Book 4, Chapter 237: The Past Is A Puzzle

Chen Chuan first told Nian Fuli and Yu Wan about the Great Crash. As a martial arts master’s family, they had the right to know these things.

In truth, he could have let them know after becoming a lead investigator, but he didn’t because he was worried that Nian Fuli and Yu Wan would be worried after learning about the truth.

However, as the Great Crash drew closer and they were about to go to Central City, Chen Chuan needed to let them know about it.

Upon hearing it, Nian Fuli and Yu Wan were shocked and felt as if their knowledge of the world had shattered.

“I-Is this true, Chan’er?” Yu Wan asked.

Chen Chuan nodded. “Every word.”

Nian Fuli soon calmed down. “Speaking of this, I remembered something from back when I served in the military. There was a period of time when we went somewhere we didn’t know. Light filled the sky there, and things around the battlefield felt off. I never figured out why that was, but now that I think about it, we might have gone to the merged space you just mentioned.”

Chen Chuan’s heart stirred at that. “You did talk about this when I was a kid. Didn’t you say that you went to fight rebels?”

“Yes. The newspapers said that the army went to fight against the rebels,” Yu Wan chimed in.

“That’s the official account. They said we went to fight rebels in the north.”

Nian Fuli huffed. “Back then, I was in my early twenties, and we believed whatever our superiors said. We also went to fight wherever our commanding officers sent us. Most of the time, we either dug trenches or built forts. We were exhausted every single day and didn’t have time to think about anything else. It’s only when we left and had free time that we started realizing that some things were off. After a while, I figured that it was useless thinking about it, since it was all in the past.”

He shook his head.

Chen Chuan mulled over it before asking, “Didn’t you say that the army suffered great casualties, and you even ran into some strange events?”

Nian Fuli bobbed his head. “I never told you all the details. Back then, the war was nearing the end. We occupied one of the rebels’ train stations, and my company commander asked me and another comrade to guard a warehouse.

“My comrade could jump six feet into the air and never stayed still, as if he had a needle up his ass. We called him Flea for that.

“That night, we kept hearing voices from the warehouse, as if something was knocking against it, while at other times, it sounded like something was climbing the wall. Flea drew close to listen a few times, but could not figure out what it was.

“We kept watch until midnight. Then, two men in black came over, showed us their IDs, and asked us for help.

“Flea and I were the only ones around, so we couldn’t leave. The men in black originally picked me, but Flea couldn’t sit still and insisted on taking my place. He even gave me half a pack of cigarettes to back out.”

Fear flickered in Nian Fuli’s eyes. “I remember the men in black laughing and saying that Flea could go.

“Soon after, the sounds from the warehouse disappeared, but I never saw Flea again. Also, strangely enough, I could not remember what was written on their IDs nor their faces.

“I asked the company leader about this, and his expression changed. He told me to keep quiet. After that, my company and I left the place.”

Unable to help himself, Nian Fuli lit up another cigarette. “A few years later, the company leader became the director of the Constabulary. Once, after drinking, I talked about it again, but the company leader told me that he didn’t remember any soldier called Flea serving under him. He also told me that it was another person who guarded the warehouse with me. That person suffered from such horrible diarrhea that he lost all strength after it.”

Yu Wan was terrified upon hearing this. “W-Who exactly was Flea?”

Nian Fuli sucked in a deep breath and said bitterly, “Who knows? Even now, I can’t tell whether what I saw was real, or whether my company leader was telling the truth. All I know is that if Flea hadn’t been around and hadn’t taken my place, I would likely not have made it back.”

Chen Chuan considered it. If Nian Fuli had been fighting in the merged space back then, this situation was highly likely to have occurred. “Uncle, do you know where the fighting took place?”

After some thinking, Nian Fuli said, “I only remember sitting in a ship that sailed for a few days and nights. It might have been heading north. I couldn’t really tell. When we left, everyone felt dizzy, though we didn’t know the reason behind it. We felt dizzy when we retreated too. What I remember the most was the colorful light that filled the night sky.

“Isn’t there an army stationed in Frozen Valley City? I always thought that might have been where we had landed, though I wasn’t sure.”

Chen Chuan nodded and decided to commit this to memory. He believed that it might be related to a certain matter.

Worry appeared on Yu Wan’s face. “Chan’er, we can go to Central City to run away from the Great Crash, but what about our neighbors?”

“Yangzhi City is my hometown too, Aunty. Our neighbors watched me grow up. If there comes a day when I’m strong enough, I’ll try my best to protect everyone here,” Chen Chuan promised.

That only made Yu Wan even more worried. “Chan’er...”

“Relax, Aunty. I’ll only do my best and won’t push myself. Uncle has always said to not bite off more than I can chew, right?” Chen Chuan said with a smile.

“Exactly,” Nian Fuli said and patted Yu Wan’s back. “Xiao Chuan will consider these things on his own. He has a high position now and can see further than we do. We don’t need to worry about him.”

Yu Wan nodded.

“Alright. Let’s not talk about such somber things anymore. The New Year is right around the corner. We can talk about them again after the celebration. How long are you going to stay this time, Xiao Chuan?” Nian Fuli asked.

“If there are no emergencies, a month,” Chen Chuan answered.

“That’s good. I was just about to tell you that Xiao Qian sent a telegram back saying that he’s coming back this year. But he’s taking a naval ship, so we can’t really tell when he’s coming back. If things go smoothly, he should be back tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. The moment he disembarks, he’ll send a telegram,” Nian Fuli said.

“Oh? Nian Qian is coming back this year? That’s good news,” Chen Chuan said.

His cousin had been transferred to the island nations a while back. The war there had pretty much wrapped up, so it was about time that he came back.

After a little more talking, Chen Chuan got up and helped clean things up before he brought his luggage to his room. Once he set it down, he went to his table and stared at the young man and woman smiling at him from the photo. He picked it up and took a look.

Clearly, even when he wasn’t around, Yu Wan cleaned his room every day. There was not a speck of dust on the photo frame.

As he stared at it, he compared the young man and woman with all that he saw in his inherited memories. The scenes from the past flashed before his eyes. He shut them slowly. When he opened them again, his gaze had sharpened.

Suddenly, the phone rang in the living room. After a while, it rang again, and again, and it just kept going. If Chen Chuan was right, the phone calls were all from people who wanted to form ties with Nian Fuli. Some might even be the parents of Nian Mo and Nian Lu’s classmates. It was obvious why they were calling, though. All of them wanted to get closer to them.

Most of the people in peripheral cities wanted to go to Central City, but just going there wasn’t enough. They needed a legitimate status. Now that Chen Chuan had become a major government official in Central City, it was only right for him to take care of his friends and elders, no?

Nian Fuli had been in the Constabulary for more than twenty years and had seen all sorts of people before. When he spoke to them, he kept beating around the bush while remaining tight-lipped. The listeners felt as if he had made some sort of promise, but once they really thought about it, they would realize that he might not have promised them anything.

***

Cheng Zitong’s phone had also started ringing after Chen Chuan came back to Yangzhi City. He had his hands behind his back while humming a simple tune and looking at the beautiful Spring-Autumn Lake outside his window. No matter how many times his phone rang, he didn’t answer it.

He then cast a glance at where Qiao Linhu originally stayed, and melancholy rose in his heart. What a pity. He hadn’t eaten the tasty food at his senior brother’s place ever since he went to Central City.

It had been half a year. Cheng Zitong missed him so much.

He looked in Central City’s direction. As the sun shone on his even rounder face, he put on his sunglasses and grinned.

Old man, that’s my mentee! Are you going to finally admit that my method works too?

***

The next morning, Nian Fuli received a telegram from the Telegraph Office. It was from his eldest son, Nian Qian. He had arrived at Farsight Harbor at 3 a.m. today and was on his way via bus. It would stop at a checkpoint.

Nian Fuli had planned to borrow a car from the Constabulary, but Chen Chuan had one and said that there was no need for that. They could just take his car to pick Nian Qian up.

That worked, so Nian Fuli went to his room, changed his clothes, combed his hair and shaved in front of the mirror to hide his white hair. Once he was done, he came out. Yu Wan was ready and was adjusting Nian Mo’s slanted hat. She turned around and asked, “What took you so long, Fuli?”

“Patience. That brat hasn’t been home for years. He can spend some time waiting for us,” Nian Fuli shot back.

Yu Wan patted his arm and huffed. “Stubborn old man.”

Chen Chuan laughed. Anyone could tell that Nian Fuli might have been pretending not to care, but he was actually the happiest among them all about Nian Qian’s return.

They stepped outside. Amid the greetings from the neighbors who had woken up early, they went to the entrance of the alley and took the brand new SUV that the airship had lowered the day before.

Once they settled down and fastened their seat belts, Chen Chuan turned on the engine and went onto the main road.

On the way, he saw many patrols. The entire residential area was full of constables keeping watch. Clearly, the Constabulary had increased the security level of the area.

As they continued driving out of the city, the constables on the road saluted Chen Chuan.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.