Chapter 10

After speaking, he gestured to Xiaofang, and the two of them picked up their simple bundles, preparing to leave

As soon as he turned around after making his purchase, he saw the scene of someone handing over money in Nanshan, and he immediately felt a bit troubled

However, that small bit of envy towards Nanshan seemed to be like a dull little carving knife, lightly yet firmly scratching at Chu Huan's heart. For the second time, the thought emerged in Chu Huan's mind: "He just wants to find someone who can teach him Chinese, why is it so difficult? Perhaps I should just go."

This friend seems to be filled with a saintly radiance, reminiscent of the enlightening presence of Buddha, possessing an aura that exudes spirituality, yet appears to lack a bit of discernment

Chu Huan himself did not know how he could make such a whimsical decision

Nanshan is finally about to leave, and at this moment, Xiaofang is still that big bear who can only shake its head and wag its tail, unable to communicate. In contrast, Nanshan has managed to engage in some basic daily communication, albeit with difficulty, thanks to his meager foundation and tireless efforts.

He spread open Nanshan's hand and wrote the character "骗" in his palm, saying: "This character '骗' means to tell lies to others, for the sake of money"

Nanshan, fearing that someone might encounter Chu Huan, instinctively stood in front of him to block the way, while curiously pointing at the tourists and asking: "What are you doing?"

Nanshan understands some Chinese, recognizing more characters than he can speak. He is wealthy, knows how to buy things, and is aware of the denominations of money. This indicates that he is not completely isolated from the outside world; however, such interactions are certainly not deep or widespread. In this small border town, everything he sees is novel, and it seems that he must maintain a certain image, unable to jump around and observe like Xiaofang, yet his eyes are always filled with eager curiosity.

He still has many things to do, and with the little devil being captured, he must follow through with the little devil's interrogation, right

Then, Nanshan suddenly remembered something and smiled slightly, saying, "If only the children from our place... the elementary school students could come here, it would be great"

Subsequently, Xiaofang walked forward in shock, bending down to observe the dog on the ground. The dog looked up at the bare-chested man for a moment and calmly wagged its tail at him, indicating that it was still alive and had not been taken away on a piece of paper, so the country folks need not worry too much.

"I can teach you this as well, let's go," Chu Huan said casually, "I might need to go to the county town to buy some things, so wait for me for half a day."

Chu Huanxin was well aware of the situation, yet he still patiently listened to Nanshan's halting description of the nonsense the scammer had written on paper, before calmly responding: "He won't leave; he lives by that."

This thought flashed by, and Chu Huan's gaze swept over the bustling crowd and the bus station filled with coaches, once again shaking his head in silence, thinking: "What am I thinking?"

From Xiaofang's attitude towards Nanshan, it seems that this long-haired handsome man holds a very high status in their locality, likely being a patriarch or an elder of some sort

It makes absolutely no sense

A week later, Chu Huan's gunshot wound had astonishingly healed.

Chu Huan: "Are you clear on what a liar is?"

If he complains, Chu Huan would probably understand very well, but after all, it is someone else's matter; once he understands, it is unlikely to affect him much

Chu Huan felt annoyed by the crowd, but in the face of Nanshan, he did not express the irritation in his heart; he simply said lazily: "Traveling"

He is so good-looking that he might accidentally be abducted again

Xiaofang immediately ran back excitedly, exclaiming to Nanshan about his new discovery, speaking with great enthusiasm and gesturing animatedly.

Chu Huan could not help but glance at him and asked, "What does 'this side of the river' mean?"

"For money, is it fake?" Nanshan's brows furrowed, as if unable to accept that such vile things still exist in the world

At the foot of Nanshan, Stepsran turned around in disbelief

Nanshan and Xiaofang suddenly realized, gazing at the passing crowd with a mix of envy and a hint of disbelief.

The furthest drifting twenty yuan bill flew straight into Nanshan's hands

Chu Huan turned around and saw that it was the scammer he had encountered that day

Having spoken, he leaned on his simple cane and walked towards the direction of the tourists

Zhu Huan's pupils suddenly constricted—how is this achieved

What is this for

Chu Huan let out a sigh, doubting whether he was about to embark on a journey to a true paradise.

During his free time, Nanshan would light up the dictionary, listening to Zhu Huan correct and explain each character one by one. He would read during the day and then silently memorize it again at night. Nanshan seemed to have developed a pair of fiery golden eyes, as he never turned on the light while reading at midnight; the darkness appeared to have no effect on his vision whatsoever. When Zhu Huan asked him why he didn't turn on the light, he received a response that was utterly hilarious—this pure-hearted friend was afraid of wasting the electricity in the hotel.

He waved his hand towards Nanshan, and Nanshan turned its head to one side. With the bustling small county town and the azure sky as the backdrop, Chu Huan captured his momentarily surprised expression.

Nanshan does not understand that, in fact, such individuals can be found in any place that is somewhat lively. They are usually young and able-bodied individuals or students in school uniforms, sitting in front of a piece of paper that states they encountered thieves while traveling far or that they are unable to pursue their studies, begging for money.

Nanshan leaned down and pressed against Chuhuan's forehead, then straightened up and activated the newly learned Chinese: "Take care, my friend"

I am not sure what is worth photographing in this remote and impoverished area; this may be a ritual unique to tourists

The tourists scattered like a flock of sheep that could never gather together as soon as they got off the bus, some wearily following along, some searching for restrooms, and others taking photos of the rugged roads of the county.

At this moment, Nanshan turned around and extended a hand to Chu Huan, signaling him to support himself, and awkwardly said in unfamiliar Chinese: "The riverbank this side is good"

Nanshan and Chu Huan stayed at the guesthouse for more than a week

The swindler hurriedly reached out to grab, but just as he had climbed halfway up, he suddenly clutched his chest and fell down, his eyes bulging like a goldfish, his whole body twitching in a strange manner

Chu Huan escorted them a few steps, his face revealing nothing. However, just as he was seeing Nan Shan to the door, he suddenly spoke without any warning: "Do you wish to invite the teacher solely to teach spoken Chinese?"

At that moment, a young woman walked near them, holding a "Lomo" camera, and she took a picture of a guard dog sitting by the roadside basking in the sun

It seems like a silhouette on Nanshan, he no longer wishes to know whether the girl he grew up with has given birth to a boy or a girl

He asked Nanshan what their ethnicity was and received a response that could not be matched with Chinese characters, phonetically resembling the Chinese term "Li Yi," but slightly more complex in pronunciation. Nanshan himself was either unclear about the meaning of the name "Li Yi Clan" or found it inconvenient to answer, providing him with a vague explanation that seemed to suggest something like "Guardians of the Mountain".

Nanshan and Xiaofang looked at him together, their two pairs of eyes filled with identical curiosity and confusion

"It doesn't matter to me whether it's a boy or a girl." Until they walked out onto the street together, Chu Huan was still pondering, "It's not like they were born for me."

In fact, in addition to the fifty-six ethnic groups in the usual sense, there are some ethnic minorities in the country that cannot be statistically identified for various reasons, and Nanshan may be one of them

A few days have passed, and Xiaofang has already regarded Chu Huan as a good friend, walking away while looking back three times, feeling quite reluctant to part.

Nanshan was almost startled; this item was evidently rarer to him than the 1971 edition of the Xinhua Dictionary. A faint blush suddenly appeared on his face, and after awkwardly accepting it, he kept stealing glances at Chu Huan all the way.

Chu Huan presented the photograph along with the camera he had purchased to Nanshan

Finally, Chu Huan gathered his palm and made a gesture of "many": "Supportive."

Nanshan walked over, crouched down with an almost scholarly attitude, and read the story concocted by the swindler word by word, carefully. After finishing the reasoning, he saw the final request for "twenty yuan for travel expenses." He silently took out a handful of Chinese yuan from his pocket, which included both small and large denominations, and after meticulously checking the denominations, he pulled out a twenty-yuan note. Instead of tossing it into the other person's bowl, he extended his arm and handed it over.

Chu Huan purchased the instant camera from the young girl, demonstrating considerable communication skills. He was generous with his spending, and in the end, the girl even gifted him the remaining one and a half boxes of photo paper

Nanshan pondered for a moment, bent down, and retrieved a small knife resembling a dagger from his ankle, solemnly handing it to Chu Huan: "I did not bring much, only this. It can cut through the wind and withstand all enemies"

Nanshan was taken aback and, feeling uneasy, immediately followed. He watched as Chu Huan approached the young girl he had just taken a photo of, lowering his head to say something to her.

Is it because of inconvenient transportation that you do not go out often

With a "snap," the attention of the two people beside Chu Huan was drawn over. After a moment, the developed photo paper was ejected, and the little girl waved it back and forth in her hand for a while until the dog photo became clear. She ran back to show it to her companion, while Nanshan and the other person continued to watch her figure disappear.

When Chu Huan finished buying daily necessities and came out of the small supermarket, he saw Nanshan standing by the roadside, staring at the scammer on the other side of the road. For a moment, he felt as if there was a certain murderous aura about Nanshan, though he was unsure if it was just his illusion

"I need to go back; I cannot be away for too long," Nanshan said. He had not asked Chuhuan how his injury had occurred from beginning to end, but instead asked seriously, "If you encounter danger, will you be able to handle it?"

One must listen to the complete confession to see what fate awaits those individuals

It seemed that Nanshan noticed Chu Huan's gaze, and turned his head to gently explain in a low voice: "He won't die, he shouldn't be biased... um, cheating for money"

They emerged from "Kendang Chicken" and inevitably passed by the bus station again. It was noon, and the passenger flow had reached its local peak. Several tour guides wearing little red hats were calling their respective tourists to keep up with them using loudspeakers

Chu Huan once told him that "elementary school students" means "children". He immediately remembered these two words, even though there might be some misunderstanding in their meaning. When Nanshan said this, there was no complaint in his tone, but rather a sense of longing for something unattainable, which made him appear somewhat envious.

Chu Huan's gaze fell upon the totem of Nanshan, and it was evident that it depicted a fierce beast. He was not a folklore expert and did not know which tribe this worship belonged to, nor had he ever seen such a pattern before

Nanshan and Xiaofang were so shocked by so many people that they instinctively made way on the road

Moreover, the strange herbs they brought—especially that white powder—if it truly can stimulate cellular activity, how many people would go crazy for it if it were to spread outside

Chu Huan vaguely remembered that when he first spoke to Nanshan using a dictionary, he also mentioned the phrase "dangers of the long road." He couldn't help but laugh at what this brother from a minority ethnic group, who had never traveled far, must have imagined the outside world to be like a treacherous mountain of knives and a sea of fire

Chu Huan paused for a moment and chose a more straightforward way to express himself. He slowly raised one hand and made a gesture of scooping food into his mouth, saying: "Eat—"

Seeing others talking, Nanshan felt that he should not get too close, so he waited by the roadside. Suddenly, he saw a person kneeling at the intersection with their head down, spreading out a large sheet of paper in front of them, which was filled with writing.

Chu Huan weighed the dagger in his hand; the iron object was heavy and unremarkable in appearance. However, upon closer inspection, it seemed to carry a hint of blood and exuded a profound aura of slaughter, which an expert would not fail to notice

Nanshan Yidai: "Why?"

The swindler, a young man, stared blankly at the peculiar man before him, whose appearance and behavior were nothing short of bizarre. After a moment of hesitation, there was an instant when he almost experienced a pang of conscience.

Then he patted Xiaofang's belly and said: "I'm full"

Suddenly, Nanshan grabbed Zhu Huan and asked: "I gave him the money, and he is still there. Did he lose it again?"

What does it mean by "vast territory and large population"? A brief glimpse of this iceberg for these two children from the mountains would probably be enough to enrich their knowledge for an entire year

It can withstand all enemies ... However, I am afraid it may not pass the security check

Chu Huan pretended not to know, dragging his injured leg and leaning on a cane as he walked ahead. Perhaps due to the pain and itchiness of the wound, Chu Huan felt somewhat lightheaded as he walked

He also wants to find a reliable doctor to consult after returning, to adjust his condition, and if possible, to return to work

Chu Huan felt a strange current of air brush past him, and then, the banknotes in the begging bowl were suddenly lifted by an inexplicable wind, fluttering up and down

As soon as he thought of these matters, Chu Huan's fanciful thoughts that had floated to the horizon were heavily weighed down, anchoring him in place. He glanced at Nanshan and patted his shoulder: "Wait for me here for a moment"

Still do not understand—people in the mountains may not be able to imagine why such a spectacle is necessary just for climbing a mountain

At that moment, Chu Huan saw that the tip of Nanshan's finger seemed to have flicked something out, accurately hitting the forehead of the scammer from a distance of at least 7 or 8 meters, and then he made a "grabbing" motion with his bare hands

Chu Huan: "... ... it is just running from a distance to play, climbing mountains—just that kind of mountain, climbing up to play."

He also wants to see whether Xiao Lu has given birth to a boy or a girl

The county town is a small place where even a fart can hit your heel, and you can see the end from the beginning at a glance

However, as a con artist with professional ethics, his conscience was always limited; that person simply accepted it with a calm thank you after just one meal