White-Bearded Old Grandfather

"Little Bug! Little Bug! Come out, quick!"

The somewhat simple-minded little boy answered and hurried out through the gate.

Seven or eight youths about his age saw him and immediately brightened up.

One handsome youth, dressed quite neatly, lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "A lot of outsiders have come to the village lately. They're all asking about that stone stele in the mountains. We've thought of a way to make money, so come with us."

Little Bug's proper name was Wang Chong!

Because Chong sounded like "bug," the village children called him Little Bug—a rather affectionate nickname.

A flicker passed over Little Bug's honest face as he asked blankly, "If you have a way to make money, then go do it! Why do you have to drag me in? You all know my mother is strict. There's no way she'll let me fool around with you."

The youths immediately burst into snickers, exchanging meaningful looks. The handsome youth was the first to speak. "We're not asking you to sneak out. Just draw us a map showing where that stone stele is. We'll sell it to those outsiders. It won't take much effort."

Little Bug shook his head. "I don't know anything about any stone stele. If you want to make money, go ahead. Mother wants me to study my texts. I don't have time to play with you. I'm going back."

Little Bug waved his hand and withdrew behind his own gate. The youths looked at one another, all out of ideas, then turned together toward the handsome youth.

The handsome youth could not help cursing. He beckoned everyone closer and lowered his voice. "That white-bearded old grandfather took us into the mountains to see that stone stele. None of us can remember the way in now, but Little Bug has a photographic memory. He definitely remembers."

A tall, sturdy youth could not help asking, "Little Bug won't agree. Do you have some other way? Besides, none of us remember it. He might not remember either."

The handsome youth shouted angrily, "Those people announced in the village that they're willing to pay several hundred taels of silver for someone to lead the way! Do you know how much several hundred taels of silver is? Your family couldn't save up that much in ten lifetimes. It would be enough to buy more than half our village."

The tall, sturdy youth immediately fell silent. Embarrassed, he asked, "What should we do? Ye Jiuer, you've got plenty of clever tricks. Hurry and think of something so we can get those outsiders' silver."

Ye Jiuer pondered for a while, then suddenly slapped his thigh and cried, "I've got it. Follow me first."

The youths vanished in a rush, and in the blink of an eye, Little Bug's doorstep was deserted once more.

Little Bug cocked an ear slightly. Once he heard that everyone outside had left, his thoughts could not help drifting. He had already been born with a somewhat simple-minded look, and whenever his mind wandered, he appeared even more dull-witted.

"That white-bearded old grandfather took all the village youths into the mountains and made us read the inscriptions on those steles. Those inscriptions were truly strange. They weren't even written in the characters used today, and none of us could recognize a single one. When the white-bearded old grandfather saw that none of us could read the words on the stone stele, he became furious and wanted to kill us. Later, for some unknown reason, he let everyone go and sent us back."

Little Bug's hands suddenly began to tremble. A chill rose from the depths of his heart, and a profound terror erupted from his very bones.

Back then, their lives had hung by a thread; the danger had been extreme. He could not understand why the village children had all forgotten what happened after they returned.

That was why Little Bug never wanted anything to do with this matter again. He would rather use studying as an excuse to gently refuse his village companions.

Listlessly, he returned to the study in his home and sat before the desk where he usually read. Thirty-six sheets of rice paper lay upon it, every page covered in tiny regular script of strange characters. Relying on his photographic memory, Little Bug had forcibly memorized the appearance of the stele inscriptions he had seen that day and copied them out from memory after returning home.

He had not mentioned this to anyone.

Staring at the several dozen sheets of rice paper, Little Bug sat in a daze for a moment. He had looked over them again and again and compared them with the old books in his home, yet he still could not recognize a single character.

The longer one looked at those words, the more they seemed to possess a faint power to beguile the mind. They were exceedingly strange.

Hearing footsteps outside the room, Little Bug hurriedly tossed the inscriptions he had copied into the brazier and put on the appearance of studying earnestly.

Not long afterward, Wang Chong's mother came in with graceful steps.

Though his mother was ugly in appearance, she carried herself with considerable poise. Every gesture possessed the bearing of a lady from a great household. Seeing her son studying diligently, she felt comforted.

Wang Chong's mother had originally been born into a wealthy family. In her youth, she had been renowned throughout the countryside for poetry and learning. Yet because of her ugly appearance, although she had married into a scholarly household and her husband had also risen through the imperial examinations, climbing from county magistrate all the way to vice minister, the couple's relationship had been deeply discordant.

After giving birth to her son, with her husband repeatedly taking concubines and seldom visiting her room, Wang Chong's mother simply asked to return to her ancestral home to look after the old residence. That way, everyone could have some peace and quiet.

Wang Chong's father readily agreed and sent mother and son back to the old family home in the countryside.

Wang Chong's mother served her parents-in-law, put the household in order, and raised and taught her son, carrying herself every bit like the mistress of the house. Instead, she paid little mind to her husband, the official in the capital.

Yet there was always a pent-up bitterness in her heart. She pinned her hopes on her son making a name for himself and winning her some honor, so she taught him quite strictly. Little Bug was usually most afraid of his mother losing her temper.

Little Bug studied diligently and had been born with an exceptional memory. Anything he read, he could remember after one pass; after reading it through three to five times, he could recite it backward and forward. Though his withdrawn nature made him seem dull-witted, he was in truth a naturally brilliant child.

His mother knew that her son was bound to have a future, and that he would most likely earn his name on the golden list one day, making all her teaching worthwhile. Amid her joy, however, she also felt some worry.

Some time ago, all the children in the village had been taken away in the middle of the night by a white-bearded old man using some unknown strange magic, to look at some stele inscriptions.

Though they had all been sent back unharmed, the matter had caused a great uproar. She was terribly worried that something else might happen to her son.

After watching for a while, Mother suddenly said, "Chong'er, you are twelve now and have already passed the county examination. Next year, you should sit for the provincial examination. Your mother plans to send you to an academy to study."

Little Bug was greatly startled. Rising to his feet, he cried, "Mother, why would you think of sending your son away?"

Mother sighed. "That incident some time ago truly frightened your mother badly. If some black-bearded old man or yellow-bearded old ghost captures you again, your mother might as well not go on living."

Little Bug shuddered slightly and was immediately left speechless.

His mother paused, then continued, "Our village has gained many more outsiders lately, all asking about that stone stele. I don't know where that stone stele came from, but it cannot be anything good. If these people find out that you children have all seen the stele and come looking to make trouble for you, that would be a most improper matter. I have already arranged a carriage. You can set out today. When you leave, take Crescent with you as your personal maid, and bring Sixth Son along as your bookboy. With the two of them to look after you, your mother can rest easy."