Chapter 129: Poverty Comes First

The spot where we entered the river was close to the riverbed. It was the middle of the night, and everything in sight was pitch black. This particular stretch of the river had a massive curve and a steep incline, causing the turbulent water to sweep He Yu and me apart. In water like that, there is nothing a person can do. The only option is to protect your internal organs from being punctured by the rocks.

I drew the knife from my waist and let the current carry me downstream. When I reached a bend where the flow was slightly slower, I used both hands to jam the blade into a crack in the rocks. The knife wedged in skillfully, and my entire body came to a halt.

I took out the spare flashlight hanging around my neck and switched it on. Clamping the light between my teeth, I braced my feet against the slippery rock crevices and inched my way upward. Finally, I hooked my arms over the upper edge of the rocky bank and heaved myself up, collapsing onto the exposed stone amidst patches of overgrown weeds.

My clothes were soaked through. I didn’t want to move, and I didn’t have the strength anyway. Listening to the sound of the water, the whole world seemed to go quiet. I lay there on the ground, staring up at the brilliant stars. The night sky here was much more beautiful. As my breathing gradually steadied, I suddenly felt like just falling asleep right then and there.

“What are you doing? I’ve been looking for you for ages, and here you are taking it easy. Don’t you plan on going back?” He Yu’s voice drifted over from a nearby rock. He stepped through the grass toward me and reached out a hand.

Seeing him made me feel inexplicably happy. I took his hand, patted the grass off my clothes, and stood up. Lu A’yao followed not far behind him. It was only then that I noticed the three of us looked like savages who had just crawled out of a slum.

“Han Jian and the others went up through a different exit. Chen Canghai went with them. We need to get out of here fast. That entire section of the cliff collapsed, so people are bound to show up soon. If we get caught, we’re finished,” He Yu said.

Dressed as we were, we would stand out too much in either the village or the county town. After a quick discussion, we used the river water to give our faces and bodies a rough wash, trying to make ourselves look somewhat presentable. Then, we hiked to the outskirts of the nearest town and made do for the night using the tent and sleeping bags from our packs.

The mosquitoes in the wild were fierce. He Yu and I barely slept, spending the entire night swatting at them. Early the next morning, we went into town to buy some clothes and pants to change into. There weren’t many clothing stores in town, and the styles were quite tacky. Both He Yu and I thought we had picked out the trendiest items available.

The result made us look like a pair of local thugs. Only Lu A’yao looked somewhat decent. He had bought the simplest outfit: a white short-sleeved shirt and long pants. He Yu had even thoughtfully provided him with a medical mask to wear.

After struggling through the Underground Palace, we hadn’t brought much money with us. It was only after buying the clothes that we realized we were on the verge of bankruptcy.

My phone was lost, so I spent a yuan at a public phone booth in town to call my mother. As soon as the call connected, she unleashed a torrent of abuse. I had to hold the receiver away from my ear until she finished, but by the time I brought it back, she had already hung up.

I wanted to dial again, but the booth owner snatched the receiver away, signaling that I needed to pay another yuan to make another call.

I couldn’t bear to part with even a single cent more, so I had to give up for the time being.

My attempt to get funds was a total failure, but He Yu was still trying. He planned to sell the tent and sleeping bags. Even though they were second-hand, he hoped to claw back some cash. Lu A’yao had the most money on him, but it was only enough for one full meal and the clothes we’d bought. It wasn’t nearly enough for a hotel room.

So, the two of us sat side by side on the curb, each with a cigarette dangling from our mouths, our faces masks of dejection.

“What rotten luck,” I said, no longer caring about the dirt as I sat flat on the curb. “If I’d known, I would have just left with Han Jian.”

Lu A’yao looked a bit out of his element. This guy had probably never been reduced to moping on a curb over money in his life. I looked up and saw He Yu grinning as he rounded the corner of the intersection.

The moment I saw him, I sprang up from the ground. Lu A’yao stood up as well, showing a rare interest in practical matters. If He Yu hadn’t managed to sell that tent, my next plan was to buy a piece of cloth and write “Fortune Telling” on it in big letters for Lu A’yao. We might have been able to make ten or twenty yuan that way.

I tossed my cigarette and ran toward He Yu. He gave me a playful wink, and I asked, “Well? How much did you get?”

He Yu mysteriously pulled five red hundred-yuan bills from his pocket. I nearly fainted with frustration. “Wait, you only got five hundred for all that expensive gear?”

“There’s no market for tents in a place like this! Besides, you know what kind of shape that tent was in. For these five hundred yuan, I had to plead and beg and talk my ear off to trick them into it. We’re lucky anyone wanted it at all!”

He Yu counted the money once more and stuffed it back into his pocket. “Forget about it. Let’s go get a room first. None of us slept well yesterday, and I can’t take it anymore. Look at these mosquito bites. We need to find a place to rest properly.”

The sun was blazing, and I was exhausted too. I figured five hundred was better than nothing, and we’d worry about it when it ran out. We scouted the street and realized that five hundred yuan really wasn’t much. We eventually found the cheapest hotel available. He Yu went to check us in while Lu A’yao and I collapsed onto the lobby sofa, feeling like we were being baked into dried sweet potatoes.

Once He Yu finished the check-in, he called us over. I followed him upstairs, feeling like my soul was drifting out of my body. I stumbled up to the third floor, but after taking only two steps into the room, I froze.

“What exactly is the meaning of this ‘single-bed room’ you booked?”

I looked up at the spiderwebs hanging in the corner, then reached down to pat the bed. A layer of dust and lint rose from the tattered sheets, making me cough several times.

“A single-bed room is cheaper! Out of this five hundred, we need at least three hundred for the bus tickets home, plus another hundred for food. That only leaves a hundred. You can’t get two rooms for a hundred yuan,” He Yu replied.

I understood the logic.

But I still took a deep breath, nearly laughing from sheer frustration. “Look, there are three of us men, and you got a room with one bed. This bed is shorter than I am! How are we supposed to sleep tonight? Stacked on top of each other? Are we performing acrobatics in our dreams?”

He Yu sputtered for a while before saying, “For god’s sake, just make do. There are no standard rooms left. Besides, it’s not like I can’t sleep here. It’s just a bed; you two take half and I’ll take the other half!”

Lu A’yao closed the door and walked over to join us. Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone slide one of those suggestive little cards through the gap under the door.

Seeing how shamelessly confident he was, I couldn’t help but snap at him.

“Why do we have to share half while you get the other half to yourself? Why do you get so much space? Why…” I flopped onto the bed and gave He Yu a mischievous grin. “Hey, finders keepers. I claimed it first, so it’s mine.”

“Hey! Old Lu, look at this. The battle hasn’t even started and someone’s already cheating. That’s not fair!” He Yu dropped his bag and lunged at me like a bear. In an instant, we were wrestling and having a pillow fight, leaving the bedsheets in a tangled mess.

Lu A’yao glanced at us but ignored the chaos. He walked straight to a worn-out sofa, sat down, and turned on the air conditioner, content to just enjoy the breeze.