37 Staying Calm on the Surface with a Heart Penetrated by Pain (1/2)
Chapter 37: Staying Calm on the Surface with a Heart Penetrated by Pain
Translator: TransnEditor: Transn
Although the Yulin Royal Guards had blockaded the Lin 47th Street, more and more Chang'an citizens were gathering together. They didn't care at all about the cold rain which left them wet. Looking at the dark-faced man leaning against the wall, they, nervously, uncomfortably, excitedly, or pitifully, were all interested in what happened.
Ning Que stood in the rain with a black umbrella, staring at Zhuo Er, who was sitting in the rain with his legs apart. Ning Que was so concentrated as if he wanted to memorize that face forever, despite that you couldn't tell anything from his face.
”When we met in Min Mountain seven years ago, you had a dark face. Why are you so dark? You're darker than the bottom of a pot, darker than Sangsang, and even darker than the night.” While seven years had passed, the dark boy had grown into a dark man. Ning Que was not familiar with this face anymore. Therefore, he wanted to look at the face carefully in this last moment, remembering it till death.
The crowd dispersed after the Yulin Royal Guards carried Zhuo Er, who had closed his eyes forever, out of the Lin 47th Street. Ning Que and Sangsang returned to their shop under the black umbrella, side by side. Although he seemed calm, Sangsang clearly observed that there was no emotion in Ning Que's eyes. He was just like a shell without a soul.
The door of the shop was closed. After a long period of silence, Nin Que finally whispered, ”I'd like to eat noodles tonight.”
”Sure,” Sangsang answered quickly, and entered the backyard after dropping off her books and cosmetics box.
Ning Que seemed to return to normal after he ate a bowl of noodles with three fried eggs, which were specially cooked by Sangsang for him. He even made fun of Sangsang after he put down his bowl, though his laughter was nevertheless dry and bitter.
When the rain stopped at midnight, Ning Que walked out of the shop after making sure that anyone wouldn't see him. He slowly walked to the gray wall on the opposite side of the shop and crouched down. He raised his hand and slowly rubbed the wall. However, he could not feel the body heat of Zhuo Er on the wet and cold wall. Ning Que didn't know why that guy came here just before he died, what he wanted to tell him, and for how long he waited in the freezing rain and what he was thinking at that time...
His thin and long finger stopped when he touched a piece of brick, where there was a faint blood stain on the corner, and a tiny mark. The mark wouldn't be discovered with one's naked eyes, but Ning Que found it with his finger.
...
...
Back at the shop, Ning Que gave Sangsang several pieces of paper soaked in oil and told her to save them carefully. Although rare for him, he boiled water himself to take a foot bath. Then he went to the cold bed. As usual, Sangsang slept on the other side of the bed with her body curled together like a mouse.
”I stayed with him for only a couple of days seven years ago, and then he was taken away by his damn master. You probably have forgotten all these things. He had not learned anything from his master these years, and he was still a spy in the Military Ministry, not in a good situation.”
”We did contact with each other via letters. However, I don't know much about him now as we have not seen each other for seven years. It's too hypocritical to say that we're very close... Honestly speaking, the relationship between him and me was built on mutual benefits. Or more precisely, I took advantage of him to collect information about Xia Hou.”
”But he just died like that, and this is very tough. Now I'm the only person who knows about the massacre of those villages, of course, not counting you. Then should I take all the responsibilities? However, I'm already in hot water with a lot of troubles, how will I have time to deal with these matters?”
As Sangsang knew, Ning Que only needed catharsis and self-conviction, instead of replies from others. She didn't speak, seeming to fell asleep.