Cangmang Asks the Way 1: Guardian of the Lamp

Chapter 4: Broken Leg

The next morning, the mist hadn't yet dissipated. Cang Yuanzhi changed into an old military uniform, faded but still crisp, his trousers neatly trimmed. His gaze was calm, and though his steps were unsteady, they were remarkably steady as he leaned on his cane. Cang Zhenye followed behind him; a sleepless night had left his eyes bloodshot, but looking at his second brother's rock-solid back, his turbulent emotions calmed somewhat.

The two walked in silence to the imposing gate of the Wang family's courtyard. To the Cang family, this vermilion gate was nothing less than an invisible barrier.

Cang Yuanzhi raised his hand and knocked on the door knocker with the end of his cane, neither too hard nor too soft.

The knocking on the door was particularly clear in the morning stillness, attracting several early-rising neighbors to stop and watch from afar. A moment later, Wang Zhenkun opened the door himself. Upon seeing Cang Yuanzhi, his face immediately displayed just the right amount of surprise and respect, and he stepped aside to let him in: "Oh, it's Brother Yuanzhi, please come in, please come in! What brings you, old hero, here?" His tone was warm, but his gaze quickly swept over Cang Zhenye, carrying a hint of coldness that was barely perceptible.

Cang Yuanzhi nodded slightly, expressionless, and stepped over the threshold with his cane. Cang Zhenye followed closely behind.

The courtyard was spotless and tidy, a stark contrast to the dilapidated state of the Cang family home. Wang Zhenkun led them to sit on the stone benches in the courtyard, but instead of asking Zhao Jinhua to make tea, he picked up the teapot on the table, slowly poured himself a cup, took a sip, and then, as if just remembering, asked, "Brother Yuanzhi, it's rare for you to come. Are you still in good health?" His gaze swept over Cang Yuanzhi's broken leg, his tone carrying a deliberate sigh and admiration, "You are a man who has rendered great service to the country, an honor to our entire village. I heard your stepdaughter and son-in-law are doing quite well in Yanjing? Like father, like daughter!"

His words sounded like flattery, but he was actually assessing the other party's worth. Wang Zhenkun hadn't been at ease since the conflict with the Cang family yesterday. He secretly sent someone to the town clinic to inquire about the situation and learned that the child had woken up, which relieved him. In any case, it was good that the child was alright. As for what happened afterward, there needed to be an explanation.

Cang Yuanzhi seemed oblivious to the veiled meaning in his words, and simply said, "Secretary Wang, there's no need for formalities. You know perfectly well why I'm here today."

Wang Zhenkun's smile faded slightly, and he feigned confusion: "Brother Yuanzhi, what you're saying... I really don't understand. Is it about the children accidentally hurting each other while playing yesterday, and the women's quarrel?"

Cang Zhenye couldn't hold back any longer. He suddenly looked up and said angrily, "Secretary Wang, this wasn't a careless mistake. Your son, Wang Yaowu, deliberately pushed my son Tianci into the deep water, almost causing him to drown. My wife came to confront you, but you not only denied it but also attacked her. In the end... in the end, you even knocked the child unconscious!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhenkun's face darkened. He put down his teacup, spread his hands, and looked somewhat helpless.

"Brother Zhenye, you can't just listen to one side of the story. I've already looked into the matter." He raised his voice a little to make sure the onlookers outside the courtyard could hear him. "I'll now lay out three points for you. Brother Yuanzhi is here too, so he can give us a fair judgment."

He held up his first finger: "First, my Yaowu didn't push Tianci into the water. Tianci slipped and fell into the deep water on his own. Yaowu tried to pull him up, but couldn't. Zhao Ergou and the others were there at the time and can testify to that."

Then, he held up a second finger: "Secondly, it was your wife, Su Yumei, who dragged the child to my door, crying and making a scene. My wife came out to explain that Su Yumei started it. I went up to try and separate them. So many neighbors saw it; it's perfectly clear who started it."

Finally, he held up his third finger, revealing his bandaged hand. He loosened the bandage slightly, revealing clearly visible teeth marks underneath: "Third, look at this wound. The child was frightened, yet he bit so deeply. I was in a lot of pain too, and in my pain, I tried to shake him off, but I accidentally knocked him over. Can you blame me entirely?"

He pointed to the teeth marks, his tone tinged with grievance: "Brother Zhenye, you have to teach your child properly. It's not easy being a parent, but we have to be reasonable when things happen."

Wang Zhenkun's words, though distorting the truth and downplaying the seriousness of the matter, were delivered flawlessly, progressing step by step, as if he were the one who had suffered a great injustice and was putting the overall situation first.

Cang Zhenye was trembling with rage, pointing at Wang Zhenkun: "You...you're talking nonsense! It was clearly you..."

"Zhenye".

Cang Yuanzhi gave a low shout, stopping his younger brother's increasingly agitated words. He didn't immediately refute Wang Zhenkun, but slowly lowered his head, his gaze falling on his empty trouser leg. He just stared at it for a long time. The courtyard suddenly fell silent, so quiet that the crowing of a rooster could be heard in the distance.

Wang Zhenkun became uneasy at his unusual silence, and the smug look on his face froze. He followed Cang Yuanzhi's gaze and saw the empty trouser leg swaying slightly in the morning breeze. Suddenly realizing something, his Adam's apple bobbed.

Cang Yuanzhi then raised his head and looked calmly at Wang Zhenkun. There was no anger or accusation in his gaze, only calmness, but within that calmness was something heavier than anger.

"Secretary Wang, I lost this leg on the battlefield in 1952. I lay in the snow for three days and three nights, and it got frostbite, so I had to have it amputated. When I came back, the commune sent people to pick me up, and the county leaders came to see me. They said that I, Cang Yuanzhi, lost my leg for the country and that I am a hero."

He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the villagers watching outside the courtyard before returning to Wang Zhenkun's face.

"Although I lost this leg, it was worth it. For the country and the people, we are not afraid of death, let alone a leg. But I am standing here today not to talk about this leg, but to tell you that we fought desperately on the battlefield so that our fellow countrymen could live a peaceful life and live with dignity."

Wang Zhenkun's facial muscles twitched slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but he was silenced by Cang Yuanzhi's gaze.

"You just said that my stepdaughter is doing well in Yanjing, and that I have made great contributions to the country. Secretary Wang, I understand what you mean. You're wondering why I, Cang Yuanzhi, am still stuck in Xiqiao Village, given all these connections?"

He paused, his tone calm yet weighty:

"I don't see it that way. I came back because this is my root, where my elders and fellow villagers live. Fighting for the country was to protect my home and country; returning to the village is to make a good life for myself and to raise the next generation well. This isn't about staying put, it's about staying put."

Wang Zhenkun's expression changed, and he was about to explain.

Cang Yuanzhi raised his hand to stop him, and continued, "You don't need to explain. Your attitude towards me has already expressed what you're thinking."

"You respect my leg because you respect the effort I've put into serving the country. But you make me stand here listening to you say these things, and make my brother stand here to suffer, because you think—the Cang family are outsiders, struggling to make ends meet, and can't cause any trouble."

"What you just said—that Yaowu didn't push anyone, that Yumei attacked first, and that you only lost control when the child bit someone—you said it all perfectly. But you missed one thing."

He looked down again at his empty trouser leg.

"You have overlooked people's true feelings."

"You say Tianci framed you, but you didn't see the child struggling in the water. You say Yumei went mad, but you didn't see her face when she rushed out of that door with the child in her arms. You say I, Cang Yuanzhi, used my merits to bully others, but you don't know that the day my leg was amputated, what I thought was—as long as I live, I must live up to the expectations of those comrades who didn't return, and to the expectations of the elders and folks of our village."

Wang Zhenkun's face was ashen, his lips moved, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Cang Yuanzhi didn't look at him again. He simply leaned on his cane and walked step by step towards the courtyard gate. When he reached the gate, he stopped, turned his back to Wang Zhenkun, and said:

"Secretary Wang, keep that bite mark... Someday it will tell you that some things can't be covered up and forgotten."

The sound of the cane tapping the ground faded away, one after another.

The sunlight was blinding, yet it brought no warmth whatsoever. The two walked out of the Wang family compound, and the door behind them slammed shut with a loud bang, as if shutting out all "reason" and hope within those high walls.

On his way home, Cang Zhenye walked silently, a profound sense of powerlessness threatening to crush him. He suddenly asked, "Second Brother, what you just said... did he even listen?"

Cang Yuanzhi stopped and glanced back at the tightly closed vermilion gate, saying coldly, "I can't hear you, but I can hear you."

Cang Zhenye remained silent for a long time.

"Second brother," he suddenly said, "was your leg... really worth losing?"

Cang Yuanzhi lowered his head, looking at his empty trouser leg and his calloused hand that steadily leaned on his cane.

"Whether it was worth it... Back then on the battlefield, I lay in the snow for three days and three nights without ever thinking about that question. All I knew was that we couldn't lose the position, because our people were behind us."

He looked up and gazed into the distance. That direction was towards the town clinic. There lay a child, a child who had nearly died yesterday.

"Later, when my leg was amputated and I was lying in the hospital, I started to think about it. But today, when I walked through that door, I suddenly understood—whether it was worth it or not doesn't depend on that leg, but on what I did with my life while I was alive."

He paused, his voice lowering:

"That child Tianci is stronger than me. He's so young, yet he dared to bite back. I'm not going to seek justice for him; I'm going to tell him that the Cang family has backbone."

Cang Zhenye was stunned. He suddenly remembered his father sitting alone under the lamp last night, and the cracked bamboo cane. For the first time, he realized that he was not alone in bearing this burden. But this discovery did not make him feel relieved; instead, it made his heart feel heavier—heavy, as if something was pressing down on it.

Cang Yuanzhi, leaning on his cane, slowly stood up. He patted his younger brother's shoulder; his hand was rough and strong, just like when he was young.

"Let's go back. We need to go to the hospital to see Tianci tomorrow."

The two continued walking. The sound of the cane tapping the ground, one tap after another, seemed to be measuring something.

Wang Zhenkun stood in the courtyard, staring at the tightly closed door. The anger on his face had dissipated, replaced by a sinister calculation. He looked down at the tooth mark on his hand; the blood had stopped flowing, but the mark remained, like a wound embedded in the flesh.

He suddenly remembered Cang Yuanzhi's last words: "Some things can't be covered up and then forgotten."

He wanted to laugh, to laugh at the old cripple's ignorance and arrogance. But he couldn't laugh.

The tooth mark suddenly throbbed with pain.

"What are you afraid of?" Zhao Jinhua leaned closer. "Isn't Cang Yuanzhi just relying on his past achievements? Let him make a scene, it won't bring the sky down."

Wang Zhenkun didn't say anything. He just stared at the teeth mark for a long time.

He didn't know if the sky would collapse.

But then he suddenly remembered something—

The child glanced at him before he fainted.

He could never forget that glance.

Meanwhile, Cang Shou was sitting on his own doorstep, holding an empty wine bottle in his hand.

He saw his second brother and fourth brother approaching from a distance. His second brother was leaning on a cane, his back ramrod straight. His fourth brother had his head down, as if his bones had been removed.

He suddenly remembered that many years ago, he had also stood up straight like this. That was before he was framed by Zheng Guozhong, and before Cang Yongqiang broke his leg.

He shook the bottle in his hand. He didn't drink it.

He watched his second brother approach step by step, his empty trouser leg swaying in the wind. He wanted to stand up, go over, and say something. But he didn't move.

He just watched. He watched the cane poke a hole in the ground, then pull it out.

Only after his second brother had walked away did he realize that the wine bottle was burning hot from his grip.