Chapter 8

Guan Yuanfeng woke up to the sound of rain.

Propped up on the bed, he looked at the spot where his legs used to be, now gone beneath the blanket. He then glanced out the window, where heavy rain was falling.

The window wasn’t tightly shut, and in the distance, thick gray clouds covered the sky. The abundant moisture from the pouring rain flowed into the room, and the wind filled the empty space.

He sat there confused for a while, barely remembering where he was. With such heavy rain, there shouldn’t be any training, right?

It wasn’t until he got up and saw the thin blanket slip off, leaving his lower body bare, that he remembered. He had already retired.

To his surprise, the familiar phantom limb pain had not come last night.

Since his amputation, every night had felt like being trapped in a hell of roaring flames.

Time dragged on, marked by every second, becoming unbearable and terrifying, the life feeling empty and desolate.

He longed for a painless, unaware sleep, but his strong self-respect made him feel that this would be succumbing to weakness and losing without a fight.

Such pain, the doctor called it “phantom pain.” He had already lost his legs, yet the pain still tormented him in places that no longer existed. It was as if he couldn’t accept reality, weakly sinking into the agony.

When life is nothing but a long battle, and rebirth or new energy is impossible—just as limbs cannot regenerate. He had become a dying plant, incapable of new life or passion.

In contrast to the dying, lifeless body, his senses and nerves had become sharper. It was like an old house slowly falling apart, once full of bright lights and energy, now hearing the wind through broken windows, feeling the weight of each dust particle falling, enduring every bug chewing through the ruined beams.

The pain became unbearable, but what was even scarier was being abandoned by the world, no longer needed by anyone. Each day that he lived felt like a victory, but no one cared that this burdened soul had lived one more day.

No one needed him anymore. The meaningless struggle had turned into self-denial and self-torture. Every day was tempting him towards eternal sleep, to give up and embrace his inevitable end.

But last night, he had a good night’s sleep—a dream from the past. In the dream, he was whole again, wearing his familiar military uniform, playing basketball with the brothers who had fought by his side.

He grabbed his phone and saw a message from Zhou Yun: “Good morning. It’s raining today. Breakfast is steamed taro cake, fried dough sticks, shrimp and lean meat congee.”

Half an hour later, another message: “The rain is too heavy. I’m on the rooftop sorting herbs. If you’re awake, come over for breakfast.”

It was brief, without any pleasantries like “Brother Guan” or any attempts to flatter or pity him—just a simple message, the same as every other day, sending him the menu, yet somehow always bringing him a sense of anticipation.

Taro cake—probably made the same way as mung bean cake? Steamed with glutinous rice and taro, but it should be savory.

But with Zhou Yun’s cooking, it should taste different from what’s sold outside.

Fried dough sticks sounded ordinary, but if they were homemade, they should be crispy. Shrimp and lean meat congee, his congees often had dried scallops and ginseng slices.

It was only today that he realized how happy and eager he was for these messages. In just a few short days, he had grown accustomed to these menu texts and found himself imagining the dishes.

He pressed his finger to his forehead and lowered his head. He could definitely feel the hunger in his stomach.

His physical sensations were slowly returning, but because he had rested well, his chaotic mind—filled with anger, patience, and disdain—seemed to have cleared up suddenly.

His emotions seemed to stabilize, and the rational perception he once had returned.

He knew sleep was important, but he refused to take painkillers for temporary relief, forcing himself to face the trials life had given him.

Today, however, he remembered that life wasn’t all about fighting from the start.

Life should be about three meals and a good sleep—eat when hungry, sleep when tired, the day and night rotating, the sun and rain alternating.

Like his young doctor neighbor across the hall, living each day with the simple, ordinary things, making every day flavorful.

“Boom!”

There was a loud thunderclap outside the window. He snapped out of his thoughts, glanced outside at the dark clouds and heavier rain, feeling a bit concerned.

He got up, put on his prosthetic limb, and then his pants. Using his wheelchair, he moved toward the window to close it, then opened the door, seeing that Comet was waiting by the door, walking up to nudge his knee affectionately.

He petted Comet’s head, quickly washed up, and then wheeled himself to the balcony door. Looking outside, the rain was pouring heavily, and the sky was darkening, almost like night. He opened the balcony door, and the splashing rain immediately hit him.

Fortunately, the balcony had a greenhouse, so he entered the glass greenhouse. Through the dim, flickering light, he saw a figure quietly standing outside.

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed Zhou Yun, holding an umbrella, wearing a raincoat and rain boots, looking up at the rainwater collection system and lightning rods on the rooftop.

The sky had grown so dark it almost felt like night. A flash of lightning lit up the sky, followed by a thunderclap. Zhou Yun’s stern face flashed in the lightning, his lips pressed tight and his chin slightly raised, showing a tense, serious line, quite different from the gentle demeanor he usually had when talking to him.

Guan Yuanfeng was about to call out to him but was momentarily frozen by his expression.

However, Zhou Yun, sensitive to the presence, turned his face and, seeing him, quickly walked over, entered the glass greenhouse, and put the umbrella away. He pressed the switch on the wall near the door.

The lights in the greenhouse turned on, and Zhou Yun’s previously cold expression softened under the warm glow of the solar lights. “You’re up? The rain’s heavy, don’t come out. Let’s go down for breakfast. How did you sleep last night?”

Guan Yuanfeng said, “It worked. I slept really well last night.”

Zhou Yun carefully examined his face. “Let’s go downstairs for breakfast. I’ll take your pulse, and later I’ll make some medicine for you. It’ll work better if you take it with the medicine.”

He naturally moved over to push Guan Yuanfeng downstairs, saying, “Should we modify the stairs here, maybe make a ramp for the wheelchair?”

Guan Yuanfeng dismissed it, saying, “It’s too much trouble. Never mind.”

Zhou Yun continued, “People in the neighborhood have been talking about strange people coming in and out at night. It’s not safe. The property management is increasing security. I heard someone’s house was robbed, and some kids got scared.”

“I want to install a security iron door in our unit, and while I’m at it, I can help renovate your stairs as well. It’s simple—just a few bricks, cemented and smoothed out,” Zhou Yun said.

Guan Yuanfeng seemed a bit surprised. “Has there been a theft in the neighborhood?”

Zhou Yun replied, “Yes, our community is on a mountain, and it’s easier for people to hide here. It’s better to increase security. We can install an iron door at the entrance of our corridor. It’s just the two of us here, and it’s on the top floor, so it’ll be safer if we close it up. I’ve already ordered it, and it will be installed once the rain stops.”

Guan Yuanfeng was silent for a moment. Compared to his usual polite demeanor, Zhou Yun’s tone was a bit surprising, almost as if it left no room for debate.

He had initially thought of saying that two grown men shouldn’t be afraid of small thieves, but then he remembered he was disabled, and he wasn’t sure if that would make him a burden. After a pause, he said, “Make sure to pay attention to fire safety. If it’s locked, it might block the emergency exit if there’s a fire.”

Zhou Yun reassured him, “Don’t worry, it has an emergency exit, and the key is hanging inside, so it can be opened anytime. You don’t have to worry about it.”

He then pushed Guan Yuanfeng to the dining room, patted Comet on the head, and poured half a bowl of fragrant pork bone noodles for the dog before bringing over some taro cakes from the steamer.

Two deep-fried dough sticks and a hot seafood porridge were placed on the table. Zhou Yun even grabbed the kitchen scissors and cut up the dough sticks into the seafood porridge for him.

This way of eating was quite new. Guan Yuanfeng took a spoon and started eating the porridge, while Zhou Yun turned on the TV to watch the news.

An international news segment was just airing: “In August, extreme weather anomalies occurred worldwide. Several Gulf countries have been hit by strong convective weather, with heavy rain causing significant disturbances. The central city of a desert country experienced an entire year’s worth of rainfall in one night. Just before the storm, the sky darkened, and the rainstorm cloud layer swept across the desert city in ten minutes.”

“This storm is the largest in 80 years, with rainfall reaching 65 millimeters, ten times the average in the area.”

“The heavy rain has caused disruptions to local traffic and daily life. Several roads were flooded, multiple flights were delayed or canceled, and power outages occurred in some areas, forcing factories and schools to shut down.”

The TV showed floods rushing through the streets, with water levels almost up to the knees. Several cars were submerged, and people were standing on car roofs making phone calls.

Experts on the news explained, “This is a rare climate phenomenon related to the westerlies and low vortex systems.”

“This strong rainfall could trigger a locust outbreak. Desert locusts lay eggs in moist sand, and rain helps them thrive. If the locusts swarm, it could cause significant damage.”

The news ended with a list of other places where unusual weather events had occurred, including a super weather anomaly in the Southern Ocean, a tornado in another area, and hail during summer in yet another.

Guan Yuanfeng noticed Zhou Yun mixing flour in a glass bowl, his eyes fixed on the TV screen, looking quite serious.

He asked, “Are you making some snacks?”

Zhou Yun snapped out of his thoughts. “No, I’m making some sweet rice wine yeast. I bought a basket of red loosestrife flowers at the market yesterday. They’re quite rare, so I thought I’d make some yeast to keep for later use in brewing sweet rice wine.”

Guan Yuanfeng didn’t drink, but he still casually asked, “How do you make it?”

Zhou Yun took the dough he had already kneaded and formed a small ball, showing it to him. “Crush the red loosestrife flowers and mix them with glutinous rice flour, then form small balls. Leave them to ferment. When white mycelium grows on them, that means the fermentation is successful. After drying, they can be stored for later.”

As he spoke, he took a sieve with green pine needles inside, quickly and evenly placed the small dough balls on it, covered them with another layer of pine needles, and set it near the sausages that were drying.

Guan Yuanfeng remembered seeing him making chicken sausages the day before, but now they looked like dark red meat sausages. He curiously asked, “What kind of sausages are these?”

Zhou Yun replied, “Beef sausages.”

Guan Yuanfeng was speechless.

Zhou Yun glanced at his bowl. “Another bowl? This seafood porridge is pretty good, right?”

Guan Yuanfeng didn’t refuse. “Yes, it’s good. It tastes great with the dough sticks.” The seafood porridge with crispy, fragrant dough sticks was a strange but delicious combination.

Zhou Yun poured him another bowl of porridge and then opened the clay pot next to them. Guan Yuanfeng smelled the herbal scent and thought about the dark, shiny scorpions and snake skins he had seen yesterday, shivering slightly.

Zhou Yun didn’t notice and poured out the medicine from the pot, adding a little honey juice beside Guan Yuanfeng. “You can drink the medicine after finishing the porridge.”

He furrowed his brow. “It’s rainy today, and I’m worried it will hurt. How about I use moxibustion on you? It will take a bit longer, but the effect will be much better.”

Guan Yuanfeng casually agreed, “Sure.” He had started to trust Zhou Yun’s acupuncture methods.

Zhou Yun, however, was busy on his phone, urging the shop where he had custom-ordered swords and knives. “Has the Tang knife and dagger I ordered been shipped?”

The shop owner replied, “They just came out today. These items haven’t been sharpened yet, so they’re considered collectibles, but they still need to go through various checks before shipping. It will take a few more days.”

Zhou Yun frowned and urged, “Please send them as soon as possible. Thank you.”

Time was running out.