Cangmang Asks the Way 1: Guardian of the Lamp

The county women's federation's telephone line seemed to be connected only to a record-keeping and archiving machine. A few days later, one afternoon, two female cadres from the Jixian County Women's Federation and the street office, wearing red armbands, finally knocked on the Lin family's door after receiving reports from Zhou Zhenhua and Tianci. Lin Jianmin, reeking of alcohol, opened the door. Seeing the uniformed, serious-looking staff, his drunkenness instantly sobered up considerably, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes, but it was quickly masked by a snobbish, ingratiating smile.

"Oh, boss... what's going on with you two?" He rubbed his hands together, his body intentionally or unintentionally blocking the doorway.

"Comrade Lin Jianmin, we are from the County Women's Federation and the Subdistrict Office. We received a report that your daughter, Lin Wanqing, may be being abused at home, and we are here to verify it." The leading cadre spoke in a serious tone, his sharp gaze sweeping over him.

"Abuse? Oh my god, I swear to God!" Lin Jianmin's voice suddenly rose, filled with exaggerated grievance. He stepped aside slightly, revealing Lin Wanqing huddled in the corner. "Boss, look, this is my own daughter! I love her too much! This...this little brat is so immature, she doesn't study hard, and spends all her time reading useless books. I...I, as her father, couldn't stand it, so I disciplined her a little. Is that not allowed? Educating a child, how...how does that become abuse? Who...who is so despicable as to make false accusations?" He argued while giving Lin Wanqing a fierce glare in the corner.

The staff entered the narrow, dimly lit room, which reeked of mildew and alcohol, and saw the injuries on Lin Wanqing's face. They patiently inquired about Lin Wanqing's condition, but under her father's fierce gaze, Lin Wanqing bit her lip tightly and dared not utter a single word.

The staff sternly warned Lin Jianmin, emphasizing the illegality and serious consequences of domestic violence, demanding that he immediately cease all violent behavior, and informing him that they would conduct regular follow-up visits. Lin Jianmin nodded and bowed, readily agreeing, "Yes, yes, yes, the leader is right. I will change, I will definitely change, and I will never lay a finger on her again."

However, the moment the staff member disappeared into the alley, Lin Jianmin's smile vanished instantly. He slammed the broken door shut, turned to Lin Wanqing, who was still huddled in the corner, and growled, "You think you're all grown up now? You dare to complain about me? Fine, very well, I've raised a thankless wretch!" Although he didn't physically attack her, the deep-seated resentment and threat, like invisible shackles, completely extinguished the last glimmer of hope in Lin Wanqing's heart.

The bruises on Lin Wanqing's face slowly faded and disappeared under the cover of the cheap ointment. But those bruises seemed to have been etched into the depths of her soul, causing her expression to wither completely, her eyes clouded with a thick, indelible layer of gray, utterly losing the faint glimmer of light that once occasionally flashed through them. That symbolic "home visit," like a final bucket of ice water, completely extinguished any remaining spark of hope for "rescue" in her heart. A deep, chilling aura of despair and world-weariness, like viscous asphalt, emanated from her frail body, tightly enveloping her and isolating her from any warmth that tried to approach from the outside world. She shut herself off even tighter, becoming a silent, isolated island that refused any input signals.

Tianci watched with growing anxiety. The Women's Federation's intervention seemed to have vanished without a trace, fueling his obsessive belief that rules, pleas for help, and procedures were all meaningless. Only absolute power in his hands could shatter that cage of despair and kick away the beast in human skin. Only by becoming stronger, stronger still, strong enough to crush all obstacles, could he become the only support he could grasp in Lin Wanqing's boundless abyss of darkness. This burning desire, mixed with overwhelming anger at his own "incompetence" in the Wanqing incident, scorched his reason day and night like a toxic fire, driving him to push his training to near-self-destructive levels.

At the early morning physical training ground, he was always the first to appear in the hazy light of dawn and the last to leave in the deep darkness of night. The weight of the sandbags on his legs had quietly increased by several pounds, and he had gritted his teeth and doubled the distance of his frog jumps. With each heavy push off the ground, his thigh muscles groaned in unbearable strain. In sparring, he volunteered to spar with his strongest and most accurate senior brother, Chen Gang. Even when he was bruised and battered, he still stubbornly roared, "Again!"

In the weightlifting area, he wielded incredibly heavy stone weights, repeatedly pushing his physical limits. Each lift was accompanied by a trembling sensation as if his muscle fibers were on the verge of breaking.

Senior Brother Chen Gang couldn't stand it any longer. During a sparring session, after Tianci was knocked down seven times and struggled to get up seven times, Chen Gang frowned, grabbed Tianci's arm as he was about to attack again, and shouted: "Tianci, stop! This isn't training, it's courting death! Look at your legs, look at your arms, the muscle fibers are already screaming warning signs. Do you want to be completely crippled?"

"I...I'm fine, I...I can still fight, let's...come on!" Tianci felt a violent power surging and roaring within him, urging him to be faster, stronger, and more ruthless! It seemed that only the tearing sensation when his body was enduring extreme pain could temporarily overshadow the torment of his helplessness in the face of Wanqing's situation.

"Tianci," Zhou Zhenhua appeared on the sidelines, "Chen Gang is right, you stop right now! You're not in the right state, you're not trying to improve, you're trying to ruin yourself. Your muscles are over-fatigued, your nerves are sluggish, if you keep training, you'll either get injured or crippled. Do you want your legs and arms to be ruined?"

However, Tianci merely nodded in agreement, outwardly agreeing, but secretly he continued to grit his teeth and train relentlessly. His mind seemed consumed by burning desire and deep-seated anger, completely ignoring the repeated warnings from his senior and coach.

The body's protests and limits ultimately cannot be completely suppressed by willpower. After a period of extreme leg power training—a series of high-intensity weighted frog jump sprints—Tianci experienced a dull burning pain and soreness in his knee joints. But Tianci dismissed it, thinking it was a normal reaction to overtraining and that it would get better with rest.

Time flies, and soon the final exams arrived. That afternoon, after finishing the last question, Cang Tianci put down his pen, his palms covered in cold sweat. The worry he had felt for Lin Wanqing over the past few days weighed heavily on his heart, making it difficult for him to concentrate even during the exam.

After the exams, Class 1 of Grade 5 gathered on the playground. Lin Wanqing took the initiative to stand next to Tianci. Tianci was somewhat surprised. Ever since the "puppy love" incident, Lin Wanqing had never been close to him. Even when Tianci tried to approach her, she would avoid him from a distance. What was wrong this time? Did she want to reconcile with him? Thinking of this, Tianci trembled with excitement.

Suddenly, something was gently slipped into his pocket. It was Lin Wanqing! He strongly suppressed the urge to reach in and take it out to check, and pretended to be nonchalant as he walked out of the school gate with his classmates. Then, he quietly went to a secluded spot and excitedly pulled out what Lin Wanqing had given him. It was a small note folded exceptionally neatly. Unfolding it, he saw Lin Wanqing's delicate handwriting, stained with tears:

Heaven-sent:

By the time you read this letter, I'll probably be gone. Don't look for me, and don't be sad. This world has been too cold to me, ever since I was very young.

I remember when I was six, that woman—the one I should have called Mom—left with a man in a suit. She didn't even look back at me, leaving behind a bag full of pretty clothes, like it was trash. Dad called her a whore, saying she ran off with a rich man. From that day on, my world consisted only of my dad's fists and empty bottles.

When I was seven, he got drunk and, annoyed that I was walking too slowly, kicked me in the knee…crack…the bone broke…the pain made me pass out. He didn't take me to the hospital, just found some quack doctor to bandage it up…and that's how it became like this. He calls me a cripple, a good-for-nothing, saying it's all because of my whore mother's bad luck.

Over the years, being beaten was a daily occurrence. My body was always covered in bruises. If I cooked dinner late, I'd be beaten! If my clothes weren't washed properly, I'd be beaten! If he was in a bad mood, he'd beat me even more! I was like a mouse living in a cage, not even daring to cry out loud.

Until... I met Teacher Fang, and you.

Ms. Fang was the first person to smile at me. She taught me to write, praised me for being smart, and the way she looked at me was like the winter sun, so warm it made me want to cry. The dictionary she gave me is my most treasured possession.

Tianci, you are the first person... who didn't mind my limp, didn't mind my dullness, was willing to help me, was willing to stand in front of me. The way you fought and got hurt for me, the way you argued with Teacher Zhang for me... these are the little things I stole in this cold world... a little bit of warmth. Like a person about to freeze to death finding a match.

But... the match will eventually go out. Teacher Zhang's words, those rumors, my father's beatings, and his even more terrifying resentment after the Women's Federation came... all weighed me down, making it hard to breathe. My father called me a slut who seduced you, called me a little bitch, like my mother... the warmth Teacher Fang gave me, the warmth you gave me... all swallowed up by this boundless coldness and hatred.

The match has gone out. The warmth is gone.

I can't see a glimmer of light. Living is torture every day. My father's fists and curses, the stares of my classmates, and this limp I can never shake off… It's all too heavy, too cold. I can't take it anymore.

I'm sorry, Teacher Fang. I'm sorry, Tianci. Thank you for the warmth you gave me. But this warmth can't melt the ice that's accumulated in my life.

I'm leaving. Leaving this cold place forever.

——Late Qing

Every word was like a red-hot branding iron, searing with pain and chilling despair, etching itself deeply into Tianci's heart. Abandoned at six, her leg broken at seven, the daily beatings and insults extinguished the glimmer of light that Teacher Fang and he had brought. She wanted to end it all.

"Wanqing!" Tianci let out a beast-like growl, an immense fear and heartache exploding within him. Like a cannonball, he charged madly toward the direction where Lin Wanqing had disappeared—the direction of her home.

He shoved aside his classmates who were blocking his way and ran frantically through the narrow streets. The wind whistled past his ears, his heart pounded wildly in his chest, as if it would explode. Sweat instantly blurred his vision; he raised his hand and wiped it away violently, his lungs burning as if on fire. Only one thought occupied his mind: Faster, faster! Catch her! Stop her!

He rushed into the alleyway overflowing with sewage. The Lin family's dilapidated door came into view. The door—was tightly locked. A rusty iron lock hung coldly on the door knocker, like a mocking face.

"Wanqing! Wanqing! Open the door! Open the door!" Tianci pounded on the door frantically, shouting hoarsely. His fists pounded on the rotten wood with dull thuds, sending dust flying from the door frame. The room was deathly silent; there was no response. Only his own panting and heartbeat echoed in the desolate alley, sounding utterly desperate.

She's not home! She hasn't come back! Where did she go? She said in her letter that she "left," that she committed suicide! That thought gnawed at his nerves like a venomous snake!

Tianci suddenly turned around, bursting forth with his maximum speed once more, like a bolt of desperate lightning, heading towards the school—no, not to find Zhang Zhengping, but to find Teacher Fang Wenhui! The only one who might understand, the only one who could mobilize his power to save her!