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墨書 Inktalez
A gentle breeze swept through the station square, lightly lifting a few discarded newspapers, which fluttered down onto the face of a person lying on the ground. Startled, he jolted awake and instinctively reached around him, his heart racing as he scanned his surroundings.
It was Baldy, his wide eyes gleaming with a sharp ferocity. Old Lu was still snoring nearby, but Linzi was nowhere to be seen. The spot where he had lain still bore a crumpled newspaper. Baldy got up and looked around, his expression wavering as if Xiao Mu's disappearance had left him momentarily at a loss.
Oh? Still here… His heart eased when he saw Xiao Mu slowly walking out from the waiting area.
He watched, thinking that Xiao Mu was still an inexperienced child, too naive. Perhaps he had been overly worried. Just as he was about to sit down, he noticed Xiao Mu handing something to an old beggar at the station entrance. This scene struck him as amusing; now he truly believed that this kid must come from a wealthy family. Even in such poverty, he still had the heart to give to others.
As Baldy moved closer, he saw Xiao Mu carrying a plastic bag. The kid looked oddly well put together; his face was washed clean, and his clothes were neat and tidy. Even if they were just cheap market finds, they somehow seemed stylish on him—he looked handsome no matter how you viewed it.
Though Baldy didn’t understand what style meant, he could tell that this kid was different from others.
Xiao Mu returned and sat beside him with breakfast—three portions—and even spread out a magazine on the ground. This dark corner instantly transformed into a cozy spot for a meal. As Baldy sat down, the fierce look on his face seemed to melt away in the warmth of the food. However, he remarked, “Are you crazy? It’s just a little money! Why not eat on the way… and giving to that old beggar? He probably makes more than civil servants.”
“Materially I may be poor, but spiritually I must be a Tycoon… Come on, eat,” Xiao Mu invited.
Baldy kicked Old Lu, who stubbornly refused to open his eyes and grumbled about wanting to sleep more, rolling over instead.
Unable to rouse him any further, the two of them hastily ate their warm eight-treasure porridge and buns. Baldy glanced at Xiao Mu several times, captivated by how he ate. With a simple food container resting beside him, Xiao Mu took spoonfuls slowly, savoring each bite without spilling a drop. He delicately tore apart the small buns as if confirming their edibility before taking a gentle nibble. His eating manner was inexplicably elegant but not at all effeminate.
So graceful that even Baldy felt embarrassed to stuff two buns into his mouth at once. He chuckled and asked, “You don’t seem like such an unfortunate kid after all. I heard Old Lu say your father sent you to a mental hospital?”
“I still don’t know what happened… I guess it’s family matters; it’s hard to talk about,” Xiao Mu replied, suddenly reminded of the package hidden at home—the real reason behind his father's harsh decision—which he felt too embarrassed to mention. He shifted the topic and asked, “Bald Brother, I haven’t thanked you yet! If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have made it back… um, I…”
“Feeling uneasy?” Baldy asked with a smile.
“Ah, you stole someone’s phone and a few hundred bucks... I’ll send the money back to them when I get home, I’ve kept their ID,” Xiao Mu said, his conscience truly troubled, even if it was all for the sake of bread.
Baldy chuckled, appearing indifferent. He quickly finished his meal, leaned against the concrete steps, and pulled out a cigarette to smoke. Xiao Mu reminded him, “Baldy, smoking is bad for your health. Try not to smoke.”
“Hey... I didn’t know you took yourself so seriously... what’s the term again?” Baldy wondered aloud. This kid had been quick and nimble with the roast chicken; how did he suddenly turn into a paragon of virtue?
“A gentleman, right? A person should be a gentleman in spirit, a warrior in action... and in life, a fighter,” Xiao Mu replied with a smile. “That’s the ideal; honestly, I can’t live up to it either.”
“You can’t even snatch a bag and you’re here acting like a fighter?” Baldy scoffed.
“What you’re doing is the lowest form of crime; there’s really no skill involved... Hey, Bald Brother, I wanted to tell you something. Why don’t you come with me? When we get back to Binhai, I can help you find a job. I have friends who are doing well—drivers, security guards, store clerks—anything works. The pay isn’t much, but it’s definitely better than this hit-or-miss lifestyle,” Xiao Mu said earnestly, his sincerity unmistakable.
Baldy was at a loss for words; he grinned and asked, “So you’re here to save me, a wayward youth?”
“Yeah, I thought about it last night. I realized this trip has been quite rewarding. Before, I was stuck in that little bubble and didn’t know how wonderful the outside world could be. This time, I’ve seen so much... No matter what reasons my dad had for doing what he did, I don’t hate him as much anymore. Before, I always thought I was the unluckiest person in the world, but now I see that my misfortunes are nothing compared to theirs. This time when I go back, I want to live seriously—not just to annoy my dad anymore...”
Xiao Mu spoke as he methodically cleaned up the used cups and spoons. Images of the bizarre people he encountered in the mental hospital flashed through his mind—each with their own misfortunes—those he met during his night of escape were also struggling on the edge of despair. Compared to his previously carefree life, these experiences had profoundly impacted him.
“So you just want to do some good deeds while saving me on the side?” Baldy asked with a laugh.
“Yeah... there’s still hope for you,” Xiao Mu replied.
"Really?" Baldy asked with a smile, as if teasing a child.
"For money, committing a crime makes that person guilty; for bread, committing a crime makes society guilty... You're the latter. Don't laugh at me; I've really studied crime. Even though we were all third-rate students and had mediocre teachers at that foreign diploma mill, there was no shortage of practical opportunities. At that rebellious age of ten, I became crazily obsessed with the art of crime," Xiao Mu said.
"Crime?" Baldy exclaimed, burning his finger on the cigarette butt. He tossed it aside and said, half-laughing, "Is it still art?"
"Of course! Violence is still aesthetics... Just think about it: in a strange city, holding an AK, robbing a bag of money, driving a luxury car, with a stunning beauty by your side—what a beautiful picture that is... Do you know why crime films have such a huge market worldwide? It's because everyone harbors a dream of breaking the rules, ignoring everything, and living life on their own terms," Xiao Mu explained. That dream he once had seemed impossible to realize now; a life of wealth had given him no motivation to pursue such things.
However, this idea did not resonate with Baldy. After listening, he suddenly understood and said, "Now I know why you were sent to the mental hospital, haha! You can't even rob properly; how do you expect to hold an AK and rob? Do you even know how to use one?"
"Bald Brother, that's just old-fashioned thinking. In America, buying a gun is as easy as buying a hamburger. Some middle school students carry firearms in their backpacks... Trying out shooting is easier than playing pool here," Xiao Mu replied.
"You've tried it?" Baldy asked.
"Of course! I had several while abroad—Longs, Ruger 85s, Colt 2000 models. The Colt I bought was even a custom version signed by the master. But before returning home, I gave them all away... We once planned to rob the Federal Reserve, but it never happened. Everyone only dared to dream about it; no one had the guts to actually do it," Xiao Mu said with a smile.
Baldy looked at him, his smile slowly fading into a complex and puzzled expression as if weighing the truth of those words. Xiao Mu put away the bag and asked him with a grin, "You think I'm crazy again? If you don't believe me, come back to Binhai with me and see all the shooting range photos. I've even tried out grenade launchers!"
"So you're trying to lure me to Binhai?" Baldy asked.
"Hey, you guessed it right! You definitely won't regret it," Xiao Mu replied.
"I'm more worried you'll regret it. I'm just this kind of vandal; sooner or later I'll get targeted by the police," Baldy said.
“Official Salary Raising bastards, the rough can produce heroes... If you can't bear to see me end up on the streets, I think you have the genes of a hero deep down.”
Xiao Mu smiled, his clear gaze making Baldy feel a bit embarrassed as he shifted away. He tried to cover it up by saying, “Get lost, I can't stand guys like you who lack responsibility.”
“Ha ha, being able to smash and grab doesn't make you a man,” Xiao Mu replied with a smile. He picked up a garbage bag and casually walked over to the trash can at the edge of the square. Afraid of spilling leftover food, he carefully tossed it in. He seemed to have a bit of obsessive-compulsive disorder as he bent down to pick up nearby litter and plastic bottles, throwing them all into the trash can.
Watching this, Baldy rubbed his nose in annoyance. As dawn approached, he shifted his body and bumped into Old Lu. Professor Lu, who hadn’t slept well, rubbed his eyes and groggily asked, “What time is it?”
“You think I'm a clock?” Baldy snapped back harshly.
The professor sat up suddenly, looking around alertly with a solemn expression and fierce gaze. Clearing his throat, he began to recite like chanting a scripture: “Today, I start a new life. Today, I crawl out from the wounds of past failures. Today, I will pluck the fruits of wisdom from the highest and densest vines, planted by wise men generations ago... I will swallow every seed of success and let new life sprout in my heart. The path I choose is filled with opportunities but also bitterness and despair...”
The expression on Xiao Mu’s face turned blank as he watched Old Lu. This guy looked like a sage radiating holy light, preaching to others; the only difference was that he was currently emanating an odor of sweat.
Smack... Ouch.
Baldy slapped him down to the ground, crumpling some paper and stuffing it into his mouth while threatening fiercely, “Shut your mouth! Don’t you know where you are? You’re just asking for the police to come... Behave yourself; if you act up again, I'll take care of you.”
Old Lu hugged his head and didn’t dare to speak. Xiao Mu wondered aloud, “Why does that sound so familiar?”
“Don’t you know that self-help book’s motivational quotes? They’ve all been mixed up by this bunch of Pyramid Scheme folks into a mess. This old guy does this every day at this time; it should be morning exercise time—it's six o'clock,” Baldy explained.
Just as he finished speaking, the clock at the train station chimed precisely six times. Xiao Mu, taken aback, couldn’t help but smile. He handed the breakfast over to Old Lu, who said nothing and unwrapped it without any dignity, dipping a bun into porridge and shoving it into his mouth. His face was bruised and dirty, lacking any trace of the elegance he once had as a professor.
"Professor, I'm leaving now. I will definitely miss you," Xiao Mu said with a smile. Old Lu, munching on his food, mumbled, "Why don't you stay? My friend will come soon and take you to the Provincial Capital."
Xiao Mu laughed and replied, "And then choose a path filled with opportunities, but also with bitterness and despair?"
"Ah, you've read 'The Scrolls of the Sheep' too?" Professor Lu asked curiously.
"No, I was just referring to what you said earlier. Silly," Baldy said, giving Old Lu a slap on the back of his head. The professor, in pain, lamented, "Baldy, please don't be so crude to someone cultured. Insulting me is an insult to civilization itself."
"Oh, you're just a pile of dung; no matter how you smell it, it's still foul. And you call yourself civilized?" Baldy retorted, casually slapping Old Lu again. Old Lu jumped up in anger and ran off to eat elsewhere.
Facing Xiao Mu, Baldy became quite refined. He smiled and pointed at Old Lu, saying, "It's fine; he's just a lunatic. He's not like normal people and won't hold grudges."
"Heh heh, I know... Bald Brother, I..." Xiao Mu said as he bid farewell, suddenly feeling inexplicably reluctant. This fierce and robust man reminded him of the sorrowful figures described in ancient texts from his childhood.
"Get lost; if we meet again, it'll be in the next life," Baldy chuckled.
"I still don't know your name," Xiao Mu asked politely.
"And you?" Baldy shot back with a glance.
"My name is... let me correct myself. Maybe my subconscious was tampered with by my psychologist because I blurted out that my name is Lin Musheng; I'm a chef... but that's not true. My name is Mulin Shen. When I was little, I lacked the wood element in my five elements. My mom consulted several fortune tellers to give me this name—three characters with four woods."
"My name is Zhang Quan —Zhang Quan Zhang and crazy Kuang."
"Good name, very imposing..."
"Your name isn't bad either, a bit soft..."
The two exchanged smiles. Baldy stood up to see them off, his large hand sweeping around as he stepped out of his hiding place. Both of them froze for a moment. The recently named Zhang Quan was no longer Zhang Quan; instinctively, he pushed Xiao Mu and whispered, "Run."
"Huh?" Xiao Mu was taken aback for a moment, then looked at Lu Hongbo, who was returning with a fast-food cup and a dejected expression. He wasn't frightening, but behind him were seven or eight men in white shirts and dress pants with short hair, heading straight toward them.
"Baldy, I wasn't lying to you; my friends have arrived... So, this is Brother Baldy. From what I've observed, he's a man of strong character, firm stance, and reliable background—let's get acquainted," Old Lu said with a smile. The two leading men stepped forward, bowed at a ninety-degree angle to Baldy in greeting, extending their hands for a handshake. Baldy seemed a bit flustered and blurted out, "Old Lu, where's my money?"
"Come back to the Provincial Capital with me; I guarantee you'll get more than twenty thousand. Look over there; do you really think I'm lying to you?" Old Lu pointed as two cars arrived—a sedan and a Buick business vehicle, both worth several hundred thousand.
"So you're saying if I don't go, you'll force me?" Baldy scoffed, clenching his fists tightly.
"Force isn't suitable for you; we need to treat the symptoms," Lu Hongbo tossed aside his food container and casually said, "Give him twenty thousand."
Someone respectfully brought the money to Zhang Quan. He accepted it without hesitation, clapping his hands together and chuckling, "Great! It's rare to find such straightforward employers these days."
"Get in the car," Old Lu commanded with a wave of his finger. As Zhang Quan stepped forward, he noticed Xiao Mu hadn't managed to escape. It seemed Xiao Mu was the real target; four men surrounded him from all sides. When Old Lu looked at Xiao Mu with a smile, Xiao Mu hurriedly said, "Professor Lu, I won't go. You can't wash my brain or my money; I don't have any... Let's meet again."
"Hmph, let's go hard on this one," Old Lu said. "Either get in the car or we'll strip you right here and humiliate you in public."
With that shout from Old Lu, showing no regard for past friendships, his subordinates followed orders. Just as Zhang Quan was about to intervene, Lu Hongbo turned back with a sly smile. Perhaps it was due to the fact that he had received favors from others; Zhang Quan hesitated and stepped back.
"Ah... don't pull..."
"F*ck, Old Lu, you bastard, stealing my ticket..."
"Ah... don't do that..."
"Old Lu, for God's sake, stop it..."
Xiao Mu felt someone tugging at his clothes and yanking his pants. In an instant, all his remaining money and ticket were snatched away, and someone even cruelly exposed his bare backside. In a panic, he began to curse, but it was all in vain. He was laughed at by several men as they dragged him into a vehicle. The door slammed shut, and the engine roared to life.
It seemed that being a good person really didn’t pay off. Just moments ago, he had been generous, yet now, with so many people coming and going at the station, everyone kept their distance, pretending not to see. Old Lu truly seemed a bit deranged; he didn’t care at all that Baldy was tormenting him the whole way. With a casual tone, he remarked, "So-called gentlemanly conduct means caring more about face than life... You have to be tough with them. Let’s go."
The two of them moved in tandem; Baldy followed the group of mysterious individuals onto the vehicle, which then sped away.
...
...
At the bustling station, no one had likely kept track of how many security or criminal incidents occurred daily. However, incidents like dragging someone or snatching a bag probably wouldn’t even warrant a report. After this little episode with the group, the station returned to its usual clamor.
Underneath the Clock Tower, behind the maintenance hatch of the clock, no one noticed two individuals curled up in hiding. As only the last two digits of the vehicle numbers remained visible on the surveillance monitor, one man fixated on the screen quietly reported: "The fish has slipped away; heading back to base now. Eight out."
He released the call button, and amidst the crackling static, a command quickly came through: "Let them return to base; you all withdraw immediately."
"Understood, understood, I'll withdraw immediately..." he repeated.
Then the two of them orderly collected the cigarette butts, snack bags, surveillance equipment, and the footage capturing eight people and two cars. As they finished packing up, the assistant casually asked, "This old lunatic really has issues. No one visits him at the mental hospital, yet he can summon so many people overnight?"
"The godfather of the Northern Faction Pyramid Scheme, a super lecturer... Lu Hongbo is a lunatic who only lectures and brainwashes people without taking any money. He has been arrested several times but never convicted, yet he has caused us a lot of trouble."
"Isn't this illness just an act? Pretending to be mentally ill to avoid punishment—this trick isn't new."
"It can't be... Didn't our team leader say that during his interrogation, he talked for fifteen hours straight, all motivational education? The three preliminary reviews left everyone dizzy, and in the end, he collapsed from exhaustion... This is truly not something you can fake. Yesterday at the Mental Hospital re-examination, a bunch of mental patients were reciting motivational book content. Wherever this guy goes, he brings disaster; even the patients aren't spared..."
"This is going to be difficult."
"Difficult or not, we have to deal with it. Only someone like this Chief Lecturer could possibly have access to the behind-the-scenes operations. These Pyramid Scheme organizations are even stricter than us; how many informants have we sent in? Aside from losing some funding, we haven't seen any results at all—not even the regional manager can get close."
As they spoke, they moved from the manhole cover to the stairs. At the exit, they were stopped by a railway police officer who seemed to be a colleague. The officer smiled and said that there had been instructions on the previous shift to prepare two breakfasts for their fellow colleagues on a mission. The two thanked him and took their breakfasts as they walked towards the parking lot. Within a few minutes, they finished their meals and hurriedly left...
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