A tale of catching cats

Following Lu Zhengqing's directions, He An walked along a row of houses to a quiet little courtyard. Sure enough, a cluster of pitch-black bamboo leaves poked out above its wall.

It was already the depths of winter, yet the bamboo's foliage remained lush. He An could not help clicking his tongue in wonder.

He knocked on the courtyard gate, but no one answered. When he pushed it, the gate creaked open-it was not even locked. He An thought this must be some teacher's residence. Breaking off a bamboo twig should do no harm; he could come back and explain later.

He stepped inside and found a surprisingly deep courtyard, spotlessly clean. A path paved with gray bricks led straight to the main house. In the middle stood a persimmon tree with gnarled branches, a few fiery-red persimmons hanging from them like little lanterns.

A banana plant and a crabapple tree grew in a corner. Though their leaves had withered and fallen, leaving them forlorn, he could still tell that the courtyard's owner had refined tastes.

The bamboo He An had seen stood beside the courtyard wall. It was rather strange: its main stalk, as thick as the mouth of a bowl, seemed to have been severed midway by some sharp weapon. Another stalk had sprouted from its side, black all over with a purple sheen. It rose over a hundred feet tall, its ink-black leaves slender as needles and still luxuriantly green in their vigor. From a distance, they resembled a black cloud. A breeze swept through, setting the leaves rustling.

He An had never seen ink bamboo so black and tinged with purple. He could not help marveling at how the vast world truly contained every imaginable wonder!

After searching for a while, he chose a thumb-thick twig and bent it hard at a joint. The twig curved like a bow under his hands but did not break. When he let go, it sprang straight back with astonishing resilience.

Watching the ink bamboo tremble, He An was secretly amazed. He grabbed the twig and tried again, gritting his teeth and using all his strength this time, yet still failed to snap it.

He An mobilized the true qi within him, turned his hand into a blade, and chopped at it. The twig gave a clear ringing note, with a faint resonance like metal or stone.

His knife-hand strike was powerful enough to split a stone tablet and shatter rocks, yet it left only a faint white mark on the twig without breaking it. This bamboo was actually as hard as iron.

Seeing how late it was getting, He An began to grow anxious. Suddenly, he remembered the power of the Spirit-Shocking Finger.

He channeled true qi from his dantian into the Pool at the Bend Acupoint in his arm and jabbed with one finger. With a crack, the twig finally snapped.

Realizing that this bamboo was anything but ordinary, He An stripped the leaves from the broken twig as well, wrapped them all in a handkerchief, and tucked it into his sleeve. Then he pulled the courtyard gate closed and hurried away.

On the bustling street, tall horses slowly drew an opulent carriage past, followed by several household servants in blue robes and small caps.

Several sedan bearers struggled beneath a sedan chair. Its curtain lifted, revealing a large, stout woman with folds of flesh crowding her face, loudly berating someone.

A peddler carried his wares on a shoulder pole, calling out now and then in a piercing voice.

Several graceful women stood before a cloth stall, choosing carefully, occasionally whispering to one another and covering their mouths as they laughed.

From a nearby gambling house came the clatter of dice, cheers, and curses from men driven wild by their losses...

Fan Dazhi had wandered through half of Luoyang City and discovered that there were plenty of dogs. He saw them in the markets, outside restaurants, and around rubbish heaps in back alleys.

He had grown up in a village where several households kept dogs, so he knew their habits inside out. With very little effort, he easily collected enough dog whiskers.

Strangely, despite wandering around for so long, he had not seen a single cat.

Fan Dazhi rubbed his belly. After all that walking, his stomach was growling with hunger. Standing in the middle of the street, he looked around, spotted a steamed bun shop, and bought two large meat buns. He wolfed them down in a few bites, then asked the shopkeeper for a bowl of water and gulped it down in one go. Only then did he let out a satisfied belch.

With his hunger and thirst appeased, Fan Dazhi picked his teeth with a grass stalk while sitting on a stool outside the bun shop. Watching the crowds come and go, he wondered where he could find a few cats.

The slanting sun shone through the doorway. Having long since sold everything, the shopkeeper was preparing to close up. Seeing Fan Dazhi still sitting there blankly, his round, bun-like face all scrunched up, he could not help smiling.

"Something troubling you, young fellow? Let's hear it. Perhaps this old man can offer a suggestion..." the shopkeeper asked.

"In a capital this enormous, I've walked down so many streets and haven't found a single cat!"

The shopkeeper burst out laughing. "You've been looking in the wrong places, young fellow. Cats aren't like dogs-they can't guard a house. What ordinary family would keep one? You need to look among the officials' households over on Dingding Avenue, or places where wealthy merchants live, like Chongyi Ward and Yongning Ward."

Fan Dazhi slapped his forehead. The shopkeeper's words were like sweet nectar poured over his head, bringing sudden enlightenment. He thanked the man and hurried out of the bun shop.

Chongyi Ward was not far from this street. Passing through a street market, Fan Dazhi noticed fish and shrimp for sale at a roadside produce stall and had an idea. He bought a dozen or so small fish for a copper coin, strung them on a grass cord, and carried them toward Chongyi Ward, brimming with confidence.

Chongyi Ward housed wealthy merchants and great traders. Among its multistoried buildings and elaborate eaves stood walled compounds, every entrance flanked by a pair of stone lions. Even the old locust trees outside the courtyards were wrapped in silk and decked with red decorations. Wealth and extravagance permeated every corner of the ward.

Fan Dazhi stole a glance through a half-open vermilion gate. Beyond it lay doorway after doorway, with figures moving to and fro. The sight left him inwardly clicking his tongue.

Big, truly big! This really is where the rich live. Big houses, big gatehouses-even the stone lions outside are big.

Looking this way and that, Fan Dazhi finally spotted a cat outside a house and was overjoyed. Golden all over, it lay by the entrance, lazily basking in the sun.

Fan Dazhi walked straight toward it, keeping his eyes ahead as though merely passing by, and casually dropped a small fish.

The cat scrambled up, its amber-gem eyes widening. It looked at the retreating little fatty, then at the fish lying nearby. Its nostrils twitched. In the end, unable to resist the tempting fishy scent, it walked over and sniffed. Having confirmed that this was a delicacy it liked, it happily picked the fish up in its mouth.

The little fish was soon gone. Still craving more, the cat raised its head and watched the little fatty disappear around a corner. At the foot of that very corner lay another small fish, gleaming silver in the sunlight.

With a meow, the cat bounded happily over. Just as it was about to pick up the fish, wind suddenly rose from the ground. Dry leaves and dust floated eerily into the air, and the atmosphere abruptly changed.

An invisible ripple moved through the air like a tentacle, stroking the golden cat. A powerful sense of unease made it want to turn and flee, but those unseen tentacles had already bound its limbs, leaving it unable to move at all.

The cat opened its mouth to let out a miserable howl, but a cotton-like mass of air surged inside. A desperate whimper escaped its throat...

It saw the little fatty from earlier come around the corner, rubbing his hands and smiling. He crouched down and drew a sharp pair of... little scissors from inside his robe.

"I'm trimming your whiskers and giving you fish. You ought to be grateful! Just look at you. Without those whiskers, you look much younger-and much more handsome!"

Beaming affably, Fan Dazhi snipped all the whiskers from the cat's face, dusted his hands, and gathered them up.

As he moved, the cat's rigid body regained its freedom. Arching its back, it shot away, raced off like a wisp of smoke, and vanished through a gap in that household's gate.

"This little thing runs far too fast. Without using a bit of heaven and earth primordial energy, I really couldn't catch it!"

Watching the cat's nimble retreat, Fan Dazhi grinned. A cat without whiskers was still a cat, after all.

A tiger-striped tomcat walked atop a high courtyard wall. Its body was sleek and strong, its steps light. It traversed high walls and eaves as though walking on level ground.

The tiger-striped tom kept calling "mrow, mrow" toward the neighboring courtyard, where a pretty tabby lived. Using this method, it had already arranged several "dates" with her.

After several calls received no response from the neighboring courtyard, the tiger-striped tom raised a paw to scratch its face and pricked its ears to listen.

"Mrrow!"

A low, soft call suddenly came from beneath the wall outside the gate. The unfamiliar sound left the tiger-striped cat momentarily uncertain, but it still decided to take a look.

After all, no tomcat overflowing with hormones would readily turn down a female, just as flirtation would never readily turn down a breath of evening breeze.

The tiger-striped cat bounded lightly onto the wall above the gate and spotted a small fish on the ground by an outside corner. It scanned its surroundings warily and remained still for a long while. A rustling came from the corner, and a pretty tabby poked half her head out, a small fish held in her mouth.

The tiger-striped cat let out an angry "mrow" and leaped from the wall, looking exactly like a hot-blooded man who had discovered his lover sneaking a bite behind his back.

It hit the ground like a whirlwind, snatched up the little fish, and raced toward the tabby. Yet in the very next instant, it seemed to plunge headfirst into an invisible mire...

A large, plump face appeared around the corner. Smiling broadly, Fan Dazhi drew those scissors from inside his robe...

"Still a little short. Looks like I'll have to try Dingding Avenue!"

After putting two cats through this ordeal, Fan Dazhi looked at the little tuft of whiskers in his hand and shook his head, muttering to himself.

Dingding Avenue was nothing like Chongyi Ward. This was the imperial capital's most prosperous area, where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold and the residents were all powerful aristocrats.

Even an ordinary household's compound in a side alley was enormous, and some had guards stationed at their gates. These courtyards offered quiet amid the bustle, their entrances solemn and imposing. Even from afar, they made one fall silent and hold one's breath. Any of them might well be the residence of some influential court minister.

Fan Dazhi did not dare get too close. He strolled along the street, occasionally glancing into the alleys. Suddenly, a meow behind him made him jump.

Turning around, he saw that a little black kitten had somehow begun following him.

"One's actually delivering itself right to my doorstep!"

Laughing inwardly, Fan Dazhi slipped into a quiet alley. The black kitten followed close behind, its body bobbing in the sunlight like a little rolling black ball.

"Only, isn't this cat a bit too small?"

Fan Dazhi frowned at the little creature. It was barely the size of his palm, and its whiskers were short and curled. Even if he cut them, they would not be enough to make a writing brush.