Fifteen

On the third day of the first month, Liu Yuanzhou followed his father to his aunt's home to pay New Year's calls again.

Early on the fifth day of the first month, Liu Chuang came to find Liu Yuanzhou carrying two jars of liquor. Before long, Zhang He and Liu Yuanfan arrived as well. A little later, several cousins from the clan came too, all of them regular companions.

Seven or eight people sat in a circle on Liu Yuanzhou's kang, chatting, laughing, and cracking sunflower seeds.

Before long, Liu Yuanzhou brought out some dishes to go with the drinks: a plate of scrambled eggs, a plate of cold mixed vegetables, and a bowl of pickled radish. Bowls were set out on the kang, and everyone began drinking.

After three rounds of wine, they began talking about the Yangge competition on the fifteenth.

Liu Yuanfan said, "Li Laocai has gone too far. Why is it that Liu Li Village's Yangge troupe only takes people surnamed Li? Not a single Liu Wa made it in?"

Every year on the fifteenth day of the first month, Crouching Tiger Slope held a Yangge competition. More than a dozen nearby villages would send Yangge troupes to compete. The top finishers not only received prize money, but also earned commendation from the Township Official. It was an immensely face-saving affair, so every village attached great importance to it.

Liu Li Village's Yangge troupe had always been organized in turns by the Liu and Li families. Last year, it had been Third Master's turn; this year, it was the Li family's. In previous years, no matter which family organized the troupe, they would select the best young men from both families rather than use only their own people. But this year, for some unknown reason, Li Laocai had gone mad and used only young men from the Li family. The Liu family was naturally deeply dissatisfied.

Liu Chuang took a gulp of wine and slammed his bowl heavily onto the kang. "Despicable! Does he think our Liu clan has no one?"

Another cousin sighed. "If only Third Master were here."

So they all spoke at once, condemning Li Laocai. But that was all it was—talk. Other than Third Master, no one in the Liu family dared challenge Li Laocai head-on.

Liu Yuanzhou had been furious at first as well, but after his anger faded, doubts began to rise within him. What exactly was Li Laocai's intention in doing this? Was there some deeper reason behind it?

If it was for the prize money, that did not make sense. Though Li Laocai could not be said to possess a fortune beyond measure, he was not far from it. He would never offend every Liu in the village for such a small reward. As for commendation, it was given every year, yet no one had ever gained any special benefit from it.

Besides, Liu Li Village's Yangge troupe had always been mediocre. Ever since Liu Yuanzhou could remember, the village troupe had never placed among the top three.

Since he could not make sense of it, Liu Yuanzhou stopped thinking about it. For the moment, he had no way to deal with Li Laocai either. Everyone continued drinking and chatting.

The drinking went on until the afternoon before they finally dispersed. Liu Chuang was dead drunk, so several cousins escorted him home. Zhang He had not drunk much and stayed until the end.

Ever since entering samadhi through stance training, Liu Yuanzhou's body had grown stronger, and so had his capacity for liquor. Though he had drunk quite a bit, he was only slightly lightheaded and otherwise fine.

Liu Yuanzhou asked Zhang He, "Where is Li Laocai's Yangge troupe practicing?"

"I haven't seen them in the Ancestral Hall courtyard," Zhang He said. "I heard they seem to be over at Thousand Buddha Cave."

Hearing that, Liu Yuanzhou's heart stirred. "Come on. Let's go see how they're practicing."

Zhang He nodded. The two set off at once. After Liu Yuanzhou informed his mother, Zhang Shi, he and Zhang He left the house and headed for Thousand Buddha Cave.

They were still some distance from Thousand Buddha Cave when they heard the thump-thump-thump of gongs and drums. When they reached the outer wall, they could hear the instruments beating inside the courtyard, along with shouted calls. The Yangge troupe was practicing in there.

Liu Yuanzhou looked toward Thousand Buddha Cave and saw that its entrance was still sealed, just as it had been last time.

The two approached the main gate and found it tightly shut. Peering through the crack, they could see nothing inside. Liu Yuanzhou gave Zhang He a look, and they left the gate for a patch of woods not far from the wall. They chose a large tree and climbed it.

Crouching on a branch, Liu Yuanzhou peered through the bare limbs into the courtyard. His view was excellent; almost everything inside the wall lay in plain sight. The land beneath the entrance to Thousand Buddha Cave had once been farmland, but it had now been cleared and tamped into an open space. More than twenty people stood in formation, dancing Yangge. They wore yellow-and-red Yangge costumes and white cloth turbans.

Directly below the cave entrance stood a square table. Incense and candles burned atop it, alongside offerings such as a pig's head and fruit. Beside the table, three people beat the gongs and drums with all their strength.

Liu Yuanzhou and Zhang He exchanged a glance, each seeing a trace of confusion in the other's eyes. Why set out incense, candles, and offerings for a rehearsal? And why come all the way out here?

They watched for a while longer. When the gongs and drums stopped, the leader of the Yangge troupe opened a brightly colored umbrella and walked to the offering table. He spun the umbrella continuously and began to sing. The others formed two lines behind him and stood quietly. Since they were too far away, Liu Yuanzhou could not make out the leader's features.

When the leader finished singing, he knelt before the offering table. The people behind him followed suit, and then they all began kowtowing together. At that moment, the gongs and drums erupted fiercely once more. This was nothing like the Yangge troupe's rehearsals in previous years, and Liu Yuanzhou and Zhang He suddenly felt an inexplicable eeriness.

After kowtowing roughly six times, everyone rose to their feet, and the gongs and drums stopped again. An old man emerged from the house and walked over. Judging by his build, it was Li Laocai.

Li Laocai handed something to each person, and the Yangge troupe broke formation. They drifted over to the side of the house in twos and threes to rest. After saying a few words to the leader, Li Laocai returned to the room.

The leader then called over two people and had them carry the offering table and everything on it back into the house.

After resting for a while, everyone formed up and resumed rehearsing. This time, there was nothing different from their usual practice. Liu Yuanzhou and Zhang He watched a little longer, then slipped down from the tree and headed back.

On the way, Zhang He asked Liu Yuanzhou about the strange behavior of the Yangge troupe. Liu Yuanzhou could not offer any explanation, so they went home separately.

Over the next few days, Liu Yuanzhou, Zhang He, and Liu Chuang went to secretly watch the Yangge troupe practice once each day. Gradually, they learned the pattern: only in the afternoon would the troupe set out the offering table and kneel in worship. At all other times, they practiced normally.

The fifteenth day of the first month arrived quickly. That morning, Liu Yuanzhou rose and practiced his stance, finally breaking through to the thirteenth section. Joy surged through him once more.

After breakfast, Liu Yuanzhou left home and met up with Zhang He and Liu Chuang, then hurried toward Crouching Tiger Slope. Today was the day of the grand Yangge competition.

When the three arrived at Crouching Tiger Slope, it was still early, but quite a few people had already gathered at the competition grounds. The venue was in Crouching Tiger Slope's temporary market, where ropes enclosed a circular arena. Several square tables draped in red cloth stood to the north of the circle. This was where the Township officials and judges would sit. Before the official competition began, the Township Official would say a few words there. Naturally, the tables were empty for now.

At the edges of the market, vendors had already begun selling foods such as griddled flatbread, Hulatang, Cold Skin Noodles, and Mutton Offal Soup. Quite a few customers squatted or stood before the stalls, eating.

Liu Chuang was greedy for a taste, so he ran off to buy a griddled flatbread. He broke it into three pieces, and the three of them shared it. As time passed, more and more people arrived. To secure a good viewing spot, Liu Yuanzhou and the other two claimed places by the ropes early on.

The crowd grew ever denser. By around mid-morning, the market was already a sea of people. It had become extremely difficult to squeeze inside. Several people were now seated behind the tables beside the competition grounds. Judging by their clothes, they were not government officials, so they were likely judges. The judges were all respected elders from the various villages.

An area had also been marked off beside the tables for all the competing Yangge troupes to stand. Several village troupes had already arrived, and Liu Yuanzhou spotted a few familiar faces. But Liu Li Village's Yangge troupe had yet to appear.

Suddenly, Liu Yuanzhou spotted two people among the spectators: Wang Wu and the White-Haired Taoist. They stood to his left, with four or five people between them.

The White-Haired Taoist and Wang Wu had turned toward the judges and were speaking in low voices, their heads close together. They had not noticed Liu Yuanzhou. Only now did Liu Yuanzhou clearly see the White-Haired Taoist's appearance: fair-skinned, with a mustache above his upper lip and a strip of white cloth wrapped around his head.

After Wang Wu and the White-Haired Taoist spoke for a while, the White-Haired Taoist handed Wang Wu a small wooden case slung at his side. Wang Wu looked around, then lowered his head and squeezed out of the crowd.

When Wang Wu looked around, Liu Yuanzhou quickly turned his head away. After pondering for a moment, he spoke to Liu Chuang and Zhang He, then squeezed out of the crowd as well.