A Prophet - Chapter 10 (Part 5)
Chapter 5 - The Secret of Why Roosters Do Not Crow and Dogs Do Not Bark
During the 1930s, the land of China was still struggling bitterly between superstition and modern knowledge. At that time, there were over a thousand "sect societies" of various sizes across the country, with hundreds registered on paper. They continuously manufactured and propagated all sorts of superstitious heresies, deluding the public with deceptive words and seizing the opportunity to amass wealth.
The "Jiangxiang Faction" was merely one of these branches. Sometimes, multiple sect societies would congregate within the same territory, and neighboring societies would inevitably step over each other's boundaries. When this happened, conflicts would erupt—sometimes intensely vicious and life-or-death struggles. If criminal gangs chose to meddle as well, the situation became even more chaotic.
At the time, the three most famous sect societies in the Jiang-Huai region were the "Muzi Lotus," the "Plum Blossom Society," and the "Heavenly Sacred Dao."
The "Muzi Lotus" possessed the most solid foundation, boasting a heritage of three hundred years. Unbending against the wind and unshakable by thunder, it stood resolute and towering amidst all the vicissitudes of history.
The "Plum Blossom Society" had the shortest history, having been founded during the period of the Second Zhili-Fengtian War by Meixuanzi, a Daoist priest from the "Plum Blossom Daoist Temple." This secret society had fewer than a hundred members, yet every single one of them was an elite warrior capable of taking on a hundred opponents single-handedly.
The "Heavenly Sacred Dao" was established during the Boxer Rebellion. This secret society expanded with astonishing speed, accumulating tens of thousands of believers over the decades with disciples spread across the entire country, showing a strong momentum to overwhelm the "Jiangxiang Faction." Furthermore, the organization's internal structure was exceptionally rigorous, with a level of sophistication that even surpassed the "Jiangxiang Faction." The organizational hierarchy of the "Heavenly Sacred Dao" proceeded in order from the Sect Master, the Staves, the Crutches, the Fans, down to the Dark Blues. The Sect Master served as the supreme boss of the entire sect, presiding over ten Staves; beneath each Staff were ten Crutches; beneath the Crutches were twelve Fans; and beneath the Fans were the Dark Blues, who were equivalent to the low-ranking footmen of the "Jiangxiang Faction."
Although all three organizations played deceptive tricks, their areas of focus differed. The "Muzi Lotus" followed a refined and scholarly route, with its Abao members all posing as fortune-tellers who were gentle, cultivated, and possessed the romantic flair of scholars; the "Heavenly Sacred Dao" favored grand gestures, constantly conjuring up impending doomsdays that left people in a state of perpetual panic day and night; the "Plum Blossom Society" preferred the superhuman route, acting as though every member were an immortal capable of ascending to the nine heavens to pluck the moon or diving into the five oceans to capture turtles.
The "Muzi Lotus" manual "Secrets of Swindling," the "Heavenly Sacred Dao" manual "Pure Yang Complete Methods," and the "Plum Blossom Society" manual "Three Styles of Divination Numbers" were secret martial and esoteric texts familiar to everyone within the inner circle. For years, the successive generations of sect masters from each family tightly guarded their inherited family manuals, defending against external enemies and internal thieves alike.
Normally, the various factions did not cross one another's borders, each carrying out similar operations while understanding in their hearts that unless conflicts escalated to an extreme degree, clashes were generally avoided. Moreover, most of the time, everyone tacitly offered mutual assistance and protection because defending the other party was equivalent to defending oneself; otherwise, mutual exposure would result in everyone going down together.
In the second year after Zhang Zizhan and Huang Farong married, a major event shook the Jiang-Huai region: the hall master of the "Plum Blossom Society" proclaimed that he had attained immortality! He claimed he could ascend to heaven, descend into the earth, and summon the ghosts and spirits of heaven and earth. He asserted that if he commanded a rooster not to crow, it would not dare to make a sound, and if he ordered a dog to shut its mouth, it would keep quiet. Every few days, he would gather and dine with immortals of the heavens and ghosts of the netherworld, a spectacle witnessed firsthand by many people. This was undoubtedly a blockbuster bomb, instantly propelling the "Plum Blossom Society" into overwhelming fame!
Initially, Grandfather did not pay too much attention to this matter, believing it to be nothing more than the "Plum Blossom Society" playing swindling tricks, estimating that after tossing about for a while and pocketing some money, they would naturally quiet down. Who would have thought that the affair would escalate violently, with the opposing faction showing strong momentum to eliminate rivals and unify the entire underworld? Social resources within the same region and period were limited; if one party swindled them all away, the other parties would be left with nothing to drink but the northwest wind. Grandfather could no longer sit still.
Over at the "Heavenly Sacred Dao," they also felt that the "Plum Blossom Society" had gone too far this time, acting as if they were the only immortals in the entire Jiang-Huai region. If the common people all believed in them, what were the rest of to do?
On the Qingming Festival, Zhang Jiyao, the sect master of the "Heavenly Sacred Dao," suddenly paid a visit to Grandfather.
"Grandfather, have you heard the news?" Zhang Jiyao asked Grandfather.
Grandfather nodded. "Yes, I have caught wind of it."
Zhang Jiyao said, "This fire is burning fiercer by the day, showing not the slightest sign of dying down. My disciples made covert inquiries, and certain matters are truly baffling."
Grandfather smiled. "Mere swindling tricks, nothing more."
Zhang Jiyao replied, "Swindling tricks are not terrifying; what is terrifying is failing to see through them."
Grandfather said, "Is the esteemed Zhang referring to the business of roosters not crowing and dogs not barking?"
Zhang Jiyao gave a dry chuckle. "Grandfather underestimates your older brother here. Such petty maneuvers cannot escape my eyes. I am referring to his public street demonstrations of summoning the three great immortals and immortals eating noodles."
Grandfather smiled, laughing without offering a reply. Although he was smiling on the surface, he had no bottom in his heart either. Recently, he had also frequently dispatched the Second Dam Head and Zhang Zizhan disguised as commoners to observe the spellcasting performances of Meixuanzi, the hall master of the "Plum Blossom Society." As a result, after returning, Zhang Zizhan and Huang Farong had only managed to crack the techniques of making roosters silent and dogs mute, while remaining utterly stumped by the rest despite a hundred rounds of pondering.
The mysteries of making roosters not crow and dogs not barking were both mentioned in the two books "Secrets of Swindling" and "Crossing Begonias Wind and Physiognomy Notes."
Regarding roosters not crowing: ancient people referred to the rooster as the spirit of obscurity; among the twelve Chinese zodiac animals, it is known as the You rooster, and its five-element attribute belongs to metal. Metal governs the lungs, and the lungs govern respiration. The respiratory system of a rooster is extremely sensitive, leading Western military strategists to declare: "In biochemical warfare integrating modern weaponry and high-tech equipment, the rooster is the sentinel that protects humans from chemical weapon injuries." During the Gulf War, to protect against Saddam's poison gas attacks, the US military frequently drove thousands of roosters ahead to lead the way and avoid contamination.
Beneath each of a rooster's two wings lies a major tendon, which serves as the essential pathway for the blood and vital energy of the rooster's body. When catching a rooster, the bird will struggle desperately and cry out loudly; at this moment, one merely needs to press down firmly with both hands on the major tendons beneath the wings, ensuring the technique is steady and the force sufficient. After repeating this a few times and then releasing the rooster, the bird would just stare blankly with wide eyes without making a sound.
Those individuals who displayed magical arts were simply pressing down hard while shaking their heads and reciting incantations to put on an act. The common people were completely hoodwinked by their performance, failing entirely to notice the trickery happening beneath their hands, which thus created the bizarre phenomenon of roosters not crowing.
As for dogs not barking, a specific medicine was actually fed to the dog, causing hoarseness in its throat; if the dosage was large, it would even render the dog completely mute.
This medicine, which incurred immense damage to one's karmic virtue, originated from the refined Pear Garden trade. Pear Garden was the ancient alternative name for theatrical troupes, and those who sang on stage were called Pear Garden disciples. In ancient times, people in the Pear Garden trade engaged in fierce jealousy and backstabbing; in order to vie for lead roles and stage time, they would sometimes resort to ruthless measures and poison each other.
This poison would not take a person's life, but once consumed, it would violently attack the vocal cords, turning them hoarse within days. Opera actors made their living entirely through their voices; once their voices were ruined, their Pear Garden careers were effectively ended.
The raw materials for producing this poison were very simple: human earwax. Of course, simply digging out earwax and feeding it to someone would not produce any effect. The "Secrets of Swindling" records that the earwax had to be mixed with other traditional Chinese medicinal ingredients and then dissolved in water at an appropriate temperature. This precise timing and heat control were extremely difficult to master, and only someone proficient in this craft, like Zhang Zizhan, could replicate it.
Now, the members of the "Plum Blossom Society" had applied this method to dogs, leaving no one outside the inner circle capable of understanding what was actually happening.
However, the stunts pulled off by the "Plum Blossom Society"—summoning the three great immortals and immortals eating noodles—left both the "Muzi Lotus" and the "Heavenly Sacred Dao" utterly bewildered.