Chapter 57: The last village

On the way to the next village, I thought Ling Ruxue would say something to me, at least the answer she knew, but she didn’t say anything. She told me, “You’re just putting yourself in the village as a hostage anyway. What’s the point of knowing so much?”

“Why can’t I know? At least knowing something would make me feel better.” The strangeness of the village made me feel an urge to know the answers, especially when Ling Ruxue said that the villagers were pitiful, and I wanted to know why.

I asked myself if I was not the kind of person who was very chivalrous, who took it upon himself to save the world, and that my greatest concern was only the people around me. However, people always have a bottom line of conscience, and this bottom line of conscience can at least touch you and make you do something.

Otherwise, if you live in the world with a heart of stone, you may have money, power, and a glamorous life. But in essence, you are still a walking corpse, and it is meaningless.

This is what the master said about the righteousness of the cause. Only by sacrificing oneself for the greater good can one’s life shine with brilliance.

Just like before the national crisis, there were so many soldiers willing to sacrifice their lives to protect the country, one after another. This is also a kind of bottom line of conscience. Yes, perhaps before the bottom line of conscience exploded, they were just ordinary people who were a little selfish.

I asked Ling Ruxue these questions not really to seek peace of mind, but based on the clues I knew, the answer I guessed had already vaguely touched my conscience, and I wanted to confirm it.

But Ling Ruxue seemed to have read my mind. She said, “Chen Chengyi, I can’t tell you. Sometimes knowing the truth and then feeling powerless is especially painful. Instead of thinking about things you can’t solve, you might as well think about how to solve your own predicament as a hostage.”

I sighed. I had already experienced enough of this feeling of being powerless and full of enthusiasm, and I had learned enough from it! I don’t know if Ling Ruxue was concerned about me, afraid that I would be impulsive and put myself in a more dangerous situation.

Or does she think I’m unreliable, too impulsive and lacking in ability?

I can’t figure this woman out, but the feeling of being read by her makes me feel bad. However, I think she may only be reading me as I was three years ago, not as I am now. I said, “You seem to know a lot about the feeling of pain and helplessness?”

“I’ve always known it, since I was born. Not just me, but the generations of the village have known it since a certain year.” Ling Ruxue said this without looking at me, her eyes just looking ahead, but the emotions contained in her tone were indescribable. I could understand and then followed the sadness.

We didn’t say a word the whole way. Only Huigen looked around very lively. When he got tired, he rested on my back. I was very moved by his dependence and trust.

As I said at the beginning, I don’t understand why Huigen is so dependent on me, but I can’t let him down. Some feelings are very heavy when you don’t know about them.

Once, I held these heavy feelings in my hands, afraid of losing them. Once they were touched, I went crazy. I vaguely remember the words I shouted at my master: “I won’t let go.”

Now, I am still afraid of losing, but I have also learned a lesson. Being crazy and selfish cannot stop the feelings you value. If the people you value are not harmed, things may only get worse. Can good intentions not do bad things? Just like the slap in the face that Sheng gave me!

In fact, I have learned a lot. For example, if you really value and care about something, you will do your best to protect it.

Master, I don’t know if this is considered me maturing a little. In the face of my childishness, you have always been the most indulgent. You often say that a man cannot be considered mature until he is 30 years old. If a man matures before the age of 30, it should be the result of being forced to grow too quickly. In other words, he has experienced too much pain and had to mature, but psychologically, he must have left a large amount of distortion. This process is a pity.

But you are also hoping that I will mature earlier, right? I can feel the pressure you are under, not being able to leave me, and the helplessness I feel in having to force my growth. Maybe you have something you can’t help?

Walking in silence, I thought about too much, and finally my eyes rested on the little face of Huigen resting on my shoulder. I will protect Huigen. Under certain circumstances, it is safest for Huigen to follow me on this trip.

It was as if our minds were connected, and Ling Ruxue suddenly said to me, “Chen Chengyi, you were very impulsive to bring Hui Gen with you this time, and it almost made me misjudge you.”

I smiled and said, “Really? Do you think that because I brought Hui Gen with me this time, I’m going to go to the Black Rock Miao Village and save the hostages? If I were Rambo, I think I could consider doing that.”

“Who is Rambo?” Ling Ruxue looked at me with a look of confusion.

I suddenly felt very happy. It turns out that Ling Ruxue, who is so knowledgeable, doesn’t know about Rambo? Has she never seen the movie? I said, “Haven’t you seen the movie? Don’t you know Rambo in First Blood? He’s a very powerful man.”

Ling Ruxue said calmly, “I haven’t seen the movie. I haven’t had time to study outside.”

I suddenly asked impulsively, “Do you want to watch a movie?”

“I don’t know. Are movies good?” It was rare for Ling Ruxue to be curious about something.

But this kind of Ling Ruxue is what makes me particularly tempted. I couldn’t help but say, “In the future, I’ll take you to the movies, okay? I’ll even buy you a Coke. It’s on me. Don’t spend any money.”

“Ah?” Ling Ruxue seemed a little surprised and said “ah,” but didn’t give me any answer. She turned around and walked to the front.

I carried Hui Gen on my back and shouted at Ling Ruxue’s back, “Ling Ruxue, I didn’t bring Hui Gen on impulse. I really have a reason. You can trust me.”

“You don’t need to explain anything to me. Your master often told my great-aunt that Taoists act according to their own nature and don’t need to explain anything to others or let others understand anything, as long as they can be true to their conscience. You Taoists are all free and uninhibited, and have no sense of responsibility. So you don’t need to explain anything at all.” This was the longest time Ling Ruxue had ever spoken to me, but unfortunately she was talking ill of my master and us Taoists.

But I couldn’t argue with her, because my master was just like that.

I stood on the path in the forest, my heart suddenly thinking of Ru Yue. I’m sorry, Ru Yue, I lied to you too, but there are some things that I can tell Su Rou and Qin Huai, but not you.

Although I know you are good to me and willing to risk your life for me.

But this time, I didn’t want you or your sister to get involved. I just wanted you to bring me here.Taoist priest

This time, we walked through the mountains for nearly 10 hours before reaching the last village. When we got here, I had a strange feeling, wondering if this village was the most remote in China.

Because it takes at least a whole day to walk from here to the nearest town, and then you have to ride a horse or take a car.

However, when I think about it, there are so many uninhabited areas in our country, so this village can’t be considered the most remote. At least it is still in its original state, and the roads are still difficult to travel. If the country is willing to build roads, this place will slowly be infected with modern traces.

After all, the natural resources here are not bad. Could it be that the country has deliberately forgotten about this place?

The situation in this village is similar to that of the last village we passed through. It is equally poor, perhaps even poorer, because in this village, thatched houses are rare, and most are bark houses.

Compared to the last village, the people in this village are even more lazy and indifferent to everything! Ling Ruxue and I walked through the village and found that almost everyone in the village was doing nothing but gathering together to play cards and daydream.

In the previous village, we could at least see the neglected land, but in this village, we didn’t even see the neglected land.

After careful observation, I found that the entire village was strange. The age distribution was polarized, with a large number of “old people” and a large number of children. These children were probably also influenced by the attitudes of the adults, and each lacked the spirit of children. They rarely even played.

Some children even sleep on the village dirt road, and no one cares.

If this were modern times, I might think this was a “left-behind village,” because the young people have all gone off to work. But that was in the 1990s, and there was no such concept. I know for a fact that these so-called old people might be younger than they look!