Chapter 16: Drunkenly Choosing a Lamp to Examine Swords (Part 2)

  "I am like a lonely sailboat, in the world of water, searching for land, I set sail far away to where the sun lives. I indeed have direction, only that I still need to be stronger by myself and produce more strength."

  Long Bao wrote down these two sentences in his notebook again and then continued reading the book with great concentration.

  Qiu Ya gently massaged his head and shoulders, her hands lightly combing through his hair. She wouldn't chatter on like Du Cui, but instead would sometimes lie quietly in bed, gazing at Long Bao's profile. She felt content, thinking herself too happy, never having imagined that love could feel so wonderful! Of course, when no one was around, Long Bao would also sneak in a hug and a kiss, sending her into a state of ecstatic dizziness.

  She loves his hair, eyebrows, eyes, nose, back, and every word he says she will savor hundreds of times. Long's everything is her everything, even more than her everything.

  She is infatuated with Long Bao.

  She often daydreams about what their future child with Long Bao will look like. Will they have dark skin, just like him? Or fair skin, like hers? Will they grow up to be tall and strong, just like his father?

  She wants a boy, a little dragon!

  It's already June, and in just a few days, I'll be turning 17. This year, due to my foot, I haven't been able to earn any money. It wasn't until the beginning of May that I was finally able to start exercising again, but my foot is still uncomfortable. It feels like the weather forecast can accurately predict rain, it's really uncomfortable, and I always feel like there's something foreign inside or some kind of traumatic rheumatoid arthritis.

  Fortunately, thanks to Jing Bao and those students, I finally found three tutoring jobs again.

  For safety reasons, I now carry the ancestral key knife that opens the treasure box when I go out. The knife is very small, no more than three inches long and five parts wide, but it is very sharp and hard, a bit like the legendary treasured sword of ancient times. Although it can't cut through iron, it has a somewhat invincible feeling. Shi Wei always asks about the origin of this knife, but I still can't tell him.

  Only Wenli knows this secret in the world, and I also trust that she won't leak out this secret. Shi Wei configured a scabbard with an outer leather cover and an inner stainless steel plate for me, which I hid against my leg.

  That day when I came back from tutoring, I ran into Jing'er at the side gate of the school.

  I always have an inexplicable feeling about Jing'er, sometimes I think she's like Wenli, sometimes I think she's like Qiuya, and sometimes I think she's like Haitao or Shiwei. But more often than not, I feel that she's not a mortal woman, but a celestial being who has fallen to the human world, with an air of detachment from worldly affairs. The two books she gave me are ones I often flip through, which even makes Qiuya a bit jealous.

  Jing stood by the road and waved at me, probably she saw me.

  "Jing Er, who are you waiting for here? Is it your boyfriend?" Long Bao asked Jing Er as he pushed the cart and walked.

  Jing'er looked at Long Bao with a somewhat strange expression and said: "What, you've never seen my boyfriend before?"

  Long Bao's heart skipped a beat and he asked in surprise: "Have I met your boyfriend?"

  Jing'er's subtle smile seemed mysterious, and she didn't speak. Her clear and calm eyes seemed to hold a deep meaning as they gazed at Long Bao.

  Long Bing felt how he liked meddling in other people's business so much, and how he became like Shi Wei. Then, he dryly laughed a few times.

  Jing'er was very interested in Long Bao's emotional ups and downs, and continued to ask with a relentless attitude: "What's wrong, the famous Dragon Great Hero, the man with outstanding eloquence, can't speak today?"

  Longbiao knew that this girl was provoking herself, so she pretended to be stupid and continued to smile, waiting to see how Jing'er would continue to speak!

  As expected, Jing'er realized she was being a bit too pushy and walked two steps before changing the subject: "Longbiao, you're not in a hurry to get back to your dorm, are you? Why don't you come with me for a walk?"

  Long Wan wanted to ease the atmosphere between the two people, not too awkward, so he pretended to be humorous and said: "Well, to tell the truth, I've known you for so long, but we haven't had many conversations! You suddenly gave me a lecture, told stories, and I remember them all clearly! Haha!"

  Long Bao surprisingly said that he remembered his own words clearly, and Jing Er's eyes quickly glanced at Long Jian Yi's face. Her heart skipped a beat as she replied in an unsteady voice: "Really? I've forgotten, recite it to me, what did I say?"

  Those words are what Long Bao often uses to remind himself, and he can recite them with ease!

  Listening to Long Bao reciting every word, every sentence in his awkward Mandarin, Jing Er's heart was already filled with tears. Was it emotion? Shock? Sorrow? Or happiness?

  Jing'er herself couldn't describe it.

  Only knowing that the turbulent waves in her heart completely drowned her soul in the repeatedly crashing ocean of Long Bao.

  She was completely stifled from then on!

  No one could save her.

  "How's it? Jing Er? Not a single word is wrong?"

  Long Bao was now in Jing Er's eyes like a child, simple and joyful, as if eagerly looking forward to being rewarded.

  Jing'er held back the tears that were about to fall, and in a praising tone said: "Mm, not bad! Auntie will reward you with a piece of candy! Be obedient, be good!"

  Long Bao smiled foolishly and stretched out his hand, saying: "Hand it over! Quick!"

  Jing'er rummaged in his pocket for a while, then placed his small hands into his large palms and closed them tightly.

  She closed her eyes, and her slender shoulders seemed to be slightly trembling. As if she was feeling the warmth of his palm, the beating of his pulse, and the voice of his soul.

  Suddenly, Jing'er tightly hugged Long Bao's waist, her face also stuck to his chest like Qiu Ya, as if using all her life force...

  Suddenly, she tiptoed and quickly kissed Long Bao's lips, then swiftly ran away without looking back.

  As he watched the figure gradually disappear into the night, Long Bao pursed his lips, which still held a faint fragrance. He couldn't help but lick them with his tongue, savoring the lingering aftertaste.

  He found something extra in his hand and upon closer inspection, it was a piece of paper.

  Finish your studies properly, don't say anything, don't do anything, don't think about anything, and don't care about anything. If there's an emergency, call me at 138***, remember. Jing'er.

  Long Bao stuffed the note into his pocket!

  Liao Ye, who had been secretly following Long Bao's tracks and summarizing his recent living habits at night, unexpectedly captured the scene of Long Bao and Jing Er kissing today. He immediately sent the freshly taken images to Chang Cheng overnight.

  Chang Cheng gave him 20,000 yuan and instructed him to proceed according to the plan. The 20,000 yuan was for activity expenses. After the task is completed, there will be an additional reward of 30,000 yuan.

  "Cheng Ge is indeed generous and bold! This is the real material for doing great things!" He didn't disappoint himself for repeatedly showing loyalty to him! Liao Ye secretly rejoiced, unlike that bastard Zheng Xue, relying on his own ***, playing tricks on me, this time he will unknowingly taste my, Liao Ye's, ferocity! As long as this matter is successful, I will be on the bright and broad road!

  Just thinking about it makes me happy! Haha!

  Jing'er has been feeling uneasy these past few days, as if she senses that something is going to happen. For the first time in her life, she feels fear, real fear. But this afternoon, Grandfather called again and repeated those words: focus on your studies, don't say anything, don't do anything, don't think about anything, don't worry about anything.

  Grandfather had never been so serious with himself before. What Grandfather repeatedly warned Father about was that people must know their fate, follow their fate, and cannot go against it. Fate has its own logic and rules, and people can only follow it, absolutely not changing the course of nature! Especially, one cannot arbitrarily change someone else's fate.

  But Long Bao's body had his own blood flowing through it, his own blood had long been merged with his, unless he was dead, who could separate them again?

  Grandpa must have known what was going to happen, otherwise he wouldn't be so cautious. Thinking back to that day when Grandpa mysteriously said that the bad kid was in trouble, could it be referring to Zheng Xue getting into trouble and having something to do with Long Bao? They are sworn enemies after all! Now the only hope is for Long Bao to gain some insight from his own note.

  Why don't you tell Long Bao about those things yourself and let him realize it as soon as possible?

  How can Grandpa's words be disobeyed?...

  She was like this all day, indulging in wild fancies and not daring to make any rash moves.

  Who can know fate? Only when a person has grown old and looks back on their life will they come to realize that human beings indeed have some fate.

  People can create their own legendary figures, but they will never be able to create the heavens.

  Humans and all living things are just children of the heavens, a part of the composition of cells of the heavens.

  It's just that, at most sometimes acting as a substitute for brain cells.

  The thing Jing'er feared most finally happened!

  So irreversible! Irresistible! Incomprehensible!

  Tonight, I'll be walking along the small road by East Lake again. There are only a few minutes left before I arrive. On summer nights, this road always has a cool breeze blowing from the lake. If there's moonlight shining down, it will be even more beautiful.

  Unfortunately, today there is only the dim yellow light of the street lamps sparsely illuminating the road surface. There are no stars or moon in the sky, and the weather looks somewhat gloomy. It's likely to rain tomorrow. Rainy days always make people feel depressed, and I especially dislike rainy days. Tomorrow might be a rainy day, which also happens to be my 17th birthday.

  "Longwan! Longwan!"

  I was riding a bicycle when I suddenly heard a voice calling me! It seemed like it was in the dialect of my hometown.

  It's Liu Guanghua, an old fellow from the same hometown.

  What is he doing here? I quickly stopped the car. He was standing by the side of the road, and after a few pleasantries, he handed me a portable radio, asking me to listen to the recording inside.

  There is a box of tapes in here. But this is one tape that makes me completely furious!

  New grudges and old grievances!

  New grudges and old grievances!!

  New grudges and old grievances!!!!!

  After listening to the tape, all I knew was that my voice, which was cold enough to freeze everything between heaven and earth, was saying: "Where is Zheng Xue?"

  Liu Guanghua didn't know why Liao Ye wanted him to take the tape recorder and tapes at this time, but when he heard the content inside was Zheng Xue completely deceiving and playing with Wen Li, out of a sense of justice as a fellow townsman, he agreed without hesitation. Liao Ye told him that he also couldn't stand Zheng Xue's actions, such a good girl like Wen Li, how could Zheng Xue treat her like this! Liao Ye also gave him a portable CD player worth 2000 yuan.

  Seeing Long Bao's angry look, Liu Guanghua became somewhat flustered and pointed ahead, saying: "I heard Liao Ye say that they seem to be negotiating near the roadside pavilion up ahead."

  I still don't deny that Yun Li occupies a corner in my heart, but I think I've transformed those feelings into deep blessings for her to find happiness and love. And previously, I was thinking that if I had the ability to take revenge on those people in the future, would I let Zheng Xue off the hook because of Yun Li?

  But I never thought about what if Zheng Xue's feelings for Wen Li were all fake, what should I do? I didn't think about it, what if I found out the truth, how should I deal with it?

  The location Liu Guanghua mentioned was just a blink away, and in just a few minutes, I didn't even have time to carefully think about why it was Chang Cheng and Zheng Xue's dialogue, why Liao Ye would give the tape to my fellow villager Liu Guanghua, why Liu Guanghua would be waiting for me here, and why Zheng Xue and Wen Li were coincidentally negotiating in front of us... I was emotionally excited, didn't have time to calmly think and judge all these logical relationships, everything was calculated so meticulously, it was like a national chess player making moves, each step tightly linked, more sinister and vicious than that time in the cafeteria!

  Wen Li, the girl I was once infatuated with and had my heart broken for, who I had once decided to marry, was now crying out in a hoarse voice, wailing and sobbing: "Why... why did you deceive me like this? Why did you deceive me? Why? Why?"

  Zheng Xue, this is definitely the one who hired thugs to break my right leg and left me disabled; This guy who once swore in front of Wen Li that he would love her forever, but almost got her killed with an ectopic pregnancy, now acts as if he has nothing to do with it. He's been cheating and playing with Wen Li all along, and now he's standing in front of me, shamelessly telling Wen Li: "Alright, alright! Stop crying! Since you already know, I might as well open the window and speak the truth! I've been in a relationship with Piao Xue for a year now, didn't you see that? So what? She's very clear-headed and understanding. We all knew it was just for fun back in college, so why bother about being together forever? Is that right?"

  "Besides, we're still young, getting married so early is ridiculous! How can I show my face to the guys in the future? Xiaoxue is more capable than you, she only knows how to ask me for money to spend, but I've spent a lot on you! Much more than her! Think about it, which year didn't you send a bunch of supplements and clothes back to your family? And let's compare, I still think I love you more than I love Xiaoxue. Isn't that right? Since that's the case, why are you being so serious?"

  My anger completely burned my brain, all my indignation was concentrated in my hands, teeth and heart!

  Zheng Xue didn't know I was under this tree, still talking to himself: "Wen Li, people should be content! Only those who are content can be happy all the time! Why can't people be more generous, more open-minded, and more magnanimous? Why can't they see the big picture? How can love be so selfish, with rules that say it must be exclusive and can't be shared? Isn't that right?... In ancient times, those high-ranking officials and wealthy merchants, who didn't have three wives and four concubines? Tang Bohu had nine wives! Isn't that true? And the emperors had even more, with three palaces and six courtyards, three thousand beauties, sleeping with a different one every night, it would take three years to get through them all... how can you not understand..."

  He found that Wenli was no longer making a sobbing sound, and with some confusion, he hastily lowered his head to take a look.

  "Save me! Someone's dead! Come quickly!"

  Zheng Xue's terrified voice was especially piercing in this night scene! Especially heart-wrenching! Especially making one's heart born of murderous intent!!

  At my old home on Bear Mountain, sometimes I can hear the howling of jackals, sometimes the cawing of ravens, and sometimes even the hooting of owls. But what I most like to hear is still that lone wolf under the moonlight, its mournful wail echoing through the entire mountain!

  Ahhhhh...!!!

  I rush forward!

  Throw a punch!

  Gongs and drums sound together!

  The dog kicked over the howling dhole!

  The raccoon dog's whole body arched up!

  When a leopard is killing its prey, it always bites down on the throat, and then gives a vicious bite!

  I let out a loud roar! My left knee heavily slammed onto the dog badger's chest, my iron claws tightly grasped the dog badger's throat!

  I want to build an aquarium for it!!

  Then peel, debone, and stir-fry the meat with dried red chili peppers in a large wok. Add coarse salt to taste. Invite Autumn Ya, Hai Tao, Shi Wei, and oh, don't forget Jing Er who secretly kissed me once...

  Wait, Jing Er?

  What's wrong?

  Quiet!

  What did you write on the note you gave me?

  Let me think for a moment.

  How can I not think of it?

  The raccoon dog started its final few kicks.

  One. I'm counting.

  Two down. I smiled as I counted.

  Three down. I counted with a smile all over my face.

  Suddenly, I smelled a fragrance that seemed to be on Wen Li's body, and also seemed to be on Qiu Ya's body and in her mouth, and even more like the one between Jing Er's lips...

  I finally remembered that the note was written like this: Study hard and finish your studies, don't say anything, don't do anything, don't think about anything, and don't care about anything. If there's an emergency, call me at 138***, remember. Jing'er.

  Quiet child, quiet child! Quiet!

  Jing'er seems to have known that this would happen today? It will happen!

  She is subtly reminding me! Reminding me! Warning me!

  Chang Cheng's voice on the tape, Liao Ye handed over to Liu Guanghua, Liu Guanghua actually knew where to wait for me, Zheng Xuewen was just negotiating not far ahead!

  Conspiracy!

  Conspiracy!!

  I was completely manipulated by others! Unbeknownst to me, I fell into their trap!!

  Who designed the plan? Who is always successful? Liao Ye?

  I broke out in cold sweat and suddenly let go of his hand!

  Her first reaction was to fly in front of Wen Li, try it out, and fortunately, there was a pulse and breathing.

  Lowering his head to take a look, he had cut his wrist, and it was bleeding profusely. He should not have severed the blood vessel, which he was very clear about.

  Tear off your shirt at once and bind it tightly with a cloth strip.

  I ran to Zheng Xue, who I had mistaken for a dog, and felt a faint pulse. I pressed my palm against his chest twice, and I could feel that his sternum and ribs were broken.

  What's wrong?

  I've already heard someone over there calling out for people!

  Sounds like Liao Ye's voice!

  I quickly recalled the note from Jing'er, which read: Don't say anything, don't do anything, don't think about anything, and don't care about anything. If there's an emergency, call me at 138***. Remember. - Jing'er.

  Yes, listen to Jing Er!

  Anyway, Wenli won't be in trouble! Even if Zheng Xue is beaten to death by me, at most I'll just get caught and pay with my life!

  I want to live!

  To survive, we must escape! Leave the murder scene immediately! Now!

  I still bear the heavy responsibility of my ancestors! I have not yet achieved my own ideal goals!

  I haven't married Qiu Ya yet!

  I want to see Jing'er again! I must see Jing'er right away!