Golden Scale [EN]: Chapter 105

The next day, after breakfast, the second round of the competition began. This time, the event wouldn’t be decided as quickly as yesterday’s.

Hou Longtao and Feng Yun, both dressed in new, rankless soldier uniforms, stood about two meters apart, facing each other on the training field. Their arms were clamped tightly behind them, chests out, heads held high, hands pressed against their trouser seams, and legs straight and together. They were standing at attention.

Holding the position for half an hour or even an hour wasn’t too difficult, but longer than that was a different story. The company’s base was surrounded by mountains on three sides, creating a typical valley climate with hot days and cold nights. After an hour and a half, two hours, under the scorching sun, Hou Longtao’s back was soaked, and his legs felt like they were filled with lead. The feeling in them was slowly disappearing. He knew the woman opposite him couldn’t be doing much better. “Why don’t you find some shade? You’ll get baked dry like this.”

“Give up, and you can go sleep in the shade.”

Two and a half hours, three hours passed, and lunchtime was approaching. Groups of soldiers, carrying their mess kits, passed by, casting curious glances at the two motionless figures.

“Not going to eat?”

“Give up, and you can go to the cafeteria.”

Three and a half hours, four hours passed. Hou Longtao stopped talking. His whole body was “protesting.” He and Feng Yun stared into each other’s eyes, trying to find any sign of weakness, but neither succeeded. This was the first time they had maintained such prolonged eye contact. Although sweat blurred their vision, they each gained unexpected insights. Hou Longtao noticed that in the woman’s eyes, besides determination and dislike for him, there was a strange emotion—gratitude, but not quite, something complex and indecipherable. Feng Yun had known for four days that this man wasn’t a pushover, but she hadn’t expected him to last this long. She thought she could win in three hours at most, but now she was in a mechanical state and still saw no sign of him faltering. When Feng Yun was a soldier, she had stood at attention for six hours at most. She never thought she would have another chance to test her limits years later, especially under someone else’s challenge, which she believed would further push her “performance.”

The sun reached its highest point and began to slowly move westward, sinking behind the mountains.

Twelve full hours. Even veterans of major military parades would be astonished. Hou Longtao and Feng Yun were swaying, their vision blurring. They were soaked as if they had been rained on. They had long passed their limits and were waiting for the other to collapse first, but it was no longer within their control. Either of them could be the loser.

A cool mountain breeze blew, drying the sweat on their bodies, making them feel like they were in an ice cellar. Hou Longtao closed his eyes and shivered uncontrollably. The sound of his teeth chattering was clear in the silent training field. His swaying grew more pronounced, and with a “thud,” he fell.

Feng Yun lasted only three seconds longer before collapsing to her knees and starting to retch.

“Wah, wah,” she vomited, but since she hadn’t eaten all day, only sour liquid came up, as if she were pregnant.

Hou Longtao lay on his back, wanting to shout but lacking the strength to even make a sound. He could only open his mouth wide and gasp for air. He felt neither pain nor soreness, and he couldn’t feel his body at all. He felt like he was dying. Feng Yun vomited for a while, then slumped to the ground, not wanting to move at all. She wished she could just sleep there and never get up again.

After a dozen minutes, Hou Longtao’s strength began to return. He struggled to his feet, walked to the woman, and gave her a light kick on the butt. “I lost. Let’s go back.”

“Get lost…” Feng Yun cursed weakly. Her eyes were closed, her face pale. Although she knew that continuing like this would lead to a serious illness if not death, she didn’t have the strength to get up. Asking for help was worse than death. She was also surprised by the man’s recovery ability.

“Hmph, stubborn to a fault.” Hou Longtao bent down, grabbed the woman’s collar with one hand and her belt with the other, and hoisted her onto his shoulder, staggering toward the guesthouse.

“Let me go! Put me down!” Feng Yun was both ashamed and angry, but all the bones in her body had gone soft. Besides moving her lips, she couldn’t muster any real resistance.

As soon as they entered the room, Hou Longtao threw his “cargo” onto the bed and couldn’t muster the strength to return to his own room. He simply collapsed next to the woman, pulled up the blanket, and fell asleep. Feng Yun had already fallen asleep on the way; otherwise, she would never have shared a bed with the “enemy.”

Eleven hours later, Hou Longtao finally woke up. The muscles in his legs were still sore and painful, a million times more tiring than making love for hours. The small room was filled with the sour smell of sweat, which even he found unpleasant. He turned his head and saw Feng Yun still in dreamland. He got out of bed, went to his own room to smoke a cigarette. He had already lost two rounds, and he couldn’t afford to lose the third. Hou Longtao returned to Feng Yun’s room and kicked the bed twice. He knew this woman was not simple. Her tenacity was more intimidating than she was. The stakes were too high, and he couldn’t afford to worry about fair competition. He couldn’t let her fully recover her strength. “Get up! Are you pretending to be dead!?”

“Ugh…” The woman opened her eyes painfully. “What are you yelling about!?”

“Get up and eat! It stinks in here. Take a shower, and then we’re leaving, unless you want to give up?”

“Dream on!” Feng Yun struggled to sit up. “Get out. Wait for me at the gate of the compound in an hour.”

After the man left, Feng Yun sat on the edge of the bed for several minutes before getting up, but she immediately felt dizzy and barely managed to steady herself by holding onto a nearby table. Hou Longtao had played a trick after leaving. He told the woman to take a shower, but he only wiped himself down. Showering would relax the muscles, which was unwise before high-intensity exercise. He couldn’t afford to miss any small chance to help himself win.

When the two met at the gate of the compound, Feng Yun looked fine except for being a little pale.

Company Commander Hong and Political Instructor Dong also came, bringing two military backpacks. “Feng, you know that firearms are strictly regulated. Any mistake would be troublesome, so we can only give you knives.”

“No problem.”

“We’ve prepared two walkie-talkies for you. Contact us anytime if there’s a situation.”

“I will.”

“Feng, I advise you to reconsider. This place is too close to the Kuandian Nature Reserve. If you get lost, it could be dangerous.”

“What does it matter? I’ve been to the reserve countless times. Besides, there’s a map. You can read a map, can’t you?” Feng Yun glanced at Hou Longtao.

“Hmph.” Hou Longtao didn’t bother to answer the woman.

“It’s not the same as before. Wolf tracks were found in the reserve recently.”

“Wolves? The kind that eat people?” Hou Longtao was taken aback. “Are you kidding me?”

“Give up.”

“Tch, you’re tender and delicate. If they’re going to eat someone, they’ll eat you first.”

“Are you sure you want to go up the mountain?”

“Yes.” The man and woman answered in unison, not because they weren’t nervous, but because they didn’t want to show weakness in front of each other.

“There’s still plenty of time. Be sure to come down the mountain before dark.”

“Got it. Let’s go.” Feng Yun waved at Hou Longtao and took the lead, running toward the mountain path.

Watching the two disappear around the bend at the entrance to the mountain, Company Commander Hong asked Political Instructor Dong with concern, “Should we send someone to follow them? If something happens to that woman, we’ll be in trouble.”

“Do you think I want to be the next Peng Dehuai? [A Chinese general who fell out of favor.] I already sent someone up the mountain early this morning. If necessary, they’ll provide assistance along the way.”

Hou Longtao caught up with the woman. They didn’t start too fast, as they needed to conserve energy for the fifty-kilometer mountain road. “I’ll just follow her and overtake her in the last fifty meters. Her explosive power can’t be stronger than mine.”

“It’s about twenty-five kilometers up and down. There’s a village at the foot of the mountain on the other side. If you don’t think you can come back before dark, stay there.” Feng Yun gave a brief explanation and stopped talking. Although they had just started, her steps already seemed heavy.

The first few kilometers of the mountain path were relatively flat, but the higher they went, the steeper it became. There was a path, but it was just a trail worn by people walking. When they were hungry, they ate a piece of compressed biscuit, and when they were thirsty, they drank cold water from their canteens. Feng Yun had long slowed down. Although she was still running, it wasn’t much faster than walking. Hou Longtao was also tired, but judging from the amount of exercise, he wouldn’t reach his limit until halfway back. He figured he could easily leave the woman behind now, but even if she hadn’t slept enough or taken a shower, there shouldn’t be such a big gap between them. “What’s wrong? If you want to give up, just say so. It’ll save you the effort.”

“No one’s forcing you to follow me. If you can, go ahead.” Feng Yun said, but her pace quickened.

“Hmph.” Hou Longtao suspected the woman had some trick up her sleeve. After all, he wasn’t familiar with the terrain here and had been at a disadvantage from the start. Following her was the best strategy. He couldn’t afford to be reckless.

Near the top of the mountain, the path widened,

allowing four or five people to walk side by side, but the terrain was also more exposed. One section of the path had a steep cliff on the right. Hou Longtao ran while glancing over the edge. It was dozens of meters deep, with trees below. He slowed down, took off his backpack, and took out his canteen. In that short time, Feng Yun had moved three or four meters ahead, but she wasn’t running in a straight line. She had been on the man’s left, but as he fell behind, the woman seemed to lose her bearings and began to veer to the right. Her movements were a bit comical. Her body was still facing forward, but her legs seemed to be moving independently, running in a curve toward the edge of the cliff.

“What are you doing!?” Hou Longtao had just taken a couple of sips of water when he saw the woman’s dangerous situation out of the corner of his eye. At that moment, he had no personal grudges in his mind. He threw down his backpack, rushed forward, and reached out his arm. Feng Yun’s body was already starting to fall. Although the man grabbed her wrist, he couldn’t support her weight.

In a flash, their eyes met. For the first time, Hou Longtao saw fear and helplessness in the woman’s eyes. If he let go now, he could escape the danger, but his grip tightened…

Hundreds of miles away in Beijing, there was a bustling restaurant south of Xidan Times Square. Long was inside, waiting for someone. Yu Qian, wearing a police uniform, entered with a gust of perfume. She sat down opposite Long and crossed her arms. “What do you want to see me about?”

“Thank you for agreeing to meet me.”

“Get to the point.”

“You haven’t eaten yet, have you? Let’s order first.”

“No need,” Yu Qian said impatiently. “I have things to do. Hurry up.”

“I thought we were friends.”

“Hmph.” Yu Qian didn’t answer but grabbed the menu. “You’re paying?”

“Hehe, of course, I’m paying.”

“It’s about your fourth brother, isn’t it?”

“Of course. Can I call you Fourth Sister-in-law?”

“Don’t call me that. I’m not married to him. I’m a free agent now. If others hear you call me that, it’ll scare away the good men who want to pursue me.” Yu Qian hoped these words would reach Hou Longtao’s ears.

“Don’t say that. If you sleep with another man and then want to be with my fourth brother, from what I know, he won’t want you anymore.”

“What do you mean? Are all his sluts… are they all virgins?”

“What? Virgins?”

“Yeah.”

“Of course not, but you still love my fourth brother. You love him, but you’re with other men. He values loyalty very highly.”

“Are you kidding me? He loves me? Where’s his loyalty to me?”

“That’s the difference between men and women.”

“What difference? It’s just male chauvinism.”

“You can’t deny that it’s still a quasi-patriarchal society.”

“Have you two been together too long? How come even your tone of voice is the same?”

“Okay, let’s not dwell on this issue. Let’s get back to the point. It’s not good for you to keep messing with ‘East Star’s’ business.

My fourth brother is almost depressed to death. Besides, I have a share in ‘East Star’.”

“How depressed is ‘depressed to death’?” Yu Qian didn’t care whether Long’s interests were tied to “East Star.”

“He sighs and frowns all day long, but part of it is because he can’t be with you.” Long said everything Hou Longtao had told him to say. Hou Longtao had been reminded by Feng Jie’s words that he couldn’t let Yu Qian feel that his punishment had no effect. To prevent her from going to extremes, he had Long put on this act. And he had Long come for another reason.

“Hmph, if he doesn’t meet my demands, he can forget about having a peaceful life. Now that things have come to this, that’s all I can do.” Yu Qian shrugged helplessly…

Hou Longtao’s right hand gripped Feng Yun’s wrist, and her weight pulled him forward. With a scream, they fell off the cliff.

During the fall, the man tried to grab onto protruding rocks or branches with his left hand. Although he didn’t succeed, he at least slowed their descent until they crashed into the trees.

“Ah…” Hou Longtao lay on the ground for a long time, estimating that he had been cut at least dozens of times. He moved his neck and limbs, and since he didn’t seem to have broken any bones, he tried to get up. He didn’t have time to check his surroundings. He needed to see how badly Feng Yun was hurt. “What the hell were you doing!?”

The woman was lying on her side. Hou Longtao rolled her over and saw that her eyes were closed, her face flushed, her lips pale, and her breathing rapid. He quickly touched her forehead. It was very hot. She clearly had a high fever.

“Hey, hey,” Hou Longtao held the woman’s shoulders and patted her face. “Are you okay?”

“Ugh…” Feng Yun opened her eyes with difficulty and suddenly realized she was being held in the man’s arms. She pushed his chest in shock and anger, knocking him to the ground and rolling away herself. “What are you doing!?” She tried to get up, but a sharp pain shot through her ankle. She must have twisted it. She was also very dizzy and sat down heavily, gasping for breath.

“Damn it! You’re pretty strong!?” Hou Longtao was really angry. She didn’t say anything else, not even a thank you. He got up angrily and walked to the spot where they had fallen. He couldn’t find his glasses. He looked up and saw a five- or six-meter section of rock that was straight up and down. It seemed impossible to return the way they came.

Feng Yun leaned against a tree and slowly stood up. She saw the man sitting on the slope, lighting a cigarette. “This is a forest. Smoking is strictly prohibited.”

“I’ll be damned, haha,” Hou Longtao laughed and suddenly darted in front of the woman, his expression turning fierce. “You know this is a forest? If you’re sick, don’t come running here. What are we going to do now? Huh? Reconnaissance soldier!”

“I… I didn’t ask you to pull me.” Feng Yun looked very weak, completely lacking her usual heroic spirit, resembling a sickly, weak woman.

“Good! You’ve given me a new perspective on you.” Hou Longtao abandoned the woman, walked to her backpack, reached inside to grab the walkie-talkie, and pulled out two pieces. It must have been broken when they hit the rocks. “Damn it! This is going to be fun.”

With a “thud,” Feng Yun knelt on the ground, her right arm resting on her forehead, leaning against the tree trunk, her right hand hanging limply.

Hou Longtao took the canteen and gave the woman a few sips. “You’re too sick to stay here. We’re surrounded by mountains on three sides. We can only go forward.” He put the backpack on his chest and squatted down in front of Feng Yun.

“What are you doing?”

“What are you doing?”

“I don’t need you to worry about me. Go on your own.”

“Do you want to die here? You’re already in this state. What are you trying to prove? Do you want me to carry you on my back, or do you want me to hold you like a wife?”

“Dare you?”

“Do you have the strength to resist?”

“Sigh…” Feng Yun put her arms around the man’s shoulders and leaned her upper body on his back.

No matter how resourceful and clever Hou Longtao was, he was still a “city person” with no knowledge of the jungle. He made a big mistake. Instead of following the edge of the cliff, he carried the woman straight into the forest.

Feng Yun should have known better, but she was delirious with fever. She leaned on the man and just closed her eyes to rest. He didn’t know how long they had been walking. Hou Longtao’s legs were weak, and he was breathing like an ox, but they had reached another cliff. He must have turned around without realizing it.

The weather in the mountains was unpredictable. A cloud came up and blocked the sun, and the forest was already dark. It was probably just past five o’clock, but it was almost completely dark.

“There’s a cave over there, wheeze, I wonder if there are bears inside?” After climbing a slope, Hou Longtao saw a large depression in the rock face not far away. It was clearly a cave.

“I don’t know.” Feng Yun had been resting on the man’s back for so long that, although she was still weak, she could speak without any difficulty.

Hou Longtao put the woman down and threw several stones toward the cave. Seeing no movement, he took out his military knife and cautiously moved toward it. He knew that if there really was a bear or something like that inside, he would probably be done for, but he was too tired. Maybe dying would be more comfortable.

Entering the cave, there was a slightly damp smell, but no animal stench. It must be “uninhabited.” He lit his Zippo [A brand of lighter] and looked around. Although the entrance wasn’t big, the inside was twenty meters deep, ten meters high, and ten meters wide. At the far end, there was a three-meter square, elevated stone platform about five meters off the ground. The cave walls were quite smooth.

Hou Longtao returned outside, helped Feng Yun in, and helped her sit against the cave wall. Then he took off his shirt and put it on her. Even if it was just a thin layer, it was better than nothing. Then he ran out, carrying branches and dry grass into the cave.

Feng Yun understood what the man was doing. Looking at his sweaty face, the several newly congealed wounds on his upper body, and his tense muscles, she suddenly realized that this guy wasn’t completely useless.

A torrential rain finally began, quickly soaking the branches on the ground outside. Hou Longtao
gathered some more before returning to the cave.

“Without me, you’d probably be out of here by now…” Feng Yun seemed embarrassed and turned her head away. “Thank… thank you.”

“Don’t thank me,” Hou Longtao didn’t look at the woman, and his tone was cold. He used stones to make a circle on the ground and started a fire inside. “I’m not doing this out of kindness, and it’s not because I have any connection with you. If you die, your family will definitely blame me. How am I supposed to live?”

“Hmph, you’ve thought it through.”

“Shut up and save your strength.” Hou Longtao tore a strip of cloth from his trouser leg, soaked it in rainwater, and placed it on the woman’s forehead.

Baking by the fire and covered with clothes, Feng Yun’s body was still trembling slightly.

Hou Longtao glanced at her. “Hang in there. My life is in your hands too. We’ll probably have to stay here overnight.”

“They’ll come looking for us.”

“I hope so.” Hou Longtao took out the map and compass. He had looked at them several times in the forest, but he couldn’t understand military maps, and the woman had been drowsy, so he couldn’t ask her. Now he finally had a chance. “Take a look. How can we get out of here?”

Feng Yun glanced at it casually. “We should be in this marked cave now. We’ve already entered the Kuandian Nature Reserve. If we go six kilometers east, we can get out of this valley and soon reach a village.”

After that, the two had nothing to say. They had nothing to do, and they were exhausted, so they both fell asleep without realizing it.

“Awoo…” A mournful wolf howl echoed in the distance, reverberating in the night sky… (What chance has a golden carp to escape from a mere pond? [An idiom suggesting a hopeless situation.])