Chapter 103: The Key

A pit. Zhao Tie could only accept his fate.
He opened the car door and climbed out.
Zhang Mingyang snorted.
“You’ve brought this on yourself.”
Xu Fei shook his head.
“Third Brother, why go to such lengths? Life is hard enough for everyone out on the road.”
“Hey, Fourth Brother, you weren’t like this before. How can you stand a person like that?”
Zhang Mingyang nodded toward Zhao Tie.
“If someone like him crossed me at East Sea, I’d have beaten him long ago.”

He had barely finished speaking when a scream came from behind the car.
Xu Fei startled and looked into the rearview mirror.
The flashlight light was gone.
“Damn!”
Xu nudged Zhang Mingyang.
“What is it?”
Though Zhang disliked Zhao Tie, if real trouble came he didn’t want it either.

Xu Fei pushed open the door.
Rain came pouring in like water slapped from a bucket, soaking them both at once.
Zhang stepped down first.
Xu followed right behind.

They moved slowly toward the back.
Zhao Tie should have been by the rear wheel, but he was nowhere to be seen.
“Where is he?”
“Zhao Tie?”
Xu called out around him.
The rain seemed to swallow his voice.

They looked again.
Zhang saw the flashlight in the water.
He picked it up, wiped it off, and the torch still had charge; its beam cut cleanly through the rain.
Only then did they notice a ditch a few meters deep at the side.

“Help… help me…”
Xu suddenly heard a faint cry.
He pulled at Zhang Mingyang’s sleeve.
“Third Brother, listen.”
“Hm?”
Zhang listened, too.
The sound came from the ditch.

Xu grabbed the flashlight and took a step forward, shining it down.
Three or four meters ahead, one of Zhao Tie’s feet stuck into the air.
“It’s him!”
Xu said, moving to go.

“What are you doing?”
Zhang caught his arm.
“Don’t be crazy, Fourth Brother. If you go down there now, you’ll fall in too.”
Xu felt the urgency of saving him.
After a moment, he turned and ran back to the car.
In the back seat he remembered a coil of rope.
He took it out, returned, and tied one end to the car.

“What on earth are you doing, Fourth Brother?”
Xu tied the other end around his waist.
“I’m going down.”
“You really are… this is too dangerous.”
“No time. Third Brother, saving him is what matters. As long as the rope is secure, I’ll be fine. Then you pull us up.”
“No.”
Zhang grabbed him anyway.
“I’ll go.”
“Third Brother, don’t go down. You’re the strong one. Stay.”

Xu dropped his hands and stood at the edge of the ditch.
Seeing that, Zhang grabbed the rope at his waist.
“Go slowly.”
With Zhang holding the rope from behind, Xu had some support. He angled his body and slowly slid down.

At that moment the weeds were soaked through; one misstep and he slipped like he was on oiled glass.
Even though Zhang was pulling from behind, Xu missed the ground with his foot and dropped to sit hard. The tug made Zhang lose balance and stagger.

Luckily Zhang was quick and grabbed the car, steadying himself.
“Damn… Fourth Brother, are you hurt?”
Zhang glanced into the ditch.
Xu only gave the flashlight a small shake.
“I’m fine, Third Brother. Hold on. I’m sliding down.”
He continued, inching lower, three or four meters to go.

It was hard. Very hard.
Under the wet grass were hidden stones, sharp and cruel, and a lancing pain opened in his lower back.
There was no time to check himself.
When he reached Zhao Tie’s side, he saw the driver upside down, both hands gripping wild grass.
Blood had run down his forehead from a blow, and though rain kept washing him, a red gash remained on his left temple.

“Are you all right?”
Zhao Tie gave only a faint grunt.
Xu unfastened his own rope.
First he tied Zhao Tie in, then tied himself to the same rope.

“Brother Zhao, can you move?”
Zhao shook his head weakly.
“I… I’m dizzy.”
Xu guessed he had hit his head.
His own back, too, had probably been struck by a stone hidden in the grass.
Seeing Zhao could not move, Xu first turned his head upright.

“Third Brother, pull.”
“Okay.”
Zhang hauled hard.
Xu pushed upward from below.
With enormous effort they hauled Zhao to the roadside.

“How is he now?”
Xu looked.
Zhao was unresponsive. He was fully out.
Xu looked back into the ditch.
It was deeper than it had first seemed.

If they had not found him in time, once his awareness faded the man might have truly tumbled back in.

“What do we do now?”
Now Zhang truly had no idea.
He looked at Xu.
“Let’s get him into the car first.”
Xu tried to stand, but a surge of pain shot through his waist—he had only just remembered that stone had struck him.
When he didn’t rise, Zhang looked over.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“My waist got hit by a stone.”
“What?!”
Zhang lifted his shirt by his side.
“Damn!”
He muttered in alarm.
“Where?”
“It’s bad—whole side’s gone blue and purple.”

Xu nodded.
“It’s all right. Third Brother, put him in the car first. If he stays out in this rain, it’ll only get worse.”
Zhang nodded and, with a surge of strength, lifted Zhao Tie and put him in the car quickly.

When Zhang returned, Xu had already found the shovel, crouched beneath the tire, digging scoop after scoop.
“Stop. Come up to the car with me.”
Xu shook his head.
“No. We have to get the car out. If we stay here and then try to take him to the hospital, I’m afraid it could be dangerous for him.”
Zhang followed him under the car and snatched the shovel from Xu’s hand.
“I’ll do it.”
He dug with force.

Crouching beneath the car spared them from the rain, but they were still submerged in muddy water.
It wasn’t pleasant either.
After a while, Xu felt into the water-filled hollow before the front wheel with his hand.
“All right.”
He said, holding out his hand to Zhang.
“Third Brother, help me up.”

Zhang nodded, put Xu’s arm around his neck, and helped him into the car.
Xu sat at the driver’s seat.
“What are you planning to do?”
“Third Brother, I can drive.”
“Really?!”
Zhang stared, stunned.
“When did you learn that?”
Xu smiled. “You forgot? Back when we went to fetch rice, when Brother An got tired, I was the one who drove.”
“Oh—then that’s good.”

At once, Xu took the car keys from Zhao Tie’s body.