Outside the door, an endless expanse of white sand. The small river in front flows forward, and looking upstream along the river, there are continuous snow-capped mountains, with alternating shades of green and white. The sky is hazy gray. Alice regrets not drawing a sun just now. It seems that every moment now feels like the time between sunset and nightfall. The only bright color in front of her is the chestnut-colored horse by the river. It seems that she can only rely on this horse to cross the river.
Alice walks towards the horse and sees that it has completely submerged its head in the water, standing there motionless.
"Little Red Horse, what's wrong with you? Are you running a fever?"
The little red horse doesn't move.
"Are you drinking water then?"
The little red horse still doesn't respond.
"Then you must be cleaning your ears, right? Little Red Horse."
As Alice says this, she pats the horse's back. This time, the little red horse reacts and lifts its head out of the water, letting out a loud snort.
"I'm called Mr. Horse, tell me about your problem."
"Mr. Horse, what are you doing?"
"I'm washing my brain."
"Why do you take your brain out to wash it?"
"Because this way, I can apply the results of my observations to my brain. That way, my brain knows how to observe."
"But..."
"I know what you're going to ask. After doing this, what remains in my brain are only partially correct things, which are the twisted manifestations of the correct things."
"Although I don't know what you're avoiding, what I want to ask is, won't you catch a cold like this?"
"Of course not, I've done this over a hundred times, and in all those times, I never caught a cold. If I catch a cold next time, I will revise the truth that truth doesn't catch a cold to truth also catches a cold."
"So, can truth tell me if I can also put my head in the water without catching a cold?"
"Of course you can, but you need to learn two things. The first is to learn how to hold your breath, and the second is to be brave enough, not afraid of the cold, and not afraid to open your eyes. If you can do these two things, you will see a new world."
"Alright, Mr. Horse. Although I'm afraid of holding my breath and opening my eyes underwater, and I'm afraid of catching a cold, when I think about being able to see the world under the water, it doesn't seem so scary anymore."
As Alice speaks, she quickly takes off her scarf, folds it neatly, and places it on the riverbank. She takes off her bracelet, ties up her hair, closes her eyes, exhales three breaths, then opens her eyes wide and takes a deep breath. She bends down and puts her head in the water. The water is not very fast. She gently pulls her hair downstream, opens her eyes wide, and her eyes feel a bit sore. After closing and opening her eyes several times reflexively, her vision becomes slightly clearer. The white sand at the bottom of the river sways gently, much like the dust flying in the sunlight. Several shiny dark red stones jump with the sunlight. When she turns her head to look into the distance, she can only see a blurry image. She can hear a muffled gurgling sound in her ears. The outside world seems to become distant and elusive, and time seems to stretch longer than the falling of autumn leaves. Alice feels that she is about to run out of oxygen and quickly lifts her head out of the water.
The chestnut horse sees Alice with her head in the water and quickly hands her the scarf to dry her hair. Alice hurriedly stops its action and then asks the chestnut horse to lie down. She hangs her wet hair on the horse's mane, leans against its back, looks up at the sky, and lets the gentle breeze blow on her cheeks.
"Mr. Horse, I have a question for you. A hamster said that after playing here for a few days, it has to go back and fall into a well. What should I do?"
"A hamster? A silver fox hamster?" The chestnut horse seems surprised, then continues speaking to itself, "Maybe you don't understand yet, but it doesn't matter. Talking about that well is actually talking about how to fall, and it's about the meaning of our presence here. Every day, people run to the sea to find answers, but I don't like it when people on the other side of the sea treat falling as a personal matter, as a tool or a basis..."
"But when I fall, I will be the only one, there will be no one accompanying me, and the hamster told me that in the end, I will still have to go back there alone."
"Being alone and being with a group of people are two different things, but everyone also experiences falling. However, they are in different wells. Falling is the same, but it's also two different things."
"Then, don't you feel lonely and afraid when you fall into a well that is long and dark?"
"Talking about that well is also talking about the meaning of my presence here. If I could stay here indefinitely, I wouldn't want to. That's also two different things."
"Mr. Horse, you just mentioned that many people go to the other side of the sea to find answers. Can you take me there? I'm afraid of that well, and I'm also afraid of falling."
"Of course, I would be happy to go with you. I want to find the universal light of society and spread my views to everyone at the seaside, so that everyone can break free from the illusion of Candy Mountain and the Jam River and live their own lives!"
"I don't know about Candy Mountain, I only know about Flower Fruit Mountain. In the fairy tales of our kingdom, there is a large group of monkeys there, among them is the tallest and mightiest one called the Monkey King, and there is also a Dutch pig named Piggy without Restraint..."
"Wait a minute," the chestnut horse interrupts Alice, "A monkey has actually come here."
Alice stands up and looks, a golden monkey squats not far away, looking at them. "When did you come? I didn't draw you in the painting just now."
"Of course, I came when you were looking up at the sky. Before I appeared at the foot of the distant mountain, during the time when I walked alone along the river, there was a clear time or intuitive time when your friend had already seen or discovered me. Maybe in order not to disturb the drying process of your hair, or to not interrupt your conversation, he informed you of my arrival through a visual representation or judgment. More accurately, it should be a mixed representation..."
"So, what's your name?" Alice is a bit impatient, wondering if people outside the palace speak in such a strange way.
"Kang Kang."
"This answer is so short, Kang Kang?" Alice asks with a smile.
"There is no judgment in this answer. I am Kang Kang, and Kang Kang is me." Kang Kang touches his monkey cheek and says seriously.
"Kang Kang, why did you come to us? The two of us are planning to cross the river, maybe go to the seaside or to other vast places." The chestnut horse says to Kang Kang.
"I also want to cross the river to find some tools to study knowledge."
"Then let's go! If we meet your good friends from the painting, I will be especially happy."
Alice says, standing up and tidying her black hair. She unfolds the red scarf and ties it around the chestnut horse's neck, making a knot on its mane. She takes two steps back and carefully observes the chestnut horse. "Mr. Horse, with my scarf on, you look like a majestic general gazing into the distance."
"Come on, both of you can ride on my back," says the chestnut horse, lying down with its hind hooves and facing Kang Kang with its front hooves. Its posture with its head held high is like a general commanding ten thousand horses.
But at this moment, Kang Kang doesn't look so calm. He seems hesitant and unwilling.
"What's wrong, Kang Kang? Don't worry, Mr. Horse is strong enough to carry all of us. Come on up," Alice asks with concern, riding on the horse's back.
"Mr. Horse, can you swim?" Kang Kang looks up and asks.
"No, I can't."
"Have you ever carried two people or two monkeys, like me, across the river?"
"No, I haven't."
"So, have you examined whether you have the ability to cross the river before crossing?"
"No, I haven't."
"In other words, you still don't know if you have the ability to cross the river?"
"That's right, I don't know."
"Then how can you cross the river?"
When the little red horse hears this, it seems to snort from its nose. It lowers its head and asks, "Kang Kang, can you swim?"
"No, I can't."
Alice seems to feel that when Kang Kang said this, he secretly glanced at her, and then quickly raised his face towards the chestnut horse.
Alice doesn't know what's happening, but her face feels a bit hot. She turns her head and says to the chestnut horse, "I can swim, though."
The chestnut horse says, "Then Alice, tell me, did you put your head in the water after learning how to swim?"
"Of course not. My swimming teacher took me to swim in the swimming pool in front of my mother's house."
"Then let's go? Kang Kang," the chestnut horse looks at Kang Kang, who is silent.
Alice says, "Don't be afraid. You can sit behind me. I'll hold onto my scarf, and you can hold onto my waist tightly. We won't fall. If you fall, I will definitely jump in to save you."
So the three of them set off. When they reached the center of the river, the water became deep and fast. The water was already above the horse's legs. Kang Kang held onto Alice tightly, pressing his face against her back. Alice felt a bit breathless from being squeezed by Kang Kang, and she felt Kang Kang's body trembling more and more. She held onto the horse's neck tightly, turned her head, and said loudly, "Don't be afraid, we're almost at the other side." The water churned, and the stones at the bottom of the river made a thunderous sound. Alice didn't know if Kang Kang heard it or not. But the chestnut horse had already noticed, and after lifting its head and letting out a loud snort, it started singing a song.
This was a song that Alice had never heard before since she turned twelve. She couldn't understand the lyrics. It didn't sound like English or German, but it could be a dialect from Scotland or Danish. The melody sounded deep, majestic, and mournful, as if it contained a particularly passionate and moving emotion. Alice felt that the song gave her courage and strength, making her want to fight against all difficulties.
The song soothed Kang Kang, and the little red horse found balance in the rushing water. They walked faster and steadier. In less than five minutes, the three of them stepped onto the green grass on the other side. The scent of the soil was fragrant and rich, as if the soil itself had bloomed like a flower. Alice noticed that Kang Kang had already returned to his calm state.
As the three of them rested on the grass, Alice suddenly noticed that there was a school on this side of the river. The white expanse she saw on the other side was actually obscured by smog.
The school's walls were made of water-milled bricks, extending infinitely into the dense fog on both sides. It seemed that there was no other way to go except to pass through the school and go forward. Alice looked up at the plaque on the school gate, on which were written a few Chinese characters: "Excellent Comprehensive Education Science and Technology Successful Vocational University." Alice found it strange. She thought to herself, "I haven't learned Chinese, so why can I understand these characters? They look as clear as English, but why do I know that they are Chinese characters?"
Alice sat on the grass and asked her two companions, "Did you see the school over there? I don't want to go to school."
The little red horse said, "We're just passing by to take a look. If you don't think it's fun, we'll leave right away."
Alice smiled and said, "On my first day of school, my mother said the same thing to me, but I've been going to school for three years now, and it has taken up so much of my playtime."
Kang Kang said, "But this time is different. Look at the endless walls of this school. It must be a big university. How about we go inside and have an adventure?"
Alice became excited and said, "Great! That's settled. Let's go on an adventure!"
Just then, a little white mouse came out of the school gate and waved at them. The three of them walked over on the stone path. It's strange that even though the road seemed far away, Alice and her companions reached it in just a few steps, as if there was a camera pulling them over. Alice looked at the little white mouse standing at the school gate and realized that it wasn't as big as it seemed before. The little white mouse she saw earlier seemed as big as the stone lion at the gate, but up close, it was actually very small. The little white mouse was waving a stack of papers and enthusiastically beckoning them to come over. It seemed as if Alice was an old acquaintance of his from a long time ago. Alice felt a multitude of doubts in her heart. "Why did we walk so fast on this stretch of road? Why doesn't the size of the little white mouse conform to the perspective? Why do I feel like I've known him before? Is this really a school? Why is there only one stone lion at the gate?" Alice felt a bit scared, but she still walked over... Author: Wu Changxing (Translated from Chinese)