At a quarter past Mao hour(5:00 AM to 7:00 AM), as a faint blue light began to spread across the sky, Xiao Bang Chui pushed open the wooden gate. Her first action was to glance towards the wooden cabin to the east—the cloth tied to the door remained undisturbed, indicating that her master had once again been out all night, likely drinking and gambling somewhere.
She sighed, shaking her head as she went to draw water from the earthen well behind the courtyard.
Summer days dawned early, and soon sunlight pierced through the white mist in the forest, scattering across the small courtyard. The yard wasn’t large, with three wooden cabins in a row, surrounded by a fence. Behind the yard were a few small fields, haphazardly planted with radishes and vegetables. Beside them was an earthen well, its pulley attached to two wooden buckets, currently occupied by several larks chirping incessantly.
Xiao Bang Chui, small and weak, took half a day to lift one bucket of water, wobbling back and forth several times to fill the water vat. Previously, her master had done this task, but one day he had brought her to the well, compared her height to it, and said, “Xiao Bang Chui, you’re taller than this well now. From now on, you’ll be in charge of fetching water.”
Sigh, taller than the well—was she six then? Or seven? Never mind, her master had always been a disrespectful old man; she was long used to it.
There wasn’t much to eat in the house. Xiao Bang Chui rummaged through the kitchen for a while before finding two nearly dried-out sweet potatoes. She dragged a bamboo chair to sit in front of the door, peeling and nibbling on it.
As daylight grew stronger, the birds in the forest began to stir, chirping back and forth. The forest breeze was cool and damp—it was a pleasant morning. If she could forget about her chaotic and careless master, it might be even more enjoyable.
Anyone could guess that the little silver they had managed to earn last month had probably been gambled away by her master. His luck was always terrible, yet he was particularly fond of gambling. The master and disciple pair spent more than half the year wandering from place to place, putting on shows and deceiving people to earn money. But due to his drinking and gambling, they always lived hand to mouth, never able to afford new clothes or good food. She was ten years old now, still wearing the robes her master had altered for her years ago, covered in patches. She didn’t know how to mend them if they tore any further.
Her master liked to call himself a living immortal. He had learned some miscellaneous magic tricks from somewhere and often used the pretext of vanquishing demons and evil spirits to deceive people, carelessly drawing a few talismans and claiming to exorcise filth. When she was younger, he didn’t take her along, but when she turned five and could speak fluently, she began to accompany him in his deceptions. He would pretend to be a great immortal, and she would play the role of his herb-gathering child; he would pose as an enlightened master, and she would act as a young Taoist acolyte. Over the years, they had traveled far and wide, with days spent at home being few and far between.
After finishing the two sweet potatoes, Xiao Bang Chui still felt hungry. Recently, perhaps due to another growth spurt, she always felt unsatisfied. But with no other cooked food in the house, she could only pat her half-full stomach and go water the radishes and vegetables, while also loosening the soil.
As soon as her hoe hit the ground, a large black centipede scurried out of the soil in panic. Xiao Bang Chui was reminded of the centipede demon they had subdued in Cloud City last month. Being a monster, it was hundreds of times larger than an ordinary centipede, standing taller than a person when upright, and could even spew black smoke. Her master had to throw ten cinnabar talismans before finally eliminating it.
Come to think of it, her master did have some real skills. Occasionally, he could subdue some small troublemaking demons, like last month’s centipede demon. But there weren’t that many mischievous demons in the world, so to make a living, they mostly resorted to deceiving people.
Xiao Bang Chui took out a few yellow talismans from her bosom, already inscribed with spells in cinnabar. Imitating her master’s posture, she focused her mind and energy, then threw the talismans with a whoosh—only for them to be blown away by the wind as soon as they left her hand. Still not working, she shook her head.
Over the years, she had been learning magic from her master. Supposedly, one needed to harness the five elements’ spiritual energy from heaven and earth, so that the talismans could be shot steadily and stick to the demons to subdue them. She had never been able to sense any spiritual energy. No matter how she meditated or concentrated, she couldn’t experience what it felt like for spiritual energy to enter her body.
Perhaps, as her master said, she had no talent and couldn’t make a living in this line of work.
But if she couldn’t learn magic, what would she do in the future? Her master was getting old, and unlike others who lived in bustling towns, they resided in this house deep in the mountains to avoid trouble due to their deceptive practices. If her master passed away one day, how would she make a living? Would she just stay in these deep mountains, growing vegetables and living alone?
Sigh, although there were many people in this world, only the master and disciple pair relied on each other.
It wasn’t appropriate to think about such gloomy matters early in the morning. Xiao Bang Chui rolled up her sleeves. She was still hungry, so she decided to dig up a few radishes to cook and eat.
Just as she turned around, she heard slow footsteps outside the yard, followed by the pungent smell of tobacco. Her master returned with a beaming face, puffing on his pipe with a broad smile.
“…Master, you’re back.” Xiao Bang Chui looked at him expressionlessly, her voice cold.
“Aiya, as soon as I return, I see this girl with a face like a corpse,” her master said, looking particularly cheerful as he lounged in his favorite old rattan chair, his mouth unable to stop smiling. “A little girl who doesn’t smile or play, always with a stern face, it’s annoying to look at. Never mind, I had good luck today and won a lot. Your master won’t hold it against you.”
As he spoke, he pulled out an oil paper package from his patched, oversized sleeve and tossed it to her. “I bought you a new set of clothes. Quick, change, and let your master see.”
Xiao Bang Chui was finally shocked. Her master bought new clothes? For her? Even the stones in the yard knew how stingy her master was. He never admitted to winning money, let alone buying new clothes. In the past ten years, he hadn’t even bought her a piece of candy.
Was she dreaming? She secretly pinched herself.
“I buy you new clothes and you do not react? Not even a ‘thank you, master’?” Her master tapped his pipe on a stone, very dissatisfied.
“This… this…” She hesitated, looking down at her skirt, then up at her master, back and forth several times. Finally, she asked suspiciously, “Are you sure these are for me? Master, are you drunk? Do you remember what my name is?”
“Xiao Bang Chui,” her master exhaled a puff of smoke, quite impatient. “Just put it on, why so much fuss?”
The oilpaper package in her hands felt oddly heavy. She slowly unwrapped it to reveal a pink silk dress, made of fine satin with orchids embroidered on the hem. It was exquisite—the kind of pretty clothes she could only glimpse from afar before, now lying in her hands.
A silk dress… and pink… She had never worn girls’ clothes in her ten years of life, let alone something so beautiful and delicate. Holding the dress in her hands, turning it over and over, she couldn’t figure out how to put it on. The dress seemed beautiful, but completely unlike anything she should wear.
“Hurry up and put it on!” her master urged impatiently.
Xiao Bang Chui let out a long sigh and was about to take off her old, patched-up clothes without a word when her master struck her forehead with his pipe. “You’re a girl! You’re ten years old and still acting like a wild boy? Go change in your room!”
Wearing the dress made her feel completely different, as if she was no longer Xiao Bang Chui, but had transformed into Middle Bang Chui or Big Bang Chui. Xiao Bang Chui lifted the overly long skirt, unable to walk properly. The new clothes were very large, with the skirt covering her feet. She carefully lifted it and pushed open the wooden door to walk out.
“I’ve changed,” she said. The skirt was so light and airy—how was she supposed to work and do chores in this? Wouldn’t it get dirty?
Her master looked at her intently, then burst into laughter. “You’re still a wild boy even in a dress! Thick-skinned, bushy-browed, and dark-faced—when will you ever look like a girl?”
Xiao Bang Chui touched her head. Her hair was tied up like a boy’s for convenience, but it probably looked quite ridiculous with the silk dress. She remembered the beautifully dressed little girls she had seen in town before, with flowers in their hair, colorful beads dangling from their ears, and wooden-soled shoes filled with fragrant powder. They walked with graceful, swaying steps as if they were from a different world.
“Why did you suddenly decide to buy me a dress?” she couldn’t help but ask.
Her master smiled and said, “I thought about how you’re already ten years old, quite grown up now. It’s time to buy you some things for girls. Ah, time flies so fast. In the blink of an eye, it’s been ten years. Back then, when I picked you up from the river, your little face wasn’t even half the size of my palm. Now look at you, all lively and active.”
Huh? Xiao Bang Chui was stunned for a moment, looking at her master’s enthusiastic face in astonishment. This was the first time he had mentioned her background. He had only said before that she was picked up, but it turns out she was abandoned in a river.
Her master seemed to be in a talkative mood today. Puffing on his pipe, he went on, “It was the river down the mountain. Early one morning, I was hurrying to get talismans and cinnabar when I saw you floating down from upstream, wrapped in a swaddling cloth. There was no letter or token with you, and your umbilical cord seemed to have just been cut. I thought some heartless family upstream had abandoned their newborn child. I carried you, asking around all the way, but never found out anything. You were so tiny then, not even crying when hungry. When I first brought you home, you were quite adorable with clear eyes, but who knew that as you grew up with me, your features would become more and more like mine. I thought, perhaps we were destined to be together, so I kept you and raised you myself.”
As he spoke, he watched Xiao Bang Chui’s expression. She showed no reaction at all as if listening to someone else’s story, completely unmoved. This child was always like this at home. When she played the role of a young Taoist acolyte outside, she was so obedient, talkative, and smiling. Why did she become so withdrawn at home? Could it be that she only smiled and talked when deceiving people?
“Well, Xiao Bang Chui…” her master cleared his throat, “Don’t you have any questions about your background?”