Do you like stories with mystery and suspense? Strange and “wyrd” ones? Well, if you do, keep reading and enjoy Eggcentricsagas. If you are just joining Eggcentricsagas, you might want to start from the beginning: A La Mano: Part 1-The Treasure
Lei’s worries were all for naught as Da brought them all to the nearest village pier and, the criminal was unloaded and taken away without incident. The only thing that brought anxiety to Lei was the look that the bandit gave him and Da. Scowling, he stared at them but especially at Lei as if he was memorizing their faces. Finally, a slap by the hand of a policeman to the back of his head made the thief turn away before being led to the local garrison
As a reward, for bringing to justice one of the worst culprits of thievery on that section of the river, Da and Lei were invited to the village leader’s home to dine and stay the night before continuing on their journey. Lei was surprised when Da was greeted by the rich man with a reverent bow and then addressed as Old Master. Lei then learned that his new friend was a renowned laoshi, Daoist alchemist, and fortune-teller. As a healer and shaman, he traveled far and wide helping people with their troubles. After dinner, Lei was sent to bed as Master Li gave their host an astrological reading in return for his hospitality.
They set out the next day with an armed escort. Soon they arrived in Lei’s village. The boy jumped off the cart and ran to his home. He was surprised at the squalid appearance of the house as it appeared abandoned. Once inside, he found deplorable conditions. Filthy and devoid of others until he found his father in the back room. An invalid, languishing in grief, lying on a dirty straw mat. A sickly sweet aroma overlying a more permanent stench permeated the air. Lei could see a bamboo pipe with a blue and white porcelain pipe bowl located at his father’s side.
His father, seeing him, blinked his cloudy eyes and murmured, almost incoherently, his nickname for Lei’s mother, “My darling, Magnolia, you have brought our youngest to me.” He looked over Lei’s shoulder and spoke to her. Lei turned and expected to see his mother, but no one was there. The house was empty and silent. Outside, however, Lei could hear a loud voice.
Lei went to the window and could see his eldest brother confronting Master Li. Anger animated his face and, he shouted at him. “That irresponsible monkey is the cause of our father’s debasement! He shouldn’t have run off and taken that raft. We thought he had drowned when we found it broken to bits. My mother blamed his death on us and then died. Our father was never right again; he began smoking opium and now he is worthless. To feed his habit, he sold all my sisters into slavery and stopped paying the landlord. If it wasn’t for my other brothers working the farm, we would all be beggars in the streets.” Pausing in his rant, he glared at Master Li. “Why did you bring him back?”
Master Li replied in rational tones but Lei had stopped listening. His mother was dead. He remembered what had happened after hitting his head and now began to comprehend his experience. His grief welled up again but this time it was tainted with anger and hate. Turning, he ran out the back door. Even though his lungs were on fire, unable to stop the plethora of emotions, Lei kept running. He ran all the way to the only place that he could find solace; his mother’s tea tree in the forest.
When he arrived, the child crumpled in a disgraced heap at the base of the tree. He was the cause of the collapse of his family. How could he ever face them again? Hot tears streamed down his face as he confronted the ancient tree. “Why Mama? Why did you abandon us?” The boy wished he had stayed dead. Why had he been made to return to this earth? To suffer?
Later in life, he would reminisce and likened the destruction of his family to the impending fall of the Qing Empire. But this day, not understanding his plight, Lei cried himself to sleep beneath the canopy of tea leaves.
Next: The Mysterious World of Dr. Wu: Part 6-Monkey Business
