Chapter 23 Traveling Notes

When it was time to really leave, no one saw us off. The three of us drove the pickup truck to the water filling station we arrived at when we first came here.

As usual, when we got in the vehicle, Fatty drove. The two Tibetan chickens and two sheep were stowed in the back of the truck. The two sheep kept sticking their heads in and out of the back of the truck, but they were very well-behaved considering the fact that they weren’t fully grown yet. Poker-Face leaned in the corner of the backseat while I sat in the passenger seat.

Fatty also packed a lot of dried palm ginseng⁽¹⁾ and decorated the truck with a bunch of prayer flags. The three of us were heading home fully load.

We kept the windows down as we headed back to Bajiaolou Town. Those prayer flags must’ve had a special symbol on them that was important to the locals because everyone who saw them saluted our truck.

Jiang Bai, who had come to pick us up, was waiting by the side of the road with a bunch of horses. It was already evening by this point so we entrusted the sheep and chickens to him and then checked in at the hotel. He told us that the Beijing team had arrived and was staying on the first floor with us.

There weren’t many rooms on the first floor of the hotel, so I went up to the third floor to take a look around. The doors were all open, and I could see Xiao Hua leaning on the stair railing typing on his cell phone.

When Fatty went up to greet him, Xiao Hua looked up at us with eyes that were as calm as ever. It was almost like we had made an appointment to meet here.

“Hey stranger,” I said, feeling a little surprised. How did such a small-town folk competition manage to attract his attention? What kind of sorcery did Fatty pull?

Xiao Hua patted me on the back, “Let’s talk on the roof.”

I suddenly had an ominous premonition, but I set my luggage down and followed him up to the next floor, which was actually the roof where I watched the snow fall before.

I could smell the barbecue before I even reached the roof, and then I saw Black Glasses fiddling with something on a grill. There were all kinds of meat and vegetables cooking on a grill, along with a set of lounge chairs sitting next to it. There were also several large buckets full of snow and beer. The setting sun was shining overhead, encompassing everything in its dying light.

While Jila Temple was built at a high altitude, the temperature here was actually quite warm so Black Glasses was very comfortable in a tank top.

When we greeted each other, Black Glasses smiled at me and said, “I heard that Jila Temple put on a big show for you guys. Did you have a good time?”

“My mental state is a little weird right now,” I said to him. “But if you guys are here, did something happen?”

“We’re just here to have some fun.” Black Glasses laughed and threw a bottle of beer directly to Poker-Face, who raised his hand to catch it. Fatty was so happy that he went over to replace Black Glasses at the grill and started barbecuing a row of kidneys.

We all sat down. Below the small town was a huge snowy creek with a bridge stretching over it. Our hotel was right on the edge of that bridge, so we could see the snowy creek stretching off into the distant snow-capped mountains that were almost melted. It was quite beautiful here.

Black Glasses quickly grabbed a few more beers and threw them to the rest of us before tossing one to Fatty. Although Fatty managed to catch it, it looked like the impact hurt his hand.

Looking at the two of them, I suddenly felt as if the repressed melancholy in my heart was instantly relieved. After taking a sip of beer, I asked them, “Did you guys really come here to play?”

“Yes,” Xiao Hua said to me. “We just flew back and came to meet you. Since Fat Master invited us, let’s have some fun together.”

“It’s really not like that.”

Xiao Hua looked at me, “You say your mental state is a little weird right now but that shouldn’t be happening. Tell me what’s bothering you.”

“I can’t really explain it.”

“He’s just been living a peaceful life for too long,” Fatty said. “He always has to be thinking about something or preparing for something that might happen. When he was in Fujian, there were actually a lot of things to do so he was busy but relaxed. Once he came out to play, though, he seemed a little lost. Plus, he experienced altitude sickness, went through several events at the temple, and was reminded of how much pressure he was under back then. Mr. Naïve, young comrade, can’t you lie back and relax for one fucking day?”

I leaned back in the lounge chair, “Yes.”

At this time, Xiao Hua suddenly took out a pack of cigarettes and handed it to me. I froze—this guy usually said that I smoked too much, so why would he take the initiative to bring cigarettes today?

“Are you here to collect the debt I owe you?” I asked tentatively. Whenever something unusual happened, it was usually the work of the devil.

“Your weird mental state may have something to do with smoking.” As Xiao Hua said this, he actually lit one of the cigarettes and started smoking it. “Try it.”

I really had been craving a cigarette recently, but under Fatty and Poker-Face’s strict watch, I was abstaining from smoking. Of course, I would always sneak a smoke every once in a while.

I hadn’t felt any discomfort in that place.

I lit one of the cigarettes and took a hard drag. As a strong pungent scent rushed into my lungs, I coughed a few times and then laughed.

Damn, Xiao Hua was right. All those emotions immediately disappeared and a sense of calm filled my body. I laughed again.

“You started smoking like crazy here, didn’t you? In your memories of this place, that feeling of a nicotine rush is very strong. What that means is that you don’t have a sense of security here without nicotine,” Xiao Hua explained. “Your body has been craving this feeling.”

I exhaled a mouthful of smoke. “I’d feel even safer if you wouldn’t collect that debt I owe you.”

“Tell me about Jila Temple,” Xiao Hua said to me.

“How about you tell me about Russia first,” I said to him. “It’ll only take two or three sentences to explain what happened at Jila Temple.”

As we started chatting, we drank the beer and ate the grilled meat. While Poker-Face listened to Black Glasses talk about their Russian experience, I noticed that he would make eye contact with him from time to time. This made me think that Poker-Face knew the hidden story behind these events.

Of course, I thought the whole story was a bit exaggerated.

After drinking a few more beers, Black Glasses asked Poker-Face if he wanted to take the horses out for a test run since the race was going to be held tomorrow. Poker-Face agreed.

We didn’t know that we could take the horses out for a test run, but Black Glasses said that when you came to have fun in Sichuan and Tibet, you couldn’t act the same way you did in Fujian. The five of us rode into the valley and urged our horses into a gallop. Although the two of them were swiftly running in front of us, the rest of us weren’t that far behind. The five of us traveled far into the valley, sweating profusely.

The place was full of fireflies.

The lanterns we carried with us seemed to blend in with the stars up ahead.

<Chapter 22><Table of Contents><Chapter 24>

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TN Notes:

(1) Palm ginseng is ginseng that is shaped like a palm/hand. It’s mainly used for medicinal purposes.

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Ugh, back to the choppy sentences again. My friend texted this morning and said she tested positive for Covid but I feel fine (*knock on wood*) so I should be able to keep updating daily unless I somehow go down overnight (or just don’t feel like updating after work). I’m sure it’ll be fine. The main lesson I learned from this is that I clearly wasn’t meant to be a doctor. My dumb ass was like “maybe you’re just hungover or it’s allergies. Pop a pill, you’ll be finnnneeee” lmao.

Pic added 12/3/2022 (fan translation courtesy of me).