Shuzhen and Juanzi marched towards southern Xinjiang with the car and Xiangzi, although the scenery along the way was so barren that it made people frown, but Shuzhen and Juanzi's faces were always filled with warm smiles. Because, they are getting closer and closer to their son.

Shuzhen is the first time to walk this gravel dirt road across the Tianshan Mountains, the peaks on both sides, hanging stones stand in a forest, not an inch of grass grows, from time to time you can also see the traces of artificial excavation, the cliffs cut by axes and knives and the boulders that can be seen everywhere, showing the hardships and difficulties of the pioneers. A dry ditch winds its way like a python on one side of the road.

Driving out of the canyon, the endless scorched yellow color contrasts sharply with the blue sky. As far as the eye can see, the waves and heat waves fade into a faint mirage. If it weren't for the heat, it would have made you feel like you're walking on the clear bottom of the sea.

At the three-way intersection, the southeast direction is Turpan, and the southwest direction is Yanji. Yanji has been a commercial and military center since ancient times, and the Iron Gate Pass, which is hundreds of miles away, is the throat road connecting the north and south of Xinjiang in ancient times. It can be said that one husband is a close to ten thousand people. It is said that the Xiang Concubine of the Qing Dynasty was buried on the top of the mountain in Guannan.

When they arrived in Heshuo County, Xiangzi parted ways with the police officers who came with him, and the police officers went straight to the base, while Xiangzi and Shuzhen Juanzi followed the Heshuo dirt road, inquiring about the whereabouts of Maimaiti along the way. As the sun was just reddening, they finally saw Anarhan's fiery figure.

Mamat happily and unexpectedly hugged Xiangzi warmly, and Anarhan happily said that she and Huzi's brother had gone to Bosten Lake not long ago and went into the water to touch the fish.

When Maimaiti heard that Xiangzi had come to investigate the disappearance of the villagers, he was a little excited and lost his mind. He took Xiangzi's hand, held back tears and said, "Hu Da! Looking forward to the stars and the moon, I finally looked forward to you. The Lord's blessing Ahmat can finally see the sun. As he spoke, he recounted the disappearance of the five people in the village.

Shoko listened, and asked suspiciously, "Do the missing people know water?" ”

Maimaiti sighed and said, "They are all balangzi (children) who grew up in the lake, and turning their heels in the water is as easy as dancing on horseback." ”

Shoko nodded contemplatively and said, "Did anyone see them go into the water?" ”

Maimaiti said with a painful face: "A barangzi in the village saw it, saying that he was herding horses that day, and saw Ahmat rowing a boat with a barang in the village. When the boat rowed to a fork in the lake, the people on the boat shouted in panic: 'The boat is leaking!' Then he saw the boat sink with the men. It is said that they are very good in water, but when they sink into the water, they never see anyone come up, and there is no shadow of life or death. ”

Maimaiti said and sighed lightly. With a sad face, he continued: "In the afternoon of the same day, the three Balangzi with the best water in the village ran to the lake to save people when they heard the news, and they changed their breath twice in the water, and one by one they disappeared. Since then, no one in the village has dared to go into the water. That day, Analhan came back and said that she had gone into the water to touch the fish, and I was nervous and Meimei cleaned her up. ”

When Xiangzi heard this, he lovingly stroked the broken braid that Anarhan wore on his shoulders, and said softly, "Aren't you afraid? ”

Anarhan looked innocent, winked playfully and said, "With Brother Huzi by his side, the water monster doesn't dare to come." ”

Looking at Anarhan's innocent appearance, Shoko rose a warm love from her heart.

After a general understanding of the situation, Xiangzi said with a solemn face: "This is not an ordinary drowning case, it seems that we may have to stay here for a few days." ”

Maimaiti immediately said that they were welcome to live in their own homes permanently. However, Xiangzi smiled warmly and said, "We have a lot of people coming and going, so it's best to rent a small courtyard for us, so that it will be convenient for us to work." ”

Maimaiti is a shrewd person and immediately understands what Shoko means. Tilting his head and thinking about it for a while, he suddenly patted his head and said excitedly: "There is a big yard next door to me, and a friend of mine used to live with his family." More than ten years ago, my friend died while following and Ganiyaz to attack Dihua. The mother is left in the family, and a grandson who is less than ten years old depends on each other. Last year, his grandson tried to save Ahmat...... Therefore, the old man was left in the courtyard. ”

As he spoke, Maimaiti once again showed a sad expression. Xiangzi sighed lightly, nodded slightly to Shuzhen and Juanzi, who were listening silently, and said, "Then it's decided, you can't lose the old man in terms of rent, and the rest will be taken care of by Shuzhen and Juanzi, and I have to rush to run errands overnight." So saying, he got up.

Maimaiti hurriedly stretched out his arms to stop him: "My most distinguished friend, the mutton is already dancing in the pot, so let's share the food given by Hu Da's grace." ”

Xiangzi thanked him with Uyghur etiquette, and then, with a solemn expression, said, "The wolf is still laughing, I can't put down the shotgun." May Allah bless the soul of Ahmat return to its place soon, and the days we will be together will last as long as the waters of Bosten Lake. ”

Maimaiti couldn't speak again, his beard shook into silver waves, his slightly darker lips trembled spasmodically a few times, and two crystalline tears finally slipped through his eyelids and rolled down like pearls.

When the old lady heard that she had come to look for her grandson, she burst into tears of joy and refused to ask for rent. couldn't help it, Juanzi had no choice but to look at Maimaiti and said, "Then let's talk about it later." ”

There are three empty rooms in the courtyard for cooking, and a nearly deserted stable in the backyard that can feed five horses. A clever little yellow dog barked a few times, and then obediently kissed Anarhan's feet.

As soon as Xiangzi went to work, he met with Cheng Liang, the head of Mr. Wang, Pan, and Huzi. At the meeting, everyone listened to Xiangzi's description of Bosten's mystery case in detail. At the end, he said: "The province attaches great importance to this incident, and the provincial bureau instructed that this case should be combined with the Ma Bufang remnant case to be investigated." I don't know if you have any relevant information? ”

Regiment Commander Pan threw off the cigarette butt in his hand in frustration, and said with a little anger: "Before the troops entered the base, there was news from the superiors that the remnants of Ma Bufang were likely to be hiding nearby, and ordered our regiment to take strict precautions and wait for the opportunity to eliminate them. Turtle son! The strength of the two companies tossed around for half a month, and neither hair was seen. I've always suspected that the intelligence might be wrong. ”

Mr. Wang sighed lightly and said: "The matter of Ma Bufang's remnants is just a rumor, and so far, no clues related to Ma Bufang's remnants have been found in the base. As for the case of the disappearance of the Bohu villagers, it was originally handled by the Heshuo County Public Security Bureau, so we were unable to intervene. ”

Xiangzi saw that everyone's enthusiasm was not high, and he had the posture of not shedding tears when he saw the coffin. He smiled and said: "The public security department is responsible for the investigation of this case, if you find any suspicious circumstances, please contact us in time." When necessary, comrades in the unit should also be asked to cooperate. ”

Commander Pan said with an awe-inspiring look: "I have already told Captain Wang in advance that the special service battalion will be dispatched at any time. ”

The meeting, which ended in a dull atmosphere. The wheat-like sun has scorched the gravel of the vast Gobi.