Life of Bāo - Chapter 20
June 22, 2023
When secrets are revealed, everything changes. Welcome to Chapter 20. Enjoy.
Chapter 20
June 22, 2023
Master Zhao woke Bāo at 6 a.m. “Before we practice this morning, we need to talk. Finish your chores and wait for me in the kitchen.” Bāo ate breakfast, took water and two bowls of oatmeal to the homeless men outside, cleaned the dishes, and sat at the table.
Master Zhao joined him in the kitchen, “The time for secrets is over. Student Bāo, you must tell me everything. You are in grave danger. What is the real reason you left the orphanage?”
Bāo inhaled deeply and said, “Master Zhao, I haven't shared everything. I am sorry. I am afraid. One day, I skipped school with Yan and -”
Before he could continue, Master Zhao asked, “Who is Yan?”
“A friend. Deng Yan lives at the orphanage. I call her little sister. She is my family.”
“Go on.”
“Yan and I went to the Chengdu Arts and Crafts Festival. It was May 12th, a Friday. I made an excuse so I could be alone. I am ashamed to tell you, but I wanted some money. I learned that picking pockets was an easy way to get money. We planned to meet up near the mobile phone store. As soon as I was alone, I hopped on a bus. I stole a wallet from a woman on that bus. Sitting in the back of the bus, I noticed a well-dressed man who appeared to be dozing. He wore a leather jacket, and I noticed something shiny protruding from his pocket. His head swayed with the movement of the bus, and when his head dropped, I knew he was sleeping. When the bus neared a stop, I took the opportunity to steal the object. When the bus stopped, I stumbled forward into the man and apologized as I got off the bus. I thought I was in the clear when the bus pulled away from the bus stop.”
Bāo, visibly ashamed of what he did, continued, “The shiny metal was gold. It was a heavy gold bracelet. I knew it was pure gold. I heard the familiar sound of bus air breaks. I turned and saw that the bus had stopped. A man wearing a leather jacket jumped off the bus. He must have realized what had happened. He spied me from a distance, and I immediately ran as fast as possible.
“Tell me more about this man.”
“He looked to be in his 20s, maybe 30s. Well dressed, like I said, designer shoes, expensive watch.” Bāo closed his eyes and brought the man's image to mind. “His watch looked like a Rolex, and he had a large ring on his finger.” Surprised that he remembered, Bāo said, “He was wearing a ring!”
Master Zhao encouraged, “Look at the ring carefully and tell me what you see.”
Bāo closed his eyes and recalled, “It's gold with a thick, wide band. There is something etched in red on the ring. It looks like a bird. No, it's the head and body of a red dragon. The ring face is round, and there is a red circle at the edge of the round face. I am sure of a red dragon in the circle's center.”
Master Zhao sat in silence for a few minutes. The silence was halted with two words, “Straw Sandal.” After another minute of silence, he sat back in his chair and rolled back the sleeve of his monk's robe.
Bāo looked in amazement at Master Zhao's right forearm and said, “That’s it! I saw that on the man's ring. What is a Straw Sandal?”
Master Zhao rolled down his sleeve and said, “He is a messenger, third in rank, a Straw Sandel for the Red Dragons, an offshoot of the Sun Yee On.”
Bāo questioned, “What is the Sun Yee On?”
“They are a criminal network and active worldwide. They are the largest Triad in China. They began as a loose alliance of gangs founded by former Red Guards of the Cultural Revolution. They are a highly structured criminal organization involved in racketeering, smuggling, human trafficking, gambling, and even murder for hire.”
“So he was a messenger for the Red Dragons?”
“Yes. A Straw Sandal receives a ring at his initiation ceremony. He is responsible for delivering packages and messages inside and outside the organization.”
Bāo was reluctant but asked, “Why do you have their symbol on your forearm?”
Master Zhao replied, “Like you, I have made bad choices. I joined at the very young age of 15 to be a runner. That is where I met and befriended Ping Lu. With luck, money, and people who cared, I was rescued and turned my life around. I learned that you cannot run from your past mistakes. You carry them into the future and remember them so you will not repeat them. Do you understand?”
Bāo looked into Master Zhao's eyes, and for the first time, he saw something that had eluded him: hope.
“Where is this gold bracelet now?”
Bāo left the kitchen and returned with his backpack. He reached into its bottom, grasped the gold bracelet, and placed it in the center of the table. He nervously said, “He saw me when the people’s police questioned me. He was visibly upset but did not approach us.”
“Where?”
“I planned to meet Yan at the mobile phone store. She was waiting when I arrived. That is when the people’s police arrived, and we were taken back to the orphanage. I suspected something was terribly wrong, so I confided in Yan. I convinced her that we both needed to change our appearance. I knew then that I could not stay at the orphanage, so I ran and hid in the museum. That was when I met Ping Lu, and he brought me here. If I could return to the orphanage and talk with the Director, I could make this better.”
“How?”
“I don’t know how. I feel so guilty.”
“The director is dead.”
“Dead?” Bāo’s knees bent. He sank to the floor and kneeled. I should have walked off that bus. Two people are dead. Yan is in danger. How am I going to fix this?
“You are in grave danger, and so is Yan.” Master Zhao, concerned, asked, “Did Yan go back to the orphanage?”
“Yes, but, like I said, we changed our appearances. We both cut our long hair. I left the orphanage that same night.
“Your suspicions were correct. You and Yan have only managed to gain a little time. They will not rest until they have their property and their revenge. Yan is not safe. Do you know where she may be?”
Bāo answered, “Before I left, she got a job at Wu’s Tea House.”
Master Zhao, showing great concern, stood from the table and said, “We must find her and warn her. We must put as much distance as possible between us and the Red Dragons. Master Zhao picked up the gold bracelet from the table. He studied it carefully. The markings on the inside were similar to those found on artifacts from Longmen Grottoes. “We must find Yan before they do. We must prepare for an arduous journey.” Master Zhao was determined to travel to Luoyang to escape from the Red Dragons, to keep Bāo and Yan safe, and to find the ‘text stone.’
***
Yan dressed quickly and left the apartment for the testing center. Juān was still asleep. She wrote a brief thank-you note for letting her stay and informed her that she would return after the test that day.
Yan arrived at the testing center early. She watched as students walked in. Most, like her, were already tired from one day of testing. Unlike her, their nerves were not on edge from being the target of the Red Dragons. After tomorrow, she would leave Chengdu and put as much distance between herself and the Red Dragons as possible.
She hated the orphanage but now longed for its comfort and routine. Where is Bāo? Is he safe? Will I ever see him again? The instructor, like yesterday, provided instructions. Where will I go? A loud voice jolted her back to reality, “You may open your exams and begin.” She opened the exam, read the first question, and panicked. Given a function f(x)=ex + ax2 -x
When a=1, discuss the monotonicity of f(x).
When x>0, f(x)>1/2x3+1, find the range of a.
Audible groans echoed throughout the room.
***
Two Red Dragon soldiers stood in front of Sheng Yao. Their eyes averted to the floor. “Tell me if I have this right? Last night, you busted through the door at the Children's Welfare Institute. You let the girl escape, and the police confiscated your car, which is now impounded. Yao shouted, “Is that right?”
The two soldiers sheepishly nodded and then looked down at the floor again.
“Whose bright idea was it to bust the door in? Now, there will be an investigation that will bring public attention. It was on the news this morning. So whose idea was it?”
The man on the left raised his hand and then dropped it.
“Did I tell you to drop your hand?”
“No, Mr. Sheng.” He then raised his hand again. Yao placed his hand out as a greeting. He looked at his hand and asked, “Well?” The man lowered his hand into Yao’s hand. Yao immediately applied pressure. The man fell to his knees, screaming. Yao continued to squeeze. The man passed out, his hand visibly shattered. Yao looked at the other man, visibly shaken, and said, “Take him to the hospital to see if they can repair that. Then, I want both of you to find the girl without causing a public disturbance. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Mr. Sheng.”
***
Master Zhao could not sleep. He kept replaying the events in his mind. On a rainy night, Ping Lu stood at the door with Bāo. Now Lu is dead, the Director of the Children's Welfare Institute is dead, and for what? What makes this gold bracelet so valuable that it causes intense pursuit by the Red Dragons? It was their property, and they were going to use it as payment for drugs. What was the Straw Sandal up to? Was he making a delivery, or was he on the run? Why would a Straw Sandal travel on a public bus to make a delivery? That's not the usual mode of transportation taken by a third-ranking member of the Red Dragons.
He reached under his bed, pulled out the knapsack, and removed the wooden box with the now-added Moon pendant and gold bracelet. He removed the papyrus and reread it. He knew that it pointed to Luoyang. The papyrus and the Archaeology Journal photo caption pointed to a “text stone’. The photo caption noted a ‘text stone’ behind a Buddha statue at Longmen Grotto. There are thousands of Buddha statues there, tens of thousands. No matter what the challenge, that is where there would be another papyrus.
He read the fourth haiku:
Youthful rare Jewel
Reborn in earthquake Rat Year
Is both left and right
“Youthful rare Jewel.” Does that refer to the gold bracelet? No, the bracelet is not young. He stood quickly. Shocked and delighted, he suddenly had the answer. It’s him! He walked to the shelf in his room and removed a book: The Origin and Meaning of Chinese Names. He found the name “Bāo” and its meaning, “precious treasure.” He was stunned by the translation, saying out loud, “That’s it!” He knew that ‘Youthful rare Jewel’ referenced not a jewel but a person, Bāo, “a precious treasure.”
He studied the next line, ‘Reborn in earthquake Rat Year.’ Bāo’s file from the Children's Welfare Institute listed his birthday as May 12, 2008. Of course, the Rat Year was 2008, and May 12 was the date of the Sichuan earthquake. The last line, ‘Is both left and right,’ confirmed that not only was someone named Bāo but that someone was sleeping in the next room. Bāo is ambidextrous
With great excitement, he enthusiastically read the last haiku.
Strawberry moon rise
Clavis yellow moon pendant
Water Rabbit Year
‘strawberry moon rise.’ He recalled lunar cycles: Blue, blood, harvest, Wolf, and others. Yes, that's it. The strawberry moon referred to the assigned lunar description for June. Clavis yellow moon pendant. Clavis is such an odd word. He plucked the moon pendant from the box and questioned, “What is this?” He said it aside without an answer. In the final line, Water Rabbit year. The Rabbit refers to Chinese zodiac animals, just like the Rat. Excitedly, he said out loud, “How could I have missed that this year!” The time is now, June 2023.
Can this be happening? He picked up the gold bracelet. It was heavy in his hands. It must be pure gold. He looked at the inside of the bracelet. Using a magnifying glass, he saw that the markings were pictograms, ancient forms of communication. He noted that these were similar to pictograms on broken tortoise shells once used for I-Ching divination. He could not be sure. What he did know was that the historical value of the gold bracelet far exceeded the monetary value. Did the Straw Sandal come to that conclusion? Then, with an even more surprising revelation, he pondered, Did Bāo, who is foretold in the papyrus, steal or rescue the gold bracelet? He gathered the objects, placed them into the wooden box, put the box in the bottom of a backpack, and then packed the necessary items for a trip.
Bāo woke with a start. Master Zhao stood over him and said, “Pack. We must leave early tomorrow morning. We cannot stay here any longer. We are not safe.”
“But where will we go?”
“Luoyang, but first, we must find your friend Yan. I fear her life is in danger.”
***
Yan finished her exam. My stomach hurts, and my head is pounding. How can I make it one more day? She gathered her things, returned to Juān’s apartment, and fell asleep.