第一百一十四章 晨曦的闪光
The inventory of the goods was not completed until the dead of the night. Nearly all of the Wild Truck Cargo Team had perished, and at that moment, clusters of black crystals were slowly forming from the corpses on the ground.
货物清点完毕已是后半夜，荒车大货队的人几乎全灭，此刻地上这些尸首们缓慢聚集出了一团团黑色晶体。
“Lost Thought Models.”
“失念模型。”
YangZicang took over two hundred of them, part of the Wild Truck Cargo Team’s share, while leaving the Lost Thought Models of the over sixty other fallen fighters for Shed Master Song to handle.
杨子藏拿走了属于荒车大货队的那部分两百多枚，其他战死的六十多号人的失念模型则让宋棚主安置。
After a brief half-day of rest, Shed Master Song and his men helped escort the supplies back to Ning Yang’s Shed settlement.
稍微休息了半天，宋棚主一行人帮忙送这些物资回到了宁洋的棚区。
“This time, it was a real narrow escape.”
“这次真是死里逃生。”
A day and a half later, as Ning Yang saw the familiar buildings, he felt as if he had been reborn.
一天半后，看到熟悉建筑的宁洋感觉仿佛重生了般。
More men and women than expected came out to greet them.
来迎接的男男女女比想象中的多出不少。
“Weren’t they all said to have run away?” Ning Yang asked Team Leader Jia, who was running out to meet him.
“不是说都跑了吗。”宁洋对着跑出来的贾队问道。
“Well, it’s because they heard you wiped out the Wild Truck Cargo Team, so they’ve come back—except for those bastards who took over your residence.”
“这不是听说你们灭了荒车大货队，他们又回来了嘛，除了那几个抢你屋子的畜生。”
Ning Yang was furious.
宁洋愤怒不已。
“Spread the news about those people. Have all the Shed settlements in the area stay vigilant against them. Let’s see how long those beasts can survive!”
“把那些人的消息给我传出去，让这附近的棚区都小心点他们，我看这些畜生能活几天！”
“Alright, I was waiting for you to say that.” Team Leader Jia said.
“好，就等你这句话。”贾队道。
His eyes gleamed greedily as he looked at the carloads of goods, but then he caught sight of the familiar figure on the cart, and his body shuddered.
他看着这一车车的货物，眼中冒着绿光，随后他看到了车上的那熟悉身影，身体一个哆嗦。
“Go apologize, and hurry up about it.”
“还不快去道歉。”
Ning Yang scowled at his old buddy from Earth and said coldly.
宁洋冷着脸看向这位在地球上便是好哥们的男人道。
“Wait, what about Aya? She’s not hurt or anything, is she?”
“等等，阿雅呢，没受伤啥的吧。”
“No, no.”
“没有没有。”
Having said that, Captain Jia shuffled towards Yang Zicang and his group like a bashful little girl, followed by several others.
说罢，贾队如扭捏的小姑娘般往杨子藏几人的方向走去，随着他的还有好些人。
Shed Master Song watched the scene with a smile, having fully understood everything that had transpired here a few days ago. He found it both comical and helpless, yet was relieved that Jiazi wasn’t indifferent to life; otherwise, the destruction of this small settlement would have been inevitable.
宋棚主笑看着这一切，他已经完全了解过前几日这边发生过什么事了，看着这一幕只觉得又滑稽又无奈，还好甲子间不是漠视生命之人，否则这个小聚集地的毁灭已经注定。
That night, the shed area bustled with unprecedented activity. Ning Yang took out all the remaining and recovered food to entertain the guests. During the feast, words could hardly express how repeatedly they thanked Yang Zicang and his party for their help.
夜晚，棚区前所未有的热闹，宁洋将还剩余的以及还回来的食物尽数拿出来招待客人，席间更不用说是如何再三感恩杨子藏一行人的相助。
The lively commotion even caused a small ball of light to appear in the sky.
这样热闹的动静，甚至在天上出现了粒小光团。
{Hmph.}
{哼。}
Seeing Yang Zicang look up at it, the little spirit inside the ball of light snorted and soared into the sky.
瞧见杨子藏仰头盯来，光团内的小精灵哼了哼飞向了天空。
The young man chuckled, poured fresh juice into a clean small cup, and while the crowd, intoxicated on flavors they hadn’t tasted in ages alongside Luo Bin in their drunken stupor, stepped aside and whispered to the sky.
青年笑了笑，他将新鲜果汁倒在干净小杯子里，趁着席间良久未尝过酒味的众人跟洛宾酩酊大醉之时，走到一边，小声对着天空道。
“Like to try some of our good stuff?”
“要不要尝尝我们的好东西？”
{Are you trying to bribe me? Li-Li-Ya won’t fall for your trick. Well… but Li-Li-Ya might take a tiny sip.}
{你想贿赂我吗，粒粒牙可不会上你的当哦，嗯，不过粒粒牙也是可以稍微尝尝的。}
The ball of light descended, transformed into a fairy as long as a finger wearing a tiny skirt. She planted her two little hands on the cup edge, buried her face, and took a small sip.
小光团飞下来，幻化出指头长的穿着小裙子的仙子，两只小手伏在杯子边埋着头吸了一小口。
{Blech, blech, the flavor’s too strong.}
{呸呸呸，味道太重啦。}
With a whoosh, she shot back into the sky.
它嗖地冲上天际。
{Hmph, that’ll teach you, you big villain.}
{哼哼，气死你，大坏蛋。}
Yang Zicang bared his teeth in a grin, shook his head, and walked over to the table.
杨子藏露出牙齿笑了笑，摇摇头往桌子走去。
{Hey, stingy guy, cat got your tongue? Alright, I admit it was actually pretty tasty. Farewell, you famous troublemaker with all your schemes.}
{歪，小气鬼不说话了吗。好吧，我承认它还是挺好喝的，再见啦，藏有坏心思的大名人。}
The ball of light rose slowly upward, gradually fading away.
光团徐徐往上，缓缓消失。
Yang Zicang watched the direction it had disappeared, then took a small sip of the juice from his cup.
杨子藏看着它消失的方向，将杯子里的果汁尝了一小口。
That evening—having not rested properly for two or three days—Yang Zicang decided against traveling and instead planned to sleep well to regain his strength. At least the stone house here was more comfortable than a tent.
晚上，两三天没休息好的杨子藏不打算赶路，而是好好睡觉养精神，至少这里的石屋比帐篷舒服。
After exchanging a few words with Xiaoyu, Liang Xi, and the others, Yang Zicang climbed onto the soft, spacious bed.
跟小雨和梁喜等人互相通了会话后，杨子藏爬上了软软的大床。
Thanks to the supplies contributed by the desert cargo caravan, Ning Yang and his people had prepared for him a rest area that rivaled those back on Earth.
有了荒车大货队贡献的物资，宁洋等人为他准备了不输于地球的休息区。
Dozing off under a thick wool blanket, Yang Zicang suddenly realized he had become awake.
盖着厚毛毯的熟睡中，杨子藏忽然发现自己清醒了过来。
The sensation was all too familiar—he was now in a dream.
这种感觉太熟悉了，现在是梦中。
But the room remained the same, while Zuo Feixian sat silently at the open door, his expression bleak as he gazed outside.
但屋子还是那个屋子，而左非闲则静静坐在打开的门口，神色苍凉的望着外面。
Yang Zicang sat up: “Hello.”
杨子藏坐起身来：“你好。”
“Mm, how have you been feeling lately?”
“嗯，这段时间感觉怎么样。”
“What do you mean?”
“什么意思？”
Zuo Feixian turned his head, his face still the same, yet it showed a kind of distant, unfathomable, and unapproachable aloofness.
左非闲转过头，脸庞依然是那张脸，看上去却显露着种幽远的，难以琢磨与接触的高远。
“The overall feeling, ever since you left your world.”
“整体的感觉，从你离开你们的世界。”
Yang Zicang thought for a moment and said, “Terrible, but… there’s also some unspeakable sort of meaning to it.”
杨子藏想了想道：“非常不好，但，又有着种说不出的意味。”
Zuo Feixian smiled, but his smile was quite reserved.
左非闲笑了，但笑得很是涵蓄。
“Indeed, the pursuit of power and immortality is etched into the very essence of humanity. This holds true regardless of time or place.”
“果然，对力量与长生的追求，是刻在人类的本源中的。无论在任何时间，任何地点都是如此。”
Yang Zicang didn’t quite agree with this; for him, the pursuit of power came from external pressure.
杨子藏有点不认同这话，自己对力量的追求是来自外在的压迫。
But Zuo Feixian said, “You’re reluctant to admit it because you still see yourself as a normal… Earthman. That word sure is hard to pronounce.”
但左非闲道：“你不想承认，是因为你还当作自己是个正常的…地球人。这个词，还真是难念呢。”
Hearing this, Yang Zicang realized the other was speaking his language, and that “Earthman” was a pronunciation obviously just newly adapted for him.
听到这话，杨子藏才意识到对方说的是自己的语言，而“地球人”这发音，对他来说显然是才刚扭转而来。
“You still hope to go back, but—”
“你还期望着回去，可是。”
That man turned his head to stare at him: “If you woke up one day and found yourself lying on the bed in your old home, and all of this was just a dream, wouldn’t you miss the power you once had?”
这人转头盯着自己：“如果你一觉醒来，发现自己就躺在曾经屋里的床上，这一切不过是个梦，你会不会怀念这些曾拥有过的力量呢？”
“I…”
“我…”
Yang Zicang pondered deeply, imagining if he were truly back on Earth, in his own home, going to school daily, doing homework, playing basketball, then after graduation finding a job, commuting to and from work, running business deals or sorting through work documents.
杨子藏细细一想，想到若自己真的回到地球，回到自己的家里，每天上学，写作业，打球，毕业后找份工作，上班下班，跑业务或者整理工作资料。
He suddenly felt a reluctance to continue that train of thought.
他突然有点抗拒继续想下去。
“Have you been speaking my language all along?” Yang Zicang asked, changing the subject.
“你一直会说我的语言吗？”杨子藏转移话题道。
“I learned it a long time ago.”
“学会很久了。”
“How long ago?”
“有多久？”
Zuo Feixian thought for a moment: “I’ve forgotten. That belongs to the other half of my memories.”
左非闲想了想：“我忘了，那属于我另一半的记忆。”
Yang Zicang said, “If I manage to gather ten thousand temporal units, do you know where I’ll go?”
杨子藏道：“如果我筹够一万时序，会去往什么地方，你清楚吗？”
“To the place where new destinies are woven.”
“编织新命运的地方。”
Zuo Feixian looked at Yang Zicang approaching him: “Where there is the new, there is the old. And I belong to the old.”
左非闲看向走过来的杨子藏：“有新就有旧，我就属于旧。”
Yang Zicang composed himself—regardless of whether he could go back or not, he had truly come to this world now.
杨子藏整理好自己的心情，不论能不能回去，现在自己是真的来到这世界了。
The catastrophe that is currently happening to me is what should be dealt with.
眼下应该应对的是真实发生在身上的灾难。
“I encountered a moon shadow creature before; it seemed to know a lot, but you warned me not to let it speak. Why was that?”
“之前我遇到了个月影怪物，他似乎知道很多，但你却叮嘱我不要让他说话，这是为什么？”
He seized this rare opportunity to ask.
他抓紧这难得的机会询问。
“Haven’t you already guessed something? Don’t ask me this question, because any answer I give belongs to the ‘old,’ not to the new. Certain information that adults understand is poison for someone as pure as a blank sheet of paper—do you understand?”
“你不是有所猜测了吗？这个问题不要问我，因为我的任何答案，都属于‘旧’，而不是新的。某些大人都懂的信息，对如白纸般的孩子来说，却是毒药，懂吗。”
Yang Zicang felt a numb tingle crawl down his spine.
杨子藏感觉背脊一阵酥麻。
“If you hope to get more answers to your questions from me, I certainly can, and I’d be happy to tell you. Unfortunately, there’s more than one listener.”
“如果你期望在我这里获得更多问题的答案，我当然可以，也很乐意告诉你，可惜的是，听众不止一个。”
Zuo Feixian clasped his hands together, pressed them against the back of his head, and lay down. As he moved, the house vanished, transforming into a platform.
左非闲双手插在一起，抵住后脑勺倒了下来，随着他的动作，屋子消失，成为了个平台。
Yang Zicang looked up at the sky. The eternal twilight-like midnight was gone, replaced by real stars, clearer and more beautiful than ever before—like nothing that could exist in reality.
杨子藏抬头看向天空，永远似暮色的午夜消失了，取而代之的是真正的星辰，它们比任何时候都要清澈美丽，不像现实能出现的东西。
“Is there something you need from me?”
“你找我有什么事吗？”
After staring at the starry sky for a few seconds and abandoning his pile of questions, Yang Zicang turned to the person beside him.
看了几秒星空，放弃了一堆问题的杨子藏转头看向身旁的人。
“Stargazing.”
“看星星。”
“Stargazing?”
“看星星？”
“In my memories, a long, long time ago, I lay on the ground like this, watching the stars with someone just like you. I miss those days.”
“在我的记忆中，很久很久以前，也这样躺在地上跟一个像你一样的人看着星星，我很想念那个时候。
“This starry sky is part of my few good memories.”
“这片星空就是属于我的，为数不多的美好记忆。”
Yang Zicang looked at the stars too, then lay down, feeling the hard surface of the platform beneath him.
杨子藏也这样看了看星星，他躺下来，感受着平台的坚硬。
“At that time, I was stupid—I understood nothing.
“那个时候的我笨笨的，什么也不懂。
“Of course, he was hardly much wiser than me, not even knowing a handful of characters. Ah, who would’ve thought that such a pair would end up making it this far in the end.”
“当然，他也比我懂不了多少，字都不识几个。唉，谁能想到，这样的组合，最后能走到今天。”
There was a subtle hint of time acceleration, and after who knows how long, the sky grew chaotic.
略有时间加速的痕迹，不知过了多久，天空变得混沌。
“Then can you tell me your real name?”
“那你能告诉我你的真名吗？”
“My name is Xingmiao.”
“我叫星渺。”
Yang Zicang felt the dream rapidly receding, himself on the verge of sinking into a dazed slumber, but that sentence was burned into his mind — such a pair, yet making it this far.
杨子藏感觉梦境在快速消退，自己快要陷入迷蒙的沉睡，但他脑海中还死死记着这句话——这样的组合，走到了今天。
{You must set out for other shed zones to retrieve the rest of my body.}
{你准备去往别的棚区地，将我的其余身体部分寻找回来。}
In the haze, a voice resembling Zuo Feixian’s appeared in his heart.
模糊中，类似左非闲的声音出现在心间。
Why? Yang Zicang subconsciously thought in his sleep.
为什么？睡梦中，杨子藏下意识的想到。
{What I have been waiting for may soon arrive.}
{我等待的或许要来了。}
Both sound and images faded away slowly. After an unknowable stretch of time, Yang Zicang opened his eyes.
声音与画面都缓缓消失，不知道过了多久，杨子藏睁开眼。
Beside the pillow, the little male goblin lying prone shot up with a whoosh. It glanced at Yang Zicang’s face, made a ‘nyah nyah nyah’ face at him, and vanished through the ceiling.
枕头旁，趴着的男性小精怪嗖的飞起，它看了杨子藏的脸一眼，略略略~做了个鬼脸后穿过房顶消失不见。
“Damn reporter.”
“该死的记者。”
Yang Zicang chuckled, joking about the little creature; the thing had startled him a bit just now.
杨子藏笑着吐槽了下那小东西，自己刚才被稍微惊到了下。
After all, who wouldn’t be a little scared when a thing suddenly pops up right next to their face as they’re just waking up?
任谁刚睡醒，脸旁边突然蹿出个东西都会被吓一下子的吧。
Then a contemplative look settled on his face.
随后他脸上带起沉思之色。
After breakfast, the group almost worshipped Zuo Feixian, begging him to stay, but Zuo Feixian shook his head, unmoved by any temptation.
早饭后，众人将左非闲快要供起来似的，请他留在这边，但左非闲摇头，任何诱惑都不为所动。
“There’s no future here.”
“这里没有前途。”
The disheveled man, now in a fresh set of clothes, stated bluntly.
换了身新衣服的蓬头男直言不讳。
In the past, Ning Yang would have been furious, but now he dared not say a word of objection.
换做往日的宁洋早就鼻子都气歪了，但现在他不敢说半个不字。
Just yesterday, he clearly saw Master Zuo and Xu Xiuchuan both emitting a red glow, shielding Teacher Chen and the others behind them, like two mighty gods.
就昨天，他分明看到这左大师跟徐秀川身上都冒着红光，将陈老师两人护在身后，仿佛两尊大神。
This made him sigh with regret—he had nearly become the greenhouse owner, but alas, it was not meant to be.
这让他扼腕叹息，自己差点就能成为大棚主，可惜可叹。
Taking advantage of the large supply of goods and materials, Yang Zicang did not return to his own base today but instead began crafting life-supply Forget-Me-Engines among the crowd as night fell.
趁着有大批的货物材料，今日杨子藏并未回去自己的驻地，而是趁着人多开始炼制生活物资类失念引擎，直到夜晚来临。
“Brother Jiazi, come visit often.”
“甲子兄弟，以后常来玩啊。”
Ning Yang waved with genuine sincerity.
宁洋真心的挥着手道。
“Sure will.”
“会的。”
The train disappeared into the wind, taking with it piles of cargo.
列车消失在风中，带走的还有成堆的货物。
In the blink of an eye, Ning Yang found himself broke again, with even the stored food completely consumed.
转眼间，宁洋发现自己又成了穷光蛋，连储备的食物都消耗得精光。
……
……
At dawn, Kuang Yuming sat in the small courtyard.
晨曦，匡雨明坐在小院里。
On the cement table before him were several small dishes, made from fresh vegetables collected from the interwoven region. Since accepting Li Mi’s arrangement, he had appeared quite at ease these days.
他身前的水泥圆桌上摆着几个小菜，这些都是从交错区域内采集到的新鲜蔬菜所作。自从接受李弥的安排后，这些日子他看上去过得很是惬意。
“I wonder if food can give birth to a nightmare,” Kuang Yuming thought, taking a sip of wine.
“不知道食物能不能诞生恶魇。”匡雨明喝了杯酒后想到。
Suddenly, with a sense of awareness, he looked up at the sparse stars in the sky.
忽地，若有所感，他抬头看向星辰稀疏的空中。
There seemed to be a new star being born.
那里似有颗新的星星正在诞生。
“That kid moves pretty swiftly; he’s actually made Lü Bu take notice of me.”
“那小子的动作不错，竟然真的让吕布注意到了我。”
The weathered man’s heart churned with intense emotion.
脸上布满风霜的男人心中情绪翻涌。
Kuang Yuming smiled, shook his head, sighed, and looked down at his wine glass, pouring himself the final cup.
匡雨明笑着摇摇头，叹息口气看向酒杯，为自己斟上了最后这一杯酒。
It was as if an invisible gate between heaven and earth had cracked open.
恰似天地间无形的天门开启道缝隙。
A thin thread of light fell straight down, flickered, and went out.
一丝细光垂直落下，闪逝熄灭。