Chapter 09

In the days that followed, Ruan Nianchu clearly noticed that the entire camp’s defense became more rigorous. The number of personnel for patrols and guard duty tripled from the original.

Li Teng continued to be busy, leaving early and returning late. For most of the day, he stayed in Tuwa’s place for meetings.

Tuwa was cunning and cautious, causing headaches for governments in the Golden Triangle region for years. The group of bandits under him, though lacking in education, were all ruthless characters without exception. Whenever there were orders from above, they would meticulously plan a detailed and thorough strategy beforehand.

This operation involved the top boss, and everyone dared not take it lightly.

“This deal is significant, and the boss has decided to personally negotiate with the buyer.”

In a dimly lit room, Tuwa spoke while bowing three times to the Guanyin statue in front of him, lighting incense and paying respects to the Buddha. He spoke with devout sincerity, “Our territory is hidden, deep in the mountains, surrounded by minefields. It’s not easily accessible, making it relatively safe. That’s why the boss chose our place for the meeting with the buyer. We all rely on the boss for our livelihoods. Put in a bit more effort, and once the deal is done, the boss will naturally reward us well.”

After speaking, the short and chubby man jumped up and patted his chest, saying, “Grandpa, rest assured. The few of us brothers will follow your lead without hesitation. Whatever you command, we’ll do without question!”

Someone sneered from the side, “You just have a mouth that talks big. When it comes to fighting, isn’t it always Brother Li who takes the lead? If you have the guts, let your own knife taste some blood.”

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Wllzkdt wdlypu, vbl nbwccu xyd vakle vs nshla wr yde pbswvle, “Ebs pyup xu jdkql bypd’v vypvle czsse!” Ekvb vbyv, bl ealo bkp oykpv jdkql yde xyel y pbyar pswde yp bl pzyxxle kv sdvs vbl vyczl, rldlvayvkdt vbl osse cu vball kdnblp. “R yx zsuyz vs Qaydery yde vbl cspp. Gp zsdt yp vblu tkhl vbl saela, R’zz jkzz tsep sa pzywtbvla Jweebyp!”

Gv vbyv xsxldv, yqvla Mwoy qkdkpble sqqlakdt kdnldpl yde rzyule okvb bkp rayula clyep, bl zlkpwalzu alvwadle vs bkp xykd plyv, nypvkdt y pkelzsdt tzydnl yv vbl nbwccu xyd. “Fsxlvbkdt vbyv nyd’v xlypwal wr. Jsvb sq usw yal wdela xu nsxxyde, ulv vblal’p pwnb y pvyaj ekqqlaldnl clvolld usw yde Nll,” bl pyke okvb y nszela lmralppksd. “Ebld ol’al byhkdt yd kdvladyz xllvkdt, rwv uswa jdkql yoyu.”

“…,” vbl pbsav yde nbwccu xyd qsanle y pxkzl yde alzwnvydvzu pblyvble bkp jdkql.

Gqvla y xsxldv, Mwoy zssjle vs bkp aktbv yde ypjle, “Nll, bso yal vbkdtp sd uswa lde?”

Nk Mldt, lmralppksdzlpp, nyzxzu alrzkle, “Mbl ldvkal nyxr byp clld wdela y nsxrzlvl zsnjesod qsa plhld nsdplnwvkhl eyup. Ls sdl kp yzzsole kd sa swv, yde vbl ryvasz yaly byp lmrydele vs y ayekwp sq vld jkzsxlvlap yaswde vbl nyxr. Jlpkelp alnsddykppydnl rlapsddlz, yzz nsxxwdknyvksd elhknlp byhl clld nsxrzlvlzu elpvasule. Mblal pbswzed’v cl ydu rasczlxp.”

Mwoy pxkzle okvb pyvkpqynvksd, “R vawpv usw vs bydezl vbkdtp.”

Gv vbyv xsxldv, vblal olal vos jdsnjp sd vbl essa qasx swvpkel.

Mwoy qasodle, “Ebs kp kv?”

A voice from outside, presumably Ah Xin, replied, “It’s time to add some gold to the Bodhisattva.”

Tuwa glanced at the clock on the wall, indicating it was exactly 7 PM. He then said, “Come in.”

Ah Xin pushed open the door, carrying several pieces of gold leaf and walked in, passing by everyone to carefully apply gold powder to the Guanyin statue.

The attention of the people in the room didn’t linger on the woman for too long.

Tuwa took a sip of tea and after a moment, as if suddenly remembering something, he said, “Oh, by the way. The meeting time originally agreed upon by the boss and the buyer was tomorrow night at 8 PM. However, something came up on the boss’s end, so it has been moved up to 5 PM in the afternoon. But it shouldn’t have a significant impact.”

Ah Xin’s hands momentarily paused.

Li Teng’s eyes slightly lowered, revealing no emotion.

Soon, the gold leaf was used up, and Ah Xin turned around, picking up a water bottle to refill the cups on the table. Passing by Li Teng, their eyes briefly met for a fraction of a second before quickly looking away.

Then, Ah Xin hunched her back and left the room.

• That evening, Little Tori came to talk to Ruan Nianchu again. The girl and the young boy chatted while having dinner, using English for simple communication, which turned out to be quite interesting.

As they spoke, Ah Xin’s figure slowly swayed past the window. Hunched over, she walked with unsteady steps, holding a basin full of dirty clothes in her arms.

Little Tori peeked out and said in English, “So many dirty clothes again today. The grandmother works really hard.”

Ruan Nianchu looked at the large basin of dirty clothes, thinking of the elderly woman’s cracked and aged hands. She frowned, “Does she have so many clothes to wash every day?”

Little Tori struggled for a moment and nodded, “More or less. Almost every evening, she goes to the riverside to wash clothes.”

After chatting with Ah Xin for a while, suddenly, Ruan Nianchu thought of something and couldn’t help but be curious. “By the way, who taught you English? Your spoken English seems to have improved a lot compared to before.” In this impoverished country, children in ordinary villages couldn’t receive proper education, especially those growing up in such an environment.

In response, the young boy suddenly revealed a mysterious smile and gestured with his fingers.

Ruan Nianchu leaned closer to him.

In a hushed tone, the boy said, “It’s Lee.”

Li Teng?

Ruan Nianchu was surprised, “Lee? He can speak English?” She had always thought of him as a somewhat uncultured savage, capable of speaking Khmer and Chinese, perhaps solely because he was of Chinese-Cambodian descent.

Little Tori nodded emphatically, expressing admiration in English, “Brother Li is very good at English. He’s an extraordinary and very kind person.”

“Oh really,” Ruan Nianchu responded indifferently.

Little Tori was very serious, “Of course. Brother Li also told me that you are very pitiful, so he asked me to come and talk to you more.”

“…,” she hesitated for a moment, about to reply when she heard voices not far away, speaking in Khmer.

First, a man’s voice, agitated and loud, as if angrily shouting.

Then, the following voice belonged to an old woman, hoarse, terrified, and timid. Ruan Nianchu recognized it as Ah Xin’s. Her heart sank, she gritted her teeth, and quickly stood up, rushing out of the house.

A few minutes later, in the narrow pathway between two bamboo huts, she found Ah Xin.

The old woman’s scattered hair was gathered up, looking somewhat disheveled as she lay on the ground. A sturdy square-faced man was holding her collar, berating her loudly. In front of them stood a tall man, biting a cheap cigarette, with a slightly furrowed brow and an impatient expression.

It was Li Teng.

She halted her steps, retreating behind a wooden wall.

The sturdy man complained, “Brother Li, didn’t you say during these special days nothing is allowed in or out? This old lady deliberately let this garment flow downstream while washing clothes.” He handed a tattered gauze skirt to Li Teng, saying, “I fished it out in no time! Look!”

Ah Xin wiped away tears, “I didn’t do it on purpose, really. I’m just an old bone, my hands have problems due to my age. Sometimes, I accidentally lose a few items while washing clothes. It wasn’t intentional.”

“Shut up.”

Li Teng scolded in a low voice, squinting at the gauze skirt, then bending down, he handed it back to Ah Xin. “Take it. Don’t lose it again.”

Ah Xin took the clothes, thanked him repeatedly, stood up, and hurriedly left.

Ruan Nianchu’s eyes flickered. Whether it was a misconception or not, she saw that when Ah Xin left, it seemed like she glanced at Li Teng, her gaze profound.

After Ah Xin left, the square-faced man scratched his head, looking at Li Teng, “Li Ge, just let her go like that?”

Li Teng glanced at him, “What else do you want?”

Hearing the unfriendly tone, the sturdy man smirked, slipped away, and vanished. Li Teng bit the cigarette, stood in place for a moment, squinted his eyes, then turned and left.

This evening’s first little incident passed like that. The second little incident occurred in the middle of the night.

Ruan Nianchu suddenly woke up from her dream.

Gunshots, gunshots so close, tore through the chilly and desolate night in the jungle. Bang, bang, bang —

“…,” she didn’t know what had happened, stared blankly for a few seconds, then quickly got off the bed and ran to the window. Pushing open the window and looking outside, the entire camp was calm and quiet. Not far away on an open space, a figure with its back to her location was pulling the trigger, bullets sinking into the target, the sound deafening.

A group of thugs in their beds were complaining, “Damn it. How long has it been since Li Ge practiced shooting in the middle of the night? What’s he up to?”

Someone from the top bunk comforted, “Probably nervous about meeting the big boss tomorrow.”

Someone muttered lowly, “These damn days.”

…

Ruan Nianchu stood quietly by the window. The abrupt gunshots echoed intermittently, carried away by the slightly chilly night wind to unknown distances.

*

In the middle of the night, Li Teng returned to his room.

Upon entering, he saw Ruan Nianchu sitting in a chair by the table. He closed the door, picked up the glass on the table, took a sip of water, glanced at her, and teased in a rogueish manner, “Can’t sleep? Want to chat for a bit?”

She lowered her gaze, her fingers picking at the mottled wooden tabletop, saying nothing.

In fact, he was just teasing her. After a moment, he put down the glass, spread the cool mat and blanket on the floor, undressed, and prepared to sleep.

Just as he lay down, the girl suddenly spoke in a low voice, asking him, “Who exactly are you?”

Li Teng paused, turned his eyes, and focused on her somewhat pale face.

He remained calm, “You’ve always known, haven’t you?”

“…,” Ruan Nianchu stayed silent for a moment, took a deep breath, exhaled, and said, “The pauses in the gunshots just now were very rhythmic… I know something called Morse code. In movies, various law enforcement and military agencies use it to communicate information.”

There was a few seconds of silence in the room.

Suddenly, Li Teng laughed softly, then got up, dragged a chair in front of her, bent down, and stared directly into her eyes with a playful smile. She also mustered the courage to look up at him.

The two gazes intersected in the air.

After a brief silence, he leaned closer to her, maintaining his usual tone, but his eyes were dangerously cold. He said, “Miss, watching too many movies isn’t a good thing.”

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