Chapter 177 The Bonfire Finale
Hearing my name being called, I walked up to the two officers. “I am Murong Shiyan.” Instructor Cao was wearing an ugly look while the other studied me darkly. “What’s this? Some trouble for me? Is this what Lu Shengnan referring to when she said sorry to me?”

I eyed the two army officers suspiciously, and the officer snapped to a salute suddenly! Even I was surprised by this and I returned the salute. “I am the platoon leader in charge of this year’s exercise. My name is Song. I have been notified of what happened yesterday and please let it be known that I have reprimanded my man here for what he did. I have called you out today to tender our apology on his behalf and I hope you’d gladly accept it.” He paused and turned to Instructor Cao and hissed, “Apologize, quick!” The junior instructor took a step closer and said, “I have been overboard yesterday, Murong Shiyan, and I apologize for my misdemeanor. Please forgive me.” He must be trying his best to sound earnest, for everyone could clearly see how reluctant he was to utter these words.

But I finally understood why Huang Li was so angry at me. I flashed a genuinely benign smile at Instructor Cao; I was, by no means, a spiteful person especially for a debacle so trivial. “All right. And please don’t mind my bad manners yourself.” Instructor Cao’s expression immediately softened and so did his commanding officer, who then announced, “Due to your training exceeding yesterday’s allowance, I am compelled to give you the day off. The rest of you, form up at the middle of the field! GO!”

There left only me and Officer Song by the running tracks around the edge of the field. He looked hardly older than me; his age would be around Lin Feng’s at the very least. Suddenly, he said, “I hope this is the end of all this fracas, although I won’t be able to help it if you wish to escalate matters. But please bear in mind that bringing this to the higher-ups will also reflect badly upon you in the eyes of the university deans.” “I see, he’s advising me to let the matter slide,” I realized. Magnifying the scale of this feud would mean that the commanding officer of his company would be aware of this, or worst, the chief overseeing the entire corp. And Instructor Cao would not be able to escape with just a simple slap on his wrist. Evidently, Officer Song was trying to bail his man out of trouble.

I giggled. “Relax, Officer Song. Like I said to Instructor Cao, I’m not a spiteful or a vindictive person. We are, after all, young and rash people. We’d merely rubbed off each other the wrong way. Rest assured that the matter is water under the bridge.” Officer Song looked truly relaxed finally and began to speak more freely. “Where are you from?” he asked as he offered me a cigarette in a friendly way. I grinned and took the cigarette and lighted it, saying, “Wu Zhong County.” He cracked a smile suddenly. “Ah?! Wu Zhong?! You must know a guy called Lin Feng!” I nodded. “He’s a good friend of mine. We grow up together. You were comrades with him?”

“Yes!” He exclaimed, sounding excited and wistful at the same time. He looked positively happy with the memory of Lin Feng. “We were in the same year when we joined the army. But he did not stay long; his heart was not in the military. But he was one of our best guys; scoring high in all departments and he’s good in fighting too! In fact, I would not have been promoted if he did not leave service!” “Heh heh heh, what a coincidence that we would meet,” I said. At that very moment, what little ice between us finally all but melted completely.

And there we sat for the whole morning, talking and reminiscing until we finally parted when the morning session was over. Before he left, Officer Song made me promise that I would pass his regards to Lin Feng.

As it comes to no surprise to anyone, Huang Li attached herself to Instructor Cao immediately when the morning session was dismissed with so much alacrity that oddly reminded me of a pair of Siamese twins. But Instructor Cao’s face could not be any acrider and grouchier. He had kept a watchful eye on me throughout the morning and, obviously to his dismay, his commanding officer and I had become fast friends. There was even a shred of fear in his eyes as he was undoubtedly quaking at how I managed to be so close to his superior. He turned his attention to the matter at hand: Huang Li. With a brusque decline to Huang Li’s assertive invitation to lunch, he turned and left. Angered and frustrated, Huang Li’s flaring eyes close in on the possible reason of her being snubbed: me. She cast towards me a look so furious and rancorous like a snake waiting to pounce and she promptly left too.

But I instead felt that it was funny. I guffawed like a madman and everyone, shocked and apprehensive, gave me a wide berth; they walked around me like a river flowing through a rock, keeping me at arm’s length like I was a leper. For the next two and a half days, Instructor Cao avoided contact with Huang Li. And that brittle calm endured until the night of the exercise’s final day.

Although the venue of the exercise had been changed into the school grounds, they certainly did not attempt to deviate from the usual custom of organizing a bonfire night on the evening of the finale. The night’s event was held at the old school field, because the surface of the new school field where we had our exercise was made of a type of artificial rubberized compound. The old school field, long left to neglect and disrepair, was a flat ground of dirt and grass, where it would be more suitable.

The bonfire was raised to the merriment of all the freshman classes who had joined the exercise, and everyone sat around the huge fire, including my class. Instructor Cao stood in front of the fire and lifted high his can of Coke. “Students, a week had gone by like the blink of an eye! I hope you commit the training, the experience, and everything we’ve felt together in these seven days to heart! You will all be always in my heart!” He took a long swig with some of his drink dribbling down the side of his mouth. The air around the fire, filled with the loud, intense crackling of the burning kindling, enmeshed with the mix of noises of us popping our bottles and cans. As everyone gulped down their drinks, the scene felt so much like the toasting of wine and liquor to me and a voice rang from somewhere, screaming, “A song, Instructor! Sing a song!”

“Come on,” Instructor Cao squeaked sheepishly, “There are music students here. I would not dare to show my feeble singing skills here!” Still, a tune began from his lips and he sang; a song that was called Zui Hou Yi Ci Zhan Gang (literally, The Last Post), a well-known army song by the singer Xiao Zeng, although Instructor Cao’s singing was not quite true to key. Nevertheless, his modest singing ability did little to ease the melancholy of parting and saying goodbyes. When the song finally ended, Instructor Cao shuffled back to his seat and Officer Song had appeared out of nowhere, sitting just beside him and clapping his hands encouragingly.

With Officer Song’s confidence, a thunder of clapping hands rolled across our midst. Officer Song walked towards us, specifically towards me! Then we realized that he was carrying a guitar behind his back! He patted on my shoulder. “Come, sing with me!” “Oh? Okay!” I chuckled. I was no good with a guitar, but I can still play the ukelele and what a fortunate surprise that I had brought one with me in my knapsack.

Officer Song removed his guitar from its carrying case and said, “That Zui Hou Yi Ci Zhan Gang you were singing just now. That kinda reminded me of Lin Feng. Let’s sing one of his favorites!” And he began strumming on the strings.

Lin Feng had once joined the army partly because of the influence of his family members. But it was also because of his painful heartbreak when his girlfriend had left him. For that few years, he particularly liked Harlem Yu’s Qing Fei De Yi (Can’t Help Falling In Love With You). It was public knowledge to anyone who knew him well, and I joined in the intro of the song with my ukulele.

The strong and portly voice of the army platoon leader mingled with my young and keen voice into a harmonious duet. But I could not fully enjoy the song; a chill raced down my spine and I looked around the fire and found a green little bulbous fiery flash hovering just nearby.

Swaying to the beat of the song, I stole a look at Lu Shengnan and Huang Li. The latter’s eyes were moist and red; she must be reacting to the song. But contrary to her wistful mood, she was fixing me with the same venomous stare and her lips were quivering as if she was muttering a spell.

An unnatural cold breeze caressed my side and I activated my Spirit Sight, chuckling as I continued singing. Then I saw it! A black blob of gas was accumulating just not more than three feet above the fire, its gaseous mass swirling and rolling before it charged at me! I pretended to continued singing while trying to look more and more euphoric with the building mood around me and tilted myself to smile at Officer Song while adroitly evading the black shadowy mass that hurled past me!

Whatever that black mass could be, it must be stunned and surprised that I was able to evade it. But it must be thinking that my evasion could only be a fluke as it charged at me again from my left flank. But what it did not notice, was the song’s chorus was reaching its highest climax! I whirled and leaned to the back.

And the black mass passed just in front of my nose. It had missed me again!