34 Courtesy Call

 

“Could that be a ghost?” I whispered under my breath. Even though Guan Zhenglin was scared as well, she said confidently, “I am a firm atheist, there is no ghost in this world. Even though I have no idea how a dead woman’s lips can move and sing, we will get down to the bottom of it.” A dead woman on a palanquin? That was clearly related to Minghun. This aligned with the goal of our current trip so naturally it was something we needed to investigate. However, crashing the ‘wedding’ would startle the enemy and expose ourselves. That was why we needed a cover and why we brought Doggie Wang Er with us.

Speaking of which, just like wuxia novels, grave-robbing had its own sects as well. In China, it was split into two great factions, the Northern Sect and the Southern Sect. The easiest way to differentiate them was through their grave robbing technique. The Northern Sect had more focus on the skilled force, like where to start the hole, and the famous Luo Yang shovel was invented by Lee Yazi from the Northern Sect. In contrast, the Southern Sect was more focused on skilled technique, and was famed for their 4 techniques, look, listen, question and feel the pulse, they were best at finding tombs.

This development in sects was mostly thanks to the geographical difference in China. The northern region had less rainfall so the soil was harder and more compact. Most of the tombs didn’t employ brick but instead were constructed 100 percent out of packed soil. Therefore with a push of the Luo Yang Shovel, an experienced grave robber could tell how deep the grave was and where one should open the hole. That was called skilled force.

The Chinese southern region though had more rainfall. That made the soil looser and thus the southern tombs employed more black bricks. Luo Yang Shovel was pointless if it knocked against bricks so the southern sect rarely employed Luo Yong Shovel but relied more on their techniques.

Doggie Wang Er was a follower of the northern sect. However, be it southern sect or northern sect, they had their own sect rules. Every line of work had their own rules to follow, grave-robbing was no different.

Since I had taken the disguise of a grave robber, then naturally I had to follow the rules and began by announcing myself to the grave robbers’ leader at this place. For one, it was the proper way to induct myself into the local grave-robbing community and for another, it would give me an easier time to find work.

The wedding procession slowly moved away until it disappeared from sight.

“Alright.” I planted myself by the roadside and pulled out three tea cups from my backpack. The cups had no tea, only tea leaves. I arranged the cups in a row before me.

“What are you doing?” Guan Zhenglin looked at me with confusion. I looked around and was relieved to find there was no one around. “Just keep your mouth zipped. Remember your disguise.” I whispered. “Understood?” It was noon and the sun was high above us. The heat was unbearable. Guan Zhenglin found a shady spot under a nearby tree while Doggie Wang Er laid down beside me, lolling his tongue. Occasionally people would pass and some would stop to even take pictures of us. However, I ignored them and just sat there quietly. As the day moved on, there were more and more pedestrians, I had attracted quite a crowd.

“Brother, what are you doing?” Someone asked. I didn’t answer. Someone answered for me. “He’s probably some kind of artist. I hear walking art is a hype these days. He’s probably from one of the big cities.”

“Then why has he come to Ba Jia Zi District?” Someone asked, “Is he here to arrange a Minghun?”

“Shush,” Someone warned. I frowned. Finally a middle-aged man squatted down before me. “The tea is not good tea but the cups are good cups.” The middle-aged man commented without looking at me but at the 3 cups. Someone laughed in the crowd, “How are those good cups? They are all chipped and damaged.”

This middle-aged man was the person I was looking for. I observed the man, he was casually dressed and had cotton shoes on his feet. His skin was tan, clearly he constantly labored under the sun.

“Good cups, good tea but unfortunately, no water.” I replied slowly. The middle-aged man nodded. He passed 10 RMB to a nearby child and ordered, “Go get me a bottle of mineral water, the change is yours.” The child accepted the money happily and soon returned with the bottle of water.

“Then let me supply you with some water.” The middle-aged man said as he twisted open the cap. He moved to pour the water into the cup on my left. I instantly reached out to stop him while my other hand turned the left cup upside down. “I can’t afford the tea in that cup, so don’t waste your water.” Seeing that, the man’s expression softened. He smiled. “Then I believe young brother is going to have to settle with the tea in the right cup. Understood. Here.” I shook my head and similarly turned the right cup over. There was only the cup in the middle left but the middle-aged man did not move to pour water for me.

“Doggie, tell him.” I patted Doggie Wang Er beside me. Doggie Wang Er yawned lazily. “Number 2, Wang Mazi, Qing Cheng.” The middle-aged man studied Doggie Wang Er, hesitated and then came to his decision. He poured the water into my cup and then picked up the cup. Seeing that, I was cheered. He took a sip of the tea and then placed it back on the ground upside down. “Good tea. Brother, looks like appearance can be deceiving. You and I are both tea connoisseurs, how about we find a different place to discuss the art of tea further?”  I stood up, called after Guan Zhenglin and moved to follow behind the middle-aged man.

“See, I told you they’re a walking art troupe. The man is still in his dog character!” Someone exclaimed from behind us. “You might be right but what about the tea and tea cups? What tea is it anyway?” Another voice asked.

Naturally we weren’t a performing walking art troupe but instead I was observing the courtesy call culture in the grave-robbing business. I placed 3 cups, all of them had tea leaves but no water. This specified my identity as a grave-robber. The meaning was that I heard there was a community of grave robbers here so I made this courtesy call to announce myself as I arrived at this foreign territory. The middle-aged man had to be a fellow grave-robber to be able to answer my courtesy call.

Our conversation was part of the underground language too.

“The tea is not good tea but the cups are good cups.” The cups represented the business of grave-robbing while the tea leaves represented myself who was inside the business. It meant that there was indeed a grave robber’s community here but they did not welcome me.

“Good cups, good tea but unfortunately, no water.” The meaning was I am very good in this business, you might not have heard of me because I am new to this place.

Then, it moved onto the symbolic pouring of water. The 3 cups represented 3 meanings as well. The cup on the left meant that I plan to take over this territory, and I will be your new boss, if you’re unwilling, then move. This was a clear taunt. If water was added to this cup, then there would be conflict, or even death. However, I turned the cup around, I wasn’t here for that purpose. It was why the middle-aged man sighed in relief. He then moved to fill the cup on the right. The right cup meant that I was just passing through. I might take a look around and then leave, I would not create any trouble for the local community. But I turned that cup over as well. That left only the middle cup. The meaning of the middle cup was, I hoped to interact with the local community. I had fallen on hard times and came here seeking help.

That placed the middle-aged man in a hard spot. If he poured the water, it meant that he agreed to help me, but if he didn’t, it would show a lack of face to me. To help simplify his decision, I had Doggie Wang Er reveal his sect history, it meant that if we had the chance to rise again, we would definitely repay the locals for their helping hand. In the end, the middle-aged man poured the water.

We walked along a small path. The middle-aged man looked at me and said, “Those in the business call me Brother Wei Er. If you don’t mind, you can call me that too.”

I nodded and said, “You can call me Little Wu, this is my wife and the man crawling on the ground is Doggie Wang Er.” Wei Er glanced at Doggie Wang Er and asked with confusion, “What happened to Brother Wang Er? Why is he crawling on the ground like a dog?”

I smiled and then said, “This is my younger brother disciple. He was trapped inside a grave for 3 days during one of our commissions and was eventually rescued by a dog. He had been like this ever since then. My master complained about his uselessness and chased him out. Out of sympathy, I took him under my wings after I finished my apprenticeship. He might look strange,” I whispered to Wei Er, “But he has an extremely sensitive nose. He’s very useful for the business. Master probably didn’t know that he had abandoned a walking money making machine. Am I right, good doggie?”

Doggie Wang Er nodded and then licked my hand. He huffed. “Yes, I’m the best doggie in the world.”

Seeing the state Doggie Wang Er was in, Wei Er sighed, “Brother Wu is a man of deep empathy. I did know of Qing Cheng’s Wang Mazi but I heard that the old master passed away several years ago.” I nodded. “Yes, I’ve been working on my own since Ol’ Wang departed for the heavens.”

Wei Er asked, “But how did Little Brother Wu end up in this state that you need to seek help with us?”

I gave a long sigh. “It’s a long story. Essentially, there are some troubles at Qing Cheng and temporarily I can’t return. I heard from Ol’ Zhang that someone can help me here, so here I am.”

“Ol’ Zhang?” Wei Er stopped to look at me. “Zhang Xueyou?”

I nodded. “What is your relationship with Zhang Xueyou?” Wei Er led me down an overgrown path. I looked around and then answered, “I’m not that familiar with the guy but I’ve been recommended to him several times.”

Wei Er nodded. Then we came to a large iron door. Wei Er knocked on it with his own Morse code, long long short short short.

Soon, the door was opened from inside. “Brother Wei Er, you’re back?” A friendly face asked.

“Yes, let’s get in.” Wei Er glanced back at the alley. “Let me make some introduction. This is Little Brother Wu and his team.”