That day, as Zhou Di and Guan Yunkai sat swaying in the Wasoku military vehicle, the sky gradually darkened until night fell completely. When the group finally stopped to rest, they ate the cold food in silence. To avoid attracting attention, no one dare to light the fire to warm their meals. Several people managed to eat something warm by budding themselves under a canvas and igniting a small concealed flame.
Neither Guan Yunkai nor Zhou Di had brought anything to eat so they sat silently. Later, a soldier threw them a steamed bun and a bowl of water. After finishing their meal, Guan Yunkai said to Zhou Di:
"Zhou Di, my family has really been ruined and I am alone now. My wife is gone and my heart is broken."
"Yunkai, don't be too sad. The future is still ahead of us. Look, you still have two sons who are waiting for you. Maybe you will be reunited soon. You know the current situation from the the panicked retreat of the Wasoku troops. We will drive them out of our country before long."
"I don't doubt this but what does it matter to me? I have lost everything, especially my wife's death, which has left me feeling disheartened. As for my sons, during these chaotic three years, where did they all run off to? It's good if they stayed in a safe place, but that may be living aimlessly like this, though it ensure survival to them, lacking a certain spirit. There won't be much of a future either. If they were to join the army to resist the enemy, although it brings a sense of comfort for me, the battlefield is a place where danger lurks everywhere. I truly dare not think of it."
Zhou Di patted him on the shoulder, sighed and said:
"I know how much you loved Mrs Guan. You've suffered greatly but you are still thinking positively."
Suddenly Guan Yunkai leaned in close to Zhou Di's ear and whispered something. Finally he said:
"This is where our family's treasure is hidden, guarded by someone we trust. Actually it is a remote place. Every summer we used to visit there to escape the heat. Of course we have always told people that it belonged to a friend of my family's. My father never shared this secret with anyone about this, not even Chen Qing. But now I'm telling you. If there is something happened to me, please find my two sons and pass this on to them. Or you can donate them to the country if impossible."
"Yunkai, what are you talking about? Don't think too far ahead. No matter what has happened, you have to stay positive. Focus on your sons."
Guan Yunkai smiled faintly at Zhou Di and said:
"Maybe you are right." Then he stood up and turned to a soldier guarding them, saying, "I need to relieve myself."
The soldier nodded and Guan Yunkai moved to the other side of the vehicle. About ten minutes later a shout suddenly rang out:
"What are you doing there?"
Then Zhou Di saw a figure desperately running up the slope. Soon after, he heard several the crack of gunshots shattered the air. The fleeing figure fell down and rolled down the slope. Zhou Di suddenly realized something and was about to rush forward but the guard pushed him to the ground, snarling:
"Do you want to die too?"
"No, I just want to see him. After all, he is my friend."
"Wait here."
After a short while, An Yuanxi approached Zhou Di and said coldly:
"Guan Yunkai is dead because he deserved it on himself."
Zhou Di pleaded:
"Sir, let me go and see him. He was my friend after all."
An Yuanxi sneered and said:
"What's the use of paying attention to a dead man? As for you, in order to prevent you from running away, I have to resort to a safer method for me. Sorry!"
Without warning, he pulled out his pistol and fired two shots into Zhou Di's legs. Zhou Di screamed in agony and crumpled to the ground. In his final moments of consciousness, he vaguely hear An Yuanxi instructing:
"Treat him well and carry him on the stretcher."
When Zhou Di regained consciousness, it was already dawn. He found himself lying on a stretcher, his legs pulsing with excruciating pain. In a daze, he saw a road sign, and finally realized where he was. Two soldiers were carrying him wearily. He didn't understand why An Yuanxi had still spared his life. He had no chance to ask this question until they stopped to rest at noon. An Yuanxi replied:
"I am really interested in the antiques from your Midlands, especially these exquisite porcelain pieces. While I was in your country, I managed to collect quite a few of them. Of course, I don't have more knowledge to distinguish genuine items from fakes. So I sought the help of some experts to assist me in identifying them separately and avoid being deceived. Actually I like your country and once had plans to settle down here so I arranged for my family to move here from Wasoku. As you know, there is the common belief in our country that your country is controlled by four warlords, essentially making it a divided land. From our perspective, it seemed unlikely for these warlords to unit. Thus, it was relatively easy for us to take control of the northern region from the Chen family, which became the base of our support. Subsequently, we planned to attack the eastern region from both sides. We had been living here for nearly two years, but I never anticipated that your people began rebelling against us, especially from the Yang family's troops led by Yang Chen. He inflicted upon us the bitter taste of defeat. Consequently, I had no choice but to send my family back to Wasoku. Unfortunately, the sea route has been cut off so the only way for us to retreat is by land. My wife and children couldn't take much with them during the retreat. To be honest, I don't even know whether they've made it safely back to my country, Wasoku. After this significant defeat, I also have to retreat. Therefore, I'm taking all the antiques I collected with me because our soldiers can help me transport them. Unfortunately some of them were damaged during packing. For this reason, I must bring along someone who can repair them back to Wasoku. However, Guan Yunkai sabotaged us. He deflated our vehicle's tires and slashed them with a knife. As a result, I had no choice but to leave the large antiques behind to your country and have my soldiers carry the small ones for me. Your skills are excellent, even better than Guan Yunkai's. Thus I have no choice but to shot you in the legs in order to prevent your escape. Don't worry! Once we arrive in Wasoku, I will arrange for your legs to be treated."
Upon hearing his words, Zhou Di remained silent but resolved in his mind that he must escape. No matter how much the cost, even death, he couldn't allow himself to be taken to Wasoku. While lying on the stretcher, he hoped to find an opportunity to flee. But exhaustion soon overcame him and he fell asleep. When he woke up again, he heard the sound of rushing water. He struggled to sit up and saw the group walking towards a narrow bridge spanning a fast-flowing river. As he was lifted onto the bridge, he summoned his remaining strength, suddenly raised his body by himself, grabbed the railing of the bridge with both hands and threw himself fiercely into the river. Before the Wasoku soldiers could react, Zhou Di had already been carried dozens of meters downstream by the swift current.
He attempted to swim but the lack of sensation in his legs made it impossible to propel himself forward. What concerned him even more was that the Wasoku soldiers had begun firing at him while others were chasing him along the river bank. So he had no choice but to sink deeper into the river, using the current to drift downstream. After holding his breath for about a minute, he pressed against the water and resurfaced to catch a breath.
Looking back, he noticed that the bridge was now far behind him, and there were no Wasoku soldiers in sight. Desiring to swim to the bank, he realized that his legs were of no assistance, so he relied solely on his arms to paddle towards the bank. The swift current continued to push him downstream, he eventually managed to grab onto a tree branch jutting from the river bank. Cling to the branch as if it were a lifesaver, he struggled to inch his way towards the bank. When he finally reached the bank, he was utterly exhausted and lacked the strength to stand up so he had to lie there, catching his breath. Exhaustion soon overtook him and he fell asleep.
He was awakened by heavy rain cascading over him as the water soaking him completely. He attempted to stand up but he discovered that he still had no feeling in his legs. After several unsuccessful attempts to stand, finally he gave up and began crawling forward slowly.
As he crawled, his mind was filled with thoughts of his two children, Yang Chen and Xishan. Were the children safe in the hiding place? Did Yang Chen's army have entered the city or not? Did Yang Chen have found the children? Was there someone to find out the secret under the ruined villa? He was certain An Yuanxi didn't have discovered it so what about other people? Now the regret gnawed at him because he didn't have checked on the villa this week. These thoughts weighed heavily on him as he continued crawling in the rain. For him, the most important things were the children's safety, Yang Chen and Xishan.
Although he had been carried away by the rushing river, he still had a general sense of direction. He crawled in the direction he had chosen, resting when tired, tilting his head back to drink rainwater when thirsty and chewing on leaves and grass when hungry. He crawled slowly forward throughout the night, dragging himself inch by inch. As dawn approached, utterly exhausted, he collapsed onto a grassy area and drifted into a deep sleep.
Yang Chen stood by the military vehicle as the soldiers brought a corpse towards him. He remarked:
"This is Guan Yunkai. It appears that the burnt female corpse found in Zhou Di's shop is likely his wife. Wasn't she referred to as Mrs. Guan by the neighbor? Can we find her corpse now?"
Yang Zaihua responded:
"It is difficult to find out where her body has been buried now since most of the corpses have already been buried together."
Yang Chen ordered:
"Bring this corpse back and hand it over to Guan Zhengtao."
At this moment, a soldier rushed towards them and reported:
"Young Marshal, all the boxes are filled with porcelains and jades."
Upon hearing this, Yang Chen immediately climbed onto the military vehicle to inspect the items. After examining them, he shouted:
"Zaihua, get another military vehicle to transport these back to Yucheng. They'll be stored together with the items found at Zhou Di's house." Yang Zaihua immediately understood that these were antiques. Similar to his hobby of collecting pistols, Yang Chen' habby was collecting the antiques. Yang Zaihua quickly arranged for another vehicle, while Yang Chen issued his next order to the soldiers, "You search the nearby area carefully and see if there are any more corpses?"
When he mentioned "corpses", his voice trembled with emotion and his heart ached. Damn rain was still pouring! This added to his distress further.
It was still raining. This was Zhou Di's first reaction upon waking up. He didn't know what time it was now. He grabbed a handful of grass, stuffed it into his mouth and chewed on it as he continued to crawl forward. The surroundings were bleak, nothing but grass and trees and a looming mountain in the distance. He recognized that it was Xishan Mountain, albeit the other side of the mountain. Although he didn't need to climb to its peak, he still had to climb over this ridge to reach the other side, where Yang Chen's villa was located.
It had been two days since Guan Yunkai's corpse was found. While Zhao Dayou and Colonel Zhu were currently engaged in a final battle against the remnants of An Yuanxi's forces, there was still no sign of Zhou Di, neither alive nor dead. Maybe Zhou Di would only be found after An Yuanxi's forces were completely eradicated. Alive or dead? Yang Chen didn't dare to think about it.
Now, looking at Zhou Aichen, Yang Chen was reminded of Zhou Di. He carried Aichen with him every day, along with his beloved son. However, there was a problem that Zhou Aichen often cried for his father, particularly when it was time for him to sleep. No matter how he tried to coax Zhou Aichen, he couldn't get him to calm down. This made Yang Chen very distressed. Unexpectedly, it was Yang Zichun who embraced Zhou Aichen, gently patting him and softly saying: "Chen'er, don't cry. Elder Bro. is here. Don't be afraid." After repeating this three or four times, Zhou Aichen fell asleep soon. It seemed that Zhou Aichen was very dependent on Yang Zichun. Yang Chen couldn't help but think whether it was fate or mere coincidence.
Yang Chen spoke to Yang Zaihua:
"Zaihua, let's go to Xishan tomorrow morning."
Yang Zaihua inquired:
"Shall we bring the young masters with us?"
Yang Chen affirmed:
"Yes, I don't trust anyone else to take care of them. Let's go and see how they're doing with the cleanup progress."
Zhou Di didn't know how many days he had been crawling in the mountain. At first, he still thought of Xishan, the children and Chen Ge but gradually his consciousness become blurred and eventually, he was completely disoriented. However, there seemed to be one thing lingering in his mind: Xishan. Sometimes he couldn't even grasp why Xishan was significant and what he was supposed to do there. At other times, he seemed to recall a name: Zhou Chuyu. But who was Zhou Chuyu? His mind became lost again. The more he dwelled on these two things, the more confused he became. Fearing he might forget them, he kept repeating to himself: Xishan, Zhou Chuyu, Zhou Chuyu, Xishan. As for what they meant, he no long knew.
He continued crawling, or rather, moving forward completely unconsciously. Murmuring to himself repeatedly: Zhou Chuyu, Xishan. Untill one night, he finally caught sight of the silhouette of the ruined villa. Then another name came to his mind: Chen Ge, yes, Chen Ge. He grabbed a handful of grass and stuffed it into his mouth. The drop of water from the grass moistened his parched lips. He licked his lips, feeling as if the drop of water had given him infinite strength. He crawled forward with renewed vigor, muttering softly: Chen Ge, Xishan, Zhou Chuyu, Xishan, Zhou Chuyu, Chen Ge.
He kept crawling forward, ignoring everything around him, including the two tents erected nearby the ruined villa. His gaze was fixed on a spot with a stone colonnade. Eventually, it seemed he had exhausted all his strength. His lips were pale and cracked, but there was still some distance to go. He licked the drops of water on the grass again as if those drops could give him more strength. While keeping licking the drops of water on the grass, he crawled inch by inch toward the colonnade stone. Finally he scaled the wall and collapsed onto a pile of bricks, clutching the colonnade and murmuring:
"Zhou Chuyu, I protect you. Chen Ge, I'm waiting for you."
After that, there was no more movement.
The night wind swept through everything and the grass swayed in the breeze, seemingly erasing any traces of Zhou Di's crawl. The people in the tents remained fast asleep, illuminated only by the moon's radiant light, casting a soft glow on the earth and on the motionless figure through the remaining walls.