A Prophet - Chapter 21 (Part 1)

Chapter 1 - Grandfather Relocates the Guild Hall Back to Shanghai

Amidst the tangled and chaotic war situation, Grandfather assessed the trends of the times and, in 1943, resolutely moved the guild hall back to Jianghuai! At the same time, Chinese military and civilians began entering the stage of strategic counter-offensive against the Japanese invaders. In 1945, Mao Zedong published "The Last Battle Against the Japanese Bandits," marking the full-scale counter-offensive of the War of Resistance Against Japan. On August 15, the Japanese Emperor announced an unconditional surrender.

At that moment, Zuo Yongchan of the Tiansheng Dao panicked, Jiang Tiancheng of the Shuntian Cult panicked, and the Huidaomen sects in Shandong panicked as well. Several of Zuo Yongchan's underlings pondered dividing up the family property and each seeking a way out.

Zuo Yongchan flew into a rage: "Damn it! After all these years, is the Tiansheng Dao just going to scatter like this? So what if the devils lost? Every dynasty needs Grand Masters! Didn't the Kuomintang come back? I'll take them down just the same, and I will still be the 'Number One Grand Master of Jianghuai'!"

The underlings thought to themselves: Stop bragging. Times have changed. The devils are gone, and next comes the reckoning for collaborators! You aren't afraid of dying, but we certainly don't want to die with you!

That night, several underlings quietly crept into Zuo Yongchan's room, stabbed a sleeping Zuo Yongchan to death with a single blade, and then grabbed all the gold and silver, fleeing in all directions!

Poor Grand Master Zuo Yongchan, after struggling for half his life—first losing a leg and ultimately being assassinated by his own disciples—saw the Tiansheng Dao built by Zhang Jiyao disintegrate in his hands. He could only trudge into the underworld on crutches to confess his crimes to his teacher.

Grandfather's faction reopened for business. That night, Grandfather feasted all the pier bosses, filled with deep emotion.

"Ten years ago, the Jianghuai region was divided into three parts: the Muzi Lotus, the Plum Blossom Society, and the Tiansheng Dao. Today, only the Muzi Lotus stands proudly alone. This is both the will of heaven and the desire of the people. Now that peace has returned to the world, our days should finally get easier!" After saying this, Grandfather emotionally recited a poem:

Seeking the Tao

Seeking the Tao through the years, the Tao remains untrue,

Exhausting a myriad of experiences, all are of the lower rank.

With a single palm of yin and yang, I turn karmic retribution,

The boundless universe holds boundless gates.

"Well said!" The Third Pier Boss took the lead in applauding, and the other brothers stood up to applaud as well.

The next day, Grandfather put on a brand-new long gown and went out onto the street. After an absence of six years, the Shanghai had changed its appearance, and the traces of the Japanese occupation still remained: wall slogans promoting the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, defense fortifications gathered at intersections, gloomy and towering concentration camps, and Japanese expatriates who had failed to evacuate in time—except that these Japanese were no longer arrogant and domineering, but instead hid here and there, terrified of receiving a dark blade from the Chinese.

Grandfather shook his head continuously and sighed repeatedly. He suddenly thought of Nishida Yoshiko and what she had said before her death: war not only hurts the opponent, but also hurts oneself.

At that moment, in a street corner not far away, a youth of sixteen or seventeen was quietly watching Grandfather, secretly tailing him from behind.

The Sixth Pier Boss and the Second Pier Boss followed behind Grandfather, but did not notice. Grandfather was careless, and the pier bosses were careless too. Everyone assumed that the devils had surrendered and the collaborators and Huidaomen sects in Jianghuai had scattered, leaving no more enemies behind. Therefore, they had let down their guard and were strolling about in leisurely contentment.

The kid observed for a bit and slowly closed in. Walking and drawing a bowl from his waist, he approached Grandfather: "Mister, spare a few coins..."

Grandfather smiled and lowered his head to feel for money, but unexpectedly, the kid suddenly whipped a sharp knife out from his sleeve and fiercely stabbed it toward Grandfather. Grandfather instinctively blocked with his hand, and his arm was pierced through, blood instantly staining his gown. The Sixth Pier Boss and the Second Pier Boss behind him swarmed forward at the sight, instantly beating the kid to the ground.

"Don't kill him! Leave him alive!" Grandfather looked around and said in a low voice, "Take him back to the guild hall for interrogation!"

Inside the guild hall, the steward bandaged Grandfather's wound. Grandfather sat in a chair and carefully scrutinized the kid, feeling like he had seen him somewhere before, yet unable to recall.

"Do we know each other?" Grandfather asked.

"I recognize you!" the kid said loudly.

"Do we have a blood feud?" Grandfather asked in surprise.

"A blood feud of a murdered father, irreconcilable!" the kid shouted.

"A murdered father?" Grandfather was stunned. "May I ask who your esteemed father is?"

"My father is Mei Xuanzi, and my mother is Gai Xia!" the kid said.

"Ah?" Grandfather was greatly shocked. As he scrutinized the kid again, no wonder he looked familiar. Back in 1934, Mei Xuanzi had invited Grandfather to the Xiya Restaurant to discuss a partnership, and at that time, he had left this kid in Grandfather's guild hall—he was only five years old back then.

"Quickly untie him, he is our nephew!" Grandfather thought of his sworn brother Mei Xuanzi, and thus referred to his son as a nephew.

The First Pier Boss was startled, and Grandfather repeated, "Quickly untie him!"

The kid was also bewildered: "Who is your nephew? You caused my father's death!"

Grandfather did not know why he would say such a thing, but still had the First Pier Boss untie him, and then said, "Your father and I were sworn brothers who exchanged pledges of fraternity. We went to the island together to set up a scheme against the Japanese, and your father unfortunately perished. I am deeply grieved!"

"Hmph, a cat crying for a mouse! It was that time you all caused my father's death!"

"Nephew, why would you say that?!" Grandfather asked very anxiously.

"Why didn't you die?! Why didn't any of your brothers die? Why was it precisely my father who died? And without leaving even a corpse!"

Grandfather was stunned: "Your esteemed father and I were sworn brothers, and your mother knew about this too. We went to the island together to set up the scheme, and your father was killed by a Japanese bomb. I was extremely heartbroken..."

"You liar! How do you have the face to mention my mother? My parents fell for your trap! They went to the island with you, and in the end, my father died, and my mother was captured by the Japanese, enduring humiliation to cling to life..."

"Your esteemed mother is still alive?" Grandfather asked hastily.

"It seems you were hoping our whole family would die! The Plum Blossom Society threatened your Jiangxiang Sect, didn't it? You wanted to exterminate us completely, didn't you?"

Grandfather's temper flared. He walked over, grabbed the kid by the collar, and was about to slap him. He raised his hand, but then slowly lowered it. The kid's eyebrows and facial contours were far too much like Mei Xuanzi's, and Grandfather couldn't bear to do it.

"Your esteemed mother is..." Grandfather asked.

"You want to ask how my mother survived? Of course it was because of my father! My father died, so the Japanese believed my parents weren't in cahoots with the Jiangxiang Sect! Mother said that on that day, all the people from the Jiangxiang Sect fled by boat, abandoning them behind. All that talk of sharing weal and woe and standing by each other through life and death was sheer bullshit!"

"So that's how it was..." Grandfather nodded upon hearing this. "How about this, you take me to see your mother, and I will explain this matter!"

"Hahahaha!" The kid let out a wild laugh. "Do you take me for a fool? You want to kill my mother too? I've fallen into your hands today; kill me or carve me up as you please! If I bat an eyelash, my name isn't Mei Liren!"

Grandfather also smiled: "Gutsy! So my nephew's name is Mei Liren—standing in benevolence and walking in the Dao. What a fine name! Heh heh!"

"Don't fucking try to buddy up with me!"

The First Pier Boss and Second Pier Boss on the side were so furious they wanted to go over and give this kid a few slaps, but Grandfather stopped them.

"Nephew, it seems our misunderstanding is quite profound. Well then, since you are so smart, think about this carefully: if I wanted to harm your entire family, would I still be here wasting my breath with you? Who treats their enemy this nicely?" Grandfather said.

"You want to trick me into revealing my mother's whereabouts and then wipe us all out in one go," Mei Liren said.

"Mm, that makes sense. If I were you, I'd think the same way. Here, I'll give you a gun. Take it, press it against my back, and I will go with you to see your mother. If the misunderstanding still can't be cleared up by then, you can just blow my brains out with a single shot. How about that?"

"Do you dare?" As soon as Mei Liren heard this, his spirits immediately lifted.

"Of course!" Grandfather replied.

"Grandfather, absolutely not! This kid is ruthless..." The pier bosses all tried to dissuade Grandfather together.

Grandfather waved his hand, then drew a pistol from his waist, removed the cylinder, shook the bullets out, and said to Mei Liren, "To show my sincerity, watch this." With that, right in front of Mei Liren, he loaded the bullets back in one by one. "These are six bullets, the chamber is full, so every shot hits its mark. As long as you pull the trigger, I will die. Now you can rest assured, right?"

With that, he handed the gun to Mei Liren.

"Grandfather!" The pier bosses cried out in unison.

Grandfather waved his hand to signal them to remain calm and collected: "I believe my nephew will be like his father—a man of his word and open and aboveboard!"

Mei Liren took the gun and weighed it in his hand: "Fine, it's a deal."

The two of them turned through several alleys and walked for a long stretch before reaching Gai Xia's place of residence. Grandfather took a look and saw that it was a former Japanese-occupied zone.

"Mom..." Mei Liren knocked on the door.

A woman walked out: "Ah!" She cried out in shock upon seeing Grandfather.

"Madam, do not be afraid!" Grandfather looked at Gai Xia, who had been weathered by the vicissitudes of life, his face full of remorse. "I have come here precisely to explain the situation to you!"

Mei Liren waved the gun in his hand: "Mom! He can't run away, there's nothing to be afraid of!"

Gai Xia looked around: "Come inside to talk!"

"Madam, you have wronged me!" Once inside, Grandfather looked at the memorial portrait of Mei Xuanzi in the room and hurriedly lit a stick of incense.

"Wronged you? Heh heh," Gai Xia sneered. "What kind of brilliant man Grandfather is! You lured us onto the island to cooperate with your scheme, and in the end you fled, my husband died, and Pei Jinglong died too. Three families set up the scheme, two families died, and only your family escaped. And I wronged you?"

"Madam, the situation was urgent at the time; no one knew whether they would live or die. My men and I did not escape together either; please listen to my explanation..." Grandfather recounted the experiences of how the various pier bosses had escaped with their lives.

"Grandfather is eloquent with words, so we will listen for the sake of it," Gai Xia said, unconvinced.

Grandfather thought for a moment and said, "Master Mei was hit by a cannon shell that day, and Madam believes his corpse was washed into the sea and could never be found again. But does Madam know that when I escaped that day, I carried Master Mei's body away and buried him in a place in Shaoxing? If I wanted to harm you all, how could I have still been thinking of Master Mei's remains at such a critical juncture? Madam, please think carefully—Master Mei and I were sworn brothers of fraternity!"

Upon hearing this, Gai Xia was stunned. For years, she had always believed that Mei Xuanzi had been fed to the fish after being struck by a cannon shell: "Is this true?"

"Madam can accompany me to Shaoxing and see for herself!"

"Wait!" Mei Liren said. "How do I know you won't just make up a fake grave to fool us?"

Grandfather glanced at him and said, "What my nephew says makes sense. The situation was urgent at the time, and after I buried Master Mei, I originally wanted to put up a tombstone and write my sworn younger brother's name on it. But considering safety issues and fearing that Master Mei's identity would be leaked, I dropped the idea..."

"See? See that? Right? You still just made an anonymous fake grave to dupe us!" Mei Liren said.

Grandfather looked at him again and said, "But I was also afraid it would be hard to recognize in the future, so in front of Master Mei's grave, I dug a pit and concealed a piece of ink-stone inside so we could use it to verify our identity later! Carved on the ink-stone is my handwriting—'A golden coin in the green calyx tree, its fragrance comes from bitter coldness!' The golden coin and green calyx represent the finest plum blossoms. I admired Master Mei's noble and unyielding character, fearing neither cold nor hardship like the plum blossom, making him a true gentleman!"

"Is this true?" Gai Xia was agitated.

"If there is half a sentence of falsehood, may I be struck by heaven and annihilated by earth!"

Soon, Gai Xia, Mei Liren, and Grandfather's party arrived in Shaoxing. Fortunately, the Japanese bombings had not reached this place. Through ten years of wind and frost, Mei Xuanzi's grave mound had almost flattened out. Grandfather forcefully dug away the soil in front of the grave, revealing a piece of ink-stone. Grandfather slowly picked it up, wiped the mud off its surface, and held it up: "Madam, Nephew, please look!"

After Gai Xia took it, the handwriting on it matched Grandfather's description down to the smallest detail. "Husband—" Gai Xia let out a sorrowful cry and collapsed to her knees before the grave.

"Father!" Mei Liren knelt down as well.

Grandfather could not hold back his tears either. Scene after scene of the past swirled in his mind: a single moment of yin and yang severed through eternity, ten years of life and death leaving them separated across two vast realms.

When the weeping ended, Grandfather arranged for the First Pier Boss and Second Pier Boss to erect a tombstone for Mei Xuanzi. Grandfather personally wrote the epitaph for his sworn younger brother, and Mei Xuanzi's name was carved onto the front of the tombstone in Grandfather's own handwriting.

Afterward, Gai Xia said to Grandfather, "The Plum Blossom Society is gone, but the Plum Blossom Taoist Temple is still there. I am going to become a nun and cultivate goodness in the temple where my husband lived during his lifetime, living out the rest of my days."

Grandfather nodded: "If you encounter any difficulties, you can come to my home to find me at any time."

Gai Xia said to Grandfather again, "My blockhead of a son is headstrong and hot-tempered, but his innate roots of goodness are not yet extinguished. I hope Grandfather will take good care of him."

Grandfather nodded repeatedly: "Madam, rest assured. I treat my nephew as my own biological son, and I will certainly not let him stray onto the wrong path!"

After Gai Xia left, Mei Liren requested to formally join the Jiangxiang Sect.

Grandfather let out a long sigh: "You can do anything else, and your uncle will support you, but you absolutely cannot join the Jiangxiang Sect!"

"Why? Isn't it about upholding justice on behalf of heaven?"

Grandfather gave a bitter laugh: "Heh heh, when I was your age, I was just like you. Now the war is over, and your fate is better than your uncle's. Study hard! Which school do you want to attend? Your uncle will support you."

"But I'm slow at studying."

"Practice makes perfect. Clever people may not necessarily possess true wisdom, and great vessels are often forged late! Your father's heroic feat of sacrificing himself for the country will surely bear good fruit, benefiting his descendants for generations to come."

"Oh."

Grandfather looked at the thin and gaunt Mei Liren, and suddenly a new idea popped into his head: "Do you want to go abroad?"

"Abroad? What for?" Mei Liren had never thought about such a thing.

"Listen to me, your uncle will tell you: Why did Japan dare to invade China? Because they were advanced and had good weapons. It's just like two households living their lives—the one that lives well bullies the one that doesn't. Backwardness leaves one vulnerable to beatings. Look at this Shanghai; where is it the most bustling? The International Settlement! Because those are all buildings built by foreigners, and things like banks and stock exchanges were all brought by foreigners! And then there are those gramophones, record players, and movie projectors. These fun things were all invented by foreigners, so you must also learn these things. Once you learn them, return to China and manufacture these things for the common people. Wouldn't that be wonderful?" Grandfather said.

"Mmm! Hearing Uncle put it this way, I find it interesting! I just love tinkering with gramophones and cameras! I've dreamed of having a camera of my own! Back when I was working for my master at the photo studio, he wouldn't even let me touch them!" Mei Liren said excitedly.

"That's why you need to go and learn. After you've mastered it, come back to China and open your own photo studio! You can take pictures of your uncle when the time comes."

"It's a deal!" Mei Liren said with a smile.

"It's a deal!"

"Uncle, which country am I going to?" Mei Liren asked suddenly.

"Nanyang, Britain, America—pick whichever you like, and your uncle will find a way to send you out!"

Mei Liren thought for a moment and said, "Then let's go to America! I heard America has some kind of atomic bomb that instantly blew up several tens of thousands of Japanese people. I'll go over there and study it, and come back and make a few. In case the Japanese ever invade us again, we can just toss them over to those little Japs!"

"Heh heh heh heh," Grandfather was amused. "Good! Good!"

One evening a month later, Grandfather penned a letter, handed it to Mei Liren, and said, "Tomorrow I will buy your boat ticket. When you arrive over there, someone will naturally meet you. At that time, you just hand this letter to them, and they will arrange your lodging and studies."

"Uncle, I will come back to see you and Mom..." Mei Liren took the letter, his eyes suddenly turning red.

"A real man has ambitions across the four seas; crying is not allowed. You must be like your father—dare to venture, dare to act, and even more, possess a kind heart. You are not allowed to disgrace the Chinese people!"

"I've got it memorized."

Mei Liren left. A few months later, Grandfather received a return letter from him, and after reading it, Grandfather was filled with deep emotion.

Mom, Uncle:

Upon seeing this letter, I trust you are well!

Opening this letter, I sincerely wish you health and peace. After arriving in America, Aunt Liaoliao received me. I feel that America is exceptionally wonderful; you cannot imagine how developed it is here, nor can you imagine how advanced the industrial and educational systems are here! There is a kind of meat patty made from minced meat and onions called a hamburger, and I also drank that beverage called "Coca-Cola" that I saw rich people drinking back in Shanghai.

There are also many Chinese enclaves here. Since I don't speak English, I often only hang out with other Chinese people. Aunt Liaoliao told me that if I want to integrate into America and learn more knowledge, I must learn English well. So I started studying English. Aunt Liaoliao is amazing; her English is exceptionally fluent, and every time she forces me to converse with her in English.

Aunt Liaoliao found a school for me that specifically teaches the art of photography. The teacher who gives us class is a journalist who took many photos in China during the War of Resistance to expose Japanese atrocities; it is said he even won a Pulitzer Prize.

Mom, Uncle, I finally have my own camera! Aunt Liaoliao paid for it for me, but I've made up my mind that once I earn money in the future, I will definitely pay Aunt back. In America, people value the spirit of "contract." Aunt Liaoliao and I reached an agreement: the money Aunt lent me, I must return in the future, otherwise I will no longer accept Aunt's financial support. Aunt agreed to my request.

Mom, Uncle, do you know? The better my life in America is, the more I miss you both. Back in China, I never had the concept of a country, nor any patriotic awareness, but now I do. I'm not afraid of you laughing at me, but I really, truly want to master my craft well and return to use my own abilities to change the landscape of my hometown. I want more children to know that besides poverty and the flames of war, this world also has beauty and prosperity, and I want everyone to be able to eat hamburgers and drink cola.

Mom, Uncle, I can't write anymore. It's time for my English conversation session with Aunt Liaoliao again. Finally, I want to say one sentence in English: Mom, Uncle, I love you!

Take good care of yourselves, and wait for me to return to China to see you.

Oh, right, Aunt Liaoliao asked me to send her regards to Uncle. She asked me to tell Uncle that she already has two daughters. Her older daughter's Chinese name is Hu Aizhong, and her younger daughter's name is Hu Aihua. Their family of four lives very happily. Aside from formal American classroom education, Aunt Liaoliao also personally tutors her two daughters every day in two subjects: Standards for Students (Di Zi Gui) and Liaofan's Four Lessons (Liao Fan Si Xun).

Liren

January 6, 1946

Seeing the mention of Standards for Students and Liaofan's Four Lessons in the letter, Grandfather knew that Huang Farong had completely awakened. As he read to the very end, Grandfather's eyes filled with tears, while the corners of his mouth curved into a trace of gratified a smile.