Chen Chuan first explained the matter of the Great Collision to Nian Fuli and Yu Wan. As relatives of a martial artist, they were certainly entitled to know.
In truth, he could have informed his family back when he was an Investigation Supervisor. He hadn't said anything before simply because he feared knowing the truth would only cause his uncle and aunt needless worry.
Now, however, as the Great Collision drew nearer and they would soon relocate to Center City, he felt it was necessary to bring it up.
After hearing about it, both Nian Fuli and Yu Wan were utterly shocked, feeling as though their entire worldview had been shattered.
Yu Wan asked, "Chan'er, is... is this true?"
Chen Chuan nodded. "It's true."
Nian Fuli, on the other hand, regained his composure rather quickly. "Xiao Chuan, speaking of this, it suddenly reminds me of when I was in the army. For a period back then, we didn't even know where we had ended up. All we saw was light filling the sky, and everything around that battlefield was bizarrely wrong.
"There were things I could never figure out back then. Thinking about it now, the place we went to was very likely the Confluence you're talking about."
Chen Chuan's heart stirred slightly. "Uncle, I remember you mentioning that when I was little. Weren't you saying you went to fight rebels?"
Yu Wan chimed in, "That's right, Lao Nian. I remember the newspapers that year saying you were fighting rebels."
"The official line was that we were fighting northern rebel forces."
Nian Fuli let out a dry chuckle. "I was only in my early twenties back then. I believed whatever the higher-ups told us. Our superiors told us where to strike, and we struck. When we weren't fighting, we spent the rest of our time digging trenches or building fortifications, dog-tired all day long. Who had the energy to think about much else? It wasn't until things quieted down that I started sensing something wasn't quite right. And later on... well, it had all passed anyway, so what was the point of dwelling on it?" As he spoke, he shook his head.
Chen Chuan pondered for a moment and said, "Uncle, I remember you saying the unit suffered heavy casualties, and that you encountered some very bizarre things?"
Nian Fuli nodded silently. "There's one thing I never told you two. It was toward the tail end of the war. We had captured a rebel train station, and the Old Company Commander put me and another comrade in charge of guarding a warehouse.
"That fellow could leap six chi into the air with a single bound. It was like he had nails under his backside—he couldn't sit still for a second. We called him 'Flea.' Boundless energy.
"That night, the two of us kept hearing strange sounds coming from inside the warehouse—like thuds hitting the walls, or something crawling along them. Flea crept up to listen several times, but he couldn't figure out what it was.
"We stood guard into the second half of the night when two people in black coats walked over. They flashed their credentials and told us they needed one of us to help them.
"There were only the two of us, Flea and me, so we couldn't both leave. The person in black originally pointed at me, but Flea was too restless to stay put. He insisted on going in my place and even shoved half a pack of cigarettes into my hand."
At this point, a lingering dread surfaced in Nian Fuli's eyes. "I remember the man smiling slightly at Flea and saying, 'Fine, you then.'
"Not long after Flea went out with them—it was the strangest thing—the sounds inside the warehouse stopped. And after that, I never saw Flea again. What was even weirder was that I couldn't remember what was written on those credentials, and now I can't even remember what those two men looked like.
"Later, I quietly asked the Old Company Commander about it. His face changed the instant he heard, and he growled at me to shut my mouth. After that, I was pulled back with the troops."
He couldn't resist lighting up another cigarette. "A few years later, the Old Company Commander became the constabulary chief, and over drinks one day, I brought it up again. The Old Company Commander told me he had no memory of anyone like that in our unit at all. He said the comrade assigned to guard the warehouse with me was someone else entirely—it was just that the guy had suffered a terrible bout of diarrhea and was so dehydrated and weak that he never went."
Yu Wan listened with a shuddering heart. "Lao Nian, then... then who was Flea?"
Nian Fuli took a long drag and gave a bitter smile. "Who knows? To this day, I can't tell whether the Old Company Commander's version or what I experienced was the truth. All I know is, whether Flea truly existed or not, if he hadn't stepped forward, I wouldn't have made it back alive."
Chen Chuan thought it over. If the battlefield had indeed been located in the Confluence, such anomalies were entirely possible. He then asked, "Uncle, do you remember where the fighting took place?"
Nian Fuli considered it. "I only remember that at the very beginning, we rode a steamship for several days and nights, heading north, I think. I can't say for sure, because the entire way there, everyone was completely groggy and lightheaded—no idea why. It was the same when we withdrew. What etched itself deepest into my memory was the colored light that filled the night sky everywhere.
"I reckon it might have been around where Hangu City is now in the north, where an army garrison is still stationed. That might have been where we landed, but I have no way to be sure."
Chen Chuan nodded, committing the details to memory, for it occurred to him that another matter might be connected to this.
A look of worry surfaced on Yu Wan's face. "Chan'er, if that collision you mentioned happens... we can move to Center City, but what about our neighbors and the people around us? They..."
Chen Chuan replied earnestly, "Aunt, Yangzhi is my hometown too. Those neighbors watched me grow up. If that day ever comes and I have the power to do so, I will do everything I can to keep the people here safe."
Yu Wan's worry only deepened. "Chan'er..."
Chen Chuan smiled. "Don't worry, Aunt. I will act strictly within my capabilities and won't bite off more than I can chew—just like Uncle always says: 'Eat only as much rice as your bowl can hold.'"
Nian Fuli chimed in, "That's right." He patted Yu Wan's back. "Xiao Chuan will weigh these things himself. He stands tall and sees far; there's no need for us to worry on his behalf."
Yu Wan nodded.
"All right, let's not dwell on such gloomy topics. The New Year is almost here. Whatever it is, we can talk about it after the holidays."
Nian Fuli turned to Chen Chuan. "Xiao Chuan, how long are you staying this time?"
Chen Chuan said, "Barring any urgent official duties, about a month."
Nian Fuli said, "That's wonderful! In fact, I was just about to tell you—Xiao Qian sent a telegram saying he's coming home this year too. But he's traveling by ship, and coming out of the military means the schedule is uncertain. If all goes smoothly, he should arrive tomorrow or the day after. He'll telegraph us the moment he comes ashore."
Chen Chuan said, "Oh? Cousin is coming back this year too? That's great news."
He recalled that his cousin had previously been transferred to the Outer Ocean. Now that the hostilities there were essentially over, it was indeed time for him to return.
After chatting a bit longer, Chen Chuan stood up and helped tidy up before carrying his luggage back to his room. After putting his things away, he stepped up to his desk. Gazing at the young man and woman smiling back at him from the framed photograph, he picked it up and studied it.
Clearly, even while he was away, his aunt tidied his room every day; not a speck of dust could be found on the frame.
He gazed at it in silence, matching the faces to the experiences etched in his memory as scenes drifted across his mind's eye. Slowly, he closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, a razor-sharp glint shone within them.
Out in the living room, the telephone suddenly began to ring, and once it started, it rang incessantly. Unsurprisingly, every caller was looking to curry favor with Nian Fuli. Some were even parents of Nian Lu and Nian Mo's classmates. Their motives, however, were plain as day: nothing more than trying to pull strings and establish connections.
Most residents of peripheral cities longed to move to Center City. Yet simply arriving there was not enough; one also needed legitimate status. And hadn't Nian Fuli's nephew just become a high-ranking official in Center City? Wouldn't it be entirely natural and proper for him to look after a few friends or elders?
Having spent more than two decades in the constabulary, Nian Fuli had seen every type of person under the sun. His words were airtight, turning away caller after caller with practiced ease. One might feel as though he had agreed to something, but on closer inspection, he had promised nothing at all.
Meanwhile, back at Wuyi Academy, the telephone on Cheng Zitong's desk had been ringing constantly ever since Chen Chuan returned to Yangzhi. Cheng Zitong simply clasped his hands behind his back, hummed a little tune, and stood by the window admiring the view over Chunqiu Lake. No matter how loudly the phone rang, he refused to pick it up.
He glanced toward the residence where his senior brother Qiao Linhu had once lived, his heart tinged with wistfulness. What a pity—ever since Senior Brother left for Center City, he hadn't been able to eat that fragrant, piping-hot rice at his place.
In the half-year Senior Brother had been gone, he truly missed him.
He turned his gaze toward Center City. Sunlight fell across his increasingly chubby face. Facing into the light, he put on his sunglasses, the corners of his mouth curling into a grin. *Old man, that's my, Cheng Zitong's, student! Well? Are you impressed or what?!*
Early the next morning, Nian Fuli received a telegram delivered from the telegraph office. It was from his eldest son, Nian Qian, saying his ferry had arrived at Yuanwang Port around three in the morning and that he was currently on a passenger bus heading back, which would likely stop near the checkpoint.
Nian Fuli had originally planned to borrow a vehicle from the constabulary to pick him up, but Chen Chuan happened to have a car and said it wasn't necessary; he would drive the whole family to meet his cousin.
Nian Fuli agreed that this was a good idea and went back to his room to tidy up and change. He stood before the mirror, combing his hair, trimming his beard, and doing his best to tuck away his gray hairs. Only once he had finished did he come back out. Yu Wan had finished getting ready long ago. After straightening Nian Mo's crooked cap, she turned and asked, "Lao Nian, what took you so long?"
Nian Fuli said, "What's the rush? That brat hasn't come home in years. Is he going to be upset about waiting a few minutes for his old man?"
Yu Wan gave him a light smack, teasing, "Stubborn to the end, aren't you?"
Chen Chuan couldn't help but smile. Anyone could see that while Nian Fuli feigned complete indifference on the surface, he was happier than anyone to hear his eldest son was returning.
The family stepped out of the house. Amid greetings from morning neighbors along the way, they walked to the street entrance and boarded the brand-new off-road vehicle Chen Chuan had shipped back on the airship.
Once the whole family was settled in and their seatbelts fastened, Chen Chuan started the engine, slowly drove out of the street, and turned onto the main road outside.
Security had visibly been stepped up. Armed personnel patrolled all around the perimeter of the constabulary residential quarters; evidently, the Civil Affairs Department had raised the security alert level for the neighboring blocks.
After exiting the quarters, the off-road vehicle made its way toward the outskirts of the city, flanked by guards along the streets who snapped salutes as it passed.
Chapter 845