Wu Chun eagerly waited for night to fall.
When Wu Chun mentioned his idea to the village chief in the morning, the chief only said that they would talk about it in the evening, neither rejecting nor accepting it.
But in Wu Chun’s eyes, the lack of rejection meant that there was hope.
Wu Chun didn’t tell Xu Shi Yao about this matter for two reasons: First, it was still uncertain, and Wu Chun didn’t want to raise Xu Shi Yao’s hopes for nothing. Second, if this thing really worked out, it might be a pleasant surprise for Xu Shi Yao.
Had Xu Shi Yao ever been happy before?
Whenever Wu Chun had some free time, he would always think about this question. When Wu Chun first met Xu Shi Yao, he couldn’t detect any emotional changes in him. Moreover, according to what Xu Shi Yao had said before he met Wu Chun, the recorded tree barks only contained some long-standing issues that had been bothering Xu Shi Yao for a while.
It felt like the five years before meeting Wuchun had passed like fleeting smoke and clouds, and the past was just the past. Even though that moment at midnight would be forgotten, there was nothing regrettable about it.
There was nothing worth recording, because every day was spent in a state of complete ignorance of the world.
Over the past five years, Wu Chun guessed that Xu Shi Yao had been confused and perplexed, but apparently not very happy.
And the things that could make Xu Shi Yao happy mostly revolved around the mountainside trees being protected from harm.
“Wu Chun, you have to give it your all this time!”
Wu Chun put his hand on his chest, clutching the pine cone pendant that Xu Shi Yao had given him, and cheered himself on.
…
As time dragged on until evening, right after the sun had set, Wu Chun couldn’t wait any longer and hurriedly made his way to the village chief’s house. However, as he passed through the village courtyard, he noticed that the courtyard gate was open and a group of people were inside, busily setting up the scene.
The village chief was standing in the middle of the crowd.
Wu Chun stood in place and listened intently for a while, only then realizing that someone was setting up a stage tonight.
In Shili Village, a theatre troupe would come to perform every month. During these times, no matter how tired the villagers were, they would gather in the village courtyard with small stools as night fell and stay there until the end of the performance.
Wu Chun’s grandfather also liked to listen to the performances. Sometimes Wu Chun could hear his grandfather humming a line or two.
“Wu Chun.”
Wu Chun lifted his head when he heard the sound and saw the village chief pushing his way out of the crowd and walking towards him.
“Village Chief.”
Wu Chun stood obediently, like a well-behaved student meeting his teacher.
“Almost everyone in the entire village will come tonight. These are the songs that will be performed.” The village chief said this as he handed Wu Chun a piece of paper.
Wu Chun took it and stared at the village chief in disbelief.
All the performances scheduled for tonight seemed to be deliberately arranged and related to the protection of the mountains and forests.
“When the performance reaches the middle, you will have half an hour.”
“Thank you, village chief!” Wu Chun’s tone couldn’t hide his excitement. He hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly. He had to go home now and prepare his draft.
“Village Chief, I’ll go back and get ready.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
After receiving the village chief’s approval, Wu Chun hummed a melody and turned to leave. However, he didn’t realize that the moment he turned around, the previously smiling face of the village chief immediately filled with sorrow. After Wu Chun had walked some distance away, the village chief let out a slow sigh.
Qe Jtec mbeivc’a gfrlra jcv kfca ab Vtlil Zbecajlc olgra. Cr tf milwyfv tjiokjs eq atf wbecajlc lc j mtffgoei wbbv, tewwlcu j rbcu jii atf kjs, tf rjk atf wlvvif-jufv wjc ktb tjv vlruerafv Qe Jtec fjgilfg atja joafgcbbc jujlc.
Ktlr alwf, atf wlvvif-jufv wjc kjr ralii rajcvlcu lc ogbca bo atf qlcf agff ktfgf We Vtl Tjb kjr. Llr tjcvr kfgf mijrqfv yftlcv tlr yjmx, jcv tf aliafv tlr tfjv ab ibbx ja atf agff.
Even though Wu Chun was standing behind him and couldn’t see his specific expression, he could easily imagine how sleazy he looked.
Moreover, even though they both had their hands behind their backs, Xu Shi Yao exuded an air of elegance.
As for the man standing in front of him…
Wu Chun’s eyes were filled with contempt. He put one hand behind his back and used the other to rub his nose, pretending to cough twice.
Upon hearing the sound, the man turned around and looked at Wu Chun with an oily smile.
“Young man, who is the chief of your village?”
“What do you care?” Wu Chun asked impatiently.
“Are you selling this tree in your village?”
Wu Chun became furious when he heard this and couldn’t hold back anymore. He stepped forward and started to push the man away, saying, “Can you afford to buy it?
Wu Chun spoke politely, but in his heart he thought, Who do you think you are?
“This tree was planted by someone higher up.” Wu Chun deliberately emphasized the words “higher up” to make the other person realize the difficulty and back off.
“Is that so?”
“Yes, yes, hurry up and leave. Don’t even think about putting your hands on that tree.” Wu Chun said, pushing the person away. After the person left, it was about twenty minutes later when Wu Chun heard the sound of gongs and drums coming from the village under the mountain, which made him anxious.
There’s not much time to waste; let’s take care of the important things first.
“Wait for me tonight; I have a lot of good news to tell you.”
Wu Chun patted the pine tree twice and hurried down the mountain.
When he returned home, Wu Chun didn’t even have time to eat. He rummaged through the closet and took out paper and a pen to start writing.
Wu Chun created a simple flow chart for that precious half hour, specifying what to say in the first ten minutes, the middle ten minutes, and the last ten minutes.
Clutching the flow chart in his pocket, Wu Chun hurried to the village courtyard.
The game was already in progress…
Standing among the crowd, Wu Chun unexpectedly calmed his mind and listened intently.
The performers were fully immersed in their roles, and the audience was naturally captivated. Cheers erupted from the audience, but just as Wu Chun was enjoying the moment, the play came to a halt.
At that moment, the village chief nudged Wu Chun.
Wu Chun immediately understood, straightened his clothes, took a deep breath, and stepped onto the stage.
“Good evening, fellow villagers!” Looking at the crowd below, Wu Chun couldn’t help but feel nervous.
This feeling was even more terrifying than giving a speech in front of the entire school.
Wu Chun exhaled slowly, his hand gripping the microphone and his palm covered in a layer of sweat.
“Do you all know what the teachers were singing about?” Wu Chun asked with a smile.
After a short moment of silence, the crowd below began to chatter.
“Young man, even though most of us don’t have much education, we can still understand the opera.”
“Yes, what’s so difficult about it? The songs they sang tonight probably conveyed the message not to cut down trees indiscriminately.”
The discussions below became more intense, and some people even gathered to discuss tonight’s performance, completely ignoring the presence of someone on the stage.
Wu Chun didn’t have much experience speaking on stage, so he was completely nervous. Just then, Wu Chun heard a voice say, “Young man, do you have any opinions?”
Wu Chun followed the source of the voice and saw a man standing next to his grandfather. It was most likely his uncle who had just spoken.
Meeting his grandfather’s encouraging gaze, Wu Chun’s nervousness eased a bit.
“You know, I think it’s really necessary to protect the trees, especially here in our mountainous area. If the mountains have no vegetation protection, they will be upset, and we all know the consequences when the mountains are upset. I think all the uncles and aunts here have experienced it. Everyone understands the importance of protecting trees. However, when it comes to putting it into practise, there are always various challenges and problems that arise.
Wu Chun blurted out his words in one breath, pronouncing the last syllable with strong emphasis. He felt a temporary relief from his floating heart but the following comments made him want to curse repeatedly.
“That’s easy for you to say, but if we don’t cut firewood, what are we going to eat?”
“Yes, how can we eat three meals a day without making fire to cook? What will we eat and drink?”
…
At first glance, these comments may not seem like much, but as the conversation went on, they became more and more offensive. It even went from discussing tree protection directly to targeting Wu Chun.
“You, a kid who grew up in the city's honey jar, what do you know?”
“What’s the point of talking to an ignorant child?”
“If every household here could be like yours, who would bother to cut firewood? It’s not only tiring, but we have to be on guard every night.”
“Oh, don’t even mention it. I haven’t dared to go there in two days. I heard that someone went there right after dark and encountered that thing.”
“That’s right. We need a real expert who understands the situation to come and deal with this harmful thing.”
“Are they going to continue the game or not? If not, we’ll go back. We still have to work in the fields tomorrow morning.”
…
In the end, Wu Chun was forced to leave the stage.
Almost everyone’s attention remained focused on the opera, and no one cared about him at all.
“Chun Chun.”
Wu Chun turned his head to see his grandfather and the village chief standing next to him.
“Now you understand, right? Some methods just won’t work here.”
“Grandfather, do you know that?” Wu Chun asked.
Grandfather nodded. “The village chief tried it before, going from house to house to convince them. It didn’t work. Today, the village chief came to me and asked if he could persuade you. I told him to go ahead. If you’re not allowed to try, how can you give up?”
Wu Chun felt a wave of resentment in his heart, but unfortunately, he couldn’t vent his frustration at that moment. He had to endure the dissatisfaction in his heart and say to his grandfather, “Grandpa, I’m going out to clear my mind. You don’t have to wait for me to fall asleep tonight.”
The lively atmosphere gradually faded away as Wu Chun walked, until he could only hear faint sounds.
Guided by the moonlight, Wu Chun set foot on the path to Shili Mountain. He tore the map in his hand, which contained many things he couldn’t even express.
Wu Chun stuffed the torn pieces of paper into his pocket and looked at the silent street in front of him. He let out a slow sigh.
The setback tonight didn’t make Wu Chun feel that frustrated. What made him angry was their repeated use of the term “harmful thing”.
Wasn’t the “harmful thing” on the mountain that prevented them from cutting down trees Xu Shi Yao?
Xu Shi Yao sacrificed himself for them, gave up the chance to be reborn, and protected them until now. In the end, all he received was the mocking remark that he was a “harmful thing.
Mockery.
Wu Chun felt a deep sense of irony in his heart. If Xu Shi Yao knew about this, how disappointed he would be.
At this moment, Wu Chun suddenly felt lucky that Xu Shi Yao could only retain memories for one day. This way, even if he received hurtful words from people during the day, at the moment of midnight, when his memories were reset to zero, the resentment in his heart would disappear. It was also at that moment that he saw the advice he had left for himself on the bark of the tree, and his fighting spirit was rekindled.
“If you don’t remember, you won’t be disappointed.”
Wu Chun stood at the foot of the mountain and looked up at the mountaintop.
Suddenly, he lacked the courage to step forward. He had promised to bring a surprise to the other person, but all he ended up bringing was a pile of terrible emotions.
Thus, Wu Chun hesitated at the foot of the mountain for a long time. Just as Wu Chun was about to continue his journey, he suddenly heard a familiar voice.
“Wu Chun.”
Wu Chun looked up and saw Xu Shi Yao standing on the mountain path, not far from him. The moonlight reflected in Xu Shi Yao’s eyes, and in those eyes, Wu Chun caught a glimpse of concern.
Xu Shi Yao was well aware of what had happened during the day, with the woman whose emotions he couldn’t understand and the middle-aged man who repelled him.
Fortunately, except for Wu Chun, no one could directly interact with him.
However, when the woman reached out to hug him, even though they couldn’t make direct physical contact, Xu Shi Yao still felt some indescribable sensations in his body.
As night fell, Xu Shi Yao couldn’t wait any longer and eagerly came out of the pine tree. He had been waiting for Wu Chun for a long time and finally felt his presence. However, Wu Chun remained at the foot of the mountain and refused to come up.
Xu Shiyao was worried, so he decided to come down the mountain himself.
Seeing that Wu Chun didn’t speak, Xu Shi Yao spoke again: “What happened? Is something wrong?”
To his surprise, Wu Chun’s eyes immediately turned red. Before Xu Shi Yao could react, Wu Chun rushed over and hugged him.
In the end, all Xu Shi Yao could hear were Wu Chun’s desperate words, “I feel so miserable, Xu Shi Yao.”
».. there are always various challenges and problems that arise.« ” is missing at the end
».. mocking remark that he was a “harmful thing.« thing”.
»Xu Shiyao was worried, so he..« Shi Yao
Puuh, dunno if I should feel fed up with those villagers or not. If they don’t want to learn how they could di better and still have firewood then, they deserve what they get from it? I’ll just let the author decide how to handle it xD
And who is that strange middle aged guy? Want to buy a tree? Hmm..
Thx for the ch ٩( >ヮ<)۶