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The two of them chatted with hardly a generation gap between them.
They kept talking along the way, and before long, the car reached the swamp where the Tibetan wild ass was trapped.
Before he even got out, Shi Wen saw a ring of cars nearby, with quite a few people gathered ahead. From where he was, all he could see were cars and the tops of people's heads.
He tried several angles before he caught sight of the Tibetan wild ass trapped in the swamp through a gap in the crowd.
Most of the Tibetan wild ass's body was submerged, leaving only its neck, head, and a little of its back exposed.
Judging by its exposed head, the Tibetan wild ass was already extremely weak and exhausted. It also had several wounds on its head covered in thin scabs, possibly sustained during the rescue.
The swamp divided them: the people trying to rescue it were on this side, while a large herd of Tibetan wild asses watched from the other.
The Tibetan wild asses had yellow backs and white bellies, and they were chubby, like dolls stuffed full of cotton. They were exceptionally cute, completely beyond Shi Wen's expectations.
He walked over with Yan Kexing.
Many of the people involved in the rescue noticed them and turned to greet them-mostly Yan Kexing.
The Tibetan wild asses also noticed the two new humans. They stretched their necks and began braying, "Hee-haw, hee-haw." Their voices were rather delicate and higher-pitched than those of domestic donkeys, sounding a little like birdsong.
Shi Wen also saw someone wearing waterproof trousers, with a rope tied around their waist, standing on planks laid over the swamp. They were trying to get a rope around the wild ass and pull it out.
Some of the mud around it had been dug away, but they hadn't managed to dig in front of it.
The Tibetan wild ass refused to cooperate. Not only did it dodge back and forth, but it also stretched out its neck and bared its big teeth, trying to bite the person rescuing it.
The person was spattered all over with mud and looked rather disheveled.
The crowd made way for them, and Yan Kexing led Shi Wen to the front.
Someone explained helplessly, "That's the situation. We rescued all the other Tibetan wild asses, and this is the only one left. The swamp has a tight hold on it, and it won't cooperate, so we can't get it out no matter what we do."
Yan Kexing nodded. "I brought an expert in this field to help."
Everyone looked at Shi Wen.
Shi Wen's bloodline was simply a little unusual, so he couldn't very well accept the title of expert. He hurriedly changed the subject. "How did the Tibetan wild asses fall into the swamp? Don't donkeys have their own trails?"
In the car, Shi Wen had read a little about Tibetan wild asses and learned that they were cautious animals that followed particular routes.
The person said, "They accidentally charged in while racing a car."
Shi Wen remembered what he had read and widened his eyes. "It really did run in there on its own?"
Tibetan wild asses had a habit of racing cars. If a car passed nearby, they would chase after it, determined to outrun it.
This time, while chasing the car, they might not have noticed the path and plunged headlong into the swamp.
He had been wondering how this Tibetan wild ass had sunk so deep. It had charged straight in.
Shi Wen looked at the trapped wild ass and suddenly thought it was a little more adorably foolish.
After getting a general idea of the situation, Shi Wen put on a pair of waterproof trousers the rescuers had prepared and secured a rope around his waist. With everyone's help, he slowly approached the Tibetan wild ass stuck deep in the swamp.
Shi Wen walked very slowly. The wild ass stared at him without blinking, a silliness in its big eyes that didn't match its size.
When Shi Wen came close, it sniffed hard but didn't resist at all, much less try to bite him.
Shi Wen looked into the wild ass's eyes and tentatively placed a hand on its neck.
The Tibetan wild ass brayed, "Hee-haw-"
Shi Wen stroked it, and when he saw it growing even more docile, he turned toward the crowd, intending to ask someone to toss him the rope.
Before he could speak, Yan Kexing had already taken one end of the rope in hand and tossed the other end near him. "Be careful."
Shi Wen picked up the rope and nodded to Yan Kexing.
Shi Wen looked at the long rope in his hands and finally decided to loop it once around the wild ass's belly, then pass it around its front legs and up to its neck to make a loop.
The Tibetan wild ass was very well behaved under his hands. It didn't bite him or struggle, but it was rather chubby, and standing in the swamp made it hard to move. Shi Wen had to drape nearly half his body over the wild ass before he managed to pass the rope under its belly.
As he helped the Tibetan wild ass, the warm smell of its body wafted up. It wasn't exactly pleasant, but it had a comforting quality peculiar to livestock.
The rope around its belly was the hardest part. Once that was in place, he only had to pass it around the front legs and neck.
When Shi Wen was done, he turned to the crowd and called, "I'm not very good at tying knots. Can someone tie one?"
To pull such a large Tibetan wild ass, the knot had to be very secure. Otherwise, it would come undone partway through, and the wild ass would have to suffer all over again.
Shi Wen wasn't very good at tying complicated, secure knots, but he had heard that some people were particularly skilled at it, able to make knots that held firm yet were easy to undo.
Someone in the crowd was about to speak when 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 taken to his side.
The Tibetan wild ass seemed a little afraid of Yan Kexing. It turned its head aside and began braying, "Hee-haw, hee-haw."
Shi Wen hurriedly stroked its neck to soothe it, lest it thrash about and drag them into the swamp too.
The wild ass kept braying at first, but once Yan Kexing reached its side, it didn't quite dare to make a sound.
Not only did it not dare bray, but it also trembled a little.
Seeing the wild ass react this way, Shi Wen gave Yan Kexing another look, but said nothing.
Yan Kexing took hold of the rope, and after a few movements of his slender fingers, a neat slipknot took shape.
He tugged hard on it, the muscles in his arm bulging slightly and forming exceptionally beautiful lines.
Shi Wen looked slightly away.
The knot was very secure. When Yan Kexing pulled on it, it tightened instead, showing no sign of coming undone.
"That should do it," Yan Kexing said to Shi Wen. "Let's move back a little."