The Lost Tomb : Sea Of Sands

Chapter 144: Goodbye

Because the middle-aged man had said there was no direct evidence, it couldn't be determined whether the baby was replaced, or really lived through three thousand years. There were many kinds of correct answers, but based on the middle-aged man's logic-oriented teaching, Li Cu thought the possibility of the baby being replaced was infinitely greater than the latter.

In any case, even if the baby survived, would anyone risk raising him? They couldn't judge whether the child would be intelligent and qualified, after all, so if they needed a puppet, a controllable child would be much more convenient.

When Li Cu thought of this, he couldn't help thinking about King Mu's legend. He realized that if everything was based on logic, then the legend also needed to be re-interpreted.

Based on the historical records, it was well known that King Mu and the Queen of the West really existed, and King Mu's western expedition was also true. But the story King Mu brought back was all hearsay.

Li Cu didn't dare think anymore. He hadn't paid too much attention to the lecture before, so he couldn't remember much of the information now. He also didn't want the middle-aged man to repeat it, so he decided to ask Wang Xiaoyuan about it after class. Besides, she said she would do anything for him.

When he gave the middle-aged man his crude analysis of the situation, the middle-aged man nodded his head, as if he was reluctantly satisfied.

"Even if it's a lie, a good lie has to contain some truth." The middle-aged man told him. "You have to learn to distinguish the information yourself."

As he spoke, he turned on the projector and continued that day's lecture.

The content of the lecture was a continuation of King Mu's trap. The middle-aged man said that he hoped Li Cu could figure it out himself, but now it seemed that such hope was slim. Before Li Cu's way of thinking could be replaced by a new one, he could only forcefully train him over and over again.

"The trap wasn't set for a special person; no one has that kind of capability." The middle-aged man said. "Wu Xie fell into this trap by accident."

Li Cu listened to the whole process of Wu Xie falling into the trap in an uninterested daze. He felt that Wu Xie was somewhat foolish and stupid. If it were him, he would've lived a simple and good life for the rest of his days. Who would've gone digging into these damned things? He didn't know why Wu Xie was so persistent in wanting to know the truth.

During the period when Li Cu got involved, he never had any desire to know the truth, and didn't care what was happening behind the scenes. He only cared about finding his own way out.

He felt as if Wu Xie lived the kind of life where everything revolved around him. Wu Xie was firmly ensnared in this trap, and it was in large part due to his kindness and outsider status. He was so well protected that he didn't need to worry about anything, so his mind was full of puzzles that others had designed for him. It wasn't until he lost the protection of those people that he began to see the truth.

After the lesson was finished, Li Cu had a deeper understanding of King Mu's system, and was better able to start figuring some things out, but it was still unclear. The homework for this class was the same as yesterday's topic. It seemed that the middle-aged man was determined to have Li Cu figure out King Mu's way of thinking back then.

By going through time and space to understand an ancient man, Li Cu began to realize that the so-called history lesson here seemed to be practical. It wasn't simply for him to understand history, but that these things would play a decisive role in his life sooner or later.

Shortly after the middle-aged man left, Wang Xiaoyuan appeared in front of Li Cu's window again. If the timing of her appearance was changed to midnight, Li Cu felt that this was a story of a scholar and a female ghost. [1]

She didn't enter the room, but waited for Li Cu to come out so she could push him around the sports field again. Wang Xiaoyuan told him that she secretly asked the person who set his knee, and they said he wouldn't be able to walk for at least a month and a half.

Li Cu was somewhat depressed. For a man like him, a month and a half felt like a year.

The sports field was full of young people playing soccer, all of whom were about the same age as Li Cu, give or take a year or two. But they were all much stronger than him, and as Li Cu watched, he felt that although they didn't play using any tactics, their personal qualities were very good. Even if they played something like football or rugby, they would still be good-looking.

Li Cu and Wang Xiaoyuan were quite conspicuous on the sports field, and many people turned to look at them with curious eyes. The girl seemed to be quite comfortable, and was greeted by many boys.

As they continued talking, Li Cu found a chance and asked her, "Why do you want to be my partner so bad?"

"I like you." Wang Xiaoyuan said from behind him, "I want to be with you."

"Don't joke." Li Cu said. "It's not like a girl like you would like someone like me."

"You have no confidence in yourself." Wang Xiaoyuan touched his hair and gave a "tut". Li Cu hadn't taken a bath for a long time, and his hair was very oily: "Did they not arrange for you to take a bath?"

Since bathing could irritate his skin, they often only wiped his body down, which meant his hair didn't get washed.

"I wish what you said is true, but it's obviously impossible." Li Cu said. "You suddenly appear with a clear purpose, and it's obvious at first glance that you're plotting something. But it doesn't matter. I hold little value in other's schemes, and don't care. I just want to know what you want. I'm afraid I'll disappoint you if I can't do it."

Wang Xiaoyuan was silent for a moment, and then said, "You'll know when you choose me, but I can tell you right now that if you choose me, you won't suffer."

The topic was very awkward, and they didn't continue talking about it after that. Li Cu actually still had a question: Why did she tell him by note? He felt that the girl could obviously just tell him herself.

When he knew the reason later, he suddenly realized that he felt like the girl's behavior had been ambiguous at this time. It was as if they were trying to turn very utilitarian things into little ambiguities between men and women. If that were the case, then this girl was more than a cute face.

After returning to the ward, Wang Xiaoyuan told him that it might be difficult to see him like this again. She would try her best, but this might be the last time she'd be able to push him around the sports field.

"They're still very afraid of you getting close to anyone." She said to him. "They won't stop me on the spot, because they hope that you'll lower your guard, and feel like this is 'home'. But they talked to me yesterday. I came to say goodbye to you today."

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Note:

[1] This story was mentioned way back in Vol 6. It's a story from "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" that I think is called "Nie Xiaoqian" which is the lead female character in "The Magic Sword" a fantasy story in Pu Songling's short story collection.