In the blink of an eye, April had arrived. Azaleas bloomed across the mountains, and down below in the village, along the roadsides and before the doorways, peach blossoms burst into lush bloom—tree by tree, cluster by cluster, lining the lanes in rows and curving arcs.
The fresh, tender pink of the blossoms mingled haphazardly with the weathered black roof tiles of the old houses. There was no deliberate composition to it, yet it was a pleasing sight all the same.
Xiao Hei in the village finally learned that Xiao Cui intended to marry someone far away, so he shouldered his bags and set off ahead of time to work in the city, saying he would get settled and wait for her. After the hunchbacked old woman's dog gave birth, her grandson's wife bore a baby as well. The bearded old man with six daughters bought the village's very first television, setting off a string of firecrackers the day they carried it up from the foot of the mountain...
When Han Qingyu and the others came up to the outpost, Wen Jifei was playing with the dog. In the whole group, he was the only one exempt from formation drills, leaving him with the most free time. That, combined with his fondness for lying prone atop the outpost to practice aiming, meant he often loafed around up here.
The black puppy, Bu Mang, was growing quickly. It was already nearly knee-high, its coat glossy and black, its eyes bright and spirited, though it was still constantly bullied by Mangmang Mangmang.
It was hard to say how common it was for cats and dogs to play together like this, but from what they had heard, the two usually disliked each other. On second thought, it was probably because Mangmang Mangmang didn't act like a cat at all.
People always said cats were aloof and proud, yet it loved bustling crowds, darting wherever people gathered and wherever there was a commotion. Rushing about all day without a moment's rest, the squad had taken to calling it the "busybody cat."
"Let me show you something impressive—take a look at the results of my recent training... and by that, I mean the dog." As Wen Jifei spoke, his hand stroked Bu Mang's head, while he held out his other hand under its nose to let it sniff.
He had stashed away two knuckle-sized fragments of Great Spike black armor, secretly pocketed back on the outskirts in Nepal when he saw that Great Spike hacked to death by the Alphonse family guards.
Back then, the idea of raising a dog had already crossed his mind. He was a rifleman, after all; a hunter accompanied by a hound was only natural logic. It was just that the quarry he intended to hunt in the future happened to be Great Spikes.
"The other piece, I hid it in a pile of leaves beside the training grounds before coming up. Watch this." Having finished his explanation, Plague Chicken pointed a finger and bellowed, "Go, my super Great Spike tracker... Black Lightning, Destroyer of Great Spikes, Divine Hound Bu Mang!"
"Go on, Bu Mang... Go, Bu Mang... Dammit, all those good treats I bring you every day were wasted on you!"
In the end, Wen Jifei had to physically shove the little black dog forward a couple of meters with his own hands... At last, with a bark, Bu Mang shot forward.
It really was heading in the direction of the garrison.
Bounding nimbly without making a peep, laser-focused on its objective, the black figure quickly vanished beneath the ridge.
"No way, really?" Han Qingyu and the others stood on tiptoe to watch, feeling a spark of anticipation... Even if it might not have much practical use, it really seemed like it was working.
Everyone waited for Bu Mang to fetch back the other armor fragment. After a spell of quiet, a ruckus finally erupted.
Bu Mang came racing in front, with Old Du, the garrison mess hall cook, hot on its heels.
Old Master Du brandished a ladle by the handle, waving it as he chased and cursed, "Whose stray mutt is this?! Damn it, stealing my meat... I'll stew you in my pot! Halt!"
Taking a closer look, sure enough, Bu Mang had a slab of cured bacon clamped in its jaws.
Could Great Spikes smell like cured bacon? Everyone stifled their laughter and turned to look at Wen Jifei, their expressions practically saying: *As expected of a dog trained by someone entirely improper.*
"Aiyo, I must've brought it meat too often... Wu Xu, look at your useless dog!" Shifting the blame, Wen Jifei scrambled to his feet and trotted down the slope.
As he ran, he pulled out cigarettes, hurrying to smooth things over.
Bu Mang dodged past him, its black silhouette bounding with agile leaps, looking utterly thrilled. Upon reaching them, it trotted back and forth before Han Qingyu and Wu Xu with the bacon in its mouth, head bobbing high and meat swaying as though claiming credit for a heroic deed.
Wu Xu grabbed it by the scruff, snatched away the bacon, and gave it a thorough scolding, twisting its ears as he lectured it. He was always careful and cautious around the garrison, likely afraid that any trouble might jeopardize his qualification review, which still hung in limbo from higher up.
He didn't understand the bureaucracy of reviews, but he did want to join Azure. At the same time, knowing that voicing it would put Han Qingyu in a difficult spot, he had kept quiet about it all along.
"Don't worry, I'll definitely get this settled for you," Han Qingyu said suddenly, rescuing Bu Mang from his grip.
Wu Xu turned to look at him. After a moment of silence, he said, "Yeah, I know. But there's no rush, and don't force it, Qingzi... Even if it can't be resolved, as long as I can rush over in time whenever you guys get into a fight, like this, that's enough."
It was rare for him to speak at such length. After a pause, he added, "Though why don't you ever fight... I thought you'd be fighting all day."
"Listen to you, as if I'm not anxious, as if I don't want to fight! I'm sitting here eating through my savings right now." Han Qingyu felt gloomy. It wasn't his fault the Great Spikes simply refused to show up... Station life like this was far too passive.
***
Across a mountain ravine, atop the peak opposite them, amidst the dense foliage:
Yu Yindou drew back his leaned-forward torso and lowered the binoculars in his hand.
The binoculars were striped with red, green, and black, made of cheap plastic... bought earlier by his subordinates at a children's toy shop, and barely usable.
It was all because they were broke. Feeding more than thirty mouths every day meant plain rice and pickled vegetables; when going out, they couldn't even afford bus fare and had walked all the way... Just now, seeing that slab of cured bacon in the dog's mouth, Yu Yindou had even swallowed his own saliva.
Yu Yindou had no ready cash, possessing only silver dollars and antiques. Yet in the neighboring small county towns, he couldn't find a decent buyer no matter how hard he tried; the last time he brought out a painting by Wu Changshuo, the other party offered a measly twenty yuan.
In short, they were poor enough to consider robbery, holding back each day through sheer grit only because they feared exposing their trail.
Yu Yindou planned to relocate once this job was done.
"Dad, how is it?" Yu Fengzi asked.
Yu Yindou shook his head. "Words alone probably won't sway him..." In a low voice pitched for those behind him to hear, he said, "His current masters treat him pretty well."
Yu Yindou had watched the entire scene just now. This was already the third day of observing them (before this, he had spent nearly two months searching for his missing people, though he had stumbled upon this Azure garrison while searching for them). Seeing Wu Xu's current life and turning it over in his mind, he felt that convincing him might prove very difficult.
"Then what do we do?" Yu Fengzi asked again, before suggesting, "How about we drop it, Dad... Let's just sneak in under cover of night, kill that traitor Wu Xu, and leave for another place."
Fixing his gaze across the ravine, Yu Yindou shook his head. "Do you think opportunities like this come around all the time? I'm set on sinking my teeth into this piece of meat. We wait. We wait for the right moment."
"Oh. Then what counts as the right moment?"
"When a Great Spike descends—that's our moment."
***
[Dad, Mom, how are you both doing?
Was the village lively during the New Year? Did Third Great-Uncle bring up that time I blew cow dung all over him when I was little again this year?
If business at the little shop is busy, remember to get enough rest. And be sure to keep a few more workers from our own village staying at the shop each night.
If someone really acts like a tyrant or tries to bully you, bear with it if you have to.
Your son earns cash bonuses for meritorious service here, as you already know, so you don't need to save up a bride price fund for me. As long as you stay safe and healthy and wait for your son to return and fulfill his filial duties, that is enough.
I didn't write for quite a while recently because I performed very well in the army and have been transferred to another formidable unit now. Uncle Lao came along too, and he's always looking out for me.
By the way, when you write back in the future, check the envelope—you'll need to use a new address.
My health is great too. I've gotten a lot sturdier. If I came back to chop firewood or work the fields, I might even carry more than Dad.
...]
Han Qingyu was writing a letter home.
Lao Jian was taking a phone call from Regimental Commander Li.
"Hahahaha, what an honor! Before anyone knew it, 1777 stood on equal footing with the Golden Eraser for once... Honestly, you didn't even mention it to me beforehand! I only found out about this commendation circular because someone else saw it and told me."
Li Wangqiang had clearly been drinking, sounding thoroughly elated on the other end of the line. "Have you seen the commendation notice yourselves?... You haven't? Higher-ups said that because it was an emergency situation, all the metal blocks refined from it are being distributed as rewards. Squad 1777 will get at least twenty blocks, easily!"
"That's not bad then." At this, Lao Jian finally showed a flash of excitement, though gloom quickly crept back in. "Still, there haven't been any missions. It's been over two months now, and these kids have nowhere to channel their enthusiasm... If this keeps up, I'm going to turn from a squad captain into a village chief..."
*Beep, beep-beep.* Right as he said that, the garrison's landline communicator rang out.
Lao Jian hastily answered.
"Alert! Sector 1777 alert! A shuttle-shaped craft is projected to land near Blocks 4 through 8 in your sector shortly. Please prepare for deployment. Please prepare for deployment. Acknowledge transmission."
Chapter 190