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墨書 Inktalez
“Lezai! Come this way!”
Sonar shouted, which only spurred Lezai on further, its fluffy dog ears flapping with the speed of its run. The little pup kicked up fallen leaves, stirring a long-lost smile on Lu Sha's face not far away.
“Faster, faster! Over here!”
“Woof!”
Lezai hardly resembled a dog; after spending these few days together, Lu Sha felt that this creature was more like a little child, just shy of being able to speak human language.
She had no idea where Lezai had found that wild rabbit. She had just let Lezai play on the mountain, and when she called it back, it came racing after a rabbit.
With a rabbit in front and a dog behind, the wild rabbit panicked and made a sharp turn to the right, managing to slip away from Lezai!
“Hey now.” Lu Sha placed her hands on her hips. “Pretty clever, huh?”
It was right in front of her!
Just as the rabbit was about to dart into its burrow, hope surged within it, and it frantically kicked its legs to leap forward…
“Smack!”
The rabbit was startled and quickly hit the brakes.
A branch had fallen to the ground, snapped under the weight of a light yellow women's hiking shoe!
Lu Sha continued to stand with her hands on her hips, her face partially obscured by her red hair, but the corners of her mouth lifted in pride as she raised an eyebrow at the stunned little rabbit.
But Lu Sha had only been five meters away moments ago!
“Where do you think you're hiding, cutie?”
With a thud! Lu Sha released her arms and shot out Chain Spears to both sides of the rabbit, blocking all its escape routes.
The rabbit, now panicking and whimpering, turned its head only to find itself cornered by Lezai's toothy grin behind it.
“Hehe, looks like Lezai is getting a special dinner tonight~”
“Woof!”
After enduring so much hardship, Lu Sha finally enjoyed a moment of peace. Yet everything she had suffered at Viper Base lingered in her heart like demons; every night she would wake up startled by those terrifying sounds that haunted her mind.
During these two leisurely yet fleeting weeks, nature, human warmth, and the comfort bestowed by Lezai allowed the once restless Lu Sha to begin trying to relax. In her mind existed a stark contrast: the dark past and the sunny present.
Even so, Lu Sha dared not stay too close to Grandpa Sen. She had deliberately gone out to check how far she was from where she had fallen last time; after all, Lu Sha didn’t want her identity to burden this kind old hermit.
Lu Sha was truly afraid that one day Viper’s people would find her.
What she didn’t know was that after watching the supercar roll down and hearing an explosion afterward, Brother Ba was convinced she had perished. Moreover, with the military beginning large-scale mobilization against the base recently, Brother Ba had no choice but to shift his focus toward combat readiness.
“Grandpa, I’ll be leaving at the end of this week.”
While helping Grandpa Sen with the garlic, Lu Sha lowered her head and spoke.
However, ironically, the weather was not on their side. That day, Grandpa Sen went out, and Lu Sha took Lezai up the mountain to gather firewood, but she accidentally twisted her ankle. This kind of injury couldn't even be healed by the self-repairing cells in her body. With no other choice, Lu Sha had to stay in Grandpa Sen's little cabin.
"What can I say? Maybe it's fate," Grandpa Sen said with a mix of laughter and tears as he stroked Lu Sha's red hair. However, Lu Sha gently pushed his hand away and pouted. She really disliked anyone touching her hair.
At just eighteen years old, Grandpa Sen knew that this girl couldn't stay in the mountains forever. For Lu Sha's future wandering life, Grandpa Sen decided to beg on the streets of a nearby town, making an eight-kilometer round trip every day. He would leave before Lu Sha woke up in the morning and wouldn't return until eleven or twelve at night.
Every late night, Lu Sha would serve up the dishes she had clumsily cooked, and Grandpa Sen would sit at the dining table with a slight smile upon his return. After picking up Lezai, they would talk about their feelings through the gentle steam rising from the hot dishes.
"My cooking is so bad, yet Grandpa has never complained," Lu Sha said as she chewed on some slightly bitter vegetable leaves she had stir-fried, unable to help but frown.
"Still willing to put aside your pride to beg for me..."
Thinking of this made Lu Sha sniffle lightly.
Looking at the girl who was burying her head in her thoughts, Grandpa Sen pressed his dry lips together and smiled silently.
Lu Sha remembered all of this in her heart.
Even the most temperamental person has a heart that knows gratitude.
In the days that followed, despite dragging her injured leg, Lu Sha continued to take Lezai into the mountains to chop wood and hunt. She wouldn't use Grandpa Sen's handmade wooden bow—rather, she was afraid that if she pulled too hard, she would break it—so she used a Chain Spear to shoot birds, deer, and fish.
As days passed, the feared viper thug never appeared, and Lu Sha gradually became more cheerful and began to enjoy the rare light in her life.
Every night, Grandpa Sen would pull Lu Sha to sit under the starry sky and tell her stories from his past while teaching her about human relationships and worldly wisdom. Although Lu Sha sometimes felt impatient, she still made an effort to listen in gratitude for Grandpa Sen's kindness.
"Today, Grandpa Sen taught me what justice is; you should occasionally ask yourself if you remember," he said.
Late at night, Lu Sha's room was still flickering with faint candlelight as her pen scratched against paper.
"Remember this! Sasa: Justice is not the caprice brought by money nor the arrogance brought by power; it is the joy felt in one's heart when seeing the people celebrate; it is the ease of turning away after warming the world."
Later on, Lu Sha's ankle gradually healed enough for her to walk normally again.
One day, Grandpa Sen unexpectedly returned around six in the evening.
"Eh?!"
Lu Sha had just come down from the mountain and was both surprised and delighted to see Grandpa Sen: "Grandpa, why are you back so early today?"
Grandpa Sen excitedly spread his arms wide; in his palms lay three one-hundred-dollar bills.
"Today was lucky! I managed to collect over three hundred fifty dollars! That's ten times more than what I got two weeks ago! Hahaha! Come on, let's go home! I bought some beef with fifty dollars; tonight we're having beef stew with potatoes!"
In the past, Lu Sha would have worried about Grandpa Sen's safety on his way back at night.
In the kitchen, Lu Sha awkwardly chopped potatoes while Grandpa Sen had already heated oil in a pot: "Leave it to me; you go rest."
"Grandpa, how did you get so much money? I'm really curious," Lu Sha asked, propping her elbows on the kitchen counter and resting her big eyes on him after finally slicing the potatoes.
"Well, there was a wealthy merchant who saw me in my military uniform and asked if I had served in the army. I said yes, and he handed me three hundred dollars, saying it was a good day to pay tribute to soldiers like us."
"Why?"
"Let's talk about it outside," Grandpa Sen teased, leaving her in suspense.
After a while, the dish was ready. Grandpa Sen brought a large pot of beef stew with potatoes to the table outside the wooden house.
"He said that just last night, the most notorious criminal organization, the Viper Organization, was wiped out by the military. That's great! From now on, the world will truly be peaceful! That’s probably why he wanted to pay tribute to soldiers."
With that, Grandpa Sen stuffed a piece of meat into Lezai's mouth under the table.
Hearing this, Lu Sha fell silent. Instead of cheering, she quietly picked up a slice of potato and ate.
The orange-red glow of the sunset illuminated her thick red hair, making her look particularly beautiful. Grandpa Sen even thought she seemed much more ladylike.
"What's wrong?" Grandpa Sen asked her.
Lu Sha hesitated for a long time but eventually revealed her secret.
"Grandpa, no matter how you feel after hearing this... I... I used to be part of the Viper Organization. They burned down our orphanage, took me back to their base, and transformed me into a super weapon..."
As she spoke, she raised her arm to show Grandpa Sen the Chain Spear on her wrist. "And I've killed people... I... even though I didn't want to..."
At first, Grandpa Sen looked surprised, but soon he calmly and gently placed his hand on Lu Sha's arm.
"As a soldier who has fought in wars, I've killed too," Grandpa Sen comforted her. "Child, you were born in darkness but yearn for light; that is a precious quality. People say that those close to vermilion become red and those close to ink become black, but you have not. What guides you deep down is justice. I don't care what you've done or who you were before; at least now, in my eyes, you are an upright, brave girl who knows how to repay kindness. You will surely find your own right path in the future. With such extraordinary abilities, you should protect those who are harmed rather than harm others. You belong to the light; remember that."
This time, Lu Sha did not feel impatient. She nodded firmly, tears glistening in her eyes.
Her ankle wasn't as badly sprained as she thought; gradually, Lu Sha realized she could run again.
Both of them sensed something changing.
At some point, Grandpa Sen had started weaving a bag. Lu Sha began looking up at the world outside with curiosity.
Finally one day, Lu Sha approached Grandpa Sen and said, "Grandpa, I think it's time for me to embrace this world like my adoptive father said."
Grandpa Sen forced a smile and handed her the bag he had woven. "Inside are the four hundred dollars I earned for you and some roasted sweet potatoes and meat. Eat it soon; it's hot outside; don't let it spoil."
Lezai came over whimpering, resting its front legs on Lu Sha's calves as if pleading with her not to leave. Feeling a bit sad, Lu Sha bent down and hugged Lezai.
Just as she stood up, Grandpa Sen handed himself a small pouch.
"What is this..." Lu Sha asked with a puzzled tilt of her head.
"This was given to me by my mother before I enlisted. Now, as you are about to leave, I am giving it to you. Inside is a note that you can open and read when you're feeling impulsive, okay?"
"Mm!" Lu Sha replied firmly, throwing herself into Grandpa Sen's embrace.
Thus, Lu Sha gradually disappeared into the sunlight under the gazes of Grandpa Sen and Lezai as they bid her farewell.
Along the way, she recalled the moments spent with Grandpa Sen. He had once told her that he and Lu Weifeng's 208th Regiment received a mission to infiltrate a town controlled by the Viper Organization to rescue the trapped mayor and several other high-ranking officials.
Unfortunately, although they successfully rescued all the hostages without any casualties, they were surrounded by the enemy. In the end, only six soldiers survived, including the missing Lu Weifeng.
One survivor claimed he saw Lu Weifeng escape from the town with two children, disappearing into the night.
At that time, everyone thought he was a deserter, except for Grandpa Sen. He believed that Lu Weifeng had intentionally separated from the besieged regiment to protect the lives of the two children.
"Perhaps my father felt guilty towards his comrades and chose to build an orphanage to do more good," Lu Sha speculated as she bit into a piece of roasted meat.
After three days of trekking, Lu Sha finally arrived at the edge of the town. Exhausted, she opened her bag and found there was no food left. With no other option, she sat down next to a few trash bins at the edge of the town and fell into a deep sleep against one of them.
The next day, she was awakened by a tickling sensation. She opened her eyes to find a stray cat licking her face. She picked up the cat and tossed it onto the ground, dragging her hungry body toward the town center.
Her fiery red hair and filthy clothes attracted many surprised glances, but Lu Sha was already used to it.
"How expensive..." Looking at the cakes displayed in the bakery window, Lu Sha finally grasped what money meant. What could four hundred dollars buy these days?
She touched the four hundred dollars in her bag and swallowed hard. How she wished she could have a bite of that chocolate bread!
At that moment, through the reflection in the window, she saw someone sitting on a bench behind her. The person wore a duckbill cap and had their head down as if staring at their feet but was actually lost in thought about the nearby restaurant.
With her sixth sense kicking in, Lu Sha felt like she had seen this person before and thought they might be from her old orphanage. She leaned closer to the glass for a better look and gasped:
"Lin Weixing!"
"Huh?!"
Lin Weixing jumped in surprise and looked at her with an equally astonished expression.
"You... hello, so you're here too," Lu Sha said, recalling Lin Weixing's brutal actions at Viper Base and instinctively took a step back.
Suddenly! A siren blared in the distance as several police cars surrounded the square's entrances. Seeing this, Lin Weixing immediately stood up and said to Lu Sha, "Until we meet again."
He ran to a store front and jumped—he leaped an astonishing two meters high! Then he grabbed onto a clothes rack above him and leaped again like a monkey, disappearing onto the rooftop while Lu Sha watched in amazement.
After glancing back at Lu Sha and the arriving police officers, Lin Weixing vanished from sight.
Lu Sha then realized that he had been on the run all along.
But what crime had he committed?
Lu Sha was unsure; she walked over to where Lin Weixing had been sitting and took his place, watching as some frustrated police officers returned to their cars.
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