The next morning, Xi arrived at Xingyao Bar as agreed. Although it was early, there were quite a few people inside, mostly college students. The place had practically turned into a hangout spot for them.
Xi walked through the crowd, and the thing he heard about the most was the "Eye of the Thunder Cave".
"Xi, over here." Yujie was sitting by the bar, waving at him. Xi walked over and sat down next to him.
"What are they talking about?" Xi asked.
"Oh, the 'Eye of the Thunder Cave'? Didn't we have a severe thunderstorm yesterday? Some people are saying they saw a giant eye appear in the thunderclouds." Yujie even pulled out a video on his phone.
From the perspective of the person filming, Xi saw a surreal scene: layers of dark clouds converging into a vortex, lightning flashing and thunder roaring, with countless sparks of electricity dancing within. Right in the center of the thunderclouds, a huge, dark blue eye was faintly visible.
"So, why did you ask me to come here?"
"Sigh... Didn't we measure the hydrological data yesterday? I compared it with the data from previous years..." At this point, Yujie suddenly lowered his voice. "I think it might..."
"Huh? This white cat—is this the one you lost?" Yujie asked in surprise.
That was such an awkward change of subject, Xi thought, rolling his eyes.
"Though bars probably aren't even supposed to let pets in."
"Oh, Wu? I gave them a bit of cash and they let me in." Xi extended a finger and stroked Wu's head. The cat looked extremely reluctant.
"Besides, Wu isn't a pet..."
"Man, I don't get you people. My grandma's house used to have a big yellow dog, and that left the deepest impression on me."
"You liked it very much?"
"No, because every time I went home, it would chase me, and it only ever bit me." Yujie paused and said, "One time I bought a piece of meat and gave it to him, and after that, it never chased me again. Money really does make the dog run."
"..." Xi was speechless. The two things had completely nothing to do with each other.
By evening, Yujie finally led Xi out. They took a ride to the Three Gorges Reservoir. After getting out of the car, the two of them planned to take a shortcut to the riverbank.
Along the way, they saw a group of people surrounding an old man. When they got closer, they were shocked too. The old man was a Buddhist monk, wearing a cassock, yet he still had hair. He was holding a cane, sitting cross-legged and floating in mid-air. In front of him sat a broken bowl.
Someone got curious, stealthily reached out, and pulled the cane away. The next second, that person's eyes widened—the old man was still floating in mid-air, completely motionless.
"Master, please take me as your disciple!"
"Young man, as a monk, I long ago stopped caring about the mundane affairs of the mortal world..."
"Oh—I understand, Master, I'll pay the tuition fee."
...
"Aren't these two con artists?" Yujie leaned over to Xi and said.
"What business is it of yours?" Xi replied expressionlessly.
The two of them gradually walked farther away, while the monk in the crowd cast a subtle glance at them...
When they reached the riverbank, it was already completely dark.
"Why are we here anyway?" Xi asked, noticing how Yujie was sneaking around like a thief.
"Man, it's all because of what happened yesterday. Captain Wan wasn't around, so I handed the materials over to the head instructor. That old fogey actually wanted to brush me off just like that—even though I explained all the risks to him."
"He even said the hydrological station didn't issue any warnings, and asked what kind of discoveries a mere student could make. Ha! Right then, I just wanted to punch him right in his greasy face."
Once Yujie started talking, there was no end to it, so Xi quickly cut him off. Then, Xi watched as Yujie pulled out a fishing spear and headed to the shallow area to spearfish.
Xi suddenly understood why they had to come at night. It was currently fishing moratorium season, and if they got caught, they would be fined. But why not go through official channels? To that, Yujie's excuse was—he had no money.
Yujie jabbed left and right, fussing around for ages without catching a single thing, the headlamp on his forehead flashing about. The worst part was this guy was even humming a song.
"The light of dawn will cross the darkness, stepping through adversity I will find the answer..."
Xi covered his face, signaling that he didn't know this person at all, even though there was nobody else around.
After messing around for an hour or so, Yujie was finally tired.
"So many mosquitoes, damn it, I'm covered in bites." Yujie cursed. "How come you're completely fine?"
Xi stood in the shade of a tree, mosquitoes fluttering all around him, yet not a single one dared to land on him.
"Maybe you're sweeter."
Yujie didn't even know what to say to that. Was that a compliment, or was he insulting him?
"I'm going to go swap tools, this spear has a terrible grip—yeah, it's the spear's fault, not mine."
Xi watched Yujie's retreating back, then turned his head slightly to look at Wu, who was fast asleep. A faint, imperceptible pressure emanated outward. That was precisely why no mosquitoes dared to approach.
Suddenly, Xi stared intently in one direction, all his muscles tensing up.
"Who's there?"
After a sharp shout, a young woman stepped out from behind a tree. Xi looked closely and realized it was none of the others—it was the girl from earlier.
"Oh, it's you. Here, your umbrella." Xi produced an umbrella from goodness knows where.
The girl took the umbrella. The next second, Xi directly assumed an offensive stance.
"Speak, why are you here?"
Huh? The girl froze in place. Your attitude changed way too drastically, didn't it?
"I... I'm just out for a walk..." the girl stammered.
Ha, not even a cat would believe that lie. Still, seeing that she harbored no ill intent, he decided not to press the matter further.
Wu: Why drag me into your comparisons? What did this cat ever do to anyone?