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As they rescued the Tibetan Wild Ass, the animal's warm, musky scent wafted over. It was not exactly pleasant, but it carried the peculiar familiarity of livestock.

The rope around its belly was the hardest to deal with. Once that was done, they only needed to loop it around its front legs and neck.

After Shi Wen finished, he turned to the crowd and called, "I'm not very good at knots. Who can tie one?"

To pull such a large Tibetan Wild Ass, the knot had to be extremely secure. Otherwise, it might come undone halfway through, and the animal would suffer all over again.

Shi Wen was not skilled at tying complicated, sturdy knots, but he had heard that some people were exceptionally good at it. They could tie knots that held firm yet were easy to undo.

Just as someone in the crowd was about to speak, Yan Kexing handed the rope he was holding to someone else. "I'll do it."

Yan Kexing rolled up his sleeves and followed the path Shi Wen had stepped out to reach his side.

The Tibetan Wild Ass seemed somewhat afraid of Yan Kexing. It turned its head away and cried, "Aang! Aang!"

Shi Wen hurriedly stroked its neck to soothe it, afraid that it would struggle and drag them into the swamp as well.

The Tibetan Wild Ass had still been crying at first, but once Yan Kexing approached, it did not really dare make another sound.

Not only did it not dare cry out, it was even trembling a little.

Seeing the Tibetan Wild Ass's reaction, Shi Wen gave Yan Kexing another look but said nothing.

Yan Kexing held the rope and worked it a few times with his long, slender fingers, quickly tying a neat slipknot.

He gave it a hard tug, the muscles in his arm faintly swelling and revealing exceptionally beautiful lines.

Shi Wen shifted his gaze away slightly.

The knot was extremely secure. When pulled, it only tightened further, showing no sign of coming apart.

"It's ready," Yan Kexing said to Shi Wen. "Let's move back a little."

Shi Wen nodded and stepped back slightly, though he remained on the wooden board, ready to help at any moment.

Once Yan Kexing and Shi Wen had moved a little away from the area where the Tibetan Wild Ass was trapped, the others on shore pulled the rope taut with all their strength.

The Tibetan Wild Ass was dragged forward by the rope and began braying loudly, its four hooves desperately stamping and struggling.

The herd of Tibetan Wild Asses on the other side of the swamp saw their companion like this and began crying loudly as well, terrified and tense.

Soon, loud cries of "Aang! Aang!" rose and fell all around. Shi Wen felt as if he were sitting in an amusement park, surrounded by noise on every side.

The trapped Tibetan Wild Ass struggled violently, splashing mud and water everywhere. The swamp seemed to have loosened somewhat, but its suction had grown even stronger.

Seeing this, the man leading the rescue said, "This won't work. We still need to bring the vehicle over and pull slowly."

After assessing the surrounding conditions, Yan Kexing pointed ahead. "If you bring the vehicle over, it can't go past that shrub."

The man immediately nodded. "Behind that shrub is the swamp, right? All right, I understand."

The man leading the rescue had someone drive the vehicle over. They tied the rope to it and used the vehicle to slowly pull the Tibetan Wild Ass forward.

The Tibetan Wild Ass cried out as it was pulled and struggled again.

Shi Wen hurried forward to soothe the frightened Tibetan Wild Ass. Together with Yan Kexing, he tried to lift its legs upward.

Several volunteers saw this and stepped across the wooden boards to help.

As Shi Wen soothed the Tibetan Wild Ass, its stress response eased. When the others came over, it struggled once but no longer tried to bite anyone.

Seeing this, the man leading the rescue sent two more people over.

The vehicle pulled the rope from the front while Shi Wen and the others dug away the silt beside the Tibetan Wild Ass and pulled at its legs.

With everyone exerting themselves together, they slowly dragged the Tibetan Wild Ass out of the swamp.

After more than two hours of work, the Tibetan Wild Ass's legs were finally pulled free as well.

As its legs came free, there was a soft pop, marking the complete rescue of the Tibetan Wild Ass that had been trapped for over ten hours.

Hearing it, the people around them could not help cheering and applauding.

"We did it!!!"

"That's great! It wasn't all for nothing—"

"Ah, we finally got this guy out!"

Shi Wen stood beside Yan Kexing, surrounded by happy shouts. Caught up in the atmosphere, he applauded too, excitement showing on his face.

Yan Kexing turned to look at him, smiled, and lightly applauded as well.

Chapter 14

The rescued Tibetan Wild Ass lay on the ground, covered from head to toe in mud. Its large eyes looked exhausted, and it appeared completely spent.

The veterinarian waiting nearby hurried over to examine it. Afterward, he said there was nothing seriously wrong, only a little exhaustion.

Shi Wen went over to examine it as well. Sure enough, aside from exhaustion, there was nothing wrong.

Yan Kexing spoke to the man leading the rescue, then took Shi Wen back to the car, intending to drive him back to N City to pick up his puppy.

As they sat in the car, Shi Wen pulled over his seat belt and fastened it. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Yan Kexing looking at him, so he raised a hand to touch his face. "Is there something on my face?"

Shi Wen sat up straight and leaned slightly toward the mirror. The face reflected there was spotless, without a single speck of mud. His skin looked fine too—actually, even better than before.

Puzzled, he looked at Yan Kexing, silently prompting him for an answer.

Yan Kexing said, "I remember that when I first met you, you wore glasses."

"Oh, that—" Shi Wen leaned back in his seat. "I thought they got in the way while working, so I stopped wearing them. It doesn't really make much difference anyway."

Seeing Yan Kexing's expression, Shi Wen added, "I wear them when I read."

Yan Kexing started the car. "Is the prescription still suitable?"

"I guess so?" Shi Wen did not know whether Yan Kexing was merely making conversation, so he gave it some more thought. "It's hard to get glasses that fit perfectly anyway. Most of them are more or less the same. Why?"

Yan Kexing said, "I was just wondering whether you wanted to have your vision checked again. I feel like your old glasses probably aren't very suitable anymore."

Shi Wen casually objected, "There's no need, right? I can just make do."

"How can you make do when it comes to your eyes? The ophthalmology department at N City People's Hospital is pretty good. Since it's not easy to come to N City, why not get checked while we're here?"