blogombal 074 The Hunter
074 The Hunter
"Gurgle—"
Old Tang woke up hungry from his afternoon nap, and when he woke up, his face was wet again.
It's strange, I seem to be having the same dreams all the time lately, and they're getting clearer and clearer.
Previously, I could only hear sounds, but in the last two months, the sounds have started to include images.
He got out of bed, went into the kitchen, took a frozen burrito from the refrigerator, and put it in the microwave to heat it up.
As I watched the food spin in the microwave, my eyes slowly lost focus.
The "ding" of the microwave startled Old Tang, and the aroma of cheese mixed with beef flavoring filled the air. He opened the microwave, picked up the piping hot tortilla, tossed it back and forth between his hands, blew on it, plopped down in the creaking swivel chair, and took a big bite.
The scalding hot cheese stuck to his oral mucosa, and the burning sensation spread. He felt as if he had swallowed a mouthful of molten iron.
Old Tang instinctively closed his eyes and breathed out. When the burning sensation in his mouth subsided and he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing on the city wall.
Beneath my feet lies a city built against the mountain, its layered eaves and upturned corners stretching out into the twilight, and a name suddenly comes to mind.
"Baidi City".
How did I know?
He looked out of the city, where countless bonfires converged into orange rivers, stretching from the foot of the mountain to the horizon. In the distance, hundreds and thousands of warships were moored on the river, their masts like a forest.
A war? Old Tang thought to himself, how many people would that involve?
"Eighty thousand," he uttered a number.
Wait, how did I know that?
"Lord Li, Liu Xiu's vanguard has crossed the Jialing River, and Cen Peng's navy has blocked the downstream waterway." A panicked voice suddenly came from behind.
He turned his head and saw an old man with gray hair kneeling beside him, saying, "The city's food supplies will only last three days. After three days..."
"My surname is Tang, not Li, and I never lack minerals when I play StarCraft," Old Tang thought to himself.
"The provisions are sufficient," he said. "Please tell Gongsun Shu: hold out for three days. After three days, I will personally deliver the supplies."
Gongsun Shu? Who is that?
What needs to be solved?
The old man retreated, leaving him alone on the city wall.
The wind billowed his white robe as he looked down at the ants outside the city wall, feeling no fear whatsoever.
With 80,000 troops besieging the city, if it were him, Old Tang, he would have already escaped by scaling the walls.
Wait, this outfit is tripping me. Is it too late to change?
"elder brother."
He turned around.
A young boy sat on the steps of the city wall, holding a scroll of bamboo slips in his arms. He was carefully carving characters, stroke by stroke, with a small knife.
"What is it that you carved?" He walked over, squatted down, and patted the boy's head.
"Just keeping accounts." The boy didn't even look up. "There are still 800 shi of millet left in the granary, 40,000 arrows, and 6,000 soldiers guarding the city."
With 6,000 against 80,000, the advantage is on the other side. You should surrender quickly.
"The ministers under Gongsun Shu are discussing surrendering," the boy said. "They say that if they surrender to Liu Xiu, they will be granted the title of marquis."
"Humans..." Old Tang heard himself say.
Human? Old Tang protested inwardly: Aren't I human myself?
"Humans cannot be trusted." The boy carefully put away the bamboo slips. "What do you think, elder brother?"
"There is no turning back for the abandoned tribe," he said. "The fate of the abandoned tribe is to cross the wilderness, raise the battle flag again, and return to my homeland."
What on earth is going on here? Why am I saying such pretentious things? Old Tang was full of questions.
"But my homeland is far away," the boy said dejectedly, head bowed. "We have traveled for many years, from the cold sea to this place. My brother said this land is warm, suitable for hibernation. But now..."
"Li Kang." He heard his own voice call out that name.
The boy turned around.
"Let's go inside; it's windy outside."
"Brother, you shall also enter."
"I'll wait a little longer."
The boy nodded, picked up the bamboo slips, and walked down the city wall.
He started to think about some things.
He chose Gongsun Shu, placing an ambitious mortal on the throne. Twelve years have passed; he has built this city from nothing. What he needs is almost complete. Give him three more days—
Suddenly, a strong sense of fear surged into Old Tang's heart.
He knew the city couldn't hold on any longer, and he knew he would do something terrible in three days.
The wind got warmer.
He stood on the same city wall.
The entire city was ablaze, the roar of collapsing buildings mingling with the screams of people. The city gates had been breached, and armored soldiers surged through the breach like a tidal wave, trampling over corpses as they rushed into the city.
Old Tang's gaze passed over the flames and thick smoke, landing on the very center of the city.
A tall pole.
The boy was hanging from the top of the tall pole.
The boy's eyes were closed, and the city's flames reflected on his pale face, like a grand sacrifice.
Old Tang's heart felt like it was being squeezed in someone's hand and twisted hard.
It's not his heart, but it really hurts.
He heard his own roar, speaking in a language he couldn't understand, ancient and terrifying.
The air was distorted, the ground shook, the city wall beneath our feet cracked, and bricks and stones flew outwards like pieces of paper.
Flames erupted from his body.
An army of 80,000.
Baidi City.
The eight hundred bushels of millet in the granary, the wind they blew together on the city wall.
They've all disappeared.
-----------------
"belch--!"
Old Tang suddenly sat up, nearly dropping the half-eaten burrito he was holding onto the keyboard.
"Damn it..." He stuffed the rest of the wrap into his mouth in a few bites, only to find that it was already cold.
He habitually clicked the penguin icon in the bottom right corner of the desktop and typed: "Big Head Bear, are you there?"
! ! ! ! !
Just as he was about to press the enter key, Lao Tang saw the absurd content he had typed and broke out in a cold sweat. He hurriedly deleted the content in the dialog box and retyped it.
"Big Head Bear, are you there?"
The dialog box remains silent.
"This kid, he's forgotten his old friends now that he's gotten into an American university."
He opened their chat history and scrolled up aimlessly.
A few months ago, that kid was still sighing over a girl he had a crush on. A year ago, he was still grumbling in an internet cafe about his mean aunt and his fat cousin.
"I wonder which university that kid is at in Chicago now, and whether he's being bullied by any white bullies." Old Tang chuckled. "Alright, college student, if he doesn't want to come back, he doesn't have to. Once your brother Tang makes this windfall, he'll drive his sports car to your school gate and wait for you there, let's see what your expression is then."
Old Tang typed in the chat box: "I have some business to take care of recently, I need to go to Chicago. I'll meet up with you in person after I'm done. Wait for me, bro."
After confirming the message was sent, he closed the QQ chat window and turned his attention back to the Hunter website.
Old Tang stared at the long string of "0"s on the screen, his eyes almost gleaming.
Five million US dollars.
"It's just a university, right? What's so difficult about a bunch of dull-witted professors and students?"
Old Tang pulled a travel bag out from under the bed and stuffed in a few changes of clothes, a bundle of rope, two packets of beef jerky, and a rope gun.
He walked to the door, opened it, and then looked back at his room.
There was a half-eaten bag of potato chips on the table. He went back, rolled up the opening, and clamped it shut with a clip.
"We still need to eat when we get back," Old Tang muttered to himself.