The Crystal Ribbon

by Celeste Lim

  “Do you notice anything?” I asked in a small voice. Kaizhen turned to me. The look on his face told me that he did, but he wanted me to voice my doubts anyway. I frowned and lowered my voice even more. “The people.” All the villagers, or most of those we had seen, looked gaunt and pale. Some even had huge dark circles beneath their eyes. They looked sickly and weak, some more so than others.

  “That’s some improvement, my girl.” Koko landed on my left shoulder and chirped in my ear.

  I turned to him. “Is this something we should be worried about?”

  “Doesn’t look as though this village is starving,” said Kaizhen with a shrug. “Probably an outbreak of the common cold or something.”

  “I don’t sense the presence of sickness or disease,” said Koko, fluttering around our heads. “But you had better ask around just to be safe.”

  As we continued along the main street, passing villagers who bustled around purposefully with carts and loads, I allowed myself to be distracted by the calls of hawkers and the glorious smell of all the food on display around us—the familiar fragrance of deep-fried tofu, tang hulu, beef tripe noodles…and wait, there was something else—an unfamiliar aroma, but absolutely no less mouthwatering.

  “What is that delightful smell?” And before Kaizhen could stop me, I drifted off to the side of the road and stopped in front of a stall that sold chuan skewers. “I simply must have one of these! What is it?”

  The burly hawker behind the stall passed the straw fan he was holding to the elderly lady beside him and beamed at me. “You mustn’t be from around here if you’ve never tasted shenxian skewers, little girl. These are made from a delicious local fruit found only in Daolin.”

  I paid him a copper piece for two skewers and handed one of them to Kaizhen. He nibbled absently at it, and when I finally saw him trying to catch my eye, he directed his gaze toward the hawker. His message was clear: Ask!

  I glanced over at the man behind the stall. Perhaps due to my initial excitement, I hadn’t noticed that he had the same pale, sunken features as the villagers we had seen, and his mother beside him was so skinny and brittle that she looked like a dried ginseng root.

  “How do you find it?” the lady asked, sitting us down on a bench beside their stall.

  I couldn’t tell what fruit this was, but on the skewer, it was juicy, sweet, and savory at the same time. “These taste absolutely heavenly,” I said. Then, after swallowing my last bite, I said, “Sir, ma’am, my friend and I are traveling eastward and happened to come upon your village. But we were concerned when we saw how most of the villagers seem to be in low spirits…”

  “Low spirits?” The hawker’s heavy brows came to meet in the center. “I’m afraid I do not quite understand.”

  “Perhaps that wasn’t the best way to describe what I mean…” I floundered for a more appropriate phrase.

  “They look sick, that’s what she means,” Kaizhen said with an impatient edge in his voice. I rolled my eyes. I was only trying to be tactful.

  This time, the lady nodded. “Oh, I see now,” she said, her missing teeth making it a little difficult to distinguish her words. “Well, most of them may appear that way, but I can assure you that there’s nothing wrong. As you can see, we may be a small community, but we’re not short of anything here. Food and trade is abundant, even in winter! We are a fortunate village, thanks to the blessings of the Shenxian Tree.”

  Kaizhen and I glanced at each other. Even Koko, though he was being very discreet about it, had stopped hopping around on my shoulder.

  “I’ve never heard of the Shenxian Tree.” I voiced everyone’s question.

  “You children may not have, since you’re not from here,” the hawker said as he went back behind his grill. “But it happened just ten years ago. As you know, the name shenxian means ‘deity.’ And back then, there had been a particularly severe drought that started in spring, so Daolin was having a difficult time with the cultivation of our fields. But no matter how much our local shaman prayed to the skies for rain, nothing came even once for many moons. There were no crops for harvest that year, and those winter moons had been the hardest that the village has ever been through…we were poor, starving, and dying.

  “And then, one day, after the ninth and tenth deaths of children in our village, a mysterious tree suddenly appeared overnight on top of a small hill just behind our village. It was the most beautiful tree anyone had ever seen, with a thick golden-brown trunk and leaves that shone like jade under the sun. And that wasn’t even the best part.” Here the man paused to make a sale, but I couldn’t help prodding.

  “What’s the best part?”

  The hawker lifted a batch of his skewers off the grill with a grunt. “The best part was that on each of its golden branches grew dozens of large, shiny, pink fruits that looked like glistening gems.”

  “At first, we thought they were peaches, but they were this huge.” The elderly lady made a round shape with her hands approximately the size of a rock melon. “The fruits were juicy, crunchy, and sweet as honey. And they can be cooked in any way, with anything, to make the most exquisite dishes. In fact, the skewers we sell are made from exactly that.”

  The man cleared his throat, and then continued. “The magical tree bore fruit all through the winter, and sustained the whole village throughout the entire season. It continues to bear fruit to this very day. The prayers of our shaman had been answered, and the gods had sent us the Shenxian Tree as a sacred gift to save our village from starvation. So after that, the tree was given its name, and has become an object of worship in Daolin.”

  I nodded. This wasn’t much different from the White Lady of Xiawan and our Great Golden Huli Jing. “I suppose there’s no reason to worry, then?” I turned to look at Kaizhen, making big puppy eyes. It was too late in the evening to go back out and find a place to camp. Surely one night couldn’t hurt?

  Kaizhen considered a moment. “I suppose. But we’ll need directions to the village chief’s house.”

  The village chief, Mr. Sun Bingyu, turned out to be a jolly man in his fifties with a thick, bushy beard and mustache. Though he also had the same slightly pale look, the man seemed to be in higher spirits and better shape than the villagers we had met so far. Having no children of their own, Chief Sun and his wife genuinely seemed to adore guests, and insisted we stay for dinner.

  “And if you need a place to stay for the night, it might as well be here,” the chief said as he spooned in the steamy lotus root soup, not caring about the droplets of broth that dribbled down his beard. We were all seated at a round dining table just next to the kitchen hearth. I planted my hands on my lap and kept my focus on a crack in the table. The couple was so hospitable they wouldn’t allow me to help with the cooking at all. I wasn’t used to being served. Koko, in the meantime, had reverted to his normal disguise and was hopping about the table expectantly.

  The chief’s petite wife, who was now laying out steamed vegetables and a sizzling pot of braised chicken and string beans, straightened up. “Now, eat as much as you want. I don’t want you being all reserved and shy over such a plain and simple dinner.”

  “Oh no, Mrs. Sun, this is more than we could expect,” I said. “And I do not feel it is right for us to just stay and give nothing in return. I’m really good with any type of work around the house, so if—”

  But the kind lady did not let me finish. “Nonsense, child. As long as you do not live in Daolin, you’re a guest, and you shall be treated as such no matter who you are.” She filled our ceramic bowls with fragrant white rice. I had to swallow to keep myself from drooling on the table. Rice was truly a godsend after days of living on hard, icy mantou buns. Although the food was less lavish than what I had had at the Guos’ or the chinglou, it was enough to make me give up arguing and pick up my chopsticks.

  Satisfied to see us starting on the table of food, Mrs. Sun sat down and continued. “You really should let the chief take you around our village tomorrow. He’l
l tell you where to get the things you’ll need for your travels.”

  I looked up from my already half-empty bowl. “Could we perhaps visit the Shenxian Tree as well? I would dearly love to see it.”

  The grown-ups paused, and just as I was beginning to think they were about to say no, the chief’s wife said, “Of course you can. It—It really is quite something to behold.”

  She sounded less enthusiastic about the magical tree than the hawker and old lady had been, but why? Wasn’t it common courtesy for travelers to pay homage to a sacred being once they stepped into its territory?

  “So what do you think about this magic tree?”

  Lying on my straw mat, I turned onto my stomach and asked the others, folding my arms under my chin. It was late in the evening, and the couple had already retired to their room, which was also the only room in the small hut. But they had laid out thick straw mats and goatskin rugs for us right next to the warm hearth with its dull embers. Kaizhen was sitting cross-legged on his mat, polishing the blade of his dagger with a piece of cloth dabbed in oil under the flickering light of the lamp that stood between our mats.

  “I don’t know,” he admitted after some time, setting his blade aside. “The closest thing to a magic fruit tree I’ve heard of are the peach trees of immortality that belong to the goddess Xi Wangmu, the Queen Mother of the West.”

  “But that’s impossible,” Koko said. “Those peach trees grow in the orchard of the Queen Mother’s celestial palace on Mount Kunlun, which is far beyond the human realm.”

  “If that’s so, do you suppose the Shenxian Tree is a gift to the village from Xi Wangmu, then?” I asked. “Didn’t they say the fruits looked like giant peaches?” I’d heard of a magic tree somewhere before…

  Koko hopped over to the lamp. “Well, we’ll find out tomorrow.” He put out the flames with a flap of his wings, leaving the room lit only by the silvery moonlight that streamed in through the cracks of the windows.

  Listening to the blustery wind outside, I tried to stay awake a little longer, enjoying the sounds of the wind, Kaizhen’s rhythmic breathing, and the soothing smell of incense coming from the small altar just by the door.

  I was the first to wake the next day. This was rare, for as early as I usually got up in the mornings, either Kaizhen or Koko was always earlier. But that day, when I opened my eyes, Koko had his small head tucked under his right wing as he perched on the back of a chair, and Kaizhen’s eyes were still closed. Those wisps of golden hair looked like ripples on a lake during sunset. And I had never seen such skin, fairer than the finest porcelain; lashes that fanned out like the feathers of a golden siskin; and even the pronounced ridge of his nose…

  “Are you done staring?”

  I gasped and jerked back as Kaizhen opened his eyes. My cheeks felt so hot they stung. A girl who so brazenly allowed her gaze to linger on a man either had no shame or too much nerve. So which one was I? What would Kaizhen think of me now?

  He was looking at me without a word. I wished he’d say something, but even worse than his silence was the vague hint of amusement playing at the corners of his lips. “I’m sorry. Just that it’s time to wake up.” I got to my feet and then tripped on my rug. The couple was stirring in their bedroom, and I should help prepare breakfast, and then we’d visit the magic Shenxian Tree and I could put my embarrassment behind me.

  Soon, after a simple breakfast of dough fritters, preserved egg congee, and soy milk, the chief led us through the square toward the back of the village.

  “We shall go around to the village shops so that you can procure whatever you need for your travels,” said Chief Sun. “But if you should like to stay longer, you’re more than welcome as well.” The man slapped a beefy hand on Kaizhen’s shoulders, sending him reeling. “My wife does so love it whenever we have guests to stay, especially ones so young and beautiful.” The couple obviously had a soft spot for children. It was a huge pity they did not have any of their own.

  As they did in Huanan, the villagers of Daolin rose early. Though the sun had barely risen, the streets were already filled with people—some running errands on foot with sacks over their shoulders, others with handcarts, slowly trundling along the main street with their wares. Everyone stopped to greet the village chief, and it was easy to see that the burly man was a respected and beloved leader. Truly, other than the fact that people had dark eye bags and tended to be on the scrawny side, this was a perfectly pleasant village.

  “I don’t understand why you’re so worked up over a tree,” Koko said softly as he landed on my shoulder.

  I shrugged. “I keep getting the feeling I’ve heard of a similar magical being, but I can’t seem to recall exactly what. But I’ll probably remember once I see it,” I said. “Besides, it’s common courtesy for travelers to pay homage to local deities whenever we pass through their territories. It will give our journey blessing.”

  “Sure it will,” Kaizhen muttered.

  As soon as we walked out of the village, I saw, standing on the peak of a small hill and surrounded by a low line of wooden fences, the most magnificent thing. The Shenxian Tree was exactly as the villagers had described—thick golden trunk and branches, sparkling green leaves, and on each branch hung the most tempting pink fruit: fat and ripe, just waiting to be plucked and eaten. I couldn’t take my eyes off it.

  “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” There was an unreadable expression on Chief Sun’s face as he opened a small gate in the fence to let us in. A vertical board next to the tree showed the words:

  “Its name is indeed fitting, don’t you think?” I said. Kaizhen, who stood beside me with his hands in his pockets, was gazing up at the tree, which towered more than twenty feet above us. He seemed a little silent this morning. Was he perhaps mad at me from earlier?

  I was just about to nudge him when Chief Sun spoke. “Here, try one.” He reached for a fruit that hung on the lowest branch.

  The fruit was not as heavy as I’d expected, and the surface of its pink skin was as glossy as a persimmon’s. It was such a perfect heart shape that I almost couldn’t bring myself to eat it. I glanced up at Chief Sun, and when he nodded, I took a whiff of the tantalizingly sweet smell, then bit into it.

  It tasted just as good as the old lady had described, or even better—like cool, watered-down honey—and its flesh had a soft fibrous texture. I handed it to Kaizhen. “It’s amazing! Try it.” But he only took a polite bite from the fruit, saying he didn’t much fancy anything overly sweet. Koko, however, wouldn’t even taste it.

  Why were they acting so weird? I’d understand if Kaizhen was mad at me and refused to eat, but Koko loved fruits!

  The chief suggested that we pack a few shenxian fruits for our journey, and we thanked him for his kindness. Later on, he gave us directions to certain shops in order to get the things we needed before leaving for his daily village patrol. As we wandered along the main street, I could hold back no more.

  “You two are behaving very peculiarly today,” I said. “Kaizhen, are you mad at me? And, Koko, I really thought you would’ve liked the shenxian fruit, but you wouldn’t even try it.”

  It was only then that Koko finally spoke.

  “That tree is a jing.”

  I stopped in my tracks. “A jing?”

  Koko nodded. “You may not have noticed, but being a jing myself, I can sense it. The chi or aura that the Shenxian Tree emanates belongs to that of a jing, not a deity.”

  Kaizhen folded his arms. “I’m not surprised, but what puzzles me is, what is it doing here?”

  I thought for a moment. “Maybe like the Great Golden Huli Jing back in my village, it’s just a tutelary spirit that’s protecting its territory?”

  Kaizhen rolled his eyes.

  Koko jumped up and down on my shoulder like he did whenever he was frustrated. “But the chi from this one is heavy and negative.”

  “Which means,” Kaizhen continued grimly, “it’s on its way to a demon, not a deity. Only jing that absorb
positive chi through doing good deeds can elevate into deities.” Kaizhen cast a look at the villagers around them. “That might explain the sickly people. Its fruits are probably poisoning them in some way.”

  At that, I looked around at the villagers of Daolin. Almost everyone was wearing that pale, gaunt look as though it was a trend.

  I punched my palm. “Now I remember!” I led them aside, where we could have more privacy. We sat down on a patch of grass next to a half-frozen pond.

  “I’ve heard before the tale of a man-eating demon tree called the Renmian Tree,” I said. “Its name means ‘the Tree with a Human Face.’ ”

  “Now that you’ve mentioned it, I remember listening to the story from my cage when you told it to Jun’an,” said Koko. “You said that it is weak, but is also one of the most cunning of jing.”

  “Yes, and if my guess is right…if this really is a Renmian Tree,” I continued, “it might be ‘farming’ the entire village of Daolin as its spiritual food. In that folktale, the Renmian Tree bears tasty fruits in order to tempt humans to eat them, and through this, it is able to absorb their chi. Little by little, the humans in the village will grow weaker and weaker until they are depleted of life force. And when the whole village is wiped out, the Renmian Tree will uproot itself and travel in search of another.” I shuddered. “It is an evil being, the Renmian Tree.”

  “Well, it’s become quite obvious, hasn’t it?” said Kaizhen. “I’d bet all my tails this village has been living under the evil influence of the Renmian Tree this entire time.”