I lit a cigarette, knowing that many things had become inevitable, and it was time to make a choice. I was in a small bar in Motuo Town at the foot of the mountain, making an important phone call. The place, though referred to as a bar, was actually just a small room decorated to look like one. The walls were adorned with numerous photos of fellow travelers, and while you could find many drinks available outside the mountains, everything was extremely overpriced— a can of beer that normally costs a few bucks was selling for thirty here. At this time of year, the bar was filled with many charcoal fires, and people gathered in small groups around the flames, chatting in various accents and sharing stories.

Although it was afternoon, the entire room was dimly lit, with only the glow of the charcoal fire and candlelight providing illumination. The flickering light reflecting off metal and glass created a restless atmosphere throughout the space, which I found both comforting and grounding. As a result, the call I made ended up lasting much longer than I had anticipated.

On the other end of the line was Fatty, who was thousands of kilometers away. The temperature on his side must have been quite high, as I could feel the warmth emanating from the microphone just from the tone of his voice. After I separated from Fatty, we initially had little contact because it was really hard to reach him in Ba Nai. Whenever I called, it was always A Gui who answered, and I would ask him to have Fatty call me back, but Fatty never did.

In that state, I was also a bit afraid if he actually did call back, because there were too many memories I couldn’t face. His silence was a relief for me. This continued until six months later when Fatty and I reconnected. To my relief, he seemed to be doing much better and could even crack a few jokes.

After that, I tried to contact him about once a week, and he gradually became more open. I attempted to persuade him to leave Guangxi, but this topic seemed to carry some negative emotions for him. Whenever it came up, he would laugh it off, saying that he was living well with his father-in-law and that there were many people here who wanted to be his father-in-law, so he wasn’t keen on leaving.

Eventually, I stopped pushing him on it, but I still hoped my calls could bring him a sense of modernity, preventing him from becoming too immersed in the carefree life of the Yao village. I wanted him to stay informed about what was happening in society in case he decided to venture out in the future.

During our conversations, I gradually shared with Fatty the things I had discovered here. When he heard about my finding a photo of Xiao Ge, his mood instantly shifted to excitement, and I felt a bit proud of myself. It turned out that he still had passion inside him, or rather, his positive side had resurfaced; he just wasn’t ready to admit it yet.

Initially, I thought this, but as I continued talking to Fatty, I noticed that his excitement seemed somewhat off. From his tone, it seemed he wasn’t interested in what I was saying but rather had picked up on something from my words, leading him to ponder and doubt.

“What are you thinking about?” I asked him. “You’re talking while eating yellow mud snails, aren’t you?”

“Actually, we don’t have those here. I, Fatty, am just listening to you and feel that something is off. But maybe I’m just overthinking it.”

“What’s wrong with the situation?” I asked. “Nothing happened here. Although it’s not as humid and comfortable as Banai, it’s not worse than your place in terms of seclusion. Don’t make it sound like I’m particularly ignorant or unsophisticated.”

“That’s right. Our family’s Tianzhen is a fresh and refined young man, a delicate flower emerging from the water, wherever he goes, he starts a ‘Learn from Lei Feng’ campaign. He doesn’t compare West Lake to Banai, but says Motuo is like a mother. The Buddha says: the Leifeng Pagoda will eventually collapse.”

“Where the hell did you get all those fancy words?” I was angry. “This public phone is very expensive, can you say something sincere? Stop talking nonsense.”

“Absolutely not nonsense. It’s been a long time since I thought of your second brother, and there’s a basis for it. Listen to me.”

“Your second brother is nonsense,” I cursed. The fat guy chuckled and said, “Look, you came back from Nepal and passed through Motuo, right?” I nodded, then realized he couldn’t see me and said, “Yes.”

“Why did you go through Motuo on your way back from Nepal? Are you a bird that flies back from Nepal and just stops in Motuo for a bit? You went there for business, and you didn’t bring a large shipment. You should have taken a more convenient route around Motuo or flown directly back from Nepal, right?”

“I was just a bit bored and wanted to take this route.”

“Did the people around you just let you go? You know going to Motuo is a complicated matter, and from what I know about you, you wouldn’t have that kind of thought. You currently have a fear of long nights and dreams, and going to Motuo doesn’t fit your way of doing things.”

I nodded, thinking he was right. The fear of long nights and dreams was a side effect of everything I had been through. I always felt that once I stopped or took a breather, the situation would be ruined by someone. So I no longer acted on a whim but pursued high efficiency and shortcuts.

“Think about it, how did you end up in Motuo? There must have been many subtle influences that led you to make that decision.”

I recalled and said, “It wasn’t that complicated. Actually, when we were at the border, we took a back route to avoid taxes. The person who took us across the border was a tour guide from Motuo, and he told us about Motuo. Then our vehicle broke down on the road, and we were in a tough spot, waiting for a long time before we could catch a ride to Motuo. That vehicle had to go to Motuo and couldn’t drop us off specifically. They said if they saw other vehicles on the way, they would let us off. I chatted with that tour guide the whole way, and somehow I decided to come to Motuo.”

“Do you think this is fate?” The fat guy said after listening, “Think about it again, how did you end up seeing the photo of the guy?” As soon as he said this, I suddenly understood what he was getting at, and my heart skipped a beat. I heard the fat guy say, “There aren’t that many coincidences in the world. Even if the guy really stayed in Motuo for a long time, what are the odds that someone painted him and it ended up in a place you could see? Do you think this is a TV drama?”

“Are you saying—this was designed by someone else? He used the image of the little brother to leave me here? What kind of conspiracy is this?” “You think the matter is over, that you can relax. If it were the old you, with your cautious nature, you would never overlook this point.” Just as I felt a chill in my heart, the fat man suddenly said, “Naive, you’ve fallen into the trap. Congratulations, you’ve leveled up to the square of naivety—both naive and squared.”

“Shut the hell up,” I replied, feeling a bit frustrated. “What do you think we should do now? Should I leave immediately?”

“Absolutely not. There are only a few useless people around you. Now that you’ve fallen into the trap, their plan is underway and stable, and you’re not in any danger. However, if you suddenly act as if you’ve seen through their plan, they will definitely use a second scheme to keep you here, and you might not have as much freedom anymore.

Just stay calm for now and give me the address. I’ll get there as fast as I can.”

“Are you really coming out of retirement?”

“Now that you’ve reached the ‘square of naivety,’ I have to come rescue you before you get kicked out.” The fat man’s voice was very calm. “Besides, this matter is also related to me. If you get kicked out, I might be next.”

I felt a warmth in my heart, and the slight panic I had just experienced dissipated. I gave him the address, knowing he could arrive here in about a week at the earliest, and then I hung up the phone.

Looking around, I suddenly realized that the atmosphere here was no longer relaxed and pleasant; instead, it felt eerie and sinister. I wasn’t sure if it was just my imagination or if it had always been this way, but I had been too relaxed earlier to notice. After finishing my beer, I lingered for a while at the cold threshold of the door before stepping outside, walking straight into the wind.

Although the fat man said that, I still needed to check the post office to see if things were really as he said. Moreover, for some reason, I really wanted to take another look at the painting and the figure in the painting, the ‘dull oil bottle.’

If what the fat man said was true, and someone was still orchestrating things behind the scenes, what could their purpose be? So much time had passed, and I no longer felt conflicted about it. Did someone still want to push me into those endless abysses? I couldn’t help but sneer; I was no longer the person I used to be. If someone wanted to fool me now, they might succeed when I was careless, but if I caught on, they wouldn’t fare any better.

I arrived at the post office, which was bustling with activity, filled with all sorts of people exchanging packages, packing, and filling out addresses. Taking advantage of the chaos, I slipped behind the counter. The people inside looked at me, and I said, “I’m here to pay.”

“What payment?” asked an accountant-looking person. I pulled out three thousand yuan and said, “It’s what I owe from last time. You can check; there’s a note written on your desk.”

He took the money but looked puzzled. “I haven’t seen any note.”

“Not you; it’s someone else,” I replied.

“Is it a woman?” I nodded, “She should be your colleague. Why don’t you call to ask?” The accountant, a bit confused, made the call. I immediately pretended to be bored and walked over to the wall, looking at the ‘dull oil bottle’ in the oil painting.

The phone call on the other end had just connected when I took the painting down from the wall to examine the nail it was hung on. It was an old nail, and there was a distinct mark on the wall behind the frame, indicating that the painting had been hanging there for a long time. Hmm? Could it be that the fat guy was overthinking? I thought to myself. I set the painting down and noticed that the person on the other end was still on the phone, rummaging through papers on the desk. I then turned my attention to the banners and picture frames hanging nearby. As I flipped through them, something stirred in my heart. Behind the frame that depicted “A Thousand Miles of Success,” there was no mark on the wall, and the wall color was very uniform.

This thing must have been hung recently. I took a few steps back and saw that the other person was still talking on the phone, so I quickly turned and left. As I stepped outside, a cold wind blew, and everything became clear to me. The painting of the dull oil colors was too small, and if I had been careless at that moment, I might have missed it. To make me notice it, this oil painting had to stand out starkly.

In such a small private post office, it would be nearly impossible for an oil painting to appear on the wall. It was already quite difficult for me to notice this oil painting, and for such a small thing to be spotted at a glance, there had to be a large, unremarkable object nearby that was completely different from it to highlight it. Previously, I thought it was impossible for someone to deliberately arrange such details, but now I knew that when someone sets their mind to it, their ability to control details is actually limitless.

Moreover, it was indeed effective. This wall had been carefully designed to ensure that I would see the oil painting. Why was there a mark on the wall behind the painting? I felt that there must have originally been another painting hanging there, but it had been replaced later, and the frame was still the original one, which explained the perfect match. I walked briskly in the wind, mulling over the events that had occurred on my way here. With the fat guy’s reminder, my thoughts suddenly became clear, and many things I had never considered before began to come to mind vividly.

The next steps I needed to take started forming one by one in my mind. I felt very calm, as if I were doing something I had done many times before. Before the fat guy arrived, I believed I could set up my own game well and show him that I wasn’t naive.