Peach Blossom Pavilion (14 page)

"Oh heaven, then what are we going to do?"

"Go to the garden first before we decide."

We continued to walk in a silence as heavy as our hearts. Now Spring Moon held my arm so tightly that her fingernails cut into my flesh. But I didn't dare utter the slightest complaint. The path was moist, smelling of a mixture of fresh and rotting vegetation. From time to time, we had to sweep aside overgrown branches and leaves. My five senses were achingly aware of the lightest sound, smell, and movement. I could hear Spring Moon's heavy breathing punctuating the dense night air.

"Xiang Xiang," finally Spring Moon broke the silence, "you really don't think there are ghosts?"

"Maybe there are; I don't know."

Her voice trembled a little. "What about if we do run into one?"

"Since there's no turning back, we can only face it and maybe even ask, `How are you, pretty ghost, should we sit down to have a cup of tea and chat?' "

Several beats passed before we burst into nervous laughter.

"I like you, Xiang Xiang. Not only that you're so pretty, you're funny."

Before I had a chance to reply, I noticed we'd already reached an opening. "Spring Moon, look, we've made it."

The underbrush opened to a level field flooded with silvery moonlight. In the distance rose a small temple with upturned eaves from which dangled two big, unlit lanterns. Swaying in the breeze, they peered through the foliage like the blinking of two sightless eyes. In front of the temple gate, leaves of ancient trees rustled like someone whispering, or crying, desperately trying to tell a woeful tale.

I felt my elbow nudged. "Xiang Xiang, what's glittering on the ground?"

"I don't know. Let's go and take a look," I said, pulling Spring Moon forward.

To my surprise, the glitterings were reflections of the moon in puddles.

Spring Moon danced around, chanting. "How wonderful, moon in a puddle." Then she screamed, startling me. "Xiang Xiang, what's that?"

I followed her finger and saw clusters of light floating here and there. A silence, then I said, "Don't worry; they're fireflies." But I didn't go on to explain that I'd been told the favorite places for fireflies were cemeteries. My breath was chilled as I exhaled.

Spring Moon now looked up to gaze at the heavenly disk. Long moments passed before she asked, "Xiang Xiang, do you remember that poem about the moon-"

I gazed at the moon and recited, "One moon is reflected on all the waters, all waters are embraced by one moon."

"I like that. I like you, too, Xiang Xiang; you're so smart. Oh, I'm so happy here."

"Me, too," I responded, "I feel free here. No Mama, no De, no dark room, no favored guests-"

"But also no food, no fragrant tea. Oh, I'm starving." She put her hand on her belly. "And I have to pee."

"Me, too," I said, then an idea hit me, "Spring Moon, let's pee on the moon."

She chuckled.

I said in a singsong tone, "I'm Chang E, regretting swallowing the elixir I stole from my husband; I flew to the moon ..."

"Stop that, Xiang Xiang, you're not Chang E; you can't pee on the moon!"

I walked to one of the puddles, squatted down, pulled down my pants, and peed on the reflection of the moon. When I finished, I cocked an eye at Spring Moon. "See?"

She chased and hit me with her fist. "You cunning fox! I should have thought of that first!"

I was running and panting. "But you didn't!"

Finally we reached the temple.

"All right, Spring Moon," I said, "now tell me about you and your fiance."

Spring Moon pressed her finger tightly against her lips. "Shhhh . . Xiang Xiang, do you hear something?"

I strained my ears to listen. "It's just the wind."

"No, listen more carefully."

"Some cats crying?"

"No."

"Oh, maybe it's the ghost of that sister who hung herself after she'd been stripped naked and whipped till her bottom rotted! Listen, it's screaming like she's being slashed!"

"But Xiang Xiang, if a ghost is dead, how can it scream?"

"From a nightmare, I guess."

"Do ghosts dream?"

"How do I know? I'm not dead yet!"

"Oh," Spring Moon nudged me harder, while still whispering, "Listen, Xiang Xiang, now the ghost moans, and gasps."

"Then this one must be a hungry ghost! "

To my surprise, now Spring Moon giggled, "I think maybe it's not a ghost, but someone's stirring up the clouds and the rain."

"But this is not the Wu Mountain."

Spring Moon took my hand. "Don't be silly. Now let's go and take a look."

"You're not afraid of ghosts anymore?"

"Shhh, be quiet. I'm sure it's not a ghost. Come, follow me."

We walked around for a moment, then she pointed to a gap in the temple wall. Spring Moon stooped to walk in and I followed her. We felt our way along, trying very carefully not to bump into anything. After a while, it seemed we were getting closer to the source of the sound. Finally Spring Moon stopped by a doorway from which heavy sighs poured.

Feeling fear deep in my stomach, I squeezed her hand and whispered, "Spring Moon, let's go back."

I was both surprised and embarrassed that now she was the calm one. Again, when I was about to urge her to leave, she shot me a "shut up" glance. Then she went up to one of the windows, licked her finger, poked a small hole through the rice paper covering the lattice, and peeked.

I whispered, "Spring Moon, what is it?"

But she completely ignored me.

It couldn't possibly be a ghost that caused such great delight. So I also licked my finger, poked a hole in the rice paper, and looked.

To my surprise, a man and a woman, completely naked, lay together on the floor. The man was moving on top of the womansometimes like a fish caught on a hook, sometimes a bird flying against the wind-exactly as described in the Art of Love by Master Mysterious Hole. Now the woman seemed to be struggling under the man's pressure and thrusts. Although in the dark I couldn't clearly see her face, from her slaughtering-the-pig cry, I was sure she was in great pain. I had to press my hand tightly against my mouth to stop from exclaiming. Strangely enough, though frightened, I felt my heart beating faster, my ears and cheeks burning, and heat crawling up from between my legs. I nudged Spring Moon, but she kept waving a dismissive hand.

The wrestling and moaning went on and on until suddenly the man let out a sharp cry. After that, he went limp on the woman's body.

Oh, my heaven, he must have given up his soul!

I nudged Spring Moon, then placed my hand against my throat and made a slaughtering gesture. Again, she waved her hand impatiently. Now the man, as if awakening from a slumber, rolled over to lie beside the woman. The two were now facing each other, with the woman's back toward us. The man started to fondle her breasts very gently. The woman let out small moans but made no move to stop him.

Just then an insect-a butterfly I supposed-probably flew in from the window (the other one facing the courtyard), and began to hover above the couple. The woman instantly sat up and tried to catch the dancing creature. It was then that I saw her face.

I covered my mouth and tried very hard not to call out.

Pearl!

I turned to look at Spring Moon and found that she was doing the same with her mouth. Moments passed before she shoved me out of the corridor. When we'd finally groped our way out of the temple and found ourselves in the garden, we broke into a run.

When we were safely back in Spring Moon's room, she pointed to my pants and said excitedly, "Xiang Xiang, look, your pants are wet."

I turned, snatched up my pants, and examined them. "It's the dew."

"Yes," she chuckled, "but the dew from your golden gate."

The Art of Pleasing

ne week later, five days before my "big day," Pearl invited me to go to her room for some last-minute advice on stirring the clouds and rain.

Once I sat down, she threw me a sharp glance. "Xiang Xiang, you better be ready for your Big Master Fung when he comes to chop your melon. Don't screw up your first time, otherwise you'll be in big, big trouble. Not only will Mama and De punish you, so will Big Master Fung, since he's paid a lot."

Pearl went on to tell me that if some customers were dissatisfied with the sister's service, they'd "smash the cave"-wrecking the prostitution house-and the poor sister had to pay for all the losses.

Some silence, then I remembered the haunted garden and blushed deeply.

"What is it, Xiang Xiang?"

I felt as if a firefly were caught in my throat.

"Is there something you want to ask me?"

Finally I was able to manage, in a whisper, "Sister Pearl, was ... the man in the garden ... Jiang Mou?"

She cocked an eye at me. "Xiang Xiang, be careful what you say! No one can find out."

I nodded. "Did you let me and Spring Moon see you on purpose?"

She smiled, looking very mysterious under the yellowish light of her bejeweled lamp.

"So do you love Jiang Mou?" I took her silence as yes. "Then why don't you marry him and leave Peach Blossom?"

"Because he's poor and he's already married." Pearl sighed, her fingers caressing her luminous jade bracelet. "Don't think about love, Xiang Xiang. Love never lasts; think about pleasure."

"But that doesn't last either."

"But unlike love, it won't bring pain afterwards." She looked at the clock. "We'd better start our lesson now."

Pearl led me to sit beside her in front of the vanity table. "Xiang Xiang," she said, carefully studying our reflections in the mirror, ,,now you know about the clouds and rain."

I nodded.

She went on, "The most important thing is to tease. Because if you let those chou nanren get there too quickly, they'll be disappointed. Remember, their wives all have the same cinnabar crevices as we do. But we have the art of coquetry to excite. You tease not only in how you look, but also in the ways you move, even when you're sleeping."

"But Sister Pearl, sleeping has no movement!"

"But we feign sleep to seduce. Have you not heard of the phrase `crabapple sleeping in spring'? It means a beautiful woman sleeping seductively. And it's spring that makes all the difference-"

"Why?

"Because spring is the season for lust, for the stirring of love!"

With a dreamy expression, Pearl slightly parted her lips, then the delicate tip of her tongue reached to touch her upper lip-like a rosebud emerging from a deep hole. "We sisters are like good cooks who mix the five flavors harmoniously into a delicious soup."

"I like soup."

"Xiang Xiang, you don't know; do you? Before you came to Peach Blossom, all you did was study. Not much use for you now, is it?"

I said dreamily, "My parents always wanted me to be the first woman zhuang yuan." Number One Scholar.

Pearl stared at me pityingly, then spoke again, a little sharply, "I'm also teaching you to be the Number One Scholar of charming those chou nanren. Have you forgotten that your `examination' is coming next week with Big Master Fung?"

She went on, "A woman's most fascinating feature is her eyes." Pearl lowered her eyelids and peeked down at me. Her pupils, looking glazed, slowly moved around as if she were drunk. Her eyes possessed a kind of magnetism that pulled me toward her like her lover clinging to her body. I felt color rising to my cheeks.