Chapter 9 chapter eight

The guests went back early, and Dr. Saunders took a book and lay down on a rattan bench.He glanced at his watch, it was only after nine o'clock.He was used to smoking half a dozen pipes in succession all night, and liked to start at ten o'clock, so now he waited quietly for ten o'clock.While waiting, he was not disturbed by anxiety, on the contrary, he trembled a little because of the eager anticipation.The moment was undoubtedly so wonderful to him that he would never cut down the waiting time by smoking his pipe earlier. He called Akai and told him that they would go out to sea with the two strangers' small sailboat tomorrow morning.The boy nodded, glad to get out of here too.Akai has followed the doctor since he was thirteen years old, and he is nineteen now.He was a thin, handsome boy.He has a pair of big black eyes, and his skin is delicate and smooth, just like a girl's skin.His hair was black and cropped very short, as if he wore a hat that fitted close to his scalp.His face was oval and sallow, the color of old ivory.He loves to laugh, and when he smiles, he shows two rows of very beautiful teeth, which are small, white and neat.Dressed in cropped calico trousers and a collarless skinny jacket, he had a languid elegance that was somehow touching.He walked quietly, and he looked like a careful cat.When Dr. Saunders was smug, he often thought that Akai must have great longing and love for him.

At last ten o'clock came, and the doctor closed the book, and cried: "Akai!" The boy came in, and took from the table a little tray on which lay an oil lamp, a needle, a pipe, and a round jar of opium.The doctor watched him doing all this calmly.Then Akai put the plate on the floor next to the doctor, squatted down, lit the oil lamp, put the syringe on the fire and roasted it for a while, and then used the hot end to draw a sufficient amount of opium from the opium jar.He skillfully rolled the opium into a ball, carefully placed it on a small yellow flame and roasted it.The doctor watched the opium slowly expand and hiss.The boy took the opium off the fire, rubbed it with his hands again, and then continued to roast it on the fire.He poured the roasted opium into his pipe and handed it to his master.The doctor took the pipe and took a quick and sharp draw, sending the sweet smell of smoke straight into his chest.He let the smoke stay in his lungs for a minute, and then exhaled slowly.He handed the pipe to Akai again.The boy scraped out the ashes from the pipe, put them on the tray, then roasted the needle barrel, and started rubbing the second ball of opium.The doctor smoked two more pipes in this way, and then the boy stood up, went into the kitchen, got a pot of jasmine tea, and poured out a china bowl for the doctor.The scent of jasmine overwhelms the pungent smell of opium for an instant.The doctor was lying on a bench, propped on a cushion, looking at the ceiling.Neither the master nor the servant spoke, and the room was very quiet. The only thing that broke the silence was the piercing cry of the scorpion tiger.The doctor looked at the corporal lying quietly on the ceiling. It was yellow all over, like a small prehistoric monster.It occasionally snaps its tongue to catch a fly or moth that flies by.Akai lit a cigarette for the doctor, then took an old musical instrument that looked a bit like a banjo, and gently stroking the strings, intoxicated by it.Scattered thin notes floating in the air sound staccato, but when you hear that opening too often, your hearing is deluded; The different fragrances emitted by various flowers are equally irrelevant, but the whole melody seems to be a hint, which makes people compose a tune of their own in the depths of their hearts, a tune that is more important than the tune heard by the ears. Soft tune.From time to time, there will also be a sharp and abrupt dissonant sound, just like scribbling on a slate with a pencil, it hits the listener's nerves, and makes people shake, as if jumping into the music on a hot summer day. The cold pool is average.The boy sat on the floor, silently strumming his lute in a gesture of sincerity and beauty.Dr. Saunders wondered what vague emotion had touched him.He seemed to be searching for that long-ago melody in his memory, and the melancholy look on his face was heartbreaking.

Then the boy raised his head and smiled, his charming smile lighting up his face.He asked the master if he was ready, and the doctor nodded.Akai put down his lute and relighted the oil lamp.He prepared another pipe, and the doctor smoked three more.This is his limit.Although he often smoked opium, the amount was very small.Then he lay down again, lost in the ecstasy of excitement.Akai rolled a few tubes of cigarettes for himself, and extinguished the oil lamp after smoking.He lay on the straw mat on the ground with a wooden pillow under his neck, and fell asleep after a while. However, while enjoying the peace deep in his heart, the doctor pondered the mystery of existence.He was lying on the bench, relaxed physically and mentally, and if it wasn't for the comfort that brought a vague sense of happiness to his extremely relaxed soul, he wouldn't have realized how comfortable he was.In this state of freedom, his soul can look down on his body with a loving and tolerant heart-at this moment, for those friends who annoy you but still love you as before, you may also give birth to Come with respect.Now his brain is running at high speed, very clear, without the slightest languor or anxiety; when he thinks, he has a kind of confidence in his own power, as you can imagine, just like being a great physicist. While wandering in his world of symbols, his lucid thinking takes absolute, aesthetic delight.That in itself is the purpose of existence.For this he is king of all space and time, and there is nothing that cannot be solved if he wills—everything is so clear, everything is so simple.However, after knowing that you are omnipotent, it would be a bit stupid to solve existing problems now. Anyway, you can solve them anytime and anywhere, so it will be more fun.