第八章 (Chapter Eight)

I seized Scorpion. That laugh of his—I had never seen him laugh so uproariously. The angrier I grew, the more he laughed, as if the laughter of felinoids was designed solely to avert a beating. I demanded to know what he meant by bringing people to watch me bathe. He said nothing, merely persisted in that ingratiating simper. I knew he was up to no good, but I couldn't bear the sight of his despicable demeanor. I only warned him, "If there are any more such incidents, watch out for your scalp!"

The next day, I went to the river as usual. Before I even reached the sandy bank, I could see a dark mass of them, even larger than the day before. I resolved to bathe without a word, to see what was really going on, and settle accounts with Scorpion later. The sun rose. I stood in the shallows, pretending to draw water while watching them. There was Scorpion, accompanied by a felinoid whose hands cradled a huge pile of intoxicating leaves stacked up to his chin. Scorpion walked ahead, the felinoid with the leaves behind. Scorpion would reach out a hand, the felinoid would reach out a hand, as they moved along the line of waiting felinoids. The pile of intoxicating leaves in the felinoid’s arms steadily dwindled. I understood. Scorpion was using the opportunity to sell some intoxicating leaves, and he was surely selling them at an exorbitant price.

By nature, I am a man with a sense of humor, but a sudden flare of temper often makes one act recklessly. That felinoids feared me—simply because I was a foreigner—I knew well enough. That this was all Scorpion’s wicked idea, I also knew. It was not my intention to punish Scorpion alone and cause that crowd of innocent felinoids to suffer collateral losses. Yet, in that moment, rage made me forget all sense of compassion. I had to make Scorpion understand my power; otherwise, I could never again hope to enjoy my morning exercise in peace. Naturally, if felinoids themselves had come to swim in the morning, I would have had no complaint. This river was not my private property. But for one man to bathe while hundreds waited to watch, and for someone to conduct business from the spectacle—that I could not endure.

I did not want to seize Scorpion first; he would never tell me the truth. I had to catch one of the spectators and question him plainly. I began to retreat slowly toward the riverbank, my back to them to avoid arousing suspicion. Once at the bank, I decided to sprint a hundred yards and seize a felinoid by surprise.

Just as I turned my face at the riverbank, I heard a most horrible shriek, more dreadful than the squeal of a slaughtered pig. I began my sprint. Before my eyes, it was as if the ground had suddenly quaked. The crowd of felinoids, desperate to flee for their lives yet pressing together in panic, erupted in a simultaneous chaos of running, falling, those forgetting to run, those tumbling down and scrambling up again. In the blink of an eye, they were gone, scattered like leaves before a wind—a small cluster here, another there, one to the east, two to the west, running and screaming as if their souls had fled. By the time I finished my sprint, only a few lay on the ground. I seized one. A look told me his eyes were shut; he had no breath left! My remorse far outweighed the fear of having caused trouble. I should not have used my superiority to kill a man. Yet I did not freeze. As if unconsciously, I seized another, his leg broken but not dead. Thinking back on it, I could take no pride in myself. I had clearly seen the man’s leg was broken, yet I still seized him for questioning. I had clearly seen one was scared to death, yet I still seized one half-dead. If ‘unconsciously’ could be an excuse, then the doctrine of man’s innate goodness would be indefensible.

To make a half-dead felinoid speak, and to a foreigner no less, was the most difficult thing in the world. I knew forcing a sound from him would be tantamount to killing him; he would surely be frightened to death soon after. Poor felinoid! I released him. Looking again at those who had fallen, all were obviously injured, crawling now swiftly along the ground. I did not pursue them. Two lay completely still.

Danger I did not fear, but this was indeed trouble. Who knew what bizarre form the laws of felinoids took? Whether frightening a man to death or killing him outright might differ in the eyes of the law, but from the perspective of conscience, was it not the same? I could think of no plan. To find Scorpion—he who tied the bell must untie it—he would surely have a solution. But if I went to beg him, Scorpion would never tell the truth. I would wait for him to come to me. If I took this chance to search for that airplane, to see the bones of my deceased friend, Scorpion’s groves of intoxicating leaves might be in danger. He would surely come looking for me. Then I would interrogate him. If he did not tell the truth, I would refuse to return! Blackmail? What better method was there for a man without honor, who felt no shame in lying?

With my pistol secured, I trudged along the riverbank, dejected. The sun was fiercely hot. I knew what I lacked—blasted intoxicating leaves! Without them, I could not resist the sunlight or the river’s poisonous mist.

No sage would emerge in the land of the felinoids. I could only curse them to assuage my own dishonor. I actually considered searching the two dead felinoids for intoxicating leaves! Once back at the groves of intoxicating leaves, who could stop me from breaking off a large branch? Couldn't be bothered to walk those few paces! Sure enough, they still held intoxicating leaves in their hands, one piece half-eaten. I took them all. After eating one piece, I continued down the riverbank.

I walked for a long time before I saw the dark gray hill. I knew this was not far from where the airplane had crashed, but I did not know how many miles it was from the riverbank, nor on which side of the river. It was truly hot. I ate two more pieces of intoxicating leaves yet felt no relief. There were no trees, nowhere shaded to rest for a moment. But I was resolved to press on. I had to find that airplane.

Just then, a shout came from behind. I recognized it as Scorpion’s voice. I ignored him and kept walking. He was a better runner than I, and he caught up. I thought of grabbing him by the scalp to shake the truth loose, but one look at his condition made me ashamed to lay a hand on him. His pig-like mouth was swollen, his head bruised, his body covered in scratches. He was drenched as if washed over by water, his fine fur plastered to his skin, not wholly unlike some bedraggled river-rat spirit. I had frightened a man to death; he had taken a beating. I reflected that felinoids dared not bully outsiders, but among themselves they were fierce fighters. Their rights and wrongs were none of my concern. Yet, for the frightened dead, the injured, and the beaten Scorpion, I felt an equal sympathy. Scorpion opened his mouth several times before he could utter the words: ‘Hurry back! The groves of intoxicating leaves have been robbed!’

I laughed. Sympathy was utterly banished by these words. Had he asked me to avenge his beating, though not a noble request, from a certain perspective I might have gone back with him at once. But the groves of intoxicating leaves robbed? Who would willingly play the lackey for a capitalist? Robbed was robbed; what had it to do with me?

‘Hurry back! The groves of intoxicating leaves have been robbed!’ Scorpion’s eyeballs nearly started from their sockets. The groves of intoxicating leaves seemed to be everything; his own life was worthless.

‘First tell me about this morning’s affair,’ I said, ‘then I’ll go back with you.’

Scorpion almost choked with rage. His neck stretched several times as he swallowed a great lump of air. ‘The groves of intoxicating leaves have been robbed!’ Had he possessed the courage, he would have strangled me on the spot!

I, too, made up my mind: if he did not tell the truth, I would not move.

In the end, we each claimed half a victory: I would return with him immediately, and on the way, he would tell me everything.

Scorpion told the truth. Those spectators had been invited by him from the city, all from the upper echelons of society. Upper-class people, of course, could not rise so early, but watching someone bathe was a rare novelty, and Scorpion had promised to supply them with the plumpest, most succulent intoxicating leaves. Each gave him ten ‘national spirits’—a currency in the land of felinoids—as an admission fee. The intoxicating leaves, two pieces per person of the finest, juicy quality, were included at no extra charge.

Fine fellow, I thought to myself, you treat me as private property to be put on display! But before I could erupt, Scorpion explained with practiced meekness, ‘You see, national spirits are national spirits. To transfer the national spirits of others into one’s own hands is a noble act! Although I did not consult you,’—he walked swiftly, yet this did not hinder his elaborate, circuitous explanation—‘this small noble act of mine, you surely will not oppose. You bathe as usual, I gain some national spirits, they broaden their horizons—a situation beneficial to all sides, beneficial!’

‘And who takes responsibility for the one scared to death?’

‘You scared him to death, no problem! If I killed someone,’ Scorpion panted, ‘I would only lose some intoxicating leaves. Intoxicating leaves are everything; the law is but a few lines carved in stone. With intoxicating leaves, killing a man counts for nothing. You kill someone, no one cares. The laws of felinoids do not apply to foreigners, not even a single leaf required. I curse my fate for not being a foreigner. If you kill someone in the countryside, leave the body there as a snack for the white-tailed eagles. If in the city, simply report it to the court, and the judge will thank you most courteously.’ Scorpion seemed to envy me immensely, tears welling in his eyes. My own eyes also grew moist. Poor felinoids. Where was life? Where was justice?

‘Those two dead ones were also men of influence. Won’t their families make trouble?’

‘Of course they’ll make trouble. They are the ones who robbed the groves! Hurry! They’ve long had men watching your movements. The moment you stray far from the groves of intoxicating leaves, they will rob. They lost men, so they rob my intoxicating leaves in revenge. Hurry!’

‘So the value of a man and intoxicating leaves is precisely equal, eh?’

‘Dead is dead; the living must eat intoxicating leaves! Hurry!’

It occurred to me then, perhaps because I had been tainted by the felinoids, or perhaps because his words struck a chord within me, that I must demand some national spirits from him. If one day I were to leave Scorpion—we were not close friends—what would I eat? He earned money by having people watch me bathe; I had a right to a share of the profit. Were it not for this environment, I would never have thought of such a thing. But the environment being what it was, I could not but prepare—dead is dead; the living must eat intoxicating leaves! Sound logic!

Not far from the groves of intoxicating leaves, I stopped. ‘Scorpion, how much in national spirits have you collected over these two days?’

Scorpion was stunned. He rolled his round eyes. ‘Fifty national spirits, plus two counterfeit ones. Hurry!’

I turned on my heel and marched off. He chased after me. ‘A hundred! A hundred!’ I kept walking.

He kept raising the offer until it reached a thousand. I knew the spectators over those two days numbered no less than several hundred; the total couldn’t possibly be only a thousand. But who had the patience for such games? ‘Very well, Scorpion, give me five hundred. Otherwise, we part ways here!’

Scorpion knew perfectly well: every extra minute spent arguing with me meant more intoxicating leaves lost. With a pair of tears, he agreed. ‘Done!’

‘And if there are any more schemes to profit from me without my knowledge, I will burn your groves of intoxicating leaves.’ I took out my matchbox and slapped it against my palm.

He agreed to that as well.

When we reached the groves of intoxicating leaves, there was not a soul in sight. They must have received a scout’s report before my arrival and fled. The twenty or thirty trees on the outer edge of the groves were nearly stripped bare. Scorpion let out a cry and collapsed beneath a tree.