Chapter 48 - Memory
"Little Wei, cough, cough, come in."
Cassius pushed the door open and entered. Ten minutes later, he came out and stood silently for a moment in the spacious hallway. Was Instructor Lisa sick?
I'll ask for more details when I return from Li Wei's hometown…
***
The next morning, Cassius packed up his bags and descended the mountain.
The Wind Elephant Sect’s headquarters in Oak City was not far from Li Wei's hometown in Black Sand City, about a hundred kilometers away. But a hundred kilometers meant different things in this era. Cars were rare, and train tracks were not widely laid out. Taking a passenger train was next to impossible. However, if a passenger train was out of the question, one could always catch a freight train.
True to its name, Oak City was rich in timber so a few train tracks had been laid out, although most of them were purely for freight.
The speed of steam trains in this era was extremely slow and sometimes, a good horse would even beat it. There was supposedly even a group of bandits in the western desert of the Hongli Federation who specialized in mounting horses to rob trains.
With Cassius's skills, he could run as fast as a galloping horse; he'd barely have to break a sweat jumping aboard a moving train. The other option would be to sneak into the train station and wait for the right moment to board.
An average person would find this difficult, but for martial arts practitioners like Cassius, it was as easy as eating and drinking.
Of course, the first thing he had to do was find the right train. Otherwise, if he jumped on and fell asleep, he might just wake up outside of Beiliu County. Cassius had spent a lot of money in Oak City to get the accurate train details and because the intelligence came from an insider, he could feel reassured that it was correct.
As for where the money came from… It was all thanks to his good Junior Brother Damien.
Damien was particularly quick to pay up, especially when he heard that Li Wei was going back to his hometown for a while. He even cheerfully offered to help pay for some travel expenses.
The sky was a clear, brilliant blue and the grass rolled out like a green carpet, undulating with the slopes of the hills. A river winded from east to west, cutting through the plain fields. From above, it looked like a silver, reflective ribbon extending deep into the woods.
Woo…
Thick black smoke billowed toward the sky.
Amidst the smoke, a coal-fired steam train chugged along the tracks. It looked like a black serpent slithering at a steady pace. Just as the train passed a small hill, a nimble figure dashed forward and jumped onto the train. The whole process was as smooth and fluid as water.
Alright, I'm on.
Cassius was perched atop a small, metal platform protruding out from the rear of the carriage. It wasn't very large, but it was big enough to fit one person. He threw his bag to the side and looked down at the black train tracks moving backward. He then surveyed his surroundings.
Everywhere he looked, he saw large patches of green and blue. It was a scene straight out of an artist's oil painting, the colors blending beautifully together like watercolor strokes. The blue sky and green fields intertwined, with the occasional tree passing by.
A scene like this was a novel experience for Cassius, so he sat down and took out his unfinished lunch from his bag. After he was done, he practiced his combat moves.
While trains in this era weren’t much, they did provide an "immersive experience." Every connecting section of the track caused the train to jolt. The constant jolting and noise greatly impacted his efficiency. But he didn't have a choice. He'd take wasting four or five days on a bumpy ride over the twenty days he'd need to trek home.
Yes, it really did take that long to travel a hundred kilometers in this era. The most efficient mode of travel was actually boarding a train.
It was soon night. Using his bag as a makeshift pillow under his neck, Cassius laid down on the platform and quietly gazed at the sky.
The sky was clear save for a layer of faint, misty clouds hiding the mysterious moon behind them. There were no clusters of stars, just a few lonely ones scattered around that struggled to shine. They looked like lonely, broken marbles that were abandoned.
Like a curious child, Cassius spread his fingers in front of his eyes, looking through the gaps to gaze at the fragmented night sky. His gaze was slightly out of focus and looked a little lost.
Or was it melancholy? Perhaps, but who wouldn’t feel lost, especially in such lonely circumstances?
Cassius was gradually lulled to sleep by the rhythmic bouncing of the train. When he opened his eyes again, it was already dawn. A line of pale yellow light slowly rose on the horizon.
The morning air was particularly chilly but Cassius could handle it due to his strong physique. The temperature would gradually rise alongside the sun.
At noon, Cassius jumped off with his bag when the train once again crossed a plain, and rolled a few times on the ground. When he stood up, he was covered in dust. He watched the black train disappear into the distance, then followed the tracks.
After a few hours of trekking, Cassius spotted Black Sand City in the distance. He didn't enter the city though, and instead followed Li Wei's vague memories to the eastern suburbs. On the way there, Cassius encountered an ox cart that was coincidentally heading into Jianmu Town. After paying a small fee, he found himself a new ride.
As with any animal-led vehicle, the ox cart swayed violently on the uneven stone roads. Thankfully, the sun was strong enough to dry the hay on the wooden cart. It became soft and fluffy, like a comfortable bed that Cassius could sink into.
After a while, the ox cart entered a dirt road in the woods. The swaying stopped, and the shade from the trees blocked the sunlight. Cassius got himself comfortable, crossing his arms to take another trip to dreamland.
An unknown amount of time passed before the bearded old driver said in a slightly accented voice, "We're here, young man."
Cassius jolted awake.
The ox cart was moving down a dirt road on a small hill. Both sides of the road was lined with luscious green meadows interspersed with yellow and red flowers, filling the air with a faint fragrance. Ahead of them, the outline of a human village was visible.
It was Jianmu Town! Flower Road Village was less than two kilometers away. Cassius thanked the driver and quickly got off the cart.
His hazy memories guiding him, he walked down a rural path.
After about ten minutes, Cassius stopped to look around. The dilapidated walls bordering Flower Road Village came into view. They were covered with moss and climbing vines that spilled chaotically over.
As he ambled slowly and deeper into the village, the dichotomy of familiarity and unfamiliarity grew stronger. The last time Li Wei returned to the village was when he repaired his mother's grave. That was years ago.
"Stop! Don't run! I am Sir Knight and I’m going to cut off your evil dragon head!" A child's voice was close by.
Two little kids, barely up to Cassius's waist, chased each other down the village road. One of them waved a slender branch around like a knight's sword.
Cassius adjusted his bag and stepped aside to let them pass.
The two kids shot glances at Cassius before resuming their game, chasing each other until they disappeared into the distance.
Cassius shrugged and continued his journey.
Five minutes later, he came to a secluded house on the side of Flower Road Village near the mountain. It was low, dilapidated, and simple. There was a wall around it, but one side had already collapsed.
Cassius walked in silently. Perhaps some of the things there struck a familiar note because Li Wei's vague memories gradually became clearer.
The place where the farm tools were, where the tables and chairs were, where they ate, where they slept, and where he played with his sister…
This house held most of Li Wei's memories from childhood to adolescence. Everything looked just as it did in his memories. The only difference was the three people in his memories were now gone.
Cassius pushed the door open and walked in. The house was covered in cobwebs, and the floor was caked in dust. Some of the wooden furniture had even started to mold.
He set his bag down and spent an hour cleaning the entire house but didn't move the furniture around. Cassius wouldn't stay here for long. It was best to leave the decaying furniture and house untouched so they could remain as memories.
He could tell just from a glance at the sky, it was about 3 p.m. Cassius stood up to head back toward Beierna Mountain.
Comments
Top