In the Sorghum Field

In the Sorghum Field

After eating the melon, Jiang Hao found the dirt road by the Gauze Curtain. The moment he stepped out, he heard the jingling of bells in the distance—livestock bells. Jiang Hao quickly ducked back and hid behind the sorghum, intending to wait until the person passed before continuing on his way.

Before long, a woman in a red jacket rode into view on a little donkey.

Jiang Hao had sharp eyes and recognized the woman on the donkey as Jiu'er from far away.

It suddenly dawned on him: this was her Return Visit after three days.

Right, in the movie, this was where Yu Zhan'ao abducted Jiu'er into the Gauze Curtain, leading to everything that followed.

He had not prepared for anything like this before, yet by some twist of fate, the two of them had met here again.

Could this be fate?

What was he supposed to do? He had no idea which direction the movie would take from here, and whether he could complete his mission had suddenly become far more uncertain.

He took off his undershirt and pulled it over his face, leaving only a pair of dark eyes exposed. As he watched Jiu'er's donkey draw nearer and nearer, his heart pounded faster—not just from nerves, but perhaps even more from anticipation.

Whoosh!

Jiang Hao sprang out.

Jiu'er was riding the donkey when she suddenly saw a burly man leap from the sorghum field. Startled, she let out an "Ah!" Before she could react, she had already been thrown over his shoulder.

"Ah! Ahhh!"

Jiu'er could only scream. But the wind was strong that day, rustling the sorghum leaves loudly, and her cries could not carry far at all.

Jiang Hao carried Jiu'er deeper into the sorghum field at a quick pace. Jiu'er had a fierce temper and kept kicking, hitting, and clawing at him. During the struggle, Jiang Hao lost his footing, and the two of them rolled onto the ground.

Jiu'er scrambled up and ran. Jiang Hao hurried after her, and the two began a chase through the sorghum field. Unable to tell east from west, Jiu'er darted about wildly among the stalks. Jiang Hao took a few quick strides and caught her in his arms. Jiu'er continued struggling and yanked the undershirt from Jiang Hao's head.

Their eyes met.

Time seemed to freeze. They stared at each other, both panting hard from the frantic chase.

"It's you," Jiu'er said.

"It's me," Jiang Hao replied.

Huff... huff... huff... They continued panting as they faced each other.

Jiang Hao gritted his teeth. Now that he had started, how could he give up halfway? He grabbed Jiu'er's hand.

Jiu'er said softly, "I'm leaving. Otherwise, my father will worry."

"I'll come find you later," Jiang Hao said.

Jiu'er turned her head and looked at Jiang Hao with her big eyes. Suddenly, anger rose in her heart, and she shouted at him, "How are you going to find me? What right do you have to find me? I'm Li Mafeng's wife! My father traded a big black mule for me!"

Watching Jiu'er disappear, Jiang Hao clenched his fists and shouted, "I'll come find you!"

When Jiu'er emerged from the sorghum field, the old man was already standing by the road, holding the donkey's reins. The donkey was chewing sorghum leaves.

"Girl, what were you doing?" the old man asked.

"Answering nature's call," Jiu'er said with a grim face.

"You took that long to answer nature's call? I've been standing here forever," the old man pressed.

Jiu'er ignored her father, climbed back onto the donkey, and continued down the road. The wind made the sorghum leaves rustle and crackle. Then, a rough voice rang out from the sorghum field:

"Hey~~ little sister, boldly walk on ahead,

Walk on ahead, don't turn back.

The road to heaven stretches nine thousand nine hundred,

Nine thousand nine hundred and nine.

Hey~~ little sister, boldly walk on ahead,

Walk on ahead, don't turn back.

From this day on,

You'll build that crimson tower,

And scatter Crimson Embroidered Balls,

One will strike me right on the head.

"

At this moment, in this setting, Jiang Hao found singing this song especially exhilarating.

Hearing the song, the old man looked at his daughter and stamped his feet as he cursed, "What stinking actor is that? Wailing like at a funeral in broad daylight! What kind of crooked, demonic tune is that?"

"Hey~ little sister, boldly walk on ahead~~~"

Jiu'er burst out laughing, her face full of delight.

After Jiu'er and her father had gone far away, Jiang Hao sat beside a streambed, thinking about what to do next. Looking at the ditch full of thatch, he gritted his teeth. "What's there to hesitate over? If it needs to be done, do it. Otherwise, I don't deserve to call myself a man."

He got up, patted his backside, and headed briskly toward the county town. He covered the ten-plus li in an hour. Jiang Hao noticed that the guards at the city gate had changed. There had originally been only two gatekeepers, but now there were four. They were no longer as lax as before, when people could come and go without any scrutiny. Now, whenever they saw someone carrying a load or pushing a cart, they stopped them for an inspection.

His hands were empty, his undershirt hung over his shoulder, and he walked through bare-chested. No one stopped to question him.

Once inside the city, two men ahead of him had just entered as well. They chatted as they walked. Jiang Hao was not far from them and could vaguely make out their conversation.

"Why is it so strict today? They're even inspecting people. Did something big happen in town?" one of them asked.

"Something did happen, but it's nothing major. Before I left town early this morning, I heard that yesterday evening, a gate guard got beaten while taking a dump in the grove. His gun was stolen, and that guy still hasn't woken up. Looks like he might not make it."

"That's why they added more men first thing this morning. There are four guards at the gate now, just to keep anything else from happening. I figure they're stopping us to look for that missing gun."

"It's already gone. Where are they going to find it? Who'd be stupid enough to carry a gun around town?"

"That's what I'm saying. They're just putting on a show to ease their minds, hehe."

Jiang Hao entered a small noodle shop. An old wooden sign hung above it, bearing the words "Authentic Shaanxi Noodles." Jiang Hao strode inside. "Boss, two bowls of Youpo Noodles."

"Sure thing. How much chili?"

"Extra."

"Two bowls of Youpo Noodles, extra chili!" the owner called out with particular vigor.

The wide noodles were scooped out, topped with a few greens and a handful of chopped scallions, then covered with chili. Sizzling hot oil was poured over them with a loud crackle, and the bowls of noodles were ready.