Chapter 68

Chapter 68

Chu Ya placed Wang Chengcai on the back of the Black Wolf and then mounted it himself. The Black Wolf soon arrived at Mixin Town, where Wang Chengcai suddenly stirred, lifted his head to look around, and began to struggle fiercely.

"Don't move!"

As Chu Ya spoke, Wang Chengcai had already rolled off the ground, getting up and staggering towards the Tuta Passage while tearing off the blanket from his body.

Chu Ya also jumped off the Black Wolf and followed Wang Chengcai, asking, "What do you plan to do?"

Wang Chengcai's face was pale, but his eyes were bloodshot: "I have to go to Cloud Peak, I have to find my brother, I have to bring him back."

"How will you get there? The Tuta Passage won't let you through," Chu Ya said.

"I'll take a gun, I have to go to Cloud Peak, I have to bring my brother back." Wang Chengcai's gaze was fixed, his steps unsteady due to weakness, yet he kept moving forward.

"Even if you take a gun, what will you do when you get to Cloud Peak? Do you know where to find him? Director Liu tried every means and couldn't save him. Do you think you can just go and succeed?"

But Wang Chengcai paid no attention, his chapped lips repeating incessantly: "I have to take a gun, I have to go to Cloud Peak, I have to save my brother..."

Chu Ya reached out and grabbed his arm: "Don't go, I'm here to pick you up, we'll go to Linya City together."

Wang Chengcai was forced to stop and finally looked at Chu Ya: "I have to bring my brother back, then, then go to Linya City."

"No." Chu Ya's eyes were calm as he stared at him.

"Let me go... let me go."

Wang Chengcai tried to pull his arm free, but Chu Ya's grip was like an iron band. He struggled violently, swinging a punch at Chu Ya, who caught his fist and with a twist, pinned him to the snow.

"Let me go, damn your ancestors." Wang Chengcai began to curse loudly, kicking and thrashing, but Chu Ya held him down, like a shrimp arching and straightening its body repeatedly, "Let me go, let me go..."

Chu Ya pressed his lips tightly together, saying nothing, though snowflakes kicked up by Wang Chengcai splattered all over him, he did not let go.

Wang Chengcai continued to struggle, cursing and sobbing: "Damn your ancestors, let me go, let me go, my brother must be waiting for me to save him... let me go, please let me go, he's only six years old, how scared he must be, how scared he must have been when he was locked up... where was I when he was locked up? Where was I..."

Chu Ya still held Wang Chengcai down, the cold wind blowing his hair away from his face, his half-lowered eyes filled with deep understanding and sorrow.

"Wang Chengcai, your brother is gone," Chu Ya said hoarsely.

"I don't believe it, I have to find him, I have to go."

Chu Ya closed his eyes: "Wang Chengcai, you can't go, you won't be able to do anything, and you'll just put yourself in danger."

Wang Chengcai stared at the sky, gasping for breath, and then let out a pained howl like a dying animal: "I should die... I was the one who put him in the car, I was the one who sent him away, I killed him, I killed him..."

"Your brother was killed by them, not by you, they killed your brother," Chu Ya shouted sternly.

"I promised my parents to raise him, I killed him, I did... I have no family left, you don't understand, you don't understand..."

Chu Ya grabbed his chest, his face contorted with effort, gritting his teeth: "I don't understand? I understand more than you! Your brother was clearly killed by them, why won't you admit it? Why do you insist it's your fault? Are you afraid to seek revenge? Are you afraid? You're a coward at heart!"

"I want revenge, I want to find them now!" Wang Chengcai struggled.

"If you go now, you'll just be throwing your life away, you might not even see the people who killed your brother, and you'll endanger the orphanage. If you die, they'll still be free. Wang Chengcai, if you want revenge, you need to stay alive, live for your brother, make yourself strong enough to avenge him. The orphanage has already set out, if you expose everyone because of yourself, I might as well kill you now."

Wang Chengcai finally stopped struggling, his eyes staring straight at the sky. Chu Ya released his collar and slowly stood up.

The vast wilderness was swept by wind and snow, the flying snowflakes landing on the two young men. Wang Chengcai lay flat on the snow, his limbs spread out, while Chu Ya hung his head, as if the snowflakes carried an unbearable weight.

At the foot of Keke Mountain in the distance, several weak beams of flashlight light formed a long line. Shen Juanjuan had stopped crying, walking hand in hand with Tang Yuanyuan in the middle of the line, her brows furrowed, her large eyes, still brimming with tears, showing a fierce light.

"If he doesn't come, I'll catch him and break his legs," Shen Juanjuan's voice was still tinged with sobs, "Without legs, he won't be able to run."

Tang Yuanyuan shook his hand: "Chief Administrator Chen said your brother will come, he didn't abandon you."

"I'll hit someone when he comes back too," Shen Juanjuan swung his arm fiercely, "I won't care if he rolls on the ground crying."

"Do you have a hanger?" he asked the other children, "Preferably a wire one."

"No."

Wang Xiaoxi picked up a branch from the ground: "Use this."

Before Shen Juanjuan could take it, Chen Hongliang said, "This is too thin." He rushed to the nearby hill, dragging a thick dead tree branch thicker than his arm: "Use this, it hurts more... It's a bit heavy, help me with it."

The sound of a car came from behind, and the children stopped curiously to watch. The managers ran over, opened the car door, and carried out a child wrapped in a fluffy blanket from the back seat.

"It's Lin Duozhi! It's Lin Duozhi!" Tang Yuanyuan, with her sharp eyes, recognized him and ran over, followed by Shen Juanjuan and others.

"Lin Duozhi, Lin Duozhi."

"Are you here? Lin Duozhi."

"Are you better? Are you better?"

Although Lin Duozhi's face was still a bit pale, his spirits had recovered well. He lay in the manager's arms, looking at the children surrounding him, and smiled happily: "Shen Juanjuan."

"Here."

"Tang Yuanyuan."

"Here."

...

Liu Zhen also got out of the car, holding Liu Sijin, who ran over, and casually told the older girls who gathered around, "It was a small matter, drilled a hole in Keke Town and dragged out a smelly man."

Driver Xiao Wang handed Lin Duozhi's medicine to the manager, hugged each of them one by one, and said goodbye with tears in his eyes. Finally, he got into the car and shouted out the window, "Everyone, have a safe journey, everything will be fine."

"Smoothly, smoothly, safely and sound."

"Very smoothly, Little Driver Wang is also fine."

"Ha ha ha, all smooth, Little Driver Wang is safe and sound."

The children waved at the car one after another.

Lin Duozhi was carried to the front of the group and laid on an empty cart padded with quilts. Shen Juanjuan and others poked their heads forward to look, and the manager pointed to a small orange glow: "That's the energy-saving light hanging on his cart. See, he's right there."

The children finally felt reassured, nodding their heads. After a while, they would stick out their heads to look at that spot of light, pointing at each other: "That's Lin Duozhi."

"Yeah, he's sleeping right there."

"He's right there, going to worry with us."

Seeing that Lin Duozhi had arrived, but not seeing Chu Ya, Shen Juanjuan couldn't help feeling anxious. The anger in his heart had dissipated, and he no longer muttered about hitting anyone; he just kept turning his head to look back, almost tripping several times. Fortunately, Wang Xiaoxi and Tang Yuanyuan walked on either side of him, pulling him back each time.

"Why hasn't my brother come yet?" Shen Juanjuan asked.

Tang Yuanyuan comforted him: "He will definitely come, don't worry."

"Ah! There's a branch over there, it looks really good for hitting people." Chen Hongliang had been looking for various branches suitable for hitting people along the way. He threw away the seven or eight branches he was carrying and hurriedly climbed up the hillside, "Shen Juanjuan, this one will definitely hurt your brother."

Half an hour later, the children suddenly burst into excited cheers ahead.

"Wow!!!"

"Snow!!!"

"There's snow, we've already reached the edge of Cloud Peak." The managers also looked up at the sky, one of them reaching out to catch a snowflake, watching it melt into a clear droplet on his fingertip.

"Chief Administrator Chen, shall we rest a bit? We've been walking for more than an hour, I see many of the younger children can't walk anymore."

Rong Chen thought for a moment: "Let's rest for ten minutes in the snow, and we can wait for Chu Ya."

"Okay."

Above the orphanage, the sky was covered by Cloud Peak. Except for those who usually sneaked out of the orphanage, most of the children were seeing snow for the first time in their lives. Though tired and cold, they still rushed into the snow to roll and play.

Tang Yuanyuan and others chatted with Lin Duozhi on the cart for a while before coming over to grab some snow. Shen Juanjuan stood beside them, tiptoeing to look back.

When a moving black dot appeared in his field of vision, he suddenly widened his eyes, took a few steps forward, then hesitated, and continued forward, his pace quickening.

"Where are you going, Shen Juanjuan?" Wang Xiaoxi asked.

"It seems like my brother is here, I'll go check." Shen Juanjuan was already running.

Chen Hongliang hurriedly dragged the thick log beside him: "You haven't brought this, you haven't brought something to hit with, wait for me, bring this to hit. I picked this one for a long time, it can break your brother's leg... I can't drag it, come help me."

Chu Ya rode Black Wolf for a long time, finally seeing the flickering lights ahead, knowing he had finally caught up with the group.

As he got closer, the bright reflection from the snow illuminated the surroundings, and he saw the small figure rushing towards him.

Chu Ya leaped off Black Wolf's back, catching the flying Shen Juanjuan and holding him in his arms.

"Shen Miaomiao." Shen Juanjuan hugged his neck, pressing his cold cheek against him: "Shen Miaomiao, Shen Miaomiao."

Chu Ya held him tightly, asking softly: "Did you wait long?"

Surrounded by the familiar sense of security, the lingering anxiety and fear in Shen Juanjuan's heart dissipated. But thinking about what had just happened, his anger slowly returned.

He straightened up to look at Chu Ya, raised his hand, and hit his arm twice, shouting angrily: "I waited so long."

"I had an emergency, I finished it and came to catch up with you. See, I've caught up."

"You just ran off, you're not obedient! You're not obedient at all! I want to find a hanger, I want to find a hanger."

Shen Juanjuan turned his head and looked around on the ground. Chen Hongliang had been watching from a distance and immediately dragged the log over: "Are you looking for this? Is this it?"

Chu Ya lifted his hand and wiped away the faint tear marks on Shen Juanjuan's face: "Don't hit me, okay? Give me a chance?"

"Are you scared?" Shen Juanjuan asked with a serious face.

"Yes, I'm scared." Chu Ya straightened up, hoisted Wang Chengcai, who was lying on Black Wolf's back, onto his shoulder, and led Shen Juanjuan forward with one hand, "Let's think of a phrase. If we encounter such a situation again, as long as I say this phrase, you'll know I have an emergency but didn't have time to explain properly. I'll come to get you as soon as I finish."

"What phrase should it be?"

"Think about it."

"Sweet potato."

"That's too short."

"Shen Wangwang, one more character."

Black Wolf glanced at him.

Chu Ya shook his head: "No, it might be mistaken for calling its name."

Black Wolf began to show its teeth.

"Then, then, if you run again, I'll use a wire hanger to break your legs."

"…Let's go with that. In the future, whenever I say this phrase, you'll wait patiently without crying or making a fuss, okay?"

"Then you won't run away again."

"Definitely not."

Shen Juanjuan only now noticed Wang Chengcai hanging on Chu Ya's shoulder and poked his head out to look at the face wrapped in the blanket.

"Ah! It’s Wang Zhusheng’s brother! Why is he like this? Is he dead?"

"No."

"Then why does he look like a dead man?"

Chu Ya half-closed his eyes, watching the snowflakes dance in the air. After a moment, he replied, "Because he’s injured."

"Where is he injured?"

Chu Ya took Shen Juanjuan’s hand and placed it on his own chest: "Here."

Two managers had already run over, taking Wang Chengcai from Chu Ya’s shoulder and leading him toward a cart ahead.

Chen Hongliang dragged a tree trunk behind, leaving long marks in the snow: "Shen Juanjuan, Shen Juanjuan."

"What?"

Chen Hongliang, panting, said, "Use, use this to hit your brother."

Shen Juanjuan frowned: "Why do you want to hit my brother? Don’t you dare hit my brother."

Chen Hongliang was stunned in place.

Several carts were parked on the ground, and Wang Chengcai was placed into one of them by the managers.

"This cart has a quilt laid inside; let him rest well."

Lin Duozhi lay beside Wang Chengcai, his face full of fear, body stiff. Shen Juanjuan clung to the edge of the cart, whispering with infinite sympathy, "Don’t be afraid. He looks like he’s about to die, but I’ll keep an eye on him. My brother just told me that there’s a hole in his chest, stabbed through one, two, three—no, a hundred times."

"Then give me some mental defense too," Lin Duozhi said, on the verge of tears.

"Mental defense layer one, mental defense layer two..."

After settling Wang Chengcai, Chu Ya carried Shen Juanjuan to Rong Chen and briefly recounted what had happened. Rong Chen looked at the children who, though exhausted, were still grabbing snow on the ground, and sighed deeply, "I don’t know if this long journey is right or wrong, and I don’t know if these children can make it to Linya City."

Chu Ya hugged Shen Juanjuan tighter, resting his chin on the top of his head: "I think it’s right. No matter what we encounter on this journey, there won’t be another Wang Zhusheng or Wang Chengcai."

After a ten-minute rest, the group continued forward. Everyone was reluctant to move, so the older students dragged them up, shouting loudly to get them back in line. Sometimes student management worked better, and the line was quickly reformed as they moved on.

Seeing the younger students holding hands as they walked in the snow, Chu Ya put Shen Juanjuan down: "Go walk with them."

"No..." Shen Juanjuan clung to his leg.

"Do you want to be carried alone while your friends walk by themselves and stare at you?"

Shen Juanjuan thought for a moment: "I’ll go with them."

Chu Ya adjusted his hat: "If you can’t walk anymore, I’ll carry you."

"I can walk. I’m really good at walking."

Chu Ya, thinking that he indeed walked back and forth between the orphanage and Mixin Town every day, making him a walking expert, said, "Go on."

"What about you?"

"Don’t worry, just look up, and you’ll see me."

Shen Juanjuan returned to the group, holding hands with Tang Yuanyuan and Chen Hongliang, followed by Wang Xiaoxi and Yu Datou. The Black Wolf silently followed them, gently hooking its tail around any child about to fall, setting them upright again.

Lying in the swaying cart, Lin Duozhi didn’t dare move. He was very worried that Wang Zhusheng’s brother might suddenly lunge and throw him out of the cart, so he tried to keep his body as tight as possible, avoiding touching anyone next to him.

Although Wang Chengcai showed no reaction throughout, Lin Duozhi didn’t dare relax for a moment, only looking up at the sky, listening to the surroundings with his ears.

He heard the students talking and the managers giving orders, the trampling of feet, and the howling wind and snow. When intermittent sobs reached his ears, he wondered if he had misheard. But the sobs grew clearer, sounding like the suppressed wails of an injured animal.

Lin Duozhi slowly turned his eyes to look at Wang Chengcai lying beside him, seeing his closed eyes, his face streaked with frozen tears, but new tears still streaming out.

Lin Duozhi, frightened, withdrew his gaze, continuing to look at the sky, drawing a light breath of cold air.

After another half hour, a manager asked Rong Chen, "There’s a sunken area at the foot of the mountain ahead, sheltered from the wind. Should we stop and rest there, then set off again tomorrow morning?"

"Yes, we can rest."

The manager shouted to the children, "Come on, a little further, we’ll set up camp and rest ahead."

"What is setting up camp?" everyone asked curiously.

The manager explained, "It means setting up tents to rest and sleep."

Hearing about setting up tents, the children became excited.

"Tents! We’re actually going to set up tents!"

"What are tents?"

"Honghong and Longlong went camping and set up tents when they went on a trip. Didn’t you watch that episode?"

"Oh! That’s a tent? Great, we’re going to set up tents too."

...

This time, they didn’t walk far before reaching the spot the manager mentioned. This was a wind-sheltered hollow in the mountainside, flat and level. Rong Chen immediately had everyone stop and enter to set up camp for the night.

The younger and middle-aged students, utterly exhausted, lay down wherever they could, sprawling all over the ground. Chu Ya and the managers set up the tents together, with some of the older students also coming to help voluntarily.

Soon, four tents—two large and two small—were set up on the open ground, with quilts spread out like a wide, soft bed. A thermal heater was placed in a corner, and the tents quickly warmed up.

"The larger ones can accommodate about seventy people, while the smaller ones can hold around twenty." A manager reported to Rong Chen.

"Let the junior students stay in the smaller tents, and we will stay in the larger ones," Rong Chen glanced at Chu Ya beside her. "You should go and stay with the junior students and the injured. They need protection the most, and they will be safer with you."

After setting up the tents, the managers could not rest either; they carried wood to the innermost area and lit several bonfires. The students gathered around the fires in layers, all reaching out their hands to warm themselves.

As soon as they felt warm, they began to laugh and play, pushing and shoving each other. Someone nearly fell into the fire and was inevitably scolded.

"Are you still fooling around at a time like this? Quickly dry your cotton clothes and shoes by the fire and get back to the tents!"