Chapter Fifty: Transformation

A piece of sheepskin parchment, marked with a route—follow it, and the final destination would be easy to find.

“Ah-ha—looks just like a treasure map from the fifteenth or sixteenth century,” Qiu Fengyu chuckled, taking the parchment from the man's hand and passing it to April.

“This is indeed a treasure map,” the man panted. “Over three hundred years ago, an Arab buried his treasure in the desert—a heap of gold. He drew this map himself and passed it down through generations.”

“That Arab must have been foolish,” Qiu Fengyu shrugged, then took the treasure map back from April and tossed it onto the man. “Don’t try to tempt me with this. If I cared about wealth, I wouldn’t have ended up like this.”

“I am a descendant of that Arab. This map is the spark that set off everything. They... somehow learned about it and forced me to hand it over. You see... I don’t care how much money there is, but... family honor won’t let me give it up so easily. So... they killed my wife, and now they want to kill me and my child...”

“That’s truly unfortunate, my friend.”

“Take my child, don’t let them find him. The treasure will be yours. I don’t want to bear this burden any longer. I understand now—the treasure should not be a nightmare for our descendants and their families.” The man said this as he looked at Qiu Fengyu.

“So you’re passing the nightmare on?”

“Qiu, don’t be like that—” April couldn’t help but interject.

The boy remained silent throughout.

“Who are they?” Qiu Fengyu refrained from further mockery.

The man caught his breath. “I don’t know. They came suddenly, without warning. I don’t know how many others might know this secret. Our family has lived in America for four generations. We’ve long considered ourselves Americans. We never imagined anyone would remember this, we ourselves nearly forgot. No one in our family ever thought to search for the treasure...”

Qiu Fengyu shrugged, signaling for him to continue.

“Whoever they are, I don’t want the treasure to fall into those bastards’ hands. I’d rather give it to you... Those sons of bitches, they killed my wife...” The man cursed, then suddenly began to cough violently, blood bubbling from his mouth as his body trembled.

“Father—” The boy finally couldn’t hold back, rushing to his side.

“Live well, don’t seek revenge... live, forget... forget hatred and wealth... forget...” After these words, the man fell silent, unmoving.

“I’m so sorry...” April stepped over, standing beside the boy, her hands resting gently on his shoulders, her voice low, “I’m sorry... all of this... all of it...” She choked up, unable to continue.

The boy said nothing, simply staring at his father, motionless.

Qiu Fengyu glanced at the boy, pushed the sheepskin into his hand, then said to April, “I’ll go take care of things, otherwise we’ll have to move.”

Three cars, the bodies, the traces of battle, shell casings and bullets, the places struck—all needed dealing with. It was a massive task.

Qiu Fengyu drove the cars off a cliff into the sea, ten miles away. Then he walked back on foot. He erased all traces of the fight from the area. By the time he finished, it was eight in the morning. When he returned to the house, April was busy in the kitchen.

“Little pancakes, but the kid won’t eat anything,” April complained as she brought out a plate of some unrecognizable blackened food and set it on the coffee table in the living room.

“You’d lose your appetite too, with his father lying on the dining table like a side dish,” Qiu Fengyu shook his head and walked over to the sofa, where the boy sat curled up, his eyes vacant.

“If you don’t want your father lying there, dig a pit and bury him. There’s a shovel in the basement under the house,” Qiu Fengyu said, then hefted the body and walked toward the woods.

The boy followed silently.

Together, they dug a large pit. Qiu Fengyu tossed the body in and began to cover it. The boy did not speak, gritting his teeth as he worked. When the earth was leveled, Qiu Fengyu brushed his hands off and planted a stick beside it, marking the grave.

“You mustn’t write a name, nothing at all. If one day you have the strength for revenge, then after you’ve slain your enemies, return and give your father a proper burial. Remember this mark...”

“My father told me not to seek revenge, to forget...” The boy struggled to get the words out after a long silence.

Qiu Fengyu looked at him; his face was flushed with strain.

“So you mean to give up?”

The boy said nothing, staring at Qiu Fengyu with fiercely bright eyes, his body tense—not at all like someone who hadn’t slept.

Qiu Fengyu turned and walked away; he had no desire to stand beside such a bullheaded boy.

“Here—” Suddenly, the boy sprinted ahead to block Qiu Fengyu’s path, holding out the sheepskin parchment with determined resolve.

Qiu Fengyu smiled, “You want revenge, want me to take it for you, and this is your payment?”

The boy nodded.

Qiu Fengyu patiently explained, “First, your father’s words aren’t necessarily reliable. Family legends handed down so long are usually lies. I’ve tried—I remember my father once told me there was treasure hidden in our vegetable garden. That year, he never once picked up a hoe himself. It wasn’t until I was twenty that I understood.”

“My father certainly didn’t want me to turn the desert upside down...” the boy retorted.

“All right... even if it’s real, I won’t go searching for it. Now that others know about the map, keeping it will only get me killed.”

“It’ll get me killed too—please!” The boy pleaded, and only with “please” did he reveal his desperate hope.

“No—” Qiu Fengyu said, continuing forward.

“You wouldn’t let me die alone, would you?” The boy shouted after him, “You wouldn’t just watch me die.”

Qiu Fengyu didn’t look back. When he was nearly at the house, he realized the boy hadn’t followed. He cursed, “Damn!”

The boy was nearly at the highway, and Qiu Fengyu dragged him back from the edge of the woods.

“Hell, do you really want to die? Think—right now there must be people everywhere looking for you. Damn it, you should be thinking about how to survive, not acting like an idiot,” Qiu Fengyu snapped.

“I couldn’t survive alone anyway—” the boy stubbornly tried to break free from Qiu Fengyu’s grip.

“Listen—stay with me, hide out for a while. When I’m done, I’ll get you somewhere safe. If you want revenge, that map will be a bargaining chip—many people would kill for money. That’s how the world works.”

“But they could kill me too!” The boy, evidently more clever after everything that had happened, was thinking more deeply.

“All right, you’ll stay with me for now,” Qiu Fengyu said, “but you’ll have to change your appearance, and you must obey me in everything. I’ll train you until you’re ready to avenge your parents. Before then... if you try to seek revenge, I’ll pretend I never met you!”

“Yes, I understand!” The boy felt a resolve he’d never known before. He squared his shoulders.

“Then... get back inside,” Qiu Fengyu ordered, turning toward the cabin.

“Yes, sir!” The boy scrambled up and raced back to the cabin.

Qiu Fengyu kicked his behind. “Damn little brat, you should say, ‘Yes, sir, commander!’”

The boy sped away, shouting as he ran, “Yes, sir, commander!”

April, overwhelmed and helpless, suddenly heard the door burst open. The boy rushed in like the wind, then sat solemnly at the table, looking at April. “My breakfast, madam.”

“What happened to you—just now?” April stared in astonishment at the boy, then looked at Qiu Fengyu who followed him in.