43 Sticky Fingers, Chu Ye

 

There was no star in the sky, only a sharp crescent moon. According to Chinese astrology, this celestial arrangement meant great misfortune. The tomb mentioned by Wei Er soon appeared before our eyes. Someone had chiselled a square hole into the ground, the hole was just large enough for a person to squeeze through. I wasn’t that familiar with scales of Chinese tombs but the little knowledge I had told me that the scale of this tomb was not small, and it should be made up from many individual pockets of underground chambers instead of one big one.

Looking down the hole, we saw nothing but darkness, it was the same even after Zhao Mingkun shone her flashlight down it. We did however notice small holes chipped into the wall, they were there to aid with climbing. This was a base the grave robbers had made for themselves, if not for the message from Wei Er, we wouldn’t be able to find this place.

I shared a look with Zhao Mingkun. The latter licked around her lips. “Time to go down. I’ll go first, follow behind me.” Then Zhao Mingkun tossed over a dagger. The sharp dagger twirled several times in the air. I didn’t dare to reach for it. I only bent over to pick it up when it landed on the ground. Zhao Mingkun shook her head before she crawled into the hole. I followed. The tunnel reached underground at a sharp 45 degree. The small indentations in the wall were there for people to find purchase. The tunnel stretched for about 30 metres downwards. This appeared like a big tomb, one which belonged to either the rich or the royal, now I understood where they got the gunny sack full of funereal wares.

The end of the tunnel was a tomb chamber that was about several cubic metres in size. A coffin was placed there and the lid had been pushed open. There was no body inside, instead there were only piles of rotten clothes. This was most likely an apparel tomb. There was a rounded stone door to the right, there was no telling where it led. I shone my flashlight around and discovered small drops of blood that led all the way to the stone door.

“There are signs of a fight.” I told Zhao Mingkun, “It has turned bloody.” Zhao Mingkun pushed open the stone door. “Stick close to me.” There was a dark corridor behind the stone door, it probably led to the tomb’s main chamber. We followed the blood trail until the corridor split into 3 forks. The flashlight was not powerful enough to light the whole way down either of the forks. The blood trail led down the left fork. We didn’t know the layout of the tomb so we decided to follow the only trail we had for now. Zhao Mingkun waved at me and signaled for me to follow her. The left fork ended at another side chamber with another coffin. The blood trail ended beside the coffin. The lid was closed firmly over the coffin. Had the bleeding person gone hiding inside the coffin?

Holding the dagger in one hand, my other hand carefully moved the lid away. A man’s figure slowly appeared before us. Looking through the gap, I realized the man’s apparel was very familiar, it was Qian San’s clothes. I shoved the lid to the side and Qian San was revealed before us. Before I could even react, Qian San’s dagger flew towards me. I already retreated as fast as I could but I was still too late. Just as the dagger was about to puncture my neck, a hand materialized before me. After I calmed down, I noticed it was Zhao Mingkun who had grabbed Qian San by his wrist. I broke out in cold sweats. If Zhao Mingkun was a second slower, I’d be dead already.

I glanced beyond the tip of the dagger and saw that there was a gash on Qian San’s stomach, the blood trail had come from that. Qian San’s blood was pooling inside the coffin. If he didn’t have medical treatment soon, Qian San was going to die.

“Why is it you guys?” Qian San took us in and asked weakly.

“Wei Er told us to come rescue him. He said there is a traitor among the 4 of you and told us to trust no one.” I said. Qian San laughed and blood leaked out from his mouth, “Don’t you ever believe Wei Er, that bastard. If you ask me, he’s the most suspicious one.”

“What really happened?” I asked. “What are you guys so afraid of?” With his hands over his stomach, Qian San told us the story intermittently. The six of them studied under the same grave robbing master. Their master, Chu Ye was given the title, the Sticky Fingers because the old master had a famed pair of hands. He was able to dig through holes with his bare hands and also perform mesmerizing dagger play with them. Chu Ye separated from his wife a long time ago and the only daughter they had was no help to heal the marriage. They lived their lives separate from each other and Chu Ye had never taken a part in his daughter’s life. Chu Ye found himself a mistress, one who was young enough to be his daughter. The woman had no name so Chu Ye called him Xiao Mei. Apparently, the girl was an abandoned baby. The reason for abandonment was simple, she had 6 toes. This was nothing serious, a simple surgery could fix it. But her biological family was not going to waste the money on a girl.

Chu Ye rescued the girl and the girl eventually grew to become his wife. When Qian San and Qian Er started their apprenticeship, Chu Ye was 40 and Chu Mei 20. 20 years old, it was the most beautiful period in a woman’s life. Qian San heard from Big Egg that when Xiao Mei was 15, Chu Ye made her his woman. Qian San noticed as time went on, Chu Ye became more aged but Chu Mei grew into her youth and beauty. Be it face or body, Xiao Mei was perfect. The celebrities on the television paled in comparison to Xiao Mei. Especially Xiao Mei’s pair of eyes, there was a sense of seductiveness and sexiness in them. Whenever Xiao Mei turned to him, Qian San felt the urge to do her. The sky was bluer and the grass greener because of her.

At the time, Qian Er and Qian San were 26 years old, their master was 40 but their master’s wife was 20. In the day, Xiao Mei attended school like other girls but at night, Xiao Mei was Chu Ye’s child bride. Every night, Qian San would get hard thinking about it. Qian San had many women in his life, but none of them held a candle to Xiao Mei. He told Qian Er, “One day, I’ll have a taste of this girlie. Her face is so small, and cute, I would lick all over it. I wonder when will I have that chance, do you think she’ll favor me?” Qian Er scratched his balding head. He chuckled. “Look in the mirror. Baldness signifies a bad liver. A man like you wouldn’t be able to satisfy a fox like Xiao Mei. So stop thinking about that.”

“Don’t tell me it hasn’t crossed your mind, big brother.” Qian San shot back.

“It has.” Qian Er said, “But instead of fantasizing about the woman, I spent my time thinking about how to eliminate the problems in the way.”

Half a year later, Ol’ Six joined the apprenticeship. There were 6 disciples then. The first brother disciple, Big Egg; the second brother disciple, Wei Er; the third brother disciple, Little Three; the fourth brother disciple, Qian Er; the fifth brother disciple, Qian San; the last brother disciple, Ol’ Six.

To have Xiao Mei, their master must die.

5 years ago, it was time for Chu Ye to celebrate his 42nd birthday. This was the best timing to make their move. Xiao Mei was away at university so she wasn’t there to celebrate Chu Ye’s birthday. Chu Ye lifted the alcohol bottle. “Today there’s no woman to nag us, we shall drink until we collapse!”

“As the eldest,” Big Egg stood up, “I’ll be the first to wish master a long life, one as permanent as the great pine.”

“I wish our master endless wealth.” “I wish our master a happy life.”

The six brothers gave their master their best blessing. Chu Ye was glad. “Ha ha, Big Egg has followed me since he was a child, Wei Er has been with me for about 10 years already, Qian Er and Qian San about 2 years, only Ol’ Six is new to the family. I do not have any son so I have treated all of you as my own. I do not know anything else but grave-robbing tricks. As my children, you will inherit everything I know about the industry.”

“Master, come, let’s drink!” The students urged. That night Chu Ye drank until he couldn’t move on his own anymore. The students went to carry him until they dropped him on the ground. Big Egg sat on Chu Ye’s body and tightened his hands around the old man’s neck. The other brothers rushed forward to detain Chu Ye’s extremities.

“Ol’ Six, you’re the youngest here. Give him the final blow.” His older brothers shouted at Ol’ Six who was stunned. Qian Er used 2 years to confirm that all of his disciple brothers were lusting after their master’s wife as well. The only one whom he had not read was Ol’ Six but everyone present understood that if Ol’ Six refused to help, he’d be the next to follow Chu Ye. Furthermore, Ol’ Six had just joined them for half a year, what kind of closeness would he share with Chu Ye? On top of that, Ol’ Six would get the chance to enjoy himself when they got their hands on Xiao Mei. Now that 5 of them had made their moves, they were waiting on Ol’ Six. If Ol’ Six joined them, all six of them would truly be bound forever. Be it revenge from Chu Ye’s friends or attention from the police, all 6 of them were responsible and no one was going to escape unscathed.

“Move!” Qian Er shouted. Ol’ Six walked over dumbly and took out the dagger his master gave him. The blade shook in Ol’ Six’s trembling hands.

Chu Ye woke up from his stupor then but he was too weak to struggle loose from his students’ constraint. “You bunch of ingrates! Fine, kill me then! I’m the one who taught each of you how to use the dagger! Show me your skill, make me proud!”

As he said that, Ol’ Six plunged the dagger right into the old man’s chest. The others took out their daggers and stabbed their master too. They all aimed at the vitals, each of them was the killer.

“Someone will take revenge for me.” That was the last thing Chu Ye said, “You’ve betrayed me now, one day, you’ll betray each other.”