beyond the horizon

Wardler got into another fight.

Fighting in the juvenile prison is common, after all, no one voluntarily enters this "school" with the purpose of making friends.Waldler swung his fist fiercely, not wanting to kill him, other young people were afraid of him, only Dalantai was not.

Wardler and Hazab stayed in the juvenile detention center for eight months, 240 days a day.The two were arrested for stealing. They stole a sheep from the herdsman's house. When the herdsman found them, there was boiling water in the pot. .The head of the sheep is placed upside down on the stone, which is what my father taught me—the sheep will eat grass with their heads down all their lives and have never seen the sky. When the sheep is slaughtered, let the sheep’s eyes look at the sky, so that the soul of the sheep can go to the sky.The sheep turned into clouds and flew in the sky, but the two of them were still stuck on the ground, stealing and robbing to fill their stomachs, and suffering endless crimes.

Da Lantai has been in prison for a whole year. He didn't steal or rob. What he committed was called intentional wounding, which was of a more serious nature.This is probably one of the reasons why he is not afraid of Wardle, he is much more fierce than Wardle.This is how Hazab listened to other people, and at night he whispered it to Wardler, because Wardler had been getting close to Dalantai recently, which worried him.

"Brother," Hazab said worriedly, "you don't want to be with Dalantai anymore, I heard people say—"

"You believe what others say." Wardler said impatiently, the wound on the cheekbone was pulled when his mouth moved, and his facial features were tangled in pain.For this reason, he stared at Hazab again, blaming him for saying something stupid again.He roughly stuffed Hazabu into the quilt next to him, and Hazabu's feet were exposed from the bottom half of the quilt.My younger brother has grown taller recently, this silly boy is really easy to raise, like a weed in the crevices of the rocks, a gust of wind can make him jump towards the sky. "Sleep, if you don't sleep, be careful that you won't get up tomorrow morning, and you will delay your work." He threatened Hazab like treating a five-year-old child.

"What will I eat tomorrow morning?" Hazab's mind turned to the next topic. The appetite of a child at this age is like a bottomless pit, which can fill a whole cow.He pulled up the thin layer of quilt, covered it under his nose, and curled up hard on his side, so that he would not wake up so easily at night.He sniffed and said, "Brother, I want to eat dumplings. I have forgotten what dumplings taste like, do you remember?"

There was a whole plate full of dumplings, and Wardler and Hazab stuffed them into their mouths one by one without caring about the heat, as if they were afraid that they would never be able to eat any more.Sitting across from them, Luo Yunxi felt choked up, picked up the bowl and took another sip of the dumpling soup.In the blink of an eye, there was only one dumpling left on the plate. Hazab stuck it with his chopsticks, and he was as quick as a vulture pouncing on a field mouse, but then he realized that this was the last one.He looked at the dumplings, and then at Luo Yunxi.

Luo Yunxi smiled, "Eat it, I won't eat it."

Hazabu got the order, and happily put the dumplings into his vinegar dish—but he stopped and looked at Luo Yunxi again.

The teacher from Handi is so thin, with only a single circle around his wrist. He has never seen such a small face and such big eyes, which is strange—it means a good thing.As if he had made up his mind, he picked up the vinegar-soaked dumplings again, stretched his arms and put them into Luo Yunxi's bowl.The bowl is made of white porcelain and red flowers, and a steaming dumpling blooms in the middle of the green leaves.

"Teacher, you should eat more." Hazabu smiled and said, looking at Luo Yunxi's thin fingers.The herdsmen on the grassland have worshiped Aobao for generations and guarded the divine spring, so the divine spring protects them and creates a clean water source in everyone's eyes.It must be so, otherwise how could Hazabu's eyes be so clear, as if spring water was flowing through Luo Yunxi's fingertips.

Waodele raised his head, glanced at Luo Yunxi quickly, and then lowered his head again.

"Are you still hungry?" Luo Yunxi asked Waodele, after all, that look was not very friendly.Wardle slapped the chopsticks on the table, "I'm full." He stood up as he said, and dragged the dazed Hazabu out of the yurt, "Let's go, let's go."

The yurt was built two hours ago, and it was really easy to set up a home on the grassland. The neighbors helped him build the yurt, but Luo Yunxi couldn't help, so he walked around the Lele car three times, like a curious cat.After entering the house, he boiled water for Wardler and Hazab to take a bath, then gave them a pair of scissors, and asked them to tidy up their hair and nails.Through a thin baffle, he heard the two boys splashing and splashing in the tub—when they were out of his sight, they would turn back into two unsuspecting teenagers, and once Luo Yunxi watched They, they immediately became wolf cubs stepped into the territory by humans, bared their teeth and tucked their tails.

Their father died of illness in the winter of the year before last.Director Li told Luo Yunxi that it was their uncle who stopped the car that day. At first he took them in and found them jobs in the assembly line of the factory.But then they ran away, and the boys were smarter than rabbits, and no one could catch them both.Director Li coughed, his trembling body was like a thin old tree in winter, his aged eyes were full of regret, and he continued that they were actually good boys, but they just went astray.

Luo Yunxi became a teacher after graduation. At that time, some classmates joked that he "took a wrong path".His face was so beautiful, with a high nose and deep eyes, he was clearly a Han but looked like a minority, and he was quite famous in school.Everyone thought he would become a film actor, or join a theater troupe, but he didn't.Every road has its reason for its existence, and he doesn't think it's the road's fault, he just wants to know why Wardler and Hazab made such a choice.

The two brothers cleaned up, steaming steam was rising from the top of their newly trimmed heads, and they stood in front of Luo Yunxi in their new sportswear.Luo Yunxi almost didn't recognize the two of them, they were actually two very handsome teenagers, with straight spines like little poplars, what was incompatible with their personalities was that the contours of the elder brother's face were softer, while the younger brother had a high nose bridge, The eyeballs are like pale amber in the light.

"Where are you going?" Luo Yunxi frowned, his body leaned forward slightly, his hands were pressed tightly on the table, ready to stand up at any time, "It's already dark outside, and the weather is so bad, you can't go anywhere." He He said firmly, in response to him, a gust of cold wind rolled up the felt curtains, the flames under the boiler flickered uncomfortably, and the entire tent flickered.

"Brother," Hazab pulled Wardle back with force, "we have nowhere to sleep." He whispered eagerly.Wardle looked at his younger brother with hatred. He thought that they had developed a tacit understanding that they would no longer trust anyone except each other.But obviously, Hazab, a little fool whose heart is whiter and softer than clouds, completely refuted him with actions at this moment—in fact, Wardler really misunderstood Hazab, and he didn't stay because of how much he was. Believe this Han, but the yurt is too warm.Those nights in the juvenile prison were too cold, the cold penetrated deep into his bones, and it frightened him.

"You can go." Unexpectedly, Luo Yunxi said.His expression relaxed, he leaned back, and pointed out the small window. The withered grass was covered with hoarfrost, and the silver moon was also blown precariously. "But I have to wait until sunrise tomorrow. I know you don't like me, and I don't necessarily like you all that much, but that doesn't mean I'll watch you freeze to death outside." It's not true, he lied .

The two brothers didn't seem to expect Luo Yunxi's words to be so straightforward.Hazab drooped his brows and eyes, and even Wardle was stunned.He thought Luo Yunxi would be like those people.The way those people did things he couldn't describe, but it repelled him, as if they were uninspired little animals, always inferior, and needed to be disciplined "correctly" all the time.

Luo Yunxi folded the empty plates, rinsed his hands with water, and went to tidy the bedding.There was a rustling sound behind him, and a little smile appeared on the corner of Luo Yunxi's mouth, but he still acted indifferently, as if the cold had frostbitten his expression.He glanced behind him casually from the corner of his eye, and Hazab dragged Wardler back to the center of the tent, but Wardler did not continue to resist.He shook out the quilt and laid it out, and measured it while smoothing out the creases with his arms. The bed was big enough to sleep three people.

"You don't kick the quilt around when you sleep, do you?" Luo Yunxi squinted his eyes and asked them.He still smiled.

"I sleep well, I sleep in the middle!" Hazabu said hastily, and as if afraid of Luo Yunxi's repentance, he picked up a soft and thick quilt from the side of the bed, and took it firmly for himself.That's great, he squeezed the quilt in his arms hard, he hasn't touched such a soft fabric for a long time, he thinks he will probably dream of a cloud tonight.

Before extinguishing the candle, Wardler said in a blunt tone, I still have to leave tomorrow morning.

Luo Yunxi breathed lightly, and the tent became dark.Well, he seems to be afraid of disturbing the moon and the stars, and his voice is low, everything is up to you, Wardle.

The night will magnify helplessness, and in the wilderness, the wind will also become shrill.Luo Yunxi still couldn't adapt well to such an environment. The wind came in from around the yurt, and the ground under his feet was not the familiar concrete floor, but solid land.He woke up from one dream and fell into another deeper dream. He felt as if he was sleeping on the plains, with nothing to provide a sense of security.He originally thought that he had gotten used to living alone for so many years, but everything here reminded him over and over again how fragile a human is in this land where all things are equally shared.

Suddenly, something furry bumped into Luo Yunxi's chest—he was really frightened, he shivered and woke up completely—it was Hazabu who turned over.His violent heartbeat could be clearly heard ten kilometers away, but only Hazab, who was leaning against his arms, could not be woken up.Luo Yunxi's mind didn't seem to be as bright as it was during the day. He propped up his body a little, and stretched his arms instinctively to check if Wardler was still there—fortunately, he was still there, so he helped the sleeping Ward Le tucked the quilt corner.

Hazab crouched in his arms, like a wild animal, his breath was hot and wet.This is the so-called sleep can be honest?he thought helplessly.Just when he was about to lie down again, he heard Hazabu mutter something in a low voice, and he lowered his head just enough to see the side face of the boy.Under the faint moonlight, Hazabu frowned, clenched the quilt tightly with his hands, struggled twice, and then spoke a series of Mongolian that Luo Yunxi could not understand, with tears overflowing from the corners of his eyes.

He wasn't the only one on the prairie so uneasy tonight.

Luo Yunxi hesitantly put his hand on Hazabu's back, and patted it lightly.In his memory, when his mother was still there, he coaxed himself to sleep in this way—it was as far away as in his previous life. He believed that he should have forgotten it long ago, but he didn't know why he remembered it again at night thousands of kilometers away from his hometown.Hazabu's brows gradually relaxed, and he muttered again, this time Luo Yunxi heard it clearly, he was a little speechless, and thought it was funny.He said brother, eat dumplings.

After an unknown amount of time, Luo Yunxi's hand slowly stopped.Gradually, he couldn't hear the harsh wind outside, and could only hear the long and steady breathing of Wardler and Hazab, so his heart also settled down, and he fell into a deep sleep.

Early the next morning, Wardler disappeared.

It was Hazabu who discovered it first, Luo Yunxi was still asleep, Hazabu was so anxious that tears rolled in his eyes, and when he shook Luo Yunxi's shoulders, he almost threw him off the bed.

"What's wrong?" Luo Yunxi asked sleepily, he thought it was an earthquake.Then he saw Wardle's vacant seat, and he woke up.What he said "you can go" was not sincere. How could he lose one of the two students he volunteered to supervise before the class started.The grassland is so big, looking for someone is like looking for a needle in a haystack, besides Director Li said that this kid is smarter than a rabbit.His movement of turning over and getting out of bed was too smooth, Hazab was still wiping his eyes, and he was already buttoning his coat, "I'll go find him, he must not have gone far, please stay still."

Luo Yunxi said, but there was a button that just couldn't fit into the buttonhole.His hands were shaking a little.

"Who are you going to find?"

Luo Yunxi actually felt that he heard Wardle's voice.He raised his head, and Wardler opened the door curtain, and stood at the door holding a gray tin bucket.He was stuck like a bad tape.

Hazab sat on the bed and stared blankly at Wardler, "Brother, I thought you left me and ran away." He said with one hand on his chest, still in shock.

"Are you stupid?" Wardle looked at Hazabu with disgust, and then at Luo Yunxi.For some reason, Luo Yunxi felt that what Wardle said was actually for himself, and he was a little angry.He had a fierce look on his face when he was angry, and once even made a female student in his class cry.He just looked at Wardler like this, but Wardler just felt that he was inexplicable.

He raised the bucket in his hand as if showing off, "I'm going to fetch water. You don't know how to use water here, do you need to get up early and go far away to fetch water, teacher?"

This was the first time he called Teacher Luo Yunxi, but it sounded ironic enough.Of course Luo Yunxi didn't know, if he knew, he wouldn't be the last of the three to wake up.He had a sullen face, still bluffing, but his ears were a little red.

"...Thank you, I will remember it in the future." Finally, Luo Yunxi said, but his voice was covered by the loud sound of Wardle putting the bucket on the ground.

"What did you say?" Wardle didn't hear clearly.

"It's nothing." Luo Yunxi rejoiced secretly in her heart.

"Ms. Luo said thank you, and he will remember it in the future!" Hazab, an enthusiastic member of the public, dutifully added, and Wardle burst out laughing.

"...Is this ice?" Luo Yunxi didn't want to continue this topic. He saw a few irregular pieces of ice piled up in the tin bucket brought back by Wardler, which is why the bucket made a loud noise when it was put on the ground just now s reason.

"At this time, the river is completely frozen." Hazab said, he seemed in a particularly good mood, picked up a piece of ice of the right size and stuffed it directly into the kettle, "or go to the management station to pick up water, there is more Far, no horse can't go."

This made Luo Yunxi think that he didn't have any means of transportation, but he was a city dweller and couldn't ride a horse at all. "You all must know how to ride a horse," he said casually.

"My brother can ride a horse better than me. I used to have a white horse, very beautiful, tall and strong, and could run faster than the wind—" Hazabu gestured excitedly, his eyes were bright, and Luo Yunxi looked at it. It can be concluded that he must like that horse very much, "Later, I sold it to treat my father's illness, and then my father also..." He said, his voice lowered.

"Stop talking." Wardler stood up, and the eyes of both of them focused on him. Almost subconsciously, Luo Yunxi's eyes fell on Wardler's ten fingers, which were all red from the cold. "You two eat, I'm going to find my friend." After he finished speaking, he opened the curtain and walked out.The morning light and the cold air rushed towards him, this time Luo Yunxi didn't stop him.After all, Luo Yunxi said "everything is up to you", on the premise of ensuring their safety, he still wants to do his best.

Besides, he doesn't like to discipline students as children without independent thinking ability. He is not that kind of teacher, let alone that kind of person.He tries his best to respect and understand every decision they make, even though sometimes those decisions are so unreasonable in the eyes of adults, he still believes that even the youngest children have their own set of rules .

But Hazab didn't think so much.

He looked worriedly at the back of Wodele leaving, as if he wanted to say something to Luo Yunxi, but seeing Luo Yunxi bowing his head and concentrating on making milk tea, he swallowed the words back.

Can I trust this person?he does not know.

But what he knew was that Wardler had no other friends besides himself.Who did he go to see?

Wardler was away for a full day.

Taking advantage of the good light during the day, Luo Yunxi sorted out the information on the school-age children in the nearby herdsmen's homes, and with the help of Hazabu, he drew a time-saving route that can ensure all visits.When it was getting dark, Hazabu said he was going to fetch some goat milk, but Luo Yunxi didn't think too much about it, and just told him to go early and return early.

Hazab searched carefully around the yurt, and sure enough, he saw Wardler's figure behind the neighbor's cowshed.He was talking to a few people, and there were red sparks on his fingers.

"Wodele?" Hazab called him, and Waodele hurriedly threw the tobacco in his hand on the ground and stamped it out before looking back at Hazab.Hazab approached and found that the people standing next to Wardler turned out to be Dalantai and his gang, and he instinctively felt sick to his stomach.Da Lantai reminded him of the cold bed boards in the juvenile prison, the musty smell that never escaped from the quilt, and the injuries he had suffered in group fights.And when he looked at people, he always looked at people from the bottom up, his eyes turned white, his shoulders shrugged, like a vulture with malicious intentions.When did he come out of the classroom, and how did he find Wardler?

"Your brother is here to look for you." Dalantai said, he took a deep breath of cigarettes, patted Wardler on the shoulder, and said to him, "Let us know when you step on it, he came from the city Come, there must be a lot of good things."

Wardler didn't answer, but just glanced at them sloppily, indicating that he knew.

Hazabu went to a neighbor's house to fetch a bag of goat milk, and the two of them remained silent until they walked a long distance away and could see the warm light reflected in the Han teacher's yurt.

"Brother, are you going to steal again?" Hazab asked, his fingers firmly pinching the mouth of the goat milk bag, white milk spilled from his fingers, "But we have a home now Brother, you promise me not to meet Dalantai and the others again! They, they are not good people!"

"We're not good people either!" Wardler said angrily, "We all met in the classroom, which one of them is a good person! Why do you still think of yourself as a good person!"

Hazab walked forward quickly with his head sullen, and Wardle caught up with him from behind.

"...Brother, oops, I didn't mean that." Wardle scratched his head, "We live as before, comfortable. Freedom is more important than anything else, isn't it?"

"Then are you going to grab that teacher's stuff?" Hazabu rubbed his mutton-smelling fingertips, thought, and opened his mouth cautiously, "He is very good to us. Brother, I think he A nice guy."

"Then do you know what people think of us? What do they think of us? That's a tent, not a home at all. Hazab, that's not our home."

"But……"

Wardler stopped in his tracks. He looked at Hazab, his dark eyes seemed to be able to penetrate Hazab's soul.

"You won't tell him, will you?"

Wardler is only three years older than Hazabu, but after his mother passed away, his father tended sheep and cattle outside, and also planted crops. Waldler almost took care of Hazabu by himself.Later, the father disappeared, and they only had each other.

"will not."

In the night wind, Hazab lowered his head and said softly.