Die Landschaft ist wie ein Gemälde

Kapitel 18

Students in love were everywhere on campus, seemingly without a peaceful spot. I hung my head and walked towards the least crowded east gate of the school. There stood the ancient city wall, a desolate sight.

Climbing to the top of the city wall, the desolation felt even more profound. Tall pines and paulownia trees disappeared into the darkness, with only their lush branches swaying in the wind. I sat on the ancient city wall, staring blankly at the dim lights, completely unaware that someone was following behind me.

Section 45: Return (2)

Someone stepped on the branch and snapped it, making a cracking sound.

"Who goes there?" I shouted.

"Oh, we've been found out! That's good, saves us the trouble."

A man emerged from the biting wind; he was a thin, scrawny fellow. He whistled towards the city wall below, and someone immediately responded. I was startled and peered down.

Another shock!

Two people were coming up, but they didn't climb the steps or run up like ordinary people. One of them, wearing a grass-gray coat, "whoosh! whoosh!" and came up in two steps, like a spider climbing a wall and clinging to the soil. The ninety-degree wall was as flat as flat ground.

Who is this person?

"What do you want to do?" I was terrified and involuntarily backed away.

"What are you doing?" Skinny guy flashed me a grin, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "What do you think?"

"A few days ago, two students who were dating were all lovey-dovey here, and the three of us caught them. We weren't going to pass up such a tempting opportunity, so I beat the guy half to death. He didn't dare utter a sound and even begged me to let him go. He said he'd give us his girl to have some fun with if we didn't kill him. Are there really such unmanly people in the world?"

“Second brother, you’re wrong,” another man with a pointed face interjected, “He’s a spineless man.”

"What a bunch of idiots! They're all the same! Since he said that, why should we be polite? I didn't expect that after only a few days of enjoying myself, fresh mutton would be delivered to my door again..."

"Brother! This chick is a real catch!"

Three men who looked like migrant workers, with ferocious expressions, pressed closer step by step.

"Don't come any closer!" I shouted.

They laughed wickedly: "Go ahead and shout! In this place, the wind will scatter all sounds, even calling for ghosts won't help!"

I stood up and stepped back, my back hitting a brick wall—that's it! There was nowhere to retreat!

"If I take one more step forward, I'll jump!" I glanced at the five-meter-high city wall below, but it was pitch black and I couldn't see anything.

"Jump, I'll watch you jump," the skinny man grinned as he continued to approach.

My calves were trembling uncontrollably, whether from the cold or the weakness, as if they were cramping.

Shall we jump?

The menacing, filthy face was getting closer and closer; the man with the pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks could grab me with his outstretched arm.

I felt nervous. And also, a little... timid.

But a stubborn streak deep within me wouldn't allow me to suffer such humiliation.

I closed my eyes, gritted my teeth, and was about to jump...

Suddenly, a strong hand reached out and grabbed my wrist, lifted me up around the waist, and carried me away from the dazzling, dizzying edge of the city wall, gently placing me in a spacious area.

Who suddenly appeared?

A black, whirlwind-like shadow blocked my way. He stood against the moonlight, his back to me. But that tall, handsome figure was all too familiar.

My heart skipped a beat, then stirred.

A surge of emotion welled up in his eyes that he couldn't stop.

That silhouette...

I promised God that I would pay any price to see him again.

"Ugh—"

Skinny Horseman collapsed, struck in the stomach instantly. He was writhing in agony.

The person in the grass-gray jacket was stunned.

He was too fast! He unleashed lightning-fast punches and kicks at breakneck speed, leaving his opponent overwhelmed and unable to even see where the punches and kicks were coming from.

The wind was whistling past my ears.

The man with the pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks had already covered half of his cheek and collapsed to the side. He scrambled to his feet and ran away while shouting, "Second Brother, be careful! That girl has sorcery! She can use the Thunder Palm technique from a distance and she can hit people!"

He was shouting nonsensical words when the other two were kicked away one after another and scattered in all directions.

I stood there, stunned and at a loss. The man in black in front of me still stood with his back to me, showing no intention of turning around.

"The Great Forest!" My throat felt like it was being scalded by boiling water, and I gasped with excitement. "You're not dead? I knew you wouldn't die!"

I wanted to rush forward and hug him, to cry or laugh out loud, but my feet wouldn't budge an inch. Perhaps someone as timid and submissive as me is destined to be unhappy.

"Why do you always turn your back to me?" I asked, unwilling to give up.

He sighed and slowly turned around.

Turning around takes courage, it turns out.

"Great Forest, what's wrong with you?"

I was stunned, and stood there dumbfounded...

Where did you go before school started?

“I went back to my hometown to sweep the tombs,” I answered softly, staring at his face.

"No wonder I couldn't find you. Mingyang is in trouble, did you know?"

My ears were ringing, and I couldn't hear what he was saying anymore.

Section 46: Return (3)

"Big Forest! What happened to your face?" I reached out to touch it.

He wore a white latex mask that covered half his face, the only bright spot in his all-black attire. He looked remarkably like Eric, the Phantom of the Opera from Andrew Lloyd Webber's novel. Only the misty eyes beneath the mask remained captivating, melancholic, and lonely.

“Don’t look at it, it’s ugly.” He frowned and turned his head to the side.

"What are you afraid I'll see?" My heart clenched, and I couldn't calm down for a long time.

I wasn't afraid he'd see the tears welling up in my eyes; there was nothing to be ashamed of. I really wanted to cry. "Did the fires in Myanmar burn you? I'm sorry, Mingyang only took me with him, not you... We all thought... you were dead..."

"He's right. I'm already dead. You must live on."

“But you came back alive. I’ve complained countless times about how cruel the world is, but now I don’t complain anymore. I’m grateful.”

He returned to the old question: "Mingyang is in trouble, did you know?"

"I want to know how you escaped from Myanmar and survived a near-death experience?"

He still won't let me see his face. Is it serious?

“My affairs are not important…” He didn’t care about himself at all.

"Then what really matters?" I said earnestly. "You've already sacrificed so much for the Di family."

"No, that's your Di family too. I do what I want willingly. One day you will also become a member of the Di family, and I will protect you just like I did Mingyang."

"I don't want you to be Mingyang's shadow for the rest of your life." I almost cried out.

“No,” he gently cupped my face and wiped away my tears, “I did it willingly, I did it willingly…”

"But I don't want to..."

"Shh! Okay..." He coaxed a child, "Okay, let's not talk about this. After I escaped danger, I searched everywhere for you and Mingyang. I knew you went to a house that the Di family bought in Mengla, but when I got there, it was deserted. I've been looking for you the whole time, but Mingyang wasn't with you?"

I nodded.

Can you tell me where he went?

"I wish I had known."

"Tell me the details of what happened when you separated, and I'll send someone to look for you."

The ancient city wall was quiet, seemingly a secret hideout prepared specifically for our reunion. Where should I begin? Mengla seems so far away now…

"Mingyang and I saw a wandering spirit in the Wild Elephant Valley in Mengla. It looked terrifying because its face was shattered..." I tried hard to recall, and I seemed to feel cold, curling up and trembling.

"It's broken?" he exclaimed in surprise, wrapping his arms around me.

We sat on this city wall and recounted that terrifying experience. It was truly... strange; although it was terrifying, I no longer felt cold...

"Yes. It was shattered. The face was a mangled mess, like a dried persimmon, covered in thick blood, and the eyeballs were nowhere to be seen. I was terrified, and Mingyang pulled me behind him to stop me from looking. Later I learned that the ghost was a farmer in life. He saw an elephant stealing his corn and sugarcane, so in a fit of anger, he shot and killed a baby elephant with a gun he had secretly bought. He said that in his panic he fired more than a hundred bullets, and afterwards he regretted it. After all, he only wanted to drive the elephant away, not kill it, but the elephant was too cunning. It would always wait until the harvest season to sabotage the crops, causing him to work hard year after year but always end up with nothing. Then one day, an adult female elephant rushed into his house, raised its front hooves and crushed him until his flesh and tendons burst open, and his white bones broke and protruded. His wife was so frightened by the sight of him covered in blood and brains that she almost fainted."

"Yes, I understand. Elephants have exceptional memories; even after decades, they can seek revenge for their loved ones."

I stared at him blankly: "Isn't that just like you? Do you know how much you resembled a vengeful messenger from hell when you went to seek revenge on Ambute?"

He laughed. He actually managed to laugh: "So what happened next? What connection did this ghost have with Mingyang?"

"The ghost told Mingyang that after he died, his brothers and his wife's family swore to kill elephants to avenge him. In fact, there were some criminals instigating this, who wanted to take advantage of the chaos to obtain wild ivory and make a profit. He became a ghost in the hope of resolving this feud and also to make the poachers give up their hunting intentions."

"Did Mingyang go to help the ghost?" he asked.

I nodded.

"That silly child, he had to meddle in everything," he sighed. "And then what happened?"

"The Mengla Management Station sent me a shirt, it was Mingyang's, and there were four words written in blood on the back: Go back to school." I stared at the very round and big full moon in the sky, thinking that he must still be alive, looking at this moon in some unknown place on Earth.

Section 47: Return (4)

Are there any more clues?

“He disappeared, and nobody knows where he went. He left behind only a bloodstained shirt with four words on it and a card in the pocket…” I took out the UnionPay card and handed it to Big Forest.

He looked at it and calmly asked me, "Do you know when he last deposited money into this card?"

I remember that I couldn't get around without this card, and I was very grateful to it for buying train tickets: "At the very beginning of summer vacation."

"Oh!" he murmured. "So that means he hasn't paid any attention to you at all during this time... Where could he have gone? What could he have been doing?"

"Maybe he's off doing something he thinks is more meaningful!" I said with a self-deprecating laugh. "There are plenty of fairies in the world, he doesn't need to care about only me! I'm aware of that much."

After listening, Da Senlin suddenly gripped my arm tightly: "Ruoxi, don't deny Mingyang's feelings for you. I can tell you with certainty that he has always had you in his heart, and no one is more important to him than you. Maybe he's still a child, maybe he still has the time to be passionate about protecting wild animals, maybe he will be very busy in the future and have very little time to spend with you, but you must never ignore his sincere heart for you. I know he loves you very much, it's true."

My eyes welled up with tears: "You're telling me this responsibly? What gives you the right to say these things to me? Can your decisions alone dictate the world's course, and everyone do what you say?" I covered my ears. "You can save my life, you can steal my heart, but how can you order me to accept anyone but you? I'm willing to treat Mingyang as a confidant, a friend, even a close relative, but is love... like this?"

“You’re still a willful child,” he whispered in my ear, not offering me the warmth of his large hand as before, seemingly deliberately keeping his distance, telling me that everything was different. “I’m leaving. Take care of yourself. I’ll let you know when I find Mingyang…”

"Are you leaving?" I felt a sudden panic when I saw him stand up.