In Xiaotong Guan, Duan Zhanzhou and Duan Yelin had a big fight, and then he slammed the door and ran out.
Duan Zhanzhou kicked a small stone away and cursed angrily: “Damn it!”
Tomorrow is the day of his execution, and now almost everyone is telling him that it is useless, it is over. Even Duan Yelin does not support him at all and flatly rejects his idea of fighting the Military Control Commissioner.
Is that guy really going to die?
With a thud, Duan Zhanzhou slammed the stone wall hard, scaring passers-by so much that they took a few steps back. His face turned pale, but he didn’t know where the fire came from either.
Whether his people lived or died, it was up to him.
He walked through the city with a cold face and gradually arrived at the east gate.
It was still early, the steamer for selling buns hadn’t even heated up yet, but a long line had already formed—people waiting to leave the city, being let out one by one.
There was an old man pulling a cart in the team. He was sweating profusely and pulling the cart forward. There seemed to be a dead person lying on the cart, covered with white cloth. Only his dry hair and a bloody wrist were exposed. Looking at the bulging blue veins and gray skin color, one could tell that he must have died a miserable death.
The guard was about to get closer when he smelled a foul odor. He immediately frowned and shook his head: “What the hell…”
The old man pulling the cart hunched over: “Sir, I am here to take the prisoner who died in the prison to the mass grave. This one just died two days ago. If we don’t bury him now, he will stink.”
“Really? Nothing hidden, right?” The guard picked up a small piece of white cloth with the tip of his gun and immediately frowned, “Damn it! He died so tragically, drag him out and throw him away! Pah, pah, pah, bad luck!”
The others cursed too—seeing a corpse first thing in the morning put everyone in a foul mood.
But Duan Zhanzhou felt uncomfortable after hearing this, and his chest felt tight, so he stepped forward and asked, “What are you talking about?”
When the guard saw Duan Zhanzhou, he quickly put away his gun, stood at attention, and raised one hand to salute: “Greeting, Military Commander!”
“Dead people are also human beings, so be gentle with your words.”
“Yes… I was wrong.”
Looking at the body covered with white cloth again, Duan Zhanzhou asked, “Which prison did he come from? What did he die for?”
“Oh, Sir, this is really difficult for me. I am just a corpse collector, how can I know what crime they committed? Anyway, those who die in prison are all guilty of their own crimes, so it’s not a pity.”
Too many people died in Hezhou City these days, which inevitably aroused some compassion. Duan Zhanzhou turned around and took out a few dollars from his pocket to reward the old man. “You have worked hard, go and do your own thing, and bury the body properly.”
The old man naturally acted well after getting the benefit and said a few words like “live a long life and be blessed with good fortune”, and then dragged the cart out of the city with many thanks.
The wheel of the cart hit a small stone and shook left and right. The hand exposed outside also shook, and an object fell out of the palm. As soon as it landed, it was run over by the oncoming rear wheel and shattered into debris.
Duan Zhanzhou’s eyes fell on it, and when he looked closely, it seemed to be a small candle.
When the wind blew, it all turned into foam.
As if something had clawed at his chest, Duan Zhanzhou felt a sudden, inexplicable tightness in his breathing. He loosened his collar with his fingers and turned to walk back.
If he didn’t save Cong Lin, that guy would also be like this corpse, nameless, without even an inscription, dragged out to a mass grave and buried randomly, right?
Thinking of this, he suddenly shuddered.
After returning to Xiaotong Guan, he stormed into Duan Yelin’s room again with great momentum and said straight to the point, “Whether you support me or not, I will go to the execution ground tomorrow. If you don’t want to see me get into trouble, send me troops. If you don’t care whether I live or die, I will go by myself!”
These days, he has been making a fuss about Cong Lin. Duan Yelin is no longer surprised. After hearing what he said, he just sighed slightly.
“When he was in your hands, you tormented him in every possible way. Now that he is in someone else’s hands, you’re distressed. I really don’t understand what you’re trying to do.”
“Who is distressed?” Duan Zhanzhou said stubbornly, “I just can’t stand Yuan Sen’s despicable tactics. My people are mine, so I have the final say.”
Duan Yelin looked at him meaningfully, with some words in his mouth, unable to swallow or spit them out, so he could only remain silent for a while.
This silence was obviously a rejection in Duan Zhanzhou’s eyes. He sneered and nodded: “Fine, if you don’t want to, I’ll go by myself.”
He turned around and was about to leave, but Duan Yelin slammed the table to stop him: “Stop right there!”
“Commander Duan, do you have any other instructions?” Duan Zhanzhou was obviously not in a good mood and responded sharply.
Duan Yelin looked at his unruly back and could only lower his eyes helplessly. What he was about to say was a bit cruel. He didn’t know what kind of reaction he would get after he said it.
“Zhanzhou, it’s too late.”
Duan Zhanzhou turned around slowly. A creeping fear, like a living shackle, seemed to rise from the ground, coiling up his body and trapping him, making it hard to breathe. His voice began to tremble: “…What do you mean?”
The trembling fingertips, the waving eyelashes, the sweaty forehead… Duan Yelin saw every detail, and with a bit of reluctance, he answered seriously, “Yuan Ye just called, Cong Lin couldn’t stand the torture in the Military Control Commissioner’s prison… and died suddenly.”
Duan Zhanzhou heard his own heartbeat, which first sounded like a quick drum, then like a gong, and gradually became like thunder. Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and the beat stopped.
Sudden… dead?
Do these two words mean dead? He even tried to figure out some other meaning.
“Impossible! Yuan Sen, Yuan Sen did not issue a notice that the prisoner was dead…”
“He wanted to force us to do it. He concealed the news of his death just to see us lose our composure. If you really robbed the execution ground, he would throw a lot of dirty water on us!”
Duan Yelin stood up, walked to Duan Zhanzhou step by step, patted his shoulder with his big hand, and said with difficulty, “Zhanzhou…”
But after saying two words, he didn’t know how to continue anymore.
At this time, Duan Zhanzhou couldn’t hear anything, as if a pair of big hands covered his eyes, ears, and nose… making him feel confused as if he fell into the deep sea.
“Are you sure…? He, that guy is very cunning, maybe he just faked his death!”
“He has been dead for two days already.”
“……” Duan Zhanzhou pursed his lips. “Yuan Ye is a member of the Yuan family, and his words… cannot be trusted.”
“If the stench of the corpse hadn’t spread and couldn’t be concealed, forcing them to drag the body out and bury it, Yuan Ye wouldn’t have been certain either.”
Living people will not have a stench of corpses. As long as there is a trace of life, it will not rot.
Moreover, if Yuan Ye was really on the same page with Yuan Sen, he should not have told them that Cong Lin was dead.
This matter was more real than pearl.
After a while, Duan Zhanzhou lowered his head, left Duan Yelin’s room with a sullen face, and returned to his bedroom.
He sat on his sofa in a daze, sitting upright, motionless, not knowing where to put his hands. He had to admit that a sense of unreality surrounded him.
At first, it felt like he had lost a part of his body, but when he touched his hands and feet, they were clearly all there. He couldn’t tell where it hurt, but every piece of skin felt like it was torn apart, causing him great pain.
When that person was around, he’d see him even when he didn’t want to. But now that he finally wants to see him… he could never see him again?
Shouldn’t he cheer loudly? Shouldn’t he celebrate for Cong Wei? Shouldn’t he drink a glass of wine?
No. He wasn’t in the mood at all.
It was the start of summer, and though he sat in a sunlit room, it felt as cold as a funeral home—an utterly jarring sensation, like the world had turned upside down.
In a trance, he felt himself sweating and wanted to take off his coat, but his fingertips were so clumsy that he couldn’t even unbutton a button. The harder he tried, the more impatient he became, and he even knocked over the lamp with a wave of his hand!
The lamp hit the ground with a thud, and the wooden box on the table was also thrown to the ground. The lock was knocked open, and the things inside fell out.
These are Cong Lin’s things… no, it should be called relics.
Duan Zhanzhou squatted down and picked up the wooden box. There were very few things in the box, just a few sets of clothes and a folded handkerchief. The handkerchief was embroidered with crape myrtle flowers and belonged to Cong Wei. It was washed very clean, and it was obvious that he didn’t dare to use it and kept it carefully. And those clothes were also made by Cong Wei for Cong Lin before she died.
For the first time, he felt Cong Lin’s attachment to Cong Wei.
He carefully unfolded the handkerchief, and a black object fell out from it. He picked it up and saw that it was a bullet shell.
On the surface of the shell, a few words were scratched with a sharp knife—Duan Zhanzhou.
He remembered that this was the bullet that injured Cong Lin for the first time. He didn’t leave anything good for Cong Lin, but he didn’t expect that in the end, he would treasure the bullet that injured him.
It’s scary and shocking to like someone to this extent.
Duan Zhanzhou’s throat felt heavy, as if weighed down with lead. He carefully packed everything just as it was, held it tightly in his arms, lay down on the sofa, and closed his eyes.
He was really obsessed. Even after death, this person was still affecting him like a shadow.
He couldn’t help thinking that every time he came back, whether he wanted to see him or not, Cong Lin would appear within his reach, he was timid, humble, and pitiful.
Habit is truly a devil. Now, he’s alone, and even if he calls out, there will be no response.
He felt as if a worm had crawled out of his loneliness, burrowing into his heart, gnawing and biting, consuming his flesh and blood. He reached out to grab it, but the worm burrowed deeper, biting his heart until it was riddled with holes.
Why?
But after a traitor died, why did he suddenly feel that life was boring?
His fluctuating emotions and confused thoughts made him gradually become obscured. When he finally came to his senses, he found that he had fallen asleep hugging the wooden box. Looking at the sky outside, it should be approaching dusk.
However, his pupils suddenly narrowed because he did not wake up on the sofa in his room but woke up on the bed in a small room that could almost be described as shabby and simple.
It was Cong Lin’s room.
“Are you awake?” A familiar voice suddenly appeared in the room.
Duan Zhanzhou looked up suddenly. Xu Hang was sitting on a small chair opposite the bed. He was holding a cup of tea and blowing the tea foam gently, looking very leisurely. Duan Zhanzhou, who didn’t understand what was going on, held his head to wake himself up. He almost thought he was still dreaming: “You brought me here?”
Xu Hang took a sip of tea and smiled: “Do you think I have the ability to carry you out of your sleep without you knowing it?”
Obviously this is impossible, he is not that confused.
“Then why am I here?”
“Is it strange?” Xu Hang asked back and then changed his tone to a half-sarcastic, half-sad tone. “Even in your dreams, you can find his room. It seems that subconsciously, you are obsessed with him.”
“What on earth are you talking about?!” Duan Zhanzhou was already in a bad mood, and after hearing Xu Hang’s incoherent words, he lost his patience even more.
It was going to be dark soon, and Xu Hang wanted to make everything clear before it got dark, so he put down his teacup and raised his clear and cool eyes, which, like a searchlight, instantly penetrated into Duan Zhanzhou’s heart.
He asked, “Do you often wake up in someone else’s bed instead of your own bedroom, like this?”
He asked, “Do you find it strange that you always feel like you saw something in your dream, which was both real and fake, but when you wake up you can’t remember anything?”
He asked, “Are you curious? You just drank a little too much, but when you woke up, there was Cong Wei beside you?”
Every time Xu Hang raised a question, Duan Zhanzhou felt as if his back was twitching, and even his joints began to ache.
He was torn by a conflicting thought. He wanted to cover Xu Hang’s mouth, stopping him from saying the next terrible words, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but want him to continue.
“What exactly do you want to say? Stop being so mysterious!” He almost growled.
The more he saw him like this, the colder the expression on Xu Hang’s face became, just like a ruthless King of Hell sentencing sinners, but his posture was like a storyteller: “Don’t worry, I’ll tell you. This is a very long story, you have to listen slowly.”
