WOOY Chapter 5

Chang Dong returned to the hotel first.

Over the past two days, his mind had cooled down, and he wasn’t in a hurry to report to Ye Liuxi: she had traveled all the way to Xi’an to watch his shadow puppet show three times, carrying a magazine with his “scandal” and holding a strange photo of Kong Yang.

She must have something to ask of him, but she was being deliberately mysterious. He didn’t want to be led by the nose; after all, the matter of collecting the bodies had been delayed by 2 years already, so there was no need to rush.

Just as he was about to enter his room, he saw an “erotic service card” tucked under the door. He bent down, picked it up and threw it in the trash can.  

It was still early for bed, so Chang Dong opened his theater box and took out a piece of polished cowhide to carve shadow puppets.

He laid out his chisels on the table; just for the patterns, he needed round, half-round, plum blossom, V-shaped, and star-shaped chisels. As he pushed the knife through the leather, the mantra for the facial features seemed to echo in his ears—

Willow-leaf eyebrows, almond eyes, a tiny cherry mouth…

It is said that shadow puppetry originated in the Han Dynasty. Emperor Wu of Han missed his deceased concubine, Lady Li, so a magician set up an altar to summon her spirit. At night, they lit candles and set up a curtain. Emperor Wu could only observe from behind the curtain, seeing the shadow of what seemed to be Lady Li cast on the fabric by the flickering candlelight.

This practice spread among the common folk, becoming shadow puppetry.

Lady Li died, Emperor Wu died, the magician died, but shadow puppetry lived on and still existed today.

Most things in this world, whether tangible or intangible, outlive people, making human life seem rather insignificant.

 

As he continued carving, Chang Dong’s fingers grew stiff from the cold. The temperature kept dropping at night, and the air conditioning wasn’t effective, even at its highest setting. He cupped his hands to his mouth and blew on them, then rubbed them together. His eyes suddenly fell on the p0rnographic card in the trash can.

So beautiful, isn’t it just a hooker?

 

Chang Dong leaned over and picked up the card. After pausing for a while, he took out his mobile phone and dialed the number on it.

 

The person who answered the phone looked like a professional customer service person and asked: “What style do you want, sir? Thin or plump? Pure or sexy? We can filter it first to avoid you being dissatisfied.”

 

Chang Dong pondered：“Thin, pure……or sexy……”

He couldn’t figure out what type Ye Liuxi was. She was like a pendulum, sometimes swinging left, sometimes right, but it was all a disguise. She couldn’t hide the demonic aura about her.

——

 

The lady who appeared was called Sunny. 

She was in the hotel’s neighboring card room watching her friends play cards when she got the assignment call. She grabbed her handbag and ran.

After entering the elevator, she took out a small mirror to apply lipstick, pursued her lips and applied powder. When she got to the door, she unbuttoned two buttons of her shirt, revealing pink lace. 

She finally pressed the doorbell, putting on a professional smile.

When the door opened, she was taken aback for a moment.

Chang Dong said, “Come in.”

Sunny walked in and glanced at the coffee table in the living room. A row of more than a dozen chisels shone coldly. Her heart skipped a beat and she became even more panicked.

She was used to seeing all kinds of customers with big bellies, bald heads, and bad breath. When she met someone like Chang Dong, she didn’t feel like she had won a big lottery. The seniors taught her earnestly: “Will young and handsome men be short of women? ” The more people look like this, the more perverted they are: handsome, clean-looking, gloomy, not in a hurry after calling for service, some with special interests…”

It was late at night, Chang Dong was wearing a black baseball cap that buried the upper half of his face in shadows.

Sunny swallowed. A few days ago, her boss had organized for them to watch a movie about a pervert who kills prostitutes, in order to remind them to be more vigilant- she had nightmares after watching it and it was inevitable that she still felt paranoid. 

She was a little hesitant: “Should I… take a shower first?”

Chang Dong sat down on the sofa: “It’s 300 yuan to spend the night, how much do I need to pay for just a chat?” 

Sunny quickly thought about it：“The price is the same since you are taking up my time for the night.”

 

Chang Dong took out three one-hundred yuan bills from his wallet and placed a teacup on them. “I just got here and want to open a shop. I’m not familiar with the area, so I’m looking for someone in the industry to chat with and get some information.”

“I see,” Sunny breathed a sigh of relief and sat down on the sofa opposite him. “Boss, it’s not that I want to discourage you, but if you’re thinking of opening a place like ours, you don’t stand a chance. You can’t get a foot in the door.”

Chang Dong remained calm. “Go ahead and tell me more.”

Since it wasn’t a business secret, Sunny began to talk incessantly, albeit without any structure, saying whatever came to mind.

“In this town, this kind of business isn’t done independently. It’s basically monopolized by two groups. The local women can’t bring themselves to do this, so all the girls come from other places. They stick together by region—the southern and northern factions—and each group has a big boss at the top.”

The southern and northern factions originally had conflicts, but when another group tried to intervene, it prompted the two factions to unite and drive out the outsiders. Afterward, the two groups started dividing the territory and delineating their areas of influence. Sunny was from the southern faction. The hotel where Chang Dong was staying was the southern faction`s for the week and next week, starting tomorrow, it would be for the other faction.

As she talked, she began to complain.

“You have no idea how tough this job is. We work night and day, our skin gets bad from staying up late and wearing makeup all the time. Look at my face—I’m only 22, but without makeup, my complexion is sallow and people say I look like I’m in my thirties…”

Chang Dong responded with a grunt. He just listened without speaking, and Sunny keep talking, which was quite exhausting.

She racked her brains, talking about anything remotely related: “Most of us work shifts that start late at night. Walking home at night is quite dangerous. Last year, several of my friends were followed by a pervert who had a face-like a mask…”

Chang Dong looked a bit interested: “A masked face?”

Sunny gestured to show him: “It’s like a soft piece of leather covering the face, with only the eyes and nose showing. It’s so scary. Luckily, nothing serious happened… Later, we were given more transportation money, and we hired cars to pick us up and drop us off, 10 yuan per trip…”

Chang Dong asked, “Do you know someone named Ye Liuxi?”

Sunny looked confused. Her friends all had English pseudonyms, like Mary, Amanda, and Kelly. She had never heard of Ye Liuxi—this name sounded like a real name. Who would use their real name in this line of work? If the news got back home, it would be so embarrassing.

Chang Dong prompted her: “During the day, she sells melons at the street corner.”

Sunny suddenly understood: “Oh, her! I’ve never spoken to her. She often hangs out with the girls from the northern faction, so she must be with them.”

Sunny was smart: “So, after all this, you just wanted to inquire about her. Tomorrow, the people distributing ads here will be from that faction. You can ask them.”

By revealing this, Sunny made Chang Dong lose interest in digging into Ye Liuxi’s background.

As long as she could lead him to Kong Yang’s remains, it didn’t matter if she sold melons, worked as a call girl, or even if she was male or female. None of that actually mattered.

 

——

Chang Dong had a good sleep. In his dream, a strong sandstorm arose, with streams of sand like golden mist rolling over the asphalt of the Taklamakan Desert Highway[mfn]photo 1 below[/mfn]. Clusters of red willows anchored the yellow sand, forming mounds several meters high.

There were no people, no changes, no sounds in the dream.

For him, such a dream was a good one.

When he woke up, it was already noon, and Chang Dong went directly to find Ye Liuxi.

She had just finished a round of work and was eating a melon she had cut herself. As she lowered her head to take a bite, she saw a shadow approaching.

Ye Liuxi put down the melon in her hand, casually wiped her mouth, and raised her eyebrows slightly. “Buying a melon?”

She didn’t recognize him at first glance.

Chang Dong stood still, the sunlight warming one side of his face.

Ye Liuxi squinted at him. Her eyes naturally had a slight upward tilt at the corners, making her gaze always seem full of mischievous thoughts, but her smile was very disarming. Nine out of ten people would think she was harmless.

Upon recognizing him, her smile took on a different meaning. She even started by complimenting him: “Not pretending to be an old man anymore? You look quite handsome now.”

As she said this, she pulled out a canvas stool from the car, patted the dust off the fabric, and tossed it over.

Chang Dong caught it with one hand but didn’t sit down. With the other hand, he pulled out that photo from his pocket.

Ye Liuxi sneered: “Getting straight to the point, huh? Not even exchanging pleasantries. I was going to cut you a slice of melon.”

As she spoke, she pinched the photo between her fingers, twisting her wrist so that the photo’s front faced Chang Dong. “You don’t suspect that this photo is fake?”

Chang Dong replied, “Women’s intuition is very accurate. I wanted to propose to Kong Yang, didn’t tell her, but she guessed it and specifically bought a new outfit for the occasion.”

“That night, in the tent at the camp, she put on that outfit for the first time and asked me if it looked good. I didn’t have time to give my opinion before I heard the wind chimes clattering outside.”

The wind chimes were actually glass bottles. When camping, they would string a straight rope and hang the bottles at intervals—they were fun to hang and also served as wind indicators. The glass bottles had weight, and for them to make such a loud noise, it had to be a strong wind.

He had just lifted the tent flap when he saw the “goose head” of the Goose Head Sand Dune severed by the sandstorm, dissolving into a mist of sand in the night.

Kong Yang’s new dress, a crimson gown, was worn for the first and last time and became her funeral dress. There was no time to take any photos, but like her wild hair, it seemed to float in the wind of this photo, mingling with the sandy winds of the Yadan landforms[mfn]photo 2[/mfn].

Ye Liuxi was satisfied with the answer: “Second question, where is the Yadan in the photo?”

The word “Yadan” actually comes from Uyghur and means “steep hills.” This type of landform is widespread in the northwest, with some areas becoming well-known landmarks. For example, the Sanzhou Sand Dunes west of Dunhuang are called the Devil’s City; Urho near Karamay is known as the Wind City[mfn]photo 3[/mfn]; and the area near Shule River is called the Human Head Mound City.

There are also less famous ones, varying in size. Sometimes, while off-roading, a small patch might suddenly appear by the roadside, and that too is a Yadan.

“So, which Yadan is it?”

Chang Dong said, “Dragon City.”

“How can you tell?”

Chang Dong pointed to the photo. “The soil here is rich in salt and alkali, with gypsum mud[mfn]CaSO4.2H20[/mfn] , which makes it grayer and whiter compared to other Yadans. On sunny days, it glistens like scales, which is why ancient people called this place Bailongdui[mfn]photo 4[/mfn], and now it’s often grouped with Dragon City, all called Dragon City Yadan.”

Ye Liuxi pressed him further, “Why can’t this gray-white color be frost or snow?”

“Snow would cover a large area, not like what’s shown in the photo; frost is a water vapor that condenses, appearing around sunrise. The photo is taken at noon, with such strong sunlight, the frost would have melted by then.”

Ye Liuxi said, “Oh…”

Her voice was drawn out, clearly satisfied with his answer. She then turned, picked up the watermelon knife, and swiftly cut a slice from the half melon.

The golden-yellow flesh was juicy, with a fresh melon fragrance.

Ye Liuxi handed the slice to him: “You take me to Dragon City, and I’ll help you find Kong Yang’s body.”

It wasn’t a negotiable tone. Chang Dong glanced at it but didn’t take it.

Ye Liuxi smiled gently, her tone soft yet firm: “It’s not hard to find a guide into Lop Nor, but you won’t find another person who knows where Kong Yang’s body is.”

Chang Dong still didn’t take it: “What’s the deal with the photo? Goose Head Sand Dune[mfn] the place of the accident [/mfn]is far from Bailongdui[mfn]the place where Kong Yang`s body supposedly is [/mfn]. How did the body get there? And how could it be embedded in the clay?”

Ye Liuxi grew impatient: “How would I know? I’ll just help you find her. You just act as my guide—take it or leave it.”

Before she finished speaking, she flipped her hand, and the piece of melon fell straight down.

 

photo 1

photo 2

photo 3 – Wind city

photo 4- Bailongdui