Chapter 63
Returning to Cangdi, things are different and people are different.
The war in Candi City ended completely in early May this year. Now, two months have passed, and the city has yet to recover from the ruins. Scaffolding is erected everywhere on the roadside and construction materials are piled up. Forklifts and cranes rumbled. The whole city is like a huge construction site.
Only the white Candi Temple stands silently on the eastern horizon, undamaged; even the outline of the marble dome looks so soft, reflected in the blue sky, and is magnificent.
"Can I go take a look?" She asked suddenly, lying by the car window.
Major Harvey followed her gaze and understood: "Of course it's no problem."
After the terrorists withdrew, the Tsangdi Temple was cleaned inside and out and has now been restored to its original state. Many locals came to pay homage and pray, and foreign faces were mixed in the crowd, whether they were reporters or tourists.
Song Ran walked along the long approach road. Cangdi Temple was magnificent and the temple was white. The natural marble shines with fine fluorescence in the sun, like an exquisite treasure box placed under the blue sky.
She took off her shoes and walked into the temple on the cool marble floor. The air became cooler and the light became a little dim.
Colorful beams of light are projected down from the patio, like a waterfall.
She looked up and saw King Candi and his queen painted on the dome that was fifty or sixty meters high, surrounded by various gods. The sunlight shines on the huge round stained glass, making it colorful and dazzling.
Many civilians knelt under the dome and chanted sutras.
Song Ran walked up the stone steps to the fourth floor and found the observation deck behind the temple.
It was a small compartment. The blood stains on the surface of the marble wall had been cleaned, but there were absorption patterns on the surface of the natural stone. Dark bloodstains appeared in large chunks, silently and irrevocably seeping into the lines of the floor, walls, and even the ceiling, like splashes of ink.
The wind rushed in from the window, making her heart feel cold.
She went to the window and looked down. It was very high. She was a little dizzy and tried to remember something. But after being hit that night, she had no consciousness at all and could not remember anything.
Behind him, Major Harvey asked: "Are you feeling uncomfortable?"
"It's okay." Song Ran turned back, "Let's go."
Song Ran quickly settled in Cangdi, but the search was not smooth.
She walked through the refugee camps in Cangdi City, looking for them one by one; she saw the faces of countless refugees and disabled soldiers, but there was still no sign of Li Zan, not even anyone who had seen him.
She found it a little ridiculous that he had paid so much for this city, yet no one knew or remembered his appearance.
With Cangdi as the center, she radiated to the surrounding cities and continued her search.
Time flies, from the beginning of July to the end of July. There is still no news about Li Zan.
On July 30, a government army encirclement and suppression operation against terrorist strongholds broke out along the national border 80 kilometers north of Candi. Song Ran rushed there after hearing the news.
The stronghold was destroyed and government troops rescued some prisoners.
Those prisoners of war had been tortured to the point of being reduced to human form and unconscious. Song Ran looked at their faces, looking for them one by one, and asked one by one: "Have you seen an Asian man?"
No one can answer her.
When the last prisoner of war was brought out, Song Ran's heart plummeted.
The government soldiers who came out told Harvey that there were many corpses of prisoners of war inside, some of whom had just been killed by the terrorists when they escaped.
Song Ran followed Harvey in and walked through cells, dark rooms, and water prisons. She endured the horrifying chill as she searched the ground covered in bloodstains and torture instruments, turning over the bodies of the dead.
No, still no.
Luo Zhan said he disappeared.
He really seemed to have disappeared without leaving even the slightest trace.
On the way back to Cangdi, Song Ran was so tired that she closed her eyes for a while, but during this moment, she dreamed of a dark cell, mottled blood, and his low cry coming from the darkness.
She opened her eyes immediately, covered in cold sweat.
All the way back, silent.
As the car drove into Cangdi City, she suddenly said: "Colonel, thank you for your help this month, but you don't have to accompany me anymore."
Harvey was stunned: "Aren't you looking for it?"
"I will continue to search, but perhaps, this cannot be achieved in a day or two. You can go do your work, and there is no need to waste time with me."
Harvey hesitated for a moment and finally said: "I'll leave on Monday. If you need help later, please be sure to contact me."
"I will."
One day later, on August 1st, Song Ran heard that a new shelter had been opened in the western suburbs of Cangdi, taking in many people who had recently strayed from the northern battlefield.
She rushed there immediately.
The stench in the shelter was so bad that the volunteers had no time to clean it up for everyone. Soldiers and civilians fell asleep on the ground with no clothes on and covered with dirt.
The weather is hot and flies are flying around.
She searched around but couldn't find Li Zan, so she asked one by one: "Have you seen an Asian man?"
She even asked people who had mental problems and slurred speech.
But no.
No one has ever seen an Asian man.
No one has seen her A-Zan.
On the way back to the hotel, Song Ran made a decision. She planned to pack her bags and go further north. There must be more such shelters out there.
Entering the hotel, Harvey was waiting for her in the lobby.
Song Ran: "Are you here to say goodbye to me?"
"No." Harvey said, "There is someone who has been looking for you for a long time." He pointed behind her.
Song Ran was startled, and when he turned around, it was Morgan.
Their eyes met, Song Ran's eyes filled with tears, and she walked quickly towards him.
Morgan gave her a hug. The tough black man, who was over 1.9 meters tall, had red eyes at this moment, lowered his head, and choked out: "Ruan, I'm very sorry."
"It's okay. How are you doing, Morgan?"
"Not good." Morgan smiled with wet eyes, "Ruan, I must apologize to you in person."
"Don't say that..."
"We are all guilty, Ruan." Morgan insisted, looking straight at her, "Lee suffered tremendously that night. When he rescued us and saved the building, you were held hostage. As his Comrade-in-arms, but no one could help him. When he cut the thread, I couldn't imagine the pain in his heart at that moment. But later when he went to save you alone, there was still no one among us who could help him. Later. He's missing, and we can't do anything. But B is gone, and he..." Morgan's lips slumped, and he shook his head heartbroken and painfully, "He suffered inhuman abuse, but none of his comrades still..." Man can save him. We are guilty, Ruan, we are guilty."
Song Ran burst into tears: "Morgan, this is not your fault. You are also hurt in your heart, and you need a doctor's help."
"I know. My mental state has not been very good." Morgan lowered his head and wiped his eyes hard with his big palms. "I tried to commit suicide. Because of my condition, my girlfriend also broke up. I always think about, G Dead, B is dead, L is also...why am I still alive. Why?" His big black eyes were filled with tears, "Maybe, K, S, they think so too, so we don't contact each other. It's too painful. ”
"Morgan." Song Ran held his hand firmly, "Listen to me."
Morgan raised his eyes. The eyes of this powerful man, who was indomitable on the battlefield, were filled with regret and pain.
"You are a gift from fate, Morgan. Living is a very good thing, not a sin. Do you know how I felt when I saw you? What I thought at that moment was: It's good to live, it's true to live. OK, Morgan, you don’t know how happy I am to see you safe and alive.”
Really.
How happy she is at this moment.
Morgan shed tears: "Thank you, Ruan, you can't imagine how much your words mean to me."
Morgan said he came here because he saw her tweet. A week ago, Song Ran went to Su Ruicheng and posted a photo of the street where she and Li Zan first met. Morgan had been paying attention to her, and when he learned that she had returned to Dongguo, he immediately contacted Harvey to find her.
"Lee has personal belongings left in the team. B used to hold them, and he gave them to me when I returned home. According to the rules, the belongings left by L must be handed over to relatives. I have sent you messages many times, but I can't get in touch." Morgan took out a small piece of military green cloth bag and said, "I originally didn't want to go back to Dongguo, but his things must be handed over to you in person."
Song Ran opened the small cloth bag, which contained a harmonica, a pen, and a black notebook. It was the same items she saw in his drawer when she went to borrow a comb from his dormitory in the peacekeeping force camp.
Some of the paint on the harmonica has peeled off, and the outer cover of the notebook has also faded some color. She rubbed it gently, feeling a sense of comfort in her heart, and said, "Thank you for sending them over. These are very important to me."
……
Song Ran returned to the room, sat down at the table, and turned on the lamp.
She felt unexpectedly calm and gently opened the notebook. Li Zan's handsome handwriting appeared in front of him.
The date on the first page was September of the year before last, which was the day she reunited with him in the camp and asked him to borrow a comb.
Only two lines of words:
"Start the peacekeeping mission.
What a coincidence that I met Reporter Song. "
After that, every day is just a few lines, briefly recording the day's schedule and tasks. From time to time, there are pages with her presence in them.
"I teased Reporter Song a little while clearing mines."
"Reporter Song looks different from her appearance."
"Reporter Song is very serious in her work."
"Reporter Song likes to blush."
……
"Reporter Song is a bit cute."
Song Ran tried to think back, but couldn't remember clearly. She wonder if it was the day she threw him into the mud.
She looked through his mediocre records and turned to the day when she went from Garo to Hapo:
"I saw white olive trees today, with Reporter Song.
Very special.
Now in the eastern suburbs military camp,
It feels bad, and I worry about her safety. . . "
It was followed by three not so stable periods.
"I met Reporter Song again today. She said she wanted to give me a red rope. Her hands are very thin."
"She finally came to the bar."
His notes were very simple. He didn't record any inner emotions from beginning to end, and they were most bland.
After 926, the page was left blank. After turning the page, time passed and it was February of the following year.
"I met her at the airport. She seemed nice.
That's good. "
In the following days, "she" appeared frequently,
"It was snowing, and I met her again. She was holding a big black umbrella."
"I walked to Liangcheng TV station without knowing it."
"I met her in the middle of the street."
"I'm a little worried about the case of jumping off a building."
"I went to her house to warm up by the fire today."
"She came to the house to cook today."
"I confessed my love today, I'm a little nervous."
After that, there was a long, long gap, and time spanned again. The next note was in September last year, the day he flew to Gamma to join Cook's armed forces, and it was also the day she sent him a text message.
There are only two words in the note,
"Wanna die."
What follows is a long record of Cook’s soldiers. On which day the companions of the Cook soldiers died tragically; on which day we heard how many people were killed in battle; on which day they were training; on which explosive devices they were made; on which stronghold they were blown up.
Until December,
"Ran Ran came to Ale and sent a tweet."
He was probably in a hurry during that time and didn’t take many notes. After arriving in Cangdi, he returned to daily recording, with her appearance occasionally included:
"I want to go home and be with her."
"Today's classmate Xiao Song is like a little daughter-in-law."
Last mentioned:
"New Year's wish is to marry her.
If you don’t need anything else, as long as this is the case, it should be possible."
He wrote it on the morning of New Year’s Eve, before setting off to her house.
Turn the page again, there is no more;
There is a large blank space left in the notebook, and there is nothing left.
Because after that, he went to the hospital and never returned to the camp.
Song Ran didn't cry, and spent an entire night reading his records slowly and carefully.
In fact, most of the notebooks were related to military missions, and only a few words were mentioned about her. But that didn't stop this notebook from giving her great comfort.
She was holding a treasure as if she was about to go to bed. She turned on the lamp and lay on her side on the pillow, looking through his handwriting until she fell asleep unconsciously.
On the morning of August 2nd, Song Ran set off for the city further north.
Major Harvey saw her off for the last time, and Morgan followed her on the journey. He was worried about Song Ran being alone and insisted on accompanying her. He said that if Song Ran had an accident, he would not be able to face Li Zan, let alone forgive himself.
When leaving, Song Ran saw the dome of Cangdi Temple from a distance and said, "Can you take a detour there? I want to send a bouquet of flowers."
Song Ran bought a bouquet of red roses, held them carefully in her arms, and went to Cangdi Temple.
She walked into the temple, went up to the fourth floor, placed the red roses in the small compartment of the overlooking temple, and stood there for a while.
Outside the white marble window, olive groves stretch endlessly. The wind whimpered, and she remembered his low cries countless times in her dreams.
Ah Zan, can you give me some feedback?
However, the sun was shining brightly, the hot wind was blowing, and the temple was quiet, except for the gentle chanting coming from the bottom of the first floor.
Song Ran went downstairs, left the temple, walked through the long approach road, and walked towards the off-road vehicle parked on the side of the road.
As soon as I stepped down the steps, there was a commotion behind me.
Song Ran turned around, and saw a group of slovenly wanderers gathered around the altar beside the approach road, fighting for food. It was offered to God by local people.
"Those are 'lone ghosts'." Harvey said, "They are wanderers who lost their loved ones and suffered trauma during the war. There are hundreds of thousands of such people in the East now. They usually make a living by picking up garbage and grabbing offerings near temples. There simply aren’t enough shelters.”
The war seems to be over, but the scars left behind are far from healed.
Song Ran responded, still watching. Those people were dirty from their hair to their bare feet, their backs were stooped, and their bodies were thin. Some of them could not even tell whether they were men or women.
They looked less like humans and more like beasts, snatching the biscuits and pastries on the altar in a frantic and disorderly manner.
There was only one person, holding a piece of rice cake in both hands, hunching his shoulders, lowering his head, burying his head aside and chewing silently.
While she was still watching, Harvey said, "Song, let's go."
"...Okay." Song Ran walked to the car door and looked back. For some reason, she suddenly felt very uncomfortable.
At this time, a group of patrolling government troops passed by. The soldier yelled at the group and drove them away. The group of wanderers shrank and moved away with their food in hand.
The lone ghost was obscured by the figure and could not be seen.
Morgan lowered the window and asked, "Ruan, what happened?"
"It's okay." Song Ran said, "I was wondering if there was any food in the car for them. They are all poor people."
Just as he was talking, an Asian girl ran over and asked the soldiers on the roadside for directions, saying she wanted to go to the Grand Bazaar. The soldier pointed to the bus stop in front and said he should take the bus there.
The girl waved and ran away, just as a bus came into the stop.
"That's it!" the soldier shouted, "Run!"
At this moment, the lonely ghost next to the altar suddenly rushed over like the wind. His left foot was inconvenient and his running posture was weird, but he rushed down the steps very quickly, covered the Asian girl's mouth, wrapped his arms around her neck and ran towards the middle of the road.
Everyone was stunned on the spot and had no time to react.
Morgan immediately got out of the car to protect Song Ran.
The soldiers immediately drew their guns, aimed at the lone ghost, and shouted: "Let her go!"
"Let her go!"
The lonely ghost was unkempt, his clothes were ragged, and he was covered in mud. He seemed to be injured in his left foot and was limping. His long hair covered in mud covered his face, and his expression could not be seen clearly, but his whole body was in extreme panic and alert, and he held the girl tightly and struggled to escape. While looking back at the soldiers in fear, he dragged the girl forward lamely, as if the soldiers behind him were trying to kill him.
The girl whined and struggled; but he lowered his head and kept rubbing his cheek against the girl, as if to comfort her.
"Let her go! Otherwise we'll shoot!" The soldiers chased after her, roared, and fired on the concrete floor.
"Bang!" With a sound, the bullet shattered the cement at his feet.
The lonely ghost became more and more frightened and frightened, and immediately protected the girl behind him. But when he blocked the girl, he completely exposed himself.
"boom!"
One shot hit him in the calf.
He suddenly fell to the ground, but hurriedly pressed the girl under him, covering her with his body to prevent the soldiers' bullets from "aiming" at her.
Both of his legs were injured and he couldn't walk, but he hugged the girl tightly and struggled, using his hands and feet together, to crawl forward desperately.
"Let her go!" the soldiers warned loudly, "or we will shoot!"
"I won't miss your head this time!"
"I'm counting down to five!"
"5!"
Song Ran's heart was clenched, and he rushed up to the soldiers and said, "You can't shoot! He has no weapons at all!"
"4!"
"He has the strength to strangle that lady." The soldier took aim and shouted, "Let her go!"
"3!"
But the man refused to stop. He hugged the girl and crawled forward desperately. His legs were bleeding, dragging a long and terrifying blood trail. He was struggling and squirming on the ground, looking as miserable as a dog.
Song Ran: "You can't do this! You can't shoot!"
Harvey rushed out of the car: "Song, we can't control this matter."
"2!"
At that moment, the lonely ghost probably expected that his doom was coming. He put his elbows on the ground and tried his best to drag his thin and weak body. He kicked his legs, feet and knees as hard as he could, moving forward inch by inch. But he couldn't climb far, and he still refused to let go. He was sad and sad. He looked up at the sky and suddenly let out a desperate neigh in his throat: "Ah!!"
"1--"
For a moment, Song Ran's heart seemed to be torn apart by the scream. She looked shocked, suddenly lifted Harvey's hand, and rushed towards him like crazy.
The soldier who was aiming had no time to react and had already pulled the trigger. Morgan, who was catching up, grabbed his hand and raised the gun.
With a "bang" sound, the bullet hit the sky.
Song Ran rushed to his side, and saw him holding the Asian girl with his head down, covering her neck. His shoulders were shaking, his body was heaving violently, and tears were falling one by one, as if the girl in his arms was hurt by the gunshot just now. died in.
The girl covered her mouth with him, terrified.
Song Ran stared at his right hand blankly. The wrist and palm were horribly thin, and the fingers were cut off in two. She couldn't tell the difference anymore.
Song Ran's eyes slowly moved up, staring at him, his face covered by dirty hair. He cried silently.
She reached out to push his hair away. The moment the finger touched his forehead, his whole body trembled suddenly, as if he wanted to hide, but he stopped instantly and did not move away.
He suddenly stopped, motionless, and slowly relaxed his arms.
The Asian girl cried and finally broke free from her restraints, rolling and crawling away.
He and she were the only ones left in the empty street.
Song Ran trembled all over, even her breathing was trembling. She suppressed and restrained, and finally slowly pushed the dirty hair away from his face.
In an instant, unprecedented pain hit my head, as if it carried an unbearable weight. Her heart was torn into millions of pieces in an instant, and the pain was so painful that she almost died.
"Ah!!!"
She let out a shrill cry like an animal, rushed forward, hugged him tightly into her arms, and howled loudly,
"A-Zan, I am Ran Ran. I am Ran Ran!"