As it was getting dark, there was a commotion in the battalion headquarters. The second platoon instructor, Lao Wei, carried his girlfriend, Xiao Guo, the second platoon leader, to the infirmary of the battalion headquarters. Xiao Guo suffered from herb poisoning and was in critical condition. Dr. Fang and other nurses worked hard to rescue her, and she was out of danger a few hours later.
Then, Dr. Fang went to the battalion headquarters and reported to the leader. My father came home and asked my mother to go to the infirmary to care for Xiao Guo. I vaguely heard that Xiao Guo got pregnant by Lao Wei before marriage. For fear of being punished, they bought the herb of aconitum from the tribe village and attempted a private abortion.
The battalion leader sent a security officer to look for Lao Wei. Some people saw him head to the back mountain, into an undeveloped forest. Our militia quickly got an emergency order and went into the mountains to look for him.
We lit torches, split up, and walked along several rugged paths, weaving among the trees and vines, up and down, shouting the name of Lao Wei, and walking all the way to the depths. I heard Donna's voice at the head of the line and ran into her shortly after. She shook the torch in her hand and stopped to look for something. When she saw me, she shouted eagerly, "Xiaofeng, help me." It turned out that she had lost a sneaker. The shoe was found, but the team was gone. The torches of the others had disappeared into the distance.
We both stood where we were, not knowing whether to go forward or back. I didn't know if Donna needed me to protect her or if I needed her to cover me. I asked Donna, "Are you afraid?"
"Not really." She said, " When I was a kid, I often came here to hunt with my uncle, so I know this forest."
Instead, I was a little nervous, "What should I do if I encounter a beast? I have a gun but no bullets, so we would have to fight a beast with the bayonet!"
"They don't attack people if people respect them. The machete in my hand is better than the bayonet." She answered confidently, waving the blade in her hand.
"Let's go back. To just look for Lao Wei like this, I'm afraid it's useless," I suggested. I was afraid that I would not be able to deal with any unexpected situation and hurt the girl with me. I suddenly suspected that I was not even soldier material.
"Why would he go into the mountains at night?"
"Maybe to hide," I replied, but I didn't explain the reason for my guess.
"In that case, I'll take you to a place I know, a cave not far from here, where hunters sometimes rest."
"The two of us?"
"Yes, do you dare to come with me?"
I looked up and saw no stars. The whole forest seemed to be shrouded by a curtain. In the dark, everything came alive. I could hear the whispers of branches breaking, the sudden flapping of wings above my head. I could feel something staring at us, eyes big and small in the dark, and invisible shadows wandering behind and beside the trees. The air was so thick that it was difficult for firelight to penetrate.
"Do you dare?" Donna asked again.
I felt as if something was about to sneak up on my feet. I turned around and suddenly pointed the torch in a direction but saw nothing. I thought I was frightening myself, so I responded boldly to Donna, "There's nothing to be afraid of!"
I followed Donna and stumbled along. There was indeed a flashlight-like fluorescent light not far away. It was no longer an illusion. Donna said it was the eyes of a wild animal. She reminded me of a red-haired woman in the Middle Ages who sailed a pirate ship between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, like a red cloud drifting over rough waves and quiet undercurrents. I didn't dare to overthink it since I had chosen to have an adventure with her. No matter what happened, I would have no regrets.
We were surprised to find Lao Wei at the cave entrance, who struggled to climb out of the cave, unable to move his body, lying on the grass. I helped him up and leaned him against the stone at the cave entrance. He smelled of herb medicine, and his face was dirty. Donna handed me her handkerchief. I wiped Lao Wei's face. His face was distorted, his breathing was intermittent and weak, his eyes were wide, and he couldn't blink. His mouth seemed to murmur something. I guessed he wanted to know about his girlfriend, so I said, "Xiao Guo is out of danger, and the doctor is taking care of her." Hearing Xiao Guo's news, he calmed down and stopped struggling. He tried to dig something out of his jacket pocket with one hand. I took it out for him. It was a diary. I put it in his hand, but he seemed to want me to hold it, so I took it in my hand.
I was about to carry him on my back when he stopped breathing and showed no signs of life. Donna threw herself in my arms, put her head against my face, and started sobbing. I pulled Lao Wei into the cave, leaving a torch behind, then took Donna's hand and rushed toward the camp. She was crying as she walked. I wiped her face with my sleeve. I had never seen her so fragile. She hid in my arms again. I held her shoulders and cared for her to continue on the road. I felt that our two hearts were so close all of a sudden.
I sent her home, reported Lao Wei's incident to the battalion headquarters, and returned to my dormitory. I took out Lao Wei's diary, the cover was a little worn, but Leifeng's portrait was still evident. I did not open the diary, nor did I intend to hand it over to the leader, but wrapped it in a newspaper. It should belong to his lover, Xiao Guo.
I felt sorry for Lao Wei. If he had been braver, their love and life would be a different story. He and his girlfriend often came to my house to chat with my mother, and I knew some things about them. Lao Wei was a veteran, about twenty-eight years old and in his prime. He looked pretty decent, and everyone liked him. Xiao Guo was a Zhiqing from Kunming, a few years younger than him. She was the kind of passionate youth willing to show up for the cause of the motherland. They were in love but unsure if they should get married because it meant being rooted here forever. In the eyes of others, they were not a good match - one was a mountain boy with no education, and the other was an educated city girl. When they were hesitating, the wild horse of love got off the reins, roamed the gentle fields for a while, ran a little farther, and crossed the cordon.