Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Charms of the Yao Village (Part Two)

Through conversation, Kang Ning gradually learned about some of the customs and traditions of the White-Trousered Yao. This was a unique, traditional community where men farmed and women wove, and for countless generations, they had never married outside their own people. Typically, women held greater authority in the family than men did, faintly echoing the vestiges of a matrilineal society. Kang Ning also discovered that, whenever an honored guest arrived, the village’s most beautiful young woman would accompany him at the banquet. It was considered a mark of pride for a girl to have such a guest stay in her home; many would even bring out their treasured brocade quilts for the guest’s use, and hang a specially crafted sachet at the head of the bed as a sign of respect.

Thus, a new round of toasts began immediately. Amid the singing of the young men and women, Kang Ning had no idea how many bowls of wine he was compelled to drink.

After over a month on the run, constantly hiding, the immense psychological burden had already cost the robust Kang Ning ten kilos. The persistent anxiety and tense vigilance had tormented his mind without respite. Now, in this remote Yao village far from the dangers and chaos of the city, confronted with such sincere and unguarded affection, Kang Ning was finally able to relax his taut nerves. After several bowls of the fragrant, mellow rice wine, he let go of all his worries and sorrows, and surrendered himself fully to the warmth and passion of this pure, welcoming community.

The next day, Kang Ning awoke groggily to the sound of fine rain, his head splitting with pain.

When he climbed out of bed, feeling heavy-headed and unsteady, he looked around at his unfamiliar surroundings. Soon, he realized this was a young woman’s room: one wall was plastered with posters of movie stars from the outside world, while another was adorned with silver jewelry and uniquely dyed and embroidered dresses.

Perhaps she heard him stir, because the seventeen-year-old girl who had sat to Kang Ning’s right the previous evening hurried in. Kang Ning, forgetting he was clad only in his shorts, instinctively stood up to greet her. The girl caught sight of the conspicuous bulge at the front of his shorts, blushed furiously, and spun around to dash out. It was only then, in his hazy state, that Kang Ning realized his impropriety; he quickly found his clothes and dressed.

Afterward, he fetched a small pouch with his toothbrush and toothpaste from his bag at the head of the bed, along with a clean set of clothes, grabbed a towel, and left the room.

Stepping outside, he saw that the quartz clock hanging on the main room’s wall already pointed to ten minutes before five in the afternoon. Shaking his head at the thought of having slept so many hours, Kang Ning turned to the girl weaving at the loom in the main room and asked where he could wash up.

She still seemed flustered from earlier, and simply pointed to a small stream circled by emerald bamboo several dozen meters from the main door, then lowered her head to continue weaving. Kang Ning smiled and thanked her, then turned and headed toward the stream.

The rain had stopped, and a rainbow arched over the distant mountaintops. Kang Ning paused to admire it, feeling his spirits lift, then followed the stone path through several stands of tall bamboo to the edge of the brook. Looking up, he was struck speechless and blushed furiously at the scene before him: more than a dozen naked women were bathing in the crystal-clear water, their pale bodies clearly visible above the waist-deep stream.

After a stunned moment, Kang Ning hastily turned and fled. He had barely gone twenty meters when a burst of cheerful laughter from the women behind made his face burn even hotter, and, mortified as if he’d been caught stealing, he quickened his pace back.

Seeing Kang Ning return so soon, the girl at the loom stared at him with wide, surprised eyes, puzzled by his flushed face and sweating brow.

Kang Ning, somewhat embarrassed, pointed in the direction of the stream and said, “It’s all women there… They’re bathing, I can’t go as a man.”

She was momentarily taken aback, then broke into a peal of silvery laughter. Straightening from her fit of giggles, she finally said, “You look so smart, but who knew you could be so silly! Don’t you know the rule about men to the left, women to the right? Who told you to take that path on the right? Hehe… Though, I suppose it’s my fault for not making it clear. Just remember, when the Yao women are bathing, you can look but you absolutely must not laugh, or you’ll get a good beating.”

Just then, the short and stocky young man who had drunk with them the previous night passed by the door. The girl called out for him to take Kang Ning to the stream—he was going to bathe, too. At her words, the young man cheerfully grabbed Kang Ning’s hand and urged him along.

Though Kang Ning wasn’t accustomed to holding hands with another man, the youth’s warmth and openness made it hard to refuse.

They walked downstream for over a hundred meters to a bend where the river was fifteen meters wide and over a meter deep and, sure enough, it was deserted.

Kang Ning had barely set down his toiletries on a large stone slab before the young man had stripped naked and leapt into the water, soon surfacing with a carefree, exuberant shout.

As Kang Ning brushed his teeth and undressed, he asked, “Do you always come to bathe at this time, brother?”

“No, usually I come after dinner. But today’s different—folks from the neighboring village brought a cow as a return gift. Since you’re here, the chief uncle ordered the big bronze drum to be brought out at six tonight. Everyone’s going to celebrate, so I came to wash up first, and there’ll be lots of young girls tonight!”

So that’s what it was about, Kang Ning thought, handing the young man a bar of sandalwood soap before wading into the water in his underwear to soak awhile.

The young man sniffed the soap and then rubbed it haphazardly over his head, ducked under to rinse off the suds, and handed it back to Kang Ning. “Smells great! Whoa, brother, how’d you get so many scars? Tsk, tsk, in clothes you look refined, but with your shirt off, you’re built like a leopard!”

Kang Ning took the soap with a slight smile, said nothing, and began washing in earnest. Once he’d washed his hair and upper body and saw no one around, he took off his last piece of clothing and finished cleaning up, then luxuriated a while in the cool stream, finally emerging to towel himself dry.

Little did he know that, while he was drying off, the young man—already dressed and waiting, idly playing a bamboo leaf—suddenly stopped playing and stared wide-eyed at Kang Ning’s lower body. After a long moment, he cried out in astonishment, “Whoa—brother, isn’t that thing of yours a bit much?!”

Kang Ning, unable to decide whether to laugh or cry, hurriedly dressed, shook his head, and began scrubbing his dirty clothes on the stone, thinking with resignation: Good grief! Is this guy really a simple Yao villager?