Wild Fire Bids Farewell To Summer Chapter 34
by1 after the beginning of spring
Huang Jinye pulled out the bamboo mat from under the bed.Straw woven, hard, dark brown strips, broken in three places on the edges, tied with red rope.The mat surface has human-shaped depressions, deep pits at the shoulder blades and pelvis, and the strips are smooth and amber-colored.He rolled the mat into a tube, tied it tightly with hemp rope, and the strips made a dry and cracking sound.
Wei Zhiheng sat on the edge of the bed.The No. 055 school uniform jacket wraps around the shoulders, and the cuffs are frayed, covering the palms, leaving only five fingers exposed.The nail caps were tinged with light purple, and there was purple-black congestion embedded under the nail bed.He raised his head and faced the window – the glass was covered with ice and the hexagons were bifurcated.There is nothing in the field of vision, only fixed black shadows that continue to spread and swallow up the light.
“Let’s go.”
Huang Jinye bent down.The right knee made a dry rubbing sound, and the fluid accumulated in it swayed.He turned his back to Wei Zhiheng, grabbed Wei’s right wrist with his right hand and pulled it over his shoulder, and held the socket of his left knee with his left hand.Wei Zhiheng leaned forward, his sternum pressed against Huang Jinye’s shoulder blade, and the two bones collided, making a dry sound.Very light weight.Huang Jinye adjusted his center of gravity, with a steady gait, heavy on the right and light on the left.Wei Zhiheng’s left hand hangs on Huang Jinye’s chest, and his right hand holds a limestone specimen, which is ivory white with gray flint strips and has sharp edges that cut into the palm of his hand.
They go downstairs.Huang Jinye’s right foot landed first, with a thud, and his left foot dragged along, grazing the cement steps.Wei Zhiheng rested his chin on Huang Jinye’s right shoulder and smelled the turpentine sinking into the cotton fibers, mixing with the smell of sweat, forming a turbid smell.
The iron gate of the villa is ajar.Huang Jinye pushed it away with his shoulders, and the hinge groaned like it was breaking.The limestone floor of the courtyard was cut into pieces by a cutting machine. When Wei Zhiheng stepped on his canvas shoes, the soles rubbed against the rocks, making a harsh scraping sound.The echo reflected in the hall and lasted for three seconds.
At the 14th minute, we reached the Chengjiang embankment.The concrete embankment is full of cracks and the dead grass is covered with white frost.The beach below the embankment is gray-white and has thick sand that collapses when stepped on, making a muffled sound.
Huang Jinye stopped at the edge of the shaft.Bend your knees and put Wei Zhiheng down.Wei’s right foot touched the ground first, his knees bent, and a dull pain exploded deep in his left hip – the aftershock of the steel needle rotating in the bone seam.He staggered, and Huang Jinye grabbed his right elbow with his left hand to steady him. His fingers dug into the skin and pressed against the purpura.
Wei Zhiheng shook his head.He pointed to a flat rock at the edge of the shaft, gray-white, covered with hoarfrost.
Huang Jinye unfolded the bamboo mat.Straw strips were spread out on the rock surface, making a dry rustling sound.The human-shaped depression on the mat surface faces upward, and the fibers are compressed to form a smooth depression.Wei Zhiheng walked over, dragging his steps, turned around and sat down, his buttocks touching the bamboo mat. The straw was hard and pressed against the sitting bones, which was the same temperature as 16°C.
He lay down.The movement pulls the waist, and there is a dull pain deep in the ilium.He adjusted his position so that his head was facing the shaft.The hardness of the bamboo mat is transmitted to the spine, the broken parts of the bamboo strips are lifted up, and the red rope knot is pressed against the lower back.He opened his eyes and faced the sky – there were only fixed black shadows in his field of vision.
Huang Jinye took out the gauze scarf.Translucent, white, polyester and silk blend, unstitched edges.He stood beside Wei Zhiheng, held the two corners of the gauze scarf with both hands, and raised it upwards.The fabric opened in the wind and made a slight popping sound.He dropped the gauze scarf and covered Wei Zhiheng’s body.
The gauze is transparent and covers the body like a second skin.A grid of fibers hovers over the face, spaced three millimeters apart, to create fine shading.The sun penetrates, casting a gray grid on the eyelids.The hem hung to the edge of the mat, was lifted up by the wind, and fell down again. The static electricity adsorbed on the school uniform, making a slight peeling sound.
Huang Jinye took two steps back.Open the painting box and take out the quarto board, the Marley paint box, and the turpentine packed in mineral water bottles.He set up the drawing board and pointed it at the water surface of the shaft – not at Wei Zhiheng, but at the reflection in the water.
The skylight is thirty meters in diameter and bottomless.The underground river flows through, and the sound of water roars, about sixty times per minute.The water is dark green and flows slowly.The 16°C constant-temperature gas blows upward from the bottom, blowing the hem of the gauze, causing the fibers to tremble and make a rustling sound.
Wei Zhiheng was lying on the bamboo mat, his body gradually getting colder, and his body temperature was approaching 16°C.He felt that it was covered with gauze, breathable but present.He holds the limestone specimen in his right hand and holds it in front of his chest.He picked at the edge of the stone, his nails scraping against the strips of flint, and the stone dust embedded in the gaps between his nails.
Huang Jinye began to mix colors.Squeeze out titanium white and pile up the paste.Squeeze out the ultramarine again, add water, and stir with a wolf brush.The reflection of the water in the field of vision is shaking – Wei Zhiheng’s reflection is broken on the dark green water, the boundaries are dissolved, and the color blocks are shaking, like paint spreading in the water.
Huang Jinye put pen to paper.Draw reflections, not entities.The first line shows irregular waves, isomorphic to the ripples on the water surface.He painted the gauze transparent and mixed it with diluted titanium white and ultramarine to create a grayish tone.
Wei Zhiheng listened to the sound of water.The underground river roars, sinks to the ground level, and flows upward through the bamboo mats.He felt his body became lighter and was wrapped in gauze.He held the limestone specimen tightly, weighting it to prevent it from floating away.The stone is cold, like an underground river at 16℃.He dug into strips of flint, scraping his fingernails over the gray veins.
He spoke.The sound was squeezed out from the blood-moistened throat, soft, and the air flow rubbed against the vocal cords, making a hissing sound.
“Today’s limestone,” Wei Zhiheng paused, the air flow rubbing against the glottis, “the texture is very clear.”
The tip of Huang Jinye’s pen hovered above the paper.Stop action.The fingers are stiff and the joints are locked.He looked at Wei Zhiheng – lying on a bamboo mat, covered with a gauze scarf, undergoing geological formation.Then he looked at the shaft wall, exposed limestone, gray-white, with clear longitudinal bedding, and dark gray flint strips that were straight and parallel.
The texture is really clear.The sun shines palely on the limestone, casting subtle shadows along each flint strip.Although Wei Zhiheng was blind, he held the specimen in his right hand and stroked the flint strips with his fingertips, one, two, and three from left to right.He misperceived: the texture was drilling under the skin, the underground river was changing its course, and the blood was flowing backwards.When he counted to the seventh, the black shadow in his vision wriggled downwards, swallowing the upper half of the shaft.
“Like.” Wei Zhiheng said again.
Huang Jinye painted the seventh layer of texture.The pencil lead broke, and black debris bounced up and landed on the back of the hand.Without pausing, he directly removed the broken core with his fingers, embedding graphite between his fingernails.He continued drawing, scratching the paper with his fingernails, creating white furrows that ran parallel to the gray pencil lines.
The gauze scarf was blown by the wind and brushed against Wei Zhiheng’s face.The fiber mesh rubs against the skin for a clear touch.Wei Zhiheng misperceived: It was Huang Jinye’s finger, hovering on the side of the face, five centimeters away from the skin, but did not fall.He raised his hand and hovered his right hand above the gauze scarf. His fingers were spread out, the joints were stiff, and the fingernails were tinged with light purple.
Stop action.
Finger hover.Blood oozes from the fingertips, hovering, stretching, surface tension maintaining a hemispherical shape.It broke after a second, fell, and hit the gauze scarf. Dark red dots spread out on the white fibers, a mark.
Huang Jinye saw blood spreading on the scarf.He painted the red, mixing ocher with ultramarine to create a purple-brown.He painted blood spots on the gauze scarf, with blurred edges and moist center.
Wei Zhiheng put down his hand.His arms were hanging on the edge of the mat, and his fingertips touched the rough straw strips.He felt cold, losing body heat to the rocks, to the air, to the underground river.He gripped the limestone specimen tightly, the edge cutting into his palm, and the stinging pain confirmed that he was still on the coordinates.The stone absorbs body heat and turns from ivory to pink.
Huang Jinye finished the last stroke.When you put down the pen, the pen barrel makes contact with the drawing table and makes a crisp clicking sound.He looked at Wei Zhiheng – lying on a bamboo mat, covered with gauze, and settling.He walked over, his steps were heavy and light, heavy on the right and light on the left, and his knees made a dry friction sound when he bent them.
He squatted down beside Wei Zhiheng.There was a sharp scraping sound in the right knee, the fluid prickling under the pressure.He stretched out his hand and hovered his right hand over Wei Zhiheng’s left shoulder, stopping five centimeters away from the gauze scarf.The fingers are open, the joints are stiff, and there is white stone powder on the edge of the nail plate.
He didn’t fall behind.Just hover, let the body temperature conduct in the air, and exchange hotness and coolness.A heavier layer of air settled, mixing with the smell of turpentine.Wei Zhiheng felt the heat sinking from above the gauze scarf.
The roar of the underground river continues.About sixty times per minute.Listening to the sound, Wei Zhiheng felt that his heartbeat was moving closer to that frequency, slowing down and becoming heavier, synchronized with the roar.Huang Jinye retracted his hand and sat on the edge of the bamboo mat, side by side with Wei Zhiheng, twenty centimeters apart.
The veil fluttered between the two of them, white and transparent.The limestone texture is clear, straight and parallel on the shaft walls.Huang Jinye stared at the textures, at the broken reflections on the drawing paper, and at Wei Zhiheng’s face under the veil – pale, transparent, and dissipating.
The wind stopped.The gauze fell down and covered Wei Zhiheng’s face, forming a second layer of skin and a geological veil.The underground river roared, loud and heavy.About sixty times per minute.The heartbeat slowed, became heavier, and synchronized with the roar.