Pure Darkness

Chapter 134

“I never thought . .” said, panting, “that I would miss this opportunity for you.”

Oi! I am an article!

“I have predicted it for a long time,” said Bo Jinyan. “All thanks to you, I spent almost a year in darkness, so my eyes more easily adjust to the darkness than your eyes.”

Derrick smiled again, then his arm slowly lifted, with a gun in hand. Bo Jinyan frowned meticulously and used her body to protect Jian Yao, while training her weapon on Derrick. His fingers slowly tightened the trigger.

Oi! I am an article!

But Derrick suddenly closed his eyes with a sad expression and groaned softly. After quite a long time, he opened his eyes and looked at Bo Jinyan and Jian Yao. Unexpectedly, he smiled.

To Jian Yao, it was a rather strange smile.

There is sadness, there is peace, there is gentle relief from finally letting go of all the dangerous pretense.

He said, “So it turns out he was always like this, letting you stand behind him.”

Oi! I am an article!

Jian Yao was slightly surprised. Bo Jinyan's expression remained unchanged.

Derrick raises his gun and shoots himself at the temple.

The earth was once again silent; only the rain kept on flailing their feet. Then, from the river bank near the overhanging cliff, they saw a flashlight and heard calls from many policemen looking for them. Bo Jinyan quickly pulled Jian Yao into her arms. The two hugged each other tightly. Behind them, the waterfall plunges into the darkness of the night, and the deep water is calm and serene. The stones in the pond stood, still and upright, glittering with pure beauty in the darkness. Just like the eyes, always staring.*

*T/N This symbolic presentation of a deep pond with rocks first appears in Chapter 56, where Bo Jinyan describes justice as like a deep pond. It is this metaphor that gave rise to our translation of the title of this novel, ‘Pure’ Darkness. In the end, even in darkness, justice will prevail. The relevant line is extracted below (click on the link above to open the chapter itself):

You know, justice is like a deep pool under the moon, inside of which are cold rocks.

In the darkness, a clear water light and crystal were always present.

Although there are times when the water becomes cloudy, or turbulent,

in the end, the water will settle so that the rocks are visible, and the clouds will scatter so that the moon shines brightly.

——

A few days later.

It is a remote sanatorium on the outskirts of Beijing. Just then the sun set, and a golden radiance, dyed with a rosy hue, illuminated the entire grassy courtyard. There was hardly anyone around.

One sat alone on the white bench, staring at the swooping white pigeon on the grass. He had been sitting there for a long time, a fragile figure who did not even know how long time had passed.

Far behind him, his manager and assistant stood speechless, looking at the lonely figure.

“She still can't get back to work?” ask manager.

His eyes were red, the assistant nodded. “He's been like this all along. In my opinion . . .he may never be able to. . . to work again.”

The manager took a deep breath, patted the assistant on the shoulder, and said, “Oke, I understand.” After a moment of silence, he said, “To be honest, I deeply regret it. If I knew this would happen, I would not pack Xiaozhe's schedule, so that he could have more time with her.

The assistant was crying.

Dusk fell bit by bit, and the golden rays gradually faded away. Jin Xiaozhe sat in his place, motionless, just as he sat all day, constantly gazing towards the southwest. The assistant picked up some clothes and, with the manager, was about to move forward, when they heard footsteps coming from the hillside behind them.

Someone was running towards them.

This place was a private facility under their contract, so there should be no one else there. The manager turned to look at the approaching runner, and was surprised.

The assistant's mouth opened as he pointed at the person. “You, you. . . ghosts . . .”

That person paid no heed to their shocking confusion. He looked around and asked impatiently, “Where is he? Where?” Then he saw the person sitting on the bench in the courtyard.

He seemed to be stuck in place. Even though he had run so hard that he was sweating, right now, he was no longer running but just staring at him. Then, he smiled.

Step by step, he approached her from behind.

Fang Qing walked until he stood right behind him. From her point of view, she could see that she was still neatly combing her hair, wearing thin makeup, and wearing a beautiful skirt. However, he just sat there, motionless, with his hands on his knees and fists tightly clenched. In his eyes, there was a touch of something dark, cold, and indifferent.

……

Fang Qing suddenly felt his heart ache. He put his hands behind the bench and gently called, “Xiaozhe.”

Jin Xiaozhe slowly turned his head and looked at him.

Two pairs of eyes stared at each other. A gentle breeze blew along the grass, ruffling the sleeves of his police uniform, ruffling his skirt.

“Am I dreaming?” she asked.

“This is not a dream, not a dream!” Fang Qing held his hand and placed it on his chest. “Sorry, Xiaozhe, I'm back! At that moment, I thought I would not be able to return! But I . .” He laughed and said, “I'm back! I'm alive and back!”

Tears flowed in Jin Xiaozhe's eyes as he tried to stand up. Unable to control his soaring emotions anymore, Fang Qing pulled him into his embrace. She also hugged him tightly, and with a teary face, shouted, “I really thought you wouldn't come back! You call me that! Call like that! I think I'm also completely finished! I think my life is over!”

There were tears in Fang Qing's eyes as he said, “Sorry, forgive me! That time I really. .”

Thought I'd die.

The two cried and hugged each other. After a long time, Jin Xiaozhe looked at him and asked, “What really happened?”

Fang Qing smiled, bit his lips and said, “I feel. . that someone up there is protecting and blessing me so that I can get back to being by your side. I have always felt that heavenly powers would watch over someone like me who devoted my entire life to catching bad people and doing good. Turns out they really did it.”

. . .

Fang Qing actually did not have a clear memory of what happened that night. The last thing he remembered was that the entire temple had collapsed, with a great flood behind him that was enough to bury everything. And the huge Buddha statue fell towards him.

When he woke up, it was already night the next day. He discovered that he was lying on the boat, and Bo Jinyan, Jian Yao, and An Yan were all with him. Next to him was Gu Fangfang, who was still receiving medical treatment*.

*T/N shl and Anks just wanted to add that we were upset about not mentioning Zhao Kun (the undercover police officer in the Buddha's Hands). We would only believe he survived, and Ding Mo forgot to include his name in this scene.

“Why me . .” She asked.

Bo Jinyan looked at him gently and said, “Fang Qing, you have a blessed life.”

He's dumbfounded.

It was a statue of Buddha.

When the statue fell, its stomach was already crushed, and its shell covered it appropriately. Moreover, the back of the statue was very sturdy. Throughout the night, the force of the landslide wave shut him under layers of mud and rock. Only the Buddha statue covers it. And so, the next day, as soon as it was clear, when the police forces returned to the area, they dug up the layers in its last known location and made a miraculous discovery. He was not seriously injured and was still breathing! They immediately dug it up. . .

Fang Qing looked at Jin Xiaozhe. At that moment, her tears were unstoppable. He laughed amiably and lowered his head to kiss her tears. The light of the last sunset faded and the two of them quietly leaned against each other on the bench, feeling that the years indeed never betrayed them; their dreams and love were never forgotten.

——

One month later.

It was a bright and sunny morning. An Yan, wearing a white shirt and black trousers, with a backpack draped over his back, rode his bike to work as usual.

Now, however, its original cool, trendy, branded bikes have been replaced with family-friendly models with rear seats, front baskets, and tote racks. Every time he rode this bike, he felt like a joke.

What's to be done? Someone likes to ride his bike.

He actually just climbed into the next building, where he stopped and rang the bicycle bell.

A few minutes later, a girl came running down. He first stuffed a piece of bread into his mouth before jumping into the back seat and patting his backpack. “Let's go, Prince Supervision.” His hand lightly gripped his waist. An Yan smiled faintly, lowered his head, and departed quickly and steadily.

On the way, the wind blew gently and the willow branches swayed. As they passed through the gates of the police headquarters, the security guards looked at them enviously.

An Yan sneered inside, refusing to give her time.

They reached Gu Fangfang's workplace very quickly.