Cangmang Asks the Way 1: Guardian of the Lamp

2:03 PM.

The lights in the emergency room went out.

Everyone stood up at the same time and surged towards the door. Cang Lifeng was at the forefront, with Lin Wei close behind him. Cang Xiangyang, supporting Cang Xiaohua, stumbled forward. Zhou Zhenhua, Chen Gang, Shen Moyuan, Zhou Qingfeng—everyone stared at the door that was about to open.

The door opened.

The doctor came out and took off his mask. He looked tired.

"The person has been saved," the doctor said.

Everyone let out a long sigh of relief.

"But..." the doctor paused.

Those two words were like a bucket of ice water poured over everyone's heads.

"But what?" Cang Lifeng asked nervously.

The doctor looked at them, his eyes filled with a hint of medical pity:

"He's overworked. In traditional Chinese medicine terms, this is 'five strains and seven injuries, depletion of true yin.' Liver fire is scorching the tendons, heart qi is weak and floating, and kidney water is almost dried up..."

"What do you mean? Doctor, please tell us the results directly!" Shen Moyuan stepped forward and rudely interrupted the doctor's statement.

The doctor was somewhat displeased, but seeing that the person who interrupted him was a well-dressed, distinguished elderly man, he had no choice but to suppress his displeasure and patiently explain:

"The person has been saved. However, his body has activated a deep protective mechanism, putting him into a coma. It could take a few days, a few weeks, or... a very long time."

"How long?" Cang Lifeng's voice trembled.

"We've seen similar cases. Some people wake up after a week, some after a month, some after six months, a year, or even longer. Their bodies need time to repair, but no one can predict when they will be able to wake up."

Cang Lifeng stood there, stunned, as if his spine had been removed.

Everyone present fell silent. Only heavy breathing and soft sobs could be heard.

A stretcher was wheeled out. Cang Tianci lay on it, his face deathly pale, as white as paper. His eyes were tightly closed, his lips were cracked, and various tubes were inserted into his body. He lay there quietly, as if asleep.

"A gift from heaven!"

Cang Lifeng and Cang Xiangyang rushed forward at the same time, grabbing the edges of the stretcher bed on their left and right. Cang Xiaohua also limped over and knelt down beside the bed, crying and calling out "brother".

The stretcher was wheeled into the ward. Everyone followed behind.

The nurses skillfully transferred Tianci to the hospital bed, adjusted the IV tubing, and connected the monitor. The beeping of the instruments was exceptionally clear in the quiet ward, each beep like a countdown.

After everything was settled, the nurse said softly, "One family member can stay here, the rest of you can go out first, the patient needs quiet."

No one moved.

Cang Lifeng sat down by the bed. He reached out and took his younger brother's hand. The hand was cold and rough, like the little hand he had held as he walked step by step through the snow in Xiqiao Village many years ago. Only back then, that hand, though small, was warm. But now, it was cold.

"You guys go out first. I'll guard this place," Cang Lifeng said in a low voice.

Lin Wei looked at him. She saw his shoulders tremble slightly, but he quickly regained his balance.

She gently tugged at Cang Xiangyang's sleeve, signaling everyone to go outside first.

Cang Xiangyang refused to move. He stood by the bed, staring intently at his younger brother's face, his eyes red-rimmed, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

Cang Xiaohua was still crying, clinging to one of his arms.

Zhou Zhenhua walked over and patted Cang Xiangyang on the shoulder: "Let's go. Let your brother stay with him."

Cang Xiangyang finally moved. He bent down and whispered in his younger brother's ear, "Tianci, I'm waiting for you to wake up." Then, pulled by Cang Xiaohua, he slowly walked out of the ward.

The others also left one after another.

Lin Wei, the last to leave, glanced back and saw Cang Lifeng sitting by the bed, holding his younger brother's hand. Sunlight streamed in through the window, bathing him in a warm golden glow. But he remained motionless, like a statue.

Lin Wei gently closed the door.

In the corridor outside the ward, everyone was silent.

Zhou Zhenhua leaned against the wall, head down, without saying a word.

Chen Gang stood beside him, wanting to say something several times, but then swallowed his words.

Shen Moyuan sat on the bench, his gaze fixed on the window at the end of the corridor. Sunlight streamed in, casting dappled patterns on the floor. He stared at those patterns, lost in thought.

Zhou Qingfeng paced back and forth, his steps heavy, each one like a blow to the heart.

Cang Xiangyang squatted in the corner, holding his head, motionless. Cang Xiaohua sat beside him, no longer crying, but just leaning against the wall, staring blankly at the door of the ward.

Lin Wei stood in the middle of the corridor, looking at this person and then at that person. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something comforting, but found that anything she said would be superfluous.

Just then, Zhou Zhenhua moved. He walked to the wall and punched it.

A muffled thud startled everyone. A shallow mark was left on the wall; his knuckles were broken and bleeding.

"Principal!" Chen Gang rushed over and tried to grab his hand.

Zhou Zhenhua shook him off and raised his fist again, about to strike a second time.

"Principal Zhou!" Lin Wei called out, quickly walking over and grabbing his arm. "Calm down!"

Zhou Zhenhua turned to look at her. Her eyes were red as if they were about to bleed, and they were filled with too many things—self-blame, anger, grief, and a deep sense of powerlessness.

"Calm down? I'm his coach! I watched him act strangely, I watched him fight desperately, and I did nothing! What kind of coach am I?"

He broke free from Lin Wei's hand and was about to smash it against the wall again.

"Zhenhua." A deep voice rang out.

Zhou Zhenhua stopped.

Zhou Qingfeng walked over and stood in front of him. He didn't say anything, but simply reached out and took Zhou Zhenhua's injured hand, patting it gently.

The movement was very light, but it carried an indescribable weight.

"It's not just your fault," Zhou Qingfeng said. "That kid is stubborn, just like his brother. Once he's made up his mind, nothing can change it."

Zhou Zhenhua stood there, stunned. A few seconds later, his shoulders slumped. He leaned against the wall, slowly slid down to the ground, and buried his head in his hands.

No one spoke. Only the faint beeping of the monitors could be heard from the ward.

The back entrance of the hospital, a shady corner.

Old Li squatted there, a cigarette in his hand, but he didn't light it. He had just come from the ward building, but he didn't dare go up. He just walked around downstairs a few times, and when he got nervous, he came here.

He had just put the cigarette in his mouth when he heard footsteps. Looking up, he saw Wang Lide walking around the corner, also holding a cigarette in his hand.

The two of them were stunned at the same time.

Old Li's hand trembled, and he almost dropped his cigarette. Wang Lide paused for a moment, then continued walking, stopping a few meters away from Old Li.

"Accountant Wang... Accountant Wang." Old Li's voice was a little hoarse.

"Hmm." Wang Lide nodded, not looking at him, and took out a lighter to light a cigarette. It took three presses to light it.

Old Li also lowered his head and lit his cigarette.

The two of them squatted and stood there, neither of them speaking. Only the smoke drifted in the air, blown about by the wind.

Old Li glanced at Wang Lide furtively. Wang Lide was staring at the ground, his expression unreadable. But Old Li noticed that Wang Lide's hand holding the cigarette was trembling slightly.

Wang Lide also glanced at Old Li. Old Li was squatting there, his back hunched, looking like he had shrunk down. The cigarette in his hand had long ash; he had forgotten to flick it off.

The two spoke at the same time:

"that……"

Then it stopped at the same time.

After a few seconds of silence, Wang Lide threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stomped it out.

"I'm leaving now," he said.

"Hmm." Old Li nodded.

Wang Lide turned and walked away quickly. After taking a dozen steps, he suddenly stopped, turned his back to Old Li, and said:

"It's cool at night, don't squat for too long."

Then he continued walking forward and never looked back.

Old Li stood there, stunned, watching the figure disappear around the corner. He looked down at the cigarette in his hand, which he hadn't lit; it had burned down to the end and was burning his fingers. He shuddered, threw the butt away, and stomped it out.

He stood up, stood there for a while, and then slowly walked away, disappearing in another direction.

Neither of them asked the other why they had come here. But they both saw what was in each other's eyes—something called avoidance, or fear.

Inside the ward, Cang Lifeng sat by the bed, holding his younger brother's hand.

He had been in this position for a long time. Long enough that the sunlight outside the window had moved from east to west, and long enough that the light in the ward had changed from bright to dim.

He just sat there, motionless.

He looked at his brother's face. The face was calm, as if he were asleep. But it was too calm, a calmness that was frightening.

He remembered many things.

He recalled that winter in Xiqiao Village, carrying his injured younger brother step by step back home. The boy lay on his back, gasping for breath in pain, but he didn't cry out once.

I recalled the scene on Eagle Cliff where my master was treating my younger brother's leg. The boy was trembling with pain, but he forced back his screams, only letting out a few muffled groans.

I remember this morning, he told his younger brother on the phone, "Tianci, I'll definitely come tomorrow."

He broke his promise.

He gripped his brother's hand tightly.

"Tianci," he whispered, his voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible, "I'm here. Wake up."

There was no response. Only the beeping of the monitor continued rhythmically.

He paused, then continued, "Brother is waiting for you. Xiangyang is waiting for you. Xiaohua is waiting for you. Parents are waiting for you."

"Did you hear that?"

Still no response.

The light outside the window grew dimmer. The setting sun cast its last rays of gold into the hospital room, landing on Tianci's pale face. The gold was like a thin veil covering his tightly closed eyes.

Cang Lifeng watched as the ray of light disappeared little by little.

He held his brother's hand tightly, without letting go.

---

In the evening, Lin Wei stood at the hospital entrance, watching the crowds coming and going.

Her pager went off; it was the newspaper calling. She went to the phone booth and called back.

"Lin Wei, there's an article for the front page tomorrow. Do you have any materials on it?"

Lin Wei paused for a few seconds, then said, "Not at the moment."

"Okay. By the way, you know about that construction site accident today, right? It's the one at Cang Lifeng's construction site. The newspaper is planning to do an in-depth report; could you follow up on it when you have time?"

Lin Wei's heart sank: "About the construction site? How deep?"

"It's just... let's discuss this. Why did an accident happen at the hero's construction site? Was it a management problem or something else? This is a good angle; it has contrast and is interesting to look at."

Lin Wei tightened her grip on the microphone: "I understand."

After hanging up the phone, she stood there, looked up, and gazed at the hospital building. That window, that ward, that boy, and the man holding his younger brother's hand.

She suddenly remembered the evasive look in Cang Xiangyang's eyes when he said "Big Brother isn't coming" this morning.

It turned out that Lifeng didn't come because there was an accident at the construction site.

With both things happening at the same time, how could this man possibly bear it?

But isn't that a bit too much of a coincidence?

On the same day, an accident occurred at the construction site and at the sports stadium.

What a coincidence!

She gripped her phone tightly.

---

At two in the morning, Cang Lifeng was still sitting on the edge of the bed. He wasn't asleep, and he couldn't sleep.

Lin Wei pushed open the door and came in, carrying two boxed lunches.

"Have something to eat." She placed the boxed lunch on the bedside table.

Cang Lifeng shook his head.

Lin Wei sat down next to him. She didn't try to persuade him anymore, but simply stayed quietly by his side.

After a long while, Cang Lifeng suddenly spoke:

"Lin Wei".

"Um?"

"Do you think I made the wrong choice?"

Lin Wei was taken aback: "What? You chose the wrong one?"

"This morning, I received a call from the construction site that Xiao Zhang had been buried. If... if I hadn't gone to the construction site and had gone to watch his game instead, would things have been different?"

His voice was very soft, so soft it sounded like he was asking himself.

Lin Wei was silent for a few seconds. Then she gently took his other hand:

"Lifeng, you made the right choice. Xiao Zhang is your brother, you can't abandon him. Tianci won't blame you."

Cang Lifeng didn't speak. He just looked at his younger brother's face for a long time. Then he whispered, "But I'll blame myself."

Lin Wei did not answer. She didn't know how to answer.

The night outside the window is very deep, very deep.