(Chapter Seven) Captive
It was said that "you won't become acquainted without a fight," and I became friends with Kuang Yinghao, the son of a general, through a "literary competition." This person, although his actions and words often gave off a sense of arrogance, he was not a bad person. It was just a habit he developed growing up in an environment where he was always surrounded by followers. As long as more people were not intimidated by his arrogance, it wouldn't be long before he realized that his behavior was unwelcome and naturally changed. The problem was that some people only knew how to flatter and encourage him, which was worse. That evening, he expressed his admiration for my courage and sharpshooting skills with a loud applause. Amidst the applause, I wiped the egg yolk off my face and head. Although I confidently responded to General Kuang's questions and won a round of applause, I was being pulled away from the hall by Kuang Yinghao step by step. After leaving the hall, both of us ran without planning, running until we were out of breath and our chests were about to explode, yet we still refused to stop, until we both collapsed on the ground.
We were covered in sweat, and the cold wind blew, causing the sweat to evaporate and intensifying the threat of the cold on our bodies. Our teeth chattered, making a "tak tak" sound, and we held each other's hands tightly. It was at this moment that I felt fear. Everyone has a fear in their hearts, and at that time, I threw caution to the wind. Looking back at the scene afterwards, I realized how dangerous it was!
I struggled to thank Kuang Yinghao, but my words were fragmented and unclear. Kuang Yinghao knew what I wanted to say, and he gasped for breath, saying, "Don't ask me to do it again... I... I dare not!" I pressed my hand on the ground and stood up, feeling a sense of pride. "Don't be afraid, you can do it ten more times!" Kuang Yinghao widened his eyes. Although he had a terrified expression on his face, his eyes were bright and confident because of my encouragement.
We shook hands tightly, and he suddenly pointed at my face, gasping for breath and laughing. I knew that my face was covered in egg yolk, making me look ridiculous, and the cold wind made it even more uncomfortable. I wiped my face a few times, and at that moment, the sound of a motorcycle came. I patted Kuang Yinghao on the back, and we immediately stood up straight. Two motorcycles sped towards us, with Zhu Xiangxiang in front and Kuang Yinghao behind. When they saw us, they both cheered and jumped off the motorcycles. Zhu Xiangxiang took a large package from the motorcycle and came to me. She opened it, revealing a basin of steaming water and a white towel. Kuang Yinghao approached me and patted my shoulder, saying, "Clean your face first!" Zhu Xiangxiang held the basin, and I didn't need to be polite. I washed my face and wiped it dry. Zhu Xiangxiang poured the water and stood next to Kuang Yinghao.
Although I couldn't fully accept the fact that they were husband and wife, I could at least feel the deep bond they had developed since childhood. I thanked them first and formally introduced Kuang Yinghao to them. Kuang Yinghao admired Big Eye's skills greatly and couldn't believe that he had never practiced shooting before. After listening to Big Eye's theory on aiming, he praised him repeatedly, unable to find the right words. Big Eye saw through his thoughts and said, "Anyone can master this aiming technique!" Kuang Yinghao took a deep breath and nodded repeatedly. I complained to Zhu Xiangxiang, "You should have known that we hadn't encountered guns before. I thought you would stop Big Eye at the last moment!" Zhu Xiangxiang showed a bitter expression and said, "Who knew he would really come? Everyone thought he wouldn't dare to shoot or would just randomly fire a shot into the sky. Who knew..." Zhu Xiangxiang looked at Big Eye, and Big Eye straightened his chest. "If I didn't come for real, Wei Si Li would kill me!" I became anxious and said, "I'm not that cruel, but the heartless blow will definitely change my life in the future. That's true!" A defeat in youth may seem insignificant in retrospect, but at that time, it would be a great blow and could potentially affect one's entire life.
When I said this, the atmosphere between the four of us became very serious. For a moment, no one spoke. I believe that during these few minutes of silence, each of us contemplated many questions. Big Eye was the first to break the silence. This person, who had just bravely faced the crowd and fearlessly risked his life for a friend, was now trembling with fear. He let out a strange cry, "What? Dead? Nonsense, bullshit..." He scolded me for seventeen or eighteen times, then suddenly shouted several times, and finally said, "No... I don't want to die! I don't want to die!" I didn't expect his reaction to be completely different from my thoughts. I thought to myself, even if your father is a general, it doesn't change the fact that everyone dies. Even emperors die, only immortals don't. But who has ever seen an immortal?
Kuang Yinghao's cries became more and more desperate. He shouted, "How... can I die like this? I haven't lived enough. I haven't even kissed Xiangxiang's lips. I don't want to die!" His last four words were howled out, filled with extreme despair, making people extremely uncomfortable to listen to. But his words reminded me that I had kissed Xiangxiang, and it was a kiss that was so difficult to part with, so lingering. Was this the reason why I didn't find death terrifying? I wanted to persuade him not to scream, but before I could speak, he swung his hand and hit my side, not only making a sound, but also causing pain!
Although no one knows what happens after death (dead people can't speak and tell others about the afterlife), there are many assumptions in various legends that have been widely accepted. Most of these assumptions are half true, but they were useful as a standard to determine whether I was dead or not. I immediately thought that I still had a body. Without a body, there would be no sound or pain. If I were a ghost, I wouldn't have a body. This could prove that I wasn't dead! Thinking of this, I shouted loudly, "Hey, we might not be dead. Something happened, don't believe it? Hit yourself a few times to prove it!" I thought that when I shouted, Kuang Yinghao would definitely react. However, even after shouting three times, everything was pitch black, and I couldn't hear any sound!
This shocked me greatly. I took a deep breath and wanted to shout again, but suddenly the scene changed before my eyes. I saw Kuang Yinghao, or rather, a portrait of Kuang Yinghao. To describe it in more detail, because it was the first time I experienced something so inexplicable in my life, the impression was particularly deep. The first thing that caught my eye was a pale light and shadow. At that time, it was indescribable, but later, when I saw a television for the first time, I immediately associated it with the scene I saw back then.
And Kuang Yinghao was in that light and shadow, only his upper body was visible. His eyes widened, his mouth opened, and his expression was filled with extreme fear. Despite the cold weather, I could clearly see sweat on his forehead, indicating that he was in a state of extreme terror. I called out to him, but he didn't react. I vaguely felt that his situation was similar to the image of Xiangxiang's mother appearing on the "Ghost Bamboo." It was a vivid portrait. But the portrait started to move! His expression became even more terrified, constantly shaking his head and hands, clearly denying something. But I couldn't hear any sound, neither the questions being asked nor his denials. This situation was extremely eerie. I didn't think I had fallen into a nightmare, but rather, I believed that he was being questioned by the judge of the underworld, being interrogated by the ox-headed and horse-faced guards! It was pitch black all around, so could it be that we were already in hell? Then why weren't there any evil spirits coming to interrogate me?
In a state of shock, my thoughts were in complete disarray. I felt that he was repeating a few sentences over and over again. Suddenly, I understood what he was saying! He said "I don't know" the most, and whenever I had this feeling, I saw him say it three or four times in a row!
Yes, I saw him speaking. It wasn't mysterious at all. Among classmates, there were many different kinds of games and tricks. In terms of language, to stand out, a group of close friends would create their own "secret language" and practice it until they could loudly converse in it, leaving bystanders dumbfounded. Sometimes, they even mastered the art of lip-reading, being able to understand what someone was saying just by observing the movements of their lips, even if no sound was made. My foundation in lip-reading was established during that time. Later, in my adventurous life, the basic training from my youth played a role in averting danger in many situations. At this moment, I focused and saw Kuang Yinghao saying, "I don't know, I don't know where that thing is! It looks like a... stick. Who is that person? I don't recognize him. His name is Wang Tianbin? I've never heard of him?" Between the characters "stick" and "person," I couldn't see the one character clearly. It looked like the character "pig," but it could also be another homophone. And that name "Wang Tianbin" could naturally be another homophone. This confirmed one thing for me: he was being interrogated. Someone showed him something, but he didn't recognize it, and most likely, the interrogators wanted him to reveal where that thing was, but he naturally couldn't say!
I couldn't see anyone interrogating him. During this period, I had also shouted loudly to him, but he obviously couldn't hear me. I only saw him shouting, "Are you enemy soldiers? Although I'm not an official soldier, I have become a captive and should be treated as such!" He repeated those two sentences twice, so I could confirm that he said them. This shocked me to the core. I wanted to rush towards him, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't reach him. At that moment, my situation was completely like being in a nightmare!
I waved my hands and kicked my feet, shouting loudly, while trying to see what he was saying. I saw him saying, "I won't go with you! I won't go anywhere. I don't know what you're asking me, and I don't know where you want to take me." When he said this, his expression was filled with extreme fear. Suddenly, I saw him pull out a gun and fire it, but I couldn't hear any sound. At the same time, the gray-white light dimmed, and his image became blurry.
Until he disappeared, the last words I saw him say were, "I won't surrender!" Then, everything went black, and I couldn't see anything. At the same time, I felt extremely dizzy and my body involuntarily collapsed. When I regained consciousness, I heard a lot of voices and saw many bright lights shining on me. I thought it was the turn of the ghost soldiers to interrogate me. But amidst the noisy voices, I heard the familiar voice of Zhu Xiangxiang. I suddenly opened my eyes and saw many soldiers shining powerful flashlights on me. I was lying on a stretcher, and Zhu Xiangxiang was standing next to it.
As soon as I sat up, many officers came to my side. Although they were all talking at once, they were asking the same question: "Where is Kuang Yinghao?" Kuang Yinghao was gone! He didn't die because his body was still there. But now, he was gone! My throat felt like it was on fire, and my voice was hoarse as I answered their question, "He... he was taken away, captured?" That was the best answer I could come up with at that moment!