Uncle Two and the others set off again, and Poker-Face went with them. Fatty and I leaned against the car next to the toll booth and watched them leave. At this ti, I was in a very good state of mind. When I read Slam Dunk (1) as a child and got to the last chapter, I thought that the author was cruel for stopping the protagonist there. But now I could understand it very well.
In order to play in the national league, I have to heal my spine first (2). It was just my luck that I wasnt taught how to be a grave robber when I was little.
The following month could be divided into three parts. The first third was devoted to studying Uncle Three's phone. I followed Uncle Three's instructions and didnt tell anyone about it. I only took out the phone when I was standing under eaves and made sure to close the doors and windows if it was raining or thundering outside.
For the first ti, I felt like soone was spying on during a thunderstorm. I kept feeling like an eye was looking at through the window every ti the lightning flashed.
I printed out all the information and kept it in various places. The journal entries looked like they had a lot of text at first glance, but there werent that many words when they were printed out. Uncle Three later went into hiding because of those things with the Nine Gates. For many years, he didn't contact Yang Daguang. When he was at his most desperate and facing danger on all sides, he secretly looked to . Based on his description, he mustve been in the snake marsh when he heard that familiar clap of thunder (3).
I couldnt say for sure if Uncle Threes judgent was correct, but looking at the records in his journal, he seed to think that the thunder was familiar. And it was giving him a warning.
After that day, A Ning died and Uncle Three hid in the depths of the snake marsh. It was the thunder we heard that day that changed his plans and let him know that there were other teams in the snake marsh besides our two teams.
If Uncle Three heard the thunder and ran away, then it didnt matter whether there was information in the thunder or not. Just like that tiger in the movie Life of Pi (4), the thunder was constantly alerting him to danger. In a sense, it could even be said that he had been saved more than once. And he had heard that thunder again more recently. It reminded him of the leader of that teorological team in the village that year and what he had said about .
Although it sounds very far-fetched, it almost seed like Uncle Three was in love with thunder and there was a witch in the dark clouds who loved him very deeply.
These journal entries were all dark and mysterious fragnts, but they were probably just Uncle Threes theories. It was still unclear what he was doing, but at least there was finally sothing to go off of.
Ti flew by and the second portion of the month passed by in a daze. I beca good friends with Bai Haotian and waited for the mont she would beco disillusioned with . It was only a matter of ti before her adoration for would disappear and she would see clearly. The beauty produced by the sense of distance was boring and clean, but it was never the truth. Nowadays, artwork produced by civilization was whitewashed to hide nothingness. It was painting and photography that truly reached the heart. This just showed that people saw more beauty in their hearts than reality could ever offer.
The light in Bai Haotian's eyes started to disappear around the fifteenth day. I continued to play Minesweeper as the ti slowly passed, and it wasnt until the third week that I realized I never received any news from Uncle Two.
I sent a ssage to Uncle Two and Poker-Face, praying that they would reply when they got a signal. But there was no news, so they had probably gone into the mountains.
How fast could the relationship between people wear away? I often thought about this question. So people didnt contact each other for a long ti and might not even say a word to each other when they t again, but they wouldn't feel awkward at all. Others would spend a long ti together, but acted like strangers if they had been separated for a month or two.
Would seeing Uncle Three againif there was a chancebe the sa as eting Poker-Face again? Or would we act like strangers and have to rely on Fatty to find topics to discuss while eating? Poker-Face and I had Fatty between us, while Pan Zi was the one who had been between and Uncle Three. But Pan Zi was gone now. Could I even ntion that?
I remained anxious as the last ten days passed, and then three more days passed after that. Uncle Two had always been punctual, so the fact that he was three days late made feel a little uneasy.
I left Warehouse Eleven early and went to Uncle Twos place. When I arrived at the entrance, I saw that the eaves were filled with incense. This usually ant that people had died. It had been a long ti since I saw so much incense like this. Every ti Uncle Three ca back before, our clothes looked ragged and we had made a narrow escape. The dangerous adventures Uncle Three and I had been on were rare, but with so many serious casualties this ti, I was afraid I would die if I went where they had gone.
Luck was no longer on my side.
I took a deep breath, entered Uncle Twos courtyard, and found that it was full of worn-out equipnt. But as soon as I walked into the courtyard, everyone looked at and froze.
All those pitying stares were like evil spirits swirling the air. And at that mont, they all suddenly seed to be directed at .
I ignored them and turned my head to look around. I didnt see Poker-Face anywhere, so I casually asked, "Where's Little Brother?"
"Little Brother is gone." Kan Jian burst into tears.
I was stunned, but still managed to stay surprisingly calm, "What do you an gone'?"
Uncle Two ca out of the inner room and everyone looked at him. His face appeared gloomy as he looked at and said, "Co in."
He had just finished speaking, when Baishe sat down heavily on the ground. I didn't move but grabbed Kan Jian instead, "What do you an gone?"
"Little Brother and Master Black are gone. There was sothing in that tomb. That tomb Ive never seen anything like it before." Kan Jian was shaking all over.
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TN Notes:
(1) Japanese sports manga/ani. It tells the story of a basketball team from Shhoku High School in the Shnan area of Japan. Info here.
(2) This is referencing Slam Dunks ending where the protagonist, Hanamichi Sakuragi, suffers a spinal injury and has to go through physical therapy. He misses the national tournant.
(3) Chapter 28 (pg 139) of Vol 5 Deadly Desert Winds.
(4)Heres the plot.
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I should be in bed, but I couldn't resist leaving you all on a cliffie. Call Black Glasses, cuz I'm just evil like that mwahahahaha
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