Mingmei Yip - Song of the Silk Road

After they’d left, I asked, “What happened?”

My friend smiled wryly. “She’s not very happy with my diagnosis.”

“The boy sick?”

He laughed. “No, he’s perfectly OK, just refuses to eat meat. I told the woman she has to let him be. He’s a born vegetarian. But she was furious with me and said, ‘There’s no such thing as born vegetarian, otherwise we’d all starve to death!’ She told me her husband works very hard to save money to buy meat, but the son always wastes it by spitting it out. One time he even secretly threw it down to feed a wild dog. When she saw what had happened she pulled the meat from the dog’s filthy mouth and forced it down her son’s throat.”

I exclaimed, “Oh, my, that’s horrible!”

Lop Nor went on. “I can understand why the mother feels so bitter. She said, ‘He acts like we are so rich that we can afford meat all the time and he can waste it!’ ”

After some silence, I asked, “Why was the boy spitting and crying?”

Lop Nor shook his head. “I tried to persuade him that chicken is tasty, and so is lamb. But you saw his response to that. He screamed till his face was twisted.”

“But why?”

“He accused his mother of poisoning him with meat. He screamed, ‘No! No! I don’t want to be poisoned! Please don’t poison me!’ ”

“A child can be born vegetarian?”

“Yes, that’s his karma. But the mother doesn’t understand that nothing can be done except to let him be. If he eats meat, his life will be shortened.”

Looking at Lop Nor’s detached, almost emotionless face and listening to his erudite words, I wondered how a learned man like him ended up in this remote village where business was minimal and his practice and insight were hardly appreciated. Was he just unlucky—or could it be he was hiding from something?

Lop Nor poured us hot tea from his thermos. “Miss Lin, please have some chrysanthemum and honey tea. Don’t worry. The boy is fine, only the mother is not. By the way, he reminds me that I should try to get some herbs particularly for vegetarians. Should we set a date to travel to the Mountains of Heaven?”

“Lop Nor, please just call me Lily.”

But he ignored my request. “Miss Lin, you have a calendar with you?”

The weather on the day of departure turned out to be surprisingly artistic with a Van Gogh sky, patches of Magritte clouds, and a light breeze breaking the sultry air. Once I agreed to travel with him, Lop Nor, like a Zen master, had been quick and decisive in making plans and arrangements.

From his village, we took a bus to the train station, and from there the train to Urumqi. At the train station, Lop Nor negotiated with the driver of a rather dilapidated car to take us into the Mountains of Heaven at the foot of the Bogda peak, one of the highest. After a long stretch along the monotonous, flat, dry, hot, and dusty semidesert, we turned onto a narrow road that zigzagged up along a rushing river.

Finally, the car pulled to a stop in front of a modest wooden building with a sign declaring itself to be the Heavenly Lake Guest House. We got out and I paid, for me a trifling sum, then we registered, had a light supper, and went to our separate rooms.

The next morning, we set out across an open field until we reached a gorge with a small stream roaring at the bottom.

Lop Nor said, “We’ll first go to the forest to find herbs, then to the Heavenly Lake. We’re now about 2,000 meters above sea level. Later it will be mostly an uphill climb. Are you ready?”

I nodded even though I had no clear idea of what awaited me. I hoped that the climb, however steep, would lead to the precious herb demanded by my aunt Mindy Madison.

Humming a tune to alleviate my nervousness, I lost track of time until my sore, booted feet landed on the level forest ground. Instantly I was embraced by a surge of fresh, cool air. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply the pleasant smell of lush vegetation while listening to the chirping of birds and the soothing flow of water. When I reopened my eyes, I had fallen sensuously in love with the deep forest, with its tall pines and dragon spruces.

“Miss Lin.” Lop Nor’s voice rose loud and clear in the forest air. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to start first from the lower slopes to gather mushrooms, almonds, wild apples, ginseng, and motherwort for my store. Then we’ll climb higher where we might find the plant you need.”

I smiled to my mountain companion. “Of course not. I love almonds and wild apples.” Especially from this beautiful paradise. The setting was very romantic, but I was not going to tell him that, lest he misunderstand. Then suddenly I felt a wave of regret. While I’d agreed so easily to go to this remote mountain forest with a strange Uyghur man, I’d turned down Alex’s earlier repeated requests to travel with me. I hoped that now he was at least having a good time with his parents, wherever they were.

After about an hour of treading through the dense forest, Lop Nor said we had arrived where he might find what he needed.

I put down my backpack and stretched my arms. Lop Nor cast me a contented look. “I’ll gather some herbs for my store, then we’ll go look for snow lotuses. In the meantime, you can stay with me, or walk around and explore a little by yourself. But don’t stray too far, and watch out for wild boars. If you come upon one, don’t panic. Just hold still and it will leave you alone. Anyway, don’t worry, I’ll be around,” he said, already parting leaves and scraping mud for possible treasures.

It was then that I understood his mud-caked nails and large, rough, leathery hands. This was a man whose sufferings were witnessed by the scorching sun and fierce wind, as he dug for the herbs that were his passion and his livelihood. Tears moistened my eyes, but I held them back.

I told Lop Nor while avoiding looking at his hands or his eyes, “I’ll stroll around, then come back to join you.”

After that, I immediately walked away, fearing he might sense my feelings. Besides, I also wanted to be by myself in this modern Penglai Shan, the legendary immortal’s mountain. I needed to clear my confused mind and untangle my emotions. With luck, I might even find a spot to meditate in the full lotus position so as to fully absorb the powerful mountain energy.

The forest was soothing, yet also a little intimidating. After such a long stay in the desert, seeing only the ubiquitous sand and its endless expanse of brown, I was glad to finally have the chance to indulge my senses amidst the trees, vines, flowers, and moss-covered rocks with their intoxicating fragrance. Here I didn’t need to drink to get drunk!

After fifteen minutes’ wandering, I suddenly saw something big, dark, and fat dart in front of me. I blurted out, “What’s that?” then realized it was a only a rabbit. Just as I calmed myself, the sky emitted a strange Quuuik, Quuuik! sound. I looked up and saw a hawk circling like a plane in an air show.

I continued to walk and soon noticed some tiny, star-shaped, white flowers squeezing through cracks of a huge boulder to peek out, as if shyly beckoning me with their loveliness and loneliness. Curious, I picked a bunch of them and held them close to my nose. An unusual fragrance, a mixture of ginger and sandalwood, found its way into my nostrils. After enjoying the aromas for a few seconds, I tucked some into my hair. Then I closed my eyes and imagined myself the most beautiful Greek goddess seducing the most handsome god on Mount Olympus. Or maybe an attractive Chinese fairy to charm a fine-looking scholar.

Elated to find there was not a soul around, I resumed walking, unable to resist touching almost everything: outlandish flowers, the leathery bark of an ancient tree, moist leaves with the texture of a newborn’s skin, stones with animal faces, mud tender like a lover’s heart…. Everything felt so delicate under my curious hands. What did Lop Nor feel with his rough, masculine ones?