The ticket seller toppled over, passing out in fright. This new development suddenly flummoxed Song Fanping, and his dislocated left arm also dropped. He forgot that his arm had been shielding him from the blows, and in an instant a flurry of bats smashed down on his head. Bleeding and broken, Song Fanping collapsed against the wall as six wooden bats crazily smashed down on him, until one after another they shattered. They were then followed by the red-armbanders’ twelve feet, which stomped and kicked him for more than ten minutes, until finally he lay there motionless. Only then did the six men, all out of breath from their exertions, pause to rub their arms and legs and wipe the sweat from their faces. They walked over to the bench under the ceiling fan, completely wiped out. Cocking their heads, they looked at Song Fanping slumped over by the wall and cursed, "Fuck."
It was around daybreak that these red-armbanders from the warehouse that was actually a prison had noticed that Song Fanping was missing. They had immediately split into two groups, with one guarding the bus depot and the other assigned to the docks. The red-armbanders’ savage beating of Song Fanping that day terrified everyone, and those who had been in the waiting room all ran outside to the platform. Children wailed and women stood with their mouths hanging open in terror. Everyone stood outside the waiting room door peering in, no one daring to go back inside. Only when the tickets for the Shanghai bus were being collected did people carefully reenter, looking with trepidation at the six red-armbanders resting under the ceiling fan.
Barely conscious, Song Fanping seemed to make out the call to board. Miraculously he managed to rouse himself, standing up by leaning against the wall. He wiped at the blood on his face and hobbled toward the ticket collection window. The row of waiting passengers all gasped. When the six red-armbanders who had been resting under the ceiling fan saw that Song Fanping had gotten up and was making his way to the gate, they looked at each other in astonishment, letting out snorts of disbelief. One of them yelled, "Don't let him get away!"
They took up their splintered bats and rushed up to him, swinging with abandon. This time Song Fanping began to resist. He struck back with his right fist as he made his way to the gate. Terrified, the ticket counter slammed the metal gate shut and ran away. Song Fanping found that he had nowhere to go, so he had no choice but to strike back. By this point he was barely conscious, and the red-armbanders encircled him and pummeled him until he was covered in blood. They chased him from the waiting room to the steps outside. He resisted with all his might, but when he reached the steps, he collapsed. The red-armbanders stood in a circle around him, kicking wildly, and even bayoneting him with their splintered wooden bats. One of the wooden spikes pierced his abdomen, and his entire body convulsed. As the red-armbander pulled the spike out, Song Fanping's body tensed up as blood gushed from his gut, staining the ground red. Then he fell still.
The six red-armbanders were also drained. First they panted heavily as they squatted there, but when they realized they were under the blazing sun, they walked over to the spot under the tree and leaned against the trunk as they wiped their sweat with their shirts. They were convinced that this time Song Fanping wouldn't be able to get up again. But when the long-distance bus started pulling out of the station, he somehow managed to rouse himself and stand up, taking a few unsteady steps. He waved at the departing bus, mumbling, "I … haven't… boarded … yet."
The men rushed up to him again and struck him to the ground. Song Fanping no longer resisted but, rather, began to beg. At this moment, Song Fanping, who never admitted defeat, wanted so badly to live. He mustered up what remained of his strength and knelt. Spitting blood while holding back the blood gushing from his abdomen, he wept as he begged them to spare him. Even his tears flowed red. He took out Li Lan's letter from his pocket and managed to use his disabled left hand to open it, trying to prove that he wasn't running away. Not a single hand reached out to take the letter. He only received more and more kicks, and two more bat fragments pierced his body. As the spikes were yanked out blood gushed from his body as though it were a perforated wineskin.
There were some in Liu Town who personally witnessed this savage assault. Mama Su, whose snack shop was right next to the bus depot, wept a river of tears while she watched. Sounds came from her mouth, though it was hard to make out whether they were sobs or sighs.
Song Fanping was barely breathing. The six red-armbanders discovered they were hungry, so they temporarily left him aside and walked toward Mama Sus snack shop. The men felt as drained as if they had spent a day working on the docks, and when they sat down in the shop, they couldn't muster up the energy to speak. With her head lowered, Mama Su returned to her shop and sat behind the counter, silently watching these six red-armbanders, who were worse than beasts. Once they caught their breath, they asked her for soy milk, buns, and fritters, which they then ate with savage delight.
By then the five red-armbanders who had been guarding the docks arrived. When they learned that Song Fanping had been caught at the depot, they ran over enthusiastically, all drenched in sweat. They aimed their wooden bats at the motionless Song Fanping and beat him wildly until all their bats were broken as well. Then they kicked, trampled, and pummeled him. When the initial six red-armbanders finished their meal and went out of the store, these next five came in to have their breakfast. In all, eleven armband-wearing men took turns tormenting Song Fanping, who by now was no longer moving. Still they kicked at him. At last Mama Su could bear it no longer and said, "He's probably already dead."
Only then did the red-armbanders stop kicking. Wiping at their sweat, they made their victorious exit. All eleven of them had injured themselves from the kicking, so they hobbled as they left. Mama Su watched them limp away, thinking, They are not human! She said to herself, How can people be this vicious?
CHAPTER 17
MEANWHILE, BALDY LI and Song Gang were home asleep, dreaming of Li Lan s return. When they woke up, they were ecstatic to find that it was almost noon. Although Song Fanping had said that he wouldn't be home until the sun set behind the mountain, the boys couldn't wait a moment longer. At noon they headed toward the bus depot, wanting to be there when the bus carrying Song Fanping and Li Lan pulled into the station. The two boys stepped outside, their left hands thrust in their pockets and their right arms dangling at their sides, in imitation of Song Fanping's cocky gait. Trying hard to look like movie heroes, they walked with a deliberate swagger but came off looking more like simpering villains or Japanese toadies.