734: Chapter 726 Psychological Issues 734: Chapter 726 Psychological Issues Li Jinfang was too calm, so calm that Gao Yang was a bit afraid.
People aren’t scary when they erupt in anger after being provoked.
It’s the so-called “great sorrow without tears, great laughter without sound” that you should fear, when someone acts as if nothing happened after being stimulated.
Li Jinfang wore an expression of calm, as if Gao Yang and the others, appearing before him from thousands of miles away, were just neighbors stopping by for a visit, showing no sign of surprise.
Li Jinfang stood up from the bed, nodded to Gao Yang and his company, and said softly, “Sorry to have troubled you all to come here.”
Gao Yang had no outlet for the breath he was holding back.
He wanted to curse but couldn’t find the words, wanted to hit but couldn’t bring himself to do it, and after holding in his anger for so long, he finally asked with concern, “Are you alright?”
Li Jinfang shook his head and said, “I’m not alright, I have problems.”
Seeing how seriously Li Jinfang spoke, Frey wanted to say something but ultimately just tugged at Gao Yang’s clothes and whispered, “Boss, what should we do now?”
Gao Yang had no idea what to do and could only say with irritation to Li Jinfang, “You look pretty lucid to me.
So what are you planning to do now?”
After pondering for a moment with his head lowered, Li Jinfang raised his head and said seriously, “Brother Yang, I know it’s impossible to tell you all to leave me alone.
But out of our brotherhood, I’m begging you, I implore you, Brother Yang, let me leave.
The pain in my heart is too much to bear.
Don’t make me suffer any longer, okay?”
Gao Yang realized the problem was very serious, and though he didn’t know how to cure a mental ailment, despite realizing how severe Li Jinfang’s problem was, he couldn’t help but laugh at him.
Having been driven to a laugh by frustration, Gao Yang said loudly to Li Jinfang, “I see you’re making sense now.
Since you know what you’re saying is nonsense, fine, you tell me how to let you go, how do we leave and ignore you?
Come on, teach me how to convince the Old Russians.”
Li Jinfang let out a long sigh to the sky, clenched his fists tightly, and wore a face full of helplessness.
Gao Yang and Li Jinfang were speaking in Chinese.
Except for Eileen, no one understood, but they all felt the atmosphere wasn’t right.
At that moment, Frey urgently said to Li Jinfang, “Let’s go quickly, it’ll be trouble when the police arrive.”
Eileen also said urgently, “Toad, many things will pass.
Now is not the time to shame yourself by acting like you want to die.
Hurry up, it’s time we left.”
Glolov also said in a deep voice, “Believe me, Toad, I’ve experienced more deaths than you, many more.
Though the feelings might be different, if you’re a man, then damn it, drop that disgusting facade.”
Tommy also said with a face full of helplessness, “Toad, you’ve really disappointed me.”
Gao Yang sighed and patted Li Jinfang on the shoulder, saying, “Let’s go.
We can talk slowly, don’t linger here, it’s not good for anyone.”
Just then, a monk standing silently by suddenly struck a gong, producing a crisp sound, and in the lingering sound spoke in strangely accented Chinese, “Amitabha, benefactor, the sea of suffering is boundless, yet turning back is the shore.”
Such a scene, those words, were all too familiar to any Huaxia People, often seen in movies or TV shows.
However, when it happened in real life, it made Gao Yang feel so out of place he almost had the urge to spit blood.
Eileen, who was relatively familiar with Huaxia culture, also looked as if she’d seen a ghost, her eyes widened in shock, looking at the not-so-old monk and Li Jinfang, not knowing what to do.
The monk could speak Buddhist phrases in Chinese, but seemed unable to converse in Chinese.
After striking the gong with a small stick, the monk brought his palms together and said to Li Jinfang, “The Buddha said, there are eight sufferings in life: birth, aging, sickness, death, separation from love, enduring hatred, not getting what one seeks, and not being able to let go.
I do not know why you are so dejected, but it is certainly one of these eight sufferings.
Looking at you and listening to your conversation, it seems that you are suffering over a departed one.
If that’s the case, please remember, the departed has been born into bliss.
As the living, no matter how heartbroken, you should live properly.
Do not torment yourself because a loved one has been born into bliss; how could the departed rest in peace if you’re like this?
Amitabha.”
The monk’s words were mainly in English, mixed with some Chinese Buddhist terms, and because he spoke directly in English, his meaning was very clear.
After a long sigh, Li Jinfang turned his head to see the altar set up against the door of the small cabin and the monk standing beside it.
He walked to the altar, knelt on the cushion in front of it, kowtowed three times to an image of a Bodhisattva, then stood up and said to the monk, “Thank you for saving me.
I must leave now.”
Gao Yang and the group were all stunned, but after Li Jinfang stood up, the monk struck the gong again and began to chant quietly, his hands pressed together.
Li Jinfang limped out, and Gao Yang and the others exchanged glances before finally realizing what was happening and followed Li Jinfang outside.
As they hurried out, Eileen whispered, “Boss, is it really over just like that?”
Gao Yang forced a wry smile, “It’s not okay at all.
Toad is still holding it in.
Damn, at least that monk didn’t spout any nonsense about ‘putting down the butcher knife to become a Buddha on the spot.'”
Just then, Frey urgently said, “Boss, we haven’t thanked those few, uh, those monks, yeah, that’s the word, right?”
Frey was speaking English, but he had used the correct word.
Gao Yang stopped in his tracks and said, “It would be wrong to just leave like this, but we’re out of time now.
Frey, you go thank them first.
We’ll come back later to express our gratitude properly.”
Li Jinfang walked on with his head down, lost in strides.
After Gao Yang hurriedly instructed Frey a couple of things, he quickened his pace and caught up with Li Jinfang just as he was about to leave the courtyard, then urgently said, “Hey, what exactly are you trying to do now?
Don’t tell me you just want to wander off, with things the way they are.
Are you trying to drag us down with you until everything’s over?”
Gao Yang really didn’t want to use the word “drag down,” but given Li Jinfang’s condition, he had no choice but to speak harshly.
Indeed, upon being questioned by Gao Yang, Li Jinfang stopped with a look of bewilderment and said, “Where should I go, what should I do?”
Gao Yang said impatiently, “You wait here for me, I’ll tell you what to do.”
Glolov whispered to Gao Yang, “Toad seems normal right now, but actually, he’s no different from an idiot.”
Tommy also whispered, “The way he is now, it’s severe mental instability.
You either need to divert his attention using hatred or trigger him with grief to snap him back to reality.
It’s up to you.”
Glolov and Tommy were both veterans.
Li Jinfang’s situation was somewhat similar to soldiers who had suffered severe trauma on the battlefield leading to psychological issues, but it was not quite the same, so they too were unsure of what specifically should be done.
Glolov said softly, “Maybe letting him cry it out could help a little.”
Tommy scratched his head and said, “If this were on the battlefield, it’s sort of okay if someone who has just seen their comrade die can cry and scream about it.
What’s scary is if they don’t say a word and just charge into enemy gunfire—that’s when they’re truly insane.
Toad seems to be just like that.”
Gao Yang helplessly said, “This is a bit like Ivan in Colombia, but worse, much worse.
What can we do?
I don’t dare to shift his focus to hate, I’m afraid he might go mad again.”
Physical pain is easy to heal, but mental issues are not so simple to deal with.
If Bruce were here, he’d be out of his depth too.
At this moment, Rafael urgently said, “Let’s get out of here first.
I’ll drive.
We need to get him to a safe place.
Then, no matter what, we gotta get Toad back to normal first.
In my opinion, it’s better for him to face some hardships than to let him develop long-lasting problems.
I’m afraid if Toad doesn’t deal with this psychological trauma soon, it might lead to permanent mental issues, like post-traumatic stress disorder from the battlefield.”
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a type of psychological injury.
Although not many people get afflicted by this disorder, it certainly exists.
For some, it might get better over the years, but if it’s deep-seated, one may never fully recover in their lifetime.
Rafael’s words made Gao Yang realize the crisis.
Li Jinfang’s current state resembled the initial stages of post-traumatic stress disorder.
If handled improperly, and Li Jinfang ended up with psychological injuries like those from PTSD, it would be so much harder to recover.
Gao Yang said with resignation, “This isn’t a place we’re familiar with; many things are inappropriate to do here.
But now it seems that to prevent Toad from becoming a lunatic, it looks like we’ll have to take risks with him.”
Glolov shrugged and said, “We’re already here, let’s do it.
Can’t just watch Toad unable to live a normal life ever again.”
Rafael looked at Gao Yang curiously and said, “Psychological trauma is tricky.
Back when I was in the military, if anyone had a psychological problem, we had to get a specialist psychologist to look at them.
Boss, are you sure you can handle it?”
Gao Yang nodded and said, “I learned a little bit in Israel; they have courses on this.
Toad’s situation is actually quite simple, just that the method is a bit cruel.
Put simply, what we can do is provoke his grief and vent his anger.
The rest is up to him.”
Frey scratched his head and said, “Can you be more specific?”
Gao Yang shook his head and said, “First, we need to bring up the things that sadden Toad, let him get it all out and in great detail.
He shouldn’t keep it all bottled up inside.
The sadder the better, but don’t let him stew in it.
Once he’s grieved enough, it will be time to let him vent his anger.
How to vent, well, that doesn’t need explaining, does it?
We’ll first find a place to hide, to prevent Toad from being found by the police, and then, when Little Donnie arrives, we’ll get some guns and accompany him to find and take out the killer.
Just like that.” (To be continued.
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