WOOY Chapter 8

Ye Liuxi set off from town at four in the morning. She preferred to arrive early and didn’t like making people wait.

As the car passed a dirt road, she saw groups of people either standing or squatting under the streetlights, wrapped in cotton-padded jackets, with their necks retracted to avoid the wind. Those people were from the countryside. They were waiting to go to a construction site for day labor. It was said that around five o’clock, the foreman would drive to pick people, and they would be taken away as needed. Recently, there had been less work, so they had to compete for jobs, and the queueing time had become earlier and earlier.

There was an early breakfast shop open by the roadside, selling soybean milk, steamed buns, and fried dough sticks[mfn]photo 1 below[/mfn]. Ye Liuxi went to buy a portion. As she was handing the money, they were illuminated by the light from the lamp next to the glass cover and looked almost transparent. 

They were her hard-earned money.

At 4:15, her car stopped at Qianjin Bridge. It was pitch black all around, and it was still too early for breakfast. Ye Liuxi turned on the car DVD to listen to music.

The car was several years old, and all the discs were bought by Huang Defu[mfn]the dude that gave her the car [/mfn]. Whatever Mr. Huang liked, she just went along with it, never being picky or bothering to make a fuss.

 

The recording played the sounds of drums, gongs, cymbals, and yueqin[mfn]photo 2[/mfn] in unison, with the old-style singing of “The Case of Executing Chen Shimei(opera)” Each word was drawn out, leaving one breathless—

“Bao Longtu[mfn]Northern Song official, renowned for his honesty[/mfn] sat in meditation in the court of Kaifeng[mfn]capital of Northern Song[/mfn], respectfully addressing the prince consort…”

Ye Liuxi exhaled on the car window, fogging up the stars outside, and then wiped them clean with her hand.

At 4:30, Chang Dong hadn’t arrived. Ye Liuxi got out of the car and looked back down the road, but there was no movement. The song switched to the most famous segment of “Su San Qi Jie (The ordeal of Su San),” performed in the Xipi Liushui style[mfn]its an opera style with a brisk and flowing melody [/mfn]. The singer’s voice was pinched and high-pitched, carried by the wind like a ghost wailing in the wild.

A man making a woman wait[mfn]sigh. I will try to explain the reference. The opera is about Su San. who is falsely accused of murdering someone and sentenced to death. She falls in love with a scholar. And for a while he doesn’t know about her situation so they are separated and he saves her much later.[/mfn]. What a joke.

Ye Liuxi got back in the car, the door slamming shut with a bang. She pulled out her phone and set an alarm for 5 o’clock. One should be magnanimous; her waiting limit was usually half an hour.

The car had been modified to make room for cargo and a hanging bed; the back seats were removed, leaving only the driver’s seat and the front passenger seat. Bored, Ye Liuxi hooked her legs over the back of the chair, doing inverted sit-ups.

After twenty sit-ups, her waist, abs, and thighs were sore. She hung motionless, like a bat in meditation.

The song switched to “Flee by Night[mfn]Basically about opera music and a love triangle [/mfn],” with the martial character singing, “The long night stretches… I rush through the desolate countryside… My light body does not fear the long road ahead…”

This was the last song. When it finished, the machine automatically stopped with a click, leaving the car just as silent as Chen Shimei after his execution.

……

 

At 5 o’clock, the alarm rang. Ye Liuxi dialed Chang Dong’s number, but it was turned off. She took a deep breath, thinking she should be patient: maybe something had happened.

At 6 o’clock, Ye Liuxi, wrapped in her cotton-padded jacket, looked at the eastern sky. Before sunrise, the sky would first be covered with a layer of red gauze, then the red would become more intense, like a car accident scene—either Chang Dong was injured and couldn’t move, or he was dead; otherwise, it was really hard to forgive.

As the sun rose, Ye Liuxi finished her cold soybean milk, squinted at the sun, and said, “Damn.”

 

——

 

The car re-entered the town, and the people squatting on the sides of the dirt road were gone—probably because they had found work, getting what they sought.

But what had she gained? After tossing and turning for two or three hours, all she got was a sunrise.

Ye Liuxi drove the car to the hotel where Chang Dong was staying.

Ye Liuxi wanted to check if Chang Dong had checked out and when, but the front desk refused, looking righteous with a “we protect our guests’ privacy” stance. Ye Liuxi didn’t waste any more words with them and went straight to the elevator.

As the elevator door was about to close, someone outside called, “Hey, excuse me, wait a moment.”

Ye Liuxi pressed the open button. The person eagerly stepped in, turned to say thank you, but his smile suddenly froze on his face.

Fei Tang.

Ye Liuxi stared at him. “Is Chang Dong still staying here?”

Fei Tang said, “Yes…yes.”

He was a bit afraid of her. That night, she had dragged him out of the car by his neck, reminding him of the scenes from his childhood when pigs were being slaughtered.

Ye Liuxi’s gaze fell on the bag he was holding.

Fei Tang proactively explained, “Soybean…soybean pudding, breakfast for Dong Ge.”

Ye Liuxi replied, “Oh.”

Fetty Tang got goosebumps from her “oh.” The elevator was small, and with her breathing next to him, he felt very uncomfortable and thought that time was passing too slowly.

Finally, they reached the third floor, and he still had to let her leave the elevator first.

Ye Liuxi extended her hand toward him, “Give me the soybean pudding.”

It didn’t matter who brought it to Chang Dong. Fei Tang quickly handed over the bag. Ye Liuxi hooked it with her finger, and as they passed a trash can, she let go of the bag, dropping the soybean pudding perfectly into the bin.

Fei Tang stopped in his tracks, deciding not to follow her: the morning air was good, he might as well take a walk.

——

The door was ajar, and Ye Liuxi pushed it open only to find Chang Dong in the bathroom, brushing his teeth- his mouth full of toothpaste foam. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her enter. He rinsed his mouth, and wiped the corners with a towel.

As he came out, Ye Liuxi leaned against one side of the door frame, lifting her leg to rest on the center of the other side.

Chang Dong looked up at her, and she gave a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Chang Dong, shouldn’t a person be punctual?”

Chang Dong nodded. “Then shouldn’t a person be honest?”

“What do you mean?”

“That photo, did you really take it? Did you really go to Dragon City?”

After speaking, he tapped her knee with his finger. “Put it down.”

As if driven by some mysterious force, Ye Liuxi instinctively complied.

Chang Dong bypassed her and went into the living room to pour some water. Ye Liuxi followed, her brow slightly furrowed. “Is there some kind of misunderstanding?”

 

Chang Dong sat down on the sofa and pushed a piece of paper over.

It was the map of Dragon City he had drawn yesterday. Ye Liuxi felt uneasy: did she get the direction wrong?

Sure enough, Chang Dong pointed to the beacon tower’s location. “In this map, I deliberately drew something wrong. There is no beacon tower.”

Ye Liuxi’s mind raced, her eyes sincere. “The shapes of the yardangs are varied and bizarre. It’s not surprising to describe one as a beacon tower. Besides, I was indicating the general direction…”

“Alright, point it out again.”

Ye Liuxi hesitated for a moment, suspecting that Chang Dong was trying to trick her.

If she changed the location, it would mean falling into his trap: pointing one place yesterday and another today would show she didn’t really know the direction.

It was just that there was no beacon tower.

So she pointed to the same spot again: “It’s right here.”

Chang Dong was silent for a while and then said, “Pretty smart, huh?”

Ye Liuxi gave a sweet smile, but it didn’t last—

“…It’s the first time I’ve seen someone so audacious. At least do some homework; don’t you even have time to look up some information online?”

He picked up a pen and crossed out the marker on the map. “There’s no gas barrel marker in Dragon City.”

Then, one by one, he crossed out the other locations. “No hundred-meter ditch filled with camel skeletons, no southeast-northwest crossing line. The shape of Dragon City is not a slanted triangle… Have I made myself clear enough?”

“Got it, damn you.”

Ye Liuxi sat down on the sofa and smiled apologetically. “This is my fault, I’m really sorry, I didn’t do it on purpose… So, how do you want to resolve this?”

Admitting it so straightforwardly, and smiling so beautifully, there’s truth in the saying “one doesn’t hit a smiling face”—even knowing she’s full of lies, it was hard to get angry.

If he continued to be unreasonable, she would sincerely say, “Chang Dong, I’ve already apologized. What more do you want? Why are you being so serious about this?”

Chang Dong spread out the photo. “I already know Kong Yang is in Dragon City, but you don’t know the exact location. In other words, I don’t need you.”

“I can go by myself. At worst, I’ll stay in Korla and go into Dragon City periodically, searching area by area. Dragon City covers 3,500 square kilometers. Searching for a year or two should be enough.”

“So, tell me, why should I take you along?”

Ye Liuxi said, “Actually, this thing…”

Chang Dong interrupted her, “Let me remind you, a person who lies once can be given a second chance; but a person who lies twice can never be trusted again.”

Ye Liuxi sighed, “The reason I didn’t tell the truth is because you wouldn’t believe it…”

Chang Dong said, “Do you think many people would believe that someone is embedded in a mound of yellow earth in a no-man’s land? I believed that, so what can’t I believe?”

Ye Liuxi changed her tone again, “That’s not the main point, the main point is…”

She lowered her voice and spoke earnestly, “I was afraid it would scare you.”

She was truly the most annoying woman he has ever encountered.

Chang Dong lost his patience and pointed to the door. “If I hear one more word of nonsense from you, just one word, you’re out of there…”

“Four thirty in the afternoon, at Qianjin Bridge. Be there or be square. I promise you’ll know everything you want to know. See you in the afternoon.”

 

……

 

To show her sincere attitude, she closed the door gently, the latch making a soft click, showing her thoughtfulness.

However, she didn’t leave immediately. She stood at the door for a second or two, her fingers curled inward, nails scratching across the door’s surface with a faint screech.

 

——

In the late afternoon, around five o’clock, Chang Dong made a cup of instant noodles. Fei Tang eagerly came over, insisting on adding a sausage to it.

To find the cheapest four-wheel drive off-road vehicle, he racked his brains. Finally, for a monthly rental fee of two thousand yuan, he booked an old Jeep online. The owner bought it for just over thirty thousand as a second-hand car, but had a knack for appearances: the body was painted in camouflage, a military shovel was strapped across the spare tire, and a pole with a pirate flag was mounted at the front.

Fei Tang himself thought it was like putting green onions in a pig’s nose[mfn]idiom for “meaningless”[/mfn], but to his surprise, Chang Dong glanced at it and actually approved.

He was really grateful so he showed concern for every matter, concerning Chang Dong—

“Dong Ge, didn’t you say you had an appointment with that woman tonight? What time?”

Chang Dong twirled the noodles with a plastic fork. “Four thirty.”

 

“Four… thirty…” Fei Tang checked the time on his phone. “Hey, Dong Ge, it’s already past that time.”

“She won’t be punctual.”

After all, he had made her wait for nearly three hours earlier.

After finishing the noodles, Fei Tang eagerly took the soup bowl out to throw away, explaining that although there was a trash can inside, it would make the room stuffy.

When he returned to the room, he saw Chang Dong opening a tool chest and picking out a shiny chisel, which he tucked into his sleeve.

The chisel was like a pen, with a beveled edge. When carving leather, a dull blade is the worst, so the knife must be sharp—Chang Dong often sharpened his knives. Fei Tang had seen this so much in the past few days that he even dreamed about it, once dreaming of the blade sliding across his own throat, the arc of the blood spraying particularly beautifully.

Chang Dong looked up and saw Fei Tang staring, so he explained.

“For self-defense, in case she tries to kill me.”

Fei Tang laughed awkwardly, “Dong Ge, what a joke… We live in a society governed by law…”

But his laughter faded.

He remembered the night he was caught red-handed, Ye Liuxi holding a knife, the blade reflecting in her eyes as she leaned in.

——

Ye Liuxi was indeed late.

She arrived at sunset, driving from the west, speeding along like a bullet fired from the fading red of the sunset.

As she approached, she hurriedly got out of the car and jogged over, apologizing through the car window, “Sorry, I was delayed by something.”

Chang Dong said, “It’s okay. I showed you the sunrise, and you showed me the sunset. It’s very fair.”

Ye Liuxi smiled brightly. “I’ll drive ahead, you follow. It’s about an hour and a half drive.”

“Where to?”

An hour and a half drive from Naqi meant the desert. Besides, it was already sunset.

Ye Liuxi bent down slightly, resting her arms on the car window edge. “Scared? I’m a single, beautiful woman going into the wilderness with you in the dark. If anyone should be scared, it should be me.”

Chang Dong said, “Then you haven’t read ‘Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio[mfn]refer to TLs note[/mfn],’ have you?”

 

photo 1- fried dough sticks

photo 2- yueqin

 

TLs note: “Strange stories from a chinese studio” is a collection of classical suprtnatural tales compiled around the 17th century. Here are 2 stories that illustrate what Chang Dong is saying

 “Painted skin” – a scholar named Wang is seduced by a beautiful woman who turns out to be a ghost wearing human skin. She is actually a demon who feeds on human hearts.

 

“The seprent woman” –In this tale, a man named Li is traveling when he encounters a beautiful woman by the river. She is captivating and mysterious, and Li falls for her charms. They spend time together, and Li is completely enchanted by her. However, Li soon discovers that the woman is actually a serpent spirit in disguise. When she reveals her true form, she attacks him, leaving him grievously wounded.

 

and there are many more simular stories…

 

another TLs note: This chapter has so many references, I hope its not too confusing