They stopped at the bottom of the steps, and the three of them writhed on the ground. Gong Yu's thumb was still under the pistol's striking iron. She tried hard to pull the gun out of Renata's hand, but she didn't have enough strength. Renata pulled violently, snatched the gun, and tore Gong Yu's thumb.

Bronze lay flat on the ground, his arms pressed under the two women, and Renata couldn't move when he pointed his gun at him. Gong Yu shrank back in a hurry, suddenly rolled over from the bronze, grabbed the pistol, and pulled the muzzle of the gun away.

The explosives in a kettle were detonated, the roar of the explosion came from the other end of the clearing, the ground trembled, and another explosion, this time closer, blew out a crater. The third explosion was in the middle of the clearing, and the shock wave knocked Gong Yu and Renata backwards. The site of the fourth explosion came a little further from the middle, and the bronze ears were deaf. Someone was detonating the kettles one by one, and the explosions were sweeping across the place.

Smoke floated around the bronze. He was overwhelmed with shock, and it took a while to wake up from the shock and the violent explosion. He frantically rolled through the smoke to find Gong Yu and help her. But he wasn't fast enough. In the smoke, he heard a gunshot, two, three. He screamed and threw himself forward, and heard a fourth, fifth, and sixth voice. The gunfire was right in front of him. Seventh tone. Eighth tone. A gust of wind blew away the smoke, and when Bronze heard the ninth gunshot, he pounced on Renata and Gong Yu, who were twisting in a ball. The two men looked as if they were hugging each other.

"Gong Yu!"

The tenth gunshot rang out.

Bronze stormed Renata in a rage to pull her away, ready to break her arm to let her go of the gun, ready to smash her ribs and punish her for killing Gong Yu. But the body in his hand was dead, and the many bloody holes in Renata's body made him realize that he was completely wrong. It was not Renata who shot, but Gong Yu.

The look in Gong Yu's eyes was almost hysterical. She was about to fire her 11th shot when she suddenly realized that the bronze was in the middle. She slowly lowered her arms and sat down on the ground.

Smoke fills the bronze's side. He threw Renata down and hurried over to her.

"There's nothing wrong with my left arm." Gong Yu said softly, his tone sounding almost like a winner.

"You're badly hurt, aren't you?" Bronze quickly wrapped a handkerchief around her bleeding cracked thumb.

"Body aches. Gosh, I wish there were no more of them. ”

"There is one in the woods. He should have attacked us now. ”

"He's dead." A voice said from the other side of the smoke-filled clearing.

Bronze looked over.

"They're all dead." Officer Blue's figure was outlined by the flames of the wooden house, and he walked out of the smoke like a ghost. He carried a rifle on his shoulder, the bronze bow in his right hand, and a barrel of arrows in his left hand.

"When the bomb exploded in the cabin, I shot and killed two people guarding the exit of the trail." Officer Blue said, "It's so far away, and it's so chaotic, the Type 22 semi-auto isn't loud enough no one can hear it." But I can't use this gun against the guy Renata called Pierrot. He and I were too close to the clearing, and she might be able to hear the gunshots, so she'd know you're not alone, and she'd panicked and killed both of you before she was going to kill you. Officer Blue raised the bow. So I used this without a single sound. It's a good thing to take this. ”

"It's good that you know how to use it."

"I'm here to tell you. Every autumn, during the archery season, I go hunting in the mountains. Not once since I turned 14 didn't bring back a deer. ”

"You detonated the bomb?" Bronze asked.

"Renata is going to shoot you, I can't think of anything else to do. You and Mrs. Gong are in the middle, and I can't shoot. I can't run so fast until you come and catch her. I need something distracting that will scare everyone and give you a chance to come to her senses sooner than she does. ”

"Gong Yu was the first to come to his senses." Bronze looked at her with admiration. "Help me get her into the car."

She lay down in the back seat, and Officer Blue knew what Bronze was going to say next. "Clean up this place?"

"Take everything you can. Someone should have come to investigate the explosion, and the fire would have led them straight to the cabin. We don't have much time left. ”

Bronze ran to fetch Gong Yu's shotgun, while Officer Blue threw the Type 22 rifle, bow, and quiver into the jeep's storage box. Those guns are important because their serial numbers can be traced back to the police guntry and eventually to their heads. When Bronze retrieved the shotgun, Officer Blue disappeared into the woods, presumably to get the rifle and car battery. Bronze dug out the rest of the kettle. He pulled out the filament of the light bulb, put away the wires, and put everything in the back of the car. At this time, Officer Blue returned with the equipment from the place where the bronze had been hiding before.

"I'll go to the place where I buried the money and get it," Officer Lan said, "what else?" ”

"That Remington. In the pit we dug by the bridge. ”

"I'll bring that too." Officer Blue said.

"Gong Yu's crutches, and a hunting knife."

"We'd better make sure we get all those bullets, and the arrow I shot."

“…… Officer Blue. ”

"What?"

"I had to use your gun, and two bullet casings landed in the bushes up there."

"Oh my God." Under the light of the fire, Officer Lan's face seemed to turn pale. "I loaded the bullet before all of this happened. I didn't wear gloves and those shells had my fingerprints on them. ”

"I'll do my best to find those shells." Bronze said, "This is my car key." Take the money, the hunting knife and the Remington rifle, and those bullets. You and Gong Yu drove away from here. I'll keep looking until the last minute, until someone finds the trail. ”

Officer Blue didn't answer, just stared at him.

"Go ahead." Bronze said, and ran uphill, toward the bushes and bushes to the right of the cabin. One of the bullets fired from Officer Blue's gun was near the big pine tree, about-

Here! Bronze thought. He struggled to remember what he had done: how he had fallen to the ground when the gunman had shot at him in the depths of the woods, how he had climbed to the right of the tree, how he had knelt down and pulled the trigger, and—

The shells that come out of the air and land about three or four meters away --

The firelight reflected a small metal object. Bronze gasped violently and exhaled in triumph. He knelt down and picked up a 9mm cartridge case he was looking for. Only one was left unfound. He stood up excitedly and found Officer Blue running towards him.

"Get out of here." Bronze said.

"I won't leave without you."

"But—"

"Show me where to look." Officer Blue said.

They ran around the fire in the cabin, ignoring the body of the man killed by a bronze shot in the head, only thinking about finding another bullet casing.

"It could be there, it could be there. The bronze chest rose and fell.

"The bushes on the ground are too dense." Officer Blue crawled over and groped his hands on the ground. "Even with the fire, there are still too many shadows."

"We have to find it!"

"Listen."

"What?"

"Someone's coming."

"Fuck."

"It's still faint. It's quite far away. ”

"Soon it's getting closer." Bronze groped harder under the bushes, scratching frantically across the dark ground. "Let's go, get in the car, get out of here. We shouldn't have all three of us caught. ”

"None of us deserve to be caught. Forget about the shell," said Officer Blue, "and come with me to the car." ”

"If they find the shells, if they get fingerprints from them—"

"Part of the fingerprint. Most likely ambiguous. ”

"That's what you just hope. You'll never be able to explain how a bullet casing with your fingerprints is here. "Bronze is looking in the fallen leaves.

"I'll just say someone stole my gun."

"Would you believe the story?"

"Not really."

"So-"

"I don't care." Officer Blue climbed under the bushes. "Just because I might be implicated, doesn't mean I have to implicate you and Mrs. Gong as well. Let's leave—"

"Found it! Oh Bodhisattva bless, I found it. Bronze jumped up and showed Officer Blue the precious bullet casing. I never thought I would—"

They ran out of the bushes and rushed towards the car. They stumbled briskly down the slope and nearly tripped several times. Officer Blue had the keys to the car in his hand all the time. He sat on one side behind the wheel, and Bronze jumped into the back seat and sat next to Gong Yu. Before he could close the door, Officer Blue started the car. The car spun around the clearing, kicking up a puff of dust. He barely had time to turn on his headlights, so he drove down the trail, bounced on the bridge a few times, and sped onto the dark country road.

"Did we get everything on board? Money? All the weapons? Bronze asked. His voice was loud enough to overwhelm the panicked voice in his heart.

"I can't think of anything else left." Officer Blue stepped on the accelerator with his foot.

"So we're on the run." Bronze said.

"It's just—" Officer Blue pointed to the darkness in front of him, the siren screeching louder and louder.

He slowed down and turned off his headlights.

"What are you doing here?" Bronze asked.

"It reminds me of things I did when I was a kid." Officer Blue turned onto the path in front of another house, which was less than 500 meters away from the burning cabin. The flames jumped so high that they could still be seen from such a distance. Officer Blue hid the car in the bushes, turned off the engine, and looked out into the shadowy woods toward the road. A fire truck and several police cars swept past with sirens drawn and their outlines blurred and sirens screeching.

"Just like before." Officer Blue said. He immediately started the car again, reversed it back onto the road, and turned on the headlights only when necessary.

On two more occasions, they had to turn onto the trail and stop so as not to be seen by people and vehicles passing by. The second time they dodged, several of them stopped for a long time, got out of the car and took off their coats. When Bronze took off Gong Yu's coat, she shrunk back. They wiped the camouflage ash off their faces with the linings of their clothes, then spread the clothes on the weapons in the back of the car, and took a stall to cover everything. So that when they get to Santa Fe, even if someone checks it, they won't pay attention.

Bronze stroked Gong Yu's head. "Do you think it's better?"

"I'm so dry in my mouth."

"We'll get you some water as soon as we can. Let me see the stitches that came out...... You're bleeding, but only a little. Don't worry, you'll be fine. ”

"The stitches that come out will make the scar more ugly."

"I don't want to agree with you, but it's going to be like that."

"Now we'll have the characteristics to match."

Bronze was stunned for a moment before he understood. Although Gong Yu was in a terrible pain, he still tried his best to smile.

"It's like the scars of those gunshot wounds you showed me," Ms. Gong said, "but mine will be bigger." ”

"You're different." Bronze said.

Forty minutes later, Officer Blue turned off the road, onto the trail, then onto the main road, toward his nomadic mobile home. It was nearly half past two o'clock, and there was no one on the street late at night.

"I'd drive into the desert in the morning to burn the weapons, our clothes, and the fuel oil and fertilizer in the kettle," Bronze said, "and that Remington was ready for long-range shooting, but we didn't use it." It's still safe to keep it. Why don't you take it, Officer Blue? Take your bow and arrows, too. ”

"And half the money." Gong Yu said.

"I can't." Officer Blue said.

"Why not? As long as you don't spend the money right away, as long as you only spend a little bit at a time, no one will suspect that you have the money. "You don't have to explain how there are 500,000." ”

"That sounds like a pretty good number." Officer Blue admitted.

"I can open a password account for you in a bank in Chongqing, without your name listed." Gong Yu said.

"I'm sure you can."

"And you're going to take the money?"

"Nope."

"Why not?" Bronze asked again in confusion.

"In the last few days, I've killed several people for reasons that I think are defensible. But if I take this money, if I make a profit from it, I think I'll always feel dirty. ”

There was silence in the car.

"What about you, bronze?" Officer Blue asked, "Will you keep the money?" ”

"I know it has a good use."

"For example?"

"If I had said it, it probably wouldn't have worked."

"Sounds mysterious." Gong Yu said.

"You'll find out soon."

"Well, while I wait, I hope you can clear some of my doubts."

Bronze looked concerned. "What is it?"

"The gun seller you're looking for. If the criminal lab had confirmed that the metal fragments of the bomb were from a kettle, and if he had seen it in the newspaper, wouldn't he have remembered that someone had bought a lot of kettles the day before it happened? ”

"Possibly." Bronze said.

"Then why aren't you worried?"

"Because I was going to get in touch with my former boss and report that Renata was eventually disposed of—the final veto, as Ryan likes to tell. In the case of the disaster she caused in Shanghai, my former boss would have been willing to make sure that it had nothing to do with what had happened in the cabin, that it had nothing to do with me. My former boss would use national security as an excuse to get local law enforcement agencies to stop investigating the matter. ”

"I'm definitely going to cooperate." "But if they're slow, I'll be assigned to talk to the clerk." I can tell you right now that any connection between you and what is happening here is a complete coincidence. ”

Speaking of local law enforcement...... "Bronzer leaned forward from behind and opened the locker in the middle of the two front seats." Give you a police badge. ”

"Finally give it to me."

"And your gun."

"It's finally back to its rightful owner." But when Officer Blue parked in front of his mobile home, the brisk tone in his tone turned to melancholy. "The question is, where do I belong? This place doesn't feel like a home anymore. Undoubtedly, it was empty. ”

"I'm sad that your wife is gone. I hope we can help do something. Gong Yu said.

"Give me a call from time to time and let me know how are you both."

"We're going to do something else besides making phone calls." Bronze said, "You'll see us often." ”

"Of course." But Officer Lan left the key at the igniter and got in and out of the car, as if he was preoccupied.

"Good luck."

Officer Blue did not answer. He walked slowly past the gravel in front of the mobile home. After he disappeared inside, Bronze sat down in the driver's seat and turned the key on the igniter.

"Let's go home," Bronze said.

Bronze now feels at ease, in stark contrast to the sense of distance he felt when he returned to Santa Fe from Hangzhou. As he drove down the driveway, he looked at the dark outline of his low, slender adobe dwelling and said to himself, "This is mine." ”

He must have said it out loud.

"Of course, it's yours," Gong Yu said confusedly, "you've been living here for 15 months." ”

"It's hard to explain," he said in amazement, "and I think I made a mistake." ”

The driveway made a bend along the side of the house to the carport at the back, where Bronze helped Gong Yu get off the Cherokee.

She leaned against him. "What about me? Are you wrong about me? ”

The timberwolves howled in the mountains.

"The first night after I met you," said de Copper, "I used to stand here listening to those jungle wolves, and I wished you were by my side. ”

"Here I am."

"Here you are." Bronze kissed her.

He quickly unlocked the back door, turned on the kitchen light, and walked in with Gong Yu's crutches in his hand. "We went to the guest room. The master bedroom is still what it looks like after a small war. What do you want me to get you? ”

"Tea."

While boiling water, Bronze found a packet of biscuits that had been sitting for a long time and placed them on a shallow dish. In this case, these cookies look pitiful. Nobody touched them.

"I'm afraid there's no hot water for bathing." Bronze said.

Gong Yu nodded tiredly. "I remember the attack on Friday night when the water heater was broken."

"I'll re-bandage your seam. I'm sure you want to take painkillers. ”

Gong Yu nodded tiredly again.

"Can you do it here alone?"

"Why?" Gong Yu sat up straight. "Where are you going?"

"I want to destroy those things in the trunk of the car, as soon as possible."

"I'm going with you."

"No, you can rest."

"But when are you going to be back?"

"Maybe after the evening."

"I'm not separated from you."

"But—"

"There's nothing to discuss," Gong Yu said, "I'll go with you." ”

In the pre-dawn darkness, 20 kilometers deep in the desert west of Santa Fe, Bronze threw his clothes and gloves into a pile of things in the pit. He looked at Gong Yu. She was wearing a sweater he had given her, and she was looking at him with her hands crossed against the passenger door in front of the jeep. He walked back to the jugs full of plant fertilizer and fuel oil, and poured the contents onto the clothes, the choking smell rushing to his nostrils. He threw down Officer Blue's arrow that he had used to kill the man in the woods, and he threw in the Type 22, Type 30-30, and shotgun, leaving only the Type 270 because it had never been used.

Bronze poked several holes in the kettle with the nailing claw of a hammer so that no smoke would remain in it and it would be impossible to cause another explosion. Since the fuel oil burned slowly, he poured some gasoline on the pile. Then he struck a match, lit a whole box of matches, and threw them all over the pile. Gasoline and fuel oil burst into flames, engulfing the clothes and weapons, and pillar-like flames and smoke rose into the sky.

Bronze walked up to Gong Yu's side, hugged her with his arm, and looked at the raging flames.

"What does that local myth say? The one where a bird came out of the ashes? Gong Yu asked, "Phoenix?" ”

"It's about nirvana." Bronze said.

"That's what Renata's name means in English, right? Nirvana? ”

"I thought so too."

"But not really?" Gong Yu asked, "Is it regeneration?" ”

"If we want it to be, it is."

Behind them, the sun climbed up the mountains, and under the morning sun the whole mountain range was impregnated with a reddish hue.

"How did you manage it?" Gong Yu asked. "Last night. Those things we had to do. ”

"That's what I've tried to explain earlier, and in order to stay alive, I've learned to restrain any feelings that aren't realistic."

"I can't do it." Gong Yu shuddered. "When I killed my husband...... Although he did deserve to be killed...... But after that I vomited for three days. ”

"You did what you had to do. We did what we had to do. Even now, I'm still feeling terrible, I can't get used to all this, to the fact that we're here, and I'm holding you in my arms—"

"We're alive." Gong Yu said.