To tell you the truth, as we set out on our journey that day, quite a few of the villagers saw us off – men and women, old and young. As the barge sailed further and further away, they were finally convinced that I hadn’t misled them; that I had truly come to take Abing away with me (to educate him to be a musical instrument tuner, they believed). I think that they must have believed that either I was as daft as Abing was, or else I was an incredibly devious and evil-minded person. In the countryside, many old people said that if you were to take the bones of an ill person and roast them and grind them into a powder, the medicine you could make from such a powder would cure that very illness. In other words, if you were to make medicine from Abing’s bones, then whole groups of idiots like Abing could be transformed into intelligent men. Perhaps they thought that I was a man with that kind of wicked plan. If not, then I must be completely stupid.

Whatever the case, I felt that there was another possible outcome that the villagers could never have expected. Namely, that Abing would become one of the great heroes of our time.

8

Even though Director Tie, as well as our Bureau Chief Wu, had already prepared themselves to some extent with respect to his physical and mental shortcomings, upon actually seeing Abing in front of them, they couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

Our journey back to Unit 701 was rather arduous. As far as I could tell, Abing never once even closed his eyes; how could he possibly sleep in all that racket? The entire trip was a mess; and what’s more, because he was somewhat on edge, Abing’s facial muscles seemed to be suffering from some kind of paralysis. His appearance, coupled with the unappealing film that covered his eyes, was almost too unsightly to bear. He looked completely dishevelled and lost, a kind of freakish shadow.

Certainly not something easy on the eyes!