around it. But then, in the blink of an eye, it looked more like a house on fire, with smoke billowing and wounded people falling to the ground.