The Nine Fold Heaven. Mingmei Yip

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      He signaled me to sit down by a table next to the altar, then sat down across from me.

      He picked up a cylindrical bamboo holder and put it in my hand. “Miss, shake it until a stick falls out.”

      “What about if it’s more than one?”

      “Believe me, that won’t happen.”

      I did and miraculously, though I shook as hard as I could, only one stick fell out onto the table as if it obeyed the man’s bidding.

      The man picked it up. “All right, it’s number eighteen.” Then he shifted through a pile of yellow papers, lifted one out, and began to read silently. “Hmm . . . it’s a strange reading, not the worst, not the best. But it’s not neutral either.”

      “What does that mean?”

      “You can read it yourself,” he said, handing me the yellow slip with characters printed in red.

      The beauty crosses the sea to the immortal’s realm.

       Golden lights shine at the end of her journey.

       In the wind and clouds, dragon and tigers advance

       To the gathering of heroes and sages at Jasmine Lake.

       Then she leaves like a cicada shedding its shell.

       Heaven’s mystery should be kept to oneself, not revealed.

      After the main text, there were three smaller lines below:

      Let the wind steer your boat,

      Move forward.

      Have no fear.

      After I finished reading, I said, “But I don’t understand.”

      The man replied, “Since it’s heaven’s secret not to be revealed, I’m afraid I can’t interpret this for you.”

      I protested. “But that’s your job!”

      “Some jobs are better left undone.”

      “What a disappointment.” I should have said, “What nonsense!”

      “There are always disappointments on one’s path, miss. You better get used to it while you’re still young. Anyway, go home and read it over, and you’ll be able to understand your situation. Pay attention to ‘she leaves like a cicada shedding its shell’ and also ‘golden lights shine at the end of her journey.’ These are all good predictions. Have you heard the saying, ‘A hidden dragon does not act’?”

      I nodded, though I was not completely sure what it meant.

      He went on. “When a person is not ready, she should be like the dragon who does not act. Not until the right moment arrives, then she’ll soar to the nine fold heaven, looking down on the ordinary as she enjoys her long-awaited success and glory.”

      He studied me. “Miss, you must hide now like the hidden dragon, but one day you will be the dragon that soars to the nine fold heaven.”

      “Thank you, master.” I nodded, savoring his every word.

      “Remember, miss, heaven only advises, you must take your fate in your own hands. That’s all I can say about your fortune.”

      He scrutinized me for seconds. “But I can give you some personal advice if you like.”

      “Please.”

      He studied me carefully, then spoke as if reciting a riddle. “You are beautiful. For some that brings good luck, for others, tragedy. When beauty is on your side, even the moon and stars lose their brilliance. But someday it will leave you. Be careful not to end up with a hard heart and an unfeeling body. Because if that happens, even if good fortune approaches you, it will give you no happiness.

      “Remember, the greatest fortune is not beauty, but family. That’s where you can always return.” He thought for a while, then recited something I recognized was from the sage Laozi’s Classic of the Way and Virtue:

      The ten thousand things arise and return to their origin.

      Returning to the origin is called tranquility.

      Tranquility is recovering your original nature.

      Recovering your original nature is called the unchanging.

      Knowing the unchanging is called enlightenment.

      To not know the unchanging is calamity.

      When finished, he added, “Miss, now when you have your beauty, don’t give all your attention to it and neglect other things. Look for the unchanging in your life—find your root and you will find tranquility, even happiness, that’s all I can say.”

      An abandoned orphan, I had no root that I could trace. Nor tranquility now that I was on the run from two gangs!

      But I said, trying my best to sound calm, “Master, but the Book of Changes says that everything changes.”

      He cast me a curious glance. “Yes, but we’re not talking about this impermanent world, but the one beyond, the true, original one.”

      “Oh . . . that makes sense,” I responded, although I actually had no idea what he meant.

      It was time to leave. Part of my spy training was never to stay in one place for too long, no matter how much I found it appealing.

      “Master, how much do I owe you?”

      He waved a jade-ringed hand. “Let’s not talk about money today. This is a very unusual encounter, so the temple won’t charge you. Because if money is involved, the magic will be gone.”

      What sort of magic, I wondered. I hoped not like my magician friend Shadow’s staged version.

      The master spoke again. “Find your root. Then magic will follow.”

      “I will.” I thanked him again and took my leave.

      During my way back on the crude, muddy path, I tried to decipher the enigmatic poem on the slip and what it had to do with the diviner’s portentous advice. It had taken all I could summon in myself to become the talented, charming, and mysterious singer, Camilla the Heavenly Songbird. What would be left without my beauty? It was my weapon against men and their power. But I also knew that time does not wait for anyone, and one day my beauty would be completely gone like a gambler’s money at the roulette table.

      2

      A Plunging Toddler

      When I arrived back at the main road, I heard a commotion. I hurried across the street to where a small group of people stood, looking upward while emitting heated comments in the hot air. Curious, I squeezed my way to the front and looked.

      On the second floor of a dilapidated building, a toddler was standing by a wide-open window and looking СКАЧАТЬ