Red Power Wedge Tiger Son, My Brother Worry-Free

  "Rocks pierce the clouds and fall into the valley, no wind comes to the pillow; ten years of guest dreams of yellow millet, one night the sound of water calls back."

  Lu Zhong slowly opened his eyes, and the intense pain of being hit by a car, which had shattered every bone in his body, seemed to be slowly disappearing.

  "Where am I? Have I arrived at the underworld?"

  Before me, the scenery is so blurry, red, green and gray, with patches of color blending together, just like an abstract painting, twisted and bizarre.

  What is hell like?

  Lu Zhong closed his eyes in disappointment once again, it turned out that death wasn't so scary after all.

  Lu Zhong had always thought to himself, "I'm probably not going to make it to heaven. I'm a scoundrel who is disloyal, unfilial, unkind and unjust. The 18th level of hell is probably where I'll end up."

  But I am not reconciled, so unreconciled.

  Thinking of the last word his father shouted at him before he died, "Get out!", he used up all his strength and energy to shout it out. Was it just to tell himself to get out?! To tell his only son to get out, the farther the better!

  At that moment, I, who had never cared about anything, was in a little pain. Maybe even I didn't know.

  Mother, that strong and heroic woman, has not spoken to herself for many, many years. Once, she was the one who loved herself the most, no matter what mistakes she made, she would always forgive herself, tolerate herself. When did it start? She doesn't care about me anymore? Ah, really can't remember, stupid self, never cared about her, right?

  Du Xiaohu, his most loyal friend, swallowed over a hundred sleeping pills because of him. As his body gradually turned cold, did he regret following him?

  And then there's that beautiful scene that he never wants to think about again.

  Is a person who is disloyal to themselves, unfilial to their parents and inhumane to friends worth following?

  Perhaps I should have died long ago.

  But why can't I accept it? Why is there resentment?

  Is it because I recall myself having also had a warm spring?

  That was a long, long time ago, wasn't it?

  Yes, it was a long, long time ago. That was after I had experienced the trials of life and death on the battlefield in southern Xinjiang, when I had just been transferred to a new job. At that time, I had not yet walked in darkness.

  Was it '83 or '84? I'm getting old and can't even remember myself.

  If you want to trace back your life, should you start from when you were just born?

  Perhaps everyone on the road to the afterlife will recall their own life, regardless of whether this person is a good or bad person.

  I am the third generation of the Lu family, one of the most glorious families in the Republic. My childhood was fraught with misfortune, my parents were in a difficult situation at the time, and I was taken away by a nanny as soon as I was born.

  The deepest feelings are with the nanny, and in one's own heart, the foster mother is one's real mother. Unfortunately, when I was eight years old, my wandering foster mother died of illness in a small coastal county called Guangning, and I was adopted by another family with the same surname Lu in Guangning, and my household registration was also registered here. However, the new foster parents were very cruel to me, forcing me to work from a young age until I ran away from home at the age of 16, after which my biological parents finally found me and sent me to join the army.

  At the age of 17, he joined the army and participated in the Sino-Vietnamese War in southern Xinjiang. After being wounded and discharged from the army, he was transferred to a civilian job. In the Nanshan Battle, his unit suffered heavy casualties, and he himself was admitted to the party on the battlefield and promoted by the party organization department. After returning to Guangning, the county committee gave him preferential treatment in accordance with relevant central documents for his second-class merit. He was appointed as the second-ranked deputy director of the county public security bureau after entering the public security field.

  Ah, I remember now, when I changed careers, it was 1983, and I was 21 years old.

  However, in the second year, 1984, he was forced to resign and start a business due to being ostracized everywhere. From then on, he began his dark career in the business world. As a businessman, he was successful and even earned the legendary title of "Magic Hand in Business". However, he succeeded by any means necessary, truly living up to the saying that every penny is stained with blood.

  Then, as the Lu family was ruthlessly eliminated from the political map of the Republic, he himself became increasingly distant from the Lu family and was implicated, imprisoned twice, and his company was confiscated.

  What if?

  What else can you think of? There's no such thing as "what if" in this world anyway.

  Lu Zhong let out a soft sigh, and then felt his shoulder being lightly patted, was it the ghostly messenger of Yanluo's tenth palace coming to take him away?

  "Commissar, wake up, how did you fall asleep?"

  The voice by my ear sounds somewhat familiar; perhaps there's an auditory hallucination in hell?

  It doesn't matter, since I've come anyway. Even if the Ten Halls of Yanluo were here, what could they do? In life, I had already brought shame to the Lu family; in death, I absolutely cannot let them be shamed again! Only when facing that moment of death did I thoroughly understand that no matter what, the blood flowing through my veins was that of the Lu family. From the moment I left my mother's womb, I had been deeply branded with the mark of the Lu family.

  Lu Zhong slowly stood up straight, opened his eyes and looked back. What if he was a ghost? Everyone is a ghost now, what am I afraid of you for? In life, I was the Demon King of the Mortal World, in death, I am also the Ghost King!

  As Lu Zhen gradually made out the appearance of the young man who was lightly patting his shoulder from behind, his pupils suddenly contracted. The person in front of him wore a blue police uniform with a red collar badge, had a clear and bright face, a neat and tidy flat-top haircut, and still had some acne on his face, looking exactly like Du Xiaohu when he was young.

  "Director? What's wrong?" "Du Xiaohu"'s gaze was very strange.

  Lu Zhong shook his head, looking around in all directions. He saw the weeping willows leaning against each other, and the narrow streets lined with low-rise buildings and bungalows. Bicycles whizzed past him, ringing out a series of crisp bell sounds. This scene seemed vaguely familiar, yet he couldn't recall where he had seen it before.

  At the southeast corner of the intersection, a yellow building that was slightly more majestic than the surrounding low-rise buildings caught Lu Zhen's eye. On the three-story, prism-shaped wall, four golden characters in bold font were embedded: "Department Store", which could be seen from far away.

  Lu Zhong Meng suddenly realized that this was not the department store in Guangning County? Until 2012, when he returned to Guangning to handle affairs, it still stood tall in the old city of Guangning. However, compared to the luxurious large supermarkets and newly built department stores in the new city district, such as Hualian Commercial Building, it had become ancient and was no longer visited by anyone. It is said that not long after he left, it could not escape the fate of being forcibly demolished.

  But how did it end up here, and what about the surrounding scenery?

  Lu Zhong suddenly looked at "Du Xiao Hu" fiercely, hesitated for a moment, and asked: "You... are you Hu Zi?" His voice couldn't help but tremble slightly. For many, many years, he didn't know what emotions were anymore. Little Tiger's pursuit of him was something he even thought was a matter of course.

  "Director, what's wrong with you?" "Du Xiaohu" became somewhat anxious, "Do you want to go see a doctor?"

  Political Commissar? Lu Zhong looked down at himself, wearing the same blue uniform with a red collar badge as Du Xiaohu. This 71-style police uniform was replaced by the 83-style olive green nationwide in 84 and 85.

  Suddenly, a "sizzling" sound came from above, like the friction of electric waves piercing through the air. Lu Zhen looked up to see that it was the high-pitched horn on the street lamp making the noise. Then, music came from the horn, playing "The March of Friendship". A female announcer's voice boomed out, reporting the news with great enthusiasm: "Our country's women's badminton team overcame countless difficulties and displayed a fearless revolutionary spirit, bravely winning the Uber Cup! They have made new contributions to our Four Modernizations construction project!"

  Although I think the content of the broadcast is a bit childish and laughable, this spirit is so familiar, this kind of thrilling melody, but later, it can't be heard or seen again.

  Later on, the hosts and presenters gradually became the mainstream, with their soft and refreshing style, while the strong and clear style has long since disappeared.

  Lu Zhong suddenly had an epiphany and stared intently at "Du Xiaohu", asking: "What's today's date? No, what year is it now?"

  "Dù Xiǎo Hǔ" sized up Lù Zhēng with a gaze full of anxious concern, but he was forever obedient to orders, just like on the battlefield in South Xinjiang, following this vice company commander who had been promoted from the front lines and fighting bloody battles.

  "Comrade, today is May 14th, 1984."

  Lu Zhong slowly backed away a few steps, 1984? Had he returned to 1984?

  His mind and brain were full of incredulity, his mouth agape, wanting to say something but unable to utter a word.

  Finally, looking at Du Xiaohu, this friend, subordinate, brother who has been loyal to himself for a lifetime, perhaps he can also be called an idiot!

  In his past life, no matter what kind of predicament he encountered, Xiaohu always followed him. When he joined the army, Xiaohu followed suit; when he left the army and came to the countryside, Xiaohu also came with him; when he started a business, Xiaohu resigned from his job to follow him; even when he was imprisoned, Xiaohu ran around outside for him. Finally, in order to protect him, Xiaohu took his own life at home after being restricted of personal freedom.

  Before I die, the first thing that comes to mind is that in this life, Hu Zi is my only friend. But having this one and only friend is already worth it!

  Lu Zhong took a few steps forward and slowly grabbed Du Xiaohu's shoulder.

  "Huzi, I'm so glad to see you again! Really!..."

  Du Xiao Hu just smiled foolishly, scratched his head stupidly, and thought to himself, "Could it be that Zhenzi Ge is having another nightmare about the battlefield?"