Chapter Twenty-Six: The Finger That Feeds on Eggs

The old squad leader told us that what he had us eat was not worms, but rather his own inner fear and hesitation.

“Fear?” I frowned, staring at those plump larvae.

“Fear!” The old squad leader emphasized once more, “Fear is just like these ‘fried finger eggs’! If you don’t consume them, they’ll devour you! I made you eat them so you’ll remember for the rest of your lives… Fear is born in the heart! The heart dies from doubt! Remember this—it will serve you well on the road ahead.”

…

Those words were spoken deliberately for the two of us. Reflecting today on his expression and tone at the time, I suddenly got the feeling… perhaps he had sensed something back then?!

Maybe at that very moment, he’d already foreseen what Zhao Hong and I might encounter today.

“Fear is born in the heart, the heart dies from doubt”—these words were branded into the deepest part of my soul, like a hot iron.

Because of these special, uncanny memories, when Zhao Hong and I saw that fox-like white shadow in the roadside thicket near Old Qi’s place, I uttered that phrase: “The heart dies from doubt, fear is born in the heart.”

I was simply reminding Zhao Hong not to forget the fear he had swallowed, not to forget the composure the old squad leader had taught us…

And my words quickly had the intended effect.

Upon hearing them, Zhao Hong’s hands stopped shaking. He gripped the dog’s leash tightly, his breathing steadied, and he looked up at me, smiling, “I almost forgot—we ate maggots together, didn’t we?”

“That wasn’t maggots!” I clapped his broadening shoulder. “That was fear.”

As we spoke, I analyzed our situation: wandering around like this wasn’t going to work, and we certainly couldn’t blindly chase after the white shadow. We needed to calm down and think of a way out. Otherwise, in this thicket, we’d be fumbling around like the blind groping an elephant—finding Wang Hou and Hongye would be out of the question.

One has to admit, once a person calms down, their thoughts begin to flow, and the sooner they settle, the sharper their mind becomes.

No sooner had I voiced this than Zhao Hong quickly came up with an idea.

Old Zhao lit another cigarette, and after thinking for a moment, he suddenly looked up, pointing at my phone which I was using as a flashlight. “What’s wrong with our brains! Don’t you have their numbers? Just call them and we’ll get in touch!”

The moment Zhao Hong spoke, I felt like slapping myself several times.

How could I be so stupid? Why do I always lose my head in strange situations? Using my phone as a flashlight—wasn’t this just looking for a donkey while riding one?

Of course, I tried to rationalize it… It wasn’t entirely my fault! After all those shocks in the dark, none of us had thought of it; we were just blundering about like headless flies.

Realizing my own foolishness, I immediately raised my phone and dialed Hongye and Wang Hou’s numbers in turn.

Because we were in the mountains, there was only one bar of signal. But to my relief, even though Hongye’s phone didn’t go through, Wang Hou’s did. The wait was long, but finally, that long-lost ringtone played.

The faint, threadlike sound persisted for a while, but in the end, Wang Hou still didn’t answer.

The result was disappointing, but I wasn’t surprised, for I suddenly realized that if Wang Hou could answer, he would have called us already. Their disappearance had been hurried and abrupt, clearly the result of some serious trouble. In such a crisis, just like us, they might not have thought to answer their phones at all.

“No answer?” Zhao Hong asked, somewhat dejected.

All I could do was shake my head in disappointment.

Just as I thought my rekindled hope was about to be extinguished, the little dwarf, A-Si, who’d been silent for so long, suddenly spoke up, “Brother Bu’er! You actually got through to him!”

I replied, “But nobody answered!”

Little A-Si raised his small hand, made a shushing gesture, and signaled for me to dial again.

Seeing his excitement, I suddenly realized something as well.

I quickly redialed.

In the silence, the three of us held our breath, listening intently. To keep quiet, Zhao Hong even covered the black dog’s mouth.

Soon, we heard it…

Out in the open wilderness, we not only heard my phone ringing, but also Wang Hou’s ringtone. That intermittent melody echoed in the thicket—distant yet tantalizing, appearing and disappearing.

Though faint, I heard it clearly enough: Wang Hou’s favorite song… “Happy Goat, Pretty Goat, Lazy Goat, Grey Wolf, don’t look at me, I’m just a sheep…”

Once again, little A-Si had come to my rescue.

Delighted, the three of us quickly pinpointed the direction of the ringtone and hurried toward it.

This time, we weren’t stumbling blindly. By the light of the moon, we soon found a narrow path hidden among the trees.

The direction of the path matched the ringtone exactly.

Under the moonlight, I judged that the road led southwest.

Listening to the faint chime of Wang Hou’s phone, I gazed at the long path ahead and suddenly felt a strange sense of foreboding. I halted and stopped Zhao Hong and A-Si as well.

“Something’s not right,” I said. “With the phone ringing so loudly, there’s no way Wang Hou wouldn’t answer… unless—!”

I didn’t finish, but little A-Si understood immediately: “Unless they can’t answer… or the phone isn’t on them!”

I fell silent; everyone was subdued by this possibility.

Most likely, Wang Hou and Hongye had lost the ability to use their phones—either gravely injured, unconscious, or… perhaps the phone, like Wang Hou’s windbreaker, was another decoy or trap set by someone else.

For a moment, we were stuck in a dilemma.

Caught between advance and retreat, I suddenly felt the full weight of the old squad leader’s words: “The heart dies from doubt.”

This pressure, born from unanswered questions, could truly suffocate a person.

But after exchanging glances for a long while, we knew we had to make a decision. Delaying any further would only make things worse as time slipped away.

In the urgency of the moment, I realized everyone was waiting for me to decide.

Under the mounting pressure, listening to that intermittent “Happy Goat…” and glancing at Zhao Hong, who’d been dragged into this, and the small, crippled A-Si, a deep sense of guilt welled up in me.

I couldn’t let everyone keep falling into traps with me. In fact, from the start, I should never have acted so self-righteously and meddled in others’ affairs…

As these thoughts swirled in my mind, my fists clenched, my breathing grew heavy.

I told the two of them, “You should go back! Wait for me in the pickup. With the black dog, you won’t get lost. I’ll go check it out myself.”

My words weren’t spoken in anger, but after much deliberation.

I went on, ignoring their astonishment, explaining that this was for the best. We were already ensnared in a mystery, not even knowing what kind of monsters we were dealing with. Rather than blundering around like headless flies, it was better for some of us to return while I checked on the phone.

Besides, I had no great expectations for Wang Hou’s phone. If anything went wrong, I could always retreat, and it would be easier to move alone.

Zhao Hong’s face darkened at this. He even pointed at my nose and said, “Don’t you trust your brother? What’s with the solo act?”

I didn’t have time to argue, but I didn’t want to be misunderstood by my old comrade. So I clapped his shoulder and said, “This isn’t like when we were soldiers anymore…”

“Cut the crap!” Zhao Hong interrupted, giving me no chance to object. He twisted his stout body, took the black dog’s leash, and strode down the path, his tone tinged with scorn: “Brothers who’ve shot together and eaten maggots together—you want me to save myself? I’m not that kind of coward!”

His words made me feel like I was the coward, that perhaps I was being a little too self-centered, even hypocritical.

His honest reproach left me speechless.

That’s what brotherhood is, isn’t it—just a few simple words…

Silent and subdued, I followed Zhao Hong’s slightly trembling steps, heading deeper into the thicket, toward the source of the ringtone.

Under the moonlit sky, the outlines of the trees were sharp and clear. It wasn’t a full moon, but visibility was good. Most crucially, Zhao Hong’s black dog proved invaluable, ears perked like a living radar, always alert for danger ahead, keeping us from losing our way.

He had already shown his worth earlier.

When we reached a distance where the ringtone was clearly audible, we all stopped in unison.

In front of us was a row of low trees; beyond them was where Wang Hou’s phone was ringing.

I knew we were very close—close enough that from this side of the trees I could see the blue glow and feel the vibration of the phone.

At that moment, Zhao Hong’s dog didn’t bark, but it sniffed the air repeatedly, sometimes letting out a low growl, as if puzzled by something.

I grabbed Zhao Hong, who was leading the way, and pointed at the woods. “Let me go first.”

Seeing the seriousness on my face, Zhao Hong nodded, not arguing.

I pulled up the zipper of my windbreaker and stepped through the sparse row of trees. Looking up, I immediately saw Wang Hou’s phone.

It was lying… at the base of a tombstone!

I was less than five meters from the grave, and the stone was large enough that, at this distance, I could clearly see the inscription.

Unlike the other graves, this weathered monument bore only two enormous characters: “Yin Soldier’s Tomb.”

And Wang Hou’s phone was gently vibrating on the stone altar in front of the Yin Soldier’s Tomb…