Chapter Twenty-Two: Southward or Northward?

In the pale light of dawn, Kang Ning felt utterly at ease, dressed in jeans and a dark blue collared sports shirt, a deep blue square sports bag slung over his shoulder. The fresh scent of towering eucalyptus trees and lush grass on either side of the highway filled him with a rare sense of serenity. After more than thirty days in hiding within a cellar, Kang Ning truly appreciated the beauty of nature and the preciousness of freedom.

Glancing down at his Li-Ning running shoes, a wave of warmth swept through Kang Ning’s heart, and Su Fang’s gentle and beautiful face appeared in his mind once more. He could not forget the moment when, having climbed over the two-meter-high courtyard wall, he turned to look back at the light shining from Su Fang’s bedroom—an image that would be forever etched into his memory.

Although the large-scale police roadblocks had been withdrawn five days earlier, cautious as ever, Kang Ning did not dare to be complacent. He ignored the passing buses, intent only on flagging down a truck or a car. After several failed attempts, an eight-ton coal truck finally stopped for him.

The middle-aged driver, sporting a full beard, poked his head out and called, “Where are you headed?”

“Mister, I’m going to Heshan.”

“Hop in—twenty yuan!”

“Alright!”

Kang Ning opened the door, climbed into the cab, handed over twenty yuan, which the driver accepted without hesitation.

As the truck shifted into gear and pulled away, the driver grinned. “You’re dressed like an athlete, but not many athletes have little mustaches like yours. Still, you’re a clean-cut kid, and that mustache is pretty stylish.”

Kang Ning couldn’t help but laugh. Studying his reflection in the large rearview mirror, he found his face strangely unfamiliar: beneath his long hair was a thin face, and the small mustache above his lips lent him a free-spirited, even slightly dissipated look.

Turning to the driver, Kang Ning smiled. “Brother, your full beard is truly impressive. There aren’t many men in the south who can grow beards like that.”

“Haha! You’ve got a way with words, little brother. A while back, the police would stop me all the time. I thought maybe it was because of my beard, but it turned out they were hunting for a fugitive. Luckily, the checkpoints were all removed five days ago. Otherwise, getting stopped everywhere was a real hassle.”

The driver chuckled and turned his attention back to the road, stepping on the gas until the speedometer read over eighty. “Your Guiliu accent is pretty authentic, but I can tell you’re a Mandarin speaker, aren’t you? Why not take a bus instead of a truck?”

Kang Ning replied calmly, “None of the buses would stop for me. I’m grateful you gave me a lift. It’s about sixty kilometers from here to Heshan, right?”

“Sixty-five. We’ll be there soon. I’m with the Heshan Coal Mine, been running this route for years, sometimes all the way to Liuzhou or Nanning.” The driver glanced at him. “So, what do you do? Are you in Heshan on business?”

Kang Ning thought for a moment before answering, “Yes, on business. Just stopping by to see a friend, then I’ll head back to Liuzhou. Do you know where in Heshan I might catch a ride to Liuzhou?”

“Haha, you’ve asked the right man! When we get to Heshan, I’ll tell you. Our fleet sends a dozen trucks or more on that route every day. It’s less than ninety kilometers to Liuzhou, just over an hour’s ride.”

After a quick breakfast in Heshan, following the bearded driver’s directions, Kang Ning soon caught a ride heading to Liuzhou. By eleven-thirty, he finally arrived. Familiar with the city, Kang Ning quickly hailed a taxi to the commercial district near the Trade and Industry Building. There, he entered a mobile phone shop, spending fifteen hundred yuan on a black-and-white Nokia phone, and another two hundred on a prepaid SIM card that required no ID. He found a café, asked a waiter to charge his phone, and settled into a comfortable booth, relishing a long-missed cup of coffee while reading the newspaper he’d just picked up on the street.

After finishing the Sports Weekly, Kang Ning picked up the Southern Morning Post. Suddenly, a bold headline caught his eye. Heart pounding, he saw his own photograph above three stark characters: Wanted Notice!

…Suspected of murder and three counts of grievous bodily harm in the early hours of June 21, 1997. The suspect is fluent in Mandarin, Guiliu dialect, Cantonese, and Shanghainese… Anyone with information is urged to contact local law enforcement immediately…

Kang Ning slumped weakly in his seat, unable to compose himself for a long while. He read the wanted notice again and fell into deep thought.

He understood now that the wanted notice signaled the case had taken a turn for the worse, and from now on, every step would be fraught with greater difficulty. When he left Luzhuang in Binyang, he had still hoped to sneak back to Nanning, uncover the truth, and use all his connections to clear his name. Now, it was clear that path was closed to him.

A waitress came to refill his water. Seeing his pale face and vacant stare at the ceiling, she asked with concern, “Sir, are you alright?”

Startled, Kang Ning quickly forced a smile. “It’s nothing, really. Oh, could you bring me the phone I left at the reception to charge?”

“Of course. Please wait a moment.”

After thanking her for the phone, Kang Ning thought for a moment, then dialed the Southern Morning Post’s editorial office.

“Hello, who would you like to speak to?” came a young woman’s voice.

Kang Ning, lowering his voice and switching to the Guiliu dialect, asked, “Could you please put Liu Yiqing on the line?”

“You’re looking for Sister Qing? Sorry, she’s on leave. Try her mobile, okay?”

“Thank you!”

After hanging up, Kang Ning thought for a moment, paid his bill, and left the café. He went to a public phone at the newsstand and dialed Liu Yiqing’s mobile. Hearing the automated message that her phone was off, Kang Ning, now anxious, dialed his sworn brother Zhang Jianhan’s mobile.

At that moment, Zhang Jianhan was having a quick meal at a roadside restaurant with several colleagues. When his phone rang at his waist, he put down his chopsticks and checked the caller ID. Seeing the Liuzhou area code, he frowned, pressed the answer button, and asked, “Who is this?”

“It’s me.”

Suppressing his shock, Zhang Jianhan loudly declared, “I can’t hear you!” and walked out of the restaurant. After hanging up, he removed the battery from his phone, hurried twenty meters down the street, took out a phone card from his wallet, and repeatedly dialed the Liuzhou number that had just appeared on his mobile.

Meanwhile, Kang Ning was also persistently redialing Zhang Jianhan’s phone, so much so that the newsstand owner glared at him in exasperation. After about a minute, Kang Ning had no choice but to hang up, hand over two yuan to the owner, and turn to leave. Suddenly, the phone rang. Kang Ning hesitated briefly, then picked up the receiver.

Zhang Jianhan’s cold voice came through: “All calls are being monitored. Run. As far as you can!”

Kang Ning was stunned, frozen with the receiver in his hand as the dial tone droned on. Prodded by the impatient owner, he mechanically replaced the receiver and walked away, pondering the meaning behind Zhang Jianhan’s words. As he walked, a child bumped into him, snapping him out of his thoughts. Only then did he realize he had already crossed the Liujiang Bridge. Looking around, he pulled out his phone, thought for a moment, and hurried toward the train station.

At 1:30 p.m., Kang Ning entered the station, observed his surroundings, strolled into the ticket office to check the train schedules posted on the wall, then bought a platform ticket and blended into the crowd entering the waiting area. He stood inconspicuously among the passengers, waiting for the K316 train from Lanzhou to Xi’an to arrive.

As the train’s whistle sounded, Kang Ning, mingling with the crowd, took out his phone and gave a faint, cold smile. He approached the mail carriage, observed for a moment, and then dialed his home number.

“Who is it?” His mother’s gentle voice came through.

Holding back tears, Kang Ning strove to sound calm. “Mom, it’s Ning. Things are urgent, so I can’t talk long. Please tell Dad I’m alright. Your son is not a criminal. I have done nothing to be ashamed of. Please, take care of yourself. One day, I will return to you, safe and sound!”

He hung up and stood with his eyes closed for a long moment before regaining his composure.

He saw two porters struggling to lift mailbags onto the train, complaining about the unusually heavy load. Kang Ning quickly took a deep breath, put on a smile, and stepped forward to help.