Daomu Biji: A Thousand Faces

Ah Tou was a little surprised that Liang Yanyan asked this question. How did everyone know about it? Was it really something that alarming? 

She really did want to find someone. This person had always been her idol. She had heard a few legends from one of her professors that there was a female doctor in Beijing who could make a face on a person's body. Ah Tou had seen photos of a disfigured man who was missing half of the skull and only had half of his face. This female doctor used plastic and steel nails to repair the patient’s defective bones while also taking some of his hip muscles and then covering the outer layer of his face with skin from his back. 

The man's face was repaired to the state it was before, and no one could even tell that he had plastic surgery. Moreover, the whole process was completed with only twenty-four surgeries.

This was only the first legend. The second legend involved someone who once asked the female doctor to cut open his face and modify his entire skull so that he could look like the Buddha in the Dunhuang murals (1). The doctor had been constantly gathering volunteers for this kind of artistic creation. 

Although this doctor used human bodies as sculptures to create works of art, this was only what she did underground. It had nothing to do with her work on the surface. 

Ah Tou had never been able to find any information about the second legend, but she had seen a photo of a person who literally looked like a living Dunhuang Buddha. He had even dressed like a Buddha.

“Oh, so you think it’s cool?” Liang Yanyan didn’t really get it.

Ah Tou shook her head and said, “Not really, I just want to be one of those cut open up by her. I want to be her volunteer and become her artwork.” Right after Ah Tou said this, she immediately regretted it. What am I saying? What the hell do I mean ‘I want to be cut open by her’?! That’s not what I meant!

Liang Yanyan smiled, "Don’t you think there’s more to it? Maybe she's doing these things just to practice her skills. After all, there aren't too many full-face surgeries."

“I'll ask her about it if I get to meet her. But I heard that she’s quite cautious and very hard to find. I've seen a lot of underground artists, many of whom are just pretending to be cautious. But it’s the first time that I’ve seen someone like her. I really can’t find her,” Ah Tou said.

"People like her do a lot of illegal underground plastic surgeries, so she certainly won’t be easy to find,” Liang Yanyan said. “I didn’t expect that you’d want to be used as a stranger's material.” 

"If an artist isn’t skilled enough for a certain technique, they find it more gratifying to be used as material for someone who is superior.” Ah Tou sighed. I’m so done with myself. I’m such a pervert. She had said a little too much just now, but she was actually just interested in creations on human bodies. For her, tattooing simply wasn’t enough. Besides, Ah Tou wasn’t some superficial person. She sincerely believed that re-sculpting a person into someone else was a way to generate different forms of art. 

But she wasn’t a doctor, so she couldn't do it. Instead, she wanted to see if this legend was true.

Moreover, she had a personal idea and hoped that this doctor could perform an operation on her. But her mind was too chaotic to think about it at this time.

"You don’t have any other intentions?"

"No. You wouldn’t understand. If you looked at human bodies and skin every day like I do, then you would understand why so much artwork is related to the human body.”

"I thought you wanted to find her because you know her," Liang Yanyan said as she looked at her watch. "It’s kind of boring just to chat like this. Let’s kill some time. Draw me,” Liang Yanyan handed the sketch pad to Ah Tou and took off her coat before leaning back on the sofa and resting her legs on Ah Tou's feet.

The tinfoil on the ground reflected the sunlight strongly onto Liang Yanyan, making the metallic paint on her body appear golden. Ah Tou wanted to refuse, why do I have to do whatever you want me to do? But then she realized that drawing meant that there would be less conversation. She was also better at drawing than conversing, so she decided to compromise. 

Ah Tou began drawing Liang Yanyan, but only got as far as a rough outline of her before the other woman quietly got up from the sofa and made a shushing gesture at her. Ah Tou stopped drawing and suddenly noticed that the sky outside had rapidly darkened. 

It was just so sunny. What’s going on? Is it going to rain soon? Ah Tou wondered. She put down the sketch pad, went to the door, and found that everything outside was dark. There was even a thick layer of fog in the darkness.

Meanwhile, in the neighbouring building, Black Glasses had headphones on. He was listening to the audio bug he had hidden in the metallic paint bucket earlier, but there was strong interference. He looked up at the window and saw that it was sunny outside. 

The audio bug soon went silent, but it was unclear who said the last words, "Did you hear a cat meowing?"

Black Glasses took off his headphones and thought about it for a while. Just then, he suddenly saw a very tall person standing on the second floor of Ah Tou’s building. The person was bending down and staring coldly at Blass Glasses through the window. 

Black Glasses smiled at him and raised the beer in his hand.

****

TN Notes:

(1) The Mogao Caves are also referred to as the Dunhuang Caves. The caves contain some of the finest examples of Buddhist art spanning a period of 1,000 years. There are murals and statues in these caves. Pics of some statues here.