The train bound for Peiping ran clanging on the tracks, like a tireless old scalper. Lu Wen leaned against the window, unconsciously rubbing the bronze token with his fingertips. The cold touch crawled up his fingertips, which made his chaotic mind clear up a little. The scenery outside the window gradually changed from the bright neon lights of Shanghai to the vast expanse of the North China Plain. The bare poplar trees retreated in rows like sentinels holding sharp swords. The villages in the distance shrank into blurry earth-yellow dots. The smoke from the chimneys stretched long in the cold wind.
