“Mr. Xiao Luo is good at selling ducks!”
Ji Siying made another entry in her diary. Since she arrived at Xiao Luo’s village, her diary was now filled with entries, jotting down every minute details of Xiao Luo’s daily activities. She overlooked nothing and even noted down mundane activities such as what Xiao Luo liked to eat, or what kind of TV programs he preferred.
After noting everything she observed, she made a habit of summarizing them afterward when time allowed. Her purpose was to understand Xiao Luo’s daily habits and see if she could discover any leads or clues to unravel the secrets of his unique powers.
It would certainly have been awkward if Xiao Luo had found out that she was taking detailed records of his daily activities.
…
…
The morning was a lively affair with the crackling din of firecrackers welcoming the New Year’s Eve.
On this very morning, it was the tradition of the people from Luo Village to present their offerings at the main altar of the Seekong Shrine. Sacrificial offerings of chicken, burning of incense, setting off firecrackers, and the blare of trumpeting suona[1] horns rendered the atmosphere ever so festive.
Seekong had been a notable elder of Luo Village, having served as the village’s shaman during his time, and the Seekong Shrine was a memorial erected in his honor. And as far as village traditions went, it was equal, if not even more significant than the Xiao Clan ancestral temple.
According to local folklore, Seekong possessed mystical powers and was adept at preparing fulu talismans and divine water. It was also said that he was invulnerable to swords and spears, and would not succumb to fire or drowning. War had once broken out in the past, and after men of the Xiao clan consumed the divine water, their fighting mettle was unrivaled. Their bravery and skills in combat were enhanced while thrusting spears and slashing blades could not penetrate their bodies. The enemy became terrified and was driven into panic and disarray, fleeing in all directions. And in this way, they defended the land of Luo Village.
Seekong’s ability to prepare Fulu and divine water was passed down over the generations, and his successor was an old man by the name of Xiao Quanren. He was now Luo Village’s shaman, and it was still customary for him to be invited to every funeral and wedding in the village. To this day, even when villagers had fish bones stuck in their throat, they would request a fulu from Xiao Quanren and drink it down. Without exception, the fish bones would be dislodged upon swallowing the fulu and flushed harmlessly into the stomach.
This was not an isolated case, there had been multiple cases, and yet, none could be explained scientifically. The locals believed that the miracle was a manifestation of Seekong’s spirit.
It was because of Seekong Shrine’s long history in healing and solving the villagers’ problems that it had secured its place in their hearts.
Then there was the divine water, prepared with mountain spring water mixed with the ashes of Fulu and chicken’s blood before it was sealed for seven weeks. This sacred water was stored in a massive wooden barrel and was placed in the innermost part of the shrine. The barrel was secured with a lock, and its key was held by the old man, Xiao Quanren himself.
The divine water was as clear as the spring water it was derived from, and even gave off a refreshing fragrance. On the fifteenth day of every other month, the altar would be open to receive offerings. The shrine would be packed with people from the Village coming to consume the divine water, pray for immunity against sickness, and be blessed with longevity.
“What time will people be able to drink the divine water today?”
After learning about its unique qualities from Xiao Luo, Ji Siying was very curious and longing to try the divine water.
Xiao Luo put down his teacup and glanced at her teasingly. “You wish to drink the Divine Water as well?” he said.
“Yes, this is a long-practiced tradition here, so I would like to experience it.”
Ji Siying responded, nodding her head, then added, “Don’t you want to drink it too, Mr. Xiao?”
Xiao Luo smiled and said, “Nah, I’ve had too much of it growing up. It doesn’t have any special taste; it tastes just like plain water. But if you wish to drink it, I can take you to the altar after dinner tonight to have a look. Who knows, you might just get the chance to taste it?”
Since he had nothing to do at home anyway, taking his liaison officer to familiarize herself with the customs of Luo Village seemed like a good idea.
“Alright.”
It suddenly occurred to Ji Siying that Xiao Luo may have acquired his prowess and strength from consuming all that divine water when he was growing up. She now felt an urge to try drinking some of it herself.
At dinner, Xiao Luo’s grandmother told him that Aunt Taoxiu’s son, Xiao Ping, had returned to the village. Things had not gone very well for Xiao Ping as the clothing business that he and his wife had started had suffered losses, and they were left with nothing.
They lost their 100 thousand-dollar capital, but on top of that, they also borrowed from loan sharks to shore the business and now owed another 200 thousand dollars. Aunt Taoxiu’s family was a low-income household, and their primary source of income depended entirely on Aunt Taoxiu and her husband, Xiao Youfu, mixing cement and stacking bricks to build houses for other villagers. Xiao Ping already had the burden of caring for his three children, and the failure of his business would undoubtedly make things worse for his family.
“Ping and his family went over to Xiao Qiudong’s house earlier,” Xiao Luo’s grandmother said.
“For what reason?” asked Xiao Luo.
“To borrow money, I suppose.”
His grandmother sighed as she lamented, “They could only come up with 80 thousand dollars even after taking out all their savings. If they don’t pay off the 200 thousand dollars in the next few days, it will become 300 thousand or even 400 thousand dollars.”
Ji Siying paused, still holding her chopsticks, and asked, “Isn’t loan-sharking illegal?”
Xiao Luo answered, “Yes, it is illegal. But this is a remote mountainous area, so the authorities do not have much of a presence here. Loan-sharks flourish in a place like this.”
“Oh.”
Ji Siying nodded then continued with her dinner.
Xiao Luo’s grandfather then spoke, “Xiao Luo, our family has close ties with your Aunt Taoxiu’s family. Ping’s great-great-grandfather and your great-great-grandfather are brothers by blood. Over the years, Aunt Taoxiu has also been rather caring towards your Grandma and me. If you can help, then do so, alright?”
“Mmm, I got it, Grandpa,” Xiao Luo replied with a smile.
…
…
At precisely eight o’clock that night, the Seekong Shrine burst into life. The place was bustling with visitors amid a cacophony of gongs, drums, and cymbals being struck and the distinctive report of firecrackers being set off. A bonfire raged in front of the shrine’s entrance, adding to the mystical ambiance of the event. Many youngsters who had returned out of town joined the festivities and sounded the ox horns and conch horns. In front of the altar, incense and candles were lit, and people were kneeling in worship.
Xiao Luo and Ji Siying’s appearance immediately caught everyone’s attention.
“Xiao Luo, your girlfriend is here with you too!”
“Hurry up, get your girlfriend, and pray to Seekong together. She is going to become Luo Village’s future daughter-in-law.”
“Yes, yes!”
The crowd said excitedly.
“Alright,” Xiao Luo replied with a smile.
Under the flickering glow of the candle-lit altar, Ji Siying’s cheeks took on a scarlet shade, giving her an alluring blush like someone flushed after having several drinks. She stared at the Seekong Altar with a deep curiosity. The building itself was ancient, with its two pillars showing signs of having outlived the vicissitude of times. The rhythmic beat of gongs and cymbals filled the air, and the old shaman, Xiao Quanren, was drawing fulu symbols in the air with a burning paper talisman in his hands while reciting Taoist chants.
This was an old traditional ceremony carried out countless times over the centuries, and what she saw made her feel like she had been transported back to ancient times!
Caught up in the moment, she was most certainly unaware that many of Luo Village’s young men were ogling. Her beauty made them all somewhat envious of Xiao Luo, none more so than Xiao Qiudong. When he laid eyes on Ji Siying, he couldn’t help thinking how she resembled those female lead actresses in the movies. On the other hand, his wife, Li Honglian, had unfortunately not taken care of her looks after childbirth, and all he saw now was a grotesque and obese woman whom he kept at home. Comparing her to Ji Siying left him feeling depressed.
“Luo!”
A young man with a round, smiling face came over and gently punched Xiao Luo’s chest. He said, “Wow, Xiao Luo, you found yourself such a beautiful girlfriend.”
It was Xiao Ping. He was only two years older than Xiao Luo. However, the stress from having three children showed on his wrinkled face, adding quite a few years to his countenance.
“Ping!”
Xiao Luo greeted him. Seeing that he wasn’t looking gloomy, he assumed that Xiao Qiudong had lent him the money.
“Are you not going to introduce me to your girlfriend? You must know that all the single men in this village are envious of you,” Xiao Ping said with a smirk.
“Haha, stop teasing me.”
Xiao Luo forced a smile, in a sense wishing that it was true, but unfortunately, he and Ji Siying were merely colleagues.
He duly introduced Xiao Ping and Ji Siying.
“Miss Ji, welcome to Luo Village, and I hope you will enjoy your stay here. Let me take this opportunity to tell you that Xiao Luo is a good, honest, and dedicated man. He is without a doubt the most outstanding man in our village,” Xiao Ping said.
“A-he-hem…”
Just when Xiao Ping had finished speaking, a faint cough drew their attention. Xiao Qiudong stepped over.
~~~~~~~
Suona: Chinese double-reeded horn
~~~~~~~
Xiao Qiudong wasn’t pleased with what he had just heard, and it showed on his face. Seeing his reaction, Xiao Ping smiled awkwardly and immediately tried to salvage the situation. “But of course, Dong Dong over here is also a very outstanding man. He’s an engineer and married a lady from Taiwan. He’s well known in all the nearby villages,” he said.
“Who are you calling Dong Dong? What are you implying? Are you saying my neck is short? From now on, address me by my name: Xiao Qiudong. Call me Dong Dong again, and I’ll not give you face!” Xiao Qiudong rebuked Xiao Ping soundly.
Xiao Ping was startled, but all he could do was offer a conciliatory smile, and repeatedly nod his head and bow to Xiao Qiudong. “Oh, okay, okay.”
Xiao Qiudong’s impertinence was not lost on Xiao Luo, who quickly deduced the situation. Xiao Ping was older in age and was always like an elder brother to Xiao Qiudong. So, it was unusual that he acted so humbly like he did today and had to even keep a respectful smile on his face after being humiliated by Xiao Qiudong. How could Xiao Luo not know what was going on between them?
“Miss Ji, is it? Hello, my name is Xiao Qiudong. I’m really close to Xiao Luo–back then, when he was little, he even wore my underpants when his hadn’t dried. Speaking about that, I think we really grew up wearing the same pants, haha.” Xiao Qiudong extended his hands to Ji Siying and changed his expression immediately. Just a moment ago, he was infuriated with Xiao Ping, but in the next instant, he was flashing a charming smile on his face.
“What a phony!”
Xiao Luo thought to himself with a sigh of disgust as he just stood there, speechlessly. He just could not understand how his childhood friend had become so pretentious and overbearing. From what he had seen, there wasn’t even an ounce of sincerity in him.
As a courtesy, Ji Siying responded to the gesture and shook hands with Xiao Qiudong. She gave him a smile and said, “Nice to meet you!”
“Miss Ji, I would assume that you’re from Jiangcheng? For you to own such a luxurious car like an Alphard, I am sure your family has a net worth of over ten million or even a hundred million dollars. So, I’m very curious, what is it that made you choose Xiao Luo? This brat doesn’t belong in the same class as you,” Xiao Qiudong teased, his tone was derisive and totally out of line.
Ji Siying’s expression immediately changed as she dropped her smile. She instantly retracted her hand, and her eyes glowered with a look of hostility. How could she be oblivious to the intentions of this man who was deliberately whipping things up?
“Huh… please don’t misunderstand me, Miss Ji. I’m just curious, that’s all, haha. After all, you and Xiao Luo appear to be just like those happy-ever-after fairy tales, you know, where a princess lands up with a poor boy,” Xiao Qiudong said, chuckling heartily.
Xiao Ping scowled and keeping the tone of his voice polite, he said, “Qiudong, that isn’t a nice thing to say. It feels like you are casting a bone between Luo and Miss Ji.”
“Casting a bone? Who is doing that! I’ve already said that I’m just curious. Do you have a problem with understanding simple language, or is your brain dead?!” Xiao Qiudong turned and chastised him loudly.
The sound of gongs from within the Seekong shrine muted Xiao Qiudong’s nasty words. Otherwise, his loud voice would undoubtedly have caused everybody to look in their direction.
Xiao Ping was indignant but dared not to speak out. He clenched his fist in frustration, but he loosened up and calmed himself, not wanting to risk Xiao Qiudong going back on his words and not lending him the money. Earlier, Xiao Ping had to plead for his help and was close to getting on his knees before Xiao Qiudong finally agreed to lend him the money. At this point, he didn’t dare to provoke and upset Xiao Qiudong.
“Qiudong, do you need to be so arrogant?!” Xiao Luo said, clearly annoyed with his insolence.
“Arrogant?”
Xiao Qiudong raised his eyebrows, feigning surprise, and laughed aloud like he had just heard an excellent joke. “Xiao Luo, my good brother, exactly what did you see that gave you the impression I’m arrogant? I’ve just exerting my voice a little, but that has absolutely nothing to do with being arrogant. Isn’t that so, Ping?”
As Xiao Ping was in dire need of his help, he promptly nodded with a forced smile on his face and said, “Qiudong is right. He wasn’t arrogant. Luo, I think you are mistaken.”
“You heard him? Even your Brother Ping says you’re wrong,” Xiao Qiudong snorted, taking dubious pride in manipulating the situation.
Xiao Luo shook his head without smiling, feeling annoyed with Xiao Qiudong’s overbearing and childishness behavior.
Confidently, Xiao Qiudong now switched his gaze back to Ji Siying, and with a snicker, he said, “Miss Ji, can you satisfy my curiosity? Which part of Xiao Luo attracted you?”
Ji Siying glanced at Xiao Luo, then turning back to Xiao Qiudong, she stared him in the eyes and said, “He is exceptional!”
“Oh?” Xiao Qiudong wasn’t expecting such a response and pretended to be surprised.
Then Ji Siying added, “He’s more excellent than you, he’s better looking than you, and by the looks of it, he’s a tier above you in everything!”
Although her relationship with Xiao Luo was merely a cover, she simply couldn’t stand seeing hypocrites like Xiao Qiudong bullying others and making fun of Xiao Luo.
Her scathing response almost made Xiao Ping burst out laughing from sheer satisfaction.
The smile on Xiao Qiudong’s face froze, and his lips unconsciously drooped downwards, giving him a rather vague expression. But with his pride at stake, he laughed out loud and said, “Hahaha… what an interesting person you are, Miss Ji. There’s a phrase that goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It seems that it is true.”
Behind his rambunctious laughter, his eyes were burning with rage, as Ji Siying’s words had literally trampled on his dignity. It was immensely humiliating to Xiao Qiudong that Xiao Luo could be rated as “better than him in everything.” Deep inside, he felt the urge to call out Xiao Luo as a gigolo and nothing more than the garbage that wasn’t qualified to be compared with him. But he kept his composure and decided that he would maintain his pretense of cordiality with Xiao Luo for now.
Xiao Luo didn’t say a word but merely glanced at Ji Siying with smiling eyes. He admired her feistiness and thought to himself, “Hmm, this liaison officer is not bad, not bad at all!”
The truth was he found Ji Siying interesting. She was certainly attractive and well-limbed and had a great personality. But more importantly, his grandparents really liked her. If by chance, something were to spark between them, he would likely consider it.
The gong and drums were now struck with more urgency, expressed in a rubato, taking on a quicker tempo then slowing down repeatedly. The chanting of old man Xiao Quanren was getting faster, and so was his hand movements, scribbling with the fulu. The ceremony was coming to a climax.
All of a sudden, old man Xiao Quanren opened his eyes. His piercing, old eyes were forbidding and deterred the people from looking into them.
The sound of the drums and gong halted the moment his eyes opened. Then his old gravelly voice echoed with a dynamism that belied his age. “Spirits of blood, shower thy divinity upon us! Give the Xiao clan thy blessing, grant us health and our bodies the ability to resist all illnesses!”
All the Xiaos present stood up immediately and positioned themselves in three rows before him, gazing with deferent eyes at the Seekong altar. Old man Xiao Quanren then held up a rooster, severed its head, and drained its blood. He held his index and middle finger together, dipped them in the blood, and drew a red mark between the eyebrows of every Xiao present. He brought forth a bowl of divine water, filled from the barrel located in the innermost section of the shrine.
“Mr. Xiao Luo, are we about to drink the divine water?” Ji Siying whispered.
Xiao Luo nodded, “From between our eyebrows, we will receive the blessing from the divine water.”
“Do we need to finish it?”
“You may if you can finish it, but if you can’t, take three small sips and splash the rest on the wall. Don’t pour it on the ground,” Xiao Luo explained. These were rituals that had been instilled in him since he was a child. The divine water should never be poured onto the ground; otherwise, one would be reproached by the crowd.
“Alright.”
Ji Siying nodded her head eagerly.
“And who could this lady be?”
Old man Xiao Quanren stood in front of Ji Siying, a questioning look showing on his aged, wrinkled face.
“Wise One, she is Xiao Luo’s girlfriend,” Xiao Dizhang said.
“Who?”
Xiao Quanren was advanced in age and was hard of hearing.
Xiao Dizhang came up close to him and roared in his ears, “She is Xiao Luo’s girlfriend. She especially came to pay homage to Seekong. She will be married into the Xiao family soon.”
“Ah, Xiao Luo’s girlfriend, you are. Very good. How capable of Xiao Luo to find himself such a beautiful girlfriend.”
Old man Xiao Quanren looked at Ji Siying with a smile, extended his hands and tapped his finger between her eyebrows. The crimson blood splashed down between Ji Siying’s eyebrows like vermillion, making her look almost like a deity. “Child, as I smear this blood on your forehead, Seekong shall bless you with life-long peace. Now, drink the divine water, and Seekong will grant you a blessing to deter all illnesses!”