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墨書 Inktalez
In the scorching heat of July, the blazing sun hung in the sky like a fiery ball, roasting the earth below. The leaves drooped lifelessly, and even the cicadas in the woods had quieted down, only occasionally letting out a weak cry.
The village was silent under the midday sun, with not a cloud in sight. I turned over in my bed and glanced at my father, who was soundly asleep beside me, snoring softly. After confirming he was truly in deep slumber, I tiptoed out of the house.
I dashed off towards Qingshan Lake. Last night, I had made plans with Er Gouzi and the others to go swimming and fishing at Qingshan Lake this afternoon. Whoever was late would be considered less than a man.
There was no way I, Ling Feng, would lose to those softies. Yes, my name is Ling Feng, formerly known as the Two-Headed Monster Baby. Thanks to my master’s decisive intervention, I now had just one head like a normal person. Aside from a scar shaped like a yin-yang fish on my neck, I looked just like everyone else.
At this age, when everyone seemed to despise me, I was just as mischievous as any other nine-year-old—climbing trees, wading into rivers to find bird nests, and sneaking peeks at girls bathing while playing with slingshots.
The name Ling Feng was given to me by my rather unremarkable master. He left behind a letter for me after my surgery and a white pendant threaded with red string along with several Buddhist scriptures.
In the letter, he explained that I lacked gold in my fate, hence the name Ling Feng. My earnest father gratefully accepted it. Although my birth had been somewhat unusual and bizarre, my master had spoken to the village chief beforehand; otherwise, my father and I might not have been able to stay in the village.
The villagers always looked at me as if I were a ghost, keeping their distance. They wouldn’t even let their children play with me, believing I was some sort of cursed child who could bring misfortune.
But being a child myself, I wasn’t about to comply quietly. After I had beaten up a few kids on the way to school, they happily followed me around calling me Ling Feng or Ling Feng. I knew they might have wanted to call me crazy; when Er Gouzi fought me, it was like he was fighting for his life. His eyes glinted fiercely like those of a wolf in the mountains.
I wore big shorts and went shirtless, my skinny arms flailing about as I ran. In front of them, I couldn’t afford to lose face; otherwise, how could I maintain my authority as their big brother?
My father always forbade me from doing this or that and warned me about water ghosts in Qingshan Lake that loved to eat children. Honestly, I wasn’t three or four years old anymore—did he really think that would scare me?
The vast blue lake stretched endlessly before me; even the breeze carried a hint of coolness. Surrounding the lake were lush green trees. At that time, having never seen the sea, I imagined Qingshan Lake must look just like it.
A white Shari glimmered softly in the sunlight as it bobbed on my thin chest. My father often nagged me not to take off this bead no matter what; it was an auspicious Buddhist artifact that would protect me. Though I scoffed internally at this notion, remembering his solemn gaze made me agree.
I had never known my mother; my father raised me all by himself. Although he was somewhat dull and boring—just sitting at the door smoking his pipe—I knew he loved me.
By the time I reached the lakeside, everyone had already gathered under the shade of trees to cool off. Houzi was the most agile among us; he sprawled across a tree branch like a monkey from the mountains and shouted down at us below, “So where’s Ling Feng? He can’t possibly not show up!”
Er Gouzi was fiercely loyal to me and quickly chimed in, “Of course! My Ling Feng has never lost a fight! You think swimming is going to scare him?”
The Rat cast a disdainful glance at Er Gouzi. "Look at you, acting like a sycophant. If this were during the Anti-Japanese War, you'd definitely be one of those traitors, running around flattering the Japanese."
Er Gouzi, flustered, stiffened his neck in protest. "You're the real traitor! Why should I be like Bing Zhang Ga and pretend to be a hero fighting against the Japanese?"
Fei Fei was the only girl among us, and she was quite charming. I thought that when I grew up, I would marry her.
"Er Gou Ge, with all that flab on you, you'd probably get caught before you even started running," Fei Fei laughed, pointing at the rolls of fat on Er Gouzi's belly.
"What’s going on? You all seem so happy. Let me in on it," I said, hanging upside down from a branch, looking at the others below.
"We thought you weren't coming! Since you're here, let's cut to the chase. The loser today has to do a week's worth of homework for the winner. The goal is that island in the middle of the lake. Whoever gets there first wins! Are you up for it?" The Rat stood tall and asked.
I flipped off the branch and landed on my feet. "Whoever plays dirty is a coward."
"Great! Then let Fei Fei be the judge," The Rat replied confidently. His full name was Hao Zi, and being the village chief's son gave him a certain authority.
Er Gouzi chimed in at an inappropriate moment, "Hao Zi, with Ling Feng's academic level, are you really sure you want him writing your homework?"
I felt my teeth grind in frustration and kicked Er Gouzi in the rear. "What side are you on?"
Rubbing his backside, Er Gouzi chuckled, "Naturally, I'm on your side, Ling Feng."
The Rat shrugged it off. "Ling Feng's poor grades don't matter; we still have Fei Fei! He can just copy her work."
Houzi suddenly jumped down from a tree and shouted, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
The azure lake shimmered as ripples spread outwards towards the shore.
The four of us—me, The Rat, Er Gouzi, and Houzi—stood by the lake's edge, bare-bottomed and ready to spring into action.
Fei Fei was definitely a girl, covering her eyes and turning her back to us. She shouted, "One, two, three, start!"
"Plop!"
The water in the lake was really refreshing. I dove in headfirst and swam underwater for a while before surfacing to catch my breath. As I looked around, I realized I had been careless; the Rat had already swum ahead of me.
I couldn't afford to be careless now. I quickly moved my arms through the water, trying to overtake the Rat. Aside from schoolwork, I hadn't lost to anyone else yet, and this time would be no different.
As the finish line came into view, I had already pulled ahead of the Rat by a good distance. Just as I was about to turn back and push myself harder, I caught a glimpse of Fei Fei on the shore, looking anxious and waving at me.
A sudden alarm shot through me—was something wrong? Turning back, I saw that aside from the Rat and Houzi not far away, Er Gouzi was nowhere to be seen on the calm surface of the water.
"Houzi! The Rat! Er Gouzi is missing!" I cupped my hands into a megaphone and shouted at them, pointing behind them.
After shouting, I turned around and swam back. Houzi and the Rat were startled by my urgency; when they turned to look and saw Er Gouzi's absence, they panicked as well. They floated in place, waiting for me to catch up.
Fortunately, we weren't far apart, and we finally regrouped.
"Ling Feng, where's Er Gouzi?" Houzi's voice was clearly tinged with anxiety.
The Rat's face was filled with fear as he said, "There can't really be a water ghost, right?"
I snapped back angrily, "What ghosts or monsters are you talking about? Even if Er Gouzi is all muscle, would a water ghost really find him unappetizing? Besides, you always say I'm a monster behind your backs—have you ever seen me hurt anyone? Er Gouzi is our friend; if our friend is in trouble, we need to figure out how to help him."
Houzi looked doubtful. "Are we really going to rely on ourselves? Shouldn't I go back and get an adult?"
The Rat nodded in agreement. After thinking it over, I realized he had a point. "Alright then. Houzi, you’re the fastest; hurry back to the village and call for help. The Rat and I are good swimmers; let’s search around first."
With that, I took a deep breath and submerged myself underwater. Thankfully, it hadn’t rained recently, so the water was clear. The Rat and I split up and quickly began our search in different directions.
After searching for a while, I finally spotted Er Gouzi floating at the bottom of the water with his eyes tightly shut. His legs were entangled in aquatic plants, and the most alarming part was that a large fish had bitten onto his private area.
Seeing such a ridiculous scene, I tried to hold back my laughter, but it was impossible; bubbles began to form around my mouth.
Although the fat guy was heavy, it was all fat, which provided buoyancy. Otherwise, with my skinny arms and legs, I wouldn’t have been able to drag him at all. Eventually, with the help of the Rat, we managed to pull the fat guy to the shore.
Once we got him to the bank, we were all stunned. That big fish was still there, clinging to Er Gouzi’s private area, its gills opening and closing rhythmically.
Could it be that Er Gouzi’s private area had some extraordinary quality? Why else would this Big Carp rather suffocate than let go?
Having seen adults rescue drowning people before, I decided to follow suit and pressed down on Er Gouzi’s chest. My strength alone wasn’t enough, so I called on the Rat to help. We squeezed with all our might.
Soon enough, water began to bubble out of Er Gouzi’s mouth, and he started to breathe again. The Rat and I collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily.
This cowardly Er Gouzi opened his eyes and immediately burst into tears. “Ling Feng, a big fish bit my—”
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