Everyone quickened their pace. The yurts were still over a thousand meters away. When they came within one or two hundred meters, a few barks rang out from the yurts, followed by the barking of three or four dogs echoing across the empty wilderness.
Then they saw lights seeming to come on inside the yurts.
"Everyone stay put. The four of us will go over," Gong Jian immediately told the others.
"Yes!"
The others obediently remained where they were, while Gong Jian and the other three headed toward the yurts. They were still one or two hundred meters away.
After Gong Jian and the others walked another few dozen meters, they could see two or three people emerging from the yurts, carrying flashlights. Several beams of light stood out sharply in the wilderness.
"Who's there?!" A local herdsman shouted, his voice thick with dialect.
"Folks, we're the People's Liberation Army!" Gong Jian immediately shouted back. They were still several dozen meters apart.
"Send one person over first! We have guns!" the herdsman shouted.
"Guns?" Yang Rui immediately became alert and spoke in a low voice.
"I'll go. Stay on guard," Gong Jian said quietly. He had no idea why there were guns here, but caution came first.
"Understood." Yang Rui and the other two silently worked their bolts, just in case.
"Folks, don't worry. We're not bad people. I'll come over alone." Gong Jian raised his voice and shouted several more times before continuing forward.
After Gong Jian advanced another twenty or thirty meters, the other side's flashlights clearly revealed what he was wearing. He heard the man who had shouted earlier say in a heavy dialect, "Abu! They really are the People's Liberation Army."
"Quick, put down the gun. They really are the People's Liberation Army." Another, aged voice