Chapter 3: The Mute Girl

  I stared at myself in the mirror and couldn't help but be startled. Could this be Ah-jiao's "masterpiece" from just now? After calming down, I realized that there were no signs of injury on my face. It seemed that the bloodstains on my face were probably painted on by Ah-jiao. But thinking again, I felt something was off. I clearly remembered when Ah-jiao touched my face, her old hands felt dry and rough, without any feeling of smoothness or coolness. So how did she manage to paint such a picture on my face?

  Looking at the color again, I initially thought it was just some red dye, but when I found that some places had already condensed into a brown hard shell, I determined that this should be blood. As for what kind of blood it is, I don't know. I thought to myself, "It's definitely not human blood." When I got closer to the mirror, I realized that it was just like my previous guess. The bloodstains on my face were indeed some kind of image, but they didn't look like Taoist symbols, more like a totem from a minority group, like a cow head. I thought to myself, "A human body with a cow's head, isn't that the mythical image of Chi You worshipped by the Miao people?" Since I was young, I haven't been an atheist, nor have I been someone who looks down on supernatural rumors. For things related to ghosts and gods, I neither completely deny them nor strongly agree with them. I generally follow Confucius' attitude of "respecting from a distance".

  I wanted to wash the blood off my face with water, but Da Zhao stopped me. He said this was a white magic spell cast by Ah Jiao Na's great witch, it was a totem to drive out evil for me. I said that still can't let me see people with this face in the future, Da Zhao comforted me and said "Don't worry, the totem will disappear by itself tomorrow morning."

  I was half-believing and half-doubting, thinking that if I didn't wash it off, I wouldn't wash it off. And looking at Da Zhuo's appearance, if I washed the symbols on my face in front of him, it would be disrespect to Ah Shuang Nu. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, so I also muddled through and went to bed.

  The next morning, I woke up to find that the symbols on my face had disappeared. Although when I leaned in close to the mirror, I could still faintly see a pink mark, but it was already impossible to discern the pattern. I was quite surprised, wondering if the blood could be absorbed by the skin? That would be too amazing. It was probably because that Ah Xiang Na added something to the blood, which caused this strange phenomenon. After all, she is considered the great witch of this place, and if she didn't have some special skills to deceive people, her position wouldn't be so secure. So, I didn't find it too strange after all.

  After having breakfast, Da Zhao told me that it was time to hit the road, and I didn't raise any objections. From the day I arrived in Yunnan, almost everything that happened had a somewhat inexplicable comedic feel to it, and I often felt disrespected. I thought to myself, if they weren't going to treat me with sincerity and good intentions as a guest, then there was no need for me to stay here any longer. Rather than being excluded everywhere in this place, it would be better to return to Kunming and have a good time for two days before heading back to the Northeast.

  As I left Dazuo's house, I originally wanted to go to Ahchuna's house again. On the one hand, I was going to pick up that Miao girl, and on the other hand, it would also be a farewell to her old man. But unexpectedly, as soon as I stepped out of the door, I suddenly found that the Miao girl had already been standing at Dazuo's gate for some time, looking like she had been waiting for a long time. She was dressed in the same way as last night, with a large silver crown on her head, shining brightly under the sunlight, and holding a cloth bag in her hand, I don't know what was inside. She was very quiet, and when she saw me coming out, she just nodded slightly.

  I went forward and said to her: "My name is Fan Peixi, Pei from pei (wear), Xi from xi (jade seal)".

  The girl didn't respond, just staring at me blankly.

  I was stunned for a moment, and then I remembered the fluent Chinese spoken by Ashna last night. I couldn't help but turn my head to ask Dazhao, "Hey, do all the people in this village speak Chinese?"

  Dazhao shook his head and said: "Not many can speak Chinese. I learned Chinese because I often go out of the mountains."

  As I expected, because when I was at Dazhao's home, I only heard him speaking Chinese, while his wife and children were all speaking Miao language. I pointed to the Miao girl and asked: "Then she can't speak Chinese?"

  Dazhao replied in a bad temper: "I don't know, I've never heard her speak."

  "Has she never spoken before? Is she mute?" I said.

  Da Zhao shrugged his shoulders, meaning he didn't know either. I asked again: "What about Ah Jia Na, oh, Ah Jia Na the great witch, does she often come down from the mountain too?"

  "What's the point of asking this?" Da Zhao asked me guardedly.

  "Oh, I was just wondering, Ah-chu-na is quite old too, how can she speak Chinese?"

  "I don't know, Ah-chu-na the Great Shaman is already 103 years old, she has experienced too many things, I don't know. However, since Ah-chu-na the Great Shaman is our leader, she must be exceptionally wise and it's nothing strange that she knows some Chinese."

  103 years old! Although I didn't show any extreme reaction on the surface, my heart was still shocked. That old lady has lived for so long, she's really an old witch!

  I saw that Dazhao was ready to set off and said to him: "I'd like to go to Ashuna's place one more time, to bid her farewell."

  Da Zhao shook his head and said, "No need to, last night Ah Jiaona had already instructed me to bring this girl away from the mountain early this morning. She's old and has been plagued by illness lately, it's not convenient for her to see many outsiders, you should leave with me quickly."

  I nodded, and then looked at the girl who had been standing still since the beginning. I thought it was a pity that she was mute. Looking at her outfit again, I thought that if she wore this down the mountain, she would be exhausted to death. So I asked Dazhao if there were any simpler clothes for the girl to change into. Dazhao told me that even if there were, the girl wouldn't wear them. It's a Miao custom that the silver ornaments are passed down from generation to generation, and wherever the person goes, the silver ornaments go too. Besides, he also told me that the girl had grown up in the mountains since she was a child, and although she was dressed like that, she might not be slower than me when walking. Later, it turned out that Dazhao's words were true.

  When I left the mountainous area, I was already exhausted and sweating profusely, but Dazhao and that girl seemed to be not tired at all. On the way, I asked Dazhao, since the girl is Ajuna's apprentice, she should have stayed in the village to take over Ajuna's position, why did Ajuna send her out of the mountain?

  At this, Da Zhao seemed even more perplexed than I was. He said he didn't know why either, but since it was Ah Jiao Na's will, all he could do was follow suit. Suddenly, I somewhat understood why I had been treated so poorly here - apparently, I had taken away the successor to their tribe's great shaman. Along the way, I noticed that Da Zhao seemed to be wary of the young girl; this was probably also due to her special identity.

  As we walked out of the mountainous area and reached the small mountain road where we came from, I had already vaguely heard the sound of a car engine. Once we were out of the woods, I saw that familiar old Santana at a glance. Driver Duan was leaning on the driver's seat smoking, when he saw us coming, he threw away his cigarette, got off the car and walked towards us. The Miao girl and I sat in the back seat together, Da Shuai gave Driver Duan some simple instructions before turning around and heading back into the mountains.

  Master Duan sat in the car and asked me where I was going. I was taken aback, then couldn't help but smile. From the day I arrived in Yunnan, I had been led by the nose, but this time the initiative finally returned to my hands. It seemed that receiving this Miao girl was my task, and with that, my mission could be considered complete. Where I went next had nothing to do with them anymore. After thinking for a moment, I said to Master Duan, "Let's go straight to Kunming."

  "Going to Kunming? It's estimated that we won't arrive there until evening."

  "Let's just go to Kunming, I don't want to go back to that broken-down inn in Wenshan again."

  The driver smiled at me, stepped on the gas pedal, and we hit the road. We didn't say a word all along the way, only stopping to grab a simple bite to eat at a highway rest stop around noon. By nearly 8 pm, we finally arrived in Kunming.

  After getting off the car, I originally wanted to stay with Master for a meal, but he seemed unwilling to stay in Kunming with me, and said that his task was also completed, so he drove away.

  I originally wanted to take that girl out for a meal, and I was also getting hungry along the way. However, her outfit was really too eye-catching, and my intuition told me that no matter where we went, people would stare at us without letting go. So, I took her to a shopping mall first, just casually buying her a pair of canvas shoes, a pair of jeans, and an ordinary white shirt that couldn't be more ordinary. It took me a good while to persuade the girl to change into this outfit, take off the silver accessories on her head that were piled up like a small mountain, and I even bought her a suitcase specifically for her clothes and accessories.

  After dressing up like this, it further proves the saying that people rely on their clothes. This set of clothes is simple, but it makes this Miao girl suddenly have a metropolitan air about her. Her long black hair falls over her shoulders, and with the unique fragrance on her body, she attracts the attention of many passersby along the way. They might even think she's my girlfriend! Thinking of this, my vanity surges up, and I walk with more swagger. However, she follows behind me, not saying a word, making me feel somewhat dull and bored.

  After buying clothes, it was already very late. I took Miao girl to a hotel and ordered several local specialties. After wolfing them down, my mood also became more relaxed. That Miao girl didn't know if she wasn't hungry or what, almost didn't touch the dishes, only ate a few mouthfuls of plain rice and vegetables, and spent the rest of the time drinking tea water.

  After dinner, I got up to go to the toilet. As soon as I stood up, she also stood up. I thought it was bad, I forgot that she is a mute. The common saying goes "ten mutes nine deaf", she probably can't hear me speaking either. I let her sit down again and thought about how to make her understand my intention.

  Then, I pointed to myself with my finger, then pointed to the hotel toilet, and made a "psst" sound with my mouth while making a urinating gesture. As a result, this set of actions left the Miao woman seemingly bewildered, but it amused the people around us. I felt a bit embarrassed, fortunately, the Miao woman seemed to have finally understood my meaning, sat steadily in her seat, and I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

  I pushed open the door and walked into the men's restroom, just as someone was coming out. This sudden movement almost knocked me to the ground. I stumbled a bit, looked up, and saw a tall, thin man with a long face, looking rather pale and sickly. His complexion was deathly white. I couldn't help but wonder how a big, sturdy Northeasterner like myself could have been almost knocked over by someone so frail. The man seemed to feel embarrassed too, and muttered repeatedly in a low voice, "Sorry, sorry."

  As a result, when he raised his eyes, the two of us were face to face, and for a moment, both of us were stunned there, as if each other's appearance had triggered some memory in each other. But time was short, and we only hesitated for a while before walking away from each other.

  After finishing the toilet, I came back and found that the girl was still sitting there motionless. After settling the bill, I happened to find a room here and stayed overnight. Originally, I wanted to book two single rooms, but unfortunately, all the single rooms were fully booked. Under helplessness, I had no choice but to stay in a double room.

  The room was quite good, with two single beds and even a medium-sized bathtub in the bathroom, which made me very satisfied.

  I went into the house without any restraint, turned on the TV, lay down on the bed and lit a cigarette, letting the young woman sit down on another bed. From her eyes, I could tell that this was probably her first time seeing a TV, but she didn't show any particularly surprised expression.

  Although I knew she was mute, I still asked unconsciously: "What's your name again? Bu Jin, right?"

  Long Baojin.

  At that moment, I couldn't believe my ears. I turned back and stared blankly at the Miao girl, who didn't look at me either, but instead kept staring straight at the TV.

  "So you can talk!"

  This time, she didn't react again. So I asked: "Are you unable to understand Chinese? Can't you hear what I'm saying?" This time, my speech was very slow, literally one word at a time.

  She slightly furrowed her brow, seemingly thinking about what I had just said, then nodded at me and said, "I only know a little."

  I jumped out of bed excitedly, in the few days I've been to Yunnan, the people I met were either dull and rigid like Duan Shifu and Da Zhao, or mysterious and eerie like Ajuna, not a single decent person to chat with, it's really suffocating me.

  I said to her: "Long Baojin, right? I'll teach you Chinese then."

  She seemed to have not understood again, so I had to slow down my speech and use body language to explain it to her. After she finally understood what I meant, she just nodded lightly. She always nods like that.

  So I started teaching her Chinese, but the process was slower than I had imagined. At first, I thought she already knew most of the basic Chinese, but later I found out that she actually knew very little Chinese. She could answer me with her name, probably because she heard me say "Bu Jin" and she said "I only know a little" probably to tell me that she didn't understand my words at all.

  After a long and arduous battle, I was exhausted. Looking at my watch again, it was already late. So I asked her if she wanted to take a bath. She looked at me without reacting, so I picked up the towel on the pillow and made a bathing and back scrubbing motion. This time, she understood what I meant, smiled slightly, and nodded to me.

  "Then go." I pointed to the bathroom and let her in.

  I saw Bojin walk into the bathroom, and didn't pay attention to her again, continuing to watch my TV. After a while, I found that there was no movement in the bathroom at all, thinking that she might not know how to use the hot water dispenser.

  I got up and walked to the bathroom door and asked: "Bu Jin, can't you use it? Do you want me to go in and help you?"

  "No response, I asked again: 'Are you wearing clothes? I'm coming in.'"

  I hesitated at the door for a moment, then pushed it open and entered. As a result, what appeared before my eyes was a very strange scene.

  All that can be seen is the young woman, Long Bu Jin, crouching on the ground at this moment, sniffing towards the bathtub from east to west, like a hunting dog, as if sniffing something.

  "What are you squatting on the ground for?" At first, I thought she was complaining that the bathtub was dirty, so I said to her: "Don't worry, this hotel is not bad, it should be quite clean."

  However, Bo Jin didn't respond to what I was saying and continued to sniff around anxiously. I watched her strange behavior without daring to disturb her. From Bo Jin's expression, she seemed extremely frightened, as if she had discovered something but wasn't quite sure and wanted to confirm it further. I thought to myself, has she been doing this since she entered the bathroom? Just then, she suddenly stood up, touched the ceramic tiles on the wall with her hand, turned around, pointed at the bathtub, and abruptly said to me, "A dead person."