Chapter 39: 39, Yang Xiaojin

The convoy could not set out yet, for they had to wait for the refuge barrier to send a replacement private army officer.

Even a minor officer, if he could be swapped at a moment's notice, spoke volumes of Lu Xinyu’s influence within the refuge barrier—though just now, Lu Xinyu had secretly glanced at the duck-bill cap girl, a look that had not escaped Ren Xiaosu’s notice.

Who was this duck-bill cap girl, really?

Ren Xiaosu suddenly said, “We’ll all be comrades from now on—I don’t even know your names yet.”

A band crew member sneered coldly, “We’re not comrades with the refugees. You’re just a guide. Don’t get too familiar.”

Ren Xiaosu studied the crew member intently, seriously considering whether there was a suitable spot along the way to dispose of him…

The refugees in the township and the inhabitants of the refuge barrier stood in stark contrast. Compared to the pale, refined people within the barrier, the township refugees were visibly dirtier and more barbaric—but there was a deeper difference still.

It was in their attitudes toward life.

How had Ren Xiaosu survived all these years? And how had these people within the barrier lived in such luxury? One’s environment shaped everything—thoughts, temperament, and so on.

At that moment, an officer emerged from the refuge barrier, heading straight for the infirmary. When he reached the group, he spoke: “Field duty lieutenant, Xu Xianchu.”

Only then did everyone begin introducing themselves, though Ren Xiaosu failed to remember any of them—he kept staring at the crew member who had mocked him earlier.

“I’m Lu Xinyu’s agent,” the man introduced himself. “My name is Liu Bu.”

Ren Xiaosu mentally noted the name in his little notebook.

Suddenly, the duck-bill cap girl spoke: “Yang Xiaojin—jin, like the hibiscus flower.”

Ren Xiaosu blinked. So her name was Yang Xiaojin. For some reason, he found the name pleasing to the ear.

It had to be said, the difference between the township refugees and the barrier folk extended even to their names.

Look at the barrier names: Xu Xianchu, Liu Bu, Lu Xinyu, Wang Congyang, Yang Xiaojin…

Then the township refugees: Wang Fugui, Wang Dalong, Li Fuchen, Li Youqian…

These township names sounded so crude!

Yet now Ren Xiaosu understood the division of labor in the convoy. Liu Bu, as Lu Xinyu’s agent, managed all practical affairs—supplies, logistics, everything.

This time, five jeeps and a pickup truck had come, their trunks packed with necessities.

Xu Xianchu oversaw the vehicle convoy and overall security.

Ren Xiaosu had assumed Yang Xiaojin would handle something too, but from start to finish, he realized she floated through the group like an outsider, responsible for nothing.

According to Lu Xinyu’s introduction, Yang Xiaojin was her friend—actually, this trip was just to visit Barrier 112 together.

Ren Xiaosu wanted to say, I don’t believe it!

After introductions, everyone boarded their vehicles. The journey included nineteen people, plus Ren Xiaosu made twenty. Five jeeps, four per vehicle—that should be just right.

But as Ren Xiaosu was about to climb aboard, Liu Bu suddenly said, “You’re so filthy—don’t sit in the jeep. Get in the pickup bed.”

Ren Xiaosu didn’t argue. After all, what was the point of quarreling with a dead man?

Sitting in the pickup bed, the engine’s roar filled his ears as the township receded into the distance.

At that moment, Ren Xiaosu felt a pang of reluctance—this place, no matter how dirty or broken, had been his home these years.

Just then, cheers erupted beside him: “Ren Xiaosu’s finally leaving!”

“Now we’ll be free!”

“Hahaha, the hard times are over!”

Speechless, Ren Xiaosu turned to see Li Youqian and Wang Dalong, along with a group of academy students, clapping each other on the back in celebration…

Others might not have felt much, though Ren Xiaosu was now the township’s sole doctor—he was leaving, that was all.

But the students were different. They knew the days ahead would surely be better than the present.

In that instant, they had forgotten the fear of Ren Xiaosu’s rule…

From the onlookers, a middle-aged man burst forward—Li Youqian’s father, Li Fuchen.

Li Fuchen grabbed Li Youqian and dragged her home: “You’re trying to get yourself killed, aren’t you?”

Li Youqian was puzzled: “What’s there to fear? Ren Xiaosu’s gone!”

Li Fuchen’s face twisted in anguish: “But he’ll come back!”

“What if he doesn’t?” Li Youqian argued: “Aren’t they saying the wasteland is dangerous?”

“You know nothing,” Li Fuchen tightened his grip on his sturdy daughter. “None of them come back—and yet he might! From now on, don’t pray for others’ deaths, understood?”

When Li Youqian said Ren Xiaosu might not return, the subtext was clear: he would die out there.

The township folk had grown numb to life and death; death seemed a normal thing.

But such a seed, planted in a child’s heart, who knew what fruit it would bear when it bloomed?

Inside the jeeps, Lu Xinyu and the others heard the cheers. They rolled down their windows and looked back, not understanding the grudge or grievance these people bore toward Ren Xiaosu—but they grasped that they were celebrating his departure from the township…

Liu Bu, in the passenger seat, muttered, “What kind of connections does it take to have people cheering your leaving?”

Lu Xinyu, sitting in the back, laughed: “Let’s ask around when we get back. I want to know what he did in the township.”

“Why bother asking about him?” Liu Bu sneered: “He’s just a petty thug from the township. If we didn’t need a guide, would someone like him ever cross paths with us? This is his past-life blessing—and he doesn’t even appreciate it.”

On the vehicle, only Yang Xiaojin remained silent, as if pondering something…

…

At the academy gate, Xiao Yu stood by the railing, gazing down the road toward the township. She could only see Ren Xiaosu and the vehicles shrinking into tiny black dots.

She turned back to the courtyard, dampened a towel, and entered the house to wipe the forehead of Yan Liuyuan, who had suddenly fallen into a fever and lost consciousness.

Mr. Zhang had gone to Old Wang’s general store to fetch antipyretics, while Xiao Yu stayed by Yan Liuyuan’s side to care for him.

At that moment, Yan Liuyuan furrowed his brow, as if plagued by an unpleasant dream. Xiao Yu gently smoothed his brow and whispered, “Don’t worry, Liuyuan. He’ll come back.”