Chapter 20

Hearing Muhammad's words, Masood also felt that Sahar, who had never been sick before, might really have a sudden illness, and it would be good to go and check on him.

"Alright, then I'll trouble Brother Muhammad," Masood said, leading Muhammad towards the village.

Behind Muhammad, Durani and Hadiem followed. They were to follow Muhammad all the way until he hid the truck and then return to the base with him.

The night was deep, the stars still shining brightly, and everything on the ground was hazy.

The houses were all low, old mud houses, just like in the remote mountain villages Muhammad had seen in the future. The local residents used local materials, making mud bricks and then stacking them to form houses, plastering the outside with mud, and using wood to build the roof, which was also plastered with mud.

Such houses would easily collapse if they encountered a heavy rainstorm.

In the big cities of Afghanistan, like Jalalabad, things were not much different from other foreign cities, but in the mountains, the differences were very obvious.

As they walked, Muhammad's mood was somewhat complicated.

Since he had already traveled back to this place, just driving away the Soviets was not enough. How to make all Afghans live a stable and prosperous life was truly helping Afghanistan!

"We're here," Masood said.

The low wall made Muhammad feel that he could jump over it with just one leap.

But now, with Masood and Hadiem, a villager, Muhammad naturally could not do that.

"Knock, knock." Hadiem went up first, knocked on the old gate, and shouted loudly, "Brother Sahar, Brother Sahar, open the door!"

There was no response inside.

"Knock, knock." Hadiem knocked again.

"Creak." Finally, there was a sound from inside, and with the creaking of the old hinges, footsteps were heard, and someone came out!

"Brother Sahar, how are you feeling? I know a bit about medicine and can take a look at you," Muhammad said.

There was another creak of the hinges, and the gate opened a crack, revealing a figure inside.

Not tall, short and thin, not at all a strong man. Looking closer, the entire body was covered in a piece of clothing, even the face was wrapped tightly.

Muhammad knew that this clothing was called a burqa, a traditional Afghan women's garment with a history of over a hundred years. A long robe covered the woman from head to toe, like a person in a cocoon.

Before the Soviet invasion, Afghanistan was not as strictly controlled, and women, though not as open as in the West, were similar to women in Eastern countries. However, this was the case in big cities, while in many villages, women were still very traditional and conservative.

Now, the woman in front of him was a conservative one.

"Sahar is already asleep, Elder, Hadiem, come back tomorrow," the woman said.

"Sorry, since he's asleep, let Brother Sahar continue to sleep," Muhammad said. "Elder, Durani, Hadiem, let's go."

Masood looked at Muhammad's back, feeling a bit strange. This trip tonight was too meaningless.

After walking a few steps and turning a corner on the narrow village dirt road, Muhammad suddenly stopped.

"Elder Masood, I'm very sorry, but I need to break into Sahar's house to see if Sahar is really at home," Muhammad said.

Hearing Muhammad's words, the others looked at him with surprise.

"Instructor, this is not right. Brother Sahar is the son of the former village chief of Gost, and his wife is at home. Breaking in at this hour of the night is very inappropriate," Hadiem said, stopping Muhammad before Masood could speak.

Although you are the instructor, you can't do whatever you want. It's right to visit Sahar when he is sick, but since his wife said he was asleep, you shouldn't disturb him. Now, not only are you disturbing him, but you are also breaking in, which would make you the enemy of the whole village. Even though Hadiem was a guerrilla fighter, he stood firmly on the side of the village.

Masood, however, said nothing. He knew that if Muhammad said this, he must have his reasons.

Sure enough, Muhammad said something even more surprising: "I suspect that Sahar is not at home at all. He has run out to inform the Soviets."

Although during the entire Afghan War, most Afghans were on the side of the guerrillas, opposing the Soviet invasion and bravely resisting, making the Soviets fall into a people's war, there were always traitors and scoundrels. Some Afghans stood on the side of the Soviets, acting as spies, leaking information about the Afghan guerrillas, and some even sat in Soviet armed helicopters, directing attacks on the guerrillas' hiding places.

Although there were fewer of these people, even one in your midst could pose a great threat.

So, Muhammad was determined to err on the side of caution. Sahar's illness was too convenient, and Masood's casual words had raised his suspicions. The fact that Sahar's wife opened the door after knocking further confirmed his suspicions.

It was already late at night. If Sahar had already gone to bed, his wife should have been asleep too. Do Afghans sleep in their clothes? That's impossible!

After Hadiem knocked, Muhammad listened carefully and heard no sound of someone getting dressed. Then the door opened, and the woman came out to open it!

Even if Sahar was asleep, his wife wouldn't open the door in the middle of the night. The woman's quick response suggested she hadn't been sleeping and was waiting in the house!

Waiting for what? Clearly, she knew her husband had run out and was waiting for him to return! And her attempt to cover up suggested she knew what her husband was doing!

Since the woman was completely covered in a burqa, Muhammad couldn't see her eyes, but her voice was clearly nervous and forced.

Sahar had too many suspicious points. Now, all that was needed was to go in and see to uncover the truth!

If Muhammad knew where Sahar lived, he would have gone in himself. But now, with the village elder and Hadiem by his side, he knew he had to inform them first.

Muhammad's words made Hadiem's face change: "Brother Sahar, a traitor? Impossible, impossible!"

"Whether it's possible or not, we'll know once we go in," Muhammad said, seeing that Masood still hadn't spoken, and started walking back.

"Instructor, no," Hadiem followed, thinking that the instructor's actions were very inappropriate for Gost village, and he had to stop him!

Unfortunately, the instructor ran like the wind, and in the starlight, he saw the instructor kick the low wall with his right leg, grab it with both hands, and jump into the yard.

"Bang!" Hadiem heard a sound, and it was bad. The instructor really kicked open Sahar's door.

At the same time, Hadiem hesitated. The instructor was so violent that the next moment, Sahar's wife would probably scream, and the whole village would hear and come to help Sahar, beating the instructor. If the instructor fought back, it would lead to a bigger conflict.

What should he do?

Hadiem stood outside, unsure whether to go in. After a while, he heard no screams from inside.

What was going on?

Behind him, Elder Masood and Durani also came. Durani was still uneasy. The instructor always acted on his own, and this time, he directly broke into someone's house. If this got out, would people say the instructor was trying to steal a woman? That would be a very serious crime here.

Elder Masood's face showed disappointment as he said to Hadiem, "Let's go in through the door."

"No need," a voice came from inside, and Muhammad had already come out.

"Go, explain to the elder," they heard Muhammad talking to someone else.

This person was undoubtedly Sahar's wife. Now, all three knew that Sahar was probably not inside.

Muhammad jumped over the wall into the yard, kicked open the door, and in the old room, there was only Sahar's wife trembling on the broken bed.

The Sahar trusted by the villagers of Gost was definitely a problem!

"Dana, what's going on? Didn't you say Sahar was asleep? Wasn't he sick?" Seeing Muhammad bring Sahar's wife out, Hadiem immediately asked.

Dana didn't speak, her head lowered under the burqa, silent.

"Dana, you know that the village hates traitors very much. If you don't speak, you will share Sahar's crime," Elder Masood finally spoke, his words forceful and authoritative.

Masood was now certain that Sahar was a traitor. In fact, when Muhammad first said Sahar was a traitor, he had already thought back to a few months ago when Sahar had gone out of the mountains and returned three days later. After that, he became interested in the guerrillas' information, often visiting Aga and Hadiem's homes to ask questions.

At the time, Masood hadn't thought much of it, but now, with Muhammad's words, he connected the dots.

So, although Hadiem tried to stop Muhammad from breaking into Sahar's house, Masood didn't stop him.

Now, he only hoped that Dana would reveal Sahar's whereabouts. Otherwise, Dana would also be a traitor.