Le deuxième livre de la série Oolong Wizard , intitulé The Normal Mind

Chapitre 20

Before anyone knew it, the boning knife that Zhou Yifeng had placed beside him had ended up in Yan Hao's hands. "Kill...!" Before the words were even finished, he thrust the knife straight at Zhou Yifeng's left eye.

With a "plop," an eyeball spurted out, along with a gush of blood and several pitiful screams. The blood spilled into the cup of emerald green "Biluochun" tea. A gleaming boning knife swished around in the eye socket for a moment before slowly withdrawing, then plunged it fiercely into the deformed, grayish-purple eyeball on the table. Blood mixed with the gelatinous substance from the lens and vitreous humor flowed onto the executive desk, and then the left eye deflated like a punctured balloon.

Zhou Yifeng's left eye socket was a bloody mess; he had already lost consciousness. Beside him lay a boning knife, more than an inch deep, embedded in the large desk!

When he woke up again, Yan Hao had already left. Teacher Yang, who came in to get some documents, smiled and said to him, "Professor Zhou, did you not sleep well last night? You were sleeping so soundly just now."

Zhou Yifeng rubbed his eyes in a panic and nodded haphazardly. The boning knife still lay flat on the table, and his damp underwear clung to his back. He asked blankly what time it was. Teacher Yang glanced at her watch and said, "It's 12:10. We just got back from the fourth period. Why don't you rest at home this afternoon, Director Zhou? You look really tired!"

Zhou Yifeng waved his hand, saying it was nothing and let her go. He shakily picked up the already cold Biluochun tea and took a sip. A scene from many years ago flashed through his mind…

He recognized the face in those dilated pupils at a glance! He had always thought no one would know about this anymore, but what he saw today had ripped this old grievance back into his mind. And the face was so clear! Thinking of this, Zhou Yifeng got goosebumps all over. He seemed to sense that it wasn't Yan Hao coming for him, but rather the person who was meant to find him was coming for him! From last night until now, the "real" hallucinations had only been giving him hints and lessons—perhaps, nothing is impossible to start over!

Layer upon layer of mountains rise, each vying for beauty, while waters flow in a captivating rush. Even in winter, Fuhu Mountain on the outskirts of the city retains its charm. At eight o'clock in the morning, a light mist hangs over the mountain path, accompanied by the soft chirping of birds. Shen Wei, Duan Youzhi, Jiang Boyu, and Wang Danyang, a group of four, embarked on their final sprint towards the summit.

"Charge!" Duan Youzhi, the smallest of the three, was the fastest runner. He disappeared around the bend in no time. Shen Wei winked at Wang Danyang and Jiang Boyu, then shouted "Charge!" and took off chasing after the strategist. Behind him, Wang Danyang yelled, "You guys...you're so mean!" He tried to run but plopped down on a rock by the roadside, panting heavily.

Jiang Boyu had a rather large hiking backpack slung over his shoulder, filled with semi-finished picnic supplies. "Here! Give me your bag," he said, extending his hand to Wang Danyang. Wang Danyang didn't refuse, taking off her own bag and handing it to Jiang Boyu, then gulping down several large mouthfuls of mineral water.

"Not bad! We walked very fast today. I estimate we'll reach the summit before 9:30." Jiang Boyu stood beside her, wiping his sweat as he faced the rising sun.

"I'm never going hiking with you boys again. You're like a suicide squad, not gentlemanly at all!" Wang Danyang pouted.

Actually, Shen Wei planned this whole thing. He said Jiang Boyu had survived a close call and should go out and improve his mood. Besides, the dorm had never organized any group activities before.

Finally, Duan Youzhi said, "What's so fun about three grown men? Let's invite Wang Danyang along." Shen Wei, of course, didn't object. After the incident where Jiang Boyu got into a fight and was punished, they had become quite close to Wang Danyang.

Jiang Boyu didn't say anything at the time. He did know that Fuhu Mountain on the outskirts of the city was a fairly famous tourist attraction, with a botanical garden and Yungusi Temple on the mountain. Especially the latter—a place he had always wanted to visit—was said to be an ancestral temple of the Linji school of Zen Buddhism, a branch of the Sixth Patriarch Huineng.

Jiang Boyu's mother had been a Buddhist and vegetarian for many years, which influenced him as well; he also liked to read religious books in his spare time. After the recent expulsion from school, he wanted to find a quiet place to calm his turbulent mind. Shen Wei's words were exactly what he wanted, and remaining silent was tantamount to acquiescence—Shen Wei knew Jiang Boyu's temperament perfectly well.

After Wang Danyang rested for about ten minutes, the two of them quickened their pace to catch up with the two boys. On the mountaintop not far away, Shen Wei was waving his sleeves and yelling at them, while Duan Youzhi stood with his hands on his hips, facing the wind, looking like a great man.

Jiang Boyu looked up and smiled at them, also excited by the thrill of reaching the summit. Just as he was about to turn and call to Wang Danyang to hurry up, he heard her call out, "Boyu, give me a hand!" It turned out Wang Danyang was stuck on a small embankment. Jiang Boyu blushed slightly, reached out his left hand and pulled her up, applying a little too much force—the momentum sent Wang Danyang tumbling into his arms, her other hand instinctively wrapping around his shoulder. Jiang Boyu stumbled back a step in surprise, turning and whispering, "Let's go." Wang Danyang didn't know that this was the first time Jiang Boyu had held a girl's hand, and the first time he had been hugged by a girl—though it was just a coincidence, Jiang Boyu's heart had been pounding like a drum on the way to the summit!

"Ascend to the summit, and all the mountains will appear small." Standing atop Fuhu Mountain, one can indeed lose oneself in the moment. Looking down at the city's buildings and streets below, one feels as if they are above the mundane world, all temporary worries and anxieties washed away by the crisp mountain breeze.

Listening to the distant rustling of pine trees, Jiang Boyu's emotions were also stirred. He suddenly felt that so many people lived like ants, rushing about for fame and fortune, yet they did not know how to look back at themselves, and in their entire lives they could never stand on the mountaintop of their own hearts to overlook the mortal world. How pitiful and lamentable!

Duan Youzhi, standing to the side, roared to the sky: "The sunset glows and the lone egret flies together, the autumn water blends with the sky. How magnificent!" Shen Wei glared at him and said, "You're getting all excited again. If a talented guy like you studied Chinese literature, wouldn't you be surrounded by beauties? Going to medical school means you're destined to be a bachelor, what a waste!" Then he slapped Jiang Boyu on the shoulder and said, "What are you thinking about, Lao Jiang?!" Jiang Boyu came back to his senses, smiled, and said, "Thinking about our own insignificance and the greatness of nature! I really want to be a bird and stay here forever." Shen Wei grinned mischievously and asked, "Tell me, would you rather be a pair of lovebirds, or a cold-weather bird?" Jiang Boyu blushed and said, "Get lost, I'd rather be a thornbird."

"A thornbird? It's not some kind of grey magpie, is it? I've never heard of it," Shen Wei asked, puzzled. Before he could finish speaking, Duan Youzhi burst into laughter. Pointing at Shen Wei, he said, "Damn! You're utterly useless! No wonder you can only study medicine! If you went to the Chinese literature department, you'd probably be destined to be a bachelor forever."

“The thorn bird is a fictional bird from a foreign novel,” Wang Danyang added with a smile, giving Shen Wei a lesson. “It’s said that there is a bird in this world that spends its entire life searching for the longest and sharpest thorn. Once it finds it, it will pierce its own chest with that thorn, then sing loudly until it bleeds to death.”

"So Grandma's was made up all along. Those novelists really have wild imaginations. It's even quite poetic. Why would Old Jiang choose such an unlucky bird instead of an eagle?" Shen Wei said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. He didn't notice that as Jiang Boyu smiled faintly, a fleeting sadness also appeared on his thin face.

After nearly an hour of bickering and commotion on the mountaintop, the four of them began their ascent towards Yungu Temple on the mountainside behind the mountain. The path on the back mountain was much narrower, and being downhill, Wang Danyang, who was at the back, frequently needed Jiang Boyu ahead of her to lend her a hand or help her up. Shen Wei and Duan Youzhi, as if watching a spectacle, would occasionally turn around and chuckle, making Jiang Boyu quite embarrassed.

After walking for a while, Shen Wei whispered something in Duan Youzhi's ear, then waved to Jiang Boyu and Wang Danyang and said, "We're not interested in the temple. We'll wait for you at the entrance of the botanical garden. Bye-bye—" Before Jiang Boyu could react, the two of them sped up and disappeared in a flash.

The problem was that Wang Danyang knew she was going to be climbing a mountain, but she was still wearing a pair of pretty new leather shoes, so she couldn't walk fast even if she wanted to. Jiang Boyu could only accompany her, walking and resting intermittently, winding and turning until they saw a temple standing in front of a field—only then did Jiang Boyu breathe a sigh of relief, thinking that they had finally reached their destination.

Wang Danyang had visited this place during her freshman year of college. Walking along, she excitedly exclaimed, "Look! That's it! This temple is said to have been built during the Tang Dynasty, but it was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. Most of the buildings here were rebuilt after the 1980s. There are still monks in the temple." Jiang Boyu asked with interest, "Oh? Really? No wonder it looks so new!" Wang Danyang said, "Last time, a fellow villager of mine who's interested in Buddhism came all the way from Hubei and met the abbot here." She tilted her head and thought for a while before saying, "Hmm, the abbot's Dharma name is Huiming. He seems very learned! They talked for over an hour, and I couldn't understand a word."

As Jiang Boyu listened to Wang Danyang's explanation, he lowered his head and stepped through the mountain gate of Yungu Temple.

Having heard his mother say that one should burn incense at every temple and kowtow at every monastery, Jiang Boyu wanted to buy some incense the day before he came here. However, after visiting several supermarkets near the school, he could only find one kind of rose-scented incense—he had no choice but to make do!

Upon entering the mountain gate, one is greeted by a smiling Maitreya Buddha. The couplet on either side reads, "His mouth always smiles, laughing at all the laughable things in the world; his belly is large enough to hold all the intolerable things in the world." Behind him stands Maitreya's guardian deity, Weituo. On the east and west sides of the main hall are four nearly five-meter-tall painted sculptures of Vajrapani. However, due to their age, the colors on the Vajrapani are no longer vibrant, and many pieces of paint have peeled off. Looking at the ferocious-looking Vajrapani, Wang Danyang took a deep breath and said, "I don't like coming to places like this; it's terrifying. I'll risk my life to accompany you." Jiang Boyu seemed not to hear her words. After entering the mountain gate, his eyes were constantly scanning left and right, his expression one of great excitement!

There were only a few people in the main hall. They followed the example of others, burning three sticks of incense and kowtowing three times according to Buddhist etiquette, before continuing inside. In the courtyard in front of the Mahavira Hall, Wang Danyang went straight to a stall where people were drawing lots.

"Come quick, Boyu, this is really effective!" Seeing her excited expression, Jiang Boyu said, "This can be accurate? I don't believe it."

The person in charge of drawing lots was a middle-aged monk. He was wearing the temple's uniform cotton robe and a flat-topped brown-yellow monk's hat. He put his hands together and said, "Amitabha! Benefactor, sincerity is key." Wang Danyang had already taken out ten yuan and said, "Draw one. I drew a very auspicious lot last time! Hehe, and I even got a second-class scholarship in the final exam. I still remember the last sentence on my lot. It said something about people and wealth flourishing in the spring breeze."

Jiang Boyu smiled noncommittally and said slowly, "Give it a try, it's just for fun." The middle-aged monk picked up the divination stick container and said, "Whatever you wish to ask for or what you wish to have divined, just sincerely recite it in your heart." Jiang Boyu took the container, lowered his eyes and thought for a while, then shook the container vigorously—a stick as long as a bamboo chopstick, jet black and shiny, fell out.

The middle-aged monk picked up the fortune stick and recited the words on it in his not-so-standard Mandarin: "Herding dogs and horses in the depths of the mortal world, flowers in the water on the ancient Yangguan Road; tears still not dried at midnight, a heart full of knots wandering to the ends of the earth."

Wang Danyang asked impatiently, "Is it a very auspicious fortune?" Then she turned to Jiang Boyu and asked, "What were you praying for in your heart just now?" Jiang Boyu remained silent.

The middle-aged monk clasped his hands together again. "Amitabha! The one you shook out is the only one in this container that doesn't distinguish between good, medium, and bad fortune. I can't interpret it." Wang Danyang picked up the bamboo stick, looked it over, and said, "Huh? You can't interpret it but you want us to pay?"

The middle-aged monk pushed the ten yuan he had just received in front of Wang Danyang. "Amitabha! Although I cannot interpret it, the abbot of this temple has said that if anyone draws this fortune stick, he will not charge a single penny, and will personally meet with the person to interpret the fortune stick for them."

Jiang Boyu excitedly asked, "Can I see the abbot now?" The middle-aged monk smiled and replied, "Yes, please go through the side door of the main hall. The abbot's room is on the west side of the courtyard. Just say you are looking for Master Huiming."

Outside the abbot's room, Wang Danyang muttered to himself, "Making such a fuss over a bamboo stick. But the poem is quite evocative." Jiang Boyu knocked on the door, and a young monk who looked about fifteen or sixteen years old opened it, asking with a wary look, "What brings you here?" Jiang Boyu, having learned some Buddhist etiquette from his mother, quickly put his hands together and said, "Oh, Master, we wish to see Master Huiming." The young monk had already seen the bamboo stick in Wang Danyang's hand, nodded, and said, "I understand. Please follow me."

Entering the courtyard, turning through a corridor, and passing through a hanging flower gate, they arrived at the main hall of the abbot's quarters. In the center of the hall stood a statue of Bodhidharma walking on leaves. On the offering table in front were incense burners, fresh flowers, and fruit. Wisps of smoke curled from the incense burners, filling the room with the rich aroma of sandalwood. On a mahogany chair against the east wall sat an elderly monk with lowered eyes and a green sandalwood rosary in his hand, dressed in a yellowish-brown robe—that must be Master Huiming.

The young monk stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and said, "Abbot, they've arrived." Wang Danyang looked at Jiang Boyu and said softly, "Ah? They knew we were coming?"

Master Huiming opened his eyes. He looked at the two men, nodded, and said loudly, “The one who requested a seat, please be seated and have tea served. The accompanying benefactor, please wait outside!”

The young monk gestured for her to leave. The atmosphere left Wang Danyang no room for argument; she simply handed the slip of paper to Jiang Boyu, turning back as she walked away to say, "I'll wait for you outside."

"What year were you born, benefactor? Where is your ancestral home?" Although Master Huiming's voice was not loud, one could tell that he possessed profound inner strength, and his enunciation was clear and full.

Sitting down next to Master Huiming, Jiang Boyu hurriedly replied, "Abbot, I was born in 1979, at 10 a.m. on the 19th day of the fourth lunar month. My hometown is in western Hunan."

“Oh—that’s right,” Master Huiming said in a low voice.

“If I’m not mistaken, you’ve just experienced a calamity, haven’t you? It must be related to a quarrel, and the other party must have suffered a bloody disaster.” Master Huiming didn’t even look at him when he spoke.

Jiang Boyu's heart sank, and he opened his mouth slightly in surprise. He could only nod in agreement.

"Benefactor, you have come to draw lots today. What is your request?"

"I...I wanted to ask about...something related to relationships."

Master Huiming picked up the divination stick beside him and repeated the four lines of poetry. He sighed and said, "Now that I know what you asked about, I can interpret the divination for you. You are only the second person I have ever encountered in my life to draw this divination. There are eighty-one divination sticks in total, but this one is outside the eighty-one. Not easy, not easy."

Jiang Boyu became increasingly nervous and confused as he listened.

“You are so young, benefactor! It’s just a pity that the world is a sea of suffering, and it’s hard to see through it. By interpreting this divination slip, I can first determine that there are two women in your life who are causing you trouble. One of them has the character ‘red’ in her name, and the other has the character ‘yang’. This is also what the first two characters of the first two lines of this divination slip refer to. Hence the saying, ‘In the depths of the mortal world, dogs and horses graze; on the ancient road of Yangguan, flowers bloom in the water!’” After saying this, Master Huiming gave Jiang Boyu a meaningful look.

Jiang Boyu murmured the first two lines written on the bamboo skewer. He said blankly, "Could it be a coincidence?!"

Master Huiming moved his prayer beads, tilted his head slightly, and smiled, “Buddhism teaches that all things in the world are formed by the coming together of causes and conditions. It may be a coincidence, but it is also inevitable. I suppose your philosophy textbooks also teach this kind of dialectic?”

Jiang Boyu nodded. He had finally tasted the old monk's power.

"In the depths of the mortal world, shepherds herd dogs and horses; those who herd dogs and horses toil greatly. This woman's toil far exceeds that of ordinary people, yet she too must be intelligent and capable. The ancient sages treated all things as straw dogs; this too is shepherding. The ancient road to Yangguan is like a flower in the water; a flower in the water is unreal. This woman is naturally restless, two-faced, and scheming." Master Huiming sighed and said, "Unfortunately, this missed opportunity in this life must be the result of resentment and suffering from past lives. Their encounter with you is due to karma."

Jiang Boyu stared unblinkingly at Master Huiming. "Missed? Missed whom? Please enlighten me, Abbot."

“You already know who this person is in your heart. Why ask further?” Master Huiming said, his eyes half-closed, remaining unmoved on his seat. “In my opinion, the last two sentences are about destiny. Tears streaming down your face at midnight, I’m afraid you will be constantly troubled for at least three years; and with a thousand knots in your heart, it will be even more so…” Master Huiming suddenly stopped here.

“Abbot, you…” Jiang Boyu looked anxiously at Master Huiming.

“Young man, I have nothing else to do today but wait for you to come. If I continue, I fear you may not be able to bear it. Amitabha! Buddhism is compassionate, but even this old monk is powerless to change the destiny contained in this divination slip! The sorrow in my heart just now is truly beyond words.”

"I'm fine, please tell me. I can handle it," Jiang Boyu said anxiously.

"Benefactor, have you ever considered becoming a monk?" Master Huiming asked slowly, fiddling with his prayer beads.

"Huh? Never, never." Jiang Boyu was a little confused, wondering what the monk meant by asking this.

"From your age, I deduced that your ancestors must have been a family that accumulated merit and performed good deeds. Surely one of your parents was a Buddhist?"

Jiang Boyu nodded vigorously and said, "Yes, my mother is a Buddhist and a vegetarian."

"That's good, that's why I'm able to see you today. It's a pity you have no intention of becoming a monk! I can't fully interpret this divination for you. Such is fate, so take care of yourself. Also, you must not tell anyone what I've said today. And, I have a word for you."

"Please enlighten me, Abbot."

Master Huiming nodded, glanced at him, and then recited aloud: "Know that reincarnation is rooted in love. All desires fuel the nature of love. Therefore, it causes the cycle of birth and death to continue."

Jiang Boyu stammered, "I... I don't quite understand. Abbot, is this from the scriptures?"

Master Huiming nodded slowly. “This is from the Mahayana Buddhist scripture, the *Mahāvaipulya-sūtra*. I tell you these words so that you may remember: all sentient beings are subject to reincarnation due to various forms of attachment and desire. And the cycle of birth and death continues…”

Sunlight streamed into the room through the wooden lattice windows, and the faint sounds of Buddhist chanting and wind chimes from the bell tower drifted from afar. Jiang Boyu murmured to himself, "Life and death continue, life and death continue, so hard to understand."

Master Huiming closed his eyes again. “Yes, death is merely the disintegration of the four elements, the decay of the body, while reincarnation continues! Death may just be another beginning. Amitabha!” After a moment of silence, he called out loudly, “Show the guest out—”

The young monk who had been standing not far away gestured for him to enter. Jiang Boyu stood up and asked urgently, "Will I... will I ever see you again, Abbot?"

Master Huiming rose and hurried into the room, saying without turning back, "When the time is right, we will meet again. Take care, benefactor. Amitabha!"

Seeing Jiang Boyu come out of the abbot's room, Wang Danyang rushed up to him, stamping her feet and saying, "I'm freezing! I'm freezing! What did that old monk say? Was it a very auspicious fortune?"

Jiang Boyu could only manage a bitter smile. "He didn't say anything! He wouldn't tell me because I can't become a monk." With Master Huiming's instructions, he had no choice but to lie.

Wang Danyang suddenly blurted out, "You want to become a nun? I'll follow you and become a nun." After saying that, she realized something was wrong and blushed, not daring to look at Jiang Boyu.

Jiang Boyu said awkwardly, "Let's hurry to the botanical garden. It's already past eleven o'clock, and I'm starving."

Jiang Boyu became much more subdued along the way. Fortunately, Wang Danyang didn't press him for details. Perhaps for her, being alone with Jiang Boyu, even without speaking, was a kind of happiness.

Upon arriving at the botanical garden entrance, Shen Wei and Duan Youzhi exchanged knowing, silly grins with Jiang Boyu and his companion. Shen Wei even jokingly asked, "What thousand-year wish did you make? It's been taking so long." Duan Youzhi chimed in, "See, Old Jiang is such a womanizer, he's practically starving us like Somali refugees." Jiang Boyu was so angry he wanted to punch them both.

Since picnics and open fires were not allowed inside the botanical garden, they had to find another place outside. Luckily, they had only brought semi-finished dishes, such as shredded pork with garlic sauce and spicy diced chicken, along with canned Snow Beer and Pepsi. Once the tablecloth was laid out and the plates were set, all four of them felt this was the most delicious meal they had eaten since arriving at school—mainly because they were starving! Even Wang Danyang wolfed down his food.

In the afternoon, they took a quick stroll around the botanical garden. It was much more desolate in winter—they all found the flowers and plants rather uninteresting. Seeing that it was getting late, they prepared to head down the mountain. Shen Wei and Duan Youzhi, as always, used their tactic of slipping away first, leaving Jiang Boyu and Wang Danyang far behind before disappearing from sight.

Going up the mountain is easy, but going down is hard. When they were about a third of the way from the bus stop at the foot of the mountain, Wang Danyang twisted her ankle. Seeing her grimacing in pain, her ankle swollen badly, Jiang Boyu had no choice but to squat down and say, "Don't walk anymore, I'll carry you." Wang Danyang politely declined, but obediently climbed onto Jiang Boyu's back. Jiang Boyu thought, "Going down the mountain like this, who knows what kind of ivory Shen Wei and that cunning strategist will spew out later?"

“Boyu, although we’re about the same age, you’re like my older brother. When we were little, only my brother would carry me like this.”

"You, you have a brother?" Jiang Boyu said breathlessly. He realized that Wang Danyang was no ordinary person, and if he had to carry him down the mountain, the task would indeed be quite arduous!

"Yes! He graduated from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications two years ago and then went to work at Shanghai Bell. He's doing chip development. Boyu, I heard you're working in the cafeteria?"

"Hmm!" Jiang Boyu really didn't want to waste his energy talking to her right now. Besides, he had never been so close to a woman before—it all felt like something out of a movie. But he didn't find it romantic at all—besides having to watch his step, he also had to keep up with talking to Wang Danyang.

He's been much nicer to Wang Danyang lately. He feels indebted to her.

"Haven't you seen He Jihong's boyfriend?" Wang Danyang blurted out abruptly.

Jiang Boyu stopped abruptly, his hand almost slipping and letting go. "What did you say?" he asked, trying his best to sound calm.

"She already has a boyfriend. But she's really outstanding, lots of guys are after her. I heard he's a master's student at our medical university. Unlike me, nobody wants me!"

A scene he had witnessed in the cafeteria flashed through Jiang Boyu's mind: the man in the polyester overcoat waiting for her, and He Jihong's excited smile—even though it was winter, the heavy load on his back caused sweat to drip from Jiang Boyu's forehead into his eyes—his vision ahead was blurred.

A tissue, carrying a delicate fragrance, was extended towards his forehead and then towards his face.

"No, no need, thank you!" Jiang Boyu felt his mouth was dry. It felt like a thousand ants were crawling all over his body.

Sometime later, Wang Danyang's head rested on his hair. Neither of them spoke.

When they reached the bus stop at the foot of the mountain, Shen Wei and Duan Youzhi, unsurprisingly, burst into laughter. The two of them took turns teasing Jiang Boyu. But aside from Wang Danyang and their playful banter, Jiang Boyu stood to the side, his smile forced, offering no response or rebuttal. On the bus back, he leaned back in his seat, exhausted, and closed his eyes to rest. Only Master Huiming's last words to him echoed in his ears: "All sentient beings, due to their various forms of attachment and desire, are subject to the cycle of rebirth..."

The Golden Autumn Arts Festival women's soccer tournament, which had been delayed for over half a month, resumed. However, Jiang Boyu refused to coach Wang Danyang's team anymore. One plausible reason was that he had to be at the student cafeteria every afternoon at 4:30 to work as a cleaner, which made it difficult for Wang Danyang and the others to insist—after all, Jiang Boyu still had over ten thousand yuan in debt. Earning money was his top priority at the moment.