Cangmang Asks the Way 1: Guardian of the Lamp

Two days later, Cang Tianci appeared at the classroom door, his face bearing unhealed wounds and his arm wrapped in bandages. The previously noisy morning reading instantly fell silent. Dozens of eyes focused on him, some with curiosity, some with sympathy, some with pity, and some with schadenfreude.

Tianci silently walked to his seat and sat down. He could feel the weight of those gazes, like cold needles. The feeling was not unfamiliar, but it no longer stung him as it had at first.

As soon as he sat down, Teacher Fang Wenhui walked down from the podium and came to his side. In a voice that the whole class could hear, she said, "Tianci, it's not easy for you to come to class with such a serious injury. If you feel like you can't hold on, just tell me."

Tianci replied softly, "Thank you... thank you, teacher... I... can do it!"

The school's investigation results are in.

Tianci was in class when Zhou Zhenhua appeared at the classroom door and waved to him.

Tianci walked out. Zhou Zhenhua stood in the corridor, his back to the window, his face grim.

"The results are in," he said. "Insufficient evidence."

Just these four words.

Tianci's hands, hanging limply at his sides, clenched tightly, his nails digging deep into his palms, a sharp, tearing pain shooting through the scabbed wounds on the back of his hands. His simple beliefs about "right and wrong," the very foundation of his understanding of the world, shattered with a soft crack at that moment. He bit his lip hard, the familiar metallic taste of blood filling his mouth.

Ms. Fang came out of her office and stood in front of Tianci. She was silent for a moment, then looked into Tianci's eyes:

"Tianci, this incident is a tough test for you. It's not a test of your fists, but of your character. When faced with injustice and suffering injustice, will you choose to be consumed by anger and sink into despair, or will you grit your teeth and hold on, guarding the light in your heart? I believe you know which path to choose. Remember, justice may sometimes go astray, but the will and strength to pursue justice must always shine brightly in your heart."

Tianci remained silent. But his clenched hand slowly loosened a little.

Leaving the office, Tianci's body trembled with anger, but Teacher Fang's words, "Hold on to the light in your heart," reminded him of the dim yellow oil lamp that had accompanied him throughout his childhood. That lamp was trying its best to dispel the gloom in his heart.

At that moment, Zhou Zhenhua suddenly pressed his hand heavily on his shoulder, his sharp eyes fixed on him:

Feeling angry? Think the world is a mess? Can't understand it? Then that's perfect! This bucket of cold water you're being poured on today is just right!

He pointed to the visible and invisible wounds on Tianci's body: "Does it hurt? Does it feel humiliating? This is the weight of reality! It's like a huge rock, and today that rock has hit your face. How does it feel?"

Tianci's chest heaved violently, his breathing heavy. He remembered what his older brother had called the "weight," which was the same thing as Coach Zhou's "big rock."

"Feeling powerless is just right!" Zhou Zhenhua said sternly, his eyes offering no comfort, only the cold ruthlessness of someone forging steel. "Because you're not strong enough! By strong, I don't just mean you can take down a few thugs; I mean you don't stand tall enough, your voice isn't loud enough, so people feel they can step on you without worrying about hurting their feet! This grievance you're experiencing today is your sole reason to become stronger from now on! Swallow it, digest it, and let it become the calcium in your bones and the fire in your flesh!"

He slapped Tianci hard on the shoulder: "Teacher Fang told you to guard the lamp in your heart, and I'm telling you to sharpen your blade! If the lamp in your heart doesn't go out, it can illuminate the way forward; if you have no blade in your hand, you can't even cut through the thorns under your feet! From today onwards, with every punch you practice, you must think about this 'insufficient evidence' from today! When you become strong enough, if they want to touch you again, they'll have to ask themselves if they can afford the price."

Zhou Zhenhua left. Tianci stood alone in the corridor for a long time. At the end of the corridor was a window, and the light from outside shone in, cutting a diagonal line of light on the floor. He stared at that line of light, without moving.

The two teachers, one like a lamp and the other like fire, used completely different methods to complete a crucial tempering of the young man's soul.

With this complex mix of warmth and pain, Tianci returned to the classroom. The acquittal of Hei Pi and the others emboldened Zhao Xiaohu even more. He no longer personally provoked them, but instead transformed into a cold, venomous snake, coiling in a corner of the classroom, using his influence to isolate them.

"Hey, stay away from certain 'special elements' to avoid unnecessary trouble." Zhao Xiaohu's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for half the classroom to hear. His followers understood, and during group activities, they would "prioritize" forming their own cliques; when passing items, there would always be some unnatural pauses when it reached Tianci.

The air seemed to thicken. Some classmates who had initially been kind to him now hesitated under this invisible pressure. Cang Tianci was like a suddenly exposed reef, sensing the ebb and flow of human relationships around him.

During recess, several students were chatting in a group. When Tianci walked over, the conversation suddenly stopped. No one looked at him, but that pause was more intense than any gaze.

When the group was being divided, the class monitor said, "Form teams freely." Tianci stood up and waited for a while. No one came over. He just stood there, for a long time.

Days passed like this.

Lin Wanqing witnessed all of this. Her heart felt as if it were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, the pain even more intense than when she learned of Tianci's injury. It was she who had dragged this silent yet resilient young man into this quagmire. Overwhelmed by guilt, she could barely breathe. She dared not look at Tianci, much less speak to him, as if even her gaze would bring him new trouble.

A few days later, during a suffocating math class, while Ms. Sun was working out calculations on the blackboard, she finally mustered up the courage to quickly push a folded piece of paper to the corner of Tianci's desk.

Tianci paused slightly, then calmly took the note and unfolded it under the table. On it was Lin Wanqing's neat handwriting: "I'm sorry."

Tianci stared silently at the three words, the surging, burning emotion in his chest finding a release. He picked up his pen and replied briefly:

"It's not your fault. I'm tough, I can handle it."

After writing it, he paused for a moment, then added, "I will keep watch over the lamp."

He folded the note and gently pushed it back.

Lin Wanqing took the note, quickly unfolded it, and read it carefully. When she saw the last sentence, "I will guard the lamp," her fingers trembled violently, and she gripped the note tightly. She lowered her head even further, and only her slightly trembling shoulders and the occasional gesture of raising her hand to wipe her eyes betrayed her secret of silent weeping. It wasn't joy, but a dam breaking with guilt, heartache, and a heavy warmth of finding a kindred spirit, of being silently protected.

After school, Tianci, as usual, walked home with several other sports school students. As they walked, he occasionally felt a faint, almost imperceptible gaze, but when he turned around abruptly, he only saw hurried passersby and empty street corners. He walked on, then suddenly stopped again and looked back. Behind him, there were still only hurried passersby, nothing else.

But the feeling was still there—like something was staring at him.

Upon returning to the sports school, he went straight to the training field without any delay.

Sweat once again became his best companion and antidote. But today's training was different from usual. As he trained, he suddenly remembered what Teacher Fang had said: "Guard the light in your heart." Where was that light? He touched his chest—the spot where the medicine box had been. It was uncomfortable. But as he kept touching it, he seemed to feel less anxious.

Every punch he threw was like striking an invisible yet solid "weight"; every kick seemed to clear away the thorns in his path; every heavy breath was like tempering his humiliation and anger into steel that supported his spine. He no longer trained merely for the vague concept of "becoming stronger," but so that one day he would have enough strength to defend the inviolable "righteousness" in his heart.

Zhou Zhenhua stood at the edge of the field, arms crossed, silently watching the figure sweating profusely in front of the sandbag, almost torturing himself. He saw in the boy's eyes a flame that had not been extinguished by injustice, but instead burned even more fiercely.

At night, Grandpa Geng, carrying a flashlight, patrolled downstairs to the dormitory building and saw that the lights in the training field were still on. He pushed open the door and saw Tianci doing relaxation stretches alone, his whole body steaming with white sweat.

"Tianci, why aren't you resting?" Grandpa Geng's voice was filled with concern.

Tianci stopped what he was doing and wiped his sweat: "I'll...I'll just sleep, Uncle Geng..."

Grandpa Geng approached and pulled out a packet of plasters from his pocket, which smelled faintly of herbs. "These are folk remedies I brought from my hometown; they promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis, making you recover quickly."

He placed it in Tianci's hand and said gently, "Tianci, a person lives for a breath. You can't let that breath go to waste. Just grit your teeth and get through it. I'm watching you, Grandpa Geng! Be careful these next few days. I've noticed some unfamiliar faces loitering outside the school gate, their eyes are shifty, and they're looking this way."

Tianci gripped the packet of plasters still warm from the old man's body. The warmth from his fingertips quietly merged with the lamp in his heart, which swayed in the cold wind but grew stronger.

As he walked out of the training field, he suddenly stopped and glanced towards the school gate.

In the darkness, something seemed to move slightly.

He didn't look again and turned back to his dormitory.

He didn't know what it was.

He didn't know that some eyes were watching him from the darkness.