Sorghum7 and men waited for time’s flower to bear fruit.
The highway stretched southward, a narrowing ribbon of road that was ultimately swallowedup by fields of sorghum. At its farthest point, where sorghum merged1 with the pale vault9 ofheaven, the sunrise presented a bleak10 and solemn, yet stirring sight.
Gripped by curiosity, Father looked at the mesmerised guerrillas. Where were they from?
Where were they going? Why were they setting an ambush11? What would they do when it wasover? In the deathly hush12, the sound of water splashing over the bridge posts seemed louder andcrisper than before. The mist, atomised by the sunlight, settled into the stream, turning the BlackWater River from a deep red to a golden red, as though ablaze13. A solitary14, limp yellow water-plant floated by, its once fiery15 blooms hanging in withered16 pallor among the leafy grooves17 likesilkworms. It’s crab-catching season again! Father was reminded. The autumn winds are up, theair is chilled, a flock of wild geese is flying south.?.?.?. Uncle Arhat shouts, ‘Now, Douguan,now!’ The soft, spongy mud of the bank is covered with the elaborate patterns of skitteringclaws. Father could smell the delicate, fishy18 odour wafting19 over from the river.
‘Take cover behind the dike, all of you,’ Commander Yu said. ‘Mute, set up your rakes.’
Mute slipped some loops of wire off his shoulder and tied the four large rakes together, thengrunted to his comrades to help him carry the chain of rakes over to the spot where the stonebridge and highway met.
‘Take cover, men,’ Commander Yu ordered. ‘Stay down till the Jap convoy21 is on the bridgeand Detachment Leader Leng’s troops have cut off their line of retreat. Don’t fire till I give theorder; then cut those Jap bastards23 to pieces and let them feed the eels24 and crabs25.’
Commander Yu signalled to Mute, who nodded and led half the men into the sorghum fieldwest of the highway to lie in ambush. Wang Wenyi followed Mute’s troops to the west, but wassent back. ‘I want you here with me,’ Commander Yu said. ‘Scared?’
‘No,’ Wang Wenyi said, even though he nodded spiritedly.
Commander Yu had the Fang27 brothers set up their cannon28 atop the dike, then turned to BuglerLiu. ‘Old Liu, as soon as we open fire, sound your horn for all you’re worth. That scares the hellout of the Japs. Do you hear me?’
Bugler29 Liu was another of Commander Yu’s longtime buddies30, dating back from when he wasa sedan bearer and Liu was a funeral musician. Now he held his horn like a rifle.
‘I’m warning you guys,’ Commander Yu said to his men. ‘I’ll shoot any one of you who turnschicken. We have to put on a good show for Leng and his men. Those bastards like to come onstrong with their flags and bugles31. Well, that’s not my style. He thinks he can get us to join them,but I’ll get him to join me instead.’
As the men sat among the sorghum plants, Fang Six took out his pipe and tobacco and his steeland flint. The steel was black, the flint the deep red of a boiled chicken liver. The flint crackled asit struck the steel, sending sparks flying, great big sparks, one of which landed on the sorghumwick he was holding. As he blew on it, a wisp of white smoke curled upward, turning the wickred. He lit his pipe and took a deep puff32. Commander Yu exhaled33 loudly and crinkled his nose.
‘Put that out,’ he said. ‘Do you think the Japs will cross the bridge if they smell smoke?’ FangSix took a couple of quick puffs35 before snuffing out his pipe and putting it away.
‘Okay, you guys, flatten36 out on the slope so we’ll be ready when the Japs come.’
Nervousness set in as the troops lay on the slope, weapons in hand, knowing they would soonface a formidable enemy. Father lay alongside Commander Yu, who asked him, ‘Scared?’
‘No!’
‘Good,’ Commander Yu said. ‘You’re your foster-dad’s boy, all right! You’ll be my dispatchorderly. Don’t leave my side once it starts. I’ll need you to convey orders.’
Father nodded. His eyes were fastened greedily on the pistols stuck in Commander Yu’s belt,one big, one small. The big one was a German automatic, the small one a French Browning. Eachhad an interesting history.
The word ‘Gun!’ escaped from his mouth.
‘You want a gun?’
Father nodded.
‘Do you know how to use one?’
‘Yes!’
Commander Yu took the Browning out of his belt and examined it carefully. It was well used,the enamel38 long gone. He pulled back the bolt, ejecting a copper-jacketed bullet, which he tossedin the air, caught, and shoved back into the chamber39.
‘Here!’ he said, handing it over. ‘Use it the way I did.’
Father took the pistol from him, and as he held it he thought back to a couple of nights earlier,when Commander Yu had used it to shatter a wine cup.
A crescent moon had climbed into the sky and was pressing down on withered branches.
Father carried a jug40 and a brass41 key out to the distillery to get some wine for Grandma. Heopened the gate. The compound was absolutely still, the mule42 pen pitch-black, the distillerysuffused with the stench of fermenting43 grain. When he took the lid off one of the vats44 in themoonlight, he saw the reflection of his gaunt face in the mirrorlike surface of wine. His eyebrowswere short, his lips thin; he was surprised by his own ugliness. He dunked the jug into the vat45 ofwine, which gurgled as it filled. After lifting it out, he changed his mind and poured the wineback, recalling the vat in which Grandma had washed her bloody46 face. Now she was inside,drinking with Commander Yu and Detachment Leader Leng, who was getting pretty drunk, nomatch for the other two.
Father walked up to a second vat, the lid of which was held in place by a millstone. Afterputting his jug on the ground, he strained to remove the millstone, which rolled away and crashedup against yet another vat, punching a hole in the bottom, through which wine began to seep47.
Ignoring the leaky vat, he removed the lid from the one in front of him, and immediately smelledthe blood of Uncle Arhat. The two faces, of Uncle Arhat and Grandma, appeared and reappearedin the wine vat. Father dunked the jug into the vat, filled it with blood-darkened wine, and carriedit inside.
Candles burned brightly on the table, around which Commander Yu and Detachment LeaderLeng were glaring at each other and breathing heavily. Grandma stood between them, her lefthand resting on Leng’s revolver, her right hand on Commander Yu’s Browning pistol.
Father heard Grandma say, ‘Even if you can’t agree, you mustn’t abandon justice and honour.
This isn’t the time or place to fight. Take your fury out on the Japanese.’
Commander Yu spat37 out angrily, ‘You can’t scare me with the Wang regiment’s flags andbugles, you prick48. I’m king here. I ate fistcakes for ten years, and I don’t give a damn about thatfucking Big Claw Wang!’
Detachment Leader Leng sneered49. ‘Elder Brother Zhan’ao, I’ve got your best interests at heart.
So does Commander Wang. If you turn your cache of weapons over to us, we’ll make you abattalion commander, and he’ll provide rifles and pay. That’s better than being a bandit.’
‘Who’s a bandit? Who isn’t a bandit? Anyone who fights the Japanese is a national hero. Lastyear I knocked off three Japanese sentries50 and inherited three automatic rifles. You’re no bandit,but how many Japs have you killed? You haven’t taken a hair off a single Jap’s ass26!’
Detachment Leader Leng sat down and lit a cigarette.
Father took advantage of the lull51 to hand the wine jug up to Grandma, whose face changed asshe took it from him. Glaring at Father, she filled the three cups.
‘Uncle Arhat’s blood is in this wine,’ she said. ‘If you’re honourable52 men you’ll drink it, thengo out and destroy the Jap convoy. After that, chickens can go their own way, dogs can go theirs.
Well water and river water don’t mix.’
She picked up her cup and drank the wine down noisily.
Commander Yu held out his cup, threw back his head, and drained it.
Detachment Leader Leng followed suit, but put his cup down half full. ‘Commander Yu,’ hesaid, ‘I’ve had all I can handle. So long!’
With her hand still on his revolver, Grandma asked him, ‘Are you going to fight?’
‘Don’t beg!’ Commander Yu snarled53. ‘I’ll fight, even if he doesn’t.’
‘I’ll fight,’ Detachment Leader Leng said.
Grandma let her hand drop, and Leng jammed his revolver back into its holster.
The pale skin around his nose was dotted with dozens of pockmarks. A heavy cartridge54 belthung from his belt, which sagged55 when he holstered his revolver.
‘Zhan’ao,’ Grandma said, ‘I’m entrusting56 Douguan to your care. Take him along the day aftertomorrow.’
Commander Yu looked at my father and smiled. ‘Have you got the balls, foster-son?’
Father stared scornfully at the hard yellow teeth showing between Commander Yu’s partedlips. He didn’t say a word.
Commander Yu picked up a wine cup and placed it on top of Father’s head, then told him tostand in the doorway57. He whipped out his Browning pistol and walked over to the corner.
Father watched Commander Yu take three long strides to the corner – three slow, measuredsteps. Grandma’s face turned ashen59. The corners of Detachment Leader Leng’s mouth werecurled in a contemptuous smile.
When he reached the corner, Commander Yu whirled around. Father watched him raise hisarm, as a dark-red cast came over his black eyes. The Browning spat out a puff of white smoke.
An explosion erupted above Father’s head, and shards60 of shattered ceramic61 fell around him, onelanding against his neck. He shrugged62 his shoulder, and it slid down into his pants. He didn’tutter a sound. The blood had drained from Grandma’s face. Detachment Leader Leng sat downhard on a stool. ‘Good shooting,’ he said after a moment.
‘Good boy!’ Commander Yu said proudly.
The Browning pistol in Father’s hand seemed to weigh a ton.
‘I don’t have to show you,’ Commander Yu said. ‘You know how to shoot. Have Mute get hismen ready.’
Gripping his pistol tightly, Father darted63 through the sorghum field, crossed the highway, andran up to Mute, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground, honing his sabre knife with a shinygreen stone. Some of his men were seated, others lying down.
‘Get your men ready,’ Father said to him.
Mute looked at Father out of the corner of his eye, but kept honing his knife for anothermoment or so. Then he picked up a couple of sorghum leaves, wiped the stone residue64 from theblade, and plucked a stalk of grass to test its sharpness. It fell in two pieces the instant it touchedthe blade.
‘Get your men ready,’ Father repeated.
Mute sheathed65 his knife and laid it on the ground beside him, his face creased66 in a savage67 grin.
With one of his mammoth68 hands he signalled Father to come closer.
‘Uh! Uh!’ he grunted20.
Father shuffled69 forward and stopped a pace or so from Mute, who reached out, grabbed him bythe sleeve, jerked him into his lap, and pinched his ear so hard that he grimaced70. Father jammedhis Browning pistol up into Mute’s rib8 cage. Mute grabbed Father’s nose and pinched it untiltears came to his eyes. An eerie71 laugh burst from Mute’s mouth.
The seated men laughed raucously72.
‘A lot like Commander Yu, isn’t he?’
‘Commander Yu’s seed.’
‘Douguan, I miss your mom.’
‘Douguan, I feel like nibbling73 those date-topped buns of hers.’
Father’s embarrassment74 quickly turned to rage. Raising his pistol, he aimed it at the manwishfully thinking of date-topped buns, and pulled the trigger. The hammer clicked, but no bulletemerged.
The man, ashen-faced, jumped to his feet and wrenched75 the pistol away. Father, still enraged,threw himself on the man, clawing, kicking, biting.
Mute stood up, grabbed Father by the scruff of his neck, and flicked76 him away. He flewthrough the air and crashed into a thicket78 of sorghum stalks. A quick somersault and he was onhis feet, railing and swearing as he charged Mute, who merely grunted a couple of times. Thesteely look in his eyes froze Father in his tracks. Mute picked up the pistol and pulled back thebolt; a bullet fell into his hand. Holding it in his fingers, he looked at the notch80 in the casing fromthe firing pin, and made some unintelligible81 hand signs to Father. Then he stuck the pistol intoFather’s belt and patted him on the shoulder.
‘What were you doing over there?’ Commander Yu asked.
Father was embarrassed. ‘They?.?.?. they said they wanted to sleep with Mom.’
‘What did you say?’ Commander Yu asked sternly.
Father wiped his eyes with his arm. ‘I shot him!’
‘You shot somebody?’
‘The gun misfired.’ Father handed Commander Yu the shiny dud.
Commander Yu took it from him, examined it, and gave it a casual flick77. It described abeautiful arc before plopping into the river.
‘Good boy!’ Commander Yu said. ‘But use your gun on the Japanese first. After you’vefinished them off, anybody who says he wants to sleep with your mom, you shoot him in the gut82.
Not in the head, and not in the chest. Remember, in the gut.’
Father lay on his belly83 alongside Commander Yu; the Fang brothers were on his other side.
The cannon had been set up on the dike, aimed at the stone bridge, its barrel stuffed with cottonrags, a fuse sticking out behind. Fang Seven had placed a bundle of sorghum tinder next to him,some of which was already smouldering. A gourd84 filled with gunpowder85 and a tin of iron pelletslay beside Fang Six.
Wang Wenyi was to Commander Yu’s left, curled up, holding his long-barrelled fowling86 piecein his hands. His wounded ear was stuck to the white bandage covering it.
The sun was stake-high, its white core girded by a pink halo. The flowing water glittered. Aflock of wild ducks flew over from the sorghum field, circled three times, then dived down to agrassy sandbar. A few landed on the surface of the river and began floating downstream, theirbodies settling heavily in the water, their heads turning and darting87 constantly. Father was feelingwarm and tingly. His clothes, dampened by the dew, were now dry. He pressed himself to theground, but felt a pain in his chest, as from a sharp stone. When he rose up to see what it was, hishead and upper torso were exposed above the dike. ‘Get down,’ Commander Yu ordered.
Reluctantly, he did as he was told. Fang Six began to snore. Commander Yu picked up a clod ofearth and tossed it in his face. Fang Six woke up bleary-eyed and yawned so heroically that twofine tears appeared in the corners of his eyes.
‘Are the Japs here?’ he asked loudly.
‘Fuck you!’ Commander Yu snarled. ‘No sleeping.’
The riverbanks were absolutely still; the broad highway lay lifeless in its bed of sorghum. Thestone bridge spanning the river was strikingly beautiful. A boundless89 expanse of sorghum greetedthe reddening sun, which rose ever higher, grew ever brighter. Wild ducks floated in the shallowwater by the banks, noisily searching for food with their flat bills. Father studied their beautifulfeathers and alert, intelligent eyes. Aiming his heavy Browning pistol at one of their smoothbacks, he was about to pull the trigger when Commander Yu forced his hand down. ‘What thehell do you think you’re doing, you little turtle egg?’
Father was getting fidgety. The highway lay there like death itself. The sorghum had turneddeep scarlet90.
‘That bastard22 Leng wants to play games with me!’ Commander Yu spat out hatefully. Thesouthern bank lay in silence; not a trace of the Leng detachment. Father knew it was Leng whohad learned that the convoy would be passing his spot, and that he’d brought Commander Yuinto the ambush only because he doubted his own ability to go it alone.
Father was tense for a while, but gradually he relaxed, and his attention wandered back to thewild ducks. He thought about duck-hunting with Uncle Arhat, who had a fowling piece with adeep-red stock and a leather strap91; it was now in the hands of Wang Wenyi. Tears welled up inhis eyes, but not enough to spill out. Just like that day the year before. Under the warm rays ofthe sun, he felt a chill spread through his body.
Uncle Arhat and the two mules92 had been taken away by the Japs, and Grandma had washed herbloody face in the wine vat until it reeked93 of alcohol and was beet-red. Her eyes were puffy; thefront of her pale-blue cotton jacket was soaked in wine and blood. She stood stock-still beside thevat, staring down at her reflection. Father recalled how she had fallen to her knees and kowtowedthree times to the vat, then stood up, scooped94 some wine with both hands, and drank it. Therosiness of her face was concentrated in her cheeks; all the colour had drained from her foreheadand chin.
‘Kneel down!’ she ordered Father. ‘Kowtow.’
He fell to his knees and kowtowed.
‘Take a drink!’
He scooped up a handful of wine and drank it.
Trickles96 of blood, like threads, sank to the bottom of the vat, on the surface of which a tinywhite cloud floated alongside the sombre faces of Grandma and Father. Piercing rays emanatedfrom Grandma’s eyes; Father looked away, his heart pounding wildly. He reached out to scoopup some more wine, and as it dripped through his fingers it shattered one large face and one smallone amid the blue sky and white cloud. He drank a mouthful, which left the sticky taste of bloodon his tongue. The blood sank to the base of the vat, where it congealed97 into a turbid98 clot88 the sizeof a fist. Father and Grandma stared at it long and hard; then she pulled the lid over it and rolledthe millstone back, straining to place it on top of the lid.
‘Don’t touch it!’ she said.
Looking at the accumulation of mud and grey-green sow-bugs squirming in the indentation ofthe millstone, he nodded, clearly disturbed by the sight.
That night he lay on his kang listening to Grandma pace the yard. The patter of her footstepsand the rustling99 sorghum in the fields formed Father’s confused dreams, in which he heard thebrays of our two handsome black mules.
Father awoke once, at dawn, and ran naked into the yard to pee; there he saw Grandma staringtransfixed into the sky. He called out, ‘Mom,’ but his shout fell on deaf ears. When he’d finishedpeeing, he took her by the hand and led her inside. She followed meekly100. They’d barely steppedinside when they heard waves of commotion101 from the southeast, followed by the crack of riflefire, like the pop of a tautly102 stretched piece of silk pierced by a sharp knife.
Shortly after he and Grandma heard the gunfire, they were herded103 over to the dike, along witha number of villagers – elderly, young, sick, and disabled – by Japanese soldiers. The polishedwhite flagstones, boulders104, and coarse yellow gravel105 on the dike looked like a line of gravemounds. Last year’s early- summer sorghum stood spellbound beyond the dike, sombre andmelancholy. The outline of the highway shining through the trampled106 sorghum stretched duenorth. The stone bridge hadn’t been erected107 then, and the little wooden span stood utterlyexhausted and horribly scarred by the passage of tens of thousands of tramping feet and the ironshoes of horses and mules. The smell of green shoots released by the crushed and brokensorghum, steeped in the night mist, rose pungent108 in the morning air. Sorghum everywhere wascrying bitterly.
Father, Grandma, and the other villagers – assembled on the western edge of the highway,south of the river, atop the shattered remnants of sorghum plants – faced a mammoth enclosurethat looked like an animal pen. A crowd of shabby labourers huddled109 beyond it. Two puppetsoldiers herded the labourers over near Father and the others to form a second cluster. The twogroups faced a square where animals were tethered, a spot that would later make people pale withfright. They stood impassively for some time before a thin-faced, white-gloved Japanese officerwith red insignia on his shoulders and a long sword at his hip58 emerged from the tent, leading aguard dog, whose red tongue lolled from the side of its mouth. Behind the dog, two puppetsoldiers carried the rigid110 corpse111 of a Japanese soldier. Two Japanese soldiers brought up the rear,escorting two puppet soldiers who were dragging a beaten and bloody Uncle Arhat. Fatherhuddled close to Grandma; she wrapped her arms around him.
Fifty or so white birds, wings flapping noisily, sliced through the blue sky above the BlackWater River, then turned and headed east, towards the golden sun. Father could see the draughtanimals, with scraggly hair and filthy112 faces, and our two black mules, which lay on the ground.
One was dead, the hoe still stuck in its head. The blood-soaked tail of the other mule swept theground; the skin over its belly twitched113 noisily; its nostrils115 whistled as they opened and closed.
How Father loved those two black mules.
He remembers Grandma sitting proudly on the mule’s back, Father in her lap, the three ofthem flying down the narrow dirt path through the sorghum field, the mule rocking back andforth as it gallops117 along, giving Father and Grandma the ride of their lives. Spindly legs conquerthe dust of the road as Father shouts excitedly. An occasional peasant amid the sorghum, hoe inhand, gazes at the powdery, fair face of the distillery owner, his heart filled with envy andloathing.
Now one of the mules was lying dead on the ground, its mouth open, a row of long white teethchewing the earth. The other sat suffering more than its dead comrade. ‘Mom,’ Father said toGrandma, ‘our mules.’ She covered his mouth with her hand.
The body of the Japanese soldier was placed before the officer, who continued to hold thedog’s leash118. The two puppet soldiers dragged the battered119 Uncle Arhat over to a wooden rack.
Father didn’t recognise him right away; he seemed just a strange, bloody creature in human form.
As he was dragged up to the rack, his head turned to the left, then to the right, the crusty scab onhis scalp looking like the shiny mud on the riverbank, baked by the sun until it wrinkles andbegins to crack. His useless feet traced patterns in the dirt. The crowd slowly recoiled120. Father feltGrandma’s hands grip his shoulders tightly. The people seemed to shrink in size, their faces clay-coloured or black. Crows and sparrows suddenly silenced, the people could hear the panting ofthe guard dog. The officer holding its leash farted loudly. Before the puppet soldiers dragged thestrange creature over to the rack, they dropped it to the ground, an inert121 slab122 of meat.
‘Uncle Arhat!’ Father cried out in alarm.
Grandma covered his mouth again.
Uncle Arhat began to writhe123, arching his buttocks as he rose to his knees, propped124 himself onhis hands, and raised his arms. His face was so puffy the skin shone; his eyes were slits125 throughwhich thin greenish rays emerged. Father was sure Uncle Arhat could see him. His heart waspounding against the wall of his chest – thump126 thump thump – and he didn’t know if it was fromfear or anger. He wanted to scream, but Grandma’s hand was clasped too tightly over his mouth.
The officer holding the leash shouted something to the crowd, and a crew- cut Chineseinterpreted it for them. Father didn’t hear everything the interpreter said. Grandma’s hand wasclasped so tightly over his mouth that he was having trouble breathing and his ears were ringing.
Two Chinese in black uniforms stripped Uncle Arhat naked and tied him to the rack. The Japofficer waved his arm, and two more black-clad men dragged and pushed Sun Five, the mostaccomplished hog-butcher in our village – or anywhere in Northeast Gaomi Township, for thatmatter – out of the enclosure. He was a short, bald man with a huge paunch, a red face, and tiny,close-set eyes buried alongside the bridge of his nose, held a butcher’s knife in his left hand and apail of water in his right as he shuffled up to Uncle Arhat.
The interpreter spoke127: ‘The commander says to skin him. If you don’t do a good job of it, he’llhave his dog tear your heart out.’
Sun Five mumbled128 an acknowledgement, his eyes blinking furiously. Holding the knife in hismouth, he picked up the pail and poured water over Uncle Arhat’s scalp. Uncle Arhat’s headjerked upward when the cold water hit him. Bloody water coursed down his face and neck,forming filthy puddles129 at his feet. One of the overseers brought another pail of water from theriver. Sun Five soaked a rag in it and wiped Uncle Arhat’s face clean. When he was finished, hisbuttocks twitched briefly130. ‘Elder brother?.?.?.’
‘Brother,’ Uncle Arhat said, ‘finish me off quickly. I won’t forget your kindness down in theYellow Springs.’
The Japanese officer roared something.
‘Get on with it!’ the interpreter said.
Sun Five’s face darkened as he reached up and held Uncle Arhat’s ear between his fingers.
‘Elder brother,’ he said, ‘there’s nothing I can do.?.?.?.’
Father saw Sun Five’s knife cut the skin above the ear with a sawing motion. Uncle Arhatscreeched in agony as sprays of yellow piss shot out from between his legs. Father’s knees wereknocking. A Japanese soldier walked up to Sun Five with a white ceramic platter, into which Sunput Uncle Arhat’s large, fleshy ear. He cut off the other ear and laid it on the platter alongside thefirst one. Father watched the ears twitch114, making thumping131 sounds.
The soldier paraded slowly in front of the labourers and villagers, holding the platter out forthem to see. Father looked at the ears, pale and beautiful.
The soldier then carried the ears up to the Japanese officer, who nodded to him. He laid theplatter alongside the body of his dead comrade, after a moment of silence, he picked it up and putit on the ground under the dog’s nose.
The dog’s tongue slithered back into its mouth as it sniffed132 the ears with its pointy, wet, blacknose; but it shook its head, with its tongue lolling again, and sat down.
‘Hey,’ the interpreter yelled at Sun Five. ‘Keep going.’
Sun Five was walking around in circles, mumbling133 to himself. Father looked at his sweaty,greasy face, and watched his eyelids134 blink like a bobbing head of a chicken.
A mere79 trickle95 of blood oozed135 from the holes where Uncle Arhat’s ears had been. Withoutthem his head had become a neat, unmarred oval.
The Jap officer roared again.
‘Hurry up, get on with it!’ the interpreter ordered.
Sun Five bent136 over and sliced off Uncle Arhat’s genitals with a single stroke, then put theminto the platter held by the Japanese soldier, who carried it at eye level as he paraded like amarionette in front of the crowd. Father felt Grandma’s icy fingers dig into his shoulders.
The Japanese soldier put the platter under the dog’s nose. It nibbled137, then spat the stuff out.
Uncle Arhat was screaming in agony, his bony frame twitching138 violently on the rack.
Sun Five threw down his butcher knife, fell to his knees, and wailed139 bitterly.
The Japanese officer let go of the leash, and the guard dog bounded forward, burying its clawsin Sun Five’s shoulders and baring its fangs34 in his face. He threw himself on the ground andcovered his face with his hands.
The Japanese officer whistled, and the guard dog bounded back to him, dragging the leashbehind it.
‘Skin him, and be quick about it!’ the interpreter demanded.
Sun Five struggled to his feet, picked up his butcher knife, and staggered up to Uncle Arhat.
Everyone’s head jerked upward as a torrent140 of abuse erupted from Uncle Arhat’s mouth.
Sun Five spoke to him: ‘Elder brother?.?.?. elder brother?.?.?. try to bear it a little longer.?.?.?.’
Uncle Arhat spat a gob of bloody phlegm into Sun’s face.
‘Start skinning,’ shouted the interpreter. ‘Fuck your ancestors! Skin him, I said!’
Sun Five started at the point on Uncle Arhat’s scalp where the scab had formed, zipping theknife blade down, once, twice?.?.?. one meticulous141 cut after another. Uncle Arhat’s scalp fellaway, revealing two greenish-purple eyes and several misshapen chunks142 of flesh.?.?.?.
Father told me once that, even after Uncle Arhat’s face had been peeled away, shouts andgurgles continued to emerge from his shapeless mouth, while endless rivulets143 of bright-red blooddripped from his pasty scalp. Sun Five no longer seemed human as his flawless knife-workproduced a perfect pelt144. After Uncle Arhat had been turned into a mass of meaty pulp145, his innardschurned and roiled146, attracting swarms147 of dancing green flies. The women were on their knees,wailing piteously. That night a heavy rain fell, washing the tethering square clean of every dropof blood, and of Uncle Arhat’s corpse and the skin that had covered it. Word that his corpse haddisappeared spread through the village, from one person to ten, to a hundred, from this generationto the next, until it became a beautiful legend.
‘If he thinks he can get away with playing games with me, I’ll rip his head off and use it for apisspot!’
The sun seemed to shrink as it rose in the sky, sending down white-hot rays; a flock of wildducks flew through the rapidly dissipating mist atop the sorghum field, then another flock.
Detachment Leader Leng’s troops still hadn’t shown up, and only an occasional wild haredisturbed the peace of the highway. A while later, a wily red fox darted across the highway.
‘Hey!’ Commander Yu shouted after cursing Detachment Leader Leng. ‘Everybody up. It lookslike we’ve been tricked by that son of a bitch Pocky Leng.’
That was just what the troops, tired of lying there, had been waiting to hear. They were ontheir way up before the sound of Commander Yu’s command had died out. Some sat on the diketo enjoy a smoke; others stood to take a long-postponed piss.
Father jumped up onto the dike, the head of the skinned Uncle Arhat floating in front of hiseyes. Wild ducks startled into flight by the sudden emergence148 of men on the dike began landingin small clusters on a nearby sandbar, where they waddled149 back and forth116, their emerald andyellow feathers glistening150 among the water weeds.
Mute walked up to Commander Yu, knife in one hand, his old Hanyang rifle in the other.
Looking dejected, with lifeless eyes, he pointed151 to the sun in the southeastern sky and to thedeserted highway. Finally, he pointed to his belly, grunted, and signalled in the direction of thevillage. Commander Yu thought for a moment, then called to the men on the western edge of thehighway, ‘Come over here, all of you!’
The troops crossed the highway and formed up on the dike.
‘Brothers,’ Commander Yu said, ‘if Pocky Leng’s playing games with us, I’ll lop his damnedhead off! The sun isn’t directly overhead yet, so we’ll wait a little longer. If the convoy hasn’tcome by noon, we’ll go to Tan Family Hollow and settle accounts with Leng. For now, go intothe sorghum field and get some rest. I’ll send Douguan for food. Douguan!’
Father looked up at Commander Yu.
‘Go tell your mom to have the women make some fistcakes, and tell her I want lunch here bynoon. Say I want her to bring it herself.’
Father nodded, hitched152 up his trousers, stuck the Browning pistol into his belt, and ran downthe dike. After heading north down the highway for a short distance, he cut across the sorghumfield, heading northwest, weaving in and out among the plants. In the sea of sorghum he bumpedinto some long mule bones. He kicked one, dislodging a couple of short-tailed, furry153 field volesthat had been feasting on marrow154. They looked up fearlessly, then burrowed155 back into the bone.
The sight reminded Father of the family’s two black mules, reminded him of how, long after thehighway had been completed, the pungent smell of death hung over the village every time asoutheastern wind rose.
A year earlier, the bloated carcasses of dozens of mules had been found floating in the BlackWater River, caught in the reeds and grass in the shallow water by the banks; their distendedbellies, baked by the sun, split and popped, released their splendid innards, like gorgeousblooming flowers, as slowly spreading pools of dark-green liquid were caught up in the flow ofwater.
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1
merged
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| （使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中 | |
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2
obstructed
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| 阻塞( obstruct的过去式和过去分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止 | |
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3
poking
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| n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢 | |
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horrifyingly
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dike
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| n.堤，沟；v.开沟排水 | |
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panorama
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| n.全景，全景画，全景摄影，全景照片[装置] | |
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sorghum
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| n.高粱属的植物，高粱糖浆，甜得发腻的东西 | |
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rib
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| n.肋骨，肋状物 | |
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vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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10
bleak
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| adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的 | |
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ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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12
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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13
ablaze
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| adj.着火的，燃烧的；闪耀的，灯火辉煌的 | |
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14
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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15
fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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16
withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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17
grooves
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| n.沟( groove的名词复数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏v.沟( groove的第三人称单数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏 | |
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fishy
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| adj. 值得怀疑的 | |
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wafting
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| v.吹送，飘送，（使）浮动( waft的现在分词 ) | |
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20
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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convoy
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| vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队 | |
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22
bastard
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| n.坏蛋，混蛋；私生子 | |
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bastards
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| 私生子( bastard的名词复数 )； 坏蛋； 讨厌的事物； 麻烦事 （认为别人走运或不幸时说）家伙 | |
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24
eels
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| abbr. 电子发射器定位系统（=electronic emitter location system） | |
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25
crabs
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| n.蟹( crab的名词复数 )；阴虱寄生病；蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 ) | |
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26
ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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fang
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| n.尖牙，犬牙 | |
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cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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bugler
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| 喇叭手； 号兵； 吹鼓手； 司号员 | |
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30
buddies
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| n.密友( buddy的名词复数 )；同伴；弟兄；（用于称呼男子，常带怒气）家伙v.（如密友、战友、伙伴、弟兄般）交往( buddy的第三人称单数 )；做朋友；亲近（…）；伴护艾滋病人 | |
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31
bugles
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| 妙脆角，一种类似薯片但做成尖角或喇叭状的零食； 号角( bugle的名词复数 )； 喇叭； 匍匐筋骨草； （装饰女服用的）柱状玻璃（或塑料）小珠 | |
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32
puff
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| n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气 | |
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33
exhaled
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| v.呼出，发散出( exhale的过去式和过去分词 )；吐出（肺中的空气、烟等），呼气 | |
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34
fangs
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| n.（尤指狗和狼的）长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 )；（蛇的）毒牙；罐座 | |
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35
puffs
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| n.吸( puff的名词复数 )；（烟斗或香烟的）一吸；一缕（烟、蒸汽等）；（呼吸或风的）呼v.使喷出( puff的第三人称单数 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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36
flatten
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| v.把．．．弄平，使倒伏；使(漆等)失去光泽 | |
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37
spat
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| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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38
enamel
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| n.珐琅，搪瓷，瓷釉；(牙齿的)珐琅质 | |
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39
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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40
jug
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| n.(有柄，小口，可盛水等的)大壶，罐，盂 | |
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41
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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42
mule
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| n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人 | |
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43
fermenting
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| v.（使）发酵( ferment的现在分词 )；（使）激动；骚动；骚扰 | |
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44
vats
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| varieties 变化，多样性，种类 | |
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45
vat
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| n.(=value added tax)增值税，大桶 | |
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46
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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47
seep
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| v.渗出，渗漏；n.渗漏，小泉，水（油）坑 | |
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48
prick
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| v.刺伤，刺痛，刺孔；n.刺伤，刺痛 | |
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49
sneered
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| 讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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50
sentries
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| 哨兵，步兵( sentry的名词复数 ) | |
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51
lull
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| v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇 | |
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52
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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53
snarled
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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54
cartridge
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| n.弹壳，弹药筒；(装磁带等的)盒子 | |
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55
sagged
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| 下垂的 | |
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56
entrusting
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的现在分词 ) | |
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57
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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58
hip
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| n.臀部，髋；屋脊 | |
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59
ashen
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| adj.灰的 | |
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60
shards
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| n.（玻璃、金属或其他硬物的）尖利的碎片( shard的名词复数 ) | |
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61
ceramic
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| n.制陶业，陶器，陶瓷工艺 | |
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62
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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63
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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64
residue
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| n.残余，剩余，残渣 | |
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65
sheathed
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| adj.雕塑像下半身包在鞘中的；覆盖的；铠装的；装鞘了的v.将（刀、剑等）插入鞘( sheathe的过去式和过去分词 )；包，覆盖 | |
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66
creased
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| （使…）起折痕，弄皱( crease的过去式和过去分词 )； （皮肤）皱起，使起皱纹； 皱皱巴巴 | |
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67
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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68
mammoth
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| n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的 | |
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69
shuffled
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| v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼 | |
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70
grimaced
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| v.扮鬼相，做鬼脸( grimace的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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71
eerie
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| adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的 | |
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72
raucously
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| adv.粗声地；沙哑地 | |
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73
nibbling
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| v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的现在分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬 | |
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74
embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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75
wrenched
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| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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76
flicked
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| （尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等） | |
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77
flick
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| n.快速的轻打，轻打声，弹开；v.轻弹，轻轻拂去，忽然摇动 | |
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78
thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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79
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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80
notch
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| n.(V字形)槽口，缺口，等级 | |
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81
unintelligible
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| adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的 | |
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82
gut
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| n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏 | |
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83
belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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84
gourd
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| n.葫芦 | |
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85
gunpowder
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| n.火药 | |
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86
fowling
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| 捕鸟，打鸟 | |
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87
darting
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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88
clot
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| n.凝块；v.使凝成块 | |
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89
boundless
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| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
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90
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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91
strap
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| n.皮带，带子；v.用带扣住，束牢；用绷带包扎 | |
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92
mules
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| 骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者 | |
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93
reeked
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| v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的过去式和过去分词 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象） | |
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94
scooped
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| v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等） | |
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95
trickle
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| vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散 | |
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96
trickles
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| n.细流( trickle的名词复数 )；稀稀疏疏缓慢来往的东西v.滴( trickle的第三人称单数 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动 | |
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97
congealed
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| v.使凝结，冻结( congeal的过去式和过去分词 )；（指血）凝结 | |
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98
turbid
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| adj.混浊的，泥水的，浓的 | |
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99
rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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100
meekly
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| adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地 | |
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101
commotion
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| n.骚动，动乱 | |
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102
tautly
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| adv.绷紧地；紧张地； 结构严谨地；紧凑地 | |
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103
herded
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| 群集，纠结( herd的过去式和过去分词 )； 放牧； （使）向…移动 | |
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104
boulders
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| n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾 | |
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105
gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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106
trampled
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| 踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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107
ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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108
pungent
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| adj.（气味、味道）刺激性的，辛辣的；尖锐的 | |
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109
huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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110
rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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111
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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112
filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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113
twitched
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| vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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114
twitch
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| v.急拉，抽动，痉挛，抽搐；n.扯，阵痛，痉挛 | |
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115
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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116
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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117
gallops
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| （马等）奔驰，骑马奔驰( gallop的名词复数 ) | |
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118
leash
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| n.牵狗的皮带，束缚；v.用皮带系住 | |
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119
battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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120
recoiled
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| v.畏缩( recoil的过去式和过去分词 )；退缩；报应；返回 | |
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121
inert
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| adj.无活动能力的，惰性的；迟钝的 | |
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122
slab
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| n.平板，厚的切片；v.切成厚板，以平板盖上 | |
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123
writhe
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| vt.挣扎，痛苦地扭曲；vi.扭曲，翻腾，受苦；n.翻腾，苦恼 | |
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124
propped
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| 支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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slits
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| n.狭长的口子，裂缝( slit的名词复数 )v.切开，撕开( slit的第三人称单数 )；在…上开狭长口子 | |
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126
thump
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| v.重击，砰然地响；n.重击，重击声 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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128
mumbled
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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129
puddles
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| n.水坑， （尤指道路上的）雨水坑( puddle的名词复数 ) | |
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130
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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131
thumping
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| adj.重大的，巨大的；重击的；尺码大的；极好的adv.极端地；非常地v.重击(thump的现在分词)；狠打；怦怦地跳；全力支持 | |
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132
sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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133
mumbling
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的现在分词 ) | |
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134
eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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135
oozed
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| v.（浓液等）慢慢地冒出，渗出( ooze的过去式和过去分词 )；使（液体）缓缓流出；（浓液）渗出，慢慢流出 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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nibbled
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| v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的过去式和过去分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬 | |
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138
twitching
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| n.颤搐 | |
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139
wailed
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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140
torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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meticulous
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| adj.极其仔细的，一丝不苟的 | |
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142
chunks
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| 厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分 | |
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143
rivulets
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| n.小河，小溪( rivulet的名词复数 ) | |
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144
pelt
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| v.投掷，剥皮，抨击，开火 | |
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pulp
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| n.果肉，纸浆；v.化成纸浆，除去...果肉，制成纸浆 | |
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roiled
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| v.搅混（液体）( roil的过去式和过去分词 )；使烦恼；使不安；使生气 | |
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swarms
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| 蜂群，一大群( swarm的名词复数 ) | |
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148
emergence
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| n.浮现，显现，出现，（植物）突出体 | |
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149
waddled
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| v.（像鸭子一样）摇摇摆摆地走( waddle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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150
glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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151
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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152
hitched
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| （免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上 | |
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153
furry
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| adj.毛皮的；似毛皮的；毛皮制的 | |
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154
marrow
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| n.骨髓；精华；活力 | |
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155
burrowed
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| v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的过去式和过去分词 )；翻寻 | |
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