Due to Song Yi's astonishing discovery, the entire camping team members were absent - minded and extremely anxious afterwards.
What was even more annoying was that it started to rain soon after Lawyer Shi finished making the call to the police. Although the rain was not heavy, the fine raindrops hitting people could gradually take away some body heat.
Pang Le quickly rummaged out a coat and let Guan Xia put it on.
While putting it on, Guan Xia couldn't help but look worriedly towards the direction of Niujiao Peak.
It had been almost half an hour since Lawyer Shi made the call. By this time, the rescue team must have set off, and they must have notified the scenic area. She wondered if the scenic area would organize a rescue team before the arrival of the professional rescue team.
They ate their dinner absent - mindedly. Lawyer Shi and Dong Yuncheng, who had gone out to communicate about things, came back a little later.
Both of them looked a bit grim. Dong Yuncheng handed over his phone and said, "I asked Song Yi to send the video. Do you want to watch it?"
Guan Xia immediately took the phone, leaned towards Pang Le, and clicked on the video that had finished playing to watch.
The video was quite long. Afraid of missing the really important part, Guan Xia didn't dare to fast - forward. She patiently watched for seven or eight minutes before seeing the key part.
Because the distance between the two peaks was too far and Song Yi had shot a panoramic view, during the first viewing, Guan Xia only saw a red dot falling rapidly. If she hadn't known everything in advance, she wouldn't have been able to tell that it was a person.
After watching it for the first time, Guan Xia immediately pulled back the progress bar. At the moment when the red dot started to fall, she quickly paused the video and zoomed in on the picture. Only then did she clearly see that it was really a person.
After the picture was magnified, it became a bit blurry. She couldn't see the facial features clearly, only the short black hair that reached the ears, the red coat and the light - colored long pants on the body.
Compared with the figures of adults on the glass plank road, the short limbs clearly showed that it was a child. It was not certain how old the child was, but he must be no more than ten years old. Judging from the hairstyle and clothes, it was very likely a boy.
While feeling heart - wrenching, Guan Xia couldn't figure it out. Why would someone want to kill such a young child? Who was the person who pushed him down? Was it the child's relative? It should be. If not a relative, how could the child follow the person willingly, especially when they were out on a trip. Maybe it was not just a relative, but even possibly the parents. Then it was even more strange. Why would someone want to kill their own child, and in such a way? Was it an attempt to disguise it as an accident?
Countless thoughts flashed through Guan Xia's mind. Soon, she gently swiped her finger on the screen, placing the figure of the murderer on the glass plank road in the center of the screen.
She still couldn't see the facial features clearly, but from the figure, clothing, and hairstyle, she could roughly tell that it was a middle - aged man. The man's posture was a bit distorted. He seemed to be kneeling at the edge of the glass plank road, wailing. At first glance, he looked very painful, just like countless parents who had suddenly lost their children that Guan Xia had seen in the news.
Guan Xia frowned. She pulled the progress bar back a bit and watched it several times in a row before confirming that the middle - aged man did have a raising - hand action at the moment when the boy fell, which proved that the boy's fall was not an accident but a murder.
After watching the video, Guan Xia's mood became even heavier. She silently handed the phone back to Dong Yuncheng.
Dong Yuncheng took it. Lawyer Shi suddenly said, "Just now, we discussed. If the rescue team finds this boy after dawn, we'll go down the mountain directly. If not, they will participate in the search and rescue. What about you?"
Lawyer Shi and Dong Yuncheng both looked at Guan Xia.
The three of them had good physical strength and some field experience, so they could choose either option. But Guan Xia couldn't.
Even Pang Le was looking at Guan Xia, waiting for her answer.
Guan Xia didn't make a choice immediately. Instead, she thought about it first.
From her own will, she really wanted to go. She knew she was weak, but she also wanted to contribute a little and hoped to see a miracle. However, her reason told her it was not possible.
She had never exercised, and her physical strength was very poor. She could climb up the mountain this time only because of Pang Le and Dong Yuncheng pulling and pushing her. She would only be a hindrance if she went.
She knew that if she really chose to go, Lawyer Shi and Dong Yuncheng might not say anything, but Pang Le definitely wouldn't stop her. The fact that he was waiting for her answer instead of persuading her at the moment was proof.
Seemingly sensing Guan Xia's hesitation, Pang Le reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "It's okay. If you want to go, just go."
Guan Xia still didn't like to be a burden, so she shook her head. "No, I won't be of any help. I'll just be a hindrance. I'll go down the mountain with those who are going down after dawn. You guys go."
"That's not okay," Pang Le put her arm around Guan Xia's shoulder. "I brought you here, so I have to send you home safely. I'll go down the mountain with you tomorrow."
Guan Xia refused. "Really, I don't need you to. I'm not going down the mountain alone."
She knew Pang Le's personality. Pang Le liked to help those in need. She had met Pang Le when she and her college classmates were harassed by hooligans while strolling in the night market. Moreover, Pang Le liked all kinds of exciting things. If it weren't for her, Pang Le would definitely go.
Pang Le frowned unhappily. "I'm your friend, and those people aren't. Most importantly, I won't be at ease until I see you enter your home. It's settled. I'll go down the mountain with you tomorrow."
Guan Xia was about to say something else, but Pang Le didn't want to listen anymore. She turned to the two still standing there and asked, "What about you?"
Dong Yuncheng looked at Lawyer Shi, paused for a moment, and said, "I'll go down the mountain with you."
Just as Lawyer Shi was about to speak, Dong Yuncheng suddenly said, "Old Shi, you have to go. Not to mention that you organized this camping activity. You brought everyone up the mountain, so you have to bring them down safely. Also, you're the only one in the whole camp whose phone has the satellite phone function. If they really go, you have to be responsible for keeping in touch with the rescue team to ensure the successful connection between the two sides."
Lawyer Shi hesitated for two seconds. Finally, he looked at Pang Le apologetically and said in a deep voice, "Okay."
As soon as he said this word, Lawyer Shi's expression became even more solemn, and the atmosphere inexplicably made it a bit difficult to breathe.
Dong Yuncheng looked at Lawyer Shi, then at Pang Le, and suddenly reached out to put his arm around Lawyer Shi's neck. "Hey, what's with that expression of yours? Do you not trust me to send these two girls down the mountain?"
Lawyer Shi subconsciously retorted, "No."
Only then was Dong Yuncheng satisfied. He shook Lawyer Shi's shoulder forcefully. "That's more like it. You just focus on your own business. I'll definitely send them home safely."
Guan Xia had a very restless sleep. Before dawn, she woke up. Her first reaction was to unzip the tent and look outside.
The good news was that the rain had stopped. The bad news was that it had rained at least until midnight. The ground was wet at the moment, and the air was filled with the smell of mud.
As soon as Guan Xia moved, Pang Le also woke up. Noticing her action, she asked, "Has the rain stopped?"
Guan Xia gave a soft "yes". She looked at the time again. It was still at least an hour before dawn, so she shrank back into the sleeping bag.
Pang Le turned over and lay facing Guan Xia. She asked in a low voice, "Are you still going to sleep?"
Guan Xia shook her head. "I can't fall asleep. I always feel so heavy - hearted."
"Me too," Pang Le lay back on her back and stared blankly at the tent roof. "I had a dream last night. I dreamed of that little boy I helped find his home when I was a kid. Speaking of which, this is the third child I've witnessed die from childhood to now. Judging from their builds, the two of them should be about the same age."
Pang Le didn't turn on the light. In the darkness, Guan Xia couldn't see her expression and could only judge from her voice that she was in a rather low - spirited mood.
After thinking for a while, Guan Xia said, "If you were given another chance to choose, would you become a police officer?"
The tent was silent for a long time. Then Pang Le spoke in a somewhat sullen tone, "I kind of want to, but I know I'm not suitable. What about you?"
Pang Le turned over again to look at Guan Xia. "If you could choose, would you still take the path you're on now?"
Guan Xia fell silent. She thought of that system that suddenly appeared and always disappeared suddenly.
Without thinking, Guan Xia knew that with just this system, if she could start over, she would definitely become a police officer.
She was different from Pang Le. Everything she had now wasn't her choice. Instead, in a hurry, she picked the easiest path.
She liked painting, but it couldn't be called a passion. Before time - traveling, she painted to kill time. After time - traveling, she used it to get out of a bad start. Now it was her means of making a living. To be honest, before and after time - traveling, she really hadn't been particularly passionate about anything.
"No," Guan Xia said. "If I could start over with my current memories, I would become a police officer."
Pang Le wasn't surprised. She just asked, "Is it because you have a talent for it?"
Guan Xia looked at her in surprise.
Pang Le smiled and said, "You may not realize it yourself, but whether it was that serial murder case or that wanted criminal, your performance was amazing. You can tell from Xu Nian taking the initiative to get your contact information. He also thinks you're very talented."
Guan Xia didn't say a word and just quietly listened to Pang Le.
Pang Le was silent for a while and then asked, "I've never asked you this. That night when you called the police at my place, when you realized that the murderer had targeted you and was even right outside the door, what were you thinking? Were you scared?"
Guan Xia didn't really want to recall that night. Although the murderer had been arrested and many days had passed, just thinking about it a little made Guan Xia feel a creepy chill.
"Of course I was scared," Guan Xia said. "After I realized it, I went completely limp. As for what I was thinking, actually, I wasn't thinking about anything. My mind was completely blank. I was just acting on instinct. You may not believe it, but locking the door and dragging the dressing table over were completely subconscious actions. It wasn't until I was temporarily safe that my mind started working again."
Pang Le patted Guan Xia's head comfortingly and said with a smile, "Do you know what I was thinking when I was on the fighting stage?"
Pang Le had never brought up this topic before, so Guan Xia immediately became curious. "What were you thinking?"
Pang Le said slowly, "I was thinking about the scene of knocking my opponent to the ground. It really excited me and got me pumped up."
Guan Xia also laughed. "You really love boxing."
Pang Le shook her head. "No, I don't love boxing. I just love knocking down my opponents."
Pang Le suddenly stopped smiling and looked at Guan Xia, saying word by word, "So, Guan Xia, talent is just talent. Before you truly love it, you can use it to a limited extent without fully developing it."
Guan Xia didn't expect Pang Le to say these things to her. After being silent for a long time, she finally said with a smile, "I understand."
Pang Le patted Guan Xia's head again and got up to slightly open the zipper of the tent.
Only then did Guan Xia notice that the sky was starting to get a little bright.
