Chapter 3

Chapter 3

All throughout the lesson, I was distracted, my mind constantly wandering. Fortunately, those two young people were lively and full of chatter; they weren’t the type to pay attention to my odd behavior. Watching them, I found myself drifting into old memories-suddenly a thought struck me: if I’d had a child, they’d be about this age now.

But I’d never let my child learn opera. He should study, go to school, get a job, fall in love, and live a simple, steady life. Abruptly, I lifted my hand and tapped myself on the forehead with the handle of my brush, pulling my errant thoughts back to the present.

Turning back to the camera, I began to explain, “This step is called coloring. There’s an art to it. If you’re coloring a Shadow Person puppet meant for the stage, you have to avoid deep purple, deep blue, and gold, because under the lights, all three turn black.”

Lu Ning was behind the camera, while Tang Jing played the part of an experiencer, interacting with me. When she heard that, Tang Jing made an “Oh” sound and asked why that was. I answered honestly, “I don’t know the reason. My master taught me this way-he only taught me what to do, not why. So, I don’t know.” She brightened, eyes sparkling, and found my answer amusing.

During our time together, Ge Wei came by twice-once with herbal tea, once with a plate of dried persimmons. I couldn’t tell if it was just my imagination, but he seemed so calm it felt unnatural; while dust danced in the sunlight, his mood was frozen stiff, like solid ice-absolutely still.

Could it be that he truly felt nothing at all about her death?

Perhaps sensing my odd mood, he stayed to help as my assistant. Dehydrating, ironing, oiling, stringing the parts together… Several hours later, we completed the process. The little dan puppet I painted was lively and expressive, while Tang Jing’s version was rough but interesting-she was delighted with it. I gave her a simple lesson on how to move the Shadow Person puppet with the rod.

Tang Jing was young, with her head in the clouds. As she experimented with the puppet, she suddenly asked, “Do you think, to aliens, we’re all just Shadow People, pulled by invisible strings… and our whole lives are just a play in their eyes?”

I thought about it seriously and replied, “That’s possible. In opera, there’s a line that says, ‘Everything is determined by fate.’ Maybe a person’s destiny is set the day they’re born.”

Lu Ning freed one hand and flicked her lightly on the head, doting and amused. “Believe in science, okay? No superstitions.”

Tang Jing giggled and went back to fiddling with the puppet. Suddenly, she turned to Ge Wei. “Boss, what did you do before this?”

Ge Wei coughed. “Back in Jiangzhe, I worked as a ‘model.’ My main job… keeping rich women company.”

“Seriously?” Her voice jumped up an octave. “I’ve never met a real-life model guy before!”

“Of course I’m joking,” Ge Wei said with a laugh. “It’s not like I’d say no, but those rich ladies aren’t blind-why would they pick me? I was just a grunt at a big company, nothing glamorous.”

The small room instantly filled with laughter-in all sorts of notes-and I joined in, softly laughing with them.

“Teacher, when can we film you performing?”

“A couple of days from now-is that enough time?” I explained, “I want to make a new headpiece, and film the performance with your equipment. That way, it’ll be properly blessed with its first debut.”

“That’s plenty of time. Can we film the making process too?”

“Sorry, the headpiece technique is something I’m trying for the first time. If I make a mistake, everything will be wasted. I’m afraid I’ll get nervous in front of the camera and fumble it.”

“Understood.” Tang Jing didn’t push, since it wasn’t crucial footage. She changed the subject. “But can we film you performing a scene from Boiling the Remaining Life?”

“I have no objections. It’s just-people online are always accusing me of… copyright issues. I’d hate for you all to get into trouble because of me.”

“Don’t worry-it won’t be a problem.” Tang Jing tugged on my sleeve, lowering her voice. “To be honest, I’ve watched clips of you performing. The ending you wrote for Boiling the Remaining Life… it’s even richer than the original.”

“Please, don’t say that.” I waved my hands quickly. “I only put myself into the character, imagined what I’d do if I were in their place. Besides, I’ve hardly had any schooling-how could I compare myself to the professionals?”
“He has his reasons for being so popular, young and with a boundless future ahead of him.” She suddenly shifted the topic, her eyes gleaming. “But in my opinion, if we could get you and the original author together for an interview, now *that* would really get people talking!” Seeing that I didn’t object, her face flushed with excitement, obviously already plotting out how to make her “brilliant” idea a reality.

Just then, the doorbell to the guesthouse rang. Ge Wei called out, “Come in,” and two police officers walked inside, accompanied by several town officials. The officials looked grim, their confidence from earlier fading fast. They’d started the new year eager to make big changes, but the media had barely arrived in town and already they’d run smack into the bad luck of a corpse turning up.

The town mayor grabbed Lu Ning’s hand, his voice almost begging: “This death was absolutely an accident! The mountain was closed off, but someone still snuck in… please, you all must…” The words caught in his throat, and he couldn’t go on.

“Don’t worry,” I replied, “accidents happen all the time. We’ll be sure to film plenty of positive stories.”

“That’s good, that’s very good!”

The two officers didn’t say much at first. One was older, his expression severe. The other, a young policewoman, looked friendlier, a notepad in her hand.

Both were covered in mud, especially their shoes, as if the mountain dirt had swallowed them whole. I fetched two disposable cups, poured some hot tea, and handed them over. They must have been exhausted and freezing, because they accepted without hesitation, flashing their badges and introducing themselves before thanking me for the tea.

The older officer took a sip and exhaled a cloud of white breath. “A body was found on Wild Mountain behind the town. We’re going around checking anyone who’s passed through or stayed here recently. Since this is a business, we have to conduct a routine visit.”

Ge Wei stepped forward. “Officer, thank you for your hard work. Ask whatever you need, we’ll cooperate fully.”

The policewoman’s eyes swept over our group, finally settling on Ge Wei. “You’re the owner here, right? During the New Year-especially before and after the heavy snow blocked the mountain-how has business been? Did you have any male guests, maybe around forty years old?”

Ge Wei thought back carefully and answered, “Officer, we didn’t reopen until after the fifteenth; during that time, I went home.” He pointed at me. “When I wasn’t here, Sister Mei watched the place by herself.” Then he indicated Tang Jing and Lu Ning. “These two are with the TV station-the town arranged for them to stay here. They only arrived today.”

The policewoman jotted down notes.

Ge Wei continued, “We don’t get many guests, and most bookings are made in advance. Everyone coming and going is logged.”

I couldn’t hold back, keeping my tone as normal as possible. “Officer, so the victim was a middle-aged man?”

The older officer looked me in the eye, something searching in his gaze. “Yes-initially, it appears to be a man between forty and fifty. So, please think carefully-does anyone meeting that description come to mind?”

So it really was a man’s corpse.

That’s just absurd.

Then where did *her* body go?

I wanted to ask more. Was it confirmed to be a male corpse? Could there have been a mistake? “Missing for half a month” didn’t fit at all-she’d been dead for over a month. Unless… was there another death in the Wild Mountain besides her? Should I tell them there ought to be another female body out there?

But if I did, would they think I was the killer?

The final act hadn’t started yet.

Wait. Just wait a little longer.