Shen Wenxiu never expected that such a sunny day could be so bleak, as bleak as death.
Actually, as she was carrying an empty basket out of Tang Town, a pair of venomous, hate-filled eyes were already fixed on her. Throughout Shen Wenxiu's journey from Tang Town to Guofeng Valley, she was never out of sight of those eyes burning with fierce fmes.
However, Shen Wenxiu did not notice the person following her.
Shen Wenxiu squatted on the grass, pulling weeds, her rounded buttocks tightly clenched. The eyes, seeing her rounded buttocks, suddenly leaped out from another patch of wild grass like a leopard, pouncing fiercely from behind her.
Caught off guard, Shen Wenxiu was tackled into the bushes by the man. When the wolf-like man, amidst Shen Wenxiu's struggles, pulled down her pants from behind and turned her body to face him, Shen Wenxiu finally saw the man's face.
When she was first knocked down, Shen Wenxiu thought she had encountered the bandit Chen Lantou. Chen Lantou often ambushed women working alone in the fields, coming and going like the wind. But this man was not Chen Lantou at all; he was You Wuqing, a hero of the anti-Japanese resistance who had just returned to Tang Town a few days ago.
Shen Wenxiu screamed loudly, "Beast, let me go! Let me go!"
Shen Wenxiu yelled while hitting You Wuqiang, who gritted his teeth and said, "Today, I'll be a beast. I'm going to put a green hat on that deserter, Zhong Qi!"
Shen Wenxiu said hoarsely, "Beast, what kind of man are you for bullying a weak woman? If you have the guts, go kill Zhong Qi! You're no different from the Japanese devils! Let me go, beast!"
You Wuqiang stopped speaking. He frantically tore open Shen Wenxiu's clothes, exposing her breasts—two full, yet battered breasts. Shen Wenxiu's body, exposed in broad daylight, was actually covered in scars. You Wuqiang stared bnkly for a moment, a fleeting softness appearing in his eyes, but soon, the fmes of desire reignited in his eyes. His body pressed down hard on Shen Wenxiu, and his hands tightly grasped her hands that were cwing and fighting back...
The wind continued to roam freely in the valley.
The wild wheat by the stream swayed mournfully in the wind.
Yao Wuqiang, bare-chested, sat on the grass smoking, while Shen Wenxiu y on the grass beside him, covering her chest with her clothes. She clutched her clothes tightly with both hands, sobbing and shedding clear tears, her beautiful face looking particurly pitiful under the sunlight.
After finishing his cigarette, Yao Wuqiang sighed deeply, stood up, and looked down at the sorrowful Shen Wenxiu on the grass. In a rough voice, he said, "I admit I'm a beast, but you know better than I do that Zhong Qi is even more of a beast than I am. I could rape you, but I won't hit you. What kind of man hits a woman?"
After finishing speaking, You Wuqiang picked up his old military uniform and strode away.
Shen Wenxiu choked up and eventually burst into tears.
Shen Wenxiu's cries drifted through the silent Guofeng Valley with the wind.
You Wuqiang heard Shen Wenxiu's cries, but he didn't even turn his head.
-----
That night, it was pitch bck. San Laizi y behind the Land God and Land Goddess, unable to sleep.
He was very excited all day today because he saw the wonderful performance of the traveling performers. After the market dispersed, everyone left, but Sanizi was still watching the middle-aged man and the young boy pack up their things.
San Laizi suddenly felt very enamored with their life of wandering the world. He thought to himself that if he had their skills, he could perform tricks and sell medicine at the entrance of the local deity temple every day to make money. He even walked up to the middle-aged man and sincerely said, "Master, please take me with you. I want to wander the world with you." The middle-aged man gnced at him, handed San Laizi a banknote, and said, "You should go." San Laizi did not take the banknote and replied, "I don't want your money; I just want to wander the world with you."
The young man said, "You should keep the money and go buy something to eat." The San Laizi replied, "I'm not a beggar; I don't want your money. I just want to travel with you!" The middle-aged man put away the money and didn't say anything more to him. After they finished packing, they set off in the snting sunlight, heading to another pce with a market day.
San Laizi followed them for a long distance. The middle-aged man turned back and said to him, "You should go back. It's no use following us. It's not simple for us to earn some money and support our families. The more people we have, the heavier the burden. We can't take you with us. Hurry back and don't follow us anymore. We still have a long way to go!" San Laizi stood there, watching them walk up a mountain path, and then they quickly disappeared into the valley.
He stood desotely in the snting sunlight, filled with sorrow. The middle-aged man didn't want him, so he would have to go to Wugong Ridge tomorrow to continue digging his grave.
In the darkness, he heard the sudden gust of wind outside the nd god temple; the wind was fierce and howling. Before long, the sound of thunder echoed in the sky. Lightning streaked across the sky outside the nd god temple, like a ferocious dragon. After the thundercp, the rain fell in a torrential downpour.
San Laizi's heart felt heavy in the sound of the rain, and the Land God temple became unusually oppressive. He remembered the dream he had the night Painter Song first arrived. For these past few days, that dream had been tormenting him, and only when he was digging graves could the fear in his heart be released.
That night, San Laizi dreamed that both he and Song Ke were dead. Suddenly dead, with no known cause. San Laizi's dream began after he and Song Ke died. Many people in white clothes carried their bodies to the chaotic graveyard on Wugong Ridge.
The faces of these people in white clothes were indistinguishable; they didn't seem to be from Tang Town, as if they came from another world. They emanated an oppressive chill. San Laizi and Song Ke were wrapped in two tattered straw mats, not pced in coffins. Those cold, white-cd figures threw them into the wild grass on the hillside.
Someone spoke ominously, "San Laizi didn't even dig their graves properly. There's no need to bury them; just leave them here, and let's go!" The people in white suddenly disappeared, evaporating like mist. San Laizi, wrapped in tattered straw mats, heard the whimpering of a dog. The mangy dog whined as it pounced on him, tearing open the tattered mat, exposing his corpse completely to the dog's eyes.
The stray dog whimpered and began to gnaw at his leg, as if it wanted to start eating from his leg, slowly devouring him piece by piece like gnawing on a bone. San Laizi screamed in agony, unable to move, letting the dog tear him apart... When he woke up, he was drenched in cold sweat.
He said to the Land God, "Land God, am I dead? Am I dead?" No one answered his question, only the sound of his heavy and rapid breathing in the darkness.
San Laizi turned over; he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight no matter what. The most torturous thing about not being able to sleep was thinking about women. There were many women in Tang Town, but not a single one was his.
Even the old prostitutes in Tang Town looked down on him, and that worthless widow, Yu Huaku, often spat at him. Thinking about women made San Laizi feel hot all over, as if he were on fire, with millions of cat cws ruthlessly scratching at his heart. At such times, he would imagine Zhong Qi's wife, Shen Wenxiu, in bed with him.
(T/N: 余花裤: Yú huā kù means someone with name 'Yu' wears floral patterned panties.)
Shen Wenxiu was the most beautiful woman in Tang Town, but even in death, he couldn't have her. As he thought about it, he thought about dying. But dying was not a simple thing; he had climbed the old camphor tree at the entrance of the Land God Temple many times, hoping the Land God would punish him and let him die. But the Land God wouldn't let him die, leaving him to live in fear and torment.
