Life is Like a Journey – Chapter 126

Volume 5: Extra

Peace Dove (2)

National Mission

Just as she raised her gun, the team members behind her simultaneously aimed their weapons at her.

            

The tense atmosphere was about to explode when someone shouted in English: “Soldier, step back!”

Yet the person holding the gun to her neck wouldn’t look her in the eye – was it fear or disdain?

She gripped the gun barrel, stepped forward, her throat raw with pain, the trigger firmly pressed, maintaining a delicate balance.

            

After about a minute, Lu Qingshi smiled with a relieved expression, her hand gripping the gun barrel inched forward until it touched her fingertips.

Warm, damp…

Her heart was soaked in tenderness, bitter and sour.

            

“I know…”

Before she could finish, there was a commotion at the alley entrance as people ran past – government troops and Akai Ryo.

“Soldier, lower your weapon, this is a misunderstanding, she’s not a terrorist, she’s a Doctors Without Borders physician!”

            

Seeing the terrorists in the city had been dealt with, Akai Ryo brought government troops to find her.

The pressure against her throat suddenly released, the soldier turned, waved a hand, and her team members lowered their weapons, filing into the tank one after another.

Lu Qingshi chased after them: “Gu Yanzhi! I know it’s you! Don’t go! I beg you…”

            

Akai Ryo grabbed her: “Are you crazy?! They’re the ‘Desert Eagle’ that strikes fear into terrorists! Don’t provoke them carelessly!”

She watched as the tank left the alley, the soldier never looking back at her once.

She felt instinctively that after this parting, they might never meet again across the vast world, but she had to find her, she must.

            

They had mentioned a camp, and Lu Qingshi dazedly grabbed Akai Ryo’s sleeve: “Tell me, tell me where the Desert Eagle’s camp is?!”

A tall American officer walked over: “Ma’am, why are you so fixated on the Desert Eagle? You should know that although they’re an armed force fighting terrorists, they’re also ruthless killers.”

Lu Qingshi gathered herself and looked at him: “My love is in there, I must find her.”

            

“Chinese?”

Lu Qingshi nodded.

The American officer’s face showed a mix of admiration and emotion: “The Chinese are our good friends. Come on, Ma’am, get in the car. Your new post isn’t far from the Desert Eagle’s camp.”

            

Lu Qingshi pressed her palms together and said in English: “Thank you.”

As night fell, the old pickup truck drove through the war-torn city, racing through the desert.

The villages they passed through were all deserted, with unclaimed corpses lying scattered across the roads, and vultures taking flight after feeding on them.

            

The last rays of sunset sank into the horizon, with golden sand dunes undulating endlessly, and a few Poplar trees [hú yáng – desert poplar trees native to Central Asia] standing lonely there.

Before the war came, this place would have had caravans of merchants passing through with their camels, children playing in the sand, and camel bells jingling melodiously.

Now only bones lay buried beneath the yellow sand.

            

This was a country both beautiful and cruel.

Wind blew in through the open car window. Though the desert night had grown cool, she felt it was just right, enough to keep her mind clear.

The officer spoke while driving, explaining the basic situation of the “Desert Eagle”: “They’re an armed force that suddenly appeared in this country about a month ago. They don’t participate in the civil war, only fight terrorists, so they’ve gained support from our military. Even the anti-government forces turn a blind eye to them – after all, extremist organizations are the common enemy of humanity.”

            

Having witnessed the terrorists’ brutality, Lu Qingshi became more anxious. Why was she here? And on the front lines, dealing with such dangerous enemies.

At this moment, she felt somewhat similar to Gu Yanzhi, her heart turning bitter and sour, nearly bringing her to tears.

The officer glanced at her and slowly brought the vehicle to a stop: “Ma’am, your post is over there. The Desert Eagle’s camp should be about one kilometer northwest from your location. I can’t say more – it’s classified military information.”

            

Lu Qingshi jumped down from the car and bowed sincerely: “Thank you, Lieutenant.”

The officer started the engine, preparing to return to the front lines, and smiled at her through the car window: “You’re welcome, Ma’am. The Desert Eagle is our country’s hero.”

Lu Qingshi’s lips curved slightly into a smile: “Yes, and my hero too.”

            

Akai Ryo quickly caught up with her: “Lu-san, I remember your boyfriend isn’t…”

Lu Qingshi shook her head, continuing to walk with her bag: “Not boyfriend, girlfriend.”

The person beside her stumbled in their steps, nearly tripping. Lu Qingshi turned to look at him, her gaze gentle and calm, but without anything else.

            

“Akai-san, thank you for coming back to find me today.”

“It’s nothing, after all, we were in the same batch and now we’re colleagues.”

But that was all there was to it.

            

She didn’t want Gu Yanzhi to have any unnecessary misunderstandings.

The doctor smiled, nodded slightly, and continued walking forward. Akai Ryo watched her back, let out a long sigh, but didn’t follow.

“Ma’am, this is a military restricted area, entry is prohibited.”

            

The only factory in the dilapidated town was surrounded by barbed wire, with searchlights sweeping back and forth. Patrolling soldiers carried loaded weapons, their faces stern and deadly.

Before she got close, she was stopped by the guards. She noticed these people were different from the regular government troops – there were whites, blacks, and some Asian faces. What was more intimidating was that they all carried the imposing presence of battle-hardened veterans.

Even a mere gate guard spoke impeccable English.

            

Lu Qingshi handed over her passport: “I’m Chinese, currently a Doctors Without Borders physician. I’m looking for someone with Asian features, she’s a woman, also Chinese.”

The soldier took it, glanced at her passport, and was carefully examining her face. Just as he was about to step aside, an officer walked over from a distance.

The soldier immediately saluted. The officer snatched the passport from his hand and returned it to Lu Qingshi: “Sorry, ma’am, we don’t accept civilian visits here, and there’s no Asian woman like you described.”

            

Lu Qingshi knew she was being rejected. It was expected, so she wasn’t too discouraged. The doctor was attractive, and curved her lips into a smile that, under the moonlight, looked like a cactus flower blooming.

“Alright, sir, never mind then. But I’ve come from far away and my stomach is uncomfortable. You know, women have their inconvenient times. Could I please use the bathroom?”

When one request was denied, she made another easier one. Sure enough, the officer waved his hand, gesturing for another soldier to escort her.

            

Lu Qingshi had successfully sneaked in as she’d hoped.

In a war-torn desert, there was no distinction between men’s and women’s bathrooms. Lu Qingshi was led to an open space behind the factory, surrounded by waist-high wooden boards. The pit was dug in the sand, with waste to be buried on the spot.

Lu Qingshi showed some embarrassment: “Could you please move a bit further away?”

            

The soldier, a cute white boy, rubbed his nose: “Of course, ma’am. Call me when you’re done, I’ll escort you out.”

Lu Qingshi blinked: “Thank you.”

As the soldier walked away, Lu Qingshi pushed open the door. The searchlight had just swept past her, creating a moment of darkness. She had calculated the timing perfectly.

            

There would be about a ten-second gap before it swept by again. In the distance, soldiers were chatting quietly and smoking.

One, two, three…

She rolled with the momentum just as the searchlight passed over. She was already panting, hidden in the shadows behind the factory building.

            

The factory building, wrapped in sheet metal, was completely sealed, with guards certainly posted at the main entrance. In a military facility with strict hierarchy, since those people called Gu Yanzhi “boss,” and given her special status, she couldn’t possibly be living with the rough soldiers.

So where would she be?

She looked up at the steel beast lurking under the dark night sky. The searchlight would take fifteen seconds to sweep over this direction. She timed it perfectly and rolled into the darkness.

            

The footsteps of patrolling soldiers grew closer from the distance, and cold sweat slid down Lu Qingshi’s temple.

She could hear her own rapid breathing. Behind the factory building was an open space with nowhere left to hide. If she was discovered, it would be even harder to get close to this place again.

She started running in the opposite direction of the footsteps. Besides the sound of her shoes rubbing against the sand, she could hear the faint sound of running water in the silence.

            

Lu Qingshi suddenly looked up and saw a window with light shining through. There seemed to be a commotion in the factory area – someone must have discovered she was missing.

More and more footsteps began converging in this direction. Lu Qingshi took out a rope and a wooden stick from her backpack. Her time here hadn’t been wasted – she quickly tied the stick to the rope with a firm knot.

This trick she had learned from the government forces.

            

The window wasn’t high, about two meters. Lu Qingshi swung her arm in a full circle, throwing the wooden stick upward. With a crisp sound, it wedged firmly against the window frame.

At the end of the corridor was a washroom, and for convenience, her single dormitory was next to it. Gu Yanzhi lifted her face from under the faucet. Her hair was cut shorter now, just reaching behind her ears, one hand holding a towel to wipe her dripping wet hair.

Winding drops of water flowed down her neck, the camouflage uniform on her chest half soaked. The usually alert person suddenly felt something wasn’t right. She stopped, pulled a gun from her pocket, and leaped onto the washing counter, yanking the window open with a swoosh.

            

Their eyes met.

Lu Qingshi hung from the rope, swaying left and right in the wind like a grasshopper.

A person with no special forces training, no climbing experience whatsoever, hanging onto a rope with bare hands, saw her and smiled gently.

            

“I knew it was you.”

She tried hard to maintain composure, but her eyes still reddened slightly.

Gu Yanzhi saw the silver sea in her eyes growing larger and larger.

            

More and more alarmed soldiers gathered below. Lu Qingshi seemed to panic a bit, trying to grab the rope to climb up to the windowsill. She saw her fingers were covered in blood. Someone below seemed to have fired a shot, the rope suddenly loosened, and the white figure flashed.

As weightlessness struck, Lu Qingshi closed her eyes, but the expected pain never came.

A hand firmly grabbed her wrist.

            

Gu Yanzhi pulled her up.

She pressed the miniature communicator on her collar and said something in Arabic. The commotion downstairs gradually subsided.

Meeting again, Lu Qingshi had so many questions to ask her. The hand that just pulled her up was so warm and broad. She stepped forward, but that person kept her back turned to her.

            

She wouldn’t even look at her once.

A knife-twisting sensation spread through her heart as her gaze lingered almost greedily over her form, from her shortened hair to her thin shoulders, finally falling on the ring finger of her right hand.

The ring she had given her was still there.

            

With this glimmer of hope, Lu Qingshi softly called her name: “Gu Yanzhi…”

Her voice was deep and hoarse.

She said: “Go back, this isn’t a place you should be.”

            

She stared hard at the tuft of short hair behind her ear, as if looking for a flaw: “Then why are you here?”

The shoulders facing away from her trembled slightly. She seemed to be laughing, though her tone was indifferent.

“To profit from war, returning to my old trade.”

            

“You’re not that kind of person.”

Lu Qingshi shook her head, unable to believe she would come to the Middle East for such an absurd reason.

“Then what do you think? That I followed you here from China? Perhaps that’s what you think, after all, you’re used to thinking that way.”

            

Lu Qingshi was momentarily speechless. She stepped forward to grab her wrist but was violently shaken off.

“Don’t come anymore. We’re already broken up, there’s no relationship now. You’re a doctor, I’m a butcher. This is a battlefield. Next time you try to sneak in like this, I won’t let you off.”

Lu Qingshi bit her lower lip, watching her back – so resolute, carrying a coldness that felt thousands of miles away.

            

She truly wanted to sever all ties with her.

Upon clearly realizing this, the doctor’s voice carried a hint of choking: “How can it be that starting a relationship takes two people, but breaking up only needs one? I don’t agree.”

“What does your agreement have to do with me?” she countered, each word precise: “Back then, didn’t you also come to the Middle East without my agreement?”

            

“I thought you would understand me…”

“I do understand, of course I understand,” Gu Yanzhi clenched her fists, gritting her teeth: “But understanding doesn’t mean I can forgive you for putting me last time and time again.”

No heart is made of stone, how could it withstand being worn down again and again.

            

Precisely because it was first love, both love and hate cut deep to the bone.

Lu Qingshi didn’t want to say “sorry,” but it seemed there were no other words to say besides those three.

She was the first to abandon her, she wronged her, she longed for her, and deeply loved her.

            

Gu Yanzhi once said: “I love you, including your dark side.”

She was the same way, even though she had decided to cut ties completely, even though she wouldn’t look at her anymore, even though she pointed a gun at her.

Like her, they were both stubborn at their core.

            

“Then turn around and look at me when you say it. Say you don’t love me anymore, and I’ll never bother you again.”

Since knowing her, she had rarely been so obsessive about proving something.

That person, regardless of time or place, always maintained a composed demeanor.

            

Without turning around, she knew she must be crying, crying without sound, biting her lip, tears silently flowing down her face.

She had never doubted that Lu Qingshi loved her.

Then why was she constantly rejecting her?

            

Perhaps she still couldn’t let go of her grievances.

Like a monster had burrowed into her chest, gnawing at her internal organs until they ached.

Fingernails dug deep into flesh, blood taste in her clenched teeth.

            

“I… don’t…”

She still couldn’t look into her eyes and say those words completely.

But she hadn’t expected her to rush forward and tightly embrace her waist, pressing her face against her back.

            

“Don’t speak! Gu Yanzhi… I beg you… don’t say it…”

She rarely lost emotional control or became hysterical, and never easily begged others.

Her tears soaked the camouflage uniform, her arms around her were slender, soft, and burning hot.

            

The back of her hand still bore scars from crawling through ruins that day, almost being violated by terrorists for a keychain.

If she hadn’t arrived in time, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

She was furious, killed someone in front of her, yet she wasn’t afraid, still looking at her with the same gentle, soft gaze.

            

She would recognize her even if she turned to ashes.

Gu Yanzhi’s throat bobbed up and down. She closed her eyes, feeling her body temperature, her softness pressed against her back, her love, and gently placed her hand over hers.

However.

            

“Comrade Gu Yanzhi, this is an extremely dangerous and arduous mission. Once you join, you’ll have no name, no nationality, no identity. Everything about you in China will be erased. You’ll be a defected mercenary, receiving no support from the country. In life, you’ll have no honor or merit; in death, no flag will drape your corpse. Your files will be permanently sealed.”

“I think you should understand, this matter holds no benefit for you, and you might never return. Given the current situation, we would have no way to bring your remains back home for burial…”

In the Southeast Military District’s secret base, sitting across from her were her former instructor and the military district’s political commissar.

            

The old ceiling fan above creaked as it turned, making a teeth-grinding sound.

The incandescent light shone on her olive-green uniform, the soldier’s profile sharp, her gaze determined.

She softly uttered two words: “I’m in.”

            

As she was leaving, the political commissar called out to her: “The organization knows your lover is also in the Middle East, but this is a national mission. You should understand that the fewer people who know, the better, especially when facing deranged extremist organizations. I trust you understand my meaning.”

Gu Yanzhi’s departing steps paused. She pressed her lips together and raised her hand in a military salute: “Understood!”

The factory area’s alarm blared, calls from teammates came through the earpiece. Gu Yanzhi pried away her hands one by one.

            

Lu Qingshi’s heart sank bit by bit.

She held on tighter and tighter, to the point where Gu Yanzhi had to use some force, bones making a crisp sound, her mouth open but unable to cry out.

She never turned around. She saw her remove the ring from her little finger, casually tossing it. The silver object hit the windowsill, bounced out the window, flashing once in the night, without a sound, falling into the desert.

            

“Gu Yanzhi!” she called out through tears, feeling for a moment that her heart too had been thrown away with that casual gesture to a place where no one would care.

She strode away with large steps, picking up the gun by the door and loading it: “Prepare for battle!”

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