Chapter 8

Chu Huan immediately changed his tone: "However, it is possible that he will just arrive a bit later, perhaps in a few days..."

Nanshan extended a finger to halt his words and brought over the prepared herbal medicine to hand it to him

Chu Huan pondered in confusion: "Stop? Don't move? This road is blocked?"

He nearly bit his own tongue, his heart involuntarily quickened a few beats, and with a clever maneuver, he discreetly broke free from Nanshan

His consolation is in vain, and it is unclear how much Nanshan understands

Xiao Fang, like a trapped beast, angrily paced back and forth for a few rounds, still unwilling to give up. After a while, he stood still, extended one large bear paw in front of himself, and then waved his palm, resembling a fan, back and forth.

Chu Huan: "Nanshan ... ... "

Chu Huan felt a slight toothache: "That... a big slap to the face?"

It was a bowl of green, oily, and sticky substance, with a rather sinister appearance. However, Chu Huan himself could not understand why he, without a second thought, took it and drank it all.

He felt that he was a bit abrupt, so he paused for a moment and retracted his hand, which had extended a few centimeters.

Among the passengers, there are those who are returning home after working in the city, some visiting relatives in nearby towns, and others carrying luggage to send their children to a county town for schooling... Hmm, and there is one more person

Chu Huan: "Uh ... ... "

The young man boarded the train very early, yet he deliberately chose the most uncomfortable side seat, likely to keep his hands close to his luggage. He exhibited a unique tension characteristic of someone who rarely travels far. At each stop, he would stretch his neck to look out for the station signs, unlike someone visiting friends or relatives; it seemed to be his first time in this place

However, upon reaching the final destination, Chu Huan had not seen that young man again. It is likely that the young man had profoundly experienced what it means to be in a remote and impoverished area along the way, feeling the vast chasm between dreams and reality, and momentarily lost his resolve, choosing to disembark midway and run away

"No, I cannot accept such praise," Chu Huan coughed lightly.

Chu Huan thought he would be unable to sleep, as even a cat walking by could startle him, let alone the presence of two lively individuals in the room. However, amidst the sound of the leaf flute, he inexplicably felt a wave of weary relaxation, and before he knew it, he had already drifted into a drowsy slumber.

Chu Huan smiled wryly and touched his nose: "... ... It can't possibly be 'Jiangnan style', can it?"

"Are you saying that the person you picked up at the station yesterday is the volunteer teacher who is going to teach in your community?" Chu Huan asked

Chu Huan thought to himself: "Could it be that some spirit is attached to this thing?"

The other two individuals looked at him with anticipation

"The person you mentioned, I might..." Chu Huan's voice paused as he looked at Nan Shan's hopeful expression, and suddenly he felt a pang of compassion.

Xiaofang said: Only you got off the car yesterday

This brother, with beautiful big eyes and long braids, seems to lack any performing talent; however, heaven has opened another window for him—based on his performance, Chu Huan feels that he would be an excellent hand at burglary

Chu Huan : `` ... ... ''

... ... Of course, familiarity does not equate to correctness

Nanshan: "Old ... ... Master"

This has soothed the throat; I will gesture again after finishing the drink

Nanshan struggled to understand his meaning and frowned

It seems that the misunderstanding has been clarified. By the time he wakes up again, those two people should have almost left, right

Chu Huan: "However, I did not see him again when I got off the car. I guess he might have encountered something along the way and changed his destination at the last minute..."

Chu Huan: "Ah—wait a moment, no, no, no, you... you don't get agitated first."

"He is a teacher, not an old handsome man," Chu Huan corrected. He reached out his hand, intending to take the dictionary and show it to the other person, but suddenly recalled the serious attitude that the other party had towards the dictionary

Chu Huan recalled that it was a young man wearing glasses, with delicate skin and a slender build, indicating that he was not a manual laborer. He remembered that the young man's suitcase was large and heavy, suggesting that he was going on a long journey and intended to stay for a while.

I... I am not well." Nanshan said softly, "I will not come.

After speaking, Nanshan stood up, reached out to adjust the blanket for Chu Huan, and then took his glasses and the clothes he had changed out of, placing them at the bedside for easy access. The bloodstains on the clothes had been cleaned up, while his personal belongings—the military dagger and gun—remained in their original places, and even the mini first aid kit lay untouched in his pocket as if it had not been disturbed.

Nanshan helped him lie down, and then walked to the window, taking out a leaf. The melody of the leaf flute sounded again, this time it did not seem so cheerful, yet it was not filled with resentment or heaviness; it simply had a long, lingering tone that felt somewhat lonely

His gesture of extending and retracting his hand was merely a matter of inches, yet Nanshan understood it immediately. He promptly cupped the shabby dictionary with both hands and presented it to Chu Huan as if offering a tribute, nearly poking Chu Huan in the nose with his enthusiasm. The entire sequence of actions resembled the presentation of a sacred hada.

After saying this, Chu Huan himself felt that the other party would definitely not understand, but he was at a loss as to how to explain it more clearly.

Xiaofang does not understand what is happening, looking at this and then at that, her face flushed with anxiety.

Nanshan conveyed his words to Xiaofang, which infuriated that gentleman to the point of shouting loudly several times, brandishing a fist the size of a hammer, clearly intent on smashing Chu Huan's brains out for a thorough cleaning

The man stood firm with his energy concentrated in his lower abdomen, taking a wide stance, and shouted loudly, spreading his arms to create a blocking gesture.

Chu Huan once again caught a faint whiff of osmanthus fragrance, and immediately felt that he was somewhat intoxicated and a bit muddled.

As soon as the words "teacher" were spoken, Nanshan's eyes instantly brightened, as if two small golden crows had fallen into them. Chu Huan felt as if he had been intoxicated by the self-brewed liquor of his ethnic minority brothers, and he found himself dizzy from the dazzling gaze of those eyes

There is no need for language communication

He then understood that "Nanshan" was likely given to him by someone who spoke Chinese, and that the name of his own ethnicity sounded even more convoluted and bizarre.

Nanshan intervened to stop Xiaofang, to prevent her from getting herself worked up to the point of anger. Chu Huan realized that his words were quite effective; as soon as he spoke, the indignant Xiaofang immediately fell silent and complied without question.

Nanshan's expression suddenly darkened

For a moment, it seemed somewhat hesitant.

He remained silent for quite a while, yet Chu Huan felt that heavy sense of loss

Oh, Chuhuan remembered that he was still holding a third-grade Chinese textbook in his hands

They spent more than half an hour going through countless rounds of "You gesture, and I guess," remaining in a state of utter incomprehension.

After a while, Chu Huan lowered his voice and said almost gently: "I may have met the teacher you are waiting for, um... he is not tall, holding a primary school textbook—primary school, that is, for children, the textbook is a book, you know what a book is, right? It is just like the one you are holding—it's a book meant for children."

He really wanted to hear that delightful leaf flute melody once more

Nanshan was taken aback

Chu Huan hesitated for a moment and reminded, "In fact, if you need a teacher, you can approach your administrative personnel, similar to village heads or clan leaders, and have them submit an application to the county. Every year, there are university students volunteering to teach..."

It must be due to having drunk too much wine. He succinctly summarized all the reasons for his indiscretions.

"Fierce macaques" is either a peculiar aspect of their aesthetic culture, or is the handsome guy making another spelling mistake

His learning ability astonished Chu Huan. Just now, when Nanshan was looking up words in the dictionary, due to the numerous mistakes, Chu Huan, in order to facilitate communication, read aloud each character he pointed to. Unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, he managed to remember more than half of them, and his pronunciation was quite impressive. Although the sentence was not very coherent and the word choice was so concise it was almost shocking, Chu Huan indeed understood it.

Chu Huan had no choice but to take it, flipping to the character "师" and pointing it out to him: "This one, the 'teacher' in 'teacher'"

Xiaofang also did not know what had happened. When this person was not looking fierce and menacing, he appeared rather simple and honest. He scratched his messy hair, resembling that of a straw, and looked at Chu Huan with a somewhat eager expression.

Xiaofang did not understand, so Nanshan answered with a name on his behalf. To Chu Huan, it sounded like a long and melodious string of gibberish

In a state of half-sleep, Chu Huan suddenly had a thought: either I can leave with them.

Nanshan did not understand what "I am flattered" meant; he sincerely grasped Chu Huan's hand, his movements swift, and Chu Huan froze, unable to evade.

Suddenly, he felt that this idea was fanciful—teaching Chinese in remote ethnic minority areas? It was not even relevant to his major

It was not until Chu Huan and his companions finished the first jar of wine from Nanshan in a toast that he grasped a way to communicate with the other party

Nanshan laughed heartily, while Xiaofang, feeling disheartened, shook her head. Then, he brought his hands together, letting his wrists hang down, and rhythmically swayed them.

Feeling parched and exhausted, they decided to take a break, sitting across from each other with no plans in mind, exchanging blank stares. At this moment, Nanshan would pour him a glass of wine—this seemed to have become their only means of communicating their feelings.

Nanshan said something to him, and Xiaofang, upon hearing it, widened her eyes, leaned closer to Chuhuan, drew a rectangle in the air with her hand, then made a rolling motion with her fist, followed by alternating her two fingers to simulate the way a person walks, and finally pointed at Chuhuan while extending one finger.

Chu Huan thought he understood this and suddenly realized: "Riding a horse!"

Chu Huan gradually became accustomed to the fishy taste of the liquor, from which he discerned a hint of wild, rich aroma. In the end, he could not recall how much he had consumed. Feeling lightheaded, he leaned against the head of the bed, watching how Xiao Fang took the lead in performing a lively pantomime.

Chu Huan pressed his fingers firmly against his forehead, carefully recalling the events. The day before, when he got on the bus, there were dozens of people on board. He instinctively glanced at each person, and now, with a little thought, the features of each individual were still fresh in his mind

This time, Chu Huan finally received his message accurately

Nanshan clenched his fist, first gently pounding it against his own chest a few times, then closing his eyes, lowering his head, and softly touching his forehead to Chuhuan's fingers

Nanshan quickly found the characters "老" and "帅" in the dictionary, without even starting from the radicals; he flipped through the pages and found them immediately, being more familiar with these two characters than with his own name

Nanshan suddenly sighed, slightly raised his head, half-closed his eyes, and his handsome face revealed hard lines, resembling a solitary and steadfast statue.

I, "Chu Huan," pointed to myself and, with a simple gesture, tried my best to express clearly, "I am not the person you are looking for"

Chu Huan smiled awkwardly and said, "What is this friend's name?"

For Chu Huan, this was an unfamiliar feeling. Whether it was during his youth when he caused trouble everywhere, or later when he delved into a world filled with blood and violence, he had never felt pity for anyone. Yet here, he found himself weighing his words back and forth two or three times, searching his heart and mind but failing to find a more tactful expression that could be understood by the other party

Nanshan forced a smile and shook his head: "No, I don't like coming here"

It should be that person.

Seeing Chu Huan's expression waver, Nanshan enthusiastically explained the meaning of this name. With a bright smile, he opened the dictionary, pointed to the long-braided man beside him, and gave a thumbs up in appreciation. Then, he appreciatively laid out the five bloody characters "fierce hairy monkey" in front of Chu Huan.