Li Ke

  After a whirlwind seven-day tour of Italy, where he lent his support to the fashion industry in cities like Milan, Yi Chen returned to London with a satisfied Fei Li. Of course, before returning to London, Yi Chen paid another visit to David, who was still shaken, and sternly warned him: "Mr. David, I will arrange some interesting plans for you, but if your wife leaks any information, I will make you regret being born."

  David nodded repeatedly in agreement, and then Yichen returned home.

  Even before going to Rome, Yidun had ordered someone to find a home tutor for him. Phil, who was in charge of this matter, followed Yidun to Rome and casually handed over the task to his subordinates. To be realistic, Phil's subordinates were quite efficient, and when Yidun returned to his living room, a young man was already waiting for him inside.

  Yi Chen casually took off his jacket and threw it on the sofa, poured himself a glass of wine, downed it in one gulp, then turned to the young man and said, "What can I get you to drink?"

  This pale-faced young man, wearing a pair of thick-framed glasses, slender and looking rather weak, shook his head at Yi Chen and said: "Thank you, I don't drink." His long, slightly disheveled hair also swayed gently twice.

  Yi Chen looked at him for half a day, carefully examining his slightly worn jeans, the jacket with a slight tear on the sleeve, and the leather shoes that seemed to have not been polished in days. He slowly sat down on the sofa and said: "Please sit down, may I ask your surname? ... Forget it, you can't understand my accent, so let's use English instead."

  The young man smiled and said a bit awkwardly: "My surname is Li, Li Ke." After finishing speaking, he sat down opposite Yidun.

  "Phil, get Mr. Lee something to drink, he doesn't drink alcohol, so coffee, tea or some kind of juice, hurry up and bring it over."

  Li Ke hastily said: "No need to be polite, no need to be polite... Mr. Yi, you want to find students in the history department, but I came here to study mathematics, so maybe my help is limited."

  Yi Chen gazed deeply at him, took out her own jade pendant, put it on her little finger and spun it around a few times. She signaled to Phil to pour Li Ke a glass of juice, then suddenly sat up and asked him: "Hmm, let's not talk about anything else for now. Why did you come to the UK to further your studies in mathematics? I'm very curious... Can't China provide you with good education? ...To be honest, looking at you, your economic conditions aren't very good, why do you have to come to the UK?"

  Li Ke looked at Yi Chen and found that Yi Chen was asking him very seriously, without any intention of teasing. He couldn't help but use a serious tone to say: "Well, I'll also be honest with you. You may not understand the current situation in the domestic education circle... Hmm, I don't have any background, nor do I know how to build relationships with my supervisor. Adding other factors, it's actually better for me to go abroad and try my luck. At least foreign professors treat everyone equally, as long as you work hard, there will be a day when you can make a name for yourself."

  Yi Chen licked his lips, gently stroked his chin, and suddenly asked Li Ke a question: "Nowadays, many young people in China... hmm, I saw it on the internet, they have a tendency called 'Harajuku' and 'Hallyu', can you tell me what that means?"

  Li Ke looked at Yi Chen and said coldly, "I won't sell out my own ancestors... I also don't think that everything foreign is good. Maybe now China has some young people who blindly worship foreigners, but I'm not one of them... damn it."

  Yi Chen smiled and leaned back comfortably, saying: "So, how would you rate yourself?"

  Li Ke frowned, stood up and said: "Mr. Yi, I came here as a home tutor, I think you are not qualified or have the right to interrogate me like this... As you just said, my economic condition is not very good, I still need to rely on washing dishes every day to make a living, but you can't treat me like a prisoner in an interrogation... Sorry, I'm leaving."

  Li Ke strode towards the door, and Phil and Goll frowned, swiftly blocking his way at the entrance. "Sorry, the boss didn't call for you to leave," they said coldly.

  Li Ke was getting angry, his slender body of less than 1.7 meters tall fearlessly crashed into Phil's towering figure, coldly sneering: "Have I arrived at the old nest of the underworld? Are you guys so overbearing?"

  Yi Chen couldn't help but feel a little amused, wasn't this place just the lair of the underworld? However, this kid's got some guts, yeah... how to put it, he's got that kind of traditional Chinese literati's stubborn and unyielding spirit.

  Lee's body was bounced back by Phil and he stumbled backward a few steps.

  Mr. Li, I appreciate your temperament... So, to be frank with you, what I'm asking for is a history teacher, someone who can objectively tell me about a piece of history without any subjective emotions... That's why I asked how you evaluate yourself, I didn't mean anything else.

  Li Ke turned around and looked at Yi Chen, asking: "Which period of history?"

  Yi Chen gently turned the jade pendant in her hand, staring intently at Li Ke's eyes and said: "The part of history related to Japan, are you interested in teaching me? I really want to understand this piece of history... I've flipped through many history books, but to be honest, I'm not a person who is suitable for studying on my own, the effect is very poor, extremely poor, and I haven't made any progress. I think maybe you can help me."

  He paused for a moment, then Yi Chen said frankly: "Besides, as you just said, I am the leader of an underworld gang, and this is indeed an old nest of the underworld... Hmm, I have too many things to do, so I don't have much time to read books. Therefore, I need someone who can teach me the summarized materials... Now, let me ask again, how do you evaluate yourself? If your answer satisfies me, I am willing to pay you ￡1,000 per hour for one hour... Maybe, I will also help you a little bit."

  Li Ke opened his mouth wide, looking at this self-proclaimed triad leader, who was refined and elegant, and of the same age as himself. Li Ke sat back on the sofa, looking at Yi Chen and asked: "So, may I ask, why do you want to be familiar with this period of history?"

  Yi Chen smiled: "Tell me your self-evaluation, and then I'll tell you the reason. I've always been very fair, extremely fair."

  Li Ke nodded slowly and said softly: "So, I'll speak first... Perhaps, in the eyes of my classmates and teachers, I'm a silent and taciturn student who is not good at communication and won't be able to do public relations. However, if it's just about this period of history you want to know, I can responsibly say that at least I'm someone who loves his own country, won't betray his conscience, and lives up to his ancestors. That's all, I don't have anything else to say."

  Yi Chen's sharp insight deeply sensed the sincerity in Li Ke's words, and he smiled with satisfaction: "So, I can also tell you why I want to understand this piece of history... I grew up in an environment that was almost isolated from the world, and I knew nothing about some common knowledge... As I said, I am a London gang leader, and my organization has some business cooperation with the Japanese Yamaguchi-gumi. Unfortunately, a group of Chinese weirdos organized a 'Longmen' and asked me to explain why I cooperated with the Japanese."

  "I'm a serious person, I don't know what's wrong with cooperating with the Japanese, although I really dislike their hypocrisy and cunning... Ha, they even dared to plot against me. But, I'm a pragmatic person who values actual benefits. Before they give me sufficient reason, I won't cut ties with them... Now, let's start the countdown, Mr. Li Ke. You can begin your lesson."

  Cain walked over with a stack of history books and threw them onto the tea table in front of Li Ke.

  Li Ke nodded, thought for a moment, took a sip of juice and said: "If you really want to understand that period of history in the last century, then perhaps we should start from the Tang Dynasty period of ancient China."

  "At that time, China was the most powerful and developed country in the world, representing the highest civilization globally. Meanwhile, Japan at that time, as you can see from historical records, was still in a very backward period."

  Three hours of lectures every day, at first it was easy for Dust to concentrate and listen to Li Ke's lectures. Three days later, idle Jester, curious Feri, responsible Phil and Goll who served tea and water, and Cain who sat next to him in a daze, all joined the ranks of listeners.

  Li Kezheng was lecturing with a historical book, when Jester suddenly slammed his fist on the sofa and jumped up saying: "Haha, boss, that President Chiang is an idiot. Doesn't he know that letting the enemy into one's own home is the most dangerous thing? Look, the richest land in the north was given to the enemy without a fight, is it to let the enemy sharpen their knife to stab themselves?"

  Cain waved his handgun and said in a low, stern tone: "Enemies should be eliminated at the first opportunity, not given a chance to develop... With tens of thousands of troops, they didn't even put up any resistance... Hmph, cowards."

  Yi Chen waved his hand: "We can't judge the right and wrong of historical figures, those things have nothing to do with us. What I want to know is why Tang Biao and others have such a deep hatred for Japan... Maybe I've understood a little bit now. When your kindness is trampled on by people time and time again, when your thousand-year glory is randomly insulted by people, this kind of hatred can only be cleansed with blood."

  Li Ke turned the pages of the book and said in a low voice: "I just explained these things according to the original face of history... Next, I want to talk about the Battle of Nanjing."

  Yi Chen furrowed his brow: "Huh, Nanjing? Fatadiou seems to have told me about it before... Ah yes, that time when 300,000 people were killed... the massacre?"

  Li Ke licked his lips, with a slightly bitter tone: "The official number is 300,000 people, but in fact, according to some organizations' statistics, the number of civilians killed may be around 450,000... The exact number, no one can figure out. I think, if you can get some video tapes from that time, maybe you will deeply feel what kind of feeling these bloodstains left to the Chinese people."

  Yi Chen fell silent for a long time, then asked in a low voice: "The tape? Where is it? Does it still exist?"

  Li Ke spread his hands and said: "I don't know, I only know that at the time there were some foreigners present, they secretly shot some video tapes, which were later made public for a period of time... I don't know where they are."

  Yi Chen quickly took out his mobile phone and dialed a number: "Oh, dear, you're back in London?"

  On the other side came David's trembling reply: "Yes, yes... I returned the day before yesterday... Is there something you want?"

  Yi Chen smiled and said: "Dear David, why are you so afraid of me? Alright, alright, do you have those tapes in your hand? Don't tell me you don't know about it, you're from the Military Intelligence Bureau, although your old nest at Liuzhou was destroyed, but shouldn't the other departments still have tapes about the Nanjing Massacre in China? Hmm? God, don't tell me there aren't any..."

  David said excitedly on the other side: "Yes, yes, Mr. Yi, I remember that there is a department with copies of these films, I think I can get them for you in three hours?"

  "See, dear? I told you it's always beneficial to make more friends. You've helped me this time, and I'll remember your kindness."

  Hanging up the phone, Yi Chen said to Li Ke who was a bit stunned: "Mr. Li Ke, please continue. I think that tonight, we can watch those tapes. Don't be surprised, people like us always need some friends to avoid getting hurt."

  Li Ke hastily nodded and continued to recount the past and present...

  No one knew what Yichun was thinking after watching those images, no one knew, because Yichun watched the tapes from start to finish with a smile on his face, he smiled lightly all the time, and occasionally drank some red wine and ate two olives.

  Perhaps only Sally knew a little something, she secretly glanced at the video tape of Yī Chén, and found that in Yī Chén's smiling eyes, there was a familiar light, but one that she had only seen in the eyes of a giant anaconda in the Amazon jungle. It was an icy light, devoid of any breath except death, a thread of coldness that could freeze a person's soul.

  Fei Li had already lost patience and secretly withdrew from the scene halfway through, so she didn't notice Yi Chen's abnormal behavior.

  Li Ke can be said to be a very qualified home tutor. He always manages to find some scattered materials on the internet to make up for the incompleteness of those history books.

  After half a month of lectures, Yī Chén smiled and said to Lǐ Kē: "Thank you, Teacher Lǐ Kē. You are a qualified home tutor... Thank you so much! I think that within less than half a year, I can write back to our dear compatriots... Hmm, this is just a small token."

  Yi Chen handed a gold card to Li Ke with both hands, smiled and said: "There are 200,000 US dollars in it, the password is your birthday, I think you won't forget that I once asked for your personal information?"

  Mr. Li's hand felt as if it had touched a red-hot iron block, and he hastily put the gold card on the tea table in front of him, shaking his head repeatedly: "Too much, too much, yes, actually for this half-month course, you only need to give me one thousand pounds and I will be very satisfied."

  Yi Chen looked at Li Ke, smiling warmly: "It's okay, really okay... Trust me, I wouldn't resort to any tricks on you. This is just a small token of my appreciation for what you've taught me over the past half month. Although these things aren't enough to make me decide everything, they can already explain a lot."

  Mr. Li shook his head and said, "Mr. Yi, I've never taken anything that doesn't belong to me. Even if we go by what you said, with a pay of ￡1,000 per hour, this amount is still far more than what I should get."

  Yi Chen smiled and nodded, saying: "So, in order to let you take it with a clear conscience, solve a problem for me, okay? If you can give me an answer that satisfies me, then you have the qualification to get this money."

  Li Ke laughed: "You're joking, Mr. Yi, how can one question be worth so much?"

  Yi Chen said seriously: "Maybe he's worth it."

  Li Ke also became serious: "Then ask away, I'll see if I can give you a satisfactory answer."

  Yi Chen licked his lips, his eyes flickering slightly as he asked a question that would haunt Li Ke for the rest of his life: "What do you think about the term 'ancestors' that Chinese people often mention?"

  Li Ke stared blankly at Yi Chen, Jester almost choked to death on a big mouthful of smoke and rushed out into the corridor to cough; Phil and Gollum had wooden expressions, completely unaware why Yi Chen asked this question.

  Yi Chen continued to ask: "I found that many Chinese people like to scold on the internet with a sentence: 'I fuck someone's ancestors.' Or they will add some other modifying phrases, which shows that this sentence is very severe. So, Mr. Li Ke, can you tell me how do you view the word 'ancestors'?"

  Li Ke bit his lips tightly and didn't answer for a long time. His mind was in chaos, organizing everything he could think of.

  Yi Chen's eyes, filled with hope, gazed at Li Ke, looking at this white-faced bookworm who was powerless to tie a chicken.

  After a long time, Li Ke stuttered and replied: "Ancestors? If we say it simply, they are our parents, grandparents, and then those older relatives... But I think the word 'ancestors' is not that simple."

  Yi Chen seemed to be looking at Li Ke with a bit of tension.

  Li Keqiang murmured: "I don't know how to explain it specifically, but I only know that no matter what, I am a Chinese person. I will not betray my ancestors, which means I will not betray my country, I will not betray my bloodline, and I will not betray the dignity of being a Chinese person... The word 'ancestors' probably represents the accumulation of all cultures in China's 5,000-year civilization."

  Li Ke was also a bit distracted: "I don't know how to vividly describe this word, after all, I'm just a small student, not some big shot, and nobody knows me. I'm not even qualified to explain the meaning of this word. But I think, why did China go through thousands of years of wind and rain, yet it's still China... All those glorious civilizations that were once on par with China as ancient civilized nations, why have they all disappeared? Why have they all vanished? They left behind only some magnificent buildings for people to reminisce about, without any other traces."

  "Why is it that China can still exist? Five thousand years of wind and rain, through the invasion of strong enemies, whether natural disasters or man-made calamities, the culture of the Chinese people, the spirit of the Chinese people, the backbone of the Chinese people, or in other words, the true Chinese people as a group can still exist in the East... Why are we able to exist in this world?"

  Those ancestors, namely our narrow sense of ancestors, they worked hard for the continuation of this country and nation throughout their lives, from the Han Dynasty's "those who offend my heavenly dynasty will be punished" to Marshal Peng Dehuai's words: "The era when Western powers could occupy a country by setting up a few big guns on the eastern coast is gone forever." ... They no longer exist, but what they said and did still exists in the world.

  "Because of them, the Chinese people as a nation continue to thrive in the world. I think what is referred to as ancestors are not just our direct relatives, but those who represent the spirit and soul of our nation...I don't know how to describe this thing, if there is one, I would rather believe that it is the collective soul of the Chinese nation."

  "Is this really our ancestor? ... I don't know if it is, but I'd rather believe he is. No matter what status we have, no matter where we are, this spirit has been influencing us all along... If not, why would you use so much effort to pursue that piece of history?"

  "This word 'ancestors', it doesn't represent a specific thing, if it does, then it represents the past glory and current pride of the entire Chinese nation... What do you think?"

  Yi Chen said with a somewhat dazed expression: "Ah, but you grew up in the country, you have parents, you have your own relatives, you've been learning about China since childhood, you have reasons to love your motherland, love your nation... But what about me? I was abandoned as a child, the people who adopted me died of illness, I remember, I always remember myself rummaging through trash heaps, flipping through heavy garbage, just for a small piece of moldy rotten food... How old was I then? Probably not more than three years old? Hmm? Me... Why do I need to understand these things? Why do I need to pursue these, why do I need to acknowledge, acknowledge the thing you're talking about, whether it's ancestors or China's soul?"

  Li Ke said in a low voice, "It's simple, after all, the blood flowing through your veins is still the same as mine, from our ancestors. Your relatives abandoned you, but can you abandon your relatives?"

  Dust settles silently.

  Phil and Gomer.

  Cain's face already had two tears on it for some unknown reason.

  After a long time, Yi Chen picked up the gold card and stuffed it into Li Ke's hand, saying in a low voice: "I hope you can remember what you said today, remember that you once taught a scoundrel named Yi Chen, you let a confused person see his own roots, see what kind of person he is... thank you, I think we won't have the chance to meet again... wish you success in your studies... Phil, send off the guest."

  Li Ke walked out silently.

  Yi Chen sat still for a long time, and suddenly tears flowed down: "Yes, my loved ones abandoned me, but I cannot abandon my loved ones... Oh heaven... Tian Xing Sect... China..."