They sat on the largest branch and waited for night.
That man really said Jingyu could be her husband. He wasn't bad looking, he just--she was-- she never dated an asian before. But she did try a white boy.
She liked Jingyu, she thought they was friends. "So…" she was going to try something. "You ever married?"
"Wha? No." he said. "I thought about it for money but…" he pouted. "Is that like prostitution? I thought about that too."
"Somebody else or you?"
"Me…"
"You would prostitute yourself to guys?"
"No!" he blasted. "I like titties!" he looked at her chest. "Anyway! I thought about it, I didn't do it."
"That's good. My homegirl in Georgia went to court behind that." she told. "She smacked a hoe across the face."
"Huh?"
"My homegirl. That's like a really close friend. So like, my homegirl and her nigga, her boyfriend; went to the store. And we all know about Vaquan."
"Vaquan?"
"That's her real name but like the last I ever saw that girl again. She changed her name to Brittany."
"Brittany…"
"So Brittany, got her ass whooped at the store trying to follow my homegirl's boy."
"The nigga?"
"Yeah!" she was pleased with this conversation. And it was interesting. And he didn't actually wanna have it. "Appearently, she wanted money." Cenisa sucked her teeth. "And he gave her a dollar but she kept following him."
"So then what? Did she getmore money?"
"I know you understand because you homeless."
"How old was she?"
"Well, I don't know the bitch personally but I know her name."
"Is she still… human?"
"She's part crackhead and chiuahua."
"Chiuahua?"
"That's a dog." she looked at the sky, it was evening. "So tell me about yourself."
"I'm poor." he told.
"Ok… family--"
"Dead."
"Alive?"
"I don't know. Like I said, my mom got pregnant and my father set her up for death." he huffed. Cenisa leaned in her hands. Cūjian Xiyi didn't mention any of this. MAybe he didn't know.
He definitely said something to her about Jiu being related but she forgot what else was spoken of.
Oh, his daughter.
"Do you know a girl named Bing?"
"No…" he heaved. "Whatever you saw, I didn't. Hell, having an uncle take to you. Is… jarring to say the least."
"Well, he has a daughter."
"And she's dead to?"
"Yes…" her voice got low. "What about my mother?"
"I didn't see… Boo-bing… Dua-Bing, I can't remember. She's a fish and he said… he was the emperor."
"Oh, so it wasn't good spirits?" he cut his eyes at her. "No! They was nice. I've never heard a fish talk to me and I was black as ink."
"You going through something."
"No shit…"
.
.
.
When night came, it was Jingyu's job to take the barriers off. Ripping away the paper talisman was easy.
He kept looking back for the guards as he tore each one away. Cenisa was looking but couldn't pass. "What about the rope?"
"That'll be last. I'll have to set it on fire."
Jingyu's ears perked up and his head turned to the dirt roads in the village. There was a clatter of screaming and chanting. "What's that?" Cenisa some how thought she could stretch to view the noise.
"A party, drunks? Who knows." he continued to take off the talisman. He went to the next tree and there five on one plant. "They even covered the ground, goddamn."
"HELP!" a muted voice reached him. "You'll pay for what you did!"
"You put that thing in town!"
"STOP!" Bolin exasperated. "Ms. Liu!"
"I'm scared!"
"We'll burn her and the rest of them alike!"
"What the hell is going on?" Jingyu took off a few more paper sutras. He moved to the commotion. "Where are you going?" she worried, if he got away from her, she'd be stuck here. "Jing!"
"I'll be back…"
Jingyu proceeded to follow the noise. He passed a flower shop, next to it was a wide area with no door that was used for Xiangqi. At the end of the road was Li Liu's home. The door was broken and several men including Bolin were around.
A fat girl was holding Bolin back from intervening. "STOP IT!"
The men trampled Li, kicking and beating her with gardening tools and sheathed swords. Jingyu rushed to push one man out the way and covered Li Liu. The old woman grabbed the back of the man's shirt has she gasped inbetween her tears.
"What is wrong with you people!"
Her face had been kicked, damaging her nose. Blood mixed with dirt. Though he couldn't see, she had several puncture wounds to the legs.
"You're suppose to be dead!" yelled Wencheng who was shirtless. "Beat him! He's saving the woman that let that thing in here! I bet you do anything she wants!"
"Shut up! You people are deranged. If it isn't the biding Xiyi; I bet you'll do anything!"
"The Xiyi made this village!" yelled Hualing squeaked. She wasn't the type to speak. She thought if Bolin got involved, they would kill him. Especially when was cheating on him with Ma Yingtai. "Hauling!" Bolin rebuked. "This whole time you've been promoting death! Now you're a soldier for the family!"
He was right. And she knew. "stay out of the way!" she pulled his arm and tried to drag him home. "If you stay out here you'll be like that black woman!"
"Let me the fuck go!" His hand swooped across her head. He grabbed a tuff of her hair. "Bolin!" Hauling screamed. "What is wrog with you! I already said she's not doing--" his head pounded. "Let that girl go!" Ma threw another brick at his head.
"Hauling! Stop screaming, scratch him!" and like the obedient slave she was to him and three other men she never spoke of. Hauling dug her nail into Bolin's leg.
He has no choice but to let go of her. She hit him in the face, it didn't feel like much but the next blow came harder. "Why the fuck did you--" she tackled him to the ground and thrashed his face. "You bitch!" she shouted.
Jingyu couldn't care less about the boy. He wasn't for hitting old women and he wasn't about to move.
Jinku Yingtai kicked Jingyu in the face and dragged him off the old woman. "MOVE!"
"FUCK YOU--" his vision was wavy, he heard a whistle. "What the--" he wasn't even sleepy.
Cenisa didn't know if she could holler or not. She thought she heard Jinyu and still did. "I can't believe he went over there!" Hopefully he would come back.