From the moment Lin Chuan got into the car, the driver felt the oppressive atmosphere inside, particularly the terrifying aura emanating from Lin Chuan. It was so frightening that the driver ended up calling the police.
...
After eight years, returning to this familiar yet strange city, it seemed as if everything had changed. The familiar community, with several broken signs hanging at the entrance, among them a white sign with black letters angled askew due to loose screws. However, the writing could still be vaguely made out: Changlin Community.
Lin Chuan stood at the entrance of the community for a long while, as if seeing changes of epochs and the vastness of time immemorial.
Beep beep...
Behind him, a brand new BMW car honked frantically, finally rousing Lin Chuan from his reverie. He hurriedly stepped aside as the BMW sped away, the driver unable to help sticking his head out and cursing loudly: "Fucking hell, what a psycho!"
A cloud of dust rose up, obscuring Lin Chuan's bitter smile. Returning to this place, he found everything changed, and he picked up his bag to continue on. As he lifted his arm, the sleeve of his shirt was pulled up, revealing for an instant a black tattoo. Under the sunlight, the tattoo emitted a strange radiance; it was a black pentagram, yet within it lurked a wolf stained with blood, and beneath the wolf's fangs was a skull exuding a cold glow.
The tattoo was exposed only for a moment, but it was enough to startle a few young onlookers who had been hiding in the shadows nearby.
"Fuck, that tattoo is terrifying."
"Go, follow him and see!"
A few of them trailed Lin Chuan curiously. Suddenly, Lin Chuan came to a halt and glanced at them. In that instant, an aura of murderous intent filled the air, and the youths ran off, the obese one among them tumbling on the ground before scrambling towards the woods.
Lin Chuan has always been dismissive towards such idle youngsters in society. Humming a tune, he continued on the familiar path towards his home.
Changlin Community hadn't changed much; upon entering from the main gate, not far away was a bike repair stall, still manned by the same gray-haired old man, and opposite him was a tailor shop. Nearby were a few multi-story buildings, surrounded by low-lying houses and some shanty dwellings blanketed with red five-star national flags on their roofs. Seeing these bright flags stirred complex feelings in Lin Chuan's heart.
"Mom, I'm back!" Lin Chuan arrived in front of a row of bungalows and stopped at an iron door, knocking repeatedly.
However, there was no response from inside. Looking down, he saw an Iron General padlock on the door. Although the door was closed tightly, from the looks of the surrounding area, it seemed that someone was living there. But why was there no answer? Could it be that his mother had gone out? Relieved, Lin Chuan casually sat down on the grinding stone by the door and fished out a metal case from his pocket, taking out a cigarette.
"You... you're Brother Chuan, right?" At that moment, the curious idle youngsters approached.
Lin Chuan glanced at them, curious, and asked: "Who are you guys?"
"Brother Chuan, I'm Xiao Kai." Zhou Kai, who had just fallen to the ground, hurriedly spoke: "I used to live next door to you, right... here..."
While speaking, Zhou Kai excitedly pointed at the wooden door next to the Iron General, saying: "Right here, I used to follow you to school when I was a kid."
"Zhou... Zhou Kai?" Lin Chuan looked at him with confusion.
"Yes, yes, that's me, Zhou Kai!" Zhou Kai said excitedly: "And this is Huang Bo, the other one is Lu Dapao."
Lin Chuan glanced at them and then asked, "By the way, where's my mom?"
"About that..." Zhou Kai paused, then said: "Brother Chuan, where have you been these years? Your mother... she was injured by someone a couple of days ago, probably... probably in the hospital right now."
"What!" Lin Chuan stood up instantly, an aura of murderous intent emanating from him. Zhou Kai and the others were frightened, stumbling back several steps. Lin Chuan took a step forward and grabbed Zhou Kai by the collar, demanding: "Who did it?"
"I... I..." Zhou Kai was nearly strangled by Lin Chuan.
Lin Chuan quickly realized he had lost control and hurriedly let go of Zhou Kai, his tone as calm as possible but with a hint of anxiety: "Zhou Kai, tell me everything, what exactly happened?"
Zhou Kai's pupils dilated; he had just felt the proximity of death. Lin Chuan's hands were like a pair of iron hoops, tightly clutching his throat, leaving him no chance to struggle.
Smack smack...
Lu Dapao quickly patted him on the head, saying, "Fatty, hurry up and talk."
"I... I..." Zhou Kai was truly frightened by Lin Chuan, but he quickly calmed down. After swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Zhou Kai then said, "Brother Chuan, our factory is facing the fate of demolition. A developer has taken a fancy to the land in Changlin Community, and they have already bought it through the City Committee. Now they are just waiting to demolish it... You know, the factory is full of elderly people, none of them want to relocate, and besides, they're offering such a low price..."
It dawned on Lin Chuan after Zhou Kai's explanation; it was the relocation that caused this trouble.
"Which hospital is my mom in?" Lin Chuan asked urgently.
"Not sure." Zhou Kai shook his head, adding, "Besides, this is just my speculation; without evidence, it's not credible."
"I... I... I know!" Huang Bo hurriedly said, "Auntie is... she seems to be in the clinic."
Upon hearing that, Lin Chuan grabbed his backpack and headed straight for the clinic.
The clinic was the only medical facility in Changlin Community. When Lin Chuan arrived, he saw his mother, pale and with silver hair, unconscious on the hospital bed.
"The patient has a comminuted fracture of the leg bone and needs surgery," said Doctor Li from the clinic, a resident of Changlin Community. Looking at Lin Chuan, he said, "Xiao Chuan, you have been away for eight years. Do you know how hard it has been for your mother to live alone all these years?"
Thump...
Overcome with emotions, Lin Chuan involuntarily knelt down, his nose aching and tears welling up in his eyes. For a man who had spent eight years on the battlefield, he had never shed tears when bullets passed by half a millimeter from his heart. Because tears were his life.
Smack...
Lin Chuan slapped his own cheek hard, saying, "Mom, Chuan has been unfilial, making you suffer."
"Ah, get up quickly!" Doctor Li was deeply moved and hurriedly helped Lin Chuan up, saying, "Xiao Chuan, take your mom to the hospital quickly. If we continue to drag this out, the infection will worsen, and I'm afraid I can't help much here!"
"Doctor Li, thank you," said Lin Chuan, looking earnestly at Li Dehuai, "You are a good person."
"Enough, go now!" Doctor Li said with a wry smile, "What good person, we're all just people with hard lives."
Meanwhile, Zhou Kai had already called for an ambulance, and it soon arrived. The nurses and doctors checked on Auntie's condition, and the doctor in charge of emergency at the central hospital frowned and said, "What's happening? How could it get so serious without taking her to the hospital?"
"..." Everyone was silent, as they all knew it was a matter of money.
Quickly, the ambulance sped away. Lin Chuan held his mother's hand tightly all the way until she was pushed into the operating room.
"Family member, take this slip to make the payment!" A nurse handed Lin Chuan a bill and then left coldly.
Looking at the bill, just the surgery cost several thousand, along with various other fees, totaling twenty thousand. Lin Chuan pinched his pocket and hurried to the payment window. After searching his entire body, he had only three thousand yuan. After paying the three thousand, the cashier looked at Lin Chuan's attire and disdainfully said, "You must pay the rest of the money by tomorrow, otherwise, don't blame us for not being polite."
"Okay, okay!" Lin Chuan nodded.
The surgery lasted two and a half hours, and when his mother was wheeled out, she was still unconscious with various tubes inserted all over her body. Lin Chuan quickly approached and asked, "Doctor, how is she doing?"
"She would have been beyond help if it had been a few hours later," the doctor left behind this chilling statement and walked away, leaving only the heavy scent of disinfectant in the air and the smell of copper.