The Tale Never Ends

The stranger looked nowhere near impressive; more like any Tom, Dick, or Harry on the streets. By the stubbles and dashes of white in his hair and the wrinkles crayoning his face, he looked over forty years old. A man in his late-middle age, looking hardly unusual nor remarkable. But it intrigued me that he was here in a restaurant like this.

But it was odd. Why was I wondering about his looks when I should be feeling bothered about him intruding on our dinner? He sat at our table, looking as if he was one of us and all of us had our eyes trained upon him.

Feeling slightly perturbed, I was the first to ask, “Urm… Dear sir? What are you doing…” The stranger smiled at me. “You lot are not common people.” The ends of his lips twitched when he finished. He might be trying to look friendly, although “friendly” would be hardly the word that came to mind when I laid eyes on him. An air of sophistry hung about the stranger and his insincere smile and I could only surmise that he could be a charlatan or a swindler.

“Hahaha,” Lin Feng laughed and said then, “How can you tell?” Still maintaining his benign facade, the stranger said, “I know a little about divination and I can see that you are all not ordinary people.” Chongxi interjected, mimicking Lin Feng’s laugh. “And how about you give us any advice or two since you are skilled in such knowledge?” He could not help feeling competitive. As a rare prodigy in the hidden crafts of Chinese divination and augury, he just had to ask.

But the stranger seemed oblivious to Chongxi’s challenge. He waved a hand smugly and said, “I’m afraid I can only take a look at one of you. You might not know that soothsayers like us are dictated by rules. And one of them says that we can only examine one person every day.” Chongxi sniggered and was about to say something when I raised a hand to stop him. I smiled at the stranger and said, “Well then. Do me!” The stranger fished out a pack of cigarettes and lighted himself a smoke and offered one to me. I showed him the still-smoldering cigarette I had been holding under the table and declined. But that was hardly the main reason I refused his offer. No purveyors of sorcery and sacred arts would easily and nonchalantly accept anything from strangers in fear of falling victim to malignant hexes and curses.

The stranger merely smiled and began puffing on his cigarette. I tossed my finished stub to the ground and grounded it with my foot. The man took two drafts and chuckled. “Your facial features are really good. You are blessed with good fortune and long life and even an extraordinary destiny!” By now, I was as good as certain that this stranger was nothing but a worthless charlatan who knew only to sprout lies and flattery to hoodwink unsuspecting innocents. Beside me, Chongxi was already shaking, holding back his laughter. But the man suddenly looked around as if to make sure no one was eavesdropping before he leaned forward and whispered, “You have the air of a ruler! You are destined to be King! The world would be yours if you so wish!”

A knot tightened in my gut as soon as I heard the words of omen. Could he be actually the real deal like Chongxi? At the very least, he was right in one thing: I hailed from the line of Yan Di of the South. But whether or not I truly possessed “the air of a ruler,” that remains to be known. Then again, Chongxi’s disdain for this stranger was not without reason; he had once tried to foresee my future and failed.

Chongxi scoffed derisively. “Enough with your razzle-dazzle, old man. Here was I, thinking that you might really be a fellow student in the arcane skills of augury and divination. A senior even! But now, after hearing what you just said, I am certain that you are nothing but a charlatan and a fraud! How about I do you instead?” He hardly waited for the stranger to react and bulldozed on, “You look terrible, stranger…” His eyes narrowed as he threw a look that could have never seemed warm. “Surely you’ve heard of Cao Cao?”

The man’s expression immediately froze. Wrinkles began creasing over his brows despite his best attempt to maintain his jovial outlook. He got to his feet, muttering, “Well, since I’m not welcomed here, I see no reason to stay on. Farewell.” And he turned to leave.

But before he stepped outside, he called for a waiter and took out his wallet. He paid the waiter three hundred yuan and said loudly, as if to reclaim what dignity he had lost. “I’m paying for that table,” he said, gesturing at us. And so, instead of hustling us for money, the charlatan ended up paying for our dinner.

Lin Feng picked at his teeth with a tooth-pick, saying, “Pitiful b*stard… Shame that he has to meet us and end up losing his money.” “Must be one of those who believe they are good enough to swindle unwary outsiders after just a couple of reading or lessons,” Chongxi observed and said dryly.

“What do you mean?” Big Sister asked strangely and Chongxi replied, “Well, you might not be aware, Big Sister Lan, that I once tried to read Shiyan’s future and did you know what happened?” “What happened?” “Nothing! Nothing at all! There was nothing I could read from Shiyan, Uncle Hai, your mother, and of course, you too, Big Sister Lan. No soothsayers or seers would be able to read anything from all of you. Your futures are simply unseeable.”

“But why?” Big Sister pressed on. Obviously, hearing this was a first for Big Sister and Edelweiss and they became mightily interested in this topic. “The methods of fortune-telling involves observation using our senses of sight, hearing, and smell. But there are several types of people or items which we seers will never be able to read: immediate relatives, dead people, and photographs. Oh, and before I forget, non-humans too. That means seers and soothsayers can only read living humans who are not their kin.”

Big Sister and Edelweiss finally understood why. Big Sister and Mother were no humans; they were she-fox demons that were assuming human form. Father, on the other hand, was no longer human. He was immortal. A demigod.

“Wait a minute,” Big Sister protested suddenly, “But Father is human.” “He used to be,” Chongxi remarked curtly, smiling. “What do you mean?” Edelweiss asked this time. Chongxi shrugged and explained, “First, Uncle Hai is a demigod. A higher existence that dwarfs us humans. Next, I’m sure you lot still remember about Master Six and my Teacher?” Every one of us nodded except Big Sister. “There’s also one other criterion that applies to the term ‘non-human’—long life. Humans that exceed one hundred years of age are also considered as ‘non-human’ in this sense.” Big Sister and Edelweiss shared a long, bewildered look before they looked back at Chongxi queerly.

“I’m sure you’ve heard of the metaphorical proverb that says ‘人老精鬼老灵’? It means a person amasses more knowledge and experience as he grows older, no? But this proverb exists in the first place for another reason. A literal reason, because humans who live beyond a hundred years are extraordinary beings like how demons are to beasts and animals.” Big Sister and Edelweiss emitted a long dawning “Ohhh” and the former pointed a finger at me, asking, “But what about Little Brother? How could you not read him?”

“I don’t know,” Chongxi muttered, shaking his head slowly, “I used to think that Shiyan could be a long-lost brother of mine until I finally scrapped the idea.” The absurdity of the notion was reflected in Big Sister’s and Edelweiss’ stifled giggles and even Chongxi himself chuckled when he mused at how foolish it was. “But even until today, after knowing that Shiyan is the Spirit of the Shiyan Blade, I still fail to explain why is he unreadable. He may be the Spirit of the Sword, but he has since reincarnated as a human. So technically, his fate should be readable. But the only viable theory I’ve come up with so far, although I have yet been able to prove it, is that Shiyan needs the Blade to be one. Without it, he is only ‘half-a-human’. So I guess there’s that.”

We nodded our assent to the probable reason. But it was a long time later until I finally understood why was I unreadable.

Chongxi shrugged his shoulders. “So that is why I found what the stranger said just now about Shiyan nothing but an utter sack-load of nonsense! I dare say that I am one of the best seers around here and only Teacher has skills beyond mine. But I’m sure that not even his teacher before him would contradict me if I pronounce Shiyan as unreadable.”

And our heads bobbed again, accepting his explanation.

But only I remained motionless and Big Sister was first to notice my head dipping glumly. “What’s wrong with you, Little Brother?” she asked. I looked up, still wondering about what Chongxi was saying, and breathed heavily. “I’m fine. I might be just feeling too sensitive.”

But an impatient Big Sister smacked at the back of my head, hell-bent on shaking an answer out of me. “Come on, out with it!”