Kelsang Wangdu had been kicked out of the tent, but he didn't dare to leave. Once orders were given and everyone started bustling around, he was left alone, forgotten. Ingdzin was the only person to talk to him:
"I saw your bear," she said.
Kelsang sighed:
"We're old relics now, him and me. It seems time is up for both of us."
Then, sweat began to wash down from his head. In his belly, he felt something knotting up, and pain came more and more frequently.
"I reckon he should be getting ready to come find me right about now," he said.
The knotted pain in his stomach passed, and Kelsang found that he very much wanted to talk with somebody. Fortunately, Ingdzin was still right there at his side.
"Dorje died. Did you know that?"
"Wasn't Dorje arrested?" she asked.
"He came back. But he died," he replied.
"Did you see him?"
"I saw him coming back. He was alive then; he said he wanted to save Ji village, but I didn't see him again after that."
"You didn't see him die?"
"No, but I know he did."
"If you didn't see, then you can't know."
"Is that so? Well, maybe he hasn't died yet, but then, what if he has?"
Kelsang walked away, unsteadily. Ingdzin stayed where she was, so she didn't hear any of the things he muttered to himself as he walked. What he was saying was:
"Maybe he's still keeping one last breath, waiting for someone to come from Ji village to see him before he dies, maybe, he's keeping his eyes open, waiting for a fellow villager to come close to him. Well, that person is going to be me. Maybe, my bear will be waiting for me there. He'll probably say something like: hello old chap. I'll be out of a place to live once the forest burns down, so we'll have to settle the old account a little early."
Kelsang Wangdu left the village and made his shaky way, stumbling and mumbling in the direction of the great, oncoming fire.
As Kelsang went on his way, a group of command centre staff members formed up into a logistics brigade and set off towards Lake Semocuo, carrying radio receivers and transmitters, a map, a military tent, lanterns, torches, flare guns, rifles, submachine guns, loudspeakers, a field cauldron, grain, and canned food provisions. They weren't the only ones heading towards the lake—the command centre's latest orders were causing a mass exodus out of Ji village, with much whistle blowing and waving of red and green tri-cornered flags. In the passing of an instant, the populous bustle of machines and people to which Ji village had played host these last few days was completely gone. The place was empty and quiet, save for a few people flipping flat-cakes in frying pans over the few cooking pits that were still burning, and the telegraph receiver that was still whirring inside the command centre tent. The wind kicked up little columns of dust as it roamed between the tents, blowing multi-coloured waste paper before it. Occasionally, the wind would duck in and out of the tents, causing them to inflate and deflate like the lungs of a group of giants to whom breath only came painfully.
Ingdzin set off up the mountain, following the brigade from the command centre. When she turned to look back towards the village entranceway, Kelsang Wangdu was nowhere in sight, which made her feel vaguely uneasy. But she was quickly caught up in the excited, infectious atmosphere of the brigade, which made her heart jump up and down in her chest. But the most exciting moment was when the Commander summoned her to his side—he had questions for her about the lake:
"That lake must have a lot of water in it, right?" he asked.
"Oh yes, lots and lots of water."
"Are there fish in the lake?" he wanted to know.
She shook her head:
"I don't know."
"Well, have you heard people say there are fish in there?"
She shook her head again:
"Everyone says there's a pair of golden ducks in the lake. They're supposed to be the guardians of Ji village and of the forests."
Old Wei tugged her sleeve:
"That's a feudal superstition!"
"Yes," the commander said, "that's a feudal superstition. The youth of the new era mustn't believe in such things."
Ingdzin puffed out her chest, and said proudly:
"I pledge in the name of Chairman Mao to eliminate feudal superstitions!"
The path up the mountain got steeper as it climbed. This meant the commander had to focus on getting air into his wheezing lungs instead of talking. Once the conversation ended, Ingdzin began thinking about the golden ducks in the lake, which made her feel a little scared. Her revolutionary consciousness, elevated only a few seconds ago, sank straight back down into darkness.
Once they were about halfway, they were met by Suopo at the head of a group of relatively athletic young people. He and his men took the entire command centre brigade's luggage and loaded it up on their backs. The Commander was too out of breath to get any words out, but he gave Suopo a heavy clap on the shoulder. Suopo gallantly walked to the front of the squad and led the way up the path.
Ingdzin hurried after him. She had a question she wanted to ask him:
"Are there really no ducks in the lake?"
Suopo rolled his eyes at her and didn't offer a reply.
Ingdzin repeated her question, and Suopo said:
"Have you seen any ducks in there? I haven't."
Ingdzin thought Suopo had just revealed a very profound truth to her. Her runaway affections all came rushing back, as she lowered her voice:
"If there are ducks in the lake, everyone in the village will hate me."
"You're scared?" Suopo hissed through his teeth, "if you're scared, what did you think you were doing taking that bastard to the lake with you? I know, you went there so you could stick up your rump like a little bitch and let him fuck you, didn't you?"
Ingdzin felt like crying.
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