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墨書 Inktalez
After Weniko passed away, Xia Dongrong struggled to cope with the loss of his mother and the responsibility of raising Xia Feng. He never returned to the Western Regions, leaving the mystery unresolved. Later, he suffered a spinal injury from a falling construction vehicle, which left him bedridden, making it impossible for him to uncover the truth.
Over the years, due to Xia Dongrong's paralysis, Summer Wind endured a lot of hardship. He was forced to drop out of school right after middle school and enter society. Fortunately, Xia Dongrong had started teaching him Western Region swordsmanship when Summer Wind was very young, so he excelled both mentally and physically compared to other children, which helped him persevere.
Now, in order to support their family by selling goods at the night market, another unfortunate incident occurred. Xia Dongrong felt he could no longer burden his son, so he decided to let Summer Wind go on his own. However, given Summer Wind's personality, he could not bear to leave his father behind. Thus, Xia Dongrong made a difficult decision.
Lying in bed, Xia Dongrong said to Summer Wind, "Xiaofeng, since it has come to this, hurry up and pack our things; we need to leave."
Summer Wind did not respond but found a half-burned candle from the cupboard and lit it. He helped Xia Dongrong dress and then quietly began packing their belongings. The two of them had very few valuable items, and soon they had almost everything ready.
Watching his son busying himself, Xia Dongrong felt a pang in his heart as tears rolled down his cheeks. He turned away to wipe them discreetly and asked Summer Wind, "Xiaofeng, did they confiscate all the items from our stall?"
"Yes, they smashed everything," Summer Wind replied.
"What about that knife we have at home? It was a gift from your mother; they didn't take it away, did they?" Xia Dongrong inquired, although he had already seen the knife at Summer Wind's waist. He asked intentionally.
Summer Wind turned to Xia Dongrong with a smile and said, "The knife is here." He patted his waist as he spoke.
"Oh, that's good. As long as the knife is still here. It's the only thing your mother left us. Sigh... Xiaofeng, let me see the knife; I want to take a look..." Xia Dongrong sighed.
Summer Wind glanced at his father and pulled out the short wide knife from his waist and handed it to Xia Dongrong. It was indeed a fine knife; even after daily use for cutting beef, it remained clean and gleaming with a sharp light. As Xia Dongrong took the knife from his son, he murmured, "What a good knife; one cut can solve everything..."
Summer Wind couldn't quite hear what his father was mumbling about and turned back to continue packing their belongings. They only managed to fit everything into two small denim bags. After zipping them up, Summer Wind turned to Xia Dongrong and said, "Alright, Dad, you..." But he couldn't finish his sentence; his mouth dropped open in shock as he saw Xia Dongrong holding the knife against his own neck.
"Dad! Put that down!" Summer Wind shouted anxiously.
Xia Dongrong smiled sadly at Summer Wind while holding the knife against his neck. "Xiaofeng," he said softly, "listen to your father. I have burdened you for seven years now; I cannot drag you down any longer this time. You won't be able to escape with me by your side... In fact, I wanted to follow your mother when she passed away; I just couldn't because you were too young to take care of yourself. Now that you've grown up and can look after yourself, it's time for me to join your mother..."
"Father! No!" Summer Wind shouted anxiously, making a move to rush forward. Xia Dongrong crossed the knife in his hand and said, "Xiaofeng, don't do this! Your father is already a useless person; my death is nothing to lament. I can't let you get caught by the police because of me. You're still young, and there’s a long road ahead... After I die, don’t worry about anything. Just leave quickly; someone will come to take care of my body. If you don’t go, then my death will be in vain, do you understand?"
"No!" Summer Wind yelled, tears streaming down his face. He never expected that his moment of impulse would lead to his father's suicide. He felt incredibly unfilial; how was this any different from killing his own father? Summer Wind, oh Summer Wind, you are such an ungrateful son! But now he felt utterly helpless; the knife was pressed against his father's neck. To allow him to escape alone, his father had already made up his mind not to be a burden. If he moved even slightly, his father would undoubtedly cut his throat without hesitation. What should he do? Summer Wind's mind went blank, and all he could do was cry in desperation.
Xia Dongrong looked at Summer Wind with love, tears welling up in his eyes. If it weren't for the circumstances, who would choose to end their life this way? But if doing so meant his son could live on, he would do it without hesitation. Xia Dongrong gazed lovingly at his son and sighed, "Alright, child, the farther you go, the better... Don’t think of your father; I will watch over you with your mother in heaven. Don’t let us down. In the next life, let’s be father and son again. In that life, I will take good care of you and won’t let you suffer like this anymore... Nicole, I'm coming!" After saying this, Xia Dongrong tilted his head back and forcefully dragged the blade across his neck.
"Father!" Summer Wind screamed in despair.
At that critical moment, a sudden clash of metal rang out as a flying knife shot in from outside the window. With a clang, it struck the knife in Xia Dongrong's hand. Xia Dongrong felt a jolt in his grip; the immense impact knocked the blade off course, nearly causing him to lose hold of it. In that split second of Kung Fu skill, Summer Wind lunged forward and snatched the knife from Xia Dongrong's hand.
After seizing the knife from Xia Dongrong, Summer Wind quickly retreated a few steps and stood two meters away while turning towards the window and shouting loudly, "Who?"
A figure stepped through the door. When Summer Wind saw who it was, he paused for a moment before saying, "It's you?"
"Heh heh, it's me. Surprised?" The newcomer was Xin Yi. He had been following closely behind Summer Wind but almost lost him upon entering this Old Town Area. The dark alleys were like a maze; without familiarity, one could easily get lost here. Fortunately, Xin Yi had not gone off course and found this place just as Summer Wind lit the candle. He had been standing outside the window listening to the conversation between father and son until he heard Xia Dongrong's intention to commit suicide to avoid being a burden on his son. That’s when he acted swiftly and threw a flying knife from outside to deflect Xia Dongrong's blade and save him.
"You are?" Xia Dongrong asked as he realized he wouldn’t die today but was unsure whether to feel relieved or worried. Typically, when someone resolves to commit suicide with a firm belief they will die, that conviction usually holds only once; if they survive that attempt, they often no longer wish for death since dying is not an enjoyable experience—it requires considerable courage. So seeing that he wouldn’t die today, Xia Dongrong decided to clarify the identity of this newcomer to determine whether they were friend or foe. Noticing that his son's expression indicated familiarity with this person, he asked, "What do you want?"
Xin Yi glanced at Summer Wind and then at Xia Dongrong sitting on the bed before slowly saying, "My name is Xin Yi; I’m Summer Wind's friend. I came here to help you."
"Help us? How? Why?" Xia Dongrong looked at Summer Wind standing beside him with confusion but saw no reaction from him—he was just staring down at the knife in his hand as if still shocked by his father's actions. So he turned back to Xin Yi and asked.
"Actually, Summer Wind only injured someone; that person isn’t dead at all. So it’s not a big deal; you just need to hide for a while until this blows over," Xin Yi explained.
"Sigh... This child scared me half to death; I thought he killed someone," Xia Dongrong felt a weight lift off his chest—so long as no one died, everything could be managed. Worst case scenario would be spending some time in prison; of course, that was only if absolutely necessary because he didn’t want this incident ruining his son's future since he was still young. But where could they hide? Given their difficult situation at home and having lost contact with relatives and friends long ago, he said, "But we have nowhere to go; if we run far away my body won’t handle it... sigh..."
Xin Yi thought for a moment before asking Summer Wind, "Summer Wind, can you cook?"
"Um?" Summer Wind was momentarily confused about how his cooking skills related to the situation at hand. However, since Xin Yi had asked, there must be a reason behind it, so he nodded and replied, "I can."
"How about this?" Xin Yi continued, "I happen to need a chef at my place. Would you help me out? The monthly salary is three thousand, and I'll provide a dormitory for you two to live in... Of course, the work is quite demanding; you'll be responsible for the meals of over a hundred people three times a day. What do you think?"
"Help you? A chef?" Summer Wind asked in puzzlement. The man before him was somewhat inscrutable. While he had been cautious on his way home, checking for anyone following him, he hadn't noticed anything unusual. Yet this man had stealthily followed him home and even threw a flying knife at a critical moment, giving him the chance to snatch the knife from his father's hand. Judging by the accuracy and force of the flying knife, this man was undoubtedly skilled. But why was he helping him? And why as a chef? Was he running a restaurant?
"Just being a chef?" Before Summer Wind could respond, Xia Dongrong, who was sitting on the bed, interjected. His life experience was richer, and from his perspective, this young man named Xin Yi did not seem like a deceitful person. He likely just wanted to help their family. However, he still felt wary of Xin Yi's earlier display of knife skills; this young man was not simple. If they agreed without fully understanding the situation, it might lead to trouble later.
"Of course it's just being a chef, but even as a chef there are strict discipline requirements. We implement military-style management," Xin Yi replied. He intentionally made the job sound challenging to prevent the father and son from feeling indebted to him.
"Alright! I'll go!" Summer Wind declared firmly from the side. "Take us in; we won't take any pay."
Xin Yi readily responded, "Good! Then let's go!" He knew that now was not the time for pleasantries; getting these two moved to a safe location was the priority. As for work and pay, those were not important—he didn't actually lack chefs; he just wanted them to agree quickly.
Summer Wind carried Xia Dongrong on his back while Xin Yi grabbed their two bags. The three of them exited the Old Town Area, where an Iveco medium-sized bus was parked on the main road. Upon seeing them approach, Qin Dali got out of the vehicle and said to Xin Yi, "Brother Xin, everything is arranged."
"Alright, let's head back," Xin Yi replied.
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