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‘My baba.’
‘Oh damn!’ She let go of me, then wielded an accusing finger. ‘You wicked slut, you fucked your own father!’ Now her voice cracked like thunder. ‘When you slept with him, did he touch your golden gate? Did he insert his jade stalk into your cinnabar crevice?’
‘Mama, I was just about to ask you all about golden gate and cinnabar crevice and …’
All the tensed muscles on Mama’s face seemed to relax. ‘But you told me your father slept with you, so you’re sure he didn’t do anything to you?’
‘Of course he did. He pulled the blanket for me. He told me stories—’
‘Ha! That’s all he did to you?’
‘Yes. When I was little, I was so frightened of ghosts that I cried and cried unless Baba came and slept with me.’
‘Where was your mother?’
‘She went to work.’
‘At night? So she was a whore like you?’
‘No! It was right after Baba had broken his leg.’ I blushed, stuttering, ‘She had to work as a … a … night fragrance collector to pay for his hospital bills.’
Mama flung back her fat head and roared into such delirious laughter that it seemed as if all her laugh meridians had been suddenly struck open by lightning. ‘Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Xiang Xiang, you scared the pee out of me by telling how your father slept with you while your mother collected shit!’
I felt so angry and humiliated that I couldn’t utter a word.
Now she kept laughing like a lunatic chased by a drunk. Waiting until she’d finally calmed down, I changed the subject. ‘Mama, you still haven’t told me what is jade stalk, golden gate—’
‘You have no idea what these mean? But hasn’t Pearl explained all this to you a long time ago?’
‘No.’
Mama widened her eyes. ‘That bitch! She didn’t? You stupid little whore, you’ll soon have your petals opened by a man and you have no idea what a jade stalk or a golden gate is? Even if Pearl hasn’t taught you, didn’t the other sisters mention any of this to you? Eh?’
‘But Mama, I have no time to talk with the other sisters! I have to practice my arts the whole day every day, and do errands for you!’
‘All right, all right, enough of your nonsense. Anyway, you’ll soon find out.’
‘How?’
‘When you lose your virginity. Many men will be happy to pay many pieces of gold for it. When men have sex with pretty young virgins, their jade stalks will be maddeningly stirred.’ She cocked an eye at me. ‘After that, they will be rejuvenated and have great longevity. Some men get rich, while others get official posts. Even their bad luck will be reversed.’
I said nothing; Mama went on, now smiling dreamily, ‘Big Master Fung has already won the auction to be your datou ke.’ She pointed to the mole between her brows. ‘My third eye told me a long time ago that he’d surely win.’
‘What auction and who’s datou ke and Big Master Fung?’
She chuckled. ‘Ah, Xiang Xiang, you think you’re smart but you’re actually pretty stupid. Datou ke is the first man to collect qi from your yin part. These old men are desperate to collect youthful yin energy. If a man can have three hundred virgins, everything comes back – teeth, black hair, vitality.’
‘Wah, then I’d also like to collect some yin energy when I grow old.’
Mama laughed, shivering the flesh on her face. ‘Sure, Xiang Xiang. That’s why from time to time some old lesbians will come to us asking for virgins.’
‘Lesbians?’
Mama winked. ‘They’re called mirror-rubbing girls. Because to lose their souls, two women can only rub their mirror-flat yin parts against each other.’
‘Losing their soul! You mean they die?’
‘Xiang Xiang, I’m tired of your stupidity!’ Mama yelled, then paused to smile mischievously. ‘But I’m sure Big Master Fung won’t be tired of you.’
‘Who’s Big Master Fung?’
‘You’ve seen him at the party.’
‘You mean that all-wrinkled-old-and-dying?’
‘Xiang Xiang, watch out for your stinky mouth!’ She cast me a dirty look; her mole moved menacingly between her eyes. ‘He’s already paid a huge amount for your first night. So you better make him happy. Otherwise …’ She stamped her foot on the floor.
Now all my hair stood up on end. I could almost feel hundreds of slimy creatures crawling all over me, to be followed by the all-wrinkled Big Master Fung.
Mama grinned meaningfully. ‘Xiang Xiang, smart as you are, which would you prefer, a swarm of slimy rats crawling on you or only one Big Master Fung?’
‘One Big Master Fung, of course!’
‘Good girl. Behave and you’ll get what you want.’ She patted my head, then counted her pudgy fingers. ‘Nice clothes, good food, a new hairstyle, ice cream, and now Big Master Fung and his longevity wrinkles, ha! ha! ha!’
While one minute Mama almost choked herself breathless with her lunatic laugh, the next minute she abruptly stopped, casting me a blood-curdling glance. ‘Xiang Xiang, now take off all your clothes!’
‘What?’
‘Have you suddenly turned deaf? I said take off all your clothes! Now!’ She squinted at me with her ratlike eyes. ‘Just do it! Or do you want me to strip you naked?’
I began to peel off my clothes.
Fang Rong walked around me, poking and pinching my body here and there as if she were choosing a piece of pork for dinner. After more squeezing and kneading, she nodded; a satisfied smile broke out on her face. ‘Ha,’ she muttered as if talking to herself, ‘Big Master Fung must be a clairvoyant to pay so much for a thirteen-year-old.’
Just then the door swung open and in walked Wu Qiang. Instinctively I tried to snatch up my clothes to cover my nudity.
‘Leave that on the floor! Now let your de examine you.’
I felt so humiliated that tears pooled in my eyes. My clothes fell on the floor and lay there like a crumpled human form.
Mama’s voice roared next to my ear. ‘What do you feel so embarrassed about? It’s only your de. Haven’t you just told me you slept with your own father? Now stand still and let your de look at you.’
Though I looked down at my toes so I didn’t have to catch Wu Qiang’s penetrating glances, I could still feel his hungry eyes ravaging all over me. My body began to tremble. I swung my arms to wrap them around my chest.
Wu Qiang pulled my arms off. His voice was smooth while his eyeballs dropped to my nipples. ‘Xiang Xiang, don’t worry. Sooner or later, all young girls have to become young women.’ His hand was warm on my bare shoulder. ‘It’s no use to play lady when you’re going to be a whore.’
A smile broke out on Fang Rong’s face. ‘Wu Qiang, be gentle, she’s just a little virgin.’
Now De split his lips to reveal white, uniform teeth. ‘Yes, you’re right, just a little virgin.’ Seconds passed before he turned to Mama and said, still smiling, ‘So, what do you think?’
Mama nodded appreciatively. ‘Good, everything up to par – fine bones, smooth skin, tender flesh.’
De tousled my hair and added, ‘Also soft, silky black hair.’ Then he reached to touch my pubic hair. ‘Soft and glossy here, too.’
Mama shot him a sharp look. ‘I can see that myself.’
De nodded. ‘Yes, of course, of course.’
There was a dead silence; then, under Mama’s icy stare, De excused himself.
After he left, Mama said, ‘Put your clothes back on.’
I did. Now the same pair of eyes cast me a meaningful glance. ‘Xiang Xiang, you’re an extremely desirable virgin except for one thing.’
‘What is it?’
‘That’s it, too many questions! A virgin should be docile and gentle. Before you meet Big Master Fung, you better learn how to behave. Now go to Pearl and ask her how being nice and gentle to a jade stalk will bring you lots of money, let alone endless pleasures.’ She winked. ‘Pearl is an expert in the secrets of the bedchamber. Ha! Ha! Ha!’ After that, she picked up the books, thrust them back into my arms, and gave me a push toward the door.
Pearl was preening in front of the mirror. After I closed the door, she stared at my hair and exclaimed, ‘Xiang Xiang, you look very pretty!’ She patted the chair next to her. ‘Come sit by me.’
A long silence passed during which she was staring at my hair in the mirror.
‘Sister Pearl, don’t you like my new hairstyle?’
Pearl didn’t answer my question; her expression turned sad and serious. ‘Did Mama also buy you ice cream, feed you with soup, then show you those strange books?’
I nodded.
‘Xiang Xiang, you’re going to be fucked by a man!’
‘No, I’m not!’
‘Hai, my little sister, why do you think they’ve been treating you like a princess?’
‘I think because … because I’m just lucky.’
‘Lucky, eh?’ She sneered. ‘If there’s luck in this whorehouse, then we’d all be princesses, not prostitutes. But too bad, because you’re going to be a real whore, you understand? Do you want me to draw out the entrails for you?’
Silence dropped in the room like a gutted corpse.
‘And this,’ she snatched the books from my arms and threw them on the table, ‘is to prepare you to change from a virgin to a woman;’ she paused to cast me a bitter glance, ‘or from a virtuous woman to a wicked whore.’
She picked up one of the books and flipped through the pages with the illustrations. ‘If you study all these positions thoroughly and master them, they’ll help you to become prestigious, so prestigious that men will pay several silver coins just to sniff the fragrance wafting from your body, and lots of gold ones to taste it!’
I gasped for air, reluctant to face the ugly truth that I’d been so stubbornly avoiding.
‘Xiang Xiang.’ Pearl patted my head. ‘It’s no use to worry too much, just learn it, all right? I’m right here to help you.’
I nodded, squeezing out a bitter smile.
‘Good. We’ll start the lesson now.’ She winked. ‘There’s a saying “Die under a peony grove and be a licentious ghost,” meaning a woman can make a man so happy that he doesn’t mind dying while having sex with her.’
I was silent, trying to absorb what she’d said.
Then she began to explain to me words like red pearl, lute strings, slippery noodles, and all the strange metaphors such as chopping open the melon and tasting its juice; the jade stalk delving into the golden gate; yin juices flowing like a well …
By the end of the lesson, I was in awe of Pearl’s deep knowledge of these abstruse matters but completely exhausted.
Suddenly Pearl exclaimed, ‘Oh damn! Xiang Xiang, now I have to entertain a big shot. So why don’t you go study and come back to my room tomorrow?’
When I was at the door, she called to my back.
I turned and saw her sad face.
‘Xiang Xiang, I like you very much.’ She paused, then said, ‘You better grasp your last chance to enjoy your girlhood—’
I didn’t know how to respond.
‘Now why don’t you go and have fun with Spring Moon?’
‘But if Mama knows, she will—’
‘Don’t worry, since I’m sure Big Master Fung has already paid a lot for you, she’ll be in a good mood and won’t be too harsh on you. Go and have fun in the garden near the temple.’
But I’d heard that garden was haunted by some ill-fated sisters who’d committed suicide! Of course, no one dared to ask Mama whether it was true or not. But when I turned back to ask Pearl, she’d already shut the door.
8 (#ulink_613ee059-7c89-5b2d-a0a7-31f7b49b74c4)
The Haunted Garden (#ulink_613ee059-7c89-5b2d-a0a7-31f7b49b74c4)
I pushed open the door to Spring Moon’s room and stepped inside. She was sitting on her bed, which was strewn with several books that looked familiar to me. She shifted her body and patted the empty space next to her. ‘Xiang Xiang, come sit down.’
I sat, then gestured to the books. ‘You understand all of them?’
‘Of course I do, Xiang Xiang.’ She looked at me curiously. ‘You mean you don’t?’
‘Only some, but then Sister Pearl explained everything to me.’
I went over in my mind the things that Pearl had told me. Clouds and rain on the Wu Mountain means coupling between a man and a woman. Rain comes from the man’s yang part, and clouds come out of the woman’s yin part. During coupling, a man’s jade stalk (I used to call it ‘little chick’ but Pearl said that refers only to a child’s) will insert into a woman’s precious gate. After that, the man will spill out a slimy liquid (it sounded to me like a form of concentrated pee mixed with milk, but Pearl insisted that they were completely different) into the woman’s body so that she’ll make a baby – but that only worked for women outside the turquoise pavilion; flower girls here were not allowed to have babies. That was why Mama made me drink that tonic – or toxic as Pearl called it – soup.
But Spring Moon already knew everything. I asked, ‘How did you find out about all this?’
Her expression turned sad. ‘From my fiancé. Yuguan is a very handsome man and a very good lover. He would do anything to please me. Anything at all.’
‘You mean like sucking your tongue, savouring your saliva, biting your ear, and letting his tall peak play around your jade gate?’ I got out in one breath.
I couldn’t believe that she actually nodded.
