Jia Pingwa - Ruined City

“Is it her work or her face you’re afraid to lose? She bought another pair of jeans today. Did you see how she tucked her blouse into the jeans and strutted around with her chest thrown out? She was showing off her thin waist and ample hips.”

He got an erection listening to her, so he climbed on top and tried to enter her.

“Talking about Liu Yue turns you on, I see.” She grew quiet but did not stop him. ☐☐ ☐☐ ☐☐ [The author has deleted 60 words.]

He asked her again to change positions, but she refused. He wanted a little fire.

“I’m not a whore.”

He got off her. “So I’m having sex with a corpse.”

They fell silent and stopped moving. She moved over to touch him.

“All right, come on up.”

But he didn’t move, and she started belching again.

. . .

The court date approached. The defendants read each other’s rebuttals before consulting with their lawyers to go over possible questions that the other side might raise. They then made the necessary preparations for every one of them. On the day before they were due in court, Zhong Weixian asked Zhou Min to take the fourth version of his statement to Zhuang to look at. In return, Zhuang told Zhou to take a bottle of tranquilizers to Zhong, telling the old man to take two pills at bedtime and try not to think about anything. Zhou told Zhuang that the old man had more sleeping pills than he could ever take. For over a year, he had been relying on pills to combat his insomnia. He had been looking terrible in recent days, and when he climbed stairs, he was sweating profusely and had to stop several times to rest.

Niu Yueqing overhead their conversation.

“Zhou Min, pull yourself together tomorrow, and be sure to shave. That way you can intimidate the other side.”

“What will Zhuang Laoshi wear?”

“He has a new suit, but no new tie. So I’ll have Liu Yue buy a red one this afternoon.”

“No need. It’s not the Nobel Prize ceremony,” Zhuang said.

“Just pretend you’re accepting the Nobel, all right? Let the woman, Jing whatever, see what she missed by not marrying you years ago. I’ll be there tomorrow. Liu Yue and Tang Wan’er both say they’re going. I’ve also talked to Wang Ximian’s wife and Xia Jie. We’re all going, wearing our finest clothes, to cheer you on, give you moral support, and show the judge that the wives of Zhuang Zhidie and his friends are fairy-like beauties.” She continued, “Every one of us is prettier than that Jing So-and-So. She’d be wise not to think too highly of herself, as if she were a flower who can ruin your reputation just because you slept with her.”

Zhuang was fed up with his wife. He told Zhou Min to get some rest and sent her off to bed, while he phoned Meng Yunfang, asking him to come over and perform some divination.

When Meng arrived, they shut themselves up in Zhuang’s study, where they talked and talked. Niu Yueqing and Liu waited up for them until 11:30, when they went to their rooms to sleep. Meanwhile, in the study, Meng kept his eyes on his watch, and at midnight, a time when the yin and yang intersected, he lit a stick of incense. Telling Zhuang to hold his breath and keep still, he held a pinch of milfoil in his hands for a moment before dividing it into six trigrams, to form the earth-water symbol. Mumbling an incantation, he scribbled it down for Zhuang.

丙寅， 巳酉， 丁酉， 庚子时

六神

• • 父母酉金—应

• • 兄弟亥水—

• • 官鬼丑土—

• • 妻财午火—世

官鬼辰土—动

• • 子孙寅木—

• • 子孙酉金—世 青龙

• • 妻财亥水—玄武

• • 兄弟丑土—白虎

• • 官鬼卯木—应 腾蛇

• • 父母巳火—勾陈

• • 兄弟未土—朱雀

3rd heavenly stem, 46th heavenly stem, 34th heavenly stem, midnight

Six deities

Left column

。。 Parents—10th earthly branch — gold — corresponds to

。。Brothers—12th earthly branch — water

。。Officials and Demons—2nd of the earthly branch — earth

。。Wife and Fortune—7th of the earthly branch — fire — seeker

。。 Officials and Demons—5th of the earthly branch — earth — change

。。Descendants—3rd of the earthly branch — wood

Right column

。。 Descendants—10th of the earthly branch — gold — seeker — green dragon

。。 Wife and Fortune—12th of the earthly branch — water — black turtle-snake

。。Brothers—2nd of the earthly branch — earth — white tiger

。。 Officials and Demons—4th of the earthly branch — wood — corresponds to winged snake

。。Parents—6th of the earthly branch — fire — unicorn

。。Brothers—8th of the earthly branch — earth — red phoenix

“This is an intriguing sign,” Meng said.

“Is it good or bad?” Zhuang asked.

“It’s not bad. The earth-water symbol signifies one yang surrounded by five yin, to indicate taking command, which can mean trouble from competition. You are the second defendant, but you must take the lead. The fifth trigram, the apex, has Brothers—12th earthly branch — water; and Wife and Fortune, a sign of monetary expenditure. That’s not surprising, since a lawsuit is a drain on finances and energy. The second trigram, Officials and Demons, likely means more trouble. But does this mean you will have more problems now or more problems in the future? Let me see. The lawsuit was caused by a written article, and that is fire with an overabundance of yang. It is going to require more effort. Kun is the yin sign, related to petty people and to women, in the southwest direction. You can probably expect more trouble coming from the southwest. In accordance with the Four Factor divination system — year, month, day, and time — the sign also refers to monetary losses.”

“Does this mean there will be problems at tomorrow’s court hearing?” Zhuang asked.

“The earth image also means unearthing, so it could be positive, like a mare that likes to run against the wind but has a gentle nature. Everything will turn out all right if you calmly keep to the righteous path. In this case, tomorrow’s hearing probably will not completely eliminate your problems, but you should make it through and come out on top, so long as you remain pure and honest while adapting to changes in circumstances.” As if reminded of something, Meng removed a handkerchief from his pocket and unfolded it, giving Zhuang a small scrap of bloodied paper to keep in his pocket. Zhuang asked what it was. Meng told him it was a Xijing practice to carry a virgin’s menstrual blood to ward off evil spirits. He had gotten it specifically for Zhuang.

“I don’t want that. Which girl did you ruin this time? How could it be a virgin’s menstrual blood if you could get hold of it?”

“You’re being unfair. These days, no one can guarantee that an unmarried girl is a virgin. But this blood is from a virgin. Well, I’ll tell you the truth. Yesterday I went to the Clear Void Nunnery to see Huiming. When she went out to get water, I spotted a wad of bloody paper under her bed, which told me she had been changing her pad when I arrived. She couldn’t discard it properly and just tossed it under the bed. Reminded of your court appearance, I secretly tore off a small piece for you. I can’t guarantee the purity of others, but Huiming is certainly purer than most. I suspected that she was involved somehow with Huang Fude, but she probably would not have let him soil her Buddhist body. Besides, Huiming belongs to the order that is gentle yet strong-willed, and her menstrual napkin has a fine spirit.”