Extra 7: Moths Flying into Flame
Ma Dao was born in a Lisu village that was almost isolated from the outside world.
His father was the youngest and strongest chief in the tribe, as well as the best hunter, and was deeply loved and admired by the tribe members.
The same goes for Ma Dao. He hopes that when he grows up, he can be as strong as his father and lead his people to build the most powerful Lisu village.
But this wish was shattered when he was ten years old.
That year, a group of outsiders suddenly came into the mountain village. They entered the village with many sabers and other things that had never been seen before.
They found Sabre's father and asked him to help with something.
The young Ma Dao was listening nearby and it seemed that these people wanted to ask someone from the mountain village to lead the way for them.
There are many Lisu people living in this mountain area, distributed in different places.
The group that Sabre belongs to is the largest and most powerful one.
It would be impossible for these people to pass through the mountains safely without the guidance of the Lisu people.
Sabre was still young at the time and didn't know what these people were going to do. He only knew that they were going to the other side of the mountain.
He didn't notice anything wrong. The outsiders brought them new and exotic foods and colorful candies.
Because Sabre was the patriarch's son, they also gave Sabre a sharp dagger, which made Sabre very happy.
But later, for some unknown reason, my father fell out with those people and a conflict broke out.
Those people left with cold faces. Ma Dao was very glad that they did not take away the candy and dagger in his hands.
My father was worried for a long time after that and asked all the young people in the village to prepare for battle.
They sharpened their hunting knives and arrowheads, but after waiting for half a month, no one from outside came.
Just when the whole village breathed a sigh of relief, one night, Ma Dao, who was sleeping in his mother's arms, was awakened by a loud noise.
From the bamboo house, he saw flames rising into the sky outside.
When he, his mother and grandmother were pulled out of the bamboo house, he saw a bloody hole on his father's forehead with blood constantly oozing out.
The firelight shone on my father's face. His eyes were wide open. He was hung on a wooden rack where prey was usually hung.
All the adults in the village were gathered together. The other side was holding black weapons that emitted flames and could kill a person with a "bang".
Sabre only found out later that the thing was called a gun.
The adults who resisted were shot to death, and the sound of gunfire echoed in the mountains for a long, long time.
Mother rushed towards Father, and Ma Dao was held tightly in Grandma's arms. In the darkness and firelight, he saw a black flower bursting on Mother's head, and then she lay softly at Father's feet.
All the children and women in the village were crying, and finally all those who dared not resist were gathered together.
Saber's eyes widened as he watched those people raise their black gun barrels towards them...
After that night, the village where Ma Dao was located disappeared, and all the adult men were killed.
But Sabre survived with the remaining women and children because he promised to lead the outsiders and be their hunting dogs in the mountains.
The old lady and other women all joined other tribes.
Before parting with grandma, Ma Dao took off the Tianxin stone necklace passed down to him by his father and the silver bracelet he had always worn.
Only the next tribe leader can wear these two things. His father once said that he will definitely be a good tribe leader in the future.
But Ma Dao knew that he would never be the patriarch.
Later ...Ma Dao became those people's dog.
In order to survive, he lived a humble life. Although he was very young, he was finally valued because he was familiar with the mountains and was very smart and obedient.
Ma Dao gradually figured out what these people were going to do.
By passing through their mountains, you can cross the border directly to another chaotic country.
Although it is difficult and dangerous to cross this mountain, the benefits that these people can bring if they succeed once are very considerable.
For money, massacring a few primitive villages is nothing.
It was all because Sabre's father was too tough. He knew these people were doing bad things, and his faith made him lose his mind.
He actually faced those cold gun muzzles with his weak chest.
Ma Dao has no faith, he just wants to survive and reach adulthood.
So he not only led the way honestly, helping these people avoid the Lisu villages, but also helped them to open up the safest route.
Later, he also helped them transport drugs.
Gradually, Ma Dao gained trust, left the mountain and came to the outside world.
He also helped those people purchase raw materials, launder money, and kill people. He did almost all kinds of evil.
Ma Dao finally experienced the feeling of pointing a gun at someone else. Looking at the weak trembling under the muzzle of his gun, it was like seeing himself in the past.
Now he doesn't have to work as a dog for others, as he has many dogs under his command who are willing to work for him.
He also has enough ability to find his former tribesmen again, let them all live a prosperous life and realize his childhood wish.
But Sabre didn't do that. Even when he could control his own destiny, he never went back again.
Only the Lisu people outside were allowed to go back and find out the whereabouts of the old lady and know that she was still alive, that's all.
Because he knew in his heart that he was no longer a child from those mountains and could never go back...
Everyone has become a slave to money and power, and Ma Dao feels that he is one too. He lives without a soul, filled with only the bloody stink of money.
Until he met Chen He, a man wearing glasses, gentle, honest but very stubborn.
He said he wanted to change another corrupted land, help everyone get rid of poverty and backwardness, and stop them from doing illegal things.
As he said these words, Chen He's eyes sparkled, and even the glass lenses could not hide them, just like the fire that burned in the mountain village that night.
Ma Dao thought he was ridiculous. What could one person change?
He just watched Chen He hit a wall again and again, falling down again and again, like a bug trapped in a glass cover yearning for light, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't fly out.
Like a moth to a flame? Even if you succeed, you will still die in the end. What's the point?
Perhaps life is too boring for a person who has lost his soul, so he treated Chen He's performance as a show.
Just watching, Ma Dao felt uncomfortable.
Why should he persist? Why can he persist?
Ma Dao also had a persistent self in his heart, and went to heaven with his parents in that dark night.
But he was still alive. He did not become a great Lisu leader. In order to survive, he became the weakest coward.
That's why he disliked Chen He and he didn't believe that Chen He could stick to it.
But seeing Chen He trying hard to change those poor guys again and again, Ma Dao chose to help him.
Even Ma Dao himself couldn't explain why he did this. He knew that Chen He couldn't pay back the money, but he was willing to give him money again and again.
In Ma Dao's eyes, those who grow poppies in the mountains are pitiful trash.
Ma Dao wanted to see whether Chen He could purify them. If he could...even if he could, what would that mean?
Chen He's obsession stirred Ma Dao's long-silent and cold heart.
He couldn't imagine that there really were such stupid people in the world who wanted to bring along a group of people who had nothing to do with him without any regrets.
Time passed slowly, and Chen He proved that he was not acting. Ma Dao couldn't understand Chen He anymore.
Why can he stick to his goals and not be defeated by difficulties or even death?
Ma Dao felt very uncomfortable, sometimes excited, sometimes angry. He couldn't understand it, but he still wanted to continue watching.
So he would not let Chen He leave, nor would he let others destroy Chen He's persistence.
He had someone kill the girl who came looking for Chen He, and later let him see the girl's belongings.
In fact, doing this made Ma Dao feel very complicated.
He didn't know what he wanted to do, but he wanted to see Chen He's persistence pay off one day.
I also hope that Chen He will become as completely corrupt and weak as I am...
Ma Dao watched Chen He looking for his fiancée like crazy, and seeing that he was just as he had imagined, he gave up on saving the world.
He was going to become as depraved as himself. He no longer insisted on changing the garbage and no longer believed that he could change the world.
When I heard Chen He say that he wanted to destroy this place.
Ma Dao finally felt comfortable. Yes, this is how it should be. This is the feeling.
He laughed, very happily, turned around and faced the direction of the Lisu village, and laughed until tears came out of his eyes...
This kind of world is right, the world is originally dark.
If we can't wait until dawn, we might as well drag everyone down with us and destroy all the evil and filth in the darkness...
