CH 20

As Lu Nianqi wiped away his tears, his expression became stubborn again. He clenched a corner of his shirt and began to fiddle with it, avoiding eye contact with Xue Xian and Xuanmin. He looked over at the tiny lick of flame in the hearth and said in a melancholy voice, "Around half a month ago, Lu Shijiu said to me that he was taking a trip to Gravestone Island [a] on the river..."

The section of the river that ran through Wolong County was largely shallow and narrow, with a weak current and a smattering of islets here and there. The islets were so minuscule that, had Lu brothers built their chicken-hut compound on one of them, even they would have felt cramped. The islets nurtured long, fine fields of cogongrass, and mainly served as resting spots for nautical birds.

All except one, which was far larger –– large enough to be considered an island.

That island hosted a wild patch of forest whose tree branches tangled together to create the sense, from afar, of a large green mantou, or a gravestone. The locals called it ‘Mantou Island’ or ‘Gravestone Island’. 

Most people did not like going near Gravestone Island. Indeed, there was nothing there except for wild grass and trees –– it was barren and dark, and not inviting at all. The only ones who set foot on Gravestone Island were pharmacists and their errand boys. Apparently, the wild soil on the island was incredibly fertile and moist, an excellent spot for medicinal herbs to spontaneously sprout.

Lu Shijiu had thus been two or three times.

On a bright morning around half a month ago, Lu Nianqi had awoken to find a note on the side of the bed. Lu Shijiu did not know how to use a brush, and when he wrote, he always simply dipped his finger directly into the inkwell, so his handwriting was thick and easy to read. There had been only one line of crooked writing on the note: Taking a trip to Gravestone Island.

Just as external observers had noticed, the Lu brothers didn't have a good relationship. Lu Nianqi was a prickly child with a bad temper who was difficult to handle, and Lu Shijiu was an eccentric, aloof mystic who spoke as little as possible. It was not at all strange for him to disappear and leave only a note.

Thus, Lu Nianqi had not given it another thought. He had gotten up to cook his meal and collect firewood, doing all his usual chores while waiting for Lu Shijiu to return.

Then, night had fallen, bringing with it a sprinkle of rain. There had still been no sign of Shijiu.

"I finally went to the river port, but the boatmen there said the rain was too heavy, so they refused to get in the water. They said they saw Shijiu get onto Liu-laotou's [b] awning boat, and that Liu-laotou hadn't come back, either, that they were probably staying there to shelter from the rain." Though Lu Nianqi was young, he spoke clearly and intelligently. "I thought I could see some dim lantern light on the island, and that they really were waiting for the rain to stop. So I came back home. But then––"

But then the storm had gone on for three days, flooding the river. Every day, Lu Nianqi would go to the river port to check that the lantern light was still on and wait impatiently for the rain to stop. With some loose change, he had even gone to hire a boatman to take him to Gravestone Island, but they had seen no sign of Lu Shijiu, nor of Liu-laotou.

"I searched the whole island, but I couldn't find him. I did hear him once," Lu Nianqi said. "But when I called back to him, he didn't respond."

Over time, Lu Nianqi had searched the island six or seven times, but had never been able to find Lu Shijiu. A few days ago, a dark whirlpool had appeared in the waters near Gravestone Island, and two boats in a row had capsized there. Now, the boatmen refused to go, no matter how much Nianqi asked. 

Even stranger, Lu Nianqi had begun to hear sounds of someone scratching the door every morning and at midnight. At first, he'd thought that Shijiu had come back, and had hurried to open the door, only to find nobody on the other side. He’d walked around the neighborhood but found nothing, and by the time he’d returned, someone had searched through the chest of things in his room.

"Inside had been all of our savings: four chains of coins. It was all gone! Not a single penny left! How was I supposed to hire boatmen now?" As Nianqi recalled the incident, his hairs stood on end like a terrified stray dog.

Xue Xian clicked his tongue. "So that's why you poured water all over us when we tried to knock. What kind of motherfucker [c] robs an eight-year-old? But just because someone stole four chains of coins from you doesn't mean you can just go ahead and take my golden marble. What logic is that? You should be grateful I'm physically indisposed at the moment, or else I would've strung you up and dunked you in the water."

"Who's the eight-year-old?" Lu Nianqi retorted, his face crimson. 

“You!" Xue Xian snapped. "Who else?"

"I'm fifteen!" Lu Nianqi shouted, furious. "I was ill as a child and it stunted my growth. It's rude to try to guess someone's age based on their appearance." 

Xue Xian was baffled. Ultimately, though, he didn't care how old or how tall the short-tempered kid was. He wanted to know whether Lu Shijiu was still alive.

Clearly, he was not the only one with that question.

Xuanmin raised his arm. With a swat of his sleeve, the weak flame in the hearth died, leaving a pile of green ash and smoke. Then, he reached over and took Xue Xian and Jiang Shining down from the magnolia branch. The two thin paper men had been baked dry, and were safe and well.

The only issue? Their ink had run.

Jiang Shining transformed back into his flesh-and-blood human form. The two dark circles under his eyes had become far more prominent and now covered half of his face. He looked terminally ill, perhaps only a day away from death. Poor Xue Xian couldn't even become human –– there was no point, as he still could not walk. The runny ink was even more obvious on his tiny face, where it dribbled out of the corners of his eyes like snot.

Before, he had only been ‘a sight for sore eyes’. Now, he looked like he was bleeding from every orifice.

It was… horrifying. 

Xuanmin took one look at Xue Xian and immediately shoved him back into the pouch. There was a numb, resigned look to his face, as though he wished he were able to wash out his eyeballs.

Lu Nianqi saw that the icy monk was getting ready to leave. He couldn't help but demand, "Where are you going?" 

"River," Xuanmin said.

Lu Nianqi leapt up and rushed over anxiously. "Are you going to look for Lu Shijiu? Can you take me with you? I'm coming too!"

"Do what you want," Xuanmin replied without so much as a look at the child. Taking sweeping steps again, he began to walk toward the river port.

It had been a few days since Xue Xian had last resided in Xuanmin's pouch. Upon his return, Xue Xian discovered that there were now new things inside. Aside from his precious marble and the small pouch of needles, there were also all sorts of miscellaneous items. Xue Xian felt around in the dark and picked one up, then took a bite...

Silver pieces; money –– and quite a lot of it. Where had the money come from? 

The river port was suffocated by snow and fog. A few boats bobbed up and down by the shore. The boatmen were probably all huddled inside the awning boats, away from the uncanny chill.

Xuanmin rattled the copper coin pendant on his hip. Some boatmen stuck their heads out of their awnings and one of them said in a bored tone, "Too much fog. We can't cross the river. Come back later."

"We are not crossing." Xuanmin pointed at the center of the river. "We are going to Gravestone Island."

The boatmen shook their heads and retreated into their awnings. Only one sympathetic-looking boatman remained, and explained, "A whirlpool has appeared near the island recently and it's wrecked a couple of boats. You're not a local, are you, young shifu? Whatever it is you want to do, take my advice and find some other place to do it. No boatman here will take you."

Xuanmin listened calmly as he spoke, then said, "How much would it cost to hire just the boat?" 

The boatman stared at him, stunned.

Customers often wanted to rent the beautiful sight-seeing cruisers, but rarely did anyone ask for a shabby awning boat. Besides, such boats were narrow and difficult to manoeuvre. Without a boatman on board, ordinary people found it impossible to control the boat.

"I––" The boatman stammered, confused.

The audacious Xue Xian felt around the pouch for two silver pieces and nudged them out of the pouch opening.

Xuanmin: “...”

Xuanmin extended his hand and allowed the niezhang to push the money into his palm, then shoved the niezhang’s claws back inside the pouch. Without delay, Xuanmin handed the boatman the silver.

Back inside the pouch, Xue Xian did not rest. He began to slap Xuanmin's hip and said, feigning seriousness, "It's inconvenient for me to reach for my own wallet at the moment. Don't worry, bald donkey, I won't take advantage of you. I'll pay you back double!"

Xuanmin pretended that he did not exist.

The boatman did not even need to look at the silver –– just from the weight, he knew that it was a large amount. Awkwardly, he said, "I don't need all that."

But Xuanmin's face was too intimidating. It was even colder than the snowflakes that blew erratically across all of their faces. The boatman saw that Xuanmin did not plan on changing his mind, so he gracelessly exited the boat and helped Xuanmin and his companions on. Still skeptical, he asked, "Do you really know how to work the boat?"

Lu Nianqi had the same unease as the boatman, but he was afraid that if he pursued that line of questioning, Xuanmin would suddenly decide not to go anymore. So, although Lu Nianqi’s expression was one of confusion, and he gazed anxiously and suspiciously at Xuanmin and Jiang Shining, he obediently boarded the boat anyway.

Before Xuanmin boarded, he absent-mindedly tore a reed from the bank.

Lu Nianqi watched, puzzled, as Xuanmin then took a folded-up yellow piece of paper from his robes and stuck it onto the side of the boat. Xuanmin said, "Move the boat," then let one end of the reed fall into the water. Immediately, the little awning boat purred and began to splash the water. As Xuanmin gently shook the reed, the boat obediently changed direction and shot toward Gravestone Island.

Nianqi gaped at that familiar yellow paper for a bit. He realised that this had been the same paper that Xuanmin had taped to his face earlier. Do you only have one trick?

Despite the talisman driving the boat and the reed controlling the direction, Xue Xian still didn't fully trust Xuanmin. He hung out of the pouch and stared intently at the reed in the monk's hand, refusing to tear his eyes away. 

After a while, he couldn't help but ask, "Why are you looking for Lu Shijiu? Do you also want him to inspect an object and use it to track someone down?"

Before Xuanmin had the chance to respond, there came a sudden scream from Lu Nianqi.    

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[a] The Chinese is 坟头岛 (fen2 tou2 dao3), “grave stone island”. I have decided to keep the translated name for this location because it’s an informal river islet whose ‘name’ is really a description of its gravestone-like shape, and it feels more confusing to call it Fentou Island: the meaning of the name is highly significant to its nature. See “Burial Mounds” vs. “Luanzang Gang” in MDZS. 

[b] Laotou: see glossary.

[c] The Chinese insult here is 祖坟 (zu3 fen2), literally “ancestor’s grave”.