The next morning, An Moxue went to school, and Old Ma left home right after her, leisurely heading towards the gate of Kyoto University.
From a distance, I could hear the guardhouse shouting, "Old Ma, what brings you here so early to chat?"
When Old Ma heard the guard calling him, he quickened his pace, saying cheerfully as he walked, "Old Liu, I heard about what happened at your school yesterday, and since I was bored anyway, I thought I'd come chat with you! This big city is full of interesting things. So, any latest news?"
"Come on, let's sit here. It won't bother me while I'm watching the gate. I'll pour you a cup of tea, and we can talk slowly. When it comes to things at school, no one can beat me. Strangers have to go through me to get in! Besides, even when they come out, they have to go through the main gate, so I can still see them." Old Liu said with a proud look on his face, then brought over a stool and handed it to Old Ma, poured him a cup of tea, and handed it to him.
Old Ma chimed in, "That's right, if you're talking about who's the most well-informed in the school, it has to be you." As he spoke, Old Ma gave him a thumbs up.
Hearing this, Lao Liu felt very proud and said, "Of course, I'm not bragging, but in this school, from the principal down to the guy boiling water in the water room, there's not a single person I don't know. The more people I know, the more things I naturally know."
The two old men sat on small stools, each holding a cup of hot tea, gazing towards the entrance of Kyoto University. Then, Lao Liu said, "You probably don't know, but yesterday afternoon several police officers came, along with soldiers. There were more than ten of them in total. When they left, they took more than ten people with them, including students and teachers."
Old Ma readily agreed, asking, "Why?"
"Why? There are teachers and students here, and even police and soldiers. It's obviously not a simple case. Some say it's related to the massacre of Director Feng's family. But let me tell you something new. The girl who was arrested yesterday, the one that was all over the news, has been released. I saw her coming to school this morning. You know, the police issued an arrest warrant, which means she committed murder. But she was released yesterday, and this morning I saw her coming to school unharmed. What's going on? Logically, if she's released and coming to school, she should be innocent, right? But wasn't there an arrest warrant yesterday? What's the truth? I'm so confused."
Old Ma said, "The school hasn't indicated any intention to expel him, and he's still coming to school, which proves that he has nothing to do with that family annihilation tragedy. As for the arrest warrant, tell me, back in the day, it wasn't unusual for those Red Guards to randomly grab and smash things, killing people in the chaos. What else is there to say?"
"That's true. However, just before you arrived, several more police officers and soldiers came. This time, the soldiers had four pockets on their uniforms, and they looked like high-ranking leaders. I wonder what it was for this time. They weren't the same people who came yesterday. They came today and went to the principal's office, saying they wanted to see the principal. I even gave them directions! I checked the identification of those officers. The one with the most imposing presence was the political commissar of the Lion Regiment."
Old Six paused for a moment, then asked, "Old Ma, do you know the Lion Regiment?" Without waiting for Old Ma's reply, he continued, "The Lion Regiment is the elite regiment of our Kyoto Military Region. They've accomplished most of the most dangerous missions and produced many heroes. I remember, the case of Regiment Commander An Muyang and his wife that caused such a stir a few years ago—he was the commander of the Lion Regiment. What a pity! He's dead!"
Old Ma felt a pang of sadness, but he maintained a serious expression as if he were listening attentively.
"The political commissar this morning was quite friendly; he even spoke to me for a few minutes, saying he was there to clear the name of their orphaned children. Guess what?"
"What's wrong?"
"The girl who was arrested yesterday, according to him, is the orphan of An Muyang and his wife. He came to the school to handle the aftermath of the girl's arrest. He was afraid that the school would not clear the child's name and that the child would be affected by rumors. I never expected that the child was also the orphan of a martyr."
Old Ma looked at him and questioned, "That's not right! Sixth Brother, you knew that girl was wronged, yet you told me those things at first. That's not fair!"
The sixth brother quickly interrupted him, saying, "Oh, that's not the point. The point is that you not only listened to the story, but you also listened with great interest, isn't that enough? That's how you enjoy listening to stories! Why worry about so much? Do you want to hear anything else?"
Old Ma seemed somewhat unwilling and helpless as he said, "Alright, continue."
He looked around and then whispered, "Let me tell you, that Director Feng, even though his whole family is gone, they're definitely not clean people. Director Feng was always putting on airs, his wife was blind to people's opinions, and that girl was even more arrogant and domineering. Years ago, she joined the Red Guards and killed several pretty girls. That family! They've definitely gotten their comeuppance. It's always better to be kind."
Old Ma sighed, "Back in the old days, it was really like that! You know, the policies from above weren't what they meant, but they could still distort them and harm so many people. Some of them were doing things under the guise of justice, but they were actually doing things that harmed the country and its people. Who knows which enemy agent they were favored by?"
"Exactly! There's never a shortage of monsters and scoundrels here. If only all the bad guys could be caught! But how can you catch all the bad guys? Even in this university, don't be fooled by how well the students study. Their character isn't like their academics. Good grades don't equate to good character; many are two-faced beasts. Just yesterday after school, a heavily pregnant woman came to the school, saying her husband had promised to come and settle in, and then wrote to her, asking her to come too, to rent a place outside the school to prepare for childbirth. But it's been so long since school started, and she hasn't received a message from him. She's afraid that if he doesn't come soon, she'll give birth. But when she came here, she found the man too, and he denied everything, saying he didn't know the woman. The woman insisted they were husband and wife, but the man demanded proof, which she couldn't provide. She was dumbfounded."
Old Ma said, "They didn't register their marriage?"
The sixth brother said, "Judging from the appearance, he probably didn't receive it."
Old Ma said, "In the countryside, not many people get married and register their marriages. Those who do are mostly educated youth who were sent to the countryside. At most, those who are well-off will have a small wedding ceremony with a few tables. Those who are not well-off will just find a village cadre, take a vow in front of the leader's portrait, and give some candy and melon seeds to the people around them. That's all there is to it. There aren't that many formalities."
"Once you go to university, all the monsters and demons reveal their true colors. You'll see who's human and who's monster."
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