Chapter 1043: Chapter 1013: Fate of the Bird and the Kite
Chapter 1013:
He did not die at the hands of the enemy, nor did he die on the battlefield. Instead, he succumbed to illness. For someone who had achieved such glorious war feats, this was an absolute torment. In terms of will and spirit, it was an unprecedented torture.
Mr. Pang still refused to surrender to illness. He abandoned all treatments and lay in the hospital; he did not want to die like others—pitifully, innocently, and humbly. Facing a terminal illness, he chose to fight to the end. He was determined to face the colossal beast with his iron-like will. Even if it was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, he would have no regrets in death.
“Have you really decided?” Ye Chen turned and looked at Mr. Pang.
“Yes!” He nodded and then said, “Sometimes, I ask myself if I’m truly not afraid of death. But sometimes, I am often startled awake in my dreams because I fear death.”
“Everyone will die; it’s just a matter of time!” Ye Chen chuckled, “Old man, if I could live to your age, I would be quite satisfied!”
“You brat, are you comforting me or mocking me?” The old man glared at Ye Chen and continued, “The future world belongs to your young people. All I can do for you is just this much. Ye Chen, I have to tell you that having power is a peaceful thing. Not everyone is a bad person. Power is like a weapon that is right in good hands and wrong in bad hands.”
“I understand!” Ye Chen nodded and said, “Aren’t you afraid that this weapon may become a mistake in my hands?”
“I don’t think so!” Mr. Pang shook his head, “I don’t have many skills in my life, but my people-assessing skills are pretty good. At least the people I’ve promoted make few mistakes. I believe in you. Just like I believed in your father, Ye Hai!”
“Old man, rest assured, I will definitely be a useful person like my father, a person harmless to the country!” Ye Chen stood by Mr. Pang’s bed and gently covered him with the blanket. The old man tightly grasped Ye Chen’s hand with his dried-out hands, gritting his teeth, “If you dare to do anything harmful to the country, I won’t let you go even as a ghost!”
“Don’t worry!” Ye Chen nodded solemnly and then gently patted Mr. Pang’s hand, “Even if I’m useless, I will never harm the country.”
“Good, that’s good!” Mr. Pang nodded and slowly fell asleep. The previous actions had exhausted him. In the late stage of lung cancer, he should rely on oxygen to get through his remaining days, but Mr. Pang was unwilling. He would rather rely on himself.
Ye Chen turned and left, with Chairman Liu and others standing at the door.
“Chairman, Vice Chairman Chen…” Ye Chen immediately saluted. As a former soldier, he still maintained some military manners.
“Yes, how do you decide on Mr. Pang’s opinion?” Chairman Liu looked seriously at Ye Chen.
“I am willing to follow the old man’s will!” Ye Chen nodded.
“That’s good!” Chairman Liu smiled with relief, “A new appointment will be announced after some time. I hope you can serve the country well. Although you are the Clan Leader of the Luo Sijue family, don’t forget, you are also a Chinese.”
“Yes!” Ye Chen snapped a salute.
Leaving the hospital, Ye Chen kept pondering a question: why do people live, and if so, why do they die. Is it true that people are born into this world to suffer? Truly to endure heaven’s punishment. Birth, aging, illness, and death seem to be the unchangeable rules of this world. Everyone knows, some things are not so easily changed, and everyone knows some people’s fate is destined.
Ye Chen refused the escort of two bodyguards and walked here leisurely. The environment here was quite nice, with green hills and water, a rare sight in Beijing. Especially since the transportation here is quite convenient. It took Ye Chen more than half an hour to walk out.
Beijing is a beautiful city, but unfortunately, this city is filled with haze. Ye Chen looked at the air in the city center, a haze that obscured the distant view. People came and went, many wearing masks. Ye Chen sighed, “The capital, a pain in the heart of the people, right?”
A country unable to make its capital’s air meet the standard, how can it constrain other cities?
With a kind of indescribable feeling, Ye Chen left here and headed toward the city center. He crossed the bustling street, passed the beautiful and once sensational Water Cube. A few years ago, the Olympics caused a sensation, causing many countries to look at China with new eyes. They couldn’t imagine finding in their hearts a city once thought weak and unable to even build a subway that could host such a grand and powerful world feast. This was beyond many who harbored grievance towards China’s comprehension.
They were unaware that this once weak country had risen and become entirely strong.
“Mom, look, there is a big bird flying in the sky!” A naive little girl pointed to a kite in the sky.
“No, that’s not a bird, it’s a kite!” Her mother corrected her mistake, then said, “Baobao, that’s a kite, understand? Birds are free-flying animals, their lives filled with challenges and happiness. But kites are controlled by humans, quite different from birds. Once a kite loses human control, it will fall from the vast sky.”
“Why, mom?” the little girl asked curiously.
“Because the kite string is in human hands, but birds don’t have this dependency!” Her mother smiled and explained, “Once a kite’s string breaks, it will fall from midair like a headless fly. But birds are unrestricted and unbound by anyone between heaven and earth!”
“Oh!” The little girl nodded with a semblance of understanding and quickly said, “Mom, should people be like the birds or like the kites?”
“This isn’t something one can choose!” the girl’s mother smiled and said, “Regardless, everyone has their own life. Some live like birds, others like kites, understand?”
“Oh, I don’t understand!” The little girl shook her head. Such a small girl, the earlier conversation was already beyond Ye Chen’s expectations. If she understood her mother’s current words, it would be impressive, and Ye Chen might rush to hug this little girl to study her.
Watching the mother and daughter imbued with ‘philosophy’ elements slowly leave, Ye Chen began to ponder the question left after their discussion. The girl’s mother said some live as freely as birds, while others are as bound as kites. Ye Chen seemed to have an epiphany; the girl’s mother had unveiled the truth: some are born with a bird’s life, while others are born with a kite’s destiny.
Some people’s fate is in others’ hands, while others’ fate is in their own. The fates of the Red Robed Sect Leader and the White Robed Sect Leader were indeed in the hands of the Church Court. According to that woman’s argument, whether it’s the Red Clothes Great Master or the White-clothed Great Master, their fate absolutely belonged to the kite category. As for himself, shouldn’t he belong to the bird category?
No matter what, nothing could constrain his freedom. If there was something he wanted, he would get it. Thinking of this, Ye Chen suddenly felt confused. Was his fate indeed a free-flying bird? Why were so many things beyond his control?
After much thought, Ye Chen finally understood that the Church Court was the biggest constraint on him. Whether the father’s murder or the Church Court’s pursuit, Ye Chen always felt beyond his control. Ye Chen felt somewhat annoyed. However, he still acted calmly. Ye Chen began to analyze his future. Would the destiny of a flying bird ultimately end up falling from the sky? If the bird ended like a kite, what would it be like?
“Wei Zhen, do you think, after so long, Brother Ye still remembers us?” Walking in a nearby alley, a girl with a crossbody bag, a large SLR camera hanging in front of her, holding a buckwheat bun. Duoduo and Wei Zhen, these two young girls unknowingly grew up; after graduating from school, they joined the journalism industry. Although still intern reporters, they maintain their lives through hard work.
As intern reporters, these young girls were having a relatively tough time. They needed to rush about every day. In Beijing, the salary was meager, but rents were staggeringly expensive. If they didn’t have some income from elsewhere, they might have starved already. Relying solely on an intern reporter’s monthly salary of two thousand yuan, they would likely have ended up begging on the street by now.
Despite living frugally, they never forgot Ye Chen. Not even using a penny from the one hundred thousand yuan card that Ye Chen initially left behind. In today’s society, this is quite unprecedented. The two young girls knew that even when they saw clothes they loved, they wouldn’t touch the money on Ye Chen’s card.
Wei Zhen was also holding two buckwheat buns and leisurely took a bite, saying, “Who knows, maybe Ye Chen has already forgotten about us. We were just passersby in his life. Like two non-parallel lines, only one point of intersection in a lifetime.”
“No way,” Duoduo shook her head in disbelief, “I recently read a psychology book. It said if a man has a relationship with a woman, he will remember that woman in his bones. Brother Ye will definitely not forget us so easily!”