(bl) Un rêve de printemps

Chapitre 1

Winter of the 14th year of the Republic of China, Beiping

"The ghost is here! The ghost is here!"

The crowd of onlookers was making a deafening noise, all focused on one thing.

The children waited with bated breath. Forgot to open his mouth, and a puff of white breath escaped his lips with a chuckle.

The spirit and soul were frozen in place.

A black demon leaped out from the left, and a white demon from the right, waving and thrashing about amidst the chanting of sutras. Behind the black and white demons were lamas wearing animal masks; their duty was to "fight demons," also known as "jumping step zha." Demons were considered unlucky; chasing, beating, and driving them out of the house ensured peace for the year. The sounds of Tibetan musical instruments and the clamor of gongs and drums brought out a high lama carrying a begging bowl and chanting mantras. His yellow face remained impassive, clad in yellow brocade robes, as he presided over the event.

People from near and far watched the performance intently until the black and white ghosts had finished their dance. Then they removed their ghost costumes, replaced them with two gray-faced human figures, and chopped them off with knives, thus ending the "ghost-beating" day. The next day was another one, called "Temple Visiting Day." This was the grand Yonghe Temple Fair, held from the 29th day of the first lunar month to the 1st day of the second lunar month.

It was Dandan's first time watching "Fighting Ghosts," and her eyes were wide with excitement, like ink dots, unwilling to blink. Seeing the black and white ghosts circle around to the other side of the temple, she immediately scurried away from the crowd.

Uncle was carrying her on his back when he turned around and caught a glimpse of the end of Dandan's unusually long braid.

Dandan thought that by taking a shortcut and going in circles, she could catch a trace of the ghost. But as she stepped through the first gate and turned the corner of the hall, all the noise seemed to gradually be sealed off, becoming muffled and silent. Ten-year-old Dandan knew she had taken the wrong path, but she wasn't afraid; she was just momentarily at a loss. When she looked back to find her way, she saw the seated Maitreya Buddha, who seemed to be welcoming guests from afar with a beaming smile. Beside him were the Four Heavenly Kings: one holding a whip, one holding an umbrella, one playing with a snake, and one cradling a pipa, all very majestic.

Dandan remembered that she had come to the Yonghe Temple for her beloved Huang-gege. A sudden pang of anxiety gripped her as she recalled their acrobatic performance that day, the "climbing the mountain of knives." A thick wooden pole stood upright on the ground, long ropes stretched to both sides, and a table was tied to the top. She imagined the rope ladder, the crossbeams, the gleaming upward-pointing blades, Huang-gege, barefoot, stepping onto the blades, climbing to the top of the pole, scaling the table, and then—he fell, and a burst of bloody smoke erupted on the ground…

It turns out that we inexplicably arrived at Wanfu Pavilion, a three-story building, where the head of the Buddha statue stretched all the way up to the third floor. It is said that the Buddha's body is 75 feet long, and there is an additional 24 feet buried underground, making a total of 99 feet.

Dandan strained, only to find herself incredibly short, unable to see the end of the Buddha statue. She didn't understand whether the Buddha had any power, and wondered if she could ask her brother Huang to take a step or two as usual—she didn't want him to toss up a water meteor, leap up, somersault, and catch it with a wave of his hand. Nor did she want him to have a head-to-head contest with her…

As long as he takes a normal step or two, he can simply step from one door into the other.

His uncle carried him to the temple to pray to the gods. He was thinking that there was a ghost, and that if he could bring good fortune and exorcise the evil spirit, he would probably get better. So when the lama waved his colorful ritual implements and scattered white powder along the way, his uncle, like everyone else, reached out to collect it, carefully put it in his pocket, and went back to mix it with water for the disabled patient to drink.

Brother Huang is paralyzed. To put it bluntly, he can no longer move his entire body. All this because he had to "climb mountains of knives" and fall onto hard ground.

"Please, Buddha, bless my brother Huang!" Dandan kowtowed three times. "If you are effective, I will come to pray to you again. If you are not effective, even if you are three stories tall, I am not afraid. I can climb up to you and smear your face! We are going back to our hometown the day after tomorrow. You have to hurry up and drive away the ghosts around you."

"oh"

A reply came from the hall, where incense smoke and tea swirl. Dandan looked around sharply, but saw nothing. It must have been the Buddha's reply. She hadn't expected that, suddenly, fear would grip her.

She wanted to go back into the crowd and tell her uncle.

A dark shadow swept past her feet.

Dandan was taken aback. What was it?

Although Dandan was young, she wasn't a pampered little girl. From Tianjin to Beiping, she followed her Uncle Huang's family, enduring hardship and displacement, making a living as a wanderer. At temple fairs during festivals, she would set up a stall, listening to her uncle's opening remarks: "Having just arrived in your esteemed land, you should pay your respects to the elders and dignitaries in the central government. Alas, you are a stranger in this land, so please understand. Now, I'm borrowing this place to perform a little, hoping for a simple meal. Those with money, please support me financially; those without, please support me out of kindness. Let our little girl show you her skills first..." That's how she was raised.

Dandan mustered her courage and chased after the dark figure.

As soon as I stepped out of the gloomy Buddhist temple and onto the steps, I was suddenly struck by what I saw as a dark, shadowy thing—it was just a cat.

He took a special liking to the unfamiliar little girl and beckoned her with "Meow-Meow-Meow."

Seeing that it was still light, Dandan forgot about watching "The Ghost Hunt" and chased after the cat. Perhaps she didn't know it was an exceptionally fine cat. It was entirely black, without a single stray hair; if it had been mixed with any other color, its value would have plummeted. Its eyes were copper-brown, large and bright. In the approaching dusk, they unconsciously emitted the colors of twilight, bathing anyone who looked at it in the sunset's glow.

She approached it and gently stroked it, and it nestled closer. Such a lovely cat, yet it seemed to be neglected.

I was playing with the cat when I heard muffled breathing coming from behind me.

Dandan picked up the cat to see who was inside.

There was a young boy, in the early spring, wearing only a thin jacket, a cloth belt around his waist, and leg wraps, practicing his martial arts in the courtyard. He was practicing kicks, flying kicks, spins, sweeping kicks, and the "Dragon Twisting Pillar"—all leg techniques. He practiced both forward and backward movements; the forward movements were very smooth, but the backward ones were not so easy to execute well.

Practicing the "Dragon Twisting Pillar" exercise involves spinning your head around on the ground, both forwards and backwards. Over time, this could cause your head to break.

What's strange is this boy, around eleven or twelve years old, who practiced coldly and fiercely. He had big, eagle-like eyes and an eagle-like body. In the end, he even imitated an eagle spreading its wings, taking a very long time.

"Hey," Dandan called out, "Are you sure you want to?"

The boy suddenly heard someone calling him and looked in the direction of the voice. A little girl, wearing a red floral padded jacket and trousers, and red cloth shoes with straps, was approaching him silently. The strangest thing was her long braid, which stretched all the way to her buttocks, spreading out like a tail, and then being tied with a red rope. She was a little boy in shades of red.

The boy was rather clueless—mostly because he was shy. He was physically strong, but his short hair was soft. The boy remained motionless, like an eagle spreading its wings, his left foot gripping the ground, his left leg slowly bending into a half-squat, his right leg resting above his left knee, his hands outstretched in a sword-like gesture, completely still.

How could Dandan accept this? She twisted it. Immediately harboring revenge, she let the cat down and, not to be outdone, unleashed a move that was sure to be a tough one.

With a defiant look on her face, she picked up two stones, raised them towards the boy's chin, and said:

"Watch me!"

The girl is on stage.

First, I did a high kick, placing a stone on my right ear, then slowly bent over, placing another stone on my forehead. My whole body was spread out in a straight line, with both legs and my body in a horizontal line, which took quite a while.

The boy was dumbfounded. He looked like a complete idiot.

The man and the woman remained locked in this stalemate, neither willing to call it quits.

Even the black cat turned its head to look at itself, at a loss for what to do.

Suddenly, a monkey-faced man appeared.

"It's getting dark, are you still wasting time?"

A quick glance revealed something was amiss; there was another companion. And it was a young girl, quite agile.

Unable to see clearly, he simply took off his mask, revealing his true form: a bald-headed boy with a pair of nimble, monkey-like eyes that darted around. Seeing that the situation was not good and no one was paying attention to him, he threw out a stone in each hand. The two men who had been waiting for him felt their legs go numb and immediately collapsed.

"What the hell? Huaiyu, who is she?"

Tang Huaiyu shook his head.