Chapter 210: A New Beginning

In that red era when morality and reason were cast aside, those who dared to take risks thrived the most.

Fan Debiao didn’t say much further. He simply dispersed the workers and assigned Liu Dashao as an overseer, a small but meaningful improvement in his status and life.

That very day, while Fan Debiao was watching his crew work, a group of Red Guards suddenly descended from the nearby Boddhisattva Mountain. Without hesitation, they tackled Fan to the ground and bound him tightly with ropes.

Liu Dashao and the others naturally refused to stand by. Having developed deep feelings for Fan, they stepped forward and confronted the Red Guards: “What are you doing? Causing trouble here?”

“Hmph, do you even know who your leader really is?”

The Red Guard who had bound Fan appeared to be their leader. For Liu Dashao, it was obvious who he was—Sun Datong, the very man who had caused the death of Zhang Enpu.

“This man committed murder during the rebellion in Harbin, evaded justice by slipping through legal loopholes, and came here to hide. We are a socialist country—how can we allow a murderer to live freely on our soil? Brothers, take him away!”

He waved a box gun in his hand. “See this? You better behave yourselves. If anyone dares to stir up trouble on my turf, this gun won’t show any mercy!”

With that, the Red Guard swaggered off. Liu Dashao, however, felt uncertain.

After they left, the others gathered around and asked, “Master Liu, what do you think we should do?”

Liu Dashao stared at the retreating figures: “Damn it, looks like we’ve got no choice but to act. Come on, those of you who have wives and children, step forward.”

Half the group stepped forward.

“And who among you hasn’t been with a woman yet?” No one moved, except one man who had previously stepped forward with the married men.

“You? Aren’t you the one with a son?”

“I’ve never been with my wife,” he replied, a hint of sorrow on his face.

“What? Then that child isn’t really your son?” Liu Dashao asked curiously.

“No, he isn’t,” the man replied bluntly, his expression heavy with sadness.

“Then why do you tolerate him so much? Are you really that noble?”

“No, Master Liu, you misunderstood. When I was young, I was physically impaired. I’ve just endured it all these years and ended up marrying a widow with a child,” he explained.

“Oh, I see. Then go back to the group,” Liu Dashao said.

He turned to the group without families and asked, “Who among you is willing to come with me to rescue Fan Debiao? Let me be honest—recently, we rescued a guy named Da Guozhi, who’s actually a grave robber. After we rescue Fan, I plan to join him. Who’s willing to come?”

A dozen or so strong, burly men stepped forward.

“Brother, to be frank, we’ve been itching to leave this place for a while!”

“Yeah, the whole country’s in chaos. There’s no clear right or wrong anymore. Any day now, we might lose our lives. Going out there might actually give us a shot at something better!”

Liu Dashao led these men to Yangji Village at the foot of Boddhisattva Mountain, following the Red Guards. They reached the school where the Red Guards were stationed. There was a toilet there, which the Red Guards had converted into a prison. Of course, they hadn’t bothered to clean out the filth—according to their philosophy, only by enduring such harsh conditions could prisoners truly “reform.”

Liu Dashao had the others wait outside while he sneaked in through the iron gate.

Beside the toilet-prison, only an old man was guarding it—half-asleep and seemingly starving.

Liu Dashao quietly approached him, took the keys from his belt, and unlocked Fan Debiao’s cell.

When Liu entered and saw Fan, he froze in shock.

Fan was covered in wounds, bleeding, barely alive, and wrapped in tattered rags.

Without hesitation, Liu Dashao hoisted Fan onto his back and prepared to leave.

But not long after, they reached a small forest nearby. There, a bonfire blazed and songs of heroism echoed.

No wonder the place was unguarded—those damned Red Guards were off feasting and drinking.

Liu Dashao and his men quietly slipped away. They decided not to stir things up. Fan needed rest and recovery. They would return to the work team first, heal his wounds, and then leave when the time was right.

But the next day, as soon as Fan regained consciousness, he grabbed the Thompson submachine gun left behind by Da Guozhi, ready to gun down the Red Guards. Liu Dashao turned pale, thinking, “You’re going to drag us all into hell!”

As others tried to stop him, voices from below rang out:

“Down with the counter-revolutionaries!”

“Down with the counter-revolutionaries!”

“Down with the opportunists!”

“Down with the villain Fan Debiao!”

“Damn it! Looks like these bastards are back to cause trouble. Well, if they dare treat us like this, don’t expect me to be merciful!”

Liu Dashao calmly stepped forward to meet the approaching figures: “What do you want?” His tone was calm, without a trace of fear.

“What do we want? Hmph, you know what we want. Last night, you and your men sneaked into our base and stole our key suspect. Do you think we wouldn’t find out?” The Red Guard leader glared at Liu Dashao, as if he could devour him.

Liu Dashao wasn’t intimidated. He knew the Red Guards were just trying to pressure him into handing Fan over.

“There’s no Fan Debiao here. You took him yesterday for criticism and struggle. Are you here to cause trouble again today?”

Liu Dashao sneered, “If the authorities find out you lost a suspect, they won’t forgive you. How could you let a dangerous socialist criminal escape like this? Who knows if you deliberately released him or secretly killed him without approval? If the higher-ups find out, do you think you can handle the consequences?”

“You…” Sun Datong was momentarily speechless. Liu Dashao was clearly blackmailing them. If he refused to hand over Fan, the Red Guards would be in the wrong.

But Sun Datong wasn’t ready to back down. That would ruin his reputation as a leader. He wanted Mao Zedong himself to know of his dedication.

He sneered, “We’ll see! Back then, I spared you out of respect for the village chief. Now that you’ve grown up and think you can fight back, fine! If you want to tear things apart, I won’t hold back either. When I return and gather enough evidence, I’ll report you to the People’s Court—every one of you! None of you will escape death!” With that, he stormed off.

After they left, Liu Dashao sighed deeply. This was going to be difficult.

Moments later, Fan Debiao limped out from the shed, eyes wide with fury: “Master Liu, why didn’t we just fight them head-on? We could’ve wiped them out and buried the bodies. That would’ve been satisfying!”

“You think too simply,” Liu Dashao shook his head. “If we killed them, the authorities would definitely investigate. We’d be labeled counter-revolutionaries and executed. Instead, let’s wait until tonight. We’ll pick a few strong men, sneak in, teach them a lesson, and escape. With Da Guozhi’s help, it’ll be a win-win.”

Fan Debiao thought for a moment and nodded: “You’re right. Let’s do it your way.”

He then told the cook: “Brothers, let’s have a farewell feast tonight. I think they call it the Last Supper in foreign countries. Haha!”

Late that night, Liu Dashao and Fan Debiao gathered a few strong men and quietly left the work team, heading to the village at the foot of Boddhisattva Mountain.

The village was eerily quiet. Approaching the school gate, they saw a terrifying sight.

Dozens of Red Guards were entangled with skeletons, lying on the ground.

This place was haunted.

Liu Dashao almost laughed. They had always oppressed ghosts and spirits, yet now the spirits had come for them. But why did the air smell like fox spirits?

Seeing the Red Guards enjoying themselves, Liu Dashao stopped the furious Fan Debiao.

Fan was the kind to seek revenge at all costs. The humiliation from the Red Guards had pushed him to the edge. If he didn’t get some satisfaction, he might carry the hatred forever.

Liu Dashao had an idea: “Fan, do you want them to die quickly in pain, or slowly and torturously?”

Fan Debiao spat angrily: “Of course I want them to suffer and die miserably!”

“Then let’s leave now. When they realize tomorrow that they’ve been fooling around with skeletons, they’ll be punished severely. They’ll become examples.”

Fan Debiao thought for a moment and nodded: “You’re right. Let’s go.”

So without lifting a finger, they ensured the Red Guards’ downfall.

Before leaving, Liu Dashao glanced at the toilet. Beside it stood an old woman in traditional Chinese dress, smiling and nodding at him.

It was none other than Huang Santaiye, the household guardian spirit he had once saved.

Liu Dashao smiled back and quickly left.

Fan Debiao found an old man’s telephone booth and called Da Guozhi, who readily agreed to send people to pick them up the next day.

The next day, Da Guozhi’s men arrived and took them away. Liu Dashao, however, felt there was something he still needed to do.

Fan Debiao understood immediately: Liu was thinking of Ma Xiaoyan.

He said, “Fine, go ahead. When you’re ready, call Da Guozhi, and he’ll come get you.”

Liu Dashao nodded and hurried off.

At Ma Xiaoyan’s house, he knocked on the door. She opened it herself.

“Dashao! How did you come back?”

“Don’t tell me you don’t want me here?” he joked.

“Of course I want you here!” she said, pulling him inside.

“Where’s your father?”

“He went to visit his aunt a hundred miles away. He won’t be back until the day after tomorrow,” she said, eyes gleaming.

“When are you leaving?”

“I’ll leave when your parents come back. For now, let’s spend some quality time together.”

Without another word, Liu Dashao pulled her into his arms. After a brief pretense of resistance, Ma Xiaoyan clung tightly to him.

They kissed passionately, only breaking apart when they could barely breathe.

Liu Dashao told her everything that had happened recently.

Ma Xiaoyan was stunned. It sounded like a movie from the village cinema. She never imagined Liu Dashao could live such a life.

At that time, the village only showed a few revolutionary films. Occasionally, they showed something different, but the next day, the projectionist was arrested by the Red Guards—though secretly, they watched those films more eagerly than anyone.

After a bittersweet farewell with Ma Xiaoyan, Liu Dashao visited Village Chief Tian to make a call. He wasn’t planning to become a grave robber with Da Guozhi. Partly out of Zhang Enpu’s dying wish, and partly his own choice, he decided to return to his old trade. Just as Fan Debiao sang: “Unaware of the heroes’ tombs, I plow the land without flowers or wine.”

At the international airport, Da Guozhi sat leisurely in the lounge, a well-packed suitcase beside him and sunglasses on. Beside him, Cai Qingchong nudged him with his elbow: “Boss, do you think he’ll come?”

Da Guozhi paused, then smiled and removed his sunglasses: “He will.”

“Why?”

“Because my instincts have never been wrong.” He hummed a Shaanxi folk song, *Lanhuahua*, tapping the armrest with his fingers.

Suddenly, his mobile phone rang. He glanced at Cai Qingchong as if to say, “See? I told you so.”

On the phone, Da Guozhi readily agreed to all of Liu Dashao’s requests. Liu couldn’t figure out Da Guozhi’s background—how did he manage to connect him with someone named Uncle Diao in Hong Kong, thousands of miles away? And there was even a hidden contact waiting for him at the harbor. Had Da Guozhi planned all this from the beginning?

Indeed, life is full of mysteries.

As long as he could survive, any place was as good as another. Before leaving, he made a solemn vow to Ma Xiaoyan and set off.

What awaited him ahead?

On the smuggling boat to Hong Kong, Liu Dashao looked lost and uncertain.